Shakha awoke to find a naked and smelly Laïn laying on his chest. Her hair was a mess and the smell of alcohol stuck thickly to her body.

Eshi and Khal also slept soundly next to him as the morning sunshine snuck into his hut.

He placed his large hand on Laïn's head and thought about something he had been avoiding.

Katsíki.

That dark being.

He had taken leadership of the Foph from Calëb and he offered a path governed by some sort of justice.

Shakha wondered if this would mean he didn’t have to fight anymore.

Not against the knights or anyone.

No.

Shakha didn’t allow himself to entertain such naïve thoughts.

“Laïn.”

“Mmm?”

“I’m guessing you enjoyed yourself.” Shakha said. His voice a low growl.

Laïn rubbed her head on her chest before making a pleased expression.

“I did.”

“Good. Now get off. I just remembered something I had to do.”

Laïn nodded before sitting up and lightly stretching. She then wrapped her slender arms around Shakha’s neck.

She pulled him closer before gently rubbing the bandages that covered his arms.

“Err… about yesterday. I just wanted to say that- I…” Shakha struggled to say.

Laïn simply placed her small hand on Shakha’s cheek.

“I know. Big Foph man want hit things. I just wish you’d think things through more often. Sometimes violence isn’t the answer. That being said… the Lopus was delicious.” Laïn said with a grin.

Shakha’s eyes widened.

He opened his mouth to speak, but again. No words were uttered.

He simply nodded before getting up and slipping into his jacket.

He glanced at his club for a moment.

He then sighed and walked out of the hut only to be instantly burnt by the heat of the morning sun.

Shakha winced as the heat was actually painful to stand in and so he quickly made his way to the Oasis, where nearby warriors could be seen discussing the heat.

“Why in the world is it so hot?”

“Maybe it’s just hangover.”

“Nah, someone definitely did something to the sun.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

Shakha ignored them before making his way towards the storage hut where two guards stood and even though they were only loincloths and small fur jackets, their foreheads were covered in sweat.

“Ah, good morning, Shakha.”

“Nice to see you outside again.”

“Yeah, did anything strange happen last night. Everyone was so busy partying, the thief could have struck again.” Shakha said with crossed arms.

“Funnily enough, everything is in order.”

The leftmost guard said.

Shakha nodded before looking around at the Oasis.

Looked at his hut as it stood on the distant hill.

“Make sure the lamps are bright from now on.” Shakha instructed before making his way back home, but just as he left the Oasis, two large hands gripped him before forcibly turning him around.

“You could have brought back anything else. Why a Lopus specifically?” Calëb droned with narrowed eyes.

“I… it just happened.” Shakha said with an awkward smile. He then noticed that Calëb’s eyes were glowing slightly and so he jerked himself out of her grasp.

“No. Don’t. I’m fine. Go talk to Gid. I’m sure he could use some healing right now.” Shakha said while hurriedly walking away.

He eventually returned to his hut where Laïn, Eshi and Khal tinkered with various cups.

He ignored them before plopping onto his bed where he closed his eyes to rest.

“Wake me up as soon as the sun starts to set.” He instructed.

Flashes of a certain goat came and went, but he eventually fell asleep again.

.

..

Shakha had been sitting outside for quite some time.

His hut had a perfect view of the paths from all of the Oasis’s entrances to the storage hut.

Shakha assumed that whoever was stealing was taking the stolen food south.

Nothing was to the east and Caleb’s hut was further north. Everyone knew that sneaking past her and her guards was near impossible, so Shakha camped a few meters in front of his hut on a dark mat.

He heard someone approach and turned his head to see that it was Khal.

“Laïn’s latest recipe is proving to be quite popular. Unfortunately, she uses quite a lot of Yolberries and well… their season just ended.” She said.

“Ah… now you drunkards won’t have anything but water to drink.” Shakha said with a chuckle, but Khal lightly punched his arm.

“Hey, I don’t drink as much as Laïn or Eshi.”

“Yeah, I know.” Shakha said. His eyes still locked onto the Oasis

“Hey, umm… there’s- can I ask you something?” Khal asked.

“What was it like, as a boy… in the Pits?”

“Mmm… it was OK, I guess. All we ever did was fight, eat, play around a little, sleep and fight some more.” Shakha explained.

“Oh? D- do you ever wish you could meet your real mother?”

Shakha’s eyes widened, frightening Khal a little.

He turned to face her and saw that she was rather flustered.

“Where’s all this coming from?”

“First answer the question,” Khal said.

“Mmm… well, as you know, I was quickly taken out of the Pits by Calëb. I then quickly went in to become a Lesser Arcus. So no. I never really thought about the woman who birthed me. As an Arcus, we are taught not to yearn for our mothers or any woman for that matter. We are the blades of the Foph. Emotion and attachment serve only to dull those blades.” Shakha explained.

“And yet you took us in.”

“That’s why I’m no longer an Arcus.” Shakha said.

Silence followed as Shakha stared into Khal’s dark eyes.

“So… what would you say, if… I wanted a child and… if I wanted us to raise it?” Khal asked before closing her eyes.

Shakha’s eyes narrowed briefly.

He then sighed before looking up in thought.

“People would look at us differently, but that isn’t too different from our current situation.” Shakha said while his eyes darted from star to star as he gazed at the night sky.

He then took a deep breath before fully facing Khal.

“Are you sure this is what you really want?” He asked.

Khal slowly opened her eyes and slowly nodded.

“Laïn is so talented. She is popular and manages to see the best in everything and everyone. Eshi is charming in her own weird way. While I… I’ll be forgotten, just like before-“

“Khal, please remember just how much you mean to me.” Shakha said with a frown.

“I haven’t forgotten, but this isn’t just about you. I want something that’ll be a testament to the life I lived and the person I was.”

“Then do something. You leave the hut way less than I do and yet you’re worried about your legacy? Kill a great beast, find a more habitable location for the tribe, defeat a Golden Knight do something other than wallowing in your own self-pity.” Shakha said.

Khal’s lips trembled as tears welled up in her eyes.

She then quickly stood up before storming into the hut.

Shakha wanted to go after her, but he didn’t exactly know what he’d say after.

He just wanted to make sure she was thinking everything through and so he sighed once more before returning his gaze to the Oasis.