It didn't take Kishi long to get back to the grove. But when she did, she found it in darkness.
Kishi scowled as she re-lit the fire.
"Khur," she muttered to herself.
Maybe her parents would never have approved of her picking up Hoshari expletives.
But her parents weren't around to hear them.
Kishi used the paper itself to fan the new flame into life. Then she sat back, crossed her legs, and unfolded the message.
"Ashkai Eishi," she read. "Hmph…"
So it was the same as the others had been. Her eyes scanned the rest of the message quickly, and her lips moved slowly as she breathed it to herself.
"Karun needs your help. Allies await you at the Sarai mountain fringe. Signed, Kish'tar Chikanari."
Kishi closed her eyes, remembering the eyes of the three men who could have dropped the paper.
Not the drunken rashei. The man had reminded Kishi of a spoiled child who had thrown a fit over not being given Kishi's dagger on a brief trip to a village.
Not the other man, either. A Karunic kish'tar wouldn't have tried to shoot at her with a Hosharan arrow.
That left the third man.
The one Kishi had already decided was Karunic.
Interesting.
So he wasn't just a loyalist…he was a spy.
Kishi opened her eyes and glared at the paper.
Whoever Kish'tar Chikanari was, Kishi had no reason to trust him.
But paper always made good kindling.
Kishi tucked the scrap into her fuel pile and stared into the flames as their heat slowly warmed her to the core. Thoughtfully, she grabbed an apple and began to munch.
Maybe someday she would learn how to bake pastries, herself.
Kishi laughed at the thought, her giggle now very different from the cold laughter the Hosharan troops had heard earlier that evening.
The apple was finished all too soon, but Kishi didn't start another, though she was still hungry. Apples grew tiresome after a while, even if they were seasonal.
Kishi bit her lip. She'd probably have to visit a village tomorrow after all.
Ah, well. One day away from the forest couldn't hurt her too much, could it?
Maybe she'd stop by Norema. Yes…it had been a while.
Kishi felt her purse prospectively. It was never hard for her to maintain personal funding–she just had to demand payment of passage every once in a while.
Kishi scowled as she remembered the man she'd noticed last time she had visited Norema. A young zakun with blond hair and expressive eyes. Too expressive. And too interested.
Well, he worked for Norema's blacksmith. So she wouldn't visit the smithy. Simple.
Kishi tossed away the core of her apple and pulled her cloak more tightly about her as she curled up near the fire. Its flickerings were reflected in her eyes as she stared dully until sleep stole over her like the blanket she didn't have.
Allies, she thought.
The forest was the only ally she needed.
Now that Karun was dead, dead in the unmarked graves of the men who had once protected the forest and the lands and mountains beyond.
The King…
and her father.
Kishi's chest rose and fell. A twig crackled briefly as one of the thin logs fell. The forest canopy swayed softly in the wind that came from the west.
That came from Hoshara.
~~~
Shiro wasn't sure if Arai was falling asleep or just thinking.
He just knew he didn't care for the silence to continue.
"Arai…" he began slowly, "what's on your mind?"
The man–well, Shiro saw him as more of a boy–started.
So he had been sleeping, then. Shiro smiled slightly, then winced as his now-bandaged hand reminded him it had not survived the day unaltered.
"I…" Arai's voice trailed away.
"Never sleep on enemy territory," Shiro reminded him–then laughed as he glanced back at the very obviously sleeping Yumoto. The drunkard was lucky his horse was so compliant.
Arai snorted.
"What do you think of the forest rakhai?" he asked suddenly.
Shiro's face hardened as he stared at his hand.
"I didn't have thoughts before. Personally, I've considered those tales to be rumors. Then again, our soldiers don't come up with rumors, so I came to the conclusion that they're enforced by a band of Karunic rebels."
He sighed.
"But either the rumors are true…or the rebels are using young women to feed it. Though…"
Now Shiro shook his head. "I don't believe any young woman can shoot that straight in all of Karun. Maybe one of the royal princesses at court, but…" He gritted his teeth in frustration. "Not here!"
"Huh." Arai's face twitched.
Shiro's laugh was tight. "I know you're Karunic, Arai, but I also know you have a decent head on your shoulders." He glanced sideways at him in the dying light. "And technique that could very easily earn you the rank of rashei."
Arai bit his lip.
"Not yet," he said.
Shiro snorted. "You've been saying that for years, lad. It's time you faced reality. Maybe you dream of the old Karunic initiation rites. But you should know by now that Hoshara is the present." He smiled grimly. "And the future."
Arai was silent.
Now they were approaching the gated entrance of Norema. It was just a countryside village, but all villages were walled-in–at least, those older than a century. Shiro knew the walls had been a Karunic tradition–the concept that even the least of the country's civilians were valued and protected by their monarchs.
Though nowadays, the walls were just a handy boundary utilized by Hosharan forces.
Shiro tugged at the reins gently as his horse approached the gate and a couple of soldiers stepped out of the guardhouse to meet them.
"Identification?" one asked.
Shiro handed him his documents, then shoved Yumoto roughly. The man jerked awake.
"Khur!" he growled.
"Papers," Arai retorted as he retrieved his own and passed them to the second guard. The soldier glared at him, but said nothing.
"You're all good to go." The first guard waved them in, using his other hand to cover a loud yawn.
Shiro couldn't help but notice that Arai's hand shook slightly as he replaced the papers in his bag.
"Tired?" he asked the "lad" as their horses took them through the gate.
Arai shrugged.
"Hungry, maybe," he admitted.
"We'll eat soon," Shiro promised.
He sighed to himself. There was just something about Arai that brought out Shiro's "soft side," apparently. All Shiro knew was that Arai was the most interesting, yet most quiet metai Shiro had traveled with in a long while.
It took them only a few minutes to get to the fortress. A couple of young men ran out from the building by the smithy to take their horses.
Shiro passed his reins to one of them, a blond young man with bleary but bright eyes.
The eyes widened as they saw the man's hand. "Are you hurt, rashei?"
"Mayhaps." Shiro wasn't about to tell the young Karunic that the Hiyashi phantom apparently had some reality to back it up.
The boy took the reins and led the horse away. Shiro glanced at Yumoto and Arai, then turned to lead them out of the stables area.
Then the boy's head popped back into view from around a stall.
"My mum's good with injuries," he called out. "Smithy. Runa Zayasu's her name."
Shiro snorted. "Like I'd let a–"
He broke off as Arai's eyes met his.
"Thanks, lad." Shiro passed him a coin. "That's for your trouble–but we rashei have our own nurses."
They left the stables. Shiro caught Yumoto glancing thoughtfully towards the tavern, and tapped his shoulder meaningfully.
"We've got a message to deliver," he reminded the slightly younger rashei. "And nutrition to consume."
Yumoto scowled at him. "You mean that rakhai's piece of spite?" he laughed.
"No. Our actual message." Shiro stared him down. "And shut your mouth."
Arai sighed loudly as he kept pace with the two.
"What kind of food do they have at the fortress?" he wondered.
Shiro's face loosened slightly.
"Nothing like the fare at the Palace," he recounted. "Karunic commodity, mostly. Rashei don't have time to cook."
Arai's face brightened.
"It'll be good to taste food I remember," he breathed.
Shiro smiled faintly.
"I'm sure it will."
They had reached the gates of the fortress itself now. Their papers were checked once again.
"A bit much, don't you think?" Shiro complained to one of the guards.
The man shrugged. "Those blasted rebels are on the move, or so Valoren Yazawa has heard."
"So even a country post like this is heavily enforcing protocol, eh?" Shiro shook his head. "I'd think that'd only confirm the rebels in their audacity."
The guard shoved him on–cautiously. "Audacity is useful. The sooner they stick out their necks, the sooner we can decapacitate the entire movement."
His gaze turned to Arai. "Don't you agree?"
The young man nodded quickly as he stumbled through the gateway.
"Naturally, sir."
Shiro struck out quickly for the infirmary after a quick glance back at his companions. "I'll see you at supper. That means you, too, Yumoto," he added with a glare.
The other man shrugged as he laid his arm around Arai's shoulder casually. The young man started.
"We'll be waiting for you, Shiro!"
Shiro grimaced as he walked away.
Those two.
Shiro wasn't sure who was going to erupt first.