We set up our ambush in two of the crawler’s favored spots. They weren’t terribly far from each other, at a sprint we could reach the other location in less than ten minutes, but ideally we wouldn’t need to resort to that. Eliss had been assigned to us by Mishtaw. She didn’t like it, I didn’t like it, but if she was going to be around, up close and personal, then she could help. So, if the crawler settled down in either of our traps she was supposed to bring the other half of group to the ambush as well as periodically check in to make sure a fight hadn’t happened without us knowing about it.

Juniper had taken Idra and Ento with her to the tide pool trap while Eliss stayed with Prevna and me. Given how well the three worked together I knew better than to split them up and, if something did go unexpectedly wrong again, they were more likely to survive on their own with Idra’s shield. If things went horribly wrong on our end, I thought I could at least trust Eliss to pull Prevna out and I would survive whatever punishment came my way.

We had set up our ambush on a low, flat beach that flooded easily from the tide. Along its eastern edge the beach butted up against a waist high, rocky little cliff that crumbled down into the sea and curved its way inland. Perfect for a crawler to hide and then attack unsuspecting patrols.

It hadn’t used either of our choices recently according to the commander’s account which I think made it more likely to return soon. We had also set up nets and our feeder traps up and down this stretch of coast in an obvious attempt to catch it or deter other creatures from attacking. Mainly those were to actually help guide it towards us and not one of its other haunts, but if one of the more well hidden traps worked, so much the better. We had staggered how easily identifiable the traps were, so the crawler might think we were just mostly incompetent rather than our actual goal. I wasn’t sure the creature was smart enough to put the pieces together, regardless, but Prevna had pointed out the potential problem and I couldn’t very well discount her input after explicitly asking for it. Besides, anything that made this attempt less likely to be a failure was important to act upon.

We had also set up a couple nets or traps around each of our locations, so that they wouldn’t be conspicuously empty compared to the areas we were trying deter the crawler from. Of course, we couldn’t make enough nets and traps to cover the whole area we wanted, only a couple outposts rather than the handful the crawler liked to target, but we had warned the other outposts of the places to pay extra attention too and they would do what they could to make themselves less of a target.

As it was, both of our ambush locations were within the jurisdiction of a single outpost, but it was also the one the crawler targeted the most. Unsurprisingly, it was the outpost closest to the saltwater caves with suspicious activity. I knew the crawler was probably supposed to distract us and encourage the whisper women to leave the area be, but really, I wouldn’t be surprised if the creature’s actions were what had prompted Mishtaw’s scouting mission in the first place.

We couldn’t do much as we waited for the crawler to appear. There wasn’t much to hide behind in this area of the scrubland. The forest ended too far from the shore to watch the water properly for a ripple that went against the natural movements of the waves, the beach and scrubland were flat and featureless. We were reduced to laying flat on our stomachs on top of the short ridge while hiding behind clumps of ragged grass. The location might have been optimal for an ambusher who could hide under the sand, but not for anyone else.

Still, between our elevation and the grass I didn’t think the creature would see us.

And, for us, the rocky part of the ridge only appeared right near the edge, while where it ran back to where Juniper and the others were hidden, the entire area was pockmarked, damp, uncomfortable stone. We had snow and sandy earth and grass for added comfort on our elbows.

Boredom came quickly.

I occupied myself by running through plans upon contingency plans. I thought about what to do if the crawler settled down in this spot on the beach or that spot, if it went to the tide pool trap or got caught in a net. What to do if Eliss upheld her threat to me or listened to her promise to Mishtaw to keep us safe. I planned on what to do if we got another unexpected attack or if someone went down or if I lost this or that weapon.

I had the time, so why not spend it preparing like Rawley had taught me? Better to be prepared than surprised. I worked through every little iteration that I could think of based on what the others or the crawler or a possible third party might do. It was meditative in its own way as I watched the waves and filed each possibility away as a new vine on a submerged plant in a jar in my memory tent.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you blink for more than a minute.” Prevna’s voice, pitched low to be covered by the sound of the waves but still a bit sardonic and teasing.

I pulled myself away from my plans and blinked dry eyes before looking sidelong at her. “I was thinking.”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how you stay focused for so long.”

“Habit.”

“Hmm.” She shifted to a more comfortable position. “Care to share?”

I blinked again, taken off guard, and Prevna smiled, a bit smug. I glared back at her. “No.”

Even if I could layout every strategy I had come up with without it becoming a jumbled mess telling her about them would undermine a good number of them, because she was likely to change her response once she knew. The same went for Ellis who I could tell was keeping an ear on our conversation. Easier and better for me to keep the plans to myself, so I could adapt with them when the time came.

Prevna’s head drooped though her voice still had its mocking tone. “Why can’t you be better at conversation?”

I didn’t dignify that with a response.

A handful of snow hit me in the cheek.

“Prevna!” I stared at her, eyes wide with shock and outrage. Was she trying to let the crawler know we were here?

She shrugged. “A gust of wind could have done it.”

I tried to throttle her with my gaze. “The wind is barely blowing today.”

She brushed off my attempt with a deadpan expression. “Stop being sour.”

A half choked off incredulous snort came from Ellis on Prevna’s other side and my fellow seedling shot her a knowing look before coming to my defense. Sort of. “I know it sounds like trying to make snow warm, but she can do it if she tries.” Prevna raised her eyebrows at me. “Can’t you?”

I ground my teeth together. I wasn’t Fellen. I didn’t need to rise to every challenge thrown my way. “I don’t want to.”

Prevna let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m bored. You might be able to stare out at the middle distance for hours on end over planning every little thing and Ellis isn’t exactly talkative either, but I can’t just lay here.”

“You wouldn’t.” I spoke even as images of Prevna running through the scrubland or practicing her sling in the open, just for something to do, rose up in my mind. Logically, I knew she was smarter than that, but I also couldn’t deny that Prevna had a penchant for doing odd or inconvenient things at odd moments. “You’ve been part of ambushes before.”

It was the wrong thing to say. I knew that as soon as her eyes narrowed and her head tilted slightly to the side. “So?”

“So you should be used to the boredom.” Even worse.

“I see. Second nature for the Picker, right? Wasting tedious hours just so that we can steal from some unsuspecting victim?”

“That’s—”

“We didn’t waste hours laying on cold ground. My mother knew where targets would be and when to strike—and when we did have to wait my partners had the decency to make conversation. We knew that boredom leads to inattentiveness which inevitably leads to a failed ambush.”

“Don’t blame me for your inability to focus,” I snapped back. I didn’t like that we didn’t know when or where the crawler would show up for sure any more than anyone else did.

“Don’t blame me when your plan fails.”

I repeated myself, “You wouldn’t.”

She raised her chin and refused to look at me. “Wait and see.”

A handful of minutes later Ellis announced she was going to go check on the other group. We couldn’t hear the whispers on the wind yet, so she had to physically go and check on them. The inability to communicate easily between our groups grated on me, though Ellis’s check ins certainly helped and we needed the two locations to better our chances of actually capturing the crawler.

Ellis gave me an odd look as she left and glanced significantly over to Prevna. I shifted in my spot and scowled at the grass in front of my face. I certainly didn’t need the whisper woman’s help nor did I want to embroil myself further with Prevna. Even if she had already shoved and prodded her way into mattering, just a bit, distance was best. Safest.

“What do you want from me?” Sometimes I wished I could claw morbid curiosity out of my chest the same way I had burned out every memory of her.

It was Prevna’s turn to be caught off guard. “What?”

“What do you want from me? You…you,” more than a hint accusation started to creep into my voice, “poke and prod and keep demanding that I talk. And then you help me on the word of a girl you barely know and I know I haven’t been nice to you. So what do you storming want?”

I expected her to be flippant or brush off the question with her usual demeanor, but instead she rested her head on her hand and gave the question serious thought. When she did answer her tone was conspiratorial even as the way she held her head and shoulders indicated a challenge. “I…tend to trust my first impressions.”

“We met in a fight. An ambush.” The irony of our current situation wasn’t lost on me. “I bit you. You poisoned me.”

One hand touched where her shoulder met her neck without her seeming to notice and she smirked at me. A touch of her normal troublesome attitude returned. “Passionate, wasn’t it?” I spluttered and she snorted, waving a hand. “More interesting than most first meetings. Besides, you’re the closest I have to a kindred spirit since leaving my band.”

“Kindred spirit?” I repeated. I felt like a fool that couldn’t put the pieces of a puzzle together even though all the pieces were right in front of them. We weren’t anything alike.

Prevna focused on the clump of hair near my forehead that was still slowly growing out. “From one horror to another, right?”

Ah.

I could understand that. I knew that, in part, I had let Prevna get away with more because she was the only one who knew what it was like to be ostracized, even if she had had a family to support her through it for most of her life.

It didn’t feel like the full answer, like she was still keeping something back from me, but that was fine. She was already…closer than I had ever wanted to allow and if I kept asking questions she would likely feel entitled to ask them back. Everyone should be allowed a secret or two.

I nodded and Prevna seemed content to lapse back into silence. A part of me doubted it would last, but I took it while the silence was offered. Eliss returned a short while later with the news that the first dome group also hadn’t seen any activity yet.

We stared at the ocean for two more days and learned of another attempt by the crawler in one of the outposts that we hadn’t been able to trap. The whisper women avoided being stung but it got away again.

On the fourth day, Prevna looked up from stacking a small tower of stones and spotted an unusual ripple in the ocean waves.