Their first day of travel with their new companions had gone surprisingly well following their return. Tissaia had expected some awkwardness and tension, and while there was a little, there hadn't been nearly as much as she was anticipating. The majority of it came from Azael and her brother, but Kaius seemed eager to get to know Vael and Kahari.

    He had carried most of the conversation with the female, who was again sitting astride Vael in his bear form, although they had brought along two additional horses, one of which Kaius was riding on and leading the other behind.

    Tissaia had assumed they were sticking to their previous arrangement for the sake of its familiarity, until they were accustomed to the group. After all, they were strangers to the pair too. She had made up her mind to remedy that as soon as Kaius offered a lapse in conversation, but that didn't come the first day.

    When darkness fell, they had made camp and divied up supplies for the evening meal, before arranging their watches for the night. Tissaia welcomed the chance to get more sleep but had volunteered herself for the first watch so she could avoid being woken up at some point in the night. Kaius had stayed up with her for a time, despite her insistence that he try to sleep.

    She had managed to coax a small explanation out of him at least. He had admitted that he was wary of sleeping. If visions weren't plaguing him, it seemed nightmares were. Not even the bright glow of their campfire could drive away the shadows that lined his features as he spoke, and she had noticed not for the first time the dark circles appearing below his hazel eyes.

    Eventually, Talarion had woken up when he shifted in his sleep and found Kaius's makeshift bedroll empty. Her brother had been attempting to persuade him to rest as well when Kahari, who was apparently not sleeping, rose and retrieved something from one of the satchels she'd brought from the village.

    They all eyed the small bag she produced with obvious wariness, but no one raised a protest when Kahari took a waterskin and held it just above the flames until the water was heated. She had slipped three dried leaves into the waterskin, given it a hard shake, then passed it into Kaius's hands with the instructions that he should let it rest for an additional five minutes before drinking the contents.

    Talarion had given the concoction a quick sniff before Kahari explained that it was merely a nerve-calming tea and would help Kaius sleep. Possibly even deep enough to avoid having dreams. Kaius wasn't fond of the idea, but his exhaustion eventually won out and he drained the waterskin as smoothly as he had the liquor bottle in the hidden village.

    The tea worked brilliantly. Kaius had been nodding off only minutes later, and Tissaia had assured her brother that she would just add Kaius's designated hours to her own watch so he wouldn't be disturbed. She had also been relieved to see them go to sleep beside each other, her brother very openly curling himself around Kaius in a gesture of protection.

    She was glad they weren't choosing secrecy again. She had been worried that they might, given Vael and Kahari's presence, but she wouldn't be the one to question their decision. She personally thought they could trust their new companions with this secret. Clearly they held no love for the Lord of Lochren.

    Tissaia's watch stretched on, quiet and uneventful, and when it was over, she went to wake Azael. She almost had to laugh at how she found him. He was bunched onto his cloak in what looked to be a rather uncomfortable fashion. His knees were pulled up just enough to avoid kicking Vael in the head, and his own head was tucked towards his chest to avoid Talarion's feet.

    It couldn't really be helped. With two extra people, they had to arrange their bedding closer together so they could all fit around the fire, and Azael was the tallest in the group, making his fit the most cramped. Tissaia hesitated a moment before waking him. His wavy hair was strewn across his cheek, turned the color of fresh straw by the firelight although it had grown darker in the many days that had passed since they'd fully seen the sun.

    Even his naturally golden skin had taken on a warm glow, as though the light were drawn to him, or if he were a sun himself. A fitting image for the Heir of Oriana, the goddess of the lights of the world. He was like the light of the sun, brilliant, powerful, and rectifying. She had never seen those traits in King Mavron, nor in Queen Elwyth.

    The King cared only for himself. The Queen had cared for those who gave her purpose, in so much as they returned her care. But not Azael. In truth, he was very little like either of his parents in terms of personality, and she was again struck by the cruel words she'd flung at him. She herself had sounded like...like her own father, in that moment.

    How was it that they were both so different from those who had bred them, and yet in their moments of weakness, their resemblances had never been stronger? But Azael had overcome that by offering her a fraction of the truth, and a part of her wished to do the same for him.

    To help him understand the fiery, bitter half of her that reared its ugly head so often. The side that protected her, protected her brother, even protected him to some extent. But there was so much truth that remained hidden between them, she wouldn't even know where to begin.

    So Tissaia had only allowed herself to brush some of the hair from his cheek, before shaking him awake. She had fallen asleep on the opposite side of the fire from him, aware of his gaze occasionally flitting to her, then back to watching the forest. And as sleep beckoned her away, she thought she recognized a familiar, pretty tune being hummed in his low tone.

•༻☽☾༺•

    The morning dawned somewhat dismally, with a light rain filtering down from the treetops. Tissaia had woken up most begrudgingly and wrapped herself in her cloak, then shielded herself. But by mid-morning, she was cold, sore, and altogether sick of the weather.

    Tissaia cast another disgruntled glance at the few slivers of sky she could see and beside her, on her own mount today, Kahari chuckled. The female was not shielded, but the rain didn't seem to be dampening her spirits much.

    She was wrapped in a cloak unlike any Tissaia had ever seen. It looked as though it had been made out of leaves themselves, layers upon layers of them floating down her back, with a plain hood covering her head. Had she wished to vanish into the forest unseen, Tissaia didn't doubt the female was capable of doing so.

    Instead, she was simply watching her with an amused grin while smoothing her thumb against the wooden grain of the staff that lay across her lap. It was the conduit she had gone home to reclaim, and quite unlike what Tissaia had expected.

    It looked as though it had at one point been a tree root, and was now a long, straight straight rod reaching from Kahari's boot to her shoulder. The staff was a winding rope of wood until it formed a woven oval-shaped dome at its head. Nestled within the recess was a cluster of vibrant green crystals.

    "How did you choose that as your conduit?" Tissaia found herself asking.

    Kahari looked at her staff, her smile growing softer. "Ten years ago, by accident. We had just decided to settle in the village and I was out hunting by the river. It was raining and I wasn't paying very much attention to the ground. I ended up tripping on a root and falling down over the bank."

    "When I climbed back up, I saw the root and something just prompted me to dig it up. It came out of the ground just like this, except covered in mud, of course. I thought the crystals were a strange formation so I brought it to Vael's aunt and she told me it would make a fine conduit for my magic."

    "It's very beautiful."

    "It is," Kahari agreed. "In fact, sometimes I wonder if..." She trailed off and shook her head. "No, nevermind."

    Tissaia's brows furrowed. "Go on. You can tell me," she urged.
   
    The female glanced at her from the corner of her eye, then exhaled quietly. "I've sometimes wondered if I was meant to find it. If it was made for me, or left there intentionally, I mean. By Drenusha." Kahari stumbled over almost every word, and her face grew pink.

    "I know it sounds silly. I'm only Half-Fae. I don't even have god-blood. I have no idea why I see that Doe following me." Her free hand lifted to the center of her forehead for a moment. "But I haven't been able to explain half of the things that have happened in my life."

    Tissaia pursed her lips as she mulled over what to say. If Kahari thought she understood little about herself, then Tissaia understood even less, but experience had taught her that there was a purpose to everything, no matter how strange it seemed. She met Kahari's gaze and offered her an encouraging smile.

    "That's the trouble with our goddesses and god," she said, voice lilted with humor. "Nothing they do makes sense. But I believe you when you say you've seen Drenusha, and you clearly have some sort of connection to this forest. You'll just have to trust that there's a reason for it, even if you don't understand it yet."

    "That's much easier said than done."

    "True, but I think you've already started on the path towards answers. Kaius was right yesterday. It wasn't just by luck that we met you. There's a purpose to all of this. Kaius receiving his visions. You being bonded to Drenusha in some way. Us being led here, right to where we'd find you. It's like one giant spider web. There are different threads connecting us to some end we don't yet see. Threads of fate, pulling us along."

    Kahari gazed at her with wide eyes. "Do you really believe that?"

    "In fate?" Tissaia thought once more. "Maybe not in fate, per se, but I believe we are all born with some purpose to see through. It's our own choices that will determine if we succeed or fail. And I'd say whatever lies in store for you, you'll do just fine with a goddess guiding you."

    "I wish I had faith like that."

    "It's hope, more than that. If I lost hope for the future, I don't think I'd have faith in anything anymore." Slowly, Kahari nodded her agreement, and they rode onward in a comfortable silence.

•༻☽☾༺•

    Azael lingered at the back of the group, Tissaia's words playing through his mind once more. There was wisdom within them. Wisdom born of experience, and as she'd said, hope. But there was something else, too. Within her words of inspiration, encouragement, and wisdom, Azael Cadhael had heard the voice of a Queen.