With the sun on his face and a light pack, all things considered, George was actually enjoying the long walk northward. Or at least, he would be, if Brady ever shut up.

Erilea was built between the river to the west and the mountains to the east, surrounded by fields of rolling wheat blowing beautifully in the fall wind. The heat wave had broken a week ago, so although there weren't any trees within the first several miles of town, the walk wasn't as hot as he'd feared. Adam and the loud sorcerer were walking beside him until George thought he'd cut off his ears just for some peace and quiet, so he decided to find another partner to walk with.

Ahead of them, Nathan and Gee walked together and pointed to the mountains in awe. Just as they'd passed through the thick walls of the city, George had watched the thief fumble for his dancer's hand, and they'd been walking in lockstep since. George thought he'd be interrupting if he ran to catch up with them, and besides, Gee was trying to come up with rhymes for "adventure", and George didn't think he could handle the noise. At least his voice was less grating than Brady's.

So George decided to fall back and join the cadet in the rear. He walked with his hand on the hilt of his brand-new sword, eyes roving over the horizon as he watched for danger like he'd be the first to spy a giant army cresting the hills in the distance. In the brief time they'd spent together walking back from the library, George knew Matt appreciated silence as much as he did.

A few hours later, just when George started to think they were still too close to Brady's mouth as he rattled on about the best beds in town, the cadet spoke.

"You're a very good healer." George looked up at him, pushing away his sleepiness from such a harried morning.

"I've spent a long time studying, so I'd hope so. My only job for the last decade has been keeping Adam alive."

"I got a taste of his magic today, too. And Brady's, actually."

"Oh?"

"Let's just say I'm glad we're bringing you along."

"I didn't realize Brady could heal," George muttered, his eyes flicking to the sorcerer as he pushed heavily on his cane, still with a huge smile over his features. He wondered how many days of walking it would take to wipe that off.

"I wouldn't say he can. It was like he zipped my skin together, it hurt more than being stabbed, honestly. And then Adam's healing–" Matt shuddered. "It was so cold I thought maybe my soul was moving on." George let his jaw drop in disbelief, but not about his best friend's magic. He'd been on the receiving end of it many times – the rituals weren't just dangerous for the afflicted – and he knew Adam's chilling magic as much as he knew his own. Instead, his nurse training was threatening to make him blow his top, realizing how little he'd been told about what had happened. Matt had been obviously maimed when he'd arrived, and hearing that he'd been 'zipped together' was alarming at best. He tried to rope in his anger and spoke.

"As a student of war, you respect formal training, right?"

"Yes?" George placed his hand on Matt's shoulder in sincere severity.

"Never let those idiots touch you again." Matt actually laughed and George caught himself smiling at the sound. He was interrupted by Brady shouting back at them.

"Can we please take a break? My feet are going to fall off."

Nathan led them off the road into a small grass clearing, trees finally dotting the landscape and giving them sparse shade as Brady collapsed onto the ground. He laid flat on his back as they sat down around him, passing waterskins to one another.

"We're on a grand adventure, going to meet Adam's inventor," Gee said, and George turned in time to catch the noble making a sour face.

"That's terrible."

"Okay, okay, okay. We're on a grand adventure, no clue to where we'll venture–"

"You just rhymed 'venture' with 'venture.'"

"Poetry was never your strong suit," Nathan mused, and Gee threw his head back in a laugh.

"No, that's why I'm the dancer. If I could sing, can you imagine the kind of money I could be making?"

"My mother loves the arts," Adam said, fanning Brady as they rested. "Maybe I would've seen you in the theatre before. Might've even hired you, and then you'd have 'all the money in the world.'"

"Imagine the big ballgowns I could have, and the suits. I'd be unstoppable."

"Start small and imagine having a roof over our heads," Nathan teased, and George guessed he was probably more concerned about their homelessness than what fancy outfits Gee could own. Still, the thief was smiling, perhaps for the first time since George had met him.

They spent almost twenty minutes there before Matt started forcing everyone to their feet, promising it was better to start moving now. George had grown up visiting the cadet camp with his family, before being fully thrust into his career as Adam's cleric, and he recognized Matt's discipline from the drill sergeants he'd met as a kid. He had a noticeable note of kindness in his commands, but he was the only one with any experience in marching.

"If you rest longer, you're not going to want to get up. We've still got a long way to go," he coaxed, giving Gee a hand up as he asked for it. George took up the rear with the cadet again, but now he knew they were too close to the others because he could hear Brady swearing lightly under his breath. He'd just started to understand it was from his scarred body when Adam offered to carry Brady on his back.

"I can't have you helping me on the first day, then I know I won't make it all the way to the capital. You'll have to leave me here, halfway to Lochton."

"If you think we're halfway there already, you're delusional," Nathan scoffed from far ahead of them, and Brady groaned. He stopped complaining after that, but George noted down in his head the way his gait changed and how heavily he leaned on his cane. It was going to be his job to keep the sorcerer going.

The sun was beginning to set when Matt announced they needed to find somewhere safe to camp, but the tree cover was so sparse that they walked for another thirty minutes before finding somewhere suitable. Nathan pointed out a small depression between mounds to hike into.

"Is this really necessary?" George asked, noting the few other travelers they'd passed on the road today. It seemed stupid to walk off and risk being murdered where no one would find them.

"It is, really," said Matt gloomily, and he led the unpacking efforts. Brady, for all his annoying habits, still helped as much as he could after hours of walking. He sat on the ground and whirled his hands through the air, pulling bedrolls and fire kits out of backpacks with invisible hands. George wished again that he'd been able to learn that trick as he yanked his stuff free from his pack.

Walking all day had left them all exhausted, so they built camp slowly. Nathan and Gee picked through the tall grass for sticks for a fire. Matt had told them it was a good idea for 'moral support'; it would be chilly tonight, but it would only be getting colder from here on out, and a fire might not always be safe. It was better to start off strong, Matt had said, and George agreed wholeheartedly. This would be his first time sleeping outside of a bedroom, he wasn't relishing how uncomfortable it would be.

Nathan handed him a stick and they warmed up dried provisions on the fire, too tired to open their mouths and banter. George was kind of enjoying it, at least until Gee broke the silence.

"You'd think we'd be fit enough to stand walking for a few hours," he mused, leaning against Nathan's shoulder in the firelight. Murmurs of agreement rippled through the circle.

"I don't think most of us eat enough," Brady said, and he massaged his leg. Somehow, his voice was still so loud, and George rolled his eyes. "I mean, look at Nathan. He looks like shit."

"Stop saying that!" Gee patted Nathan's knee to calm him down.

"How about you, Matt, how are you doing?" George turned to the big cadet at his side after the dancer's question, and he watched Matt's eyes flick up from the fire to scan their faces in the warm light. George hadn't heard him complain once the whole day, and apparently Gee had noticed too. Matt swallowed the food in his mouth before answering.

"I did almost die this morning, but all things considered, this is very familiar to me. I mean, you learn how to handle long days of walking very early on in training."

Brady spoke up. "You said you came from a farming village, right?" Matt nodded. "How did you end up in Erilea?"

"I used to live in a small town across the river, Green Deer?" George didn't recognize the name. "I didn't have any family left in town, so I left to find better prospects. I left for the cadet camp."

"So, you're an orphan," Brady said sagely.

"I didn't–" Brady interrupted him.

"Just curious, show of hands: Who else is an orphan here?" George watched in chagrin as every hand except for his and Adam's rose into the air. There was soft, tired laughter around the circle, but George felt anxiety bubble up in his gut.

"You two keep finding new ways to stand out," Gee mused at the two nobles, and George buried his face in his collar.

"Soon," Adam interjected, and George was glad he didn't have to respond, "we'll be sharing all sorts of things. Like life threatening adventures."

"You think so?"

"Probably. I feel like I've already spent my whole life almost dying, and I grew up safely inside one of the best houses in Erilea." He pursed his lips suddenly and turned to Brady at his side. "Am I allowed to say that, or is that rude?"

"To a bunch of homeless orphans? Sounds like you might be evil after all." George chastised him as Adam let out a defeated sigh, but it was swept up in the commotion of people rising to go to bed. Matt reminded them they'd need to leave a few people on watch (all of them would get their turn tonight), and George volunteered first. Very shortly after, when everyone else eyed each other shamefully, Nathan offered to be his second.

Gee protested immediately, they could all see Nathan's dark eyebags, but he shoved him off.

"I won't be able to fall asleep soon, anyway. This way I won't be wasting time." Gee shut up at that, but his displeasure was clear to George as he bedded down. It was quickly erased by sleep.

He watched each boy fall asleep quickly, jealous except for the anxiety plaguing his mind. He'd never slept outside of a bedroom before, and never around so many people. He remembered sitting through etiquette lessons with his mother all through his childhood, and her voice found him as he pulled a blanket around his shoulders. As a Nattien, you must always show confidence, her voice crooned. You are not to show exhaustion or boredom. You are not to expose yourself to anyone besides the house staff. You are not to fraternize with those beneath you. George's eyes flicked over the dirty faces around him. He was sure his face was just as marred, and no one here was truly 'beneath him', were they? But he couldn't shake the fear of sleeping around so many others, being exposed and unmasked while he dreamed. He'd hoped that if he took first watch, maybe he'd be exhausted enough to forget to worry about it. George repressed a shiver and set his mind to staying alert.

Time passed slowly on watch, and the fire died out as he and Nathan sat in silence. He kept his eyes roving over the small crests of the hills and his ears open for anything, but he wasn't sure what to be watching for. Every noise seemed suspicious to him, or was he already dreaming?

George almost screamed when he felt a hand on his arm in the dark.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Nathan said quickly, and George caught his breath from the surprise. He hadn't heard him move at all.

"Well, you failed, spectacularly."

"I do that sometimes." There was a pause, but George could tell he had more to say, picking out his face in the pale moonlight. He set his expression back in place as Nathan let the silence drag on. "Do you have any spare healing left?"

"Of course. Matt took a lot of it, but I'm not tapped yet. Are you hurt?"

"I have a cut on my arm. I was just going to let it heal naturally, but I thought if maybe you still had some power left–"

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"I do. Let me help." Nathan nodded curtly, and then hesitated. He turned so his right side was facing George and he gingerly pulled his shirt over his head. He seemed reluctant to take it all the way off, so he kept his arms inside of it and hugged it tight to his chest. George didn't care much, so long as he could reach the wound. In the pale light, it was hard to see, but George could make out the tight, red bandage wrapped around his bicep. Above it was a dark tattoo, a strange symbol he didn't recognize.

George unwrapped the bandage and winced at the deep, wide cut over his arm. He fished his pendant out from underneath his tunic and let his other hand drift softly over Nathan's skin in the dark. The wound began to shift, scabbing over and sealing, then revealing unblemished skin in the span of a few moments. He only realized how tense Nathan had been after he relaxed, yanking his shirt back over his head.

"What is that tattoo for?" George whispered. Nathan left him in silence for a few pregnant moments.

"It's the mark of my gang. It's how you show loyalty."

"Oh, right. Your 'bosses' who told you to steal my books." George had told Adam and Brady about his encounter with the thief as soon as they'd met up again, but for some reason it felt like an inside joke between the two of them. Their first interaction had been wildly different from their dynamic now, lending aid in the middle of the night. But Nathan laughed darkly.

"No, those are the Mothers, and that's on my other shoulder. They gave me that cut for a job half done."

"It's like they wanted to cut your arm off."

"I think it was more of a warning than a goal, but I agree. That tattoo," he tapped his shoulder above the evaporated cut, "is for the Brotherband."

"You're in two gangs? Seems impractical." Nathan didn't respond for a long minute, and George worried that he'd struck a bad chord. His fears weren't assuaged by Nathan's sullen tone when he responded.

"Wasn't my first choice." He was suddenly on the other side of their camp, and George tried to force his curiosity back down, returning to scan the hills. They didn't talk for the rest of their shift, and when Adam came to take his position on watch, he gave it up gladly.

In the morning, they all awoke to dew-covered bedrolls and aching soreness. George crawled out of his bedroll, too drowsy to care much about how his hair looked or if his clothes were twisted and dirty. His shoulders ached like something he'd never felt before, and he was reaching his arms over his head in futile attempts to stretch when Brady let out a shriek.

George was by his side in an instant, Adam close behind him as they converged on Brady halfway out of his bedroll. He was gritting his teeth and clutching his right leg as he tried to move, hissing breaths between whimpers. George made no move to help him, so Adam leaned in closer and helped Brady out of his blankets as George studied the twisting scars over his body. He could feel the other three watching them.

"Are you okay?" Adam asked, and Brady worked on wiping the grimace off of his face.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. It was a rough sleep, my leg hurts like shit." He hissed again as he found a knot to massage, but Adam looked to the cleric for guidance. George almost relished being looked at like that, like he was the one in charge, but he forced away the gratification.

"I should've asked you last night, but if you need any healing–"

"No! I do not want your help!" Brady cried sternly, and George leaned back. He didn't expect to be denied, so he'd begun fishing for his pendant under his shirt already. At Brady's outcry, he let it drop, caught between curiosity and indignant anger.

"You don't look travel-worthy," Nathan said over his shoulder, and Brady glared up at him. "If George can help, let him help you. He's a healer."

"I've had healers help me in the past, it's not for me. I just need some time to get used to it, and it won't hurt so bad. Everyone, just back up!" From the corner of his eye, George could see Adam chewing on his lip guiltily, but he was the first to turn around and usher everyone back to their business. George eyed his best friend suspiciously, but he held his tongue. He wasn't sure what Adam knew, but it was clear to him the noble was keeping something close to his chest, and very poorly, at that. But he'd spent his whole life as Adam's confidant, he wasn't about to go breaking habits on the road, surrounded by strangers. If Brady didn't want his help, George decided, then he wouldn't give it.

They packed away rolls and ate a small breakfast as Brady acclimated to his bad leg, but he still insisted on offering up his talents this morning. He told Adam to hand him the coffee pot, which he'd just filled with cold water from their canteens, and Adam hesitantly obliged. Brady cupped the cold metal with his hands and concentrated. Where his hands touched the pot, they watched the metal begin to glow red hot. He handed back boiling water to the dark noble. George begrudgingly decided it was good to keep the sorcerer around, even if he talked too much and yelled at him for offering his help – the cup of coffee in his hands more than made up for it.

Once they determined Brady could stand, Matt urged them to hurry packing up since the minutes were counting down but the distance to Lochton stood stagnant and long. George pulled out their map and was trying to pinpoint their location when Nathan leaned over his shoulder and started to help, measuring distances with their thumbs.

"How'd you learn to read maps?" George asked him, and Nathan grumbled before replying.

"It's one of the skills I get for being a thief. That and being quiet." He turned to the rest of the group quickly. "We'll have to camp one more time before Lochton. We should get there early tomorrow morning, if Brady doesn't die on the way."

"If I'm about to go, I'll make sure to bring you with me, Edgy." But he set a slow pace for the day. After about an hour of walking, he was making such a fuss that George finally convinced Brady to catch a ride on someone's back, and he picked Adam. George rolled his eyes, but at least they were walking a little faster and with a little less complaining. He could control the blush threatening to spill over his cheeks by focusing on the map. George took the head with Gee today, who helped distract him by keeping light conversation whenever he wasn't furiously calculating how far they still had to go.

"I've only heard a little bit about how you and Nathan met," Gee started, and George looked up from the map. "He told me you caught him somehow?"

"I left my room for a cup of coffee, and when I got back, he was standing right behind my door, reaching for the doorknob. He almost stabbed me in the gut, actually." Gee laughed.

"I imagine we'd be in very different places today if he had. Obviously, I'm glad nothing bad happened to you."

"Don't speak too soon. From what I understand, Nathan got some punishment for letting me keep my books." Gee cast him a weary glance out the side of his eye, eventually turning to see if Nathan could hear them all the way in the rear. "He told me he works for two different groups last night."

"Don't judge him for it, that's my fault." Gee adjusted his pack and took a deep breath before continuing. It was the first time George had seen him look genuinely embarrassed. "When you're that young and living on the street, you make easy pickings for gangs. I had a talent for showmanship, and he had one for stealing, so we put all our energy into making enough money to eat. He got swept by the Brothers when we were young."

"How young?"

"Like twelve."

"You've known each other that long?" Gee nodded, and George could see the easy way he hid his chagrin behind a smile.

"Basically as tight nit as they come. We met when we were very little."

"How little?"

"Little," Gee forced out through gritted teeth. He quickly started rambling about the costume he wore to perform, and George let him change the subject. He didn't mean to keep hitting the wrong chords, but his conversations seemed to be rife with them, waiting to be struck. He busied himself tracking their location on the map and intermittently checking on Brady.

By evening, a river appeared in the distance and flowed out from the mountains across their path north. Trees seemed to spill out from the slopes as well, and the smell of sap began to color the air as their little group marched forward, passed sometimes by riders on horses and carriages of people. They might not have been moving as quickly as George hoped, but it was reassuring to see the change in landscape. If he looked back over his shoulder, he couldn't see Erilea through the sloping hills, and it began to set in that they were actually adventuring away from home. It was almost exciting, even after a second day of exhausting travel.

"Let's pull over before crossing the river," Matt shouted up to them in the front, and George began scanning for suitable cover. To their right the trees were more dense, so he focused his attention that way, and he led them a few minutes off of the path as night began to fall. Brady, similar to his show of resilience yesterday, sat on the ground and helped set up camp from afar. He only faltered as Gee lifted his bad leg and set his pack under his foot to elevate it.

"It'll get your blood flowing the opposite way," he winked, and they finished rolling out sleeping mats.

"Nathan, can you scan the area? It's hard to tell what might be out there in the forest," Matt commanded, and in the blink of an eye, the thief disappeared into the trees. "Adam, you help me find pine to soften Brady's bed tonight, and maybe we can be to Lochton sometime before lunch tomorrow. George and Gee?" The noble turned up to him in anticipation. "How well do you guys know edible berries?"

"A little bit."

"Good enough. Don't eat anything you pick, but it'll help preserve some food and maybe you can learn what animals are around. The higher up there are signs of foraging, the worse, so pray for bunnies."

"What about me?" Brady asked, but George noticed he looked sort of green in the face. Every time he'd checked up on the sorcerer, it was clear that he was in a lot of pain, but he'd been managing it well enough all day. Now that he was resting, however, it looked like the hours of jostling his aching body were catching up to him.

"I'll find some firewood and you get it lit, hot hands." Brady giggled at his nickname, but everyone had split before he got time to gloat about it. They started filtering back ten minutes later and Brady had a fire going by fifteen. By thirty, the two G's had returned with shirts full of berries which the rest picked through for ones they recognized.

"There were lots of signs of eating on the bottoms of the bushes," George reported, and Brady had to at least commend him for his studious nature. "Weirdly, there was some on the tops, too, like something leaned down to eat them."

"We need to be alert tonight," Matt said, and they all nodded in concern.

"How long has Nathan been– AH!" Gee shrieked as a hand appeared on his shoulder, Nathan seeming to appear from the thin air. Brady jumped so hard a jolt of pain shot down his leg, but his grunt of pain was swallowed by everyone else's surprise. There was the ghost of a smile on Nathan's face before he reported his findings.

"The river is about half a mile north of us, and the trees just get denser heading east. A fire should be hidden from the road, but I noticed a hunting trail about a quarter mile southeast of here, so this area isn't desolate."

"Any signs of a big, berry loving animal?" George asked, popping a berry in his mouth. Brady watched Nathan's gaze harden.

"Signs of a big animal, yes. Broken tree limbs and big depressions by the roots. I don't know what it is, but there's something in the area." Brady glanced around at the grim faces above him, and then out into the dark forest on every side. The pink sky was turning to dark purple above their heads. Soon, their visibility would be reduced to the beacon of light from the fire, and he tried not to shiver.

Adam was the one to bring his attention back, his soft voice helping Brady relax even as shadows crept across his face in the waning light. "Let's try to rest up while we can, then. I'm eager to get back into a city."

"Tell that to Brady," Nathan huffed, and Brady found an acorn to chuck at his head. He missed wildly and Nathan stuck out his tongue at him. Suddenly, his view of the thief was eclipsed by George crouching in front of him, and Brady could just see Gee leading Nathan to the other side of the fire.

"How is your leg doing?" he asked, and Brady tried to sit up straighter. His dramatic denial of George's healing was beginning to feel less and less sensible the longer he walked today, but he wasn't prepared to give in. His mind wandered ruthlessly back to his time in the hospital at home, seeing the healers' faces pale as he felt burning pain override his system. It would be bad for group morale, Brady had decided, to repeat that moment in the middle of the woods, no matter how good a healer George was.

"Your healing won't help me, it's alright. With my new pine bed, maybe I'll feel better tomorrow."

"I know you don't want healing, but I have more options than my magic. May I?" George motioned to his leg and Brady thought he was going to feel even more sick. Touch usually shot tingling pain through his nervous system, and his scars already throbbed from all his walking and riding. That was all before being handled by a doctor, and he wasn't relishing the idea.

He was about to deny it when he felt something in his hand. Brady looked down to see Adam's white fingers lacing through his own, and the noble smiled at him softly in the dark. Shadows danced over his face in a creepy display, but somehow, he still looked so human, cheeks slightly pink. Brady took a deep breath, gripped his hand harder, and then told George to go ahead.

He spent the next ten minutes in poorly controlled agony as George tried to help him stretch out his bad leg. When the pain became unbearable, he would bury his head against Adam's chest and bite his tongue to keep from crying. For morale, he told himself over and over again. It would be so bad for morale if you started crying! George pushed on with his examination like it was any regular day of the week, and by the time he stopped, Brady was exhausted.

"That was supposed to help?" he asked, pretending like a tear hadn't fallen down his cheek a few moments ago. George gave him a hollow smile.

"I didn't say that, necessarily. I was trying to understand your limits, that's how I can actually help you. You know by now that you're a special case."

"You need to take away his medical license," Brady cried, turning to the noble holding his hand in outrage. "Do you hear this psychopath? He's not even hiding the fact that he was torturing me!"

"Careful, this psychopath can hear you," George mused flippantly, but he dug around in his bag in the dim fire light. He pulled out a small bottle full of gel, and when Brady flinched away from his touch, he sat back and held it out for the sorcerer to see. "This isn't magical, purely alchemical. It might help numb, is that alright?"

"You're helping this time?"

"Yes. Hopefully." At his approval, George smeared a small bit over his ankle, promising to add more if it didn't seem to hurt him in ten minutes. When Brady decided it was working, maybe not as potently as George had hoped but enough to let him sleep, George ordered him to take off his pants.

"Welp, I guess if it had to be anyone first, I'm glad it's me," he grumbled, trying to rise by using Adam's shoulder as a crutch. Through his sour mood, he choked back a laugh at the noble's concerned look.

"What do you mean? Are we all supposed to be stripping down on this trip?"

"Does mine count?" Matt asked curiously, warming his hands on the fire. "Technically I was stripped before the trip started."

Brady recognized the devious look spreading over Gee's face, like he'd just overheard an embarrassing secret. "Adam, I'm curious: are you more worried about stripping, or seeing others strip? Have you ever seen anyone naked before, o' Prince of Darkness?" They all watched Adam's eyes flick subconsciously to George before he could stop himself. It was like a bomb exploded.

Gee and Brady seemed to scream at the same time as George's face colored pinker than the sky at sunset. Nathan couldn't help himself and burst out laughing, and even Matt was smiling. Adam looked hurriedly between the dancer who asked him the question, his best friend turning into a beet, and the sorcerer still holding his hand, like he wasn't sure who to talk to first.

"Okay, but my clothes were on fire!" George said through the commotion, and the cacophony continued.

"Of course they were!" Gee cried as George hid his face in his hands. "That's why he looked so shy about it!"

"I can't believe you never told me you've seen the George Nattien naked before," said Brady, shaking his noble by the shoulder. He turned to George. "You think you know someone. You're a dark horse, Georgie!"

"I would never just strip in front of Adam," George was defending himself, but Adam sent him a sideways look.

"Well, what about that time–"

"Whose side are you on right now?" George shrieked. Brady thought that if George's face got any pinker, he might explode, and he keeled over laughing. "I've seen you naked many more times than you've seen me!" The shouting continued until there was nothing left in them to laugh, stomachs sore and tears wiped from cheeks. Matt shook his head in the commotion, face split by an amused grin, and found himself looking up to the sky as people sniffled their way back to normalcy.

The stars twinkled far above them, the trees making dark silhouettes against the midnight blue of the galaxy and revealing to him familiar constellations. He let his gaze rove over the open air slowly; that was when he noticed the wide, disc-like eyes turn to him, glinting in the firelight. He could only open his mouth before the creature lunged.