Chal'ac was watching the master hunter of the Dragon's Outpost with confusion as he carried the village chief's son over his shoulder on their way back. He'd always brought in a surprising amount of kills and had been respected enough among the hunters. However, there'd been rumors that his father helped out more than he claimed.

Then the young brat had gone and got himself installed as the top hunter at this Outpost. Admittedly, there weren't that many hunters there, but supposedly that was because of this idiot's prowess as a hunter supplying them with far more than even a handful of hunters could manage on their own. She simply couldn't reconcile the amazing hunter everyone talked about with the buffoon she'd always known before.

Lon'thul was so loud and brash. Growing up, he'd bragged he would be an even better hunter than his father. Chal'ac had ignored his claims. Of course, someone so idiotic would never prove a challenging opponent on the hunt, but then he'd gone and been a significant part in a wolgen hunt. A mated pair, no less... The same hunt that had killed Chal'ac's father.

She'd been beside herself with grief when she'd found out Lon'thul showed up with her father's body and a wolgen pelt to honor his sacrifice. Her father, the only man she ever hunted with, was gone. He'd taught her everything he'd known and was largely responsible for the hunter she'd become.

Many aspects of the story of her father's death didn't make sense to Chal'ac, but one thing was clear. Her father had knowingly sacrificed himself for the people of this place. Was it just a number game? One life to spare many? Or was there something more to these people?

There was only one way to find out. What's more, these people were the last ones to work with her father. Chal'ac refused her portion of the prize and instead decided to go work at the Outpost herself and see what kind of people her father had spent his last days working with.

Many of the workers who'd returned to the village had spread stories about life in the outpost, so Chal'ac had some idea of what to expect regarding housing and layout, but the people there were something else entirely. Fea'en was about the same as she'd always been, though her interactions with Chal'ac had always been few and far between. On the other hand, S'haar had utterly transformed. Changing from the wild and angry woman Chal'ac had known in her brief time with the hunters to the calm and intimidating leader of the Outpost. Ger'ron had gone from a lazy gate guard who'd just waved Chal'ac through the gate every day to the stern and respected captain of the Outpost's guard.

She had been expecting a similar change in Lon'thul, but instead, he seemed to be the same disappointing buffoon she'd always known. When he'd introduced her to the Outpost leaders, he'd simply referred to her as "Nala'ac's daughter and a fellow hunter."

Chal'ac had narrowed her eyes and stared him down. "I have a name, you know."

He'd blubbered his way through an apology that only made him look even more incompetent, resulting in everyone in the room laughing and joking at his expense. It was clear to her that no one present had any respect for the idiot, and she could see why.

After enough damage had been done to his esteem and proper introductions had been made, several of their leaders spoke to Chal'ac less formally to tell her how heroic her father had been and how much they still felt they owed him and, by extension, herself.

The notorious malformed male, Jack, was particularly grateful and told Chal'ac that if she needed anything, just ask, and he'd do his best to take care of it. Unfortunately, the conversation had been spoken somewhat awkwardly since he had to use a translator, a young female that was actually quite pleasant to talk with.

The girl herself, Em'brel, had been the most respectful and least pushy of the lot. She also didn't bring up Chal'ac's father, choosing to get to know the hunter herself instead.

After everything had been said and done, she dreaded hunting. Well, not the hunting itself. That was something she always enjoyed, but rather it was the company she dreaded. Lon'thul apparently took it on himself to take each of the hunters out on their first hunt at the outpost and show them around the local region, pointing out noteworthy areas and landmarks.

Just as Chal'ac had feared, the other hunter had remained loud and obnoxious, disrupting any chance they had of actually catching anything unawares. She had no idea how he managed to catch anything, let alone be the second most successful hunter in the village. Maybe the rumors had been correct...

Then, near the end of their "tour," Lon'thul's countenance changed. He suddenly grew quiet, and his movements became smooth and deliberate. He caught Chal'ac's eyes, then pointed with his chin toward a kovaack in a distant clearing, enjoying a bit of sunbathing before the sun fell behind the trees.

Through silent gestures, the other hunter told Chal'ac to approach from this side and wait while he circled around and got into position. The idiot was gone, and one of the most dangerous predators Chal'ac had ever seen had replaced it.

Chal'ac was amazed at how quickly she lost track of his movements as he slipped into the underbrush. Eventually, she stopped straining to look for him and turned her attention to the kovaack. It was obviously an older male. He was past his prime and ripe for the picking. Precisely the sort of target a hunter hopes to come across. Then it raised its head, sniffing the air before looking in Chal'ac's direction.

With a silent curse, she realized the wind had shifted, and she was now upwind of the beast. As he lumbered to his feet, Chal'ac readied one of her spears. While an older kovaack like this one wasn't a serious threat to an experienced hunter, it was still humiliating to be caught out earlier than she'd planned.

Then, from the other side of the clearing charged Lon'thul. Chal'ac was confused. He hadn't had anywhere near enough time to get into position like that. How had he..?

Chal'ac realized she should be helping. rather than just watching dumbly. As she stood and began her own charge, the Kovaack turned back and forth, confused and unable to decide which threat to address first. Eventually, he seemed to settle on Lon'thul as the closer threat and began his own charge.

Chal'ac had been expecting Lon'thul to dive to the side and maybe throw a spear to injure and slow the beast. It would have been a smart move and shortened the struggle to a couple of minutes or less with them working together. Instead, the hunter charged headfirst, waiting for the last moment to slide low, narrowly avoiding the kovaack's horn and using both his momentum and the kovaack's to quickly slide under then clear of the beast.

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As he came out the other side, Chal'ac could see Lon'thul now had two bloody daggers. Not long after, the kovaack collapsed, having lost all will to fight. In the mere second the hunter had been underneath the kovaack, Lon'thul had managed to slit its throat and slash its belly. The beast was dead by the time Chal'ac reached the pair.

Then, the great hunter Chal'ac had witnessed moments ago was gone, replaced by the grinning idiot once more. He was cleaning one dagger as he spoke. "Great job distracting him at just the right moment! That was quicker and easier than I thought it would be!"

While Chal'ac agreed it was quicker, she'd hardly call that stunt he'd pulled easy...or intelligent, but she grudgingly admitted to herself it had been impressive. Still, now she had to wonder. Was the Lon'thul she'd just witnessed the real thing and this idiot just a facade he put up so others would underestimate him? Was there something else to this hunter?

A couple of weeks later, walking through the forest with Lon'thul after his single-handed raid to kidnap a rival Lord's son, she was no closer to answering those questions. After witnessing his prowess the other day, she'd thought he might have been able to pull off the kidnapping, but at best she'd expected him to get out before enough guards could react, resulting in a desperate retreat into the woods, where they hoped to lose any pursuit before being caught. Likewise, she hadn't expected him to confidently stroll away from the wall, his prize over his shoulder, while the entire village was still soundly asleep.

They were the better part of the way back to the Outpost when Chal'ac wondered if maybe this was the real Lon'thul. So far, he'd been uncharacteristically silent and attentive. That was when the kid he'd been carrying woke up.

Lon'thul paused momentarily as the boy started thrashing and jolting around. Then, after a moment of trying to stabilize himself, the hunter hefted the kid off his shoulders and onto the ground with an unceremonious whump.

The impact drove the air out of the kid's lungs, forcing him to lay there catching his breath for a moment while Lon'thul eased down onto his haunches in front of the kid. As he caught his breath, the kid stared daggers at the hunter.

Lon'thul merely looked at him a moment before digging around in his pouch. Chal'ac expected him to pull out more of the drug he'd talked about using before, but instead, he pulled out some meat. "So which is it, kid? You gotta go? Or need something to eat?"

The kid continued staring at the hunter, who sighed and started taking off the kid's gag. Chal'ac was just taking a breath to ask if that was wise when the kid started screaming. "Guards! GUARDS!"

Without warning, Lon'thul jammed a chunk of meat into the kid's mouth with one hand before slamming his jaw shut from beneath with the other. Then, holding his hand over the kid's mouth to keep him from shouting, Lonthul spoke again, though Chal'ac found it odd he was grinning. Maybe he really was the idiot. "Alright, that's on me. I don't even blame ya for the attempt, but let's try this again. I'm gonna give you one, and only one, more chance to speak with us. If you try that again, I'm going to drug you and carry you the rest of the way over my shoulder like an unruly child. I don't even care if you piss down my back on the way there. However, if you're willing to speak and negotiate like an adult, I'll treat you with some dignity and respect. So how about it? Yell and get drugged, or stay calm and we'll compromise a little. After all, it's just a little kidnapping, no reason to make this situation uglier than it has to be!"

The kid glared again, and for a moment, Chal'ac was sure he was going to shout again, but then the tension eased, and he slumped, defeated. "I gotta go..."

Lon'thul's grin somehow widened. "See, that wasn't so bad. Now here, let's get you taken care of before moving again." The hunter reached out and severed the bonds tying the kid's hands.

The kid looked down at his legs which were still bound. "What about my feet?"

Lon'thul laughed a little. "Listen, I said I was willing to compromise, not that I was stupid. Your feet will be freed when I have your hands bound again and a lead tied in place, but you don't really need them to take a piss now, do ya? Go on! The sooner you do your business, the sooner we can get this all over with!"

After the kid finished "his business," Chal'ac watched as Lon'thul bound his hands again. She noticed he tied the kid's hands so that his fingers were folded into fists, making it almost impossible for the kid to work his way free. Sometimes he was so careful and prudent. Other times he was flippant and loud. It was beginning to drive her mad. Which was the real Lon'thul?

*  

Sare'en could see Em'brel was a bundle of nerves. Grim was half sitting in her lap as she scratched his head while Sare'en was cooking dinner. Finally, the herder prompted Em'brel, trying to get her to stop ruminating, at least somewhat. "You seem distracted. What's on your mind?"

Em'brel blinked, then her eyes focused, as if seeing Sare'en for the first time today. "Uh, yeah, sorry about that. There's just a lot on my mind, is all..."

Em'brel started to retreat within herself again, but Sare'en wasn't about to lose her that quickly. "Such as..?"

Realizing she wasn't about to get off that easy, Em'brel sighed. "Like I said, lots of things. I'm worried about Lon'thul. This is a really dangerous mission, after all. Then there's meeting my cousin again. We were friends growing up, but I have no idea what's become of him, not to mention he's being kidnapped, which will likely add more stress to our reunion. Next, there's the windmill that's nearing completion. As we get closer to finishing it, I'm increasingly worried I forgot some minor yet crucial detail that'll cause the whole thing to crumble down. And there's also the...um..."

Sare'en would see Em'brel wilt, so she spoke up for her. "There's also the fact that you haven't fully come to terms with the latest assassination attempt?"

Em'brel winced a little at the word “assassination” but nodded. "Yeah, I can't get over that. I don't know why it bothers me so much. He's not even alive anymore..."

Sare'en smiled and shook her head. "Yeah, seriously! Why would such a little thing like repeated attempts to enslave or kill you that have left physical and emotional scars and bother you? Such a little thing! Obviously, you should just shrug and get over it already!"

Em'brel sighed in exasperation, then grinned sheepishly as she shook her head. "Well, when you put it like that..."

Sare'en stuck out her tongue at the slightly younger woman, then shook a wooden spoon in Em'brel's direction, dislodging a small splatter of food that Grim was more than happy to take care of on their behalf. "Now, let me put it a different way. No one gets to decide when it's 'time' for you to 'be over' anything! Not even you! This will take years, maybe even your whole life, to come to terms with. But that doesn't mean you can't improve. You're already better now than you were a few days ago, and you'll be even better not long from now. You just gotta take it a little at a time and accept that you can't rush things."

Em'brel smiled and got a faraway look in her eyes. "You sounded like Jack just now. 'Do better today than yesterday, then do better tomorrow than today...'"

Of course, Jack and S'haar chose that moment to walk in. Jack smiled and winked at Em'brel, making the younger woman wonder for a moment if it qualified as a wink or a blink since he only had one good eye... "Huh, that sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before?"

Em'brel grinned and looked over at the suddenly less bold Sare'en. "Oh, I was just commenting how something Sare'en said just now was eerily similar to a piece of advice you once gave me."

Jack turned his attention to Sare'en. "Glad to hear it! Sometimes a little repetition helps drive the point home. Keep up the good advice!"

Sare'en nodded meekly, her earlier bravado fading as she seemed to be fighting the urge to run and hide in the face of so much unexpected attention. "Um...yes, Lord Jack... I'll do that..."

Jack looked confused at her meek reply before his attention was taken by a very demanding Grim, who apparently decided Jack hadn't given him greeting scritches yet, and that injustice must be rectified immediately!

As Jack addressed the issue to his satisfaction, Em'brel looked back to Sare'en and smiled. Just a little evidence of the herder girl's confidence returned in the corner of her mouth as she smiled back.