Solis leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms overhead. "Man, I thought I'd have at least an hour but instead of that I am dragged into a almighty serious meeting."
Ada snorted. "Meeting? You're just lucky you get to sit down and eat first."
Vaidya grinned slyly. "I dunno, Ada. You looked pretty cozy catching bandits. It almost look like you are in a vacation."
Ada crossed her arms and leaned forward, mock-glaring. "Ha! I'd like to see you outrun a pack of desperate thieves through knee-deep marshes."
"Pass," Vaidya said quickly, laughing. "I'll take the hammer and nails any day."
Larielle chuckled under her breath, clearly amused by their banter. "You three know each other well."
Razille nodded. "They have... been through a lot together. Missions, messes, you name it."
"You can tell," Larielle said, a little wistfully. "There's strength in that kind of bond. The kind that's built through hardship."
Solis leaned in, curiosity flashing in his brown eyes. "So, Larielle, what's it like being a Postknight captain in Sagacia? Must be pretty different from Prism Kingdom."
Larielle considered for a moment, folding her arms across the table. "It's... complicated. Sagacia is still healing. The forest protects us, but it isolates us, too. After the Thirteen-Year War, we had to rebuild trust. Within our own people. Between humans and aegles."
Vaidya glanced at her, intrigued. "Is it really that different from Quivitol?"
Larielle's lips tightened slightly. "Quivitol... clings to the past. Old grudges, old hierarchies, they are mostly elders of our society, rich and powerful people, plus they have gone through pain of the war too. They see humans as invaders who never should have set foot here."
"But you people are different, aren't you?" Ada asked, tilting her head.
Larielle nodded. "Sagacia believes in coexistence. It's a pretty slow process, I mean forgetting the horrors of past, but... we mainly the new generation aegles like me are trying."
Vaidya tapped his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "And you think the Ashlight Circle could tear all that progress apart."
A shadow crossed Larielle's face. "I know... they could."
Their conversation was interrupted by the clatter of plates being set down.
Maglina returned, balancing a large tray like it weighed nothing. She set down steaming bowls of stew, fresh-baked bread, roasted vegetables, and pitchers of cider with a practiced grace.
"Eat up," she said with a wink. "You all look like you could use a good meal."
They didn't need to be told twice. Ada immediately tore into a piece of bread, while Vaidya ladled himself a generous helping of stew.
Solis raised his cup. "To survival, rebuilding... and good food."
They clinked cups and mugs lightly, the simple sound strangely grounding after everything they'd faced.
As they ate, conversation drifted to lighter topics again—stories of ridiculous missions, Vaidya's embarrassment when he had fallen into a mud pit during training, Ada recounting the time she had to pretend to be a merchant to lure out bandits.
"You should've seen her, Solis" Vaidya said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Ada, in a dress, trying to haggle like a noblewoman."
Ada threw a piece of bread at him. "I did great! I got the bandits to reveal themselves, didn't I?"
Vaidya grinned. "You did... after nearly bankrupting yourself trying to buy even a goat."
Larielle laughed along, the tension easing further. "Sounds like you two could teach some of my rookies a thing or two about improvisation."
"We, Postknights survive by being adaptable," Razille said, her voice a little more serious now. "Plans rarely survive the first hour in the field. That's what our instructors teach us."
Larielle nodded. "Well I have to admit that's a truth."
As the plates slowly emptied and the golden light outside faded into twilight, the conversation returned, inevitably, to business.
---
"What will you do about Phill?" Larielle asked quietly.
Razille's face grew somber. "We will protect him. He's just a boy. He didn't ask for any of this."
"But if the Ashlight Circle believes he's a key..." Larielle trailed off, voice low.
"We'll find a way," Solis said firmly, setting down his cup. "We've handled worse." Solis said it remembering that Omega Wolf attack.
Larielle studied him for a long moment. "You're confident."
Solis shrugged. "Not confident. Determined."
There was a short silence where everyone seemed to reflect on that.
Vaidya broke it first, his voice thoughtful. "We can't do this alone, though. We'll need allies. People who know about the old seals and the Veils... people we can trust in this mission."
Maglina, clearing away empty plates, chimed in gently. "You might want to talk to the sage in Glenhill. He's old enough to remember stories about the Veils... maybe even the rituals that sealed them."
Razille nodded slowly. "Glenhill isn't far. We could head there tomorrow."
Larielle set down her spoon. "I'll come with you. Sagacia has a stake in this too."
Vaidya blinked. "A captain traveling with a bunch of rookies?"
Larielle smiled faintly. "You're more than rookies now. Plus I told you already I am just a young girl in aegle aging. That means I am like you guys."
Ada asks, "How old are you by the way?"
Solis shook his head, "Hey that's rude to ask directly someone his age."
Ada retaliates, "What's your problem huh? It's a talk between two girls."
Larielle tells, "According to your Human aging my age would be.... umm..... 85 years I guess."
Everyone gets a shock. Ada asks, "Wow this much. How much you lot live?"
Larielle says with a uninterested look on face, "Well we kinda live for 200 to 300 years."
Maglina leaned in, interupting the conversation, "Be careful. Glenhill is friendly, but... there's been whispers lately. Strange figures in the woods."
Larielle's brow furrowed. "The Ashlight Circle moving in?"
"Maybe," Maglina said grimly. "Or something worse."
The table fell into a thoughtful silence again, the earlier laughter fading into resolve.
Finally, Solis stood, stretching. "Then it's decided. We'll leave at first light."
Vaidya cracked his knuckles. "Good. I'm ready for something bigger than hammering nails."
Ada grinned fiercely. "Let's see if these 'strange figures' can outrun me."