Sike! Here's a bonus snippet from what I originally started writing for Chapter 11. Since I accidentally skipped last week's chapter, I thought I'd share this to somewhat make up for it.

"Are you sure about this?" Han asked Zhian for what felt like the hundredth time.

"And let you take it?" Zhian snapped with a glare, but he immediately averted his gaze to the ground ahead of them. After a few seconds, he tentatively glanced back at Han. "You all have enough to worry about. This is the least I could do."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to question you so much, but I do worry about how far you push yourself." His eyes softened as he gave Zhian a patient gaze. "You don't need to prove yourself."

Zhian kicked a rock down the road.

"So, what do you plan to do tomorrow with the Firstdawn? Do you need some ideas?"

Thankful for the change of topic, Zhian nodded. "Trail running. I want to know how sharp those Northerner's instincts are when running through brush at top speed."

Han burst out in laughter at that. "Maybe start with something smaller. Why not show them some of our sword drills? Most of it's the same, but we have a few stances they don't use since their environment is typically icy."

"Is that why they get so low to the ground?"

"Indeed. They should fight well on the gravel mounds, but that means they're not used to their center of gravity shifting too much."

"See? That's why I suggested trail running."

Han chuckled and ruffled Zhian's hair as they got to the door.

I like what I wrote originally, but I think what ended up being the start of chapter 11 fit more with what I wanted. We've had 10 chapters with nearly nothing related to the Everborns or anything that was promised in the blurb, so I think it's time to start getting this plot rolling and relationships tested.

No more happy haha times >:3

But, maybe if you leave a vote, I'll be nicer to the characters 😉
Or, you know, comment that you want more pain, angst, and torture. I can roll with that, too XD