Growing up in a rather dangerous environment, Val had the tendency to be a light sleeper. She was especially aware tonight, since she was with a group of relative strangers. She came in and out of sleep without anything interesting happening, until she started to hear a conversation.
"Please brother, let Val come with us." Celeste pled with Cosmo.
"It's not that I believe she has bad intentions," Cosmo reasoned, "but her presence complicates things. Unknown elements can lead to disastrous consequences."
"You are talking like she is an agent of evil." Celeste retorted back. "She will be busy in Antronal as well. I do believe everything will go according to plan, whether she is with us or not."
There was a pause. Val was pretty much wide awake at this point, but she continued to make it appear that she was still asleep. Considering she was the topic of discussion, it's only natural to eavesdrop. Is it really eavesdropping at that point, Val thought to herself.
"Fine." Cosmo finally relented. "You can ask her tomorrow if she would care to accompany us. But you need to be careful. You still need to learn to control your mother's gift. Today's incident proves that you still lack discipline."
"Yes, brother." Celeste agreed. "I was overcome with fear, and it kept me from keeping a clear mind. I will continue to work on this. I will not let my time with Val distract me from my training."
"Good." Cosmo approved.
Then the conversation came to an end. Val could hear a bit of shuffling as they both went back into their sleeping spots. Before long, she drifted off to sleep again. Though, she was curious what this group could be up to, it would be better to watch them to see if anything else can slip.
Morning came, and they each packed up and ate fairly quickly. Cosmo seemed to be a very regimented person, which Val wasn't used to. Personally, she would rather take her time. What's the use in rushing about? Is it really going to save them that much time? But she didn't complain. She was too interested in the secrecy to care about these trivial matters.
They set off towards the nearest trail. Cosmo and Orion at the head. Corvus and Pyxis in the rear. That left Celeste and Val in the middle to chat and enjoy each other's company.
They took a rest about midday to eat and decide on the best path. Celeste and Cosmo took this time to have a private chat. Orion was sent on an errand. Cosmo mentioned something about another member of the party rejoining the group. This left Val with Corvus and Pyxis. Corvus and Pyxis were in a pretty heated debate about how they were to go to Antronal.
"What makes you think that the Kelpie Trail is the best route?" Corvus spat at Pyxis. "It's going to add another day to our trip. We should go further west to save time."
"But the Kelpie River will provide us with plenty of water, not to mention that there is less..." Pyxis paused for a moment. "Questionable activity. We need to be more careful than usual" With that he shifted his gaze towards Celeste.
Corvus rolled his eyes. Val caught the exchange, and thought this reaction a bit odd. Corvus continued to press on his original point.
"Why do we need to act so cautiously?" Corvus complained. "We aren't governesses. We should just continue to move as usual."
"Or perhaps you should keep your idiotic comments to yourself." Orion boomed from behind. "You should be more careful with what you say."
At this moment, Val noticed another person with Orion. He wasn't as big or strong as the other men. He was rather lean and scrappy looking, but one could see that he could hold his own. He carried a few pouches and wore rather loose clothing. On his head was a floppy hat that covered his ears, but his chestnut, curly locks bunched up around the rim of his hat. His eyes were soft, but intelligent. They were a deep green. They seemed both young and timeless. Val was very curious about this new member!
Cosmo, who had been too engrossed in his discussion with Celeste to pay attention earlier, became aware of the commotion. He got up, and came in their direction with Celeste in toe. Seeing that Cosmo was approaching, there was a bit of tension from Corvus and Pyxis. The newcomer was looking rather pleased.
"Lo-" The man began to speak. But just as he was greeting Cosmo, he was abruptly cut off.
"Terran." Cosmo solemnly greeted. The man called Terran seemed to pick up on some unsaid signal because his attitude changed just a bit.
"Cosmo," Terran said in a more casual way than the previous greeting. "I have found more information about our lost item. Would you like to discuss it?"
Cosmo nodded, and the two distanced themselves from the group a bit. Those left behind gathered up their belongings. Since they have rested enough and Terran had rejoined them, there was no reason to stay. Before long, they headed off. Cosmo and Terran's discussion finished fairly quickly and quietly, so Val wasn't able to ascertain what they were taking about. That was a tad disappointing, but there wasn't anything she could do about it, so she didn't worry about it much.
Pyxis discussed the route with Cosmo for a moment, and they started off again. They held the same formation, but this time, Terran joined Celeste and Val in the middle.
"I don't believe we've met before." Terran started his introduction. "My name is Terran. What is your name? And how do you know these unruly characters?" His last question had a tinge of playfulness to it.
"My name is Val." Val smiled back to him. "And I guess you could say that I've charmed my into their hearts" She responded with a lightheaded tone.
"She is my new friend." Celeste added. "She is also going to Antronal. I asked brother to allow her to join us, since it is safer to travel together."
"Oh, what business do you have in Antronal?" Terran asked in earnest.
"I'm going to retrieve an item for a buyer." Val answered, of course holding back the most critical details. She wasn't sure how they might respond to her being a thief.
"Ah, what a coincidence!" Terran exclaimed. "We also are retrieving a rare item. Perhaps we will cross paths again once we are in the city."
"Maybe." Val shrugged. She wasn't really expecting anything more from this group after they reach their destination.
For the rest of the day, the three continued to chat about all sorts of interesting topics. Every now and again, Cosmo would sneak a few peeks, but he never interjected. The others were also pretty silent, but they weren't very interested in the lively trio.