The air was chilly inside the leather tent as the sun began to set. Emelri kneeled beside the passed out magic user, her thoughts racing.

Pepin’s calf and arm were wrapped up; the bandages half soaked with now dried blood. The black binder around his upper torso along with his mother’s necklace remained untouched by any crimson by some miracle, despite how deep and messy the wounds had been. With all his outer injuries tended to, there was not much more Adrian and Emelri could do but sit quietly by, waiting for him to wake up.

“Does Carnadine really have Teptrite,” Emelri asked, breaking the silence.

“It wouldn’t surprise me, knowing her. She was always carrying some on her.”

“She knows about Toulou which means she’ll be after them.”

“Yes. There’s no doubt about it.”

“How much ground do you think they’ve already covered since Pepin passed out?”

“Who knows. That Spiller said Carnadine was going to Fort Blood, so that’s where they’re headed.”

Pepin stirred, groaning as he came to.

“Pep! How are you feeling? Where do you hurt?”

“My arm....” He winced. “My leg too.” He put a hand over his chest. “Also, where the lightning hit... All over, really. I’m so tired...”

“Rest then.”

“Rest?” Clarity came into his eyes. “No. I can’t do that.” He quickly moved to sit up, and all the wounded parts of his body began to glow faintly green with healing magic.

“Woah, no, no.” She pushed him back down. “Pep, come on. Lie still.”

“I can heal it in no time. We need to get going.”

“We can’t,” Adrian cut in firmly. “Not anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re out of time. Tomorrow, we need to turn back in order to meet Jacques at the portal.”

Emelri’s heart sank. “Shit. I’d almost forgotten.”

Adrian looked between them seriously. “You both should stay while I meet Jacques.”

“What?”

“We’re splitting up?” Pepin exclaimed.

“You can’t travel the next few days, Pep, and we can’t lose Toulou’s trail by all going back. Emi, wait until Pep is healed then go after your sibling. I’ll stay with you until tomorrow morning and then I have to leave.”

“But... will you be okay?” Emelri asked. “What if something happens to you on your way back?”

He gave a kind smile. “Shouldn’t I be more worried about you? That’s the parent’s job.”

“How will we find you again?”

“I’ll come to you. We’ll meet back here at this spot in two weeks.”

“But...”

“Here. Two weeks from today, okay?”

“O-okay.”

Pepin was quiet, and they both looked over to see that he was out again. “Take good care of him. Jacques and I will be counting on you two.”

“I will. Just... stay safe.”

❀❀❀

Adrian hoisted a large pack onto his back before joining Emelri by the fire where she was cleaning up their breakfast.

“I wish you would take Bibi,” she said as she washed out a small bowl.

“No, you two need him more than I do. Besides, I don’t want to be late, and Bibi would slow me down coming down the mountain.”

“I suppose...” She sighed. “I’m pretty sure Pep hated the food I made this morning. He was just too polite to say anything.”

“What makes you say that?”

“He made a little ‘hm’ sound after trying it then he took really slow bites.”

He laughed. “Oh. Yeah, he must’ve disliked it then. I’m sorry I didn’t cook today.”

She shook her head. “You were getting all your things ready. I understand. I’ll just have to get better at it. I don’t know if I’ll ever be up to his standards though...”

“Pep did learn from Andre. Hey,” he walked over and gave her a big hug, “your food was just fine. You two take care of each other while I’m gone.”

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She hugged him back tightly. “I don’t want you to leave. We need you, Adrian.”

“No. You don’t.” He pulled back to look at her. “If I’ve learned anything these past few years, it’s that you’re both perfectly capable on your own.”

“I guess...”

“Emi, if you do catch up with Toulou, be weary of Carnadine. She’s formidable. It may come down to you both needing to protect your sibling or having to take them out of a dangerous situation. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes. I understand.”

He kissed her on the cheek and hugged her again. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

They stayed like that for a while until he pulled away again. “Goodbye, Emi.”

She kept a brave face on until her father was down the path and rounded a corner out of sight, then it fell into a frown.

She was alone.

Alone, taking care of a passed-out, injured magic user near a desecrated Spiller stronghold that could still be unsafe, with their only way back uncertain.

Already, she missed Adrian as she finished up with the dishes and went back inside the tent. Pepin lay tucked under a blanket with a shirt back on, fast asleep. She knelt on the sleeping mat next to him to grab a bag near the top with some of Bibi’s supplies in it. Finding a couple brushes, she moved to get up when a groggy voice addressed her.

“Emi? What time is it?”

She watched as different wounded parts of his body began glowing green. “It’s still the morning. How are you feeling?”

“Terrible. Where’s Adrian?”

The easy expression on her face melted. “He left already.”

“What?” He tried to move but apparently thought better of it as he sank back into the mat. “Left...? When?”

“An hour or so ago. He had to return to catch up with Jacques, but he’ll meet us here again in two weeks.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up? I could have said goodbye.”

She searched the distressed face and swallowed. “I’m sorry. We both agreed you needed to sleep instead.”

“Oh.” He looked down sadly. “No, that makes sense.” He sighed, and there was silence, until… “So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what’s our plan? Do we have one?”

“Well... after you get better, we’ll travel to the main Spiller stronghold, Fort Blood where Toulou is likely to be. It’s a bit of a ways off on the next island, Fligjorn, but you’ll be able to use your teleportation by then so we can go quickly to the port and canoe from there. Hopefully, we won’t lose too much time here and we can catch up to Toulou soon.”

“And once we reach them... what then?”

“Um...” She hesitated, picking at her nails. “Then we stop them before they get themself killed, I guess. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Hm. Sounds about right.” He considered her for a moment. “Hey, are you okay?”

She blinked, then looked down. “I’m fine.”

“I can tell you’re not.” He placed a hand over hers. “What’s wrong?”

She searched his face. “I’m scared, Pep. Adrian is gone and we’re supposed to track down Toulou and I’m supposed to heal you and support you. I can’t even make you a decent breakfast...”

“Emi, your breakfast was fine. Maybe not enough salt but I still... liked it.” She made a face. “Also, don’t worry. I’m here too, remember? Once I’m healed, we’ll do this together, okay? You’re not alone.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

“I was already making long jumps up the mountain, so we shouldn’t lose any time catching up to them. I just need to get better now.” He closed his eyes, exhaling a labored breath as he took his hand back. “I’m... a bit tired still. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. You need the rest. I’ll wake you up when it’s time for lunch, and you better not say anything about my cooking.”

She couldn’t help but smile as a little smirk appeared over his face. “I won’t.” He drifted back to sleep and the green light around his body faded as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

Giving a small sigh, she got up and left the tent with Bibi’s brushes still grasped in her hands. She’d have to distract herself with chores until Pepin got better if she wanted to stay sane.

Pepin was awakened at noon and again at dinner to be fed. Between those times, Emelri trained with Broyeur, washed all their clothes in a nearby river, bathed Bibi, cooked, cleaned, and unpacked and repacked all the bags just because she had nothing better to do.

By the time the sun was setting, she was beyond antsy, going as far as reading a book Adrian had left behind in the tent about Venwickin folklore. She lay on her stomach on the sleeping mat wearing the nightwear Lula had given her, pouring over the words while darkness crept in from outside. She was forced to light a small clay oil lamp at some point before continuing.

Her heart beat faster when she began reading a section about Loubetes which were supposedly large wolf-like creatures that stalked the night and had a ferocious appetite for human flesh. The hair on the back of her arms stood on end as a breeze rustled the tent. She licked her lips, her mouth dry as she continued reading.

“What are you reading?”

She yelped, and her eyes shot over to the now awake and curious magic user beside her. She exhaled, shoving his good arm with her hand. “Pep, what the hell! How long have you been awake?”

“Like five seconds.” He raised an eyebrow, scooting closer to look over the open book. “What are you reading? You never react like that.”

“Just a book Adrian forgot to take with him.” She caught a whiff of his scent and willed herself not to notice.

“Folklore, huh?”

“Yup. Have you heard of Loubetes before?”

He nodded. “Some people in my village believed in them.”

“In Lacot?”

Another nod. “They’d lock up their houses and not go out after sundown. I heard this old lady saying she heard a Loubete breathing just outside her house, and it would have killed her kids had she not locked up early.”

“Really? Are they real?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen one, and Toulou and I stayed up and snuck out past curfew all the time.”

She snickered. “Of course, you two did.”

He grinned silently at her then his face fell.

They both seemed to share the same thoughts as they sat there without another word. Finally closing the book, she asked carefully, “How are your injuries?”

“I’m mostly tired. I wish I could stay awake so I could focus more on healing.” He glanced down at the parts of his body that were emanating green.

Another breeze rustled the tent again. Pepin shivered, curling up further under the covers.

“It’s a lot colder up here,” she said, getting into her own bed. He nodded, burrowing his nose into the woolen blanket. “Shall I put out the light?” He nodded again and she blew out the little flame in her lamp.

The moon was bright that night. She could still make out his faint outline in the dark. She stared at it as the silence washed over them. Up this high, the sounds of insects were absent, and the occasional breeze was all that reached her ears. That is, until Pepin said her name softly.

“Yeah, Pep?”

“Are you cold?”

“A bit, yeah.”

There was a long pause, then he asked, “Do you… want to share blankets?”

She searched the spot where she supposed his face to be. “Yeah.” Sitting up, she slipped out of her covers to push her mat closer to his, not many thoughts crossing her mind other than the heart in her chest somehow beating in her throat.

Laying back down, she found the corners of Pepin’s blankets and pulled them around herself after throwing her own over the top of them both. “That alright? You fully covered?” She took his soft grunt as an affirmative answer. The point where both of their forearms touched sent shivers up her spine.

“Goodnight,” he whispered.

She couldn’t see his face, but she felt his breath on the tip of her nose. “Goodnight, Pep.”