Callida woke up to the sounds of shouting, clashing swords, and the crackling of fire. Erkunden was likewise trying to rouse himself, his head still resting against her thigh. “It sounds like the cavalry’s arrived. Do you know what’s going on?” Callida asked.

“I just woke up,” he croaked, his impressively swollen face limiting his vision to a single eye. “What happened?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“You said something like ‘over my dead body’, and then the bandits started beating me. They stopped randomly about the time I passed out.”

“You didn’t miss much,” Callida said, catching him up. “We got put back in here, and we’ve been here ever since.”

“Why’d they stop beating me, Beta? What did you say to them?”

“Uh, I let Filoso’s knife do the talking.”

“You killed them?!”

“They shouldn’t have touched my boyfriend!” Erkunden snorted at her indignation and then winced. “I think you might have a concussion.”

“Yeah. I think you’re probably right,” Erkunden grimaced, setting a palm against his temple.

They heard the familiar sound of a key in the door, and Callida carefully extracted herself to stand defensively between it and Erkunden. “What do you want?”

“Out!” The guard barked, but his voice was urgent and the familiar sounds of a raging battle seemed to inch ever nearer.

“Why? Where are you taking us?”

“Kill the spare,” someone ordered on their way toward the battle, and two guards entered the cabin, one pulling a knife, to move around Callida. One man hit the ground when a loud crack indicated that something in his leg had snapped. Callida left him to scream in agony, jumping onto the back of his comrade, her arm forming a strangling hold around his neck. Her back was slammed into the wall, winding her slightly and loosening her grip around the bandit’s neck just enough for him to get his fingers around her forearm. While his focus turned to the arm around his neck, Callida’s other hand snaked around his face, finding his eye sockets. He screamed and crumpled, and Callida jumped off his back, knocking him unconscious with a swift kick to the side of his head. Callida returned to the man clutching his thigh and drifting in and out of consciousness to pull the sword out of his belt.

“No, please,” he begged. His pleas fell of deaf ears. With a small river of blood now staining the floor, Callida helped Erkunden to his feet. Her shoulders served as his crutch as he staggered through the door.

“I didn’t realize how vicious you are, Beta,” he laughed a little deliriously and then puked all over his boots.

“First battle?” Callida asked.

“Yeah.”

They worked their way toward the front lines, Callida supporting Erkunden as best she could while defending against the odd bandit that recognized them as the enemy. Erkunden’s face turned a slightly more ghostly color with each violent encounter until he finally vomited again.

“Sorry, Beta.”

“It’s not your fault. Between the concussion and the first time seeing battle, this is totally normal.” She looked around, a thrill of energy hitting her chest to see Germanus fighting side by side with Keit a mere twenty feet from their current position. “Come on.” She tugged Erkunden forward, cutting a few bandits down on the way to meet with their allies.

“Hey, kid!” Germanus shouted over the din, moving to cover her as she and Erkunden folded into the ranks. “‘Gonna join in the fun?”

“Fun?!” Erkunden gasped, trying not to gag.

“Let me get him out of dodge first. I’ll be back.”

“I’ll be here,” Germanus grinned, a splatter of blood hitting him across his shoulder and up his neck.

A few seconds later, Erkunden wretched again. Callida looked around and made eye contact with Ablenkung who rushed to meet her. “Get him out of here for me?” Ablenkung took Erkunden’s arm off Callida’s shoulders to wrap it around his own neck. Feeling significantly lighter, Callida turned around to join her brother.

***

By the first glimmer of morning twilight, the camp was little more than the smoldering remains of buildings littered with broken bodies. Callida yawned, the absence of adrenaline leaving her drowsy. She hated this part: waiting for the casualty reports to trickle in. A quick scan of the battle field proved that the bandits took a disproportionate number of the casualties, but Callida had watched the bodies of Bear Tribe soldiers being removed for identification and a battlefield burial.

“Captain Tragen,” a young soldier saluted Keit who was sitting behind her, “I have the casualty report.”

Keit sighed, not really wanting the answer to his obligatory question. “What’s the damage?” The soldier swallowed and passed Keit a paper breaking the casualty count down by deaths, severe injuries, and moderate injuries. “Dismissed, soldier.” Keit unfolded the paper and cut himself off from cursing.

“How bad is it?” Germanus asked, glancing over his shoulder. “That can’t be right,” Germanus snatched the paper out of Keit’s hand to look at the numbers. “Less than three hundred dead? Have they counted the bandits yet?”

“That’s still three hundred men, Germanus,” Keit scolded.

“Yeah, but their casualties, I’m guessing, were multiplied by a factor of ten! That’s really good, Keit. It could have been so much worse.”

Keit stood up to walk off his anger. He knew logically that what Germanus said was true, but three hundred men was still three hundred men representing three hundred families that would never be the same. “I’m going to find some water.”

“I’ll come with you,” Callida hopped up to show him where the clean mountain spring water could be found.

“No offense, Beta, but I want to be alone.”

“Sure, and I’m coming with you.” Keit grumbled and followed Callida to the stream. “I’m sorry about Germanus.”

“What are you sorry for? He’s right. It could have been a lot worse.”

“But the hypothetical ‘worse’ doesn’t make the reality any easier. It’s easy to forget that when you’ve been a soldier as long as Germanus has been-- as long as I have been even.” She met Keit’s teary eyes. “Are you ok?”

“I’ll be alright.”

She smiled gently. “... Which means you’re not alright right now. Do you need a hug?”

“What?!” Keit balked and then felt silly for having such a reaction. “Yeah, actually. I could use a hug.” The hug was granted, and Keit felt his tears tug a little harder as he relaxed into Callida’s arms. She didn’t let go, allowing him to be the one to determine the length of the embrace. Finally pulling back, Keit wiped his eyes dry and resumed filling up his water bag. “Thanks.”

“Yup,” Callida smiled, quickly filling her own bag before walking away again, leaving Keit to process everything and return when he was ready.

***

Back at the base, Squad 14 gave General Gutig their full report before being granted a couple weeks leave for some rest and time to process everything. The boys especially needed it as most of them had never seen a full-scale battle before, and a couple like Erkunden had never even seen a human killed before. The Squad 14 bunker was unusually quiet for the next couple of days, even with Keit adding a cot to the room so he could get away from the officer’s bunker while everyone worked through their own emotions and traumas. That’s why, when Erkunden broke the silence one evening, everyone jumped.

“Hey, Beta, you promised to tell us about your necklace.”

“I did? When?”

“Before you gave your recruitment pitch to the brawlers, you said you’d tell me about your necklace when we got back to the inn, but you never did.”

“Oh. I guess I did say that, didn’t I?” That felt like a lifetime ago. “Well, uh, sure.” She pulled the chain over her head, dangling it over the side of her bunk for Erkunden to take and inspect.

“Two rings? They look like family crest rings.”

“That’s because they are,” Callida smiled a little sadly. “They belonged to my parents. The gold one was my dad’s, the silver one was my mom’s.”

“So these are the Animo and Bishou family crests?” Spahen asked, curiously glancing over Erkunden’s shoulder.

“Yup. The accompanying motto for each is fidelis in morte or ‘faithful in death’ and rongu he chengxin meaning ‘honor and integrity’.”

“So this is how you remember them?” Bern asked.

“Yeah. The rings help me keep them close to my heart, literally and figuratively, and it reminds me what they fought and died for. But the necklace has also helped me process my grief. Having something physical to hold somehow grounds me…. It’s hard to explain.”

“Makes sense to me,” Keit offered. “Is the necklace reserved for grieving your family, or can friends make the chain?”

“I mean, Primordials forbid that one of you dies,” Callida snorted. “But yeah. If you wanted to will me your family ring, I’d add you to the necklace.”

“Hm,” Keit stretched out on his cot, “there’s something kind of comforting about someone wanting to ‘keep me close’ after I die.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather you just didn’t die, honestly,” Callida laughed and extended her hand back to Erkunden to recover her necklace.

***

“We’re heading to the trading post for the day,” Buhne informed her near the end of their mandatory two-week leave. “‘Wanna come?”

“Uh, it beats lounging around the bunkers,” Callida said, launching herself off her top bunk to quickly pull her boots on.

Buhne grinned. “In that case, I want to practice before we go.”

It took a second to register what he was saying, but she eventually got there, her hands finding her hips in exasperation. “Seriously?”

“It’s the trading post, Beta! Put on some cute civvy clothes and let me do your hair.”

“No.”

“Ah, be a sport. I was finally getting good at doing your makeup.”

She sighed and glanced around the room at the other guys. “We’ll wait,” Keit offered with a small smile of encouragement.

“Fine.”

An hour later, Buhne and Callida joined the rest of Squad 14 outside, Buhne triumphant, Callida annoyed to be wearing a charmingly patterned A-line skirt paired with her uniform shirt unbuttoned just low enough to prove that she had some curves. “I don’t know why I even have this skirt,” she grumbled mostly to herself while avoiding eye contact with the rest of the guys. “Let’s go.” Behind her, Keit gave Buhne an impressed double thumbs up, and Buhne took a silent bow.

***

The trading post was busy as always. Keeping a group of seven people together proved challenging in the crowds, and Callida still wasn’t used to the lingering glances Buhne’s work garnered her. The way merchants interacted with her was different too.

“Such a lovely young woman deserves-”

“Not interested.”

“Good morning, beautiful! Would you like to take a look at the-”

“No, thanks.” By the time they’d reached the bakery Ablenkung wanted to go to, Callida was ready to trade her outfit and makeup for sackcloth and ashes.

“I hope you’re hungry, Beta,” Ablenkung said. “Angenwe makes the most delicious sweet rolls. I crave them sometimes.”

“What’ll it be boys?” a boxy and relatively short lady (for a bear) asked from behind the counter.

“Seven sweet rolls please,” Ablenkung ordered. “My treat,” he added before everyone pulled out their coin purses.

“Thanks,” Callida said, taking the enormous dinner-plate-sized swirling sweet roll from him. “This looks amazing!”

“Just wait until you taste it,” he grinned, watching her take the first bite and then lick the sticky syrup off her fingers.

“Mm! Oh, Primordials, it melts in your mouth! I can see why you crave this, Ablenkung. What kind of fruit is packed into this?” she asked the baker.

“It’s apple paste with walnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg and a touch of cayenne for a bit of a kick,” Angenwe said with an easy smile. “Oh! And buttermilk syrup drizzled over the top.”

“It’s heavenly!” Callida approved whole-heartedly. “I think even Germanus would like it, and he’s never been one for sweets.”

“Is Germanus your boyfriend?” Angenwe asked.

“Oh,” Callida snorted, “sorry, no. He’s my brother.”

“Ah,” Angenwe nodded. “Well, send him by sometime. I’m always happy to help people discover their sweet tooth.”

“I will! Thank you!”

The squad found a relatively quiet corner with a retaining wall to double as their bench while they ate their treats in companionable silence. Her roll consumed and her fingers sticky, Callida pushed off the wall in search of a place to rinse her hands, finding such an amenity in the form of a water feature near the trading post boardwalk. She looked up, taking stock of her surroundings. It was getting cooler here in the mountains as autumn pushed summer out of its way, and the light breeze seemed to enjoy flirting with her hair, blowing wisps of it into her face. Her eyes lit up to the sound of music. A band of buskers had set up on the other side of the fountain, and the crowd was clearing space to create a stage where passersby might decide to dance to the lively tune. Callida was tickled to watch a collection of couples, old and young alike, emerge from the crowd to skip and twirl.

“What are you looking at?” Buhne’s voice floated over her shoulder.

“How fun is this?!” Callida giggled. “Does this happen often? Do people just play music and dance all the time here?”

Buhne grinned at her delight. “I mean, not all the time. Why? Don’t people do this in the Wolf Tribe?”

“Occasionally. But it’s unusual for the crowd to join in. Usually the street performers are the only ones dancing.”

“Huh,” Buhne shrugged. “Well, Beta, do you know how to dance?”

“Wait, what?!”

“Do you know how to dance?”

“Uh…. I haven’t danced since my dad tried to teach me when I was nine or ten, so no, not really.”

“‘Want to learn?”

“As in, you want to teach me?” He offered her his hand. “If I sprain your ankle, don’t blame me.”

“Aw, you’ll be fine. Dancing isn’t too different from all those sword forms you practice, just, put to music.”

“And no sword,” Callida rolled her eyes and accepted Buhne’s hand.

He led her to an open space and showed her the basic steps. She picked it up easily enough, but when Buhne moved to put his hand on her waist, things got interesting. “Ah, that would be my foot.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

“Relax, Animo.”

“But I am relaxed.”

“No, you’re tense and trying to lead. Relax.”

“How do I do that?”

“I don’t know. Loosen up and let me push you around.”

“I’ve never been very good at letting people push me around.”

“Obviously,” Buhne smirked. “But you do know how to take orders. Just pay attention to my body language and follow the ‘orders’ I indicate.”

“Uh, sure.”

They tried again, more slowly to allow Callida a moment to figure out how to respond appropriately to Buhne’s silent instructions. “There, now you’re getting it! Let’s try something new.”

“New?!”

“Just trust me, will ya?” He let go of her right hand with a small push. “Now spin towards me.” She did as she was told and found herself twisted up in his arms, a little closer than was comfortable. “Good. Now plant your feet and keep your back straight.”

The squeak was involuntary as was the hand that caught his neck, but she kept her feet planted and allowed him to drop her backwards. It was, admittedly, a controlled dip, and Callida was quickly in an upright position again.

“There. That wasn’t so terrible, was it?”

“A little warning would be nice.”

“Ah, but where would be the fun in that?” Buhne turned to a tap on his shoulder.

“May I cut in?”

“Ablenkung, we just got through the basic instruction,” Buhne complained, but Ablenkung didn’t seem to care and inserted himself between him and Callida.

“Buhne’s teaching you how to dance?” Ablenkung quirked an eyebrow at her.

“Uh, yeah?”

“How’d that go?”

“I stepped on his foot,” she reported, and Ablenkung laughed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Oh, I think we’ll manage just fine,” he grinned and suddenly Callida was spinning, her hand clinging to a couple of Ablenkung’s fingers above her head while his free hand nudged her hips to encourage the continued rotation. “Pfft!” He caught her waist to stop her spin.

“What’s wrong?” Callida staggered.

“Your hair hit me in the face and tried to go up my nose,” he laughed.

“Serves you right for making me dizzy,” she teased.

“Alright, Ablenkung, budge over,” Spahen cut in.

“Dude! We just started!”

“... And you've already made the lady dizzy. Now, budge over!”

Callida’s teeth sank into her lower lip to keep herself from laughing as a dejected Ablenkung moved back to the sidelines and Spahen’s hand took its newly won place on her waist. His dancing was significantly more refined than Ablenkung’s had been, his movements easier to follow but also much more complex than just spinning in circles. Callida was reminded that Spahen was from the Bear Tribe equivalent of the social elite, and, honestly, that might be why she felt that she didn’t know him very well.

“So, Animo, how are you?”

“Uh, I’m fine.”

“You’re a decent dancer.”

She snorted. “You think so, huh?”

“Well, you’re following well enough.”

“I should thank Parr- uh, Buhne for his lesson then.”

“You’ve never danced before?”

“Not since I was a kid.”

“That’s a shame. You-” He was cut off by Erkunden tapping his shoulder.

“‘Mind if I have a turn?”

“You’re interrupting,” Spahen glared at him.

“Yeah, and that’s my girlfriend you’re dancing with.”

“Your-! Oh…. right. You’ve had plenty of time to snuggle Beta, let someone else have a turn.”

While Spahen and Erkunden bickered, Bern took advantage of their mutual distraction to swoop in, catch Callida's hand and pull her away.

"This is getting ridiculous," Callida laughed.

"Yeah, but now it's a competition."

"And being my dance partner is the prize?"

"Something like that," Bern grinned. "Ah, here they come." Bern spun Callida deeper into the group of dancing couples, using them to run a sort of interference pattern while shooting his comrades a cheeky glance.

"Bern! Not cool, man!" Spahen glowered, albeit playfully, when they finally cornered them.

"You stole my turn," Erkunden added with a mock pout.

“Boys,” Keit interrupted the squabbling, “take a hike.”

“Captain-” Erkunden started to protest.

“That’s an order, soldier. And that goes for the rest of you too!” Keit shouted over his shoulder at the rest of the squad. They backed down, murmuring all the way to the sidelines, and Callida’s face flushed a little from how hard she was having to work to suppress her giggles. “Now, Callida, may I have the honor?” Keit asked, offering her his hand.

“Sure!” The word came out in an explosion as the dam holding her laughter back broke. “I’m sorry, Keit, but this is so silly!”

“I won’t deny that,” he chuckled, appreciating the position she was in. “‘Not used to guys fighting over you?”

“Not so directly, anyway. Aw, but they were so disappointed to be sent away.”

“Yeah. Poor little cubs,” Keit snickered. “Well, shall we?”

She took his hand and was surprised to find that he was an excellent dancer, though, after some thought, she realized that it shouldn’t be all that surprising. He was the Bear Tribe leader’s cousin and likely grew up learning all the social graces that Callida’s own education lacked.

“So, Callida, we haven’t really talked just the two of us. How are you feeling after your first mission? ‘Settling in alright? Are the boys treating you well?”

“Wow. There’s a lot to unpack there. Um, ok. Well, the mission, I think, was a success, though I really don’t like being the front man.”

Keit chuckled. “So I’ve heard. What else?”

“I need to work on how to better fight a group. I do alright as long as the enemy stays in front of me, but I have a hard time staying aware of what’s behind me. I’ve been burned twice that way.”

“When was the second time?”

“Huh?”

“You said you’ve been burned twice, once on the mission when they beat Stag, but when was the other time?”

“Oh, at the tournament grounds-- the bandit attack before the tournament started. That’s how I got my concussion.”

“Ah. Actually, Callida, I’ve been wondering about that particular fight. How did you get out of there alive? If someone was still up to give you a concussion, and I’m assuming you went down, how were you not killed?”

“I had help.”

“But I thought you were fighting by yourself.”

“I was. I don’t know when he showed up exactly, but some guy joined in after I passed out, and I assume that he killed the last few bandits before helping me get to the medical tent.”

“Do you know who it was?”

“Some random Lion Tribe guy who was passing through. He said his name was Verum? Or something like that.”

Keit’s eyebrows raised, and a smile crossed his face, confusing Callida. “You didn’t happen to catch a last name, did you?”

“No. Why? Do you recognize the name?”

“Oh,” Keit flashed some teeth, “it’s a rather popular name in the Lion Tribe, so without a last name, the first name is meaningless.”

“What are you not telling me?” she scowled.

“Nothing!” But Keit’s continued grin suggested otherwise, and Callida’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“Hm.”

“Well, good talk, Animo. Let’s find the guys.”