Looking over, I saw… an elf with a broad smile walking toward me.

Her hair was such a pale blond that it almost appeared white to my eyes. She looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place her. “Ahh…" was all I managed to say as I suppressed the urge to say I didn't recognize her.

"Luna," said the she-elf. "You saved me when the fish camp was attacked."

"Ohh!" I exclaimed in recognition. "It's, ahh, good to see that your okay," I said awkwardly with a smile as I rubbed my head.

"All thanks to you," She said with a radiant smile. "I have been meaning to come and visit you in the medico ward to thank you properly, but I could never seem to find the time."

"It's, umm, fine. There is nothing to thank me for. I was only doing what any legionary would do." I stated, waving off any thanks she might have felt.

After a moment, I thought I saw a frown flicker over Luna's face as her eyes shifted to the side. "And this is?"

My body stiffened as I suddenly felt the two lasers burning into the side of my head, "Ahh, my apologies. This is Scout Kathren." I tilted my head to the side as I spoke without taking my eyes off Luna and her red lips and high cheeks.

"Nice to meet you," Kathren said, her frigid tone shouting that it was anything but.

"And you," Luna said, her voice not nearly as warm as a moment before, saluting Kathren in greeting after a beat of silence, "As I said, I just wanted to say 'thank you.'"

"Now you have," Kathren said, her arm around my back, forcing me to turn and start moving. I kept my eyes on the elf as I was turned, unable to fight Kathren but still not wanting to look away.

"But!" Luna called out, stopping Kathren in her tracks as her voice was so filled with pleading and hesitant uncertainty that turning away would be like kicking a puppy, “…Umm. I was wondering if we could ahh… meet up and chat sometime, Scout Green?" The way she said my name was like a caress and made me shiver in longing. "I know it might be presumptuous, but I th—

"Can't," Kathren said, cutting Luna off, "We have orders to go out on patrol tomorrow. We have to prepare."

"Ahh, I see." Luna said, dejected, "We must all answer when the legion calls. Another time then?"

"Yeah, some other time." I immediately agreed as Kathren pulled me down the street. I continued to look over my shoulder, but with the street as busy as it was, I hardly made it ten steps before the flow of traffic shifted, and she was blocked from my sight.

When I first saw her as I rushed into the fish camp, all that came to mind was a woman covered in blood and dirt. Sure, I noticed she was an elf, but that was because there weren't many of us in the 15th.

At best, a legion only had about ten percent of it made up of elves. The 15th was far worse than that, for whatever reason. Wonder why that is… It probably doesn't matter. I thought, shrugging off my concern before my hopeful mind returned to the conversation. But I wonder if she… Nah, it can't be. Don't be ridiculous.

Throughout my time at the Triad, I probably have seen most of the elves stationed here on occasion, either at a distance or talking to… Bark. Most were pricks to me, with only a few being decent folk. “Huh…" I said, my brow furrowing. "that's weird."

"I know, right," Kathren said to my side.

"What?" I asked.

She looked at me incredulously, "A fish came right up to us and asked you… On a date? That's what happened, right? I wasn't imagining it."

"Eh, not that strange," I said, and all I got was a blank stare and silence in return. "Elves are very… insular," I stated after a moment of bobbing my head, searching for the right word.

"Oww!" I grunted as I reached around with my right hand rubbing my side. "Why did you do that?" I tried to get away from the bully, but something about my feet not working and her controlling one of my arms stopped me.

"Don't start using big words around me. Thinking you're a noble or something now that girls come walking up begging for ya dick." She scoffed at me.

"I was— Ugh, she… Just. What!" I shouted in exasperation.

Kathren looked up at me and flashed a teasing smile. "I'm just making sure you are still the same grumpy loner elf I met all those weeks ago."

All I could do was look at her in slack-jawed incredulity, which caused her to burst out in a snorting laugh, doubling her over. "I'm not a grumpy loner," I grumbled as I stumbled, catching myself on the wall a step to the side.

She looked up at me, tears streaking down her red face, and burst out laughing again, "It's like— you actually mean it!" She gasped between sucks of air.

With people starting to look at the crazy cackling person, I straightened my back and started moving away. No need to associate with that. I thought, but the laughing followed behind me as I shuffled along.

Someone hunched over laughing could not be called fast, but I was slower. Try as I might, I could not put distance between us. Eventually, the peals of laughter stopped, and I heard a few quick steps before she appeared at my side.

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"You know I was here weeks before I met you waiting for training to begin, right."

“Yeah…" I hesitantly said, sensing a trap.

"As I watched the scouts go out on patrol, talk to each other, and generally live around camp, you always had a mad, slightly displeased look. And you were always separated from the others. Even the fish knew to stay away from the angry scout elf." She explained. "I really can't remember a time you spoke that wasn't about giving, receiving, or clarifying orders."

I opened my mouth to say I had plenty of conversations… with Bark. Outside of her, who have I talked to?

"Feck!" I finally said, expelling most of my annoyance with the word. After a moment, I held out my arm, silently asking for help crossing the street. I'm an old man, aren't I? I was getting better, but I still had no trust in myself.

Without a word, she offered her arm, and we started moving. "So why wasn't it weird?" She finally asked.

"Huh? Oh," I said, distracted by trying to keep my feet pointed in the same direction. "Elves use our time in the legion to find a spouse. Marrying anyone within our villages is frowned upon. And traveling to another village often isn't possible or easy. So it's generally accepted that so long as we are in the legion, we are still looking. According to custom, no one of superior standing can pursue one of lesser standing without the lesser one initiating the courting first."

I turned to her and tried to put a swagger in my step that only made her laugh again when I almost fell on my face. "Ahhemm," I said after catching myself and continued walking like nothing had ever happened. "It might not be the case for humans, but me being a scout makes me quite the catch." I stuck my nose in the air to prove my point.

"Really?" Kathren asked. The skepticism in her voice was so thick I could cut off a piece with a knife and smear it over a piece of bread to eat.

"Have you ever seen an elf Centurion?" I asked but continued talking without waiting for a response, "Don't bother thinking too hard. The last elf Centurion was two hundred… thirty… four? No, six years ago. Two-hundred-thirty-six years and it was given posthumously. The number of current Optios can be counted on one hand and guard commanders on maybe two. The only position elves can achieve with regularity is a common veteran legionary, which you have to give after a certain length of time in the service, so we can't be denied."

I looked to the side and saw Kathren's eyes darting around in thought, her steps slowing slightly as she focused on other things.

“I— Damn~. You're right." She whispered in shock, like she didn't know what she was saying. "Why have I never noticed?" She asked, looking me in the eyes.

"No one ever does," I said with a shrug. "but that's not the weird part…"

"What is." She prompted me as I fell into thought and didn't continue.

“…If I retire now, my stipend will make me one of the wealthiest elves in any village. I can support, raise, and protect a family. Shit, even if I was a complete and utter asshole, some she-elf would want to marry me. But that was the first offer in… I don't know how long. And most of the other elves in the camp have been avoiding me for years… like I have done something wrong." I whispered the last part, and the searching look Kathren gave me told me she didn't hear what I said.

"It doesn't really matter," I sighed, looking away.

"Sureee~" Kathren drawled, “…And the grumpy elf wonders why he's alone." She said it like it was supposed to be to herself, but it was too loud to be so.

At her words, I tried to frown at her but found my face was already set into one. I couldn't stop the snort of amusement at the realization. "Grumpy indeed."

"Yep." She agreed, voice filled with amusement before we fell into a companionable silence.

The evening passed as we shuffled through the camp, and soon it was becoming twilight.

We walked on the edge of the crowd the whole time we traveled, and those in the center were constantly passing us. The trip took several times as long as it should have, but Kathren never said anything about it, only talking about inconsequential things.

But no matter what we spoke about or how much time passed, she remained within arm's reach, ready to catch me should I fall.

On the bright side, the walk allowed me to take in all the wonderful sights of a fort preparing for battle. The curses ringing off the walls from a multitude of voices melded into an endless poetic stanza of profanity.

I got to see the borderline panic lurking behind the twitchy hands and forced smiles of the militia. And then compare them to the active legionaries, who were doing a better job of hiding their feelings as they had the more recent practice. One could hardly hear the brittle centers of their laughter. Their overly hard back slaps, and too many glances over their shoulders were the only thing giving them away.

Another fight was coming, and a festering wound was lodged in their minds. It was pretending to be the memory of the battle of the Triad, but in all the weeks that had passed, it hadn't faded in the least. No, the memory had only distorted.

The rotting puss oozing out of the memory was leaking into their minds every night they weren't blacking out from wine. Or moving away from the Triad. Neither of which was possible at the moment.

Every time they looked to the north and west and saw the might of the beastkin looming above them. Enveloping what they were sworn to protect, what they failed to guard.

Simply put, the mood of the Triad was like walking through a sewer, except for the mind. And the lumps of shit bobbing along the river of piss were the Senatorial Guard.

Those arrogant pricks walked down the street, their chests thrown out as they looked down on all that was around them with scorn-filled eyes. It was to the point that I was legitimately surprised those next to them could even breathe, as they were next to windbags trying to suck up all the nearby air.

They pointed to every chip in the stone walls, saying how something like that would never be allowed in Olimpia. They commented on the gear of the 15th as they strutted around in their unscarred shining armor. Not to mention the endless remarks too loud to be for their group, commenting on how they had to 'come all the way up here to bail out the rejects.'

The challenge of supplying the beating the bastards were begging for was willingly taken up.

I saw six fights start as we walked. The 15th and militia were clearly on the losing side in four of them. One of them, the Senatorial Guard, was swamped as they opened their mouths when they were surrounded by numbers. The last was surprisingly even.

While the last group could not be called brilliant, they still put up a decent fight.

That was the thing about the Senatorial Guard. While their leadership was often lacking, to put it mildly, every other member was, at the very least, a veteran. If one looked past the flowery and meaningless language that suffused the historical texts about the Guard — which I have — one could read between the lines that the legion had ground their way to victory despite their leadership.

A fact everyone knew but few would outright say. Because all it would do was bring up the embarrassing past actions of those who now comprised the senate.

The sun was barely peaking above the wall of the fort when we walked up to the scout's barracks.

Ten feet from the door, I heard a haughty voice shout, "Get the fuck out of here, you trash! You lot don't deserve to be in the same room as us!" My face went blank as I felt a flair of anger rising up inside me.