Malady made the seed and grounder grass mixture right away in the morning so we could all have our share before the fog’s effects had a chance to set in. We broke our fast with travel rations made of dried meat and ground plants. The bars were held together by a liberal amount of melted fat. All in all, they lasted a good while even if they weren’t the most appetizing, and Prevna and I both had a handful stuffed into our packs due to Mishtaw’s teaching. The Pickers had made their own with a small deer the Peacekeepers had given them while they were recovering and Malady had naturally come prepared for herself and Nine Claws. We had some other provisions like the meal we had the night before, but I couldn’t help but be concerned about provisions as we resumed our trek through the unfamiliar terrain.

We might have supplies now but we could only carry so much and most of our group hadn’t been given time to prepare since things kept taking unexpected turns ever since we set foot on the mountain. If Prevna and I hadn’t been given our packs back we wouldn’t have had any food for the trip prepared since Sonya had delivered us back to the mountainside practically as soon as she gave us the option. Granted that lapse was on us as we could have taken the time to get supplies from a firestarter but, generally, the thought was that you could hunt and gather as you traveled.

I eyed the bare, armored looking trunk of the unnatural trees, the large, harshly bright flowers with their waxy leaves, the scrubby bushes with plump strangely shaped berries that could be just as poisonous as they were enticing. A landscape that completely lacked anything familiar.

I hated it. Hated the way it made my stomach twist and my mind go numb with the realization that all my skills and knowledge I had gained up to this point were useless. My knowledge of plants, poisons, shadow walking…all of it was useless when the plants I knew and relied upon were nowhere to be found. It made me even more conscious of what I had on my person since I doubted we could adequately gather and hunt when everything else was unknown to us.

Even so, we’d have to try eventually. I wasn’t sure how long it’d take to get to Jika’s mysterious band but I doubted it’d be shorter than the day or two it’d take for us to run out of provisions, depending on how many meals we ate in a day. Not when we didn’t have a clear idea of where we were going. The food could stretch longer if we only ate a meal a day, but that would likely create other problems. Being constantly hungry and tired didn’t pair well with vigilance.

The heat was another problem all on its own. We had all quietly shed our typical layers so that we only wore our lightest clothing but there was only so much we could do. Even our warm season clothing was made for colder weather than this and pushing up sleeves and taking off cloaks could only do so much. I was concerned about my pack chaffing but it wasn’t long before I joined Prevna in stripping all the way down to my breast band. Gard was bare chested too and once Kuma and Jika saw Nine Claws stuff her tunic into her pack they quickly followed suit. Only Malady stubbornly kept her shirt on in the end though all of our lower halves had to suffer. It’d be stupid to hike through an unknown place without shoes and no one had thought bringing a dress or skirt on a dangerous mission could be justified or smart.

It felt like we were breathing in soup and it was impossible to completely relax given the way sweat was constantly collecting in uncomfortable places. Nor was there a good way to cool down except for waiting for night fall. The water was warm, the wind was warm, and the sticky heat could even find you in the shade.

As we continued pushing forward I couldn’t help but think the smarter option would have been to skirt around the valley along the tops of the mountains even if that would have added more time and a higher chance of being attacked. There might not have been anything to hunt on that part of the mountains either, but at least we would have been close to familiar landscape and not smothered in heat. From the Pickers’ stiff and uncomfortable faces I knew I wasn’t alone in thinking it, but they couldn’t complain to a whisper woman—and if we did manage to get them to the secret band then they’d be living in the inner valleys with no escape from the unfortunate surroundings.

“Quite the turn of events, huh?”

I blinked and looked over to find that Kuma had slipped up next me. I wasn’t sure why she had bothered to seek me out, but she wasn’t alone in having relaxed enough to attempt conversation. Prevna seemed to be engaged in a earnest conversation with Colt and Jika on the other side of the group. It was a bit annoying to see how easily they got along, even if I was glad Prevna was enjoying herself, so I focused back on Kuma and waited to hear what she wanted to say.

Once she realized I wasn’t going to verbally respond Kuma took the silence in stride and resumed her part of the conversation. “I never thought the healer’s group would be doing what they did or that we’d lose so many but…I thought I should thank you for doing what you did back when we were attacked in the forest. I might not have known what to think when you disappeared that man into thin air but the truth is I’d be shamblin’ along with the others if you hadn’t.”

I stared straight ahead and gave her a tight nod of acknowledgment. Gratitude was never lightly given and I wasn’t sure how to respond to it. Maybe if I kept the conversation one-sided long enough she’d give up and leave.

She peered down at me. “Is your shoulder recovering alright? That was a wound you shouldn’t have had to take.”

Carrying my pack wasn’t the most comfortable for my healing wounds but it wasn’t aggravating them either. I moved my arm a bit to demonstrate like I had with Sonya and said, “Well enough.”

She nodded and kept pace beside me for awhile before she got pulled into another conversation Gard. At which point Prevna showed up with a grin to take her place.

“Making friends?”

I scowled at her for the comment and she chuckled before continuing to tease me. “While I might adore being one of few to understand all the little tricks to understanding your looks there might be others interested in taking up the challenge.”

“They don’t need to.”

She poked me. “You’re not even a little bit curious who the others might be?”

I rolled my eyes back at her. “Do I look interested?”

“You’re never interested. That’s the problem.” Prevna’s knowing smile faded and when she spoke again her tone was more serious than before. “What are you going to do if we end up in different sects?”

That was a possibility I had been purposefully ignoring and it definitely wasn’t something I wanted to think about when Prevna was the only familiar, steadying thing remotely nearby. So I copied one of her techniques and deflected with dry humor.

“I’m sure I’ll survive.”

“Gimley.”

“You get along with everyone so you’ll be fine too.”

She grabbed my hand just long enough for my knee jerk reaction to kick in and make me look at her. I didn’t flinch at the unexpected contact though and one corner of her mouth turned up as she noticed that too. “You shouldn’t ignore everyone except for the people who are too bullheaded to listen to your warnings.”

I frowned at her. “Maybe those people aren’t worth knowing.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes before she quipped, “Maybe they have a better self-preservation instinct.”

We shared a smile before letting silence sink in between us. Part of me wanted to leave things at that for now, but the longer we walked the more my morbid curiosity grew about why she had brought up the possibility of being separated now. When I asked why she brought up the sects her smile turned more somber and she waved a hand to take in our surroundings.

“Everything changes.” Then Prevna poked me in the shoulder again. “And you’re not so quick to adapt to it. Not when it comes to what you consider important.”

I wanted to cross my arms but the heat and sweat made that uncomfortable to do for long. “I do fine on my own. And Mishtaw and Eliss aren’t even in the same sect and they’re constantly together.”

Prevna gave me a look that said we both knew that they were a special case.

I stuck to my point. “We’ll be fine.”

“Of course we will, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maybe, possibly, take a few moments to consider making another proper friend. Even if its just someone else in the cohort like Wren or Breck. Or Juniper. She might need it as much as you now that Ento and Idra are off in their own little world.”

“I’m fine.”

The thought of truly opening to someone else still made my stomach turn sour. Prevna might have wormed her way in through sheer dedication and noticing too much and, truthfully, I had gotten closer with some of the others she named. But those connections hadn’t grown nearly as much as what I had with Prevna. They couldn’t with the way I carefully managed them and the lack of time we had with the others since we were always traveling with Mishtaw’s squad.

Prevna had always tried to get me to open up to the others more and welcome them in as she did, but she used to be more subtle about it. Sometimes she still was, but it seemed that the looming thought of the cohort being divided was pushing her to push me more overtly. Still, we both let the matter drop again as we continued deeper in the inner valleys.

It wasn’t long after that that Nine Claws held up a hand and we all clumped closer together and stood still at the silent signal. She scanned our fog covered surroundings like she could see beyond the thick layer of white. Her other hand hovered near one of the daggers on her belt.

Her voice cut through the silence though she spoke softly. “We’re being hunted.” She let that sink in for one moment for she continued, “Don’t panic. Stay close and between me and Malady. If it decides to attack we’ll turn the surprise back on it.”

Our group subtly shifted so that Gard and Colt were on the inside of the circle while Nine Claws covered the front, Malady the back, Prevna and I on the left, while Jika and Kuma covered the right. Pickers might have been jacks of all trades but when it came down to it, it was difficult to deny what was ingrained so deeply you hardly had to think about it. Huntresses protected against threats, first and foremost.

Nine Claws increased our pace from there but not to the point that we’d be gasping for breath in a handful of minutes. It was near the middle of the day now from what I could tell and the heat was relentless, but no one bothered to complain. Either we pushed far enough that whatever was stalking us lost interest or we’d reach a better place to make a stand.

The trouble was that I was sure Nine Claws didn’t want to give up the high ground and yet we kept going further and further down the mountain. Perhaps some type of pack was herding us toward their hunting grounds but she couldn’t attack one and break through without providing an easy opening for the other enemies to attack. Maybe she thought she could handle whatever it was no matter where we were or she didn’t want to deviate from whatever progress we were making towards the secret Picker band. Either way we continued down and down and down while the heat and tension grew more tension. No one spoke.

I couldn’t say how long it was later when we finally broke free of of the unnatural forest and into a open plain. I heard a few breaths of relief from being free from its confines but that sentiment couldn’t last long when something glowed orangish-red through the fog ahead of us. We cautiously approached it, still keeping a careful watch for whatever was hunting us, until we saw that our way was blocked by a river of liquid fire.