Sonhu's eyelids weighed heavy. The roaring fire now rested as embers and charred wood. The once lively feast that was full of cheers, games, and food was now just a handful of cheery drunks muttering folk songs and tall tales, half asleep. The Ilgen had disappeared to his quarters some time ago. Ruffus lay hunched over a stone table. He looked so peaceful while sleeping in such an awkward position.

  Sonhu was following Cole, with Ketra by his side, holding a small lantern she had been given. Cole and Sonhu were carrying pelts and furs, bedding for him and Ketra. Cole led them past the fire, and a few of the remaining communers, still coherent enough to notice, gave mumbled greetings to the two newcomers.

  Cole led them down the dirt path towards the camp's outskirts. As they got closer to the edge, a clanging metal sound grew louder.

  Crouched beside a tent, a man in metal armor swung a hammer into the ground repeatedly, nailing the tent down. As they approached, he turned to them.

  It was Davin, the crusaeder from earlier. His helmet lay neatly beside him. He picked it up as he stood and held it tightly in his left arm. The man had blonde, tightly cut hair and was clean-shaven. His face was gaunt, and though his armor made him seem bigger, it was clearly looser and a little too big for the man. He stood tall and straight and bowed his head a little as Cole came near.

  Cole gave a slight nod, and the man put his helmet on and then marched back towards the heart of the camp.

  Cole lifted open the mouth of the tent. The tent was more spacious than most Sonhu had ever been in. Enough room for four people to comfortably stand in, and even had a small protruding entrance. Cole laid down the base layer of the bedding and smoothed it out. He then helped Sonhu lay out the top layer neatly.

  "If there is anything else you need, Davin is patrolling the grounds. If you can't find him, Ilgen Pander lodges in the church, and my quarters are the second room in the cottage to the left of the church. Mine has a rank on the door that looks like this," Cole said, pointing at a small gold circle insignia with a silver square in the center. "The other room in the cottage has just a circular rank and is Davin's, for future reference. Do you understand?" He asked.

  "Yes, thank you," Sonhu replied.

  Cole quickly glanced at Ketra before leaving the tent.

  "Get some rest, you two," He said as he left, "and welcome to the commune."

  Sonhu listened to his footsteps as they grew distant. When he could hear them no more, he approached the bedding and began shifting it around. Ketra still held the lantern, watching him with her predator's eyes.

  "Set that down, and get over here," Sonhu said carefully in a hushed, whispered tone. Ketra set the lantern down and then sat on the bedding where Sonhu had been adjusting it, shifting it back and undoing the work he had put into straightening it out.

  "What is wrong?" She asked, stretching out and taking up most of the bedding. Sonhu shifted out to the edges and did his best to fix the corners. More to occupy his hands while he mulled over the issue.

  "Nothing… yet," Sonhu said, eyeing Ketra. His tail flicked nervously.

  "This place seems safe to stay for the winter so long as we blen—"

  Stolen novel; please report.

  "The Winter," Ketra interrupted, “Will the Winter be an issue?"

  "It can be, especially when heading North. That is why I think we should stay here, for now."

  "For now?" She asked, inching a little closer.

  "Yes, for now. It seems safe, but I am not fond of living this close to priests or crusaeders for longer than necessary." Ketra's eyes followed Sonhu's tail as it swayed back and forth. "However, while we stay here, we need to blend in. Do you understand what I mean?"

  "No." She said bluntly.

  "To these people, we are travelers. All we need to do is play into that." Sonhu explained, "Ruffus and the Ilgen are under the impression we are an interspecies couple, and I'm sure the others do too. We can use this."

  Ketra looked up at Sonhu, her cold, piercing eyes impenetrable. He had no idea what went on behind them. Sonhu repositioned himself, sitting down and facing her.

  "The reason we are here, and the reason we are heading North is because we are fleeing people who 'could not accept us being together' do you und-"

  "Who cannot accept us together?" Ketra said more present and with an ice in her tone. Sitting up suddenly.

  "No. That is the story we will tell others, if they ask." Sonhu hurriedly said, "When you need the people here to believe a story, do you think you can do that?"

  "Why?" Ketra asked, her tone still icy.

  "Because if we don't give them a story they want to hear, they will try to find out the real story, and I don't imagine it will go over well if they find out the real one, or even if they don't find one at all." Sonhu said calmly, "You want them to trust us, right?"

  "It matters not if they trust us." Ketra said, "If it comes to it, I will do what I must to silence them."

  "I have no doubt you can, but if you do that, we will have to flee again. We will be left to weather the winter. You may be able to survive, but I might not."

  Ketra became engrossed in thought, her gaze distant, "There is a way to avoid this?" She asked.

  "Yes." Sonhu said, containing the relief he felt, "They just want to hear a story. A simple one. It really only comes down to a few rules, the rest you can dodge and say you'd rather not explain. I am sure they'll be… understanding."

  "What are the rules?"

  Sonhu thought for a moment.

  "The first one is, you are human."

  "Human? Like Pander and his two crusaeders?"

  "Yes. You look the part. If anyone asks, you are from a Southern island… Alkesh. Can you remember that?"

  "Alkesh." Ketra repeated, "I will remember it."

  "Good. Your father was a traveling merchant. When you were young, he brought you a pet, your little kitty Sonhu. You loved this kitty, and your family in Alkesh were not accepting of this, so you ran away with your kitty, alright?"

  "I ran away with my kitty," Ketra repeated this one proudly.

  "Right, if anyone asks you any confusing questions, or questions you are not sure the answer to, or questions about us, or either of our pasts, just say you'd rather not talk about it."

  "I see." Ketra said, "This is our story?"

  "Yes, these simple… Five rules. One, you are a human. Two, you are the daughter of a traveling merchant from Alkesh. Three, I was a gift pet from your father. Four, we have a special relationship that others do not understand, so we ran away. Five, when in doubt, it's something you'd rather not talk about." Sonhu felt an odd pride at his construction. Simple enough, but hopefully sufficient.

  "Five rules." Ketra repeated, "Anything else, my kitty?" She purred.

  "No, that is all."

  Ketra nodded, then said, "Now it is time for you to rest, my kitty."

  Ketra lay down in the bedding and pulled Sonhu towards her. A warm numbing sensation flowed out from her hands and swelled around his body. Within seconds, he felt the numbing sensation reach his head, and he was out.