Xan didn’t remember falling asleep. When he woke up the next morning, he found himself slumped back on the cart bench. The Ember Sang was still cradled in the crook of his arm. He sat up quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

The early morning light was peeking through the edges of the cart’s covering flaps. He could see that Katar was still sound asleep, but when he bent down to shake Taika’s shoulder, all he found was Shadow curled up under the fur blanket. The silver weasel squeaked in annoyance at him.

“Sorry, girl. Where’s Taika?” he asked.

Shadow made a sound that could have been a sigh. Then she yawned, stretched, and shook herself once before blinking away. When she didn’t reappear back in the cart after a moment, Xan supposed that she had gone outside and decided to follow her.

He wrapped the Ember Sang back in its leather covering and put it back in the crate. Sage, still nestled in the crate, hooted contentedly when he felt the warmth from the crystal. Then Xan hopped down from the cart.

Somehow the morning air felt even more brisk than yesterday. A slight breeze whipped around him, sneaking down the back of his neck and making him shiver. He tried to pull the collar of his coat higher.

Most of the members of the caravan were already up. They had gathered around the Ember Sang in groups, making small talk as they ate their breakfast. Taika was easy to spot, being the only Verdan among them. She was talking with the cook, who was cheerfully ladling porridge into bowls for the other caravan members. Shadow sat on Taika’s shoulder, hungrily nibbling away at a piece of jerky.

As Xan approached the group, some of the caravan members saw him and wished him a good morning. He returned the gesture, wishing them all a good morning as he made his way over to the Ember Sang. He was about to wish Taika a good morning as well, but she saw him coming and called to him first.

“Hmph. Morning, sleepyhead! Did you get enough beauty rest?”

Xan wasn’t sure if she was teasing him or trying to antagonize him, but either way, it seemed like she was in better spirits than yesterday.

“I did, as a matter of fact. Seems like you did, too,” he replied.

Taika’s cheeks flushed. She crossed her arms and looked away towards the hills beyond the camp. Xan could have sworn she was trying not to smile.

“How is my father?” she eventually asked.

“Still asleep,” Xan said. The cook handed him a bowl full of steaming porridge, and he took it gratefully.

Taika sighed. Then she bent down and picked up a kettle that had been starting to whistle. She tossed what was left of Lila’s pouch of herbs into it. As she straightened up, the cook held out another bowl of porridge.

“Here, lass. For your father,” he said.

“Here, I’ll take it,” Xan offered.

“No, I’ve got it,” Taika refused. She quickly grabbed the bowl of porridge and marched away towards the cart. Xan stared after her for a moment before following.

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Shadow blinked from Taika’s shoulders to Xan’s. The silver weasel still had bits of grease in her whiskers from the jerky. She got herself settled, then began to groom herself.

Xan caught up to Taika as she was setting the porridge and the kettle down onto the back of the cart. She fanned the porridge with one hand. It was then that Xan realized she hadn’t grabbed any porridge for herself.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I already ate,” Taika said.

Xan turned so he could lean his back against the side of the cart as he ate. They stood there in silence for a bit.

“You’re a very diligent daughter. But you know, you are allowed to accept help,” Xan finally said. Taika looked up at him.

“The last time I did that, the guy fell asleep while he was supposed to be on watch,” she said shortly.

It took Xan a little too long to realize she was talking about him. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

“Oh, uh…” He cleared his throat. “It’s not like I meant to. I just wanted to…”

He faltered for a moment, feeling even more embarrassed. Taika put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

“You just wanted to…?” she mimicked in a way that demanded he finish the thought.

“…make sure you got as much sleep as possible,” Xan finished sheepishly. Taika’s glare softened a bit.

“Alright. But you still should have woken me up before you fell asleep,” she said.

“I’ll remember to do that next time. On my honor,” Xan said, raising his hand.

Taika sighed, shaking her head as she finally relaxed. Shadow, having finished grooming herself, blinked back over onto Taika’s shoulder. Taika reached up a hand to scratch behind Shadow’s ears. The silver weasel leaned into her hand with a blissful look on her face. Seeing Shadow and Taika together reminded Xan of the epiphany he had had last night.

“Oh, right! I wanted to tell you something!” he exclaimed. Taika gave him an intrigued look.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I know how you can get to the Meridian Shrine faster – within the next few days, even!” Xan said. Taika snorted.

“That’s impossible,” she said.

“No, really. Here—” Xan finished the last of his porridge, wiping the spoon clean. Then he bent down. Using the spoon’s handle, he started scratching a rough sketch of the coast of Ibora in the dirt. “If this is the southern coast, Vaimea should be about here. Where are we?”

Taika bent down to look at his crude map. Then she pointed with her finger.

“About here,” she said. Xan marked the spot.

“And where’s the Meridian Shrine?” he asked. Taika pointed to a spot west of Vaimea.

“It’s about right there.”

“Right. So, what I was thinking was that we can take you to Vaimea, and from there we can charter an airship. Then you’d be able to reach the shrine in a matter of days,” Xan explained.

“You can take us to Vaimea, just like that?” Taika asked, giving him a skeptical look.

“Well, not me. Shadow can take us. What do you think, girl?”

Shadow hopped down from Taika’s shoulder. She sniffed at the map, then looked up at Xan and squeaked uncertainly.

“Oh, come on, now,” Xan said, pointing his spoon at her. “You managed to take us halfway around the world, and now you don’t think you can go a few miles?”

Shadow sniffed the map again. Then she straightened up and squeaked with more certainty. Taika, hearing Xan’s statement, looked at him suspiciously but decided not to comment on it. Instead she mockingly raised her hand.

“Um, question: if Shadow can take us to Vaimea, how come she can’t take us directly to the shrine?” she asked.

“Well, from my experience, she can only take us to places she’s been too. Luckily, we’ve been to Vaimea before,” Xan explained. He held out a hand to Shadow, and she scampered up to his shoulder. She rubbed her head against his in a display of affection.

“I don’t know…” Taika said, looking down at the map.

“Taika,” Xan said, and she looked up at him. “I told you yesterday that I owe you for saving my life. Getting you and your father to the Meridian Shrine is the best way I can think of to repay you. All I ask is that you trust me – trust us – just a little bit.”

Taika looked at Xan, searching him. Then her eyes shifted over to Shadow, who was grooming herself again. Shadow saw Taika looking. She stopped, squeaked something, then resumed her grooming. After another long moment Taika gave her answer:

“Alright. How do we do this?” she asked.