"Are you sure it's this way?" Peter asked for the third time.
"Yes! Just because I was a little lost before doesn't mean I can't find my way back," Mayra shot him a sharp look.
Though there was still a lot of work to be done with the Cetoans, she insisted that this was far more important. Peter didn't fully understand her reasoning, but decided to accompany her.
He felt a little like a puppy chasing at the heels of a carefree child. Maybe he was wanted, maybe he wasn't, but he was going to stay with her nonetheless.
He just hoped she wouldn't kick him before the end.
"There! Up ahead!" She cried triumphantly. A little clearing revealed a cabin just as she had said before.
"Fine, I concede you are by far the superior wayfinder of the forest," He acknowledged with only a hint of irony. She looked at him a little sharply, but a smirk took any sting out of it and he grinned back at her.
"If only you were so easily convinced about my superiority in other respects," She remarked snidely, causing him to chuckle.
"Whatever you say," He shrugged as she called out.
"Hello! Jacqueline! Quilina!" Mayra put her hands to her face to help her voice carry.
The little girl must have heard, as she came running from behind the back of the cabin.
"Hi Mayra! Have you come to play with me??" She called eagerly, wrapping her arms around the woman's legs.
"Sure, a little bit! I also want to talk to you a little too," Mayra smiled and knelt down to be face to face with the child.
"Ok!" The little girl smiled. "What do you want to talk about?"
"I want to talk about Roy," Mayra lowered her voice, and Peter also knelt. He felt like he was towering over the two females to remain standing, and Mayra's confidential tone told him that a more friendly stance might be the better choice.
"He's mad at me." Quilina pouted.
"Why is that?" The young woman probed.
"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about him or Tamas. They're shy and want to meet people on their own." Quilina looked upset about it, and Mayra hesitated. Peter let her continue to lead the conversation, trusting that she wouldn't push the little girl too far.
"You said before that Roy appears and disappears. Have you seen how he does that?" She put her arm around the child.
"Not usually. Sometimes he goes into a hole."
"What kind of hole? Like in the ground?" Peter joined the conversation quietly. He was beginning to understand Mayra's concerns, and share them.
"No, like a hole in the air." Quilina furrowed her brow.
"How big is Roy?" Mayra changed the topic just slightly.
"About here," The little girl held her hand about the height of her own shoulders. "He was my size, but I grew. He doesn't grow, he said."
Mayra and Peter exchanged a look.
"Tamas, you said you only saw him at night?" Mayra pressed. "And he's Roy's friend?"
"Roy took me out to meet him, through one of the holes. It was scary," Quilina admitted. "But Tamas was nice. He said we could play games together like 'follow the leader'. We took turns doing what each other said. When I left he said it was going to be his turn for a long time but that we could play more games."
Peter struggled to keep his expression from revealing his emotions. Mayra smiled tightly and spoke after a few seconds, gently but firmly.
"You shouldn't play games with Tamas any more. Don't follow him or do what he says. I'll come and play games with you instead. I'm a lot more fun than he is, I promise!" She squeezed the girl's shoulders.
"Is there anyone else that plays games with him?" Peter was tense, trying to balance concern for the little girl's state of mind against the desperate need for more information.
"I don't know. He doesn't come as often anymore. He probably found others to play with. There are other kids around in the forest, and the sea people have kids too," Quilina sighed.
Mayra and Peter exchanged another look of apprehension.
"You need to not talk to either of them anymore, ok, Quilina?" Mayra said gently. "They're not very nice."
"Roy needs friends. He never smiles at all," The little girl insisted. "He's not happy."
"Roy is not your responsibility, and you can't put it on yourself to make him happy," Peter insisted. "You should play with other kids, or with adults, not Roy or Tamas or anyone that knows them."
"Ok," She said a bit sullenly. "Mama said that too, but she doesn't believe they're real."
"Your parents love you a lot and want what's best for you," Mayra smiled as she gave the girl a brief hug.
When she stood, Peter took her arm and moved close to whisper in her ear. "We need to go now and tell Riley so he can let the General know."
"Can we come again another day, Quilina? Peter just reminded me how much we have to get done."
"All right." The little girl sighed.
"I've seen some Cetoan dolls that look very pretty, maybe I can try to get you one and bring it to you next time. I'm not sure how they're made, but I'd like to learn how." The young woman smiled at the little girl broadly.
"Really?" Quilina beamed. Mayra knew the girl's doll was nearly falling apart and could stand to be replaced. "That would be good, thanks! Bye!"
Without waiting for another word, the girl scampered off to find her doll and tell her that she might have a new friend soon.
Peter and Mayra stared at each other for several silent seconds.
She pressed her lips tightly together in fear and consternation and he held out his hand. She nodded and took it to bolster her courage, and the two began to run together back towards the beach.
Though the reason for the run was grave, Mayra was exhilarated by the exercise. Sprinting beside Peter, holding his hand, felt right, and comforting somehow.
He let her go as they darted around trees, and the run became an impromptu race. Though Peter's legs were more powerful, Mayra was more agile around the trees, having spent her childhood running thusly.
She had a slight lead despite her heavy skirts as they broke through the treeline, which he quickly closed, but did not pass her, electing to run by her side instead.
By the time they got to the settlement, both were completely out of breath, but less anxious somehow than when they'd begun.
They spotted Riley and came to a sliding stop in the sand in front of him.
"Woah! What's the emergency?" He laughed, then sobered at their expressions.
"The Void is back," Peter got right to the point.
"What??" Riley's eyes almost popped out of his head.
"There's a little girl, Quilina, up in the forest" Mayra began, "She has a friend named Roy who never grows, and is never happy, who appears and disappears out of a hole in the air."
"A halfling?" Ashley, who was on her husband's arm, whispered quietly. Mayra nodded.
"Roy introduced her to someone called Tamas, who comes at night and likes to play 'follow the leader'. He said it was going to be his turn for a long time, but they would play other games too."
"Does that even count as having a follower? Surely that's cheating or something. It can't work like that, can it?" Riley demanded.
"It was important enough for Gwen to show it to me in a dream," Mayra insisted. "I don't know who enforces the rules, but if they can be bent, The Void would find a way, I'm sure."
"I'll get another message off to the General," Riley clearly hated to send two of the precious birds in such close succession, but this development merited the use of resources.
"We told the little girl not to listen or talk to Tamas anymore, but she thinks he might have made other friends," Mayra grimaced.
"I'll bring that up with Cora as well," Riley looked like he might vomit, and Peter shared the feeling.
The battle with the Void was burned indelibly into both their memories. So many had been lost, and so much destruction had been wrought.
Two years of peace had not been nearly enough. Peter had hoped for a long and lasting season of reprieve from war and otherworldly attack, to at least match the previous record of a few hundred years.
Meaning, several few generations or more.
The others had similar hopes, but it seemed all that had been wishful thinking. Another battle for their world was already simmering under the surface.
Usually brimming with a realistic brand of optimism, he watched Riley walk towards Cora's hut with a heavy heart. He doubted it would be so easy to rid their world of the Void again. Last time they had barely managed it, and at great cost to all three major people groups of their world.
He wondered what it might take to drive it off a second time.