The shadows on the cave wall and ceiling renewed their dance. Dawn tenderly spread the bandage on Dusk’s rear. Across the fire from the twins, Leaf squatted and leaned forward to unroll the bison pelt upon which she would sleep.

“If that is the case,” Dawn said, “perhaps I will simply call you Reeve, and the Wurmslayer can remain such. The gods can keep Reavyr.”

“Do as you like, Sister,” Dusk said, rolling her head to rest sideways on her arms, “but in my opinion, that title has aged, and honorifics past their prime are unseemly. Walter he will be to me.”

“Yes, well, sorry about the, uh, …,” Walter stopped just short of pointing at Dusk’s still-half-exposed cheek, which was strikingly shapely even when covered in bandages and dried blood.

Dusk did not respond.

“Mind her not, Wurmslayer,” Dawn said. “Misadventure befalls the best of us. Accidents happen.”

“Apparently,” Dusk said, “twice.”

Reeve watched the twins closely as Dawn continued dressing her sister’s wound. After a few seconds, Reeve’s eyes shifted to Leaf, who crawled forward onto her thick sleeping pelt and rolled onto her back. Without looking, the fallen elf ran a hand along the ground next to her to find her cudgel where it lay and raised it, inspecting its surfaces carefully before pulling from her cloak a cloth worn thin enough to see through with which she began to clean and polish the weapon.

“Reeve, who’s this Viv—“

“Shhh, later.”

Walter squinted, confused, at his daughter and twisted the point of one of his ears.

“Everybody feeling…OK?” Reeve said.

Dusk gave a light, short musical laugh.

“Well, your butt aside, Dusk,” Reeve said.

“I will speak neither for my sister nor for her wounded…honor,” Dawn said, straight-faced, and Dusk reached back to give Dawn’s knee a sharp but light bop with her fist, “but, battle weariness aside, I suffer from nothing a night’s rest cannot soothe.”

Reeve looked at Leaf. As the silence in the cave began to stretch, Leaf turned from her polishing and looked past the fire to Reeve.

“Aye,” Leaf said. “Rest. The morn’ will see us under a new light.”