As Winters exited the village, he noticed a familiar guard on duty. “Morning Xan, you feeling alright?” He asked, remembering the festival when he’d last seen the young guard. Xan rendered a salute with his spear, wincing a bit as he did so.

“I’ve felt better, but Thantis assures me that I’ll recover fully with time. It’s just my ribs, nothing that would stop me from basic duties,” Xan explained, looking the human over with a critical eye. “Are you going hunting?”

“I am. Veera’s harvest isn’t nearly enough to keep both of us alive through the winter, and fishing has proven it isn’t going to be reliable. This is the only way. Besides, as you can probably tell I’m a heavy eater,” Winters finished with a laugh. Xan joined in but stopped quickly as the pain in his ribs flared again. “I’m sorry about the festival Xan. What happened with…Eris was her name?” Xan seemed pleased he’d remembered.

“Yes, Eris. Can’t say things worked out the way I wanted them to, but she decided not to take a mate this year at all, so I suppose I can’t complain. Thank you again, by the way. I haven’t forgotten your lesson. How is your injury?”

“More or less healed. I didn’t suffer any bone damage. You’re kind to ask Xan. What’s your plan in the meantime, if you don’t mind my asking?” Winters hoped he hadn’t prodded a sore spot, but Xan considered his question thoughtfully.

“I guess just being friendly, you know? She and I both live on the east side of the village so I see her every so often, not to mention when I’m doing rounds or gate duty. We get some time to talk. She even had me over for tea the other day!”

“Oh yeah? How’d you swing that one?” Winters couldn’t help his curiosity. Xan bore a awkward look on his face.

“Well, the main reason was actually because my ribs were acting up, had some sort of muscle spasm or something, could barely keep myself upright, even with my spear. She helped me to her place, sat me down, told me I was under orders to relax, and made us tea. It helped…a lot actually.” Xan smiled as he recounted the tale.

“I guess there are worse things in life than letting a woman know you’re human,” Winters mused.

“Huh? But I’m not a human.” Xan insisted.

“Heh, right you are kid. Sorry, just a turn of phrase. I meant that it’s not a bad thing to be a little vulnerable sometimes around the woman you like, makes you more relatable, you know? She saw you get the snot beaten out of you, so she already knew that I guess…but she’s also seeing you uphold your duty in spite of the pain. Not a terrible turn of events,” Winters explained with a kind gesture.

“Huh, I never thought of it that way. I was embarrassed in the moment, but maybe it was for the best like you said!”

“More importantly though, you’ve not suffered anything further?” Winters asked seriously, worried about Xan’s condition as he remembered the drubbing the guard had received from Vash’s son.

“Nothing like that, no. She sent me to Thantis once I left her place, walked me there and everything, had to make sure I wouldn’t run off I guess. She’s very kind, but doesn’t take no for an answer.” Winters couldn’t help but smile behind his helmet at the light in Xan’s eyes as he talked about his crush. The way it sounded to him there was at least something to build on. Nodding with satisfaction, Winters unwrapped the bowstring from around the bow’s grip and began stringing it, figuring he could spend a little more time chatting.

“I’m glad to hear it Xan,” he said as he pressed the bow into the dirt and bent it into the right shape, letting it spring back with a satisfying sound. “Keep showing interest in her. I’m sure it will pay off.”

“Girls can wait Winters, what the heck is that!” Xan exclaimed, remarking the bow’s oddly contorted shape.

“In a word? Power. Here, you want to take a look?” He offered, handing Xan the bow. The young guard accepted it eagerly, examining its shape and structure. He tried pulling it back, but only managed about a quarter draw.

“By Uthos this thing is heavy Winters, can you really draw it fully?”

“Yeah, the armor helps a bit actually, to say nothing of protecting me when I loose an arrow. Don’t feel bad that you can’t,” Winters reassured him, accepting the bow back. “Anyway, I’d better be going, those chesko aren’t going to hunt themselves. Feel better Xan, alright?”

“You sure you’re not hunting something more than chesko?” Xan asked suspiciously.

“I think something more than chesko has been hunting me,” Winters replied without humor, watching the fear of the unknown creep into Xan’s eyes. “I promised Ratha I would hunt in the north and avoid the village hunters’ usual grounds. Can’t be too careful.”

“I can’t argue with that. Thank you for the well wishes and be safe out there.”

“Same to you kid, see you around.” Winters turned with a wave and made for the tree line to the northwest, not worrying about treading through anyone’s fields now that the harvest was completed.

‘Sir, do you have a moment?’ Io asked, appearing in his HUD with a reserved expression on her face.

“I always have time for you Io, what’s up?” Winters replied kindly, hoping to put her at ease. He suspected that Io was still experiencing growing pains and, now that she’d developed a wide variety of human traits, was embarrassed about it.

‘I wanted to ask you about something you told Veera two nights ago. It was when the two of you were furthering your physical relationship,’ Io explained, a very feminine blush gracing her features as Winters trudged through the trees near the village, keeping an eye on his HUD’s compass.

“I see. By the way, you were very polite that night. I wanted to thank you for that.”

‘You’re welcome sir. It is also in my best interests to not interrupt the two of you in those moments. It would corrupt my studies of intimacy.’ Winters accepted her comment at face value.

“That makes sense. What did you want to ask me about though?”

‘You told Veera that you were glad you weren’t alone out here, that you’d found her. I…I thought…oh, you’re angry with me,’ Io said in a dejected tone, watching Winters’ face morph into a grimace.

“At ease Io, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m mad with myself,” he reassured her, pausing to sit on a fallen tree so that the two of them could come to an understanding before focusing on the hunt.

‘Sir, why have we stopped?’

“Because you deserve a full explanation Io. Because I care about you just as much as I care about Veera,” Winters spoke emphatically. Io looked forlorn.

‘You have no idea how much I wish I could hug you at moments like this. It seems most pleasant,’ the VI said sadly.

“I…yeah. I know Io. And that’s kinda the whole issue here. In that moment with Veera, it really wouldn’t have been fair to her to make a nuanced argument about how technically I would have you even if I was alone on some uninhabited planet. It just…wasn’t the point. You can do things for me that Veera can never do. The way we evolved to work together can probably never be replicated unless we get you and all your records back into a serious Beta Division laboratory. Even then they might never be able to really reproduce the conditions that we faced here together. What I’m trying to say is I’d be just as lost without you Io. But the fact of the matter remains…I need Veera too. I’m sleeping better than I have in weeks. I feel like the haze of death has left me well enough alone for me to function again, to look forward to the next day instead of just knowing I have to live for Jess and the others. That’s how I feel when I hold her to me, when I kiss her…that’s what I was trying to convey to her that night. I’m sorry I didn’t speak to you about it later. I should have. Forgive me?” He asked timidly, wishing very much that he could reach out and touch Io. It was the first time he could ever remember feeling that way. Io was wiping a tear from her eye and nodding emphatically.

‘Of course I forgive you, barbar. You’re the only reason I can feel all out of sorts like this in the first place! And I do understand what you mean, logically. I know I’ve said that I understand Veera and I will always fill different roles in your life it’s just…’ Io paused and looked around, unsure how to continue.

“It’s just that sometimes emotions get the better of us, and make us forget the logic, right?”

‘Right.’

“You’re beautiful Io. Don’t ever change, alright?” He requested, seeing more of her budding humanity shine through.

‘I presume you mean that metaphorically, right?’ She asked, looking at him with more emotion than he’d ever noticed in her eyes before. There was no doubt in his mind that Io was, in her own way, somehow learning the things that she very much desired to know, even if she wasn’t able to understand them directly.

“Yes, that was a metaphor, of course. I know well enough by now how you work, but, whatever subroutines are making you…you?” He guessed with a shrug. “Don’t change those.” Io nodded and rendered a casual salute.

‘I understand your meaning sir. Thank you for listening to me. Shall we hunt now?’ She asked, changing out of her HEL officer’s uniform and back into her barbarian garb.

“You really like that outfit, don’t you?”

‘It makes me feel powerful sir.’

“As well it should. So long as you’re feeling better, I’m in agreement. Let’s go kill something.” Winters stood again and grabbed an arrow from its clip, nocking it and leaving the bow in a resting position.

‘Yes, let’s!’ Io agreed vigorously. ‘Activating tracking protocol Skaði version 1.0, you may proceed sir,’ Io commanded as an entirely new overlay lit up his HUD. For a moment Winters stood stock still, processing the new information he was seeing.

“Uh…who’s Skaði?” He asked, absorbing the various changes to his field of view. Nearby was a broken branch on a bush, Io had highlighted it as the potential work of a chesko or hyrven. Twigs and other objects on the ground that would make noise if stepped on were shown in red, a warning to enhance his stealth. A vertical bar was labeled ‘scent’, and seemed to be Io’s attempt at configuring the Aegis to simulate a human’s olfactory abilities. At the moment it wasn’t reading anything. A bit further away a pile of droppings was highlighted in green. They were triggering the suit’s heat sensors and Io clearly thought they merited a closer examination. “This is amazing Io.”

‘You flatter me sir. I’m glad we spent all that time walking to and from Veera’s farm now. I was able to gather so much data on how the local forest works. Keep in mind none of this is set in stone as we’ve never actually tried to use this information to track prey, but I believe this is better than nothing. Of course I will be refining this program as we go along,’ she reassured him.

“Better than nothing? No need to be so modest Io! Give yourself a pat on the back why don’t you? Even if it was just the HUD element that warns me of where to place my feet, this is fantastic!” Winters exclaimed, chuckling as Io did, indeed, pat herself on the shoulder. “Seriously though…who’s Skaði?”

‘She is a figure from Norse mythology sir, a jötunn who is commonly associated with bow hunting, mountains, winter, and skiing. She dates back to at least the 13th century A.D., and is said to have been the wife of Odin, at least for a time, bearing him many children…or so the story goes,’ Io recounted, taking pride in the look she received from Winters.

“I’d say that’s an inspired choice Io. I approve of the program and the name. Shall we?”

‘Indeed sir, proceed without fear.’

-----

Veera moved swiftly through the forest with the practiced ease of a veteran scrounger, her basket and satchel already partially laden with useful plants and fungi. She was disappointed that most of them were inedible, but figured that in the end they would all be of use to someone. With Seil moving low in the sky, she made her way south to the river; refilling her canteen and providing her with an easy guide to follow back home. After quenching her thirst, she couldn’t help but lean back over the smooth surface of the slow-running water. Her reflection stared back at her, chestnut eyes, black freckles, and of course, her stripes.

“So you were just doing what you were told to do, is that it?” She spoke to her reflection. “Just following the instructions you received from mother? Why not the ones from father? Why did it have to be hers?” She lamented briefly, reflecting upon how simple the whole situation was. The villagers were right, in a sense. If she mated, she would pass on those stripes to her cubs. She knew that was true now. Io and Winters had shown her that fact, the science behind it. She was sure they had just scratched the surface of such a complex system, but somehow that complexity boiled down to the simple mechanics of heredity and her stripes. For a moment she cried, remembering the silence of her mother’s funeral and the cruel words that had been directed at her and her family for as long as she could remember. As the first tear hit the water’s surface and distorted her reflection, new memories pooled to the surface. The pod crashing to Mara, Winters fighting the sun guards in his combat armor, their first dinner together, the festival, her first kiss, the way he tasted when she bit down on him, the wonderful sound of ‘I love you’ in her ears, the way he looked at her body, stripes and all. Forgive me mother, that was unfair.

“The gods truly do work in mysterious ways. There was no way I could ever be with one of my own, and yet I’m still mated…mated…” Veera repeated, rising from her kneeling positon and heading for home, thoughts swirling in her mind. There was so much she still wanted to ask her human. Recalling his words from that morning, she cleared her head and focused, gripping the handle of the blade he’d given her. Feeling more comfortable in her own skin than she had in a long time, Veera couldn’t help a smile. Thank you Russell.

-----

‘Sir, there are only a couple hours of daylight left, I do believe we should turn around,’ Io advised, advocating for caution despite being excited at the idea of going toe to toe with an ursae.

“Io, you can’t fool me for a second,” Winters informed her, stepping carefully over some undergrowth and checking his HUD again. “We’re close now, let’s do this thing.”

‘Sir, I have no idea what you’re talking about. We still don’t have a visual and my warning was fully justified,’ she huffed at him, hands on her hips.

“Your tone of voice says otherwise. Tell you what, there’s a ridge or a hill of some sort just ahead, should give us a good view of the forest to the north. If we don’t see anything we’ll turn back, alright? I know we’ve been getting small blips of hyrven activity, but nothing confirmed and nothing to indicate a pack.”

‘Be that as it may sir, I don’t think the readings are wrong. There are hyrven in the area. We’ve traveled due north since leaving the village,’ Io protested, bringing up a rough map of the area and the projected location of Veera’s village relative to their position. Winters nodded.

“I know Io, and you’re right. On the other hand, you’re also the partner of a HEL Jumper and it hasn’t escaped me the number of times I’ve been pinged about possible traces of ursae despite nothing showing up on sensors. You want to fight it, don’t you?” He insisted, giving her a long and hard look as he crept towards the ridge, keeping his profile low and using trees for cover. Io was picking up auditory cues now.

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about sir,’ Io insisted, throwing her hair to the side in a perfectly dismissive gesture.

“Oh yes you do young lady. That ursae was spoofing our sensors but you picked something up. You took it as a challenge, didn’t you?” He asked, hitting the ground and crawling the last few feet up the ridge.

‘I…oh alright yes! Are you happy now sir? Yes I want to collect more data so I can refine my detection protocols and show that lumbering pile of meat and fur who the real alpha predator on this planet is!’ Io declared, clearly upset at the idea of some primitive alien thinking it could stalk her or her partner. Winters only smiled at her.

“That’s my girl. And I think you’re already halfway there. For now though, take a look,” he said, poking his head over the ridge to gaze upon a fairly steep slope and a large chesko at the bottom, grazing in the low brush. Io’s grin was almost feral as she brandished a double bladed axe that was far too large for her body.

‘Target sighted! Fire when ready!’

“I’m rubbing off on you,” Winters stated as a matter of fact. “How do you want to do this?”

‘Initiating aim-assist now sir, analyzing ambient conditions.’ Io worked out the wind speed and other factors as Winters slowly drew himself into a kneeling position as quietly as possible. Once he was set, Io projected a cone on his HUD, showing the estimated flight path of his arrow along with the likely deviation given the distance.

“That’s really bloody cool Io. Thank you,” he said, lining up the center of the cone with the chesko’s center of mass, holding steady as it walked to another patch of greenery. When it had stopped to eat again, Winters drew the bow back.

‘Go for a headshot!’ Io insisted.

“What? Are you insane? That goes against all sorts of doctrine!”

‘Yes, but cool factor sir!’

“I have to eat Io! I can’t live on cool trick shots!”

‘I suppose all your antics at the festival were for show then! Oh alright, fine. Just shoot the bloody space deer already,’ she grumbled, giving him a cute pout.

“If I’m not eating steak tonight, I blame you,” he informed her seriously, shifting his bow’s point of aim to the right and releasing the arrow with a satisfying twang of the bowstring. At the noise, the chesko turned its head towards them, only to be hit directly in the skull thanks to its sudden movement. Its cry of surprise was immediately silenced as the serrations of the arrowhead penetrated and held in the bone, transferring the full momentum of the shot into the head of the animal and snapping its neck back and around. As it fell to the ground, neck horribly twisted, Winters leapt to his feet.

“Holy shit! Did you see that Io?!”

‘I know! I saw it! Oh my gods, you bloody savage! You barbar!’ She was jumping up and down with excitement, even bringing up a slow motion replay in the corner of his HUD. Winters took a moment to take it all in. His first hunt was a success, he’d made a kill. He and Veera would eat well for the foreseeable future. The adrenaline had him throwing his head back in laughter and punching the air with an armored fist.

“You were the one who came up with this idea Io! And since when do you believe in deities?!” Winters yelled, leaping forward and sliding down the hill in his armor, the decaying underbrush and dirt allowing enough slippage to carry them most of the way to their first kill. Io was crying with delight, wishing that she had been truly sentient during their drop to Mara, knowing the acceleration would have thrilled her.

‘Oh my sir, you sure know how to show a woman a good time,’ Io declared as Winters reached the carcass, drawing his knife and using it to slowly work the arrowhead out of the chesko’s skull. After a couple minutes of work to ensure he wouldn’t break anything, he grabbed it by the legs and began the long and arduous process of hauling it back to the village. The adrenaline had partially worn off, impressing upon him that he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“So…I guess this is the not so fun part of hunting,” Winters huffed, straining a bit as he began back up the hill. Pausing to reconsider his approach, he shrugged and knelt down, hoisting the dead chesko and draping it across his shoulders, holding its four legs in front of him with both hands.

‘Quite the fashion statement sir, you’ll be on the cover of every woman’s magazine when we get home,’ Io joked, still riding high from their kill.

“It was exhilarating, wasn’t it Io?” Winters asked, intrigued by her reaction to the whole thing.

‘The thrill of the hunt you mean?’

“Yes.”

‘It is indeed sir, though I hope you will not see me in a detrimental light because of it. It’s hard not to be excited when you so clearly are,’ she explained, looking a bit bashful.

“I didn’t mean that at all Io. You and Veera both know of my…bloodlust, for lack of a better term. I could hardly criticize you for something as natural as celebrating the successful conclusion to an hours long hunt.”

‘And you know that both Veera and I believe you are much too hard on yourself,’ Io shot back.

“You have the combat records.”

‘And they demonstrate your ability to terminate the enemy and accomplish your mission sir, nothing more. Those are the facts.’

“Alright, alright…let’s just drop it for now,” he insisted. “We should be focused on getting home. Both Ratha and Veera said the same thing.”

‘That the hunt is most dangerous when it’s over, yes sir. I shall remain vigilant.’ Io saluted and vanished, allowing him to fully focus on his HUD, though they still carried on their conversation as Winters began heavily walking his way back home with Io pointing out the most direct route.

-----

“He’s not going to leave us alone, is he?” Winters spat, watching his HUD carefully. He had less than an hour of daylight left.

‘It doesn’t appear so, sir. However, I’m not detecting any signs of a pack. This could be the individual we saw the other day.’

“How close?”

‘He should be within visual range now sir. I would advise you to prepare for combat,’ Io said, various HUD elements flashing warnings or alerts. The hyrven that had been tailing them for miles appeared to finally be making his move, perhaps worried about its ability to track or fight in darkness. Winters stopped walking, turning instead to face the oncoming pursuer. Thanks to Io he was able to pick out the form of the hyrven slinking through the trees and underbrush almost immediately.

“You’re good, but you’re not that good,” Winters muttered, watching as the hyrven paused. “Yeah that’s right, we see you. So what’s it going to be? My feather kitten is going to eat well tonight and there’s nothing you can do to stop that. So just go on, git, scram! Find your own chesko!” Winters yelled the challenge, ensuring that the hyrven knew without a doubt that it had been detected. It was undaunted and continued its approach, growling at him.

‘Sir, I believe we’re dealing with a more extreme case here,’ Io warned. ‘Based on the facial scarring this is indeed the individual we spotted with Veera before the festival.’

“And he’s hungry,” Winters finished, tilting his head side to side and cracking his neck in preparation for what seemed to be inevitable conflict. The hyrven had approached to a distance of twenty feet before stopping, snarling and barking at them as it circled, looking for an opening on a target burdened heavily by a fresh kill. Io decided she’d had enough, emitting her own battle roar using the Aegis’ helmet. The hyrven was momentarily taken aback, having now heard two distinct voices coming from one entity. Even that was not enough to deter it however. Io shrugged and procured her axe yet again.

‘I tried sir, but I don’t think he’s leaving without a fight. He’s desperate.’

“Agreed. Fine then, let’s go you bastard!” Winters roared, dropping the carcass to the side and moving to grab his sword. “Holy hell! What the-” Winters grunted heavily as the hyrven leapt upon him. The beast had attacked the moment the chesko fell, crossing the gap at an explosive pace and clearing the last ten feet in a leap that sent Winters crashing to the forest floor without a chance to arm himself, the snarling beast firmly atop him. The force of the impact was enough to knock the wind out of him as he landed flat on his shield, tilting his head forward so that the neck of his armor was minimally exposed to the swiping claws and gnashing teeth of the hyrven who was desperately trying to claw his way through any weak point in Winters’ armor. Io was screaming furiously, incensed that such a creature would flagrantly attack them and knock them to the floor, hacking and slashing away with her virtual blade. She had cleared his HUD of any superfluous information, allowing him a mostly unobstructed view of his attacker. He could see his armor was holding just fine. As soon as Winters recovered from the stunning effect of the hyrven’s bodily attack, he retaliated.

“Sorry mate, but this is over,” he growled, taking his left fist and socking the hyrven straight in the jaw, causing the beast to yelp in surprise and try to back away, only to have Winters’ right hand clasp its mouth shut. With a roar, Winters twisted hard, using both hands to snap the creatures neck. He grunted loudly as the thing fell on top of him, more literal dead weight on his armor. The whole fight was over in a matter of seconds.

‘Nicely done sir,’ Io congratulated him, panting and sweating from ‘exertion’.

“Team effort Io. But there’s no way we’re making it home before dark now.”

‘No, shall I call for help sir?’

“How?”

‘Veera. You know she will answer.’

“That’s exactly what I’m afraid of Io.”

‘She might be able to get to us before dark if she leaves now and is unburdened. This turn of events could be exceptional for the state of our material wealth sir. We managed to kill a hyrven.’

“A starving hyrven without a pack,” Winters retorted, breathing heavily as he managed to roll the heavy corpse off of him. He stood, looking at the two dead animals that he now had to get home somehow. One would feed him and Veera for a long time. The other would likely pay off any outstanding tabs with the temple of Tyrdus, to say nothing of the prestige it would garner him. Knowing Veera would kill him if he coddled her, he nodded. “Make the call Io.”

‘Sir!’ She saluted crisply and procured a virtual radio.

-----

“Ah, perfect! I knew Thantis would have some raw tea lying around,” Veera declared as she knelt to light a fire in her home. After returning from foraging, she had paid the old death priest a visit, taking time to chat as well as gift him a small amount of medicinal material. As thanks, he had given her some tea in return, as she had mentioned her success in preparing it the other day. With Seil almost setting in the east, she knew that Winters would be home soon, and wanted to greet him with something special, no matter if his hunt had been fruitful or not. She had flint and tinder in hand when Io’s voice rang out in her ear.

‘Veera, this is Io, come in Veera. The Lieutenant and I are in need of your immediate assistance. I repeat, we are in need of your immediate assistance.’ Veera felt her heart slam into her ribs.

“Oh gods, oh gods no!” Veera cried, leaping to her feet and pressing a finger to her ear. “Io, what’s going on? What happened to Russell?!” She yelled, feeling cold lances of fear piercing her chest, making every breath an effort.

‘What’s that sir? Oh, my apologies Veera, the Lieutenant just reminded me to inform you that we are unharmed. I apologize if I caused you distress. You cannot reach me with the limited range on your earpiece, so I will describe the current situation to you three times and then I will broadcast directions to our location until you are close enough for me to locate your earpiece and guide you to us.’

“Oh goddess, thank you.” Veera exhaled, slumping to the ground and leaning against her wooden bedframe. “Io you’re a terrible woman leading me on like that! Thank you Kel, thank you Meylith, thank you Valta,” Veera recited, clutching her chest as her racing heart slowly calmed. She listened as Io began to explain the circumstances her mate had found himself in.

‘We managed to down a chesko a long ways from the village. On our way home we were stalked and attacked by a lone hyrven. We dispatched him in the most badass way possible. I’ll show you the vids later. What sir? Oh, yes, sorry. Veera, we need help getting both of these kills back to the village. We believe it likely that whatever has been stalking us these past nights might be willing to take a chance if it’s just us alone lugging two carcasses, to say nothing of other hyrven. Please assist. We are north northwest of the village. This message will repeat twice.’

Veera was on her feet immediately, gathering her knife and canteen before sprinting from her home through the back alleys of the village, arriving at the temple of Tyrdus a few minutes later. She burst through the doorway without ceremony.

“Zolta!” She yelled. “Zolta where are you?!”

“My word Veera, what’s all this about?” Zolta’s master looked up from a leather garment he was working on as everyone else in the temple fell silent at the intrusion. A moment later Zolta emerged from the storeroom, an ingot of metal in his hands.

“Veera, what in the name of Tyrdus is going on?” He asked, a bit unsettled by the wild look in her eyes. She strode up to him.

“I need you to come with me immediately,” she insisted.

“Veera I just lit the forge, I was about to start on Russell’s spear head, what could possibly-”

“Russell killed a hyrven!” She screamed, eyes wide. For a moment the room was completely silent, followed by an explosion of noise.

“Zolta, he killed a chesko and was attacked. He’s out there right now with both of those carcasses and night is coming. I have to get to him and help him. Please come with me,” she implored desperately. Zolta looked to his master.

“It’s your call, young one.”

“The last time Ratha brought one in was early spring,” Zolta considered, thinking about Asha and their hopes for a home and a future together. The temple of the twin goddesses always paid handsomely for hyrven fur, not to mention Vash and some of the other priests. Even Antoth wore a bit of the fur, though that had been gifted to him following his actions in the last raid. Mind made up, he walked quickly to his master, dropping the ingot and his protective clothing on the table.

“I’m sorry to have wasted the fuel in the forge sir.” He bowed before vanishing into the forge chamber, emerging again with a long knife clutched in his hand, one of the pieces that had yet to be sold. As he grabbed Veera by the hand and the two sprinted from the building, cheers went up amongst the other smiths before they fell into eager conversation about what they might want to do if they got their hands on any hyrven pelt or bone. Chuckling to himself, Zolta’s master calmly set his piece down and proceeded into the forge room, manning the bellows with a smile on his face. “Ah, the flames of youth…”

-----

“How do we even know where they are Veera?!” Zolta yelled, breathing heavily as they sprinted for the trees, leaving two confused guards behind them.

“Io…I mean I’m getting a signal from his armor!” Veera replied, cursing herself for letting slip Io’s name. Fortunately Zolta didn’t seem to have caught on, clearly thinking about the task ahead. “It’s to the north and west, come on!” She encouraged, looking desperately for the landmarks that Io was mentioning and keeping the faint light of sunset to her right. After about fifteen minutes, a most welcome sound greeted her.

‘Ah, wonderful Veera! I have a lock on your position. You’re heading in the right direction. When the pings get louder, you know you’re close!’ Io informed her. Veera couldn’t help a cry of happiness. Zolta looked at her.

“We’re almost there, his armor can sense me,” she told him.

“Good. We’re almost out of daylight,” Zolta remarked anxiously. A few minutes later they burst through a thick growth of trees, finding Winters struggling to drag the two dead animals behind him.

“Veera!” He cried, catching her as she launched herself at him.

“Oh gods Russell, I was so worried about you. I feared the worst!”

“I know, but it’s alright. I’m fine,” Winters reassured her, knowing the brutal marks on his armor likely told another story. “Don’t worry, those will buff out. Zolta, good of you to join us! I daresay you’re about to get paid early.”

“You’re a maniac Winters, you know that?” Zolta grumbled, grabbing the chesko by the feet and motioning for Veera to do the same. The two of them had soon managed a way of carrying it between the two of them without letting it drag on the forest floor. Winters nodded in thanks, hoisting the hyrven onto his back.

‘Forget what I said about the chesko sir. You look truly marvelous,’ Io remarked happily. Winters deactivated his speaker.

“Can it until Zolta’s not around and keep an eye out for our stealthy friend,” he told her, wondering how the beast would react to seeing its ‘prey’ kill some of the other denizens of the forest.

‘Yes sir.’ Io vanished, allowing him to look over at his two helpers.

“Thanks a lot you two, I wouldn’t have made it back in time.”

“We still won’t,” Zolta pointed out.

“Yes, but we will make it back sooner, and we’re more intimidating now. Good thinking bringing that knife by the way. Also…you don’t want the hyrven?” He asked.

“I’ll happily take it as payment Winters, but you downed the thing. No way in hell I’d steal your credit. The gods would smite me for it,” Zolta explained, keeping his head on a swivel and content to carry the chesko.

“Thank you Veera.” Winters lowered his voice and spoke lovingly to his mate.

“Thank you for relying on me,” she replied. The two of them fell silent after that, knowing that everything could wait until they were safe again inside the walls of the village. Winters couldn’t help a triumphant grin under his helmet. Eat shit Ratha.