Believer looked at Sensitive, then at the bird standing in front of them."So, what’s new with the boss?" the first one asked uncertainly.

  The bird tilted its head, studying the speaker carefully, then made a sound eerily similar to laughter.

  "Honestly, I don’t know how to interpret that, so I’ll assume it’s all good. Lukewarm will be here any moment, so…"

  "I’m here," Lukewarm said, catching up to them and immediately announcing: "Due to circumstances beyond my control, my tent is currently unsuitable for any kind of conversation, so let’s move to the medical tent."

  The bird marched off confidently. No one was surprised that it immediately knew where to go. Lukewarm obediently followed.

  "Do you think this bird thing is for real?" Sensitive whispered.

  "I don’t know," Believer answered honestly. "I’ve never even seen the Commander in person."

  "Me neither. Only few of us have."

  "Hungry has. He served under him directly. With Lukewarm."

  "You think if I ask him…?"

  Believer shrugged, glancing involuntarily toward Hungry’s tent.

  "You can try, but he probably doesn’t know much either."

  "Did you ask?"

  "Not just me."

  Sensitive sighed, clearly disappointed by the answer.

  "I wonder if we’ll ever know the truth."

  "I don’t know, and I’m not even sure if I want to know," Believer said after a moment of thought.

  Sensitive didn’t respond, though deep down, he agreed. When you thought about it, the world was a better place when you simply didn’t know many things. Like what Lukewarm did in his tent and why it sometimes ended with others dying.

  "Who’s on kitchen duty today?" he asked, clumsily changing the subject.

  "Feces, I think."

  "Finally, something good to eat."

  "I said 'I think.'"

  "Let me have some hope," Sensitive growled.

  Believer chuckled quietly but said nothing more.

  Hungry was just falling asleep when some fucking brain-dead moron had to scream at the top of his lungs that the damn bird had arrived. Furious at the world, he sat up, rubbed his face with his hands, then, cursing in every language he knew, started putting on his boots. That damn feathered bastard always brought trouble. There was no point in hoping this time would be different."I’ll sleep when I’m dead," he muttered to himself, leaving the tent.

  "Already slept enough?" Feces asked as he passed by.

  "Already tired of living, you fucking dick?" Hungry snapped back.

  The other soldier didn’t respond. He just chuckled under his breath and didn’t even stop. Insolent, Hungry thought, making a mental note to get back at him during the next training session. No one would laugh at his misfortune with impunity. No one, except Lukewarm, of course, because honor was one thing, but beeing suicidal maniac was another, right?

  He waited patiently. Not that he had much choice. He sat, stared at the sky, and tried not to think, because the more he thought, the angrier he got.

  "Didn’t sleep much, huh?" Little Eye asked, sitting down beside him.

  "Not at all," Hungry replied coldly, then asked: "How’s the boy?"

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  "Sweetheart? Plans to stick around for a while. If Lukewarm gives him some peace, it might even work out."

  Hungry didn’t even try to hide his surprise.

  "Did our gracious ruler had human moment last night?"

  "More like the boy knows what he’s doing and came prepared."

  "Well, well," Hungry replied with a shadow of a smile. "Finally, some fucking good news in this shitty day."

  "That’s what I’m telling myself. The second thing I’m repeating like a damn mantra is that it’s better not to piss off Lukewarm, even if he treats my tent like his backup one."

  The medic was clearly irritated and trying very hard to keep his cool. His companion in misery understood it all too well. He patted him on the shoulder in a friendly manner, then declared:

  "He doesn’t think it’s your tent. He thinks it’s our little infirmary."

  "Yeah, right. I don’t treat any of you there."

  "Can’t argue with that. Can’t argue either that it’s the biggest tent we have in the squad, and Lukewarm gave it to you so you could treat us there."

  "This tent is a privilege for those who know how to save your lives. Nothing more."

  "Tell that to Lukewarm."

  "I’m telling that you and I sure as hell won’t repeat it to him. Do you think I’m an idiot? I’ve got one eye already fucking messed up. I need the other one good."

  Hungry shrugged indifferently. Little Eye’s problems weren’t his problems, so why should he care? It wasn’t his business.

  The tent flaps lifted, and the bird marched out. The two soldiers sitting nearby saluted reflexively. Lukewarm, who emerged right after the little creature, did the same. A moment later, the infamous messenger was gone. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, though not for long. The messenger brought orders, and those never made anyone happy. This time was no different.

  "Gather everyone," Lukewarm said to Hungry.

  He didn’t need to be told twice. A moment later, a wild shout had everyone on their feet and gathering in the center of the camp. Someone even helped Sweetheart drag himself there. Everyone waited in silence for what Lukewarm would say. The massive man straightened up, scratched his beard with clear displeasure, then announced:

  "Sticky’s squad decided to act on their own. You know what that means. Orders came straight from the Commander. We’re the closest, so we’re handling it."

  First, the camp filled with a quiet murmur of surprise, then the voices of disbelief could be heard, until suddenly, chaos erupted. Lukewarm gave his men a moment, then roared for them to shut up.

  "I’m not done yet, you fucking pricks!" he growled angrily. "The messenger brought a map with the exact location of their camp. Sticky must know by now that the Commander has declared him and his men deserters, so they’re probably packing up and heading god knows where to hide from us. The less time we give them, the better our chances of avoiding heavy losses on our side. You know what that means."

  They did. Without a word, they rushed to pack their things and take down the tents. Everyone except Sweetheart, who with difficulty approached Lukewarm."Lukewarm, I can’t march in this condition," he said quietly, with a silent plea in his voice.

  The large soldier looked at him with displeasure, then asked only:

  "What do you want from me?"

  "Let me ride on the wagon. Please. I’ll pack my things and the tent as fast as I can, and if I’m too slow, I’ll leave it…"

  "How do you plan to manage if you barely pack anything?"

  "I don’t know, but I’ll figure something out."

  "Going to steal from someone?"

  "I’m not a thief," the boy said, deeply offended. "If I were, I wouldn’t have ended up like this, and I wouldn’t have survived last night either."

  Lukewarm studied him carefully, then suddenly smiled broadly, announcing loudly:"Little Eye! You’ve got a new private tent!"

  The medic froze in disbelief, staring at Lukewarm.

  "What about Sweetheart? Did I patch up his ass just for you to slit his throat now?"

  "Sweetheart?" Lukewarm asked, looking amused at his barely standing lover. "I like it. And no, Little Eye, I’m not planning to kill him. From now on, Sweetheart sleeps with me."

  A quiet murmur filled the camp. Barely audible voices were full of satisfaction. No one said anything louder, but no one hid their relief either. Their asses were safe for now. At this moment, a few of them, whom Lukewarm had been eyeing more closely lately, could’ve sworn that this was all they needed to achieve absolute happiness. Though Little Eye wasn’t one of them, he announced with a wide smile:

  "Did you hear that, fuckers?! Our beloved one in charge just gifted us a real medical tent!"

  "No, he gave you a regular tent. The big one…"

  "The big one is mine. If you don’t like it, next time I’ll stitch you up outside."

  "You always do that."

  "And in your case, I’ll keep doing it," Little Eye hissed.

  Hungry didn’t have time for such nonsense.

  "Get to work, you fucktards!" he roared, carefully fastening his own backpack and starting to take down the tent. "Feces! Since you’re skipping the privilege of cooking for us, you’re guarding the wagon."

  "But…""Stop fucking yaping and load the gear onto it, then carefully seat Sweetheart on it. Nothing falls off, got it? Especially not our new favorite comrade!"

  "Yes, sir!"

  Sweetheart watched the scene in disbelief. He couldn’t tell if he was happy about it. He didn’t even know if he’d just gotten lucky or if the worst possible misfortune had struck him, but one thing he was sure of. He wanted to live, and they were letting him. That was all that mattered. And now he belonged to Lukewarm. Maybe it meant nothing to the big soldier, but he had a strong feeling that things would be very different for those who were after him. Maybe, for the first time in a long time, he was truly safe.