As it turns out, sleeping with a cat curled up atop of you is not exactly restful. Sure, on one hand it was a nice feeling and the additional warmth didn't hurt either but on the other hand I was worried that I could hurt the little creature if I were to roll over. I woke several times when the cat decided to curl up the other way for one reason or another as well. Still, the night was more restful than I had expected, even if that was not a particularly high hurdle to tackle.

My cheek ached a little but as far as I could tell it was just the cut healing and not some kind of infection. I decided to make visiting one of the healers my top priority for the morning though just in case. It would put my sister at ease as well. Never mind that it would be easier for me as well to focus on other things if that worry, however small it might be, was off my list. The Maidens only knew what else would pop up through the day to keep my busy.

I scratched the quietly purring little ball of fur behind the ears. The purring intensified almost immediately and as it rolled over I switched to alternating between rubbing its belly and scratching its chin. “Time to get up. We need to stretch our legs and tackle the day. Well, at least I have to. You could still sneak into Kaele's tent and sleep in a little with her. I'm sure she would appreciate it.” As I shifted to roll out of bed, the cat got to her feet as well, stretching like only cat could before jumping off and disappearing in the general direction of my sister's tent.

I stretched as well before slipping back into my armor, registering the aches off all my bruises in the process. Well, those would fade, eventually, given time. Adjusting my scale mail and closing all the clasps properly was a bit of a hassle but in the end I managed. I probably still looked a little bedraggled as I left to look for whichever healer or healer's apprentice was on duty. I straightened my hair a little at least but there was nothing much else I could do right now. Well, whatever, it would have to do.

Someone was tending the fires of my banner but I didn't pay it too much heed. I would drop by there later. As I passed I only took note of Quu'za soundly sleeping nearby, wrapped in a blanket and, at the same time, soaking up the warmth of the fire. Most of the harpies preferred to sleep like this, since they had none of the homes they were used to. One more reason to finish this campaign without delay so we could all return home. Yes, proper beds and baths were something most of us were longing for. We could make do without but it wasn't much fun. Not in the long run anyway.

As I drew closer to the area reserved for the healers and their charges I took a moment to take stock of the situation. Some of the healers were up and about seeing to those who had suffered serious injuries. Some more were tending to others like me who just came to have a check up. Overall it was quiet. It was no comparison to the bustle of yesterday right after the battle. As far as I could tell, that was a good thing. There was no screaming and weeping or anything like that. Everything seemed well in hand.

I lined up with one of the healers, not an apprentice this time, to have the cut in my face looked at. I didn't have to wait long. Taking care of the cut didn't take long either. The healer simply cleaned it and put on some more ointment that would help it heal. I had to disturb the quiet though. “How was the night?”

The healer looked up from cleaning his hands after putting on the ointment. “Tiring but otherwise well enough. We didn't loose anyone. I suspect we won't loose anyone today either.”

I nodded, relief plainly showing on my face. “Thank you.” And with those words I was off again to make room for the next person to receive the healer's attention. I in turn made my way back to the part of the camp where my banner was gathered. It wasn't as quiet anymore as it had been only a little while ago. The same was true for the rest of the camp as well. The army was slowly waking up as the smell of fresh bread and hot tea started to spread.

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By the time I made my way back Quu'za was already awake. Or at least she was mostly awake. She was most certainly eyeing the the duo baking fresh flat bread at our fire with eagle eyes. I sat down next to her. For a little while we both sat there in silence. That lasted until we were handed a bread each from the first batch that finished baking. The harpy dug in right away, sighing happily every few bites. I watched her for a moment before slowly eating my own bread, savoring it bite for bite. After a while we received mugs with fresh herbal tea as well.

If only we were not waging war on an enemy as ruthless as they were merciless I could have enjoyed the moment even more. Well, if I wanted this war to end I would just have to finish it. “Feel like accompanying me on a round around the camp? I want to check with the guards and the pickets outside. Might grab a few more scouts and rangers along the way to survey our surroundings a little better. Well, if Tortho hasn't already done it at least.” I added the latter as an afterthought. It was entirely possible that the master of scouts had already taken care of that during the night.

The harpy nodded eagerly. She looked a little torn though, almost as if she wanted to jump up right away, except for the tasty bread she was still nibbling on. I laughed out loud. “Take your time. Sine no alarms were raised in the night we probably can take our time. We should wait for the others to wake up before we go as well. I don't think they would appreciate it if I were simply gone by the time they came around.”

I let my gaze wander a little, first to the nearest watchtower, then to the spot where the watch for the big fire was positioned. The tower was still manned by a harpy, not the same one as last night though as far as I could tell. Just as well. I wanted everyone to get enough sleep. Our day would be exhausting enough anyway. One of Tero's mages was still watching over the remains of the big pyre we had built for our enemies as well although that fire had finally burned down in the night.

That was one of the things I would have to check on. Hopefully the fire was enough to make sure that no miasma would spread from the former battlefield. If not we might have to see about getting our hands on plenty of quicklime and covering the whole mess with some fresh earth from elsewhere. As the sky brightened further I turned in the direction where we had the pyres for our own dead. Smoke was still rising there.

Or rather it probably was smoke from fresh fires. We hadn't been able to cremate all our dead at once after all and each pyre had to burn for several hours to properly cremate any of our dead. I crunched some numbers. These would probably be the third set of pyres by now. That realization stung a little. We had won the battle. Our victory had been decisive. Compared to the size of my army the losses could be considered negligible.

I didn't want to consider them negligible though. Every life lost hurt and not just because we lost a capable warrior. I sighed but perked up again as Kaele finally joined us at the fire. “Morning.” That was all that came over her lips. She was still a little bleary eyed as well. As she sat down on my other side her little feline terror was quick to jump into her lap to make itself comfortable.

I put a still warm piece of fresh bread into her hands. “I'll be leaving with Quu'za shortly. We'll make a round of the camp and the pickets. Afterwards we might gather up some more rangers to survey our immediate surroundings a little better. We might move back a little the way we came to meet up with the next supply caravan as well.”

My sister nodded and took a first hearty bite out of her bread. “Just don't do anything reckless. Or at least nothing even more reckless than usual, yes? You won't run off into another trap, yes?”

I ruffled her hair. “I'll be careful.” My mood turned more somber afterwards. “I have to make sure we are not all walking into a trap. Anyway, you and Gash'zur take care of the camp in the meantime. It might be noon before we get back.”