Kate sighed softly, her hands tightening the cloak around her as a chilled breeze washed over. She looked down at the stone she held, frowning as she tossed it at the water ahead. The stone skipped the black waters twice before falling into its depths.

“Nice toss,” Dirk commented, the young man sitting a few meters away from her. He grabbed his stone, standing up from his seat at the harbor’s edge. He positioned his arm and tossed the smooth rock at the water, not unlike the way Kate had done. Dirk’s stone skipped four times, which caused the young man to pump his fist through the air. “Yes!” He cheered in a hushed tone, careful not to make too much noise.

“Four skips… What an achievement,” Harris muttered, the guard in training sitting on Kate’s left side, his hand carrying a mug he ‘borrowed’ from the tavern.

“What?” Dirk asked in disbelief. “I’d like to see you achieve a better score!” The teen challenged.

Harris simply chuckled, shaking his head as he sipped at his mug of what looked like ale. “I don’t busy myself with children’s games,” he replied.

“Yet here you are. Hanging around people playing it,” Kate muttered, her hand tossing the stone at the water ahead. The stone made its skips, reaching a total of four. She smiled a little at that. “Four skips. Guess that makes my score fourteen?” She asked Dirk, her feet gently kicking off the harbor’s edge. Dirk blinked, realizing that she had surpassed his own score of twelve. He turned around, looking for another stone as Kate watched the waves.

“Why are you even wasting your time here? Most of the class are back at the tavern, y’know,” Harris prodded.

“I wanted to get away from the noise and have some peace,” Kate admitted, watching as Dirk’s new stone skipped across the waves, making a total of two skips.

“Tied!” Dirk exclaimed.

“Peace?” Harris asked, ignoring Dirk’s shout of excitement.

“Yeah… The sea is calming,” Kate threw her next stone, which came from the pile she had already pre-made before her and Dirk’s little game. “Two skips.”

“That’s sixteen for you!” Dirk counted.

“If you want some calming, you can come over to my home. I still have my quarters intact,” Harris suggested, flashing Kate a grin as he sipped from his mead. Kate couldn’t help but form a disgusted look, her head shaking as she watched Dirk skip his next stone.

“No, thank you. The freezing black waters are much preferable than a night with you,” Kate rejected, adding Dirk’s score up to seventeen.

“Why? Is it because you’d rather spend a night with this buffoon?” The guard in training gestured towards Dirk, who was watching uncomfortably. “No, wait, you’d rather have the stranger who supposedly saved you. Am I right?” Harris asked. “He didn’t even want to join the guards; he just wanted to help fix housing for the elderly. Some warrior,” Harris chuckled, sipping at his drink.

Kate felt her hand tighten around the smooth stone she held, holding back the urge to throw it at Harris’ stupid grin. She could feel herself slipping, her anger almost taking over before a gruff voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Harris. Rowan. Andal.”

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Kate turned to see her trainer, Harald, approach the trio. Kate quickly got up, watching Harris drop his drink to stand. Harald stopped his walk a few meters away from Kate, his eyes settling on Harris.

“Am I right to assume you were speaking about Seamus Falken, correct?” The old man asked. Harris managed a nod, his cheeks blushing with either shame or drink. “For your information, Jonas Harris, Falken is someone you should have more respect for. Seamus is a much better swordsman than you, much more skilled, and certainly with much more humility than yourself.” Harald muttered, his voice almost a growl.

“Sir, with all due respect, why doesn’t Seamus Falken join the guards then? If he’s as skilled as you say he is,” Harris asked in a barely audible whisper.

Harald stared at Harris for a few seconds before finally speaking. “It is because he feels he isn’t right for the job. That is all I will say.”

With that, Harald surveyed the entire group once more. “All of you, get to bed. Tomorrow, we will work on defense training. I don’t want anyone hungover in the morning.” Harald stood, watching as both Harris and Dirk walked.

“Guess I win tonight,” Dirk whispered as he passed Kate. Kate had to repress a smile as she walked off home.

“Rowan,” Harald suddenly spoke up. “I want you to stay.”

Kate froze in place, turning around to meet the veteran. “Yes, sir?”

Harald sighed tiredly at Kate’s response, his body losing all tension as he walked to the harbor’s edge.

“Let’s drop the formalities for now, Kate,” Harald muttered. Kate nodded, walking up to the veteran as he glanced at the cloudy sky, the sister moons illuminating through the clouds. “What do you know about the Lumen soldiers?” He asked in a whisper.

Kate looked up at the clouded night sky as she searched her mind, remembering that morning’s reconnaissance. “Not much more than last time. They’ve been obsessed with that shaman’s home and the mountain. It’s like they found something.”

“What about the Lumen Knights? Have you seen them?” Harald prodded.

“Yes, the big one is usually guarding the perimeter. The other one, the spellcaster, I’ve only seen a couple of times. When I caught a glimpse, he looked tired, like he was up all night.” Kate revealed. She could see how Harald furrowed his brow at the sound of her words.

“What are you up to…” the veteran muttered to himself before turning to Kate. “Anything else?”

“No, sir… I mean Harald, I mean s–”

“You’re fine, Kate. Go to bed for now. The night is getting colder, and I don’t want you catching anything.”

Kate looked over at the veteran, watching as the man mumbled to himself, his eyes closing. The young woman took it as her queue to leave, her feet guiding her away from the harbor and to the direction of her home.

‘What’s going on?’

Kate tightened her cloak around her as she walked. She wondered what had the veteran worried and suspicious of the Lumen Knights. It was strange enough that he sent her to spy on them. Wasn’t Harald a Lumen soldier himself? Shouldn’t he be vouching for these men?

‘Perhaps there is something I don’t know about him… Maybe there’s a reason he’s so distrusting of them.’

Kate would have to poke around some more to figure out what was happening. In the meantime, she needed sleep. Kate yawned a little before she took one more glance behind her. She looked out into the open sea beyond the harbor, out into the distance. Despite it being a few days since she had seen Frostbite, Kate knew Seamus was still out there, still alive despite her initial worries.

‘Fuck me. Am I feeling for him?’

Kate cursed silently, shaking her head as she walked off. She didn’t know how to feel about the fact that she was catching feelings for Seamus, the man who had saved her life. It was a bag of mixed emotions she didn’t want, yet she was burdened with it. Still, despite it all, she secretly hoped the young man was alright and safely headed back to Yorktown.