Rannok tucked another canteen into his rucksack and tied it closed with a leather string. It was heavy as he slung it over his back and began to tie his weapon around his waist. He had to admit he was a little nervous. He'd heard too many stories from other guardsmen about first timers getting their limbs torn off or attacked by animals or worse.

He hadn't been in the open desert since he'd left home. He remembered the pain, how it had crept up on him the night before and gotten steadily worse and worse until it wasn't possible to do anything other than scream. How his sister had looked at him in terror when the wings ripped through his back, and how his heart had shattered when his mother ordered him outside. The pain as he'd rushed away without so much as thinking and clumsily flown off as far and as fast as he could on appendages he had little control of.

But somehow, he'd made it out. He didn't remember when they found him. He had bits and pieces of when they lifted him onto the board and carried him half-conscious to the medic tent. He remembered vaguely that it hurt when they wrapped his wounds. He'd recovered quickly and scarcely had time to think about how much he missed his family. When it was slow and there was nothing to do it filled his chest with a hollow ache and made him wish he could go back. He guessed he knew how Wren felt all the years she'd been stuck in the caravan because of him.

He ran through a mental checklist of everything he needed. Food, water, sleeping roll, extra cloaks in case the temperature dropped too low at night. They'd only be gone a day or two at most, but even that was dangerous. At least he wouldn't have to think about his duties when he got back.

Rannok felt nauseous when he thought about it. When he got back he'd be guarding the fireworks boxes. He could already see the limbs of people from the other end of the caravan shredding as they stepped over them. He could hear their screams as the market stalls crumpled, trapping people inside. He shook his head to clear it. He had time to think about this later, he didn't need to right now.

He ducked out of the tent and made his way towards their predetermined meeting site. Gabriel was probably already there, deep in conversation with Griffon about which way to go and how many stops to take. The trading post wasn't terribly far off. It was about halfway between the caravan and the nearest village. A water pump just deep enough that it would never make a suitable well kept it thriving. It wasn't much, but it still provided enough liquid for the few settlers that made their living there and the many merchants that passed through. Of course, Rannok had never seen it with his own eyes.

It was late in the afternoon, and the sun beat down across the back of Rannok's neck. He flipped up his hood to block out the heat and walked toward the back of the food tent. Gabriel and Griffon sat pushing food around each other's packs and discussing their plans. Rannok waved in greeting and Griffon nodded in acknowledgement. Rannok sat on the ground in front of them.

"Got everything?" Griffon asked. Rannok nodded. They weren't bringing much, just the bare essentials so they'd be able to bring back the fruits of any trading they got done. He patted his pack and glanced over at Gabriel, who gave him a smile.

"You look nervous," Gabriel said.

"A little," Rannok admitted. The pack strap crushed down the feathers in the middle of his back, which he knew he'd only be using in an emergency but it still made him feel uneasy about flying on them. What if the strap got in the way?

"You'll be fine," Gabriel said. "We've taken out kids a lot greener than you. It's just a trading expedition, we probably won't even run into any combat."

"Good," Rannok said. He tried to force a smile. Griffon and Gabriel finished going over their preparations and Griffon jerked his head in the direction they'd be walking. Rannok stood and followed him away from the medic tent and along the edges of the caravan to the place where they'd be departing.

They began to walk away from the safety of the tents and into open desert. Griffon fished some strips of cloth out of his pack and handed one each to Griffon and Gabriel.

"Tie it around your face," he instructed. "It'll keep the dust out."

Rannok nodded and complied with the command, then pulled the hood of his thin day cloak over his head so his neck wouldn't burn in the sun. It beat down like fire itself on them and made sweat break out across his forehead as the earth went from drug with wagon tracks to dry, cracked, and not trodden on.

As they traveled away, the sun only seemed to get stronger. The bandana caught his breath and gathered it around his face so Rannok constantly felt like he was suffocating, just a little. He tugged at the corner and fresh air rushed in around his nose and mouth. He let out a relieved sigh and kept walking.

They were still in sight of the caravan when Griffon shoved a stick with a long strip of fabric tied to the end of it into the ground. It flapped in the breeze. Rannok glanced back to the caravan, then ahead of them into the open desert. He wasn't quite sure how Griffon knew how to get to where they were going, but he wasn't about to ask, either. Navigating wasn't his job and he wasn't keen on it becoming his job, either.

Griffon waved them forward. They walked for another three hours, so long that Rannok's legs started to hurt and he begged for the reprieve that was flying. The wind whipped around them and caught in his wings, driving bits of grit into them and inside his clothes. He scratched at them uncomfortably and prayed that they'd be stopping soon.

Eventually, mercifully, Griffon stopped and dug his canteen out of his bag. Rannok tried not to let out too loud of a sigh and flopped down onto the ground. The back of his throat felt like dried parchment as he took a long swig of water out of his own canteen.

"We'll be there soon, maybe another half hour," Griffon noted as he glanced over the horizon, He tracked the sun with his finger and pointed slightly off to the right of it.

"If you follow the sun you can figure out what direction you're headed in," Gabriel explained, purely for Rannok's benefit because Rannok was sure they both already knew. "Keeps you from getting lost. The markers are just extra."

Rannok nodded. His legs burned and he didn't want to get up, but he forced himself off the ground and followed Griffon and Gabriel forward. It was another half hour before they finally reached the trading post.

Rannok had never seen anything so small. Two tiny tents stood between a tiny metal water pump with a bucket slung over the handle. An older gentleman with graying hair sat outside sharpening a dagger.

"Hey there," he greeted as they approach, and he shot a nod at Griffon. "Picking up?"

"We are," Griffon said. He fished in his bag and pulled out a small bag of ingots. The man counted them out, then nodded.

"Black powder and a few more bags of dried digger venom...can't imagine what Aegan's up to but I won't ask," The man said. Rannok's stomach flip-flopped. Black powder only meant one thing: more fireworks.

Griffon disappeared into one of the tents, leaving Rannok standing alone outside with Gabriel. Rannok shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced around. The sun was starting to go down and pretty soon it would probably be too dark for them to try to travel back. The caravan was large enough to keep the night animals away, but their party of three certainly wasn't.

"How long do you think we'll stay here?" Rannok asked.

"Until tomorrow," Gabriel said. "We'll catch some game and roast it, then tomorrow morning we'll pack up and head back home. Chill out, nothing's going to happen. Just relax." Gabriel gave a fake laugh that only made Rannok feel more anxious.

What was Aegan really planning? Surely a few fireworks weren't enough to keep an attack at bay if they were determined. He didn't buy that they only meant to scare them. No one was going to be just scared by a few big bangs.

Not to mention Rannok was never quite able to get the image out of his head of Cain's bloodied face as he laid in the hospital. He shuddered. Somehow he had a feeling this time was going to be a whole lot worse.

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Rannok has a bad feeling about this. What would you do if you were him? Share your thoughts in the comments!