Ten years seemed like an impossibly long time to spend with the Dravara, especially mostly alone, so most nights, he chose to have company. Aurora woke first to the commotion outside, people rousing for patrols, whatever meaningless thing that could wait for a few hours if it needed to. He certainly wasn’t willing to join them, not so early, but staying too long in an unfamiliar room wasn’t any more tempting.

He rolled over, reaching over to untangle an arm that had someone found its way across his chest, and then moved to sit on the edge of the bed. Blinking blurry eyes, he squinted at what little light came under the door, and rose slowly to his feet when he heard a sleepy sigh from the other occupant of the bed. Aurora ignored it briefly, swiping his hat from the table and slipping on what pants he could find on the floor, hoping silently they were even his.

“Leaving?” a voice came, still gruff and heavy from sleep.

Aurora just grunted. “Any idea where my shirt is?”

The man didn’t answer.

“Fine,” Aurora mumbled, “if you find it, keep it.” He paused, scratching at the side of his face when he yawned. “My guess, it’s a mess anyway.”

Huffing impatiently, he continued gathering what few things he had brought, before the hat was placed onto his head and he moved towards the door. He waited, half wondering if anything else would be said, however unlikely, but instead his temporary companion only rolled to turn away from him, and Aurora swore he could hear the man snoring a few moments later.

It was typical, and after a while, it stopped bothering him at all.

Opening the door, he winced at the light, before shouldering past a few gathered Dravara and moving off back towards his room. Not far, just around a few corners and back into the officer’s quarters, was his door, unmarked save for a few nicks and a crack that he knew was from his own fist. Aurora fumbled for his keys, leaning against the door and crumpling the brim of his hat.

“Good morning.”

Flinching, he rolled his head to one side. “Not yet, I’m tired.”

He never minded Daniel’s company, not after he had stuck beside Aurora for almost ten years and gotten him out of trouble in one particular incident that involved nearly beating a man to death. Aurora hated him, hated how loud, how annoying, though the man’s name escaped him after so long, and his resemblance to his late brother certainly didn’t help in some strange attempt to win Aurora over. When questioned about the attack, the man forgot, and Daniel testified that some stairs had been the cause of a few cracked ribs and a concussion.

Aurora decided after that, even after what happened back at the inn, Daniel wasn’t so bad, and, truly, was the only friend he had.

Daniel shifted where he stood, arms crossing in front of his chest. “I thought we were going out.”

Aurora squinted at him, confused. “What are you on about?”

“This morning,” he explained quickly, “weren’t we going out on patrol? You told me you wanted to find something.”

Sighing, Aurora unlocked the door and shoved his way inside. “Yeah, do me a favor and get my horse, need to find a shirt first.”

It was uneventful once they eventually set out, and Aurora was dressed enough to be able to go out into the forests without freezing to death. They came across others, patrols that were actually doing something useful instead of just wandering. In truth, that was all Aurora wanted to do most days, travel around until finally his body was too worn out for night terrors to happen when he went to sleep.

“What was his name?” Daniel asked after a while of silence. “You slept over some place, didn’t you?”

Aurora snorted. “Why? Did you know him or something?”

“No, I just assumed you stayed some place, because you weren’t in your room last night-“

“Don’t check up on me.”

Aurora waited, but Daniel said nothing.

“He had an odd name actually.”

“Oh, that’s nice, what was it?” Daniel asked.

“I don’t know how you’d spell it,” Aurora continued, brows lowering then, “pronounced ‘none of your damn business’.”

Nothing, no response, only the sound of Aurora’s own chuckle.

“It’s almost over,” Daniel said eventually when Aurora was quiet. “Being here, I mean. I just don’t want you to get in trouble again-“

“Daniel, of all the things I’ve done here, sleeping with strangers isn’t going to be the one to kill me.”

Daniel said nothing.

Most days it was just the two of them after Aurora proved somewhat hard to get along with. They were granted, on most every occasion, the privilege of patrols on their own despite the danger, if it could be called that, of traveling without a group. While the creatures of the Rift were the second most feared thing in the east, wolves were more commonly a problem to patrols. Why they were so aggressive, seeming to even rival the attacks from other more terrifying creatures, he didn’t know.

Aurora looked up ahead, seeing where the trees thinned to reveal an abandoned fire pit, sticking out from beneath the snow that had fallen the night before. He pulled his hat down, spurring his horse forward as they reached it and dismounting once he was close enough to see the embers still burning.

“What are we doing here?”

“There hasn’t been a sighting in months,” he replied, ignoring his question.

“Three weeks ago to be exact and last time there was a sighting, someone was killed. I for one would love to remain unmauled for the next few months,” Daniel added, lowering his tone and glancing around nervously.

“That’s not even a word. If you could manage, and I know it’s hard,” he said, pausing to walk closer, “make it so I can understand what you’re saying-“

“You know exactly what I’m saying.”

“In nine years, I have never seen any of the beasts, have you?”

Daniel shifted his weight in his saddle, laughing uncomfortably. “Last time I saw one, its head was mounted on a spike.”

Aurora narrowed his eyes. “That’s disgusting.”

“They’re animals, why should it matter?” Daniel replied, glancing over at him.

“Would you do that to your horse?”

He cleared his throat beside Aurora. “Well, no-“

“Then should it really matter that they’re animals?”

Silence.

“I’m not worried,” Daniel said, dismounting and following him forward. “I’m just-“

“Worried.”

Aurora ignored the grumbling that sounded behind him as he walked forward, crouching down and turning over one of the logs, still warm to the touch, before standing slowly once more.

“What are you looking for?”

“We are the last patrol out here, are we not?”

Daniel nodded, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I’d assume so. It’s getting dark and we-“

“If we are the last, like you said, why is this still warm? The others would have gone in long before us, correct?”

“Yes, but-“

“Odd to find a fire only freshly put out then, isn’t it?”

“I don’t-“

He raised his hand, looking up from the ashes and frowning. “Do you see anything else odd?”

“Aurora, is this really-“

“Do you see any tracks?”

Daniel opened his mouth to argue but seemed to stop then, eyes flashing from Aurora to the ground and then back again. He took half a step backwards. “I don’t think we should be here.”

Aurora ignored him, walking to the other side of the fire where, barely pressed into the snow, was a set of unmistakable tracks. Large with four distinct claws, and single even larger pad situated behind the front ones. One set, one of two from what he could tell with the difference in size, was as large as his hand if not even larger.

Something had been there, he thought, and the sight of the tracks were enough to make him shiver.

“Haven’t you seen enough now? Get back on your horse-“

“Giving me orders now? We both know that doesn’t work,” he paused, grinning crookedly, “Chief Officer Norton.”

“Aurora,” Daniel sighed, looking defeated, “please.”

“Something has been here,” he said plainly, gesturing towards the shallow indents in the snow.

“Yes, and we should leave before it comes back. Why are we out here in the first place?”

“Curiosity’s sake,” Aurora answered, folding his hands behind his back as he followed the tracks briefly until they disappeared at the base of a skeletal tree, “isn’t that enough for you?”

“Get back here, now.”

Aurora knew that with the setting sun, it was beginning to get too dangerous to stay out with just the two of them. Even if they were in a larger group, they’d be safer but nothing would protect them against the drop in temperature that came once the moon rose. Even if they weren’t hunted by wolves or the supposed beasts, the cold would get them long before dawn came the next day.

One of the horses whinnied from behind them, the other joining the call and snapping Aurora’s attention back up again. Aurora watched them shy nervously, heart leaping into his throat for a brief moment before Daniel rushed over to grab the reins.

“Something’s spooking them. I don’t like this. Please, can’t we go back?”

“Calm down,” Aurora replied gruffly, starting back towards them slowly.

“It’s getting late-“

“Yes, and you’re getting on my very last nerve.”

He climbed back into the saddle, pulling the horse back under control before it could consider bolting off into the trees. It had happened before and with a horse like his, the worst replacement for the mare he’d lost during one of the harsher winters, he was nearly impossible to stop. The whinnies came again, echoing through the trees as a group of riders approached, decimating the trail of tracks with their own hurried strides.

Aurora sighed dejectedly.

“What do you want?”

Muttering curses, he looked away, cursing her, the one who would have sent the party after them, while Daniel greeted the approaching riders. She was a vile woman, he’d decided the moment he first laid eyes on her. All of the Dravara were hers to control, hers to manipulate in any way she saw fit, and she was sure that everyone knew that.

When they’d first arrived, he only attempted escaping once and it was, of course, while astride her prized steed. His escape attempt had failed before it even started but he made it briefly beyond the gates, into the woods and through the forested hills until they caught him.

Rowena wasn’t pleased.

“I asked a question,” he snapped once they came to a halt. “Have you come to spit out orders or have I done something wrong?”

“We were sent to call back patrols, sirs. She instructed us specifically to retrieve you two.”

“Oh, really?”

Daniel rode up beside him quickly, snapping an elbow into his ribs. Aurora narrowed his eyes, turning back towards the boy who had spoken. “I asked you another question. Are you going to continue to ignore me?”

“Yes, sir- I mean, no, sir-“

“Aurora, enough.”

He went silent, watching as the boy cleared his throat.

“We were just sent to tell you to come back.”

“Well, in that case,” he paused, glaring again, “piss off.”

“What he means to say is that we will be right there-“

“No, what I meant to say is piss off. Don’t speak for me,” Aurora spat.

All three of the Dravara shifted uncomfortably atop their horses, two whispering amongst themselves nervously.

“Thank you for riding out here. We will be right there.”

Nodding once, the boy turned his horse and Aurora watched as the others followed, racing off into the trees again without another word. He huffed, feeling the annoyance in Daniel’s eyes burrowing into his skull.

“Do you have to be a complete ass to everyone you meet?”

“I’m not,” Aurora replied defensively.

“Yes, you are. You’re the worst type of person,” Daniel added, shaking his head.

His tone made it impossible to tell if he was joking.

“Why don’t you do me a favor and tell me something I don’t already know?”

“Aurora, I’m serious. You can’t keep doing that. We have only a few months left and then, finally, we’re out of here. Can you manage not to fight anyone until then? Please, I’m begging you-“

“I get it, be nice and avoid a fight. I’m not an ass to you, see? One person is a start-“

“You are an ass to me but for some reason I choose to deal with it,” Daniel replied with another shake of his head. “I really don’t know why. I really do hate you-“

“Now, you’re just being spiteful.”

“In fact, I think I hate you more often than not-“

“Spiteful,” Aurora sang.

He couldn’t help but smile even if the words hadn’t been exactly kind. His heels dug into his horse’s flank, spurring him onward as the two rode off back towards the stronghold. But as they rode, he thought back to the tracks he’d seen and the ashes, still warm, they left behind. A shiver ran down his back, chilling him to his very core.

Even as they rode back to the gates, standing in the shadows of the archway, he couldn’t help but feel as if they were being watched.

~ ~ ~ ~

“Good morning, Officer Norton.”

Daniel looked up at the boy who spoke, nodding politely and sitting up from where he’d been slouched at his desk. Aurora had been awake for most of the night which meant, between the sound of his pacing next door and other repetitive nervous sounds, so had he.

“Were you here in place of madam?”

He nodded again, rubbing his eyes. “Yes, sorry, I don’t think I’m awake yet.”

“I came down here to tell you that it’s been called off. The storm last night collapsed part of the roof in one of the-“

“Where? Is anyone hurt?”

The boy shook his head. “No, sir. It scared some of the new recruits pretty good but I don’t think anyone was hurt.”

“Good,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m glad to hear that at least.”

They were quiet for a moment and Daniel looked down at the stack of letters on his desk, seeing the one he’d opened already folded back in on itself. It was rare that he was the one to read them but every once in a while, there wasn’t anyone else available. It wasn’t his favorite task for certain but as she’d once explained, it was necessary to keep the peace.

“Is there something else?”

The boy was quiet for a moment before he shrugged. “I was hoping, if you weren’t busy or something, you could help me even if we don’t have the classes today, sir.”

Daniel paused, eyes flashing back to the stack beside him. There were many, more than he’d been given in the past, but he supposed, with being given the day to himself, he’d have more time later to finish his work.

“What do you need help with?”

“You can write, can’t you sir?”

He nodded. “I can.”

“I’d want to send a letter home, a short one-“

“Are you asking me to write it for you?”

The boy didn’t say anything, only staring down at the desk blankly and shrugging his shoulders in response. “I don’t know how all the words are spelled. How the letters go, sir.”

Daniel rubbed at the back of his neck, nodding again and pointing towards a chair nearby. “Bring that over here and I’ll write it.”

“Thank you, sir. I-I’d write it myself,” he said, dragging the chair up to his desk, “I really would. But I can’t spell all the words, you know?”

He nodded understandingly, reaching over for a pen and a spare piece of paper that had been sitting beside him. “What do you want it to say?”

“Tell them,” the boy paused, “tell them I said I’m hoping I can visit soon. I’ve been doing extra work, good things, you know? Say that I miss them all, my sisters too. I don’t…”

Daniel looked up from where he’d been writing, setting it down again while the boy thought. He waited, glancing once more at the pile of letters, many still bound stamped with a seal he’d gave to remove later.

“I don’t know what else to say in a letter.”

“What’s your name?”

“Ben, sir.”

“Knew an officer, the chief officer before myself, with that name. What do you do? Are you a stable boy, a patrolman-“

“A cook, actually, sir. I don’t do anything brave.”

“Well,” Daniel said, smiling. “We need food, don’t we?”

“I don’t want to tell them I’m a cook, sir. Could you,” he stopped, looking down at the ground, “could you tell them I’ve gone on patrols? I have, I swear, I really have.”

He smiled again, writing quickly and hoping that the boy wouldn’t have the letter go on much longer. Daniel had work to and, considering the content of the letter he’d been reading before Ben arrived, it was a lot of work.

“You don’t have to write anything else. Just say I’ll come back when I can and I hope they’re all doing okay without me.”

“You can write your name, can’t you? I think you should sign it.”

He spun the letter around, handing the boy the pen and pointing towards the bottom of the page where he’d stopped writing. Ben took the pen clumsily in his hand, signing the three letters at the very bottom of the page.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Anything else I can help you with? I really should-“

“Could you write, when you got here, I mean?” Ben asked, handing back the letter.

Daniel didn’t answer right away, reading over the words he’d written and then switching his attention to the half open letter beside him. Few he knew had come with full knowledge of anything more than how to write their name and he was no exception. The Dravara, despite their more protection based reputation, was where he and many others got some basic sort of an education. He supposed that was important and being an officer, the chief officer, he had to know more than just how to spell his name.

He swallowed, shaking his head slowly. “No, I couldn’t. I didn’t know how to do much of anything. Officer Aurora, he knew how, but I think most that come don’t know much.”

“I was just wondering,” Ben said, shifting his weight in the chair. “Officer Aurora, he’s-“

“The angry one,” Daniel replied, folding the boy’s letter before reaching to take the one on his desk into his hands. “If you’ll excuse me, Ben, I have to go speak with Rowena.”

“Thank you, sir, for helping me.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, dipping his head as the boy slid his chair back and ducked out of the room.

He looked down at the letter, frowning at the words on the page and wondering if for just once they could be overlooked. But he stopped, folding the letter away and tucking it into his pocket before he followed out after the boy. There was work to be done.

Next Chapter: Chapter 14