The group makes their way through the forest in relative silence, save Alunya and Antares at the front of the pack- Partially because Alunya quickly proved uncannily skilled at finding a route through the underbrush, and partially because that way their conversation was facing away from Gatrick, who Antares was worried might do something drastic if Alunya didn’t keep his voice down. Of course, once they were closer, Tavr would need to lead the way to the cave, but they had a long hike ahead of them before they were even in the vicinity.

  Lyrin, Risa, and Vekt all stumble along as quickly as they can, trailing behind the rest occasionally being barked at by Gatrick to keep up the pace. The group is traveling roughly parallel to the main branch of the river about a mile away, the long way down the valley, towards the side of the valley farthest from the village.

  He’s really grown up alot since the last trip. Antares notes, glancing at Alunya, who is presently holding his hand over his eyes to reduce glare while scouting out a good path forwards. He’s still keeping up an excellent pace without a word of complaint or sign of tiredness, despite having gone on for many miles in rough terrain already. Then again, I guess I am too. Antares remembers how his legs had been burning after coming this far last time, but now he feels like he could keep going for hours.

  Looking back from his perch on top of a rock, waiting for the group to catch up, Alunya skids down the slope of the boulder, arms outstretched for balance. “There’s a meadow up ahead that looks like it’d be a good campsite!” Alunya announces, cheerfully.

  “See, Tavr? I… Told you that all these kids would slow us down… They’re tired already…” Gatrick huffs, glaring over at Alunya,even though he was obviously panting himself.

  “Huh? No, I’m not, I just thought we would need the time to cook.” Alunya explains, innocently. True to his word, he sprints back up on top of the rock. “I guess we could keep going if you aren’t hungry.”

  Risa makes a groan of despair. “No! Can we please stop? My heels are killing me.” She whines.

  Gatrick rounds on Tavr, looking angry- though, that is just about the smith’s default expression. “What did I say? Lazy brats…”

  Tavr crosses his arms and glares back at Gatrick. “Remember that you’re the one that stands to benefit from this, not me. Now my kids are already here, so quit your yapping and just get used to it. We’re not turning around now, we’ve already come too far.”

  Gatrick stares Tavr down for a long moment, as if debating whether to argue the point-The hunter was one of the only men from the village with comparable strength to the smith, and both had a rather unrefined, brutal countenance. Eventually, Gatrick relents, grumbling “Fine.”

  “Alright, boy, show us where this meadow is that you see.” Tavr requests, and Alunya nods eagerly and motions for them to follow, climbing over the rocky formation and deeper into the forest.

  As it turns out, the meadow is not as close as Alunya had led on- It was actually across a small stream on top of a higher cliff. It’s hard to tell what had caused this particular section of land to remain mostly clear, but there was only a single tree in the vicinity- An ancient-looking, if not particularly tall, ironwood tree, surrounded by a small garden of wildflowers in half the colors of the rainbow.

  Antares takes a deep breath as he enters the clearing, closing his eyes. …it feels so idyllic, somehow. There’s a light breeze in the air, brushing past his skin.

  “Hey, Ari! Look at all these flowers! Aren't they pretty?” Alunya asks, prancing up near the tree and twirling in circles before plopping down on his knees. “You wanna pick some of them with me?”

  “Ugh, you’re so shameless…” Vekt mutters, looking down at Alunya. “How someone like you beat up Kuzir, I will never know…”

  “All of you, shut your traps, you’re going to give me a headache.” Gatrick belts out. “Now get the camp set up, if we’re stopping I want somewhere to rest and a proper meal to boot.”

  Alunya deflates noticeably. Man was Gatrick unpleasant to be around- Not that he isn’t used to it, wanting to learn about smithing required him to be unfortunately familiar with the man.

  It’s a relief to set down the heavy packs. Full of not only multiple days rations, but prospecting tools, the tents, bedding, waterskins, fire pistons, and hunting equipment, just in case they found a good catch while on the move. Vekt is carrying the tents in three bags on his back, leaving Alunya and Antares to carry the foodstuffs, while the adults are carrying most of the tools. But, Alunya still keeps his own fire piston with him, as always.

  The group gets to work setting up the tents they had brought, which Alunya notes are rather similar in construction to his kite; Birch branches holding up a frame of cloth, though in this case it’s wool rather than flax. Gatrick just sits back and barks out orders to Lyrin faster than the boy can carry them out, but at least Tavr is helping out.

  Once the three tents the group has packed away are out, Alunya helps Risa gather firewood and light a small campfire.

  Vekt didn’t want me to mention that I can help cook… But Risa is already here, they can’t exactly send her back now, right? So it should be fine if I help out. It was better than sitting around doing nothing, plus it would make things easier. Besides, it might be fun to cook with someone else for a change… Silently, Alunya felt disappointed that his brother steadfastly refused to try it.

  “What did we bring to eat?” Alunya asks, opening up and sifting through the bags of foodstuffs.

  “Um, mostly just chuno and rye. I thought that since there’s lots of rivers on the way, it would be easy to find water, and we could make soup!” Risa explains, removing a small copper pan from her bag. “Could you gather up everyone’s waterskins..?”

  Alunya nods, springs up, and goes to every person in turn. Gatrick and Tavr required a bit more effort, while with Vekt and Antares’, he simply takes the waterskins from their packs while they are distracted laying down bedding in the tents.

  “When’s food going to be ready? What’s taking so long?” Gatrick complains, almost immediately after the pan is filled with water.

  “U-um, it’ll take me a while to boil… This fire isn't very large…” Risa apologizes.

  Alunya shoots Gatrick a baleful look. There is sure to be more antagonizing from Gatrick before the food is done. “Here, I’ll go take these to the stream and refill them.” Alunya offers, gathering up the waterskins again. At least that would buy him some reprieve from the others for a bit.

  Thankfully for Alunya, neither of the adults in the clearing are paying much attention to him, and even if they were, they simply aren’t as ‘responsible’ as his mother and likely would not have cared that he was running off into the forest on his own. Alunya breathes a sigh of relief once the sounds of bickering fades into the background behind him.

  [...]

  When Alunya returns, the first serving is made, though of course Gatrick and Tavr immediately take it for themselves. As a general rule, adults ate first. But now that Alunya is here, he could at least help with the second serving- Without Gatrick complaining constantly, he could hope.

  The freeze-dried potatoes are diced and added to the boiling water, along with a sprinkling of herbs, rye, and similarly freeze dried corn kernels. The freeze-dried food is easier to transport, and would be rehydrated by adding it to the soup; Plus, it contributes more flavor to the overall product. Before Alunya’s eyes, the mixture thickens, as the starchy foods turn the water into a thick broth, while Risa diligently stirs the pan while holding it over the fire. It smells positively delicious.

  “Hey, Vekt!” Alunya waves over at the older boy. “Your sister’s a really good cook! I’m jealous that you get to eat her cooking all the time.”

  Vekt, who had finished laying out the bedding some time ago and was just sitting around waiting for food now, glares over at Alunya suspiciously. “Still trying to buddy up to her, I see. Is that why you agreed to come?” Vekt accuses. “You know that it's up to dad who she gets married to, right?”

  Alunya sighs and rolls his eyes. As usual, Vekt was just talking nonsense. “What does that have to do with anything? I was just thinking it would be nice if Antares would cook for me once in a while.” Alunya stares over at Antares, pointedly, who blushes and looks away.

  “Alunya, quit it. I told you that’s not a boy’s job.” Antares protests, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously. Alunya rolls his eyes again. What is it with everybody, I hardly see what the location of my body’s orifices has to do with my ability to make tasty food. Silently, he wished someone would actually take the time to show him how to put some more of these meals together… He did his best, of course, but since Reia cooked most of the time, and his own knowledge was limited to what he could glean from watching her, his repertoire is still a bit limited.

  “Hey, Risa!” Alunya pipes up. “What is this soup called?” If nothing else, he could try to remember how to make this for later.

  “Huh? Um, I don’t know, it’s just chuno stew.” Risa replies, shortly. “Normally it’d have some game meat, I was hoping Dad would catch something on the way up here, but no such luck.”

  Alunya nods in acknowledgement. “Aw, that is too bad. But maybe we’ll get lucky tomorrow, I’ll be sure to keep my eyes peeled!”

  “I think it's done now…” Risa announces. “Go get some bowls so I can pour it.”

  Alunya hops to, and soon enough, Lyrin, Vekt, Antares, and Alunya are all gathered around the campfire with small carved wooden bowls in hand. Alunya blows on the surface of the soup to cool it- It looks delicious, chunky and thick.

  Lyrin across the fire sips from the soup- He recoils in pain from sipping it while it was hot, swishing it from side to side in his mouth trying to cool it but as soon as he manages to swallow he beams. “Mhm! You two did a great job!” He announces, gratefully.

  Alunya beams at him, putting his chin up in the air proudly. “Thank you!” He says, smugly, before taking a sip of his own soup once it has cooled sufficiently. The freeze dried potatoes had lost their consistency once in the liquid, resulting in an indistinct boundary between the liquid and solid portions of the meal.

  The meal is light, but that was to be expected. They didn’t want to be weighed down by carrying large meals for four days after all; This would be sufficient for the time they’re gone. And so, when Alunya finishes his meal, he clambers over to his tent with Antares. Each family is using their own tent; Vekt, Risa, and Tavr in one, Gatrick in another. Lyrin seemingly isn’t ready to sleep yet, as Alunya plops himself down onto his bedding.

  It’s late by now, but given the time of year it’s still reasonably warm. The ground is rough and not particularly comfortable, the thin wool bedding not really providing sufficient cushioning, but Alunya could make it work; he just has to lay on his back since laying on his side puts too much weight on his hip and shoulder. Alunya frowns slightly; it felt like a shame that even though they were camping outside, he can’t see the stars through the wool tent. Maybe he should go outside..?

  But glancing over at Antares, who had settled in next to him, facing away, Alunya changes his mind. This was one of the few opportunities he’d have to be allowed to sleep near Antares anymore, after all. Even Antares had stopped accepting his excuses for why they should sleep together.

  But while Alunya is waiting for slumber, to his surprise, someone pulls aside the entrance to the tent. Alunya squints; it's hard to tell who it is, silhouetted in the dark like that, though once he speaks it becomes clear.

  “Um, can I sleep in here? Father says there’s no room in the tent for me.” Lyrin asks, awkwardly fidgeting in place.

  Alunya looks over at Antares deferentially, who shrugs. “Um, I guess, you need to be well rested for the march tomorrow.”

  Lyrin nods gratefully. “Mhm, thankyou! I’ll try not to make noise or disturb you.” The boy got on his hands and knees and clambered over to Alunya’s other side, leaving the youngest boy sandwiches in the middle between him and Antares. Lyrin gave the two brothers as much room as he was able, wriggling over to where his back was against the outer cloth of the tent, but it was still cramped for three people.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Alunya fidgets. He already isn’t that tired, and now with the presence of another less familiar person in the tent with him, it’s doubly hard to sleep. As he tries to relax, his mind starts wandering.

  “How do you think the cave hasn’t been discovered yet?” Alunya asks suddenly, idly staring up at the roof of the tent.

  Lyrin shrugs. “I dunno, I wasn’t there. I guess it's at the far end of the valley, nobody really goes over there except for Tavr. People get skittish near the edge of the barrier.”

  Alunya frowns and flops around. “But, our village has been here for thousands of years! Surely someone would have found it at some point.”

  “Maybe they did, but we just forgot about it?” Lyrin suggests.

  “Mhm…” Alunya frowns, unconvinced. But he still responds “Maybe”, noncommittally.

  “Alunya, I’m trying to sleep.” Antares groans. Alunya falls silent, but gets a goofy smirk on his face.

  I think I can help with that. Not wanting to let the opportunity slip by, Alunya scoots up to Antares’s side and loosely drapes one arm over him; Given that laying on his side is uncomfortable on the rough ground, and he doesn’t want to put more weight on Antares than necessary, he couldn’t fully entwine his body with Antares’s, but he could still at least snuggle up to him.

  Antares sighs in resignation. He’d just have to try to get up early before anyone sees them tomorrow, he doesn’t have the heart to push Alunya away. So he shifts a little to get comfortable, pushing one arm under Alunya’s neck; Maybe this is more practical anyways, it’s warmer and they take up less space, and it is rather cramped in the tent anyways.

  [...]

  The following morning, Alunya wakes up first, springing up with typical energy. Antares groans as he is woken up by the sudden movement to his side, while Lyrin is still laying down curled up against the very side of the tent.

  Alunya sniffs the air, sighing happily. There’s a particularly wild scent around, the flowers all around the tent giving off a dreamy aura. Alunya pulls aside the tent flap and clambers out into the open air, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of the world around; The slight breeze catching in his hair, blowing the scent of countless diverse wildflowers to him. The sun is still behind the mountains, but the skies are brightening, casting the sky in a silver glow; It’s Alunya’s favorite time of day, daybreak. If he looks upwards, he can still see some of the brightest stars, just barely, against the quickly brightening skies.

  Looking back as Antares emerges from the tent, rubbing his eyes tiredly, Alunya clasps his hands together. “Ari, look at all these flowers! We should pick some!” Alunya suggests, excitedly.

  Antares blinks at Alunya, then blushes, and shakes his head fervently. “A-Alunya…” He pauses; telling his brother that was embarrassing would never work, he had learned that by now. So instead, he just looks over at the other tents. “We need to keep a move on or Gatrick will complain. So we don’t have time.” He affirms. “We need to just make breakfast then get a move on.”

  Alunya looks around, nobody else is up yet, just Alunya and Antares, and it doesn’t seem like anyone is rushing them. “...Should we wake them up, then?”

  “It’s better if you don’t.” Lyrin’s groggy voice replies, dragging himself from the tent, rubbing sore muscles. “Father will rant up a storm if you wake him up before breakfast is ready. It's better if we let him sleep as long as possible.”

  Alunya frowns. In that case, he supposes it would make the most sense to start breakfast early. “Antares, go fetch some firewood.” Alunya requests, yet in a fairly authoritative tone.

  Antares blinks. …Did he just order me around? But it wasn’t like he has anything better to do, so he shrugs and complies.

  While Antares starts the fire, Alunya goes back to the nearby stream to refill the waterskins. A couple trips later, and a pan of soup is on the fire. Tavr and his kids are up and mulling about, but Gatrick has yet to arrive.

  Alunya claps his hands together. Now there's plenty of time while they wait for the soup to cook! Risa can watch it and manage the rest anyways, right? So he goes over to Antares, beaming up at him. “C’mon! We can’t go yet anyway, so let’s pick some flowers!” Alunya pleads.

  Antares sighs in consternation, trying to think of more excuses, but after a moment gives up. Usually it’s easier to just go along with Alunya… So he reluctantly nods his head. “Alright, alright.” He relents. Alunya grins widely, and Antares feels his heart sinking. Maybe that was a mistake, that’ll only encourage him further… But, as usual, he can’t bring himself to let his brother down while he is clearly excited.

  Alunya hums along in a sing-song tone as he plops down onto his knees in the bed of flowers, foraging for his favorites, which he promptly places into his hair, the bright colors of the wildflowers contrasting with his monochrome hair.

  Antares unenthusiastically kneels down next to him, looking around. “What do you think of this one, Ari? I think it's my favorite! The colors are so pretty!” Alunya beams at Antares while presenting a flower which is a vibrant blue and yellow gradient spreading towards the petals, six petals around a tendril-like structure in the middle.

  The flower is pretty, Alunya isn’t wrong… Still not as pretty as you, though. Antares’ face turns red at the thought that came unbidden, and Alunya blinks at him in confusion. “What’s wrong, Ari?”

  Antares shakes his head, trying to clear the weird thought. “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing at all.” He repeats himself, hastily occupying himself with the stems of some of the flowers.

  Thankfully for Antares, he gets some measure of relief as Risa comes over, holding the long hem of her tunic up while she delicately places herself down onto the ground as well. The tunic is dirtied and in dire need of washing, the long feminine skirt clearly not intended for hiking through the woods. “I like this one.” She announces, picking a white flower with a yellow center. Alunya nods happily.

  “Mhm! That one’s nice too!” Alunya cheers while Risa ponders the flowers deeply.

  “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen flowers like this before.” She announces after a moment. “I was hoping I’d see some new sights coming along. I’ve never been this far from home, you know.” She professes.

  “Me neither!” Alunya replies, nodding and springing up to his feet to look around. “I mean, I’ve been out before, but we returned on the same day… So this is further, I think, though, it's kind of hard to tell. I mean the hiking has been slower this time…” Alunya pauses, not mentioning that Risa was the reason for that. “But we did hike longer, but also through rougher terrain, so… It's hard to tell!” Alunya finishes.

  Risa chuckles, putting her hand up to her mouth. “Ha, I just meant I’ve never been outside of the village at all. It's hard finding my way through the bushes! I dunno how you boys do it.” She sighs. “But I know dad doesn't want me lagging behind, so I’m doing my best… At least my brother is here to help me.” Risa cast a grateful look at Vekt, who waves back at her. Alunya pauses; he had noticed Vekt was walking slower than usual. If he was lagging behind helping Risa find a path to follow the rest, that made sense.

  “That’s nice of him! I guess we’re both lucky to have such nice big brothers!” Alunya giggles, giving a cheeky smile while he yanks Antares over to him with a quick, surprising hug thrown around his shoulders. …Though, Vekt isn’t very nice to my brother…

  Antares recoils. “Alunya! Careful, you might make me tear it…” Antares protests. Alunya perches his head up on his shoulder.

  “Hm? Tear what, brother?” Alunya asks, mystified, trying to see what Antares is hiding in his hands. Antares just gives him a long look, narrowing his eyes, doing something that Alunya couldn't quite see. Alunya leans over Antares’s shoulder, trying to reach down to get a grasp on whatever Antares was hiding, but Antares holds it further out of Alunya’s reach, half-smiling at him playfully.

  “Nu-uh, you’re gonna have to wait to see!” Antares proclaims, and Alunya pouts, crossing his arms, though he isn’t really upset. “Fineee.” he replies in an impish tone, sitting back as if accepting Antares’s demand, only to try and sneak around his other side.

  “Hey!” Antares protests, rolling away from Alunya sideways, landing in a crouching pose on his toes. The motion had however required him to reveal what he was working on; a circlet of flowers braided together, which he had seemingly just finished, made up of all the colors of a rainbow; The blue and yellow flowers Alunya had favored, the white that Risa liked, and all manner of vivid and unusually shaped purples, blues, reds, and yellows. Antares blushes, then jerks his arms out, holding the crown outstretched.

  “H-here. This is for you.” Antares says, looking away embarrassed. Vekt sniggers at him, and Antares just feels glad he isn’t in the village where he might have to deal with much worse. Why did I do thatttt… Antares groans inwardly. As if he needed Alunya to embarrass him, he was doing a fine job of it himself.

  But Alunya just gasps in delight, and delicately places the flower crown on his head. “Ariiiii, you’re so sweet! Where did you learn how to do this?” Alunya drums his feet on the ground. “Does it make me look cute? Does it?” He asks, eyes wide and eager.

  Antares, overwhelmed, can only nod his head. As if my handiwork can compare to you. The bright colors of the crown seemed to perfectly match the feeling that Alunya gave off; bright, sunny, vivid. “I just, um, guess I figured it out myself, heh. And, you look as adorable as ever, little brother.” Antares rubs the back of his head nervously, while Alunya sets his jaw with a determined look.

  “Mhm! Well I’d better repay the favor, then!” Alunya announces before getting to work. Antares waves his arms in a desperate attempt to make him stop.

  “N-no, that won’t be necessary! It was just for you, honest!” Antares protests. The crown fit Alunya, he didn’t think it would fit him nearly so well… And besides, unlike him, Alunya is basically immune to embarrassment.

  Antares’ words are, of course, utterly lost on the boy, who is already at work trying to mimic Antares’ craftswork, the tip of his tongue sticking from his mouth as he focuses. His dexterous fingers quickly lace a hastily-made circlet of the flowers he had already picked, which he promptly sticks onto Antares’s head.

  Antares ducks his head, avoiding looking at anyone. With at least half the fibers of his being, he wants to tear the circlet from his head and storm off to avoid further embarrassment; He can just about feel Tavr and Vekt’s eyes drilling into the back of his skull. But with his other half, he can’t resist the genuine gesture Alunya gave him. I guess this is my fault for making him one. Antares admits to himself, bashfully. But he just couldn’t help it, it fit Alunya perfectly.

  Antares hesitantly opens his eyes again and peaks upwards as he hears the methodical footsteps of Tavr approaching him. Tavr’s gaze is not derisive, but softer, almost more like… Pity, almost paternal in a way. With a slow and deliberate motion, Tavr lifts the circlet off of Antares, and sets it back down.

  “You really have been around women too much your whole life, huh?” Tavr’s voice was not mocking, closer to sympathetic. At that moment, Antares could wish that it was mocking. “Here. I know you don’t have a father, but why don’t you walk with me until we get back home? Maybe you’ll learn something yet.”

  Antares doesn’t quite know what to say, so he just slowly, reluctantly, nods his head, looking down in shame, while Alunya gawks in irritation.

  “Hey! I made that for Ari!” Alunya protests, scrambling to put the flower crown back together. But Antares had already stood up to follow Tavr over to his place near the campfire, where Vekt is already waiting, doing his best to suppress a derisive laugh. Crossing his arms, Alunya puffs out one of his cheeks. Just who did Tavr think he was, taking his brother away from him like that? He had half a mind to give him a talking to, but before he can, Gatrick pulls aside the cover of his tent, stretching and belching.

  “Where’s breakfast? I’m hungry.” Gatrick demands before anyone could say anything.

  Risa scampers back over to the pan over the fire, and lifts it up. “U-um, it's here! It’s basically done, you just need to wait for it to cool.”

  Gatrick nods. “Lyrin! Get out here!” He barks, and his son dutifully scurries up to him. “Refill my skins while I eat breakfast.”

  Lyrin lowers his head, and leaves without a word, while Gatrick places himself down by the fire. Alunya frowns, then decides to go with Lyrin; Antares is just talking to Tavr, and it would be nicer to be away from the adults than around them.

  The rest of the morning preparations pass fairly quickly. Once the adults are done eating, the kids have their turn, and with the waterskins refilled, they are ready to set out again, heading deeper into the forest. There is no sign of inhabitance whatsoever out here, the western side of the valley was very infrequently visited by the villagers.

  As the party settles down for the night, Alunya distastefully watches Antares from across the clearing. Tavr had kept him close by his side the entire day, so Alunya had ended up having to walk with Lyrin instead. Tavr is presently sharing his flask with Antares; Alunya can’t understand how the man still has alcohol, since he’d been drinking the whole way, but with luck he would be out after this.

  I can’t believe he’s still drinking that stuff. Alunya thinks to himself, staring over at Antares with an uneasy expression usually reserved for other villagers. Doesn’t he remember last time?

  “You two have a fight?” Lyrin asks, following Alunya’s gaze and expression. Alunya sighs and shakes his head.

  “No… Not really.” Alunya rubs his face. “Just wish he wouldn’t drink that stuff. He was super weird last time he did.”

  Lyrin frowns and gives Alunya a sympathetic look. “Mhm. Yeah… Father is always at his worst when he’s drinking. I guess we should be glad that he didn’t pack as much as Tavr, or we’d be hearing about it the whole time. Or worse…” Lyrin flinches away.

  Alunya’s expression doesn't change as he keeps his eyes fixed on Antares, before replying in a low voice. “I think I’d prefer that to having my brother drinking…”

  Tavr has taken the lead now, as they had gotten close enough to the cave that he is showing the way; The group had climbed up the mountain slopes, and the terrain up here is treacherous and steep, rocky, with considerably less vegetation than lower down. Even to Alunya, it’s chilly, and he feels a shortness of breath constantly; He wonders if he’s just getting more exercise than he had thought. Risa is really struggling to keep up now, even with Vekt carrying her load of supplies for her, but Gatrick insists on keeping up the pace.

  Finally, with the sun setting behind the mountains, Tavr calls a reluctant halt. Though the group is getting very close to the cave, and he insisted they could probably reach it that day, he wanted light to make sure he didn’t miss it going by; Marching in the darkness that high up was incredibly dangerous, one misstep could spell the entire group's doom.

  It takes a little while to find a proper place to set up camp, where the ground is level enough to actually place tents, and the rocky gravel is considerably less comfortable than even last night had been. But eventually, the group gets to sleep after dinner, leaving another day of travel behind them.