They came into the kitchen not long after that, as the sun started to set. Rannok watched it out the window. His heart sank with it as it dipped below the treetops. He longed for the familiarity of it touching the horizon, then floating past like a toy.

He tried not to look at the girl as she stirred a pot over the fire, then ladled heavy helpings of stew into three bowls. She shoved one in front of him and sat across the table. Rannok eyed it warily. Bits of brown meat floated in a gloopy sauce that clung to his spoon. The girl laughed and stirred it in her bowl, then turned to Erean.

"Do fa sagran," she said. Erean spat out his mouthful of stew and held a napkin to his mouth, barely containing a chuckle. He covered it with his napkin and wiped the stew from the corners of his lips.

"Ca vlano asei da taben," Erean replied. He tried in vain to hide his smile behind his napkin.

"Jei, e do sagran." Sasha's eyes sparkled innocently as she set her chin in her laced hands.

Rannok's ears burned. He stared into the bowl and tried not to look at either of them. He could feel the crow on the windowsill behind him.

"She just called you an idiot," it cackled from inside his head. "Twice."

"It's rather rude to speak a language one does not understand at the table," Erean said. Rannok relaxed slightly and took a bite of the stew. The meat was moist and flavorful, rather than dry like the chunks of jerky they'd had back in the caravan. But he much would have preferred noodles back in Agatine with Wren. He tried to hide his disappointment as he took another bite.

"Thank you," he said, lifting his eyes to glare at Sasha for a moment before diving back into the bowl.

"You're welcome," Sasha replied. Rannok's hand tightened around his spoon. Erean nearly spat out another mouthful of his meal, but placed his spoon down and laced his fingers instead.

"This stew is delicious," he said.

"My mother made it before she left. She won't be back until the day after tomorrow. Until then I suppose I'm expected to take care of the meals." Sasha's nose wrinkled as if she wasn't happy with the proposition and ran a hand through her copper curls.

"That's a shame," Erean mused as he stirred his bowl. "We were hoping to find a guide. We have a long trip planned into the forest and I can't say I know the area well, or at all really." He chuckled.

Rannok watched as Sasha's eyes widened and she dropped the spoon in his hand. He tried not to raise one of his eyebrows as her face relaxed, as if she were pretending not to care, even though she clearly did.

"I might be willing to take you out. It's been a bit, but I'm sure I can help you."

Rannok had to press his lips together to keep the loud 'No' from escaping them. He glowered across the table at her, then shot a pleading look to Erean.

"We'll be gone near a month, perhaps two. Won't your parents miss the help?"

Sasha glanced to the far right, then back at her bowl before answering. "I'm sure they won't mind. They're used to me leading. Chances are they won't question as long as I leave a note and you pay for my services."

"She's lying," the crow said. Rannok nodded, even though no one else could hear. Erean's mouth opened in surprise.

"I suppose there's agreement, then," he said.

"Wait? No!" Rannok sputtered, putting his spoon down so hard stew splattered onto the table. Erean's eyebrows fell again and his face softened into a smile that said quite clearly, 'no argument'. He laced his fingers and inclined his chair toward Rannok.

"I'm sure we can pay her a wage to compensate. Heaven knows we're unlikely to find another guide on such short notice. Sasha, do you have horses?"

"Of course." Her eyes were wide with excitement, and she scarcely touched her stew between words that came out her mouth so fast Rannok was surprised she could still breathe. "How far can you fly? I want to bring ones for each of us to ride and one extra for supplies. Or do you even need one? I mean I can--"

"No, I don't need a horse," Rannok muttered, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart or the memory of the scent of blood. His hands shook, and he stuck them under the table to hide them. Erean eyed him for a moment, then turned back to Sasha.

"Marked ones can't fly far, especially not in tree cover. He'll need a horse."

Rannok's heart beat a little bit faster. His head got light and airy, and he begged another cool breeze to blow through the window before the need to run from it got overwhelming. Sasha raised her eyebrows.

"Is he okay?"

"Fine," Rannok said. He felt sick to his stomach.

"What's wrong, haven't you ever ridden horses before?"

"They don't have horses in Terres. They ride camels there," Erean said. Sasha nodded and bit her lip like she was thinking. Rannok missed Jojo something terrible. If he wasn't smart, at least he wasn't terrifying.

Rannok did not mention the part where he didn't intend to as long as she was around to watch. Or ever, really, but he supposed if the other option was being stuck here, there was no other choice. He still didn't have a way home.

Rannok's ears got red again. The bowl made a rattling noise across the wooden planks of the table as he pushed it away from him, stood up, and went to the stairs as fast as his legs could muster. The conversation shifted back into words and phrases Rannok did not understand, nor did he care to. It fading from his ears was a relief as he ascended the staircase.

He ducked into Erean's room and collapsed against the far wall, breathing heavily, cold sweat dotting along his forehead. The crow perched on the windowsill and ruffled its feathers.

"I wonder why she's lying," it said. "It's quite clear her mother did not give her permission to leave this place."

Rannok shook his head. "I don't care. I don't want her coming with us."

"Suit yourself. I'm not sure why you're so adamant. She appears to be harmless." The crow took a long pause, filling Rannok's head with a sensation that would have been 'hmmm' if it had been put into words. "Of course, if you were brave, you could always steal one of the horses and find your way to the nesting grounds ourselves. It makes no difference to me."

He wasn't even sure why he was so adamant about it.Maybe it was the strangeness of this place, or the sharpness of her sword. He glanced out the window, in the direction of the barn, though he could not see it through the treetops. All he could think of were reavers. Surely these creatures were not. If they were, no one would tame them or ride them or heaven forbid, keep them as pets.

Rannok shivered. His stomach twisted again and he folded his wings closer to his body. The thought was unthinkable, but perhaps it was manageable.