Later that evening, as the fire crackled and the cool evening breeze whispered through the trees, we asked Sera what she thought. Fire reflected in her eyes as she stared into it, contemplating.
"My father is a great man. Despite Aquila's accusations, we never hunted or gave the order to kill chimeras on sight. We acted in retaliation to raids and attacks on our people."
Helia smacked her knee. "Exactly! I still can't believe the nerve of that woman."
Aeolus shifted closer to the fire. "Are we trusting her then? Even after how suspicious her explanation was?"
"It's not a matter of trust, though, is it?" Sky asked, setting his scrolls by his feet. "It's about what we have to gain or lose by acting on her information, and no one else was talking. If she's lying, you'll be right back where you started investigating a few months ago. If she's telling the truth, you'll have the opportunity to act. We have no real way of knowing until we get to the capitol."
"In either case, we should think about how to provide supplies," Azure said, a haunted look in his eye. "I've seen starvin' people and animals before. They're capable of things ya wouldn't believe. It's in our best interest to prevent that. They'll keep raiding cities otherwise."
I nodded along with his words. "A well-fed bear will ignore humans; a hungry one will take any food."
"And yet," said Sera, gesturing towards the forest border where Ani sat, ready to pounce on a bird, "our well-fed cat." As she finished, Ani sprinted forward, nearly hooking the bird with his claws as hastily dodged, squawking in rage.
Disappointed but not at all surprised by my cat's behavior, I said nothing. The moon rose above the horizon, and we separated into male and female tents to sleep. Our tents were much more comfortable than my last attempt at sleeping in the woods. Each tent was as large as my living room, with enough space for four cots and then some. As Milie was trained to keep guard at night and sleep during the day while traveling, we slept in our cots under her watchful eye, Notus sleeping with Aeolus and Ani with me.
That night was dreamless, and I woke in the morning to Ani digging his way out from under the covers, having hidden from the cool night air. Azure's cot was empty; outside the tent, pots clanged and there was the faint smell of cooked eggs. Without looking, I could tell Aeolus was asleep by the sound of the snoring. When I looked anyway, Notus was curled tight on his chest, breathing in with each of Aeolus' snores. Next to them, Sky slept with one arm hanging down from the cot.
Usually I would read in the morning until I had to get up. Having nothing to read and feeling wide awake, I quietly dressed and exited the tent, letting the flaps close behind me.
"Good morning," I whispered to Azure, cooking over the fire. We must have been the first ones awake, as there was no sign of Helia or Sera.
He didn't bother keeping the volume down; his booming voice echoed across our campsite. "Mornin'. Now that yer up, ya mind wakin' the others? Breakfast will be done soon. "
I turned to go back into the tent, but he stopped me, saying, "Aeolus is a deep sleeper, so do what ya want to wake 'im up." He followed his statement with a wink and a jerk of the chin.
I moved to go back in the tent, before stopping myself this time, leaves crunching beneath my feet. I looked Azure back in the eye. "Is there a stream nearby?"
He chuckled quietly, then used his wooden spatula to point behind him. Ani leapt up to catch the spatula, missing as Azure swung it back. Azure continued, not missing a beat, "There's one a couple'a minutes that way. Ya better go ahead and fill yer waterskin."
Nodding my thanks, I ignored Ani, quietly gathered my waterskin, and walked to the stream. I filled my waterskin up in its surprisingly deep and icy cold (spring fed?) waters. With hands numb from the cold weather, I returned to the tent, dumping that hand-numbingly cold water right onto Aeolus' face before leaping back to watch the unraveling chain of events.
Aeolus shot up with a shout, jolting Sky awake and dislodging Notus. Notus retaliated by releasing a small gasp of fire in his surprise, nearly burning Aeolus' arm. Aeolus tumbled in a heap off the cot, coming to land with an "ouch" by my feet. Amused, I kicked lightly at his side. "Azure said to wake you two up for breakfast."
Aeolus groaned, then gave a sarcastic and mumbled "Thanks." From across the tent, the newly awakened Sky agreed with a muttered, "You could have warned me." Notus released an irritated growl, but it came across as cute rather than scary.
I crouched down to pat Notus on the head, and he gave an indignant huff. "You're welcome." Notus' irritation evaporated with the attention and I felt warm, tiny scales brush my skin as he headbutted my hand. My lips twitched into a smile and I picked him up like I would Ani. He nuzzled my cheek, and Aeolus, still watching from the floor accused, "traitor."
Notus eyed him then gave another little huff before melting beneath my attention. Feeling benevolent, I shifted Notus' weight to one hand and offered the other to Aeolus. Once he and Sky were getting dressed, Notus and I left the tent, passing Ani, who was curiously trotting up from outside. Seeing Notus in my arms, Ani aborted his mission and padded to my feet instead, crying and headbutting my legs for attention. As he hadn't been the best-behaved cat, and I had a dragon in my arms, I ignored him, and Notus settled smugly into my arms.
Ani gave another pitiful cry, and Aeolus, freshly dressed and leaving the tent, gave him a pat on the head and said, "I'm sorry you have such a jerk for a master, Ani." Passing him, I could feel Aeolus' glare digging into my skull. Vindicated, my steps grew lighter. At Aeolus' drowned cat imitation, Azure, who had finished cooking, Sera and Helia, who were settling down for breakfast, turned to laugh.
Aeolus straightened and marched forward at the sound. Rounding on Azure, he lightly smacked him on the arm and asked, "Why'd you tell him to wake us?"
Notus and I settled near Azure, leaving space for Aeolus and Sky to sit between us.
Wiping tears from his eyes, he replied, "Ya can't tell me ya didn't deserve that."
Aeolus huffed and sat down."I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sky, rubbing his eyes and dragging his feet, was the one who explained to the oblivious Aeolus. "It was revenge. For making fun of his art."
Aeolus' lips formed an 'O' as it finally clicked. He blinked as his thoughts came back online. "But I apologized for that!"
He had. Very sincerely too. As if I were suspicious, I scrunched up my face and said, "Really? I don't remember that."
Offended, he turned to me, mouth agape. "What? But I did!"
Miming something my sister had once said to me, I said, "Don't remember. Didn't happen."
He turned to the others for help. "You guys remember, right?"
Sera brought her hand to her chin, thinking, then shook her head. With a smile and a wink, she said, "I don't remember."
Helia backed her up. "Me either."
Betrayed, Aeolus looked pleadingly at Sky, who also shook his head. "Nope."
He gave up, tossing his hands. "You all are traitors. I should have you executed."
Another round of laughter broke out, and we slipped into the banter of easy comradery.