Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
GARRUN
The relocation from our temporary place outside of Al Nuzem’s capital to the location where some clans would rest permanently was chaotic.
There were a great number of townspeople, many of whom did not yet speak our tongue, and were confused and anxious about every little thing.
Most avoided me, which was unsurprising, and I steered clear of them as well, doing my duty guarding my clan during the night and exploring my surroundings during the day.
I’d found a nice area to relax with Ekkar, and joined my fellow warriors around a smaller fire near my tent for meals.
My brothers, at least, didn’t fear me. Dras clapped my shoulder when I sat beside him, and Rukon offered me some ale.
They knew me. They knew I was no threat to them.
“How long will we have to stay here?” Faldar complained. “There is an entire country to explore and we are just sitting here.”
Faldar was the youngest warrior in our clan, having only come of age the year before, and still had trouble sitting still.
He would be a good scout in the future, once he was old enough to be on his own.
With all that energy, he could run ahead and ensure the path was safe before coming back to report to us.
“It takes as long as it takes,” Dras grumbled. “The townspeople need time to learn our ways and the ways of Al Nuzem. And you need to be learning as well. Have you been attending your language lessons? You will be of no use to us if you cannot at least speak the common tongue.”
From the way his face screwed up, he found the idea abhorrent. I shook my head, focusing on my food. My common tongue wasn’t great, I only ever practiced with my clan brothers or Ekkar, but at least I was trying. Faldar would regret not trying harder when we moved on from this place.
“What about you, brother?” Rukon asked, turning in my direction. “Have you been practicing?”
I nodded but said nothing more. They didn’t expect it from me. Most knew I was not chatty by nature. I preferred to listen.
A snap of a twig behind me alerted me to Ekkar’s presence, but I didn’t turn around. I knew if I did, he would expect food from my bowl. It was better to ignore him until I was finished.
“Your brother is watching you,” Dras pointed out.
I grunted, taking another bite of my food. “He will be fine. He can get his own meal if he’s hungry.”
The rumble from Ekkar said he didn’t like the idea. He was spoiled lately and had gotten lazy. Being so close to the capital, there hadn’t been much to hunt, and Ekkar relied on the meals I brought him. Now that we were near a forest again, he could hunt on his own. He just didn’t wish to.
“Will he bite me if I offer him some of mine?” Faldar asked curiously.
I shot him a dirty look. “He can get his own.”
Faldar pouted at me. “But he might like me more if I give him some of mine. He bullies me.”
He did not. Ekkar was protective of the clan.
He saw Faldar as too young to be away from the clan and tried to herd him back home.
Since Faldar didn’t listen to nudges, Ekkar had taken to nipping him.
I’d had to step in many times in the past year to get Ekkar to leave him be so the boy could train properly.
A rustling from closer to the main path drew my attention and a woman with long blonde hair stepped out from a tent, frowning as she looked over her shoulder. “Are you sure?”
Whoever was inside answered her quietly enough that I didn't catch the words.
She sighed. “If you’re sure. I’ll come check on you in a little while. Don’t go wandering around on your own. Ask for help if you need it.”
After another minute, she left. I waited for whoever she’d spoken with to come out, but they never did. After a while, I grew tired and let it go. I had been on night watch the night prior. I needed rest.
My tent was messy, I was never a tidy person, but the only one who joined me inside it was Ekkar, and he didn’t care in the slightest. He slipped past me, curling up on the furs I’d used as blankets when we lived farther north. Now, they were his bed. He was too spoiled after moving to Al Nuzem.
Stripping out of my legwear, I collapsed into bed, burying my face into the pretty pillow I’d bought on a whim in Al Nuzem’s capitol. A few of my brothers teased me for it, but it was comfortable and I liked the texture of it. Like the fur of a zorvash.
I sometimes struggled to sleep, tossing and turning as memories of the attack that left me scarred haunted my dreams. I woke with a start, sweating and breathing as though I’d run a great distance.
Ekkar’s head was on my leg, and he whined at my distress, forcing me to focus on him instead of the churning in my gut.
“I’m alright,” I murmured, running my fingers through his fur.
Rubbing my hands over my face, I considered trying to sleep again.
I’d learned over the years to function on less sleep than the others of my clan, but the healers were getting short with me when they caught me skipping on sleep.
No tonic or herb they gave me helped with the nightmares, but they said I still had to try.
Lying back down did nothing to help me settle, and eventually I gave up, dressing in legwear and boots without bothering with a tunic. It was too hot to wear them anyway.
When I ducked my head out, most of my brothers were gone, doing their duties or socializing with other clans we usually only saw in passing or trade.
The gathering of clans was unusual, and it wouldn’t stay like this always, but it was nice for families to spend time together before we returned to our nomadic life.
A sound caught my attention as I added more logs to the fire for when it would be relit.
It was warm now, but the nights were chilled and all my brothers appreciated a warm fire to return to at night.
I glanced toward the sound, watching as someone emerged from the tent I’d seen the blonde woman leave earlier.
He was a townsperson, not one I was familiar with, and he seemed to move unsteadily on his feet, like he was afraid to trip, despite seeing there was nothing in front of him.
He cocked his head like he was listening to something, eyes moving without locking onto anything specific. I frowned. His behavior was odd. Like his eyes were open but he could not see. Why was he acting so strangely?
His lips pulled into a frown, one hand still on the tent he’d emerged from like he was afraid to let go. He turned his head when a group passed by him, but his gaze was off, not quite following them. He looked as though he was trying to track them by ear and struggling.
Turning back to my task, I added another log to the fire, watching the man out of the corner of my eye as he turned my way and edged closer without letting go of his tent.
“Excuse me,” he said politely, then made a face. “Oh, right. Wrong language. Um…” He tried again, this time with my mother tongue. “Can I ask help?”
The words were awkward, but he was still learning. I assumed I sounded much the same using the common tongue. Keeping my words simple for his benefit and my speech slow, I asked, “You need help?”
He brightened, nodding. “Yes, please. Um…” His face scrunched as he tried to think of the words. “Trench?”
Pointing toward the treeline, I told him, “That way.”
A pained smile flickered across his face.
He’d yet to look me in the eye, but the more I looked at him, the more I felt that wasn’t on purpose.
Many avoided eye contact with me after my attack.
They found me intimidating. This one had yet to fully look in my direction, though.
Like his gaze was off just slightly. It was odd.
“I need help,” he admitted, then switched to the common tongue, muttering to himself. “Shoot. How do I explain?”
My common tongue seemed to be better than his grasp of my language, so I switched for his benefit, asking, “Explain what?”
“Oh!” He looked surprised by my using his language, but not unhappy. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have assumed–” Shaking his head, he offered me a small smile, still not making eye contact with me. “I need help getting there. Usually my sister guides me, but she hasn’t been back yet and…”
Pushing to my feet, I stepped closer, watching as his eyes finally landed on me but not my face. He didn’t track me as I came closer, didn’t study my face or even look at the scars upon it. I cocked my head, narrowing my eyes as I considered him.
“You cannot see?”
Pressing his lips together, he shook his head slowly. “Not since I was a child. I can’t get to the trench on my own.”
It made more sense now, his odd way of moving and the way his eyes never followed any one thing.
He was trying to track sound, not people, and was not always successful, which was why he was looking just past me, not directly at my face when I stood in front of him.
It wasn’t until I spoke that his eyes moved to look fully my way.
Slowly, so I didn’t frighten him, I took his elbow, pulling him away from the tent and toward the trees. His gait was a little unsteady, and when he tripped and I had to jerk him upright again, he shot me an apologetic look.
“I’m sorry. I’m not used to walking on sand yet. It throws me off a little.”
I could understand this. The sand added to stealth, but if uneven, could cause tripping if a person wasn’t paying attention. “It’s fine.”
When we stopped at the trench, I frowned at it. Most brothers would just squat near it. How would he do so without risking falling in? Perhaps something could be built for him to hold to steady himself.
“Are you okay alone?” I asked uneasily. I wanted to give him his privacy, but didn’t want to risk him falling.