Malalia never really remembered her dreams. She knew she had them. A certain few stood out over her short lifetime, just like anyone's. She could tell, too, by the feelings leftover in her body when she woke. The adrenaline of anticipation, an ocean of calm -- present, but untethered to any living memory. Most of her dreams were fleeting, forgotten the very moment she opened her eyes or soon thereafter.

She was mostly unmoving, ears twitching occasionally at the night sounds, and then subsiding as she floated deeper into unconsciousness. Somewhere along the journey, her breaths began to come a little quicker. Her legs twitched, as if she were moving, running in her dreams. After a time, an exhale ended in a near inaudible keen, a whine as soft as anything, before she lapsed into stillness again.

Half-lidded, her eyes opened, a thread of alarm running through her at the call of a distant coyote. She raised her head, glanced first towards the sound, and then Cai's way. She lowered it with a yawn, understanding that the man himself was undisturbed. For that short moment of wakefulness, her gaze lingered fo a moment, or two, on her companion.

What did you mean, exactly? Her eyes moved, then, to the fire. How did you know? They closed against the flickering light, the warmth blanketing her form. She wanted to ask, and then, she didn't. Probably a strange question for a man she'd only met today. And anyways, how could she ask, without opening herself up to everything? No, that just wouldn't do... Her breathing settled down, sleep chasing the wonderings away.


"Speech"

The night drew on, and he dozed contentedly for an hour or so, drifting in and out of awareness, ears swiveling and flicking, twitching at small sounds here and there. The fire died down to hot coals, and he rose to his paws with a stretch, moving to turn the racks before he gently added logs onto the coals and bending to blow on the coals until the wood caught. He moved lightly, not wanting to disturb the girl as he returned to his spot and wriggled around before stretching out with a long sigh, watching Lia for several moments before his eyes slid shut again, unaware of her earlier thoughts. He hadn’t known anything he’d said was close enough to the truth for her to wonder about him. True, he was under the assumption that whatever had happened to bring her to the Armada had not been good event. He could take small guesses from what she’d given. She hadn’t said anything about her mother or aunt in the present tense, particularly her mother. So, death was possibly involved. Had he known the whole story, he’d have been strongly reminded of the tale of Erani, one Aurielle and Regulus both told him. His legs stretched with a shudder, toes stretching widely apart before he went limp. What sorties would be told of him when he was gone, he idly wondered. He hoped they would be favorable, that any children he had would be as proud of his memory as he was of his great grandfather’s. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Throughout the night, she would wake with a start and look around when something disturbed her. She would toss a glance at the fire, at Cairo, and then settle down again. Once, she stretched and left the campsite for a quick lap of water, but for the most part the girl rested easily, breathing softly as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

When her eyes opened again, the stars were gone. The sky was still dark, but behind the dark silhouettes of the willows, the deep, dark indigo was beginning to wash into pale violet. The clouds on the horizon were tinged with sunlight, gold lining their bellies. Malalia stretched her jaws wide in a keening yawn, lazily pulling herself upright. and rolled over onto her other side with an inaudible murmur.

Even with her cozy, rabbit-lined den waiting for her back at home, she was comfortable enough sleeping here. Come to think of it, it was the first night the young woman had spent away since she joined the Armada. "Away" being just outside of their borders... but it was enough. The energy had been different.

Grumbling contentedly, Malalia closed her eyes again to the world. The sun never greeted her this early, and she wasn't about to change that now.

Her chest steadily rose and fell. Slowly, slowly, came a growing awareness of the world. Her ears twitched at the distant calls of the morningbirds, a frog croaking nearby. Her brows furrowed, a whispered, "Nooo...." escaping her maw. And dammit, she was actually somewhat awake, now. Of course, it probably didn't help that she'd stayed up late the day before, and then napped the entire afternoon. Probably threw her off. That's wack....


"Speech"

He’d slept decently, occasionally waking to turn the racks, stoke the fire, stretch his legs, grab a drink. The meat was dried and he was up before the break of dawn, gathering the strips into his pouches. There were a lot of them, so he was glad he’d have the hide to carry them in on the way home. His ears tipped back as Lia rustled and shifted, and then a moment later, his head twisted around at her long whisper. She didn’t seem to be in distress. Maybe she was just not a morning riser. A chuckle hushed from his jaws, as he turned back to stuffing the pouches. The fire was just hot ash by now. He picked up each rack and leaned them against a willow tree’s trunk. Maybe Lia could find a use for them, maybe drying herbs. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

It’s not like she hated mornings for it’s own sake. She just didn’t see the virtue in rising before your body told you to, and for her that was usually when the sky was a little brighter. Too, the day just seemed to drag on, when you were awake at the very beginning. Before the very beginning. Her ears pulled against her head at the darkened sky. For another, the quiet of the early morning might have been a calming thing, but for Malalia... well, she just preferred the bustle of the day.

Still, when you were up, you were up. She snorted at her companion’s chuckle, twisting her head to plant her narrowed eyes at him for a brief moment. Then the tawny girl pulled herself up to stand, rolling to her paws and coming upright. She stretched, and yawned ”Good morning,” to the brute. Blinking, she leaned back to sit, and took in the campsite, the ash of the firepit and the light chill that had returned to the area. The drying had been done, it seemed, and her tail thumped in groggy approval. ”Can I try one?” The sudden question came with a slight tilt of her head. She was feeling peckish, but more importantly she’d never had dried meat before.

He turned to smile at the girl, tail waving in the air as he greeted back, “Good morning. Sleep well?” He dropped a heap of strips on the hide, then looked up at her question, grinning. “Of course. You helped take the buck down, after all. It’ll taste a bit smoky, but it’s good.” He plucked one or two up for himself, chewing as he buckled the latches of his armor pouches. He shook out his coat for a good long moment, from nose to tail, finishing with a flick of the tip before he bent and deftly slipped into his armor with a wiggle. He twisted in rather ridiculous ways to reach the straps and tug them up to fasten them under his torso. “Will you want help dragging the rest of the carcass to the Armadan border?” He looked up from slipping one foreleg into his bracers, ears perked. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She simply nodded to his question — could’ve be better, could’ve been worse. Actually, her slumber was probably a little lest fitful than it had been as of late. The change of environment had give her unconscious mind other things to chew on. “You?” she asked in turn.

And speaking of chewing — she waved her tail and paced forward to nip up one of the strips of dried venison. “Oh, man, you weren’t wrong.” She chuckled gleefully at the first bite. The smoke flavor was right in her face, having never tasted dried meat before, and it had an interesting texture. But the flavor was good, and so different than that of raw meat. She took another strip for good measure, after the first, and ate it while she watched Cairo wiggle into his armor. Her eyes crinkled with amusement when he contorted in rather strange ways to secure it to himself.

It would seem he was ready to leave. Swallowing down the last bit of meat, she prepared to do the same, but Cairo beat her to it. “Sure, thanks.” The border wasn’t far. She could carry the carcass by herself just fine, but why deny the help?

Mal settled on one side of the carcass, waiting for him to finish, and grabbed a leg with her teeth, ready to move.


"Speech"

He grinned at Lia, nodding somewhat, “I can sleep most anywhere. Part of my training.” He practically glowed with delight though, when she tried the meat strips, his tail pluming into the air and waving in a bi-chocolate blur. Hey, she liked his cooking! Granted all he’d done was turn the racks and cut the strips, though she’d definitely been a big help on that front. He took the hide, rolled around the rest of the meat strips and tucked in neatly at the ends to keep them in, tossed the roll onto his back and picked up his side of the deer carcass, nodding at her with an eye-crinkling grin. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

She snorted faintly at the grin, though she couldn't help but smile in turn as they began to drag the rest of the carcass to the border. It was kind of funny, just how easily the smiling man had whooped her butt in their lesson, and yet still remained his goofy self all the while. It was infectious; she couldn't even pretend to be mad about it, though she'd lost. The girl hadn't had this much fun with anyone since her "spar" with Mortis, maybe, and honestly? It was a really nice thing, making new friends, wherever they happened to come from.

They picked their way through the maze of willows, altering their course where needed. Tendrils in various shades of yellow and orange brushed down around them, undulating in time with the wind. She wriggled her nose at the chill in the air, reminded of the coming season. She was kind of excited to see snow again, play in the huge, white drifts and make a shelter inside. Maybe Mortis would play with her. Maybe Cairo, too, but that seemed less likely.

Her ears flickered upwards when she detected the scent markers, just over there across the treeline. Soon enough, they emerged from the forest of willows, the plains spread out before them, the shore to the distant southeast. She paused just before the border, dropping her quarry.

"Welp, this is me." She grinned up at him, a touch wistful. "Thanks for taking me over here." He had his own pack to go back to, and it wasn't like they were close neighbors. She honestly doubted she'd see him much again after this, unless he happened to be in the area.


"Speech"

He carried his end of the burden contentedly, tail wagging amiably until they reached the border, setting the carcass down as she did and stepping back. He grinned down at the young fighter-healer, eyes glinting. “No problem. I like being helpful.” He stretched with an arch to his back and cocked his head with a grin at her as he added, “Good luck with your training, Lia.” His bi-chocolate tail swayed cheerily as he shifted toward the north, thought he waited and watched to be utterly certain she made it across the border before he padded off on his way home, throwing a last glance after the girl. It took a good while to circle around the pack border until he was able to angle toward home without trespassing. And then, it was a long trip homeward. -Exit Cairo- Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think