When the wagon's wheel was fixed, Finne made to get in but Mercus stopped him.

"Kaeso left his horse," said Mercus, gesturing to Kaeso's gelding. "Do you want to ride?"

Aleci hoped Kaeso enjoyed the chilliest of baths.

"If you want to, Finne, join me," he said, seeing Finne's hesitancy.

Edon's eyes widened when he saw Finne riding with Aleci. He shot Finne a disbelieving look, before Ediann's guessing game with Aleci caught his attention.

"Why would you guess something if it's going to go by you in a moment? Your game doesn't make sense," he said, frowning.

"Why not?" Aleci replied.

It amused him, watching Edon's eyes go wide with confusion. Perhaps it was what Finne looked like when he was younger, Edon had Finne's eyes. "Have you not done this with him?" he asked Finne, over Edon's head.

Finne shook his head, shoulders shaking in silent laughter, "Not with such sincerity and innocence."

"What are you talking about?" Edon frowned, looking between Finne and Aleci, "What's so funny?"

"If you want to know," said Aleci, "then why don't you learn the tongue?"

"I'm not staying here long, why would I?" Edon insisted.

But he was intrigued anyway, and at least joined in guessing when Ediann started to haltingly spell bird. It made the ride more tolerable thought Aleci, remembering his own trips with his mother and sister. Ediann fell asleep half way through their travels, and it was very dark when they reached the lake. Domerc was waiting for them, offering to carry Ediann to the cabin.

"It's yours," he said to Finne, gesturing at the tents around the lake and the small fires already lit. "Everyone's made themselves comfortable."

Finne opened his mouth and closed it, and nodded his thanks. The cabin was as Finne had drawn it, even the rug was there as well. Someone, Aleci supposed Kaeso, had given the room a quick clean. He had also set up a second bed. Aleci signed deeply, but smiled when Finne gave him a questioning look.

"I would fetch the food?" Aleci offered.

He was stopped by Edon, who hesitantly looked Aleci up and down before saying, "If there's fish, can I have some?"

"Of course," Aleci nodded. "I will ask."

His first questions wouldn't be about fish. Aleci scanned the tents, looking for the one that was Kaeso's. When he found Kaeso's tent, painted with a circle at the door, he found Kaeso sitting with Mercus and Domerc around a campfire, roasting a moderately sized fish.

"Good evening, Aleci," said Kaeso, grinning broadly at whatever ire he saw on Aleci's face.

"Hen pecked," Aleci stated, his eyes flickering from one unapologetic face to the next. "Is that what you think I am, hen pecked?"

"I never said it," Domerc pointed out.

"I suppose it's an unfair observation," Kaeso began.

"And?" Aleci snarled, "Why is that so?"

"I think," Mercus said, "Praefect, they've only ever seen you after you've had your ah.... Meetings. With you know, Maera and the priestess-"

"-and your mother," Kaeso added, pouring Aleci a wine-skin from a cask nest to him, no doubt it was taken from the cabin. "So it's rather biased. They think you're driven by the things women tell you to do, and that somehow ruined your ah, tastes."

"Rubbish," Aleci snapped but took a drink anyway, "I never did fancy women in the first place."

"It is a rather hard thing to understand," offered Domerc. "Is it unsurprising that they filled in the missing pieces, Praefect? Do you want to tell them to stop?"

"Ah, what does it matter?" said Aleci, downing the wine and wrinkling his nose at its taste. "They all want to serve under Aleci, he who, what was it last time?"

"Stood strong and brave against a horde of barbarians," said Domerc, nodding.

Aleci nearly spat out the wine, "Are they still going on about that? They should know, I couldn't just run home to Galer on a failure now could I?"

"But you stayed," said Kaeso, "when others didn't. Isn't that something?"

"I'll leave you lot to gossip," Aleci groused, Finne's words coming to him, and muttered angrily. "I'll be glad when there's actual women for the men to spend their coin and time on."

He ignored Kaeso's triumphant smile as well, the bastard better watch his back, Aleci was perfectly capable of giving Kaeso an unwanted wake up call.

"Praefect wait," Domerc said, standing up and holding out something in his hand. It was red chalk, the kind that Domerc used to mark directions for his scouts. "Here, I think Ediann might enjoy using more than one color."

Ediann was very taken by the red chalk Aleci handed to him. He took it in his chubby fist, beaming. His curls were slightly damp, like Edon, who was busy fumbling with something in the bags, and he smelled of goat tallow soap. When Aleci offered the smoked fish to him, he shook his head, but nodded and reached out a hand towards the dried meat Aleci had in his bowl. Edon begrudgingly said his thanks when Aleci handed him his portion.

"Where is your mamaí? " Aleci asked, and to Ediann he signed, "Where is mamaí ?"

Finne had told him Ediann had always called Finne mamaí, and it would be strange to convert it to Finne in sign. The Imrukians used a different alphabet altogether, so Aleci had settled for a rocking motion with his hand. Quick and easy, he had explained, telling him how his name was shortened when his men talked with him as well, and Finne nodded. In response, Ediann pointed to the screen that Aleci's men had placed there.

"Is something the matter?" Finne asked, coming from behind the screen.

He too, looked as if he'd washed, and he was patting Ethain's back, gently soothing him. Then Ethain coughed and let out a torrent of fluid. Edon exclaimed in disgust, wrinkling his nose.

"Do you want to change?" offered Aleci, half impressed at how much liquid was dripping down Finne's shirt.

Finne gave a resigned sigh, "The spares are all drying in Iachos’s wagon."

The distant hysterical laughter he heard in his head was undoubtedly Kaeso congratulating himself on being right. Well, thought Aleci, Kaeso was wrong, it wasn't a courtship unless both parties agreed to it.

"You can borrow one of mine," he went to his trunk and handed Finne a clean tunic. It was courtesy of Mercus, he did have a way of getting stains out of anything. "Would you like me to hold him?"

Ethain did not take kindly to being handed over. He squirmed in Aleci's arms, his mouth opened to let out an ear piercing scream that had Edon clapping his hands over his ears.

"Shh!" said Aleci, bouncing him. "Are you trying to work yourself up to empty your stomach again? It was impressive the first time, but I don't think a second go's appreciated." He grinned, sticking out his tongue, "Do you know? I can scream louder than you." He heard a choked laugh from Finne and his smile widened. "But I don't think that would be appreciated, would it?"

Perhaps Finne never talked to Ethain while he was crying, Aleci observed, because the baby reacted with wide eyed bafflement at Aleci's chatter. That novelty wouldn't last, babies were more fickle than cats.

"Why do you talk to him?" said Edon, frowning, "He doesn't understand."

"What makes you think so?" Aleci queried.

"Because he's a baby!" Edon exclaimed loudly before hesitantly lowering his hands from his ears, "He's a baby and he doesn't understand anything!"

"How do you know?" said Aleci, calmly.

Edon blinked, "But he just… lies there and cries and-" he glanced at Finne and scowled, "I don't know."

A novel idea came to Aleci, and he asked, "Would you ride Stygian when she was a foal?"

"No, but she came to me as a horse!"

"Ethain didn't just come to you as a boy your age, you'll just have to wait."

"Seven years!" Edon shook his head in disbelief.

"Hm, I would say five, maybe four. Ediann's age."

"Ediann," Edon began, glancing at Ediann who was drawing and oblivious to the flurry of activity. "I guess Ediann does some things," he approached Aleci hesitantly, eyeing Ethain with suspicion, "Are you certain it would take only four years?"

"Very much so," Aleci nodded, struggling not to laugh. "Only four."