Just as Nokom predicted, the snow came in the night. By the next morning, a few inches of heavy white slush smashed the tall grasses and soaked everything else through. They spent the last few miserable hours of the night huddled around sputtering fires against the sleet before a cheerless, frosty morning broke.

“Ugh, I hate snow,” Vex said, shaking himself for the dozenth time that morning until his furry coat puffed out in spiky points all over like his entire body was styled with hair gel and a blow dryer.

“You’ve never seen snow before, have you?” Kellen asked. They’d traveled through a glacier in the Wakar Mountains, but it was solid ice trimmed with frozen, cement-like drifts left over from the previous winter. “I would have thought you’d be out playing in it this morning.”

“I don’t need to see it to know I hate it and no, I don’t want to ‘play’ in it,” Vex grumbled, flicking his overly large ears to get rid of drips falling from the tufted points of them.

“Someone isn’t in a very good mood this morning,” Inferi said as she and Shani approached.

Vex sniffed. “If you don’t mind, we’re busy watching Kellen’s poncho dry out.”

“Tama wants us to ride ahead,” Shani said.

“Just the two of us?” Kellen asked, surprised. They usually reserved scouting work for the hunters or warriors.

Shani nodded. “My grandmother thinks the storm might have been caused by wild Mana Beasts. If there are any that powerful around, they mana from their storm may have attracted less powerful wild ones as well.”

Kellen hadn’t sensed any mana in the environment during the snow and told Shani as much.

“Nokom says the Tall Spear we camped under masked some of it,” Shani said. “Are you coming or not? I thought you would have liked the chance to get out for the morning.”

“I—we do!” Kellen said before she changed her mind. He and Vex had been getting bored riding along in the column with nothing to do but watch the passing scenery and animals or listen to biology lessons from Professor Gates.

“We do?” Vex asked, glancing sidelong at Inferi and then grimacing at Kellen.

“Yes, we do,” Kellen confirmed. “I’ll be ready in five.”

“In five?” Shani asked, expression crinkled in confusion. “Five what?”

“Context,” Vex said.

Kellen sighed. He still wasn’t used to certain phrases and expressions common on Earth that just didn’t translate into Oras-speak. “I’ll be ready shortly.”

Shaking out his wool blanket, Kellen rolled it up and tied it into his saddle, hoping it didn’t get too musty over the day’s ride. His canteen full and plenty of trail food packed away that Vex had yet to find and devour, he found Spirit nosing through the snow with the rest of the horses and was soon ready.

Shani waited for them a short distance from the camp, her storm horse stamping and tossing its horned nose, no doubt irritated that its fellows were still eating while it had already been put to work. It wasn’t Shani’s style to ask if he was ready or check that he’d properly prepared. Instead, she merely turned her mount and set off at a trot, expecting Kellen to follow. Spirit had to work a little harder to catch up to the longer-legged storm horse. Kellen worried she might slip or tangle in the tall grass heavy from slush, but she kept the pace just fine.

“Race you to the next hill?” Inferi asked Vex as the two loped along beside the horses.

“If you’re ready to get beat this early in the—hey!” Inferi burst into a sprint, not bothering to wait for Vex to answer the challenge. He charged after her, and soon their gray and tan bodies streaked through the grass.

“I am sorry she makes things… difficult,” Shani told Kellen once the pair were off.

“It’s fine,” Kellen assured her. “I think he’s also a little jealous at not being the only young Mana Beast around anymore. How’s your training going?”

In the little time they’d had between funerals and packing camp, Shani and Inferi continued to train alone. As soon as Kellen asked, he noticed Shani stiffen in her seat and berated himself for being tactless. Shani wasn’t one to talk about personal struggles at the best of times.

“It is harder than I expected.” Kellen waited for her to elaborate, but that was it. “We should catch up and tell them to stay closer.”

With that, she urged her storm horse into lope. Kellen followed suit. Though Spirit still kept up with no issue, they were moving fast enough now that idle chatter wasn’t possible.

At the top of the hill, both Vex and Inferi lay flat on the ground, sides heaving, tongues lolling.

“Who won?” Kellen asked.

Both tried to wheeze out an answer he couldn’t understand.

“Cheated,” Vex finally managed, sitting up. “She… attacked me.”

“Just a little surprise to keep you on your guard,” Inferi panted.

A cold gust of wind caused Kellen to dip his chin into his chest and look away from the two panting Mana Beasts. Blinking back the cold-induced tears from his eyes, he looked out across the plains. His breath came in a quick gasp. What looked to be a giant, ice-blue shell lumbered across the grass. It had to be a half-mile away, but even at the distance, Kellen guessed it was easily the size of a tank. Whirls and swirls of snow surrounded the creature, occasionally masking it from sight in flurries.

“I’m guessing that might have had something to do with the storm,” Kellen said. Vex and Inferi were on their feet, eyes and ears tuned in a predator focus as they assessed the distant Mana Beast.

“There are likely more than one,” Shani said. “But yes. Could be a storm mana-beast. There are also water mana beasts that cause ice and snow storms as well.”

“What is it?” Kellen asked. His first guess was a giant turtle, but the grass swayed behind it and Kellen thought he saw a long, heavy spiked tail waving as it walked.

“A giant armadillo, I would guess,” Shani said . “They burrow deep into the ground in the spring and summer months, then reemerge from hibernation when the days grow colder to wander the plains.”

“Is it dangerous?” Kellen asked. The best course of action seemed to just avoid the ice armadillo altogether, especially since their group had children and elderly and they’d been in enough fights recently.

“If provoked,” Shani said. “Their hides are sometimes used for armor. We do not have enough warriors to fight it. There is a good chance it is a Guardian-strength Mana Beast, maybe even greater.”

“Didn’t the three of you take on a bear that was Guardian-strength?” Inferi asked the rest of the group.

“We almost died until the rest of the warriors showed up, if that’s what you mean,” Vex said.

“We are not fighting it,” Shani said. “Come, we should keep moving. It is traveling out of the band’s path. We should keep an eye out for others.”

Without waiting for a response, Shani set off on her storm horse. Grumbling, Inferi followed at her Beastcaller’s side.

“I say this as someone who regularly gets us in trouble,” Vex said. “She’s going to get them in real trouble sometime.”

“You’re probably right,” Kellen said. “That doesn’t mean you couldn’t be nicer to Inferi.” When Vex protested, he gave him a stern look. “You heard what Nokom said—they’re struggling to figure things out right now. And she only teases you because she knows she’ll get a reaction.”

“She’s doing it because she’s hopelessly in love with me,” Vex said. “I’m just trying to show her it would never, ever work out between us. You know, group dynamic and stuff.”

“You seriously believe that?”

“Well, yeah, look at me!” Vex said, twisting his head over his shoulder. “I am a muscle bound, golden beast god. I’m just grateful I don’t have a mane or Inferi wouldn’t have a chance.”

Kellen didn’t know whether to laugh or shake his head in amazement. “I do not even know how to respond to that.”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” Vex asked. “Give yourself some credit, my man! Since hitting Companion strength, we’re a couple of studs! Now I know Shani isn’t your type but one of the others—”

Kellen nudged Spirit in the sides and the buckskin mare hurried after Shani like she was just as grateful to get out of the conversation as Kellen. “Conversation over!” he called over his shoulder. “Forever!”

They carried on for another half hour, keeping tabs on the ice armadillo, though aside from the occasional gust of icy wind it sent rolling over the hills, it seemed to have no interest in them. By now, the sun was poking through spots in the dreary blanket of clouds and the weather had warmed enough that everything was a sopping mess of half-melted slush and wet grass.

“We should turn back,” Shani said after they spent a few minutes scanning the horizon ahead atop the latest hill. There was no sign of the main Gray Dawn part behind them. “My mother and grandmother will want to know that—”

She stopped mid-sentence as Inferi let out a rumbling growl and raised her hackles. Kellen looked at Vex. His ears were flat against his head and the fur on his back stood up. Kellen channeled a shield in his hand as Spirit nickered and shifted nervously from foot to foot.

“What is it?” Kellen asked in a low voice. He’d meant it for anyone would answer. Shani didn’t respond. Instead, she drew her saber-like sword, eyes scanning in front of them.

“Wild Mana Beast,” Vex hissed. “Not sure where. Close.”

Kellen released his focus on the plate-sized golden shield swirling in his hand and stretched out his mana senses. Sure enough, he felt an aura wafting up from the valley below them.

“There!” Shani said, nodding her head down and to the left.

Kellen’s eyes tracked to where she pointed and saw the tall grass rustling, the same way a pond might when a school of fish swarmed. He doubted whatever lie below was anything as harmless as goldfish coming for breadcrumbs. Even with the tall, chest-high grass knocked down by the wet snow, he couldn’t make out the source of the rustling grass. Either way, it was getting closer, less than a quarter mile away and moving fast straight at them.

“Something tells me that’s not a good thing,” Vex said.

“We will chase them off,” Inferi growled, snapping her teeth, attention totally transfixed by whatever approached.

“Is it really a good idea to fight something when we don’t know how strong or how many there are?” Kellen asked Shani.

She seemed torn. He’d never known her to run from a fight, but she’d been much less careless and eager to throw her life away since they’d returned from the mountains.

“It may be moving too fast to outrun on your horse,” she said.

“Quit stalling and get ready!” Inferi snapped at them.

“Look, maybe we should think this through,” Vex said. By now, the mass was just over a football field away from them in the valley below and showing no signs of slowing. Here and there, Kellen saw flashes of blue gray, similar to the skin of the storm horses or the members of the Storm Horse Tribes. And then, the approaching Mana Beasts burst into a flattened spot of grass and Kellen got a good look. He almost wished he hadn’t.

Half a dozen raptor-like creatures sprinted toward them, their short legs almost gliding across the grass. Though they were about the side of kindergarten children, their little arms looked to be scissors. Kellen realized they were claws, long as carving knives. Upon breaking cover, the lead raptor threw back hi miniature head and shrieked.

“We should go,” Kellen said.

"We should have already gone," Vex said.

“We should fight!” Just like that, Inferi blasted down the hill toward the pack. Swearing, Shani swung down from her horse and followed.