WWotWW - Chapter 29 - Campfire talk (Patreon)

By the time I strolled back into camp the kids had managed to clear up most of the debris, and Clara had managed to put together a small campfire. 

“Did you see anything out there?” Mary asked cautiously. “You were gone a long time.”

“Nothing, just wildlife and wilderness out here,” I replied, shaking my head. “I honestly didn’t expect to find anything; I was just being cautious. Once Clara’s wards are in place, I’m confident we’ll have a peaceful night.”

“If you say so…” Mary replied, obviously unconvinced.

I stepped past the girls, crouched down next to my gear, and extended my arm to encourage Kaylee to jump down. She looked at me through half-lidded eyes before standing up on my shoulder, stretching out, and jumping down. “Mow!”

“I know I could have asked, but I thought maybe I’d try to be more subtle than that,” I grumbled before digging through my saddlebags to grab the cooking pot.

“Mrrrrewwwww,” Kaylee growled. 

“Fine! I’ll treat you with more respect and just ask you to jump down next time,” I grumbled back at her. As soon as I flipped my saddlebags closed, planning to take the gear over to Clara so we could start cooking, Kaylee flipped it open again. She stared daggers at me, almost daring me to try again. “What?” I asked.

“Mow!” she demanded. 

“Fine. I’ll get you your dinner now,” I muttered, digging into the pouch and pulling out some dried meat. Just before I handed it to the cat, I paused. “You’re doing this just to prove your point, aren’t you?” 

The cat looked up at me with a smirk, “Moooowwww…” 

“That’s what I thought,” I muttered, passing her the meat. Kaylee snatched the strip as soon as it was in range and pranced off into the corner to settle down on my bedroll, head and tail held high. 

“Guess we know who’s the boss in your relationship,” Clara laughed. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said, stepping over to the fire and holding out the pot to her. “I bet you’ve had similar conversations with your familiar.”

“They are the ones that know us best,” Clara admitted before leaning in close. “You didn’t actually find anything out there, right?” she whispered.

“No, I was being honest when I said I didn’t find anything,” I replied. “I do understand why you felt on edge all day, though. I had a bad feeling while I was out there, like I expected something to happen, but nothing did. We should stay on guard tonight, just in case.”

“I was already planning on it,” Clara replied, leaning back. She took the cooking pot from me and started filling it with a variety of ingredients from her own bags.

“Do you want us to help with anything?” Mary asked from across our little shelter. I pivoted and found her, Plays and the spirit all staring at Clara and me. 

“No, I’ve got this,” Clara replied. “Although the weather doesn’t look that great, so if you want to bring in a little extra firewood in order to keep it dry overnight, or stretch out a tarp over your sleeping area so you don’t get soaked if it rains.” 

Mary nodded and turned to translate what Clara said for plays, and as she did, the spirit padded to the entrance to our little cubby and then sat, waiting. 

I watched it warily. The way it acted, I sometimes wondered if it understood what we were saying, even if Plays didn’t. I didn’t think we had to worry about the thing turning hostile, it’s not like we were lying to Mary and Plays, but for some reason the fact that it could understand made me nervous. 

When the girls stepped outside, following the spirit wherever it wanted to lead them, I sunk down and sat next to the fire. 

“Have you ever visited the natives before?” I asked. “Any clue how much further we have to go?”

“Not personally, but Tellulah has visited them plenty of times. She’s never been gone more than four or five days, so they can’t be that much further,” Clara replied, as she stirred the thick stew she was cooking. “Are you worried we might not be able to find them? We could always sit down with Plays after dinner, and ask her some questions.”

“Naw, I have faith we’re on the right track,” I said. “I guess I just wanted to fill the quiet, have a conversation, and couldn’t think of anything interesting to talk about.”

“Nothing at all?” Clara asked with an amused tone.

“I’ve never been blessed with the gift of gab,” I replied. “I’m the type that likes to get right to the point when talking to someone, I don’t do it socially that often.”

“Huh, now that you mention it I don’t think the two of us have ever just sat down and talked. It’s always been an interrogation, introduction, or some sort of briefing. We’ve never talked casually,” Clara said. “Truth be told, I’m not that great at talking to people either. Whenever we gather at the dining hall, I prefer to just sit to the side and listen to everyone else talk.”

“I think it’s fine to do that, as long as you’re not eaves dropping on someone that doesn’t want to be heard,” I said. “I used to do the same thing back at my old coven.” 

Clara stopped stirring for a moment, and looked over at me. “You know, you haven’t really talked much about your previous coven, only that you faced something horrible, and they threw you out because of it,” she said. “Could you tell me more about them?” 

A thousand memories flashed through my mind, but they were all overshadowed by a single bitter moment. Being betrayed when I was at my lowest.

I gave Clara a small, bitter smile. “Maybe one day, but not today. I guess I never really had time to work through my feelings after everything happened, I was to busy fleeing the area and figuring out how to survive. I should really do that once this whole messed up situation with the company is sorted out,” I said.

“That would be the healthy thing to do,” Clara agreed. “If you ever need someone to lend you a sympathetic ear, you know where to find me.”

“I appreciate that, truly,” I replied. “But later.” 

Clara nodded and went back to stirring the stew. The flickering firelight threw shadows around our little shelter, and with the sun so low it was hard to see the girls as they ran around, even though they were only a few feet away. I would have gotten up to keep a closer eye on them if it wasn’t for the spirit, who seemed to glow faintly in the moonlight. Every once in a while, it turned to look back at me, eyes glowing, almost as if it was saying, ‘Here we are’

“Even though we rode hard today, we should probably have a split watch tonight. It’s not that I don’t have faith in your wards, it’s just…” I started.

“There’s something in the air,” Clara finished. “And you don’t have to tell me. I’ve been feeling it all day. Do you want the first watch, or second watch?”

I stared out into the rapidly deepening gloom, probing it with my eyes. If there was something out there, would it come at us? And if so, when? “I’ll take the first watch,” I said finally. “You’ve been on edge all day, and need some rest more than I do.”

“Fair enough,” Clara said, accepting my reason without question. 

She carefully scooped up a bit of the stew with her stirring spoon and brought it up so she could check the temperature, before smiling. “Perfect!” she declared. “Girls, come get something to eat. We should be able to make due with the wood you’ve piled up already, you should get something hearty into your bellies, and get some sleep, we’ve still got a long way to go tomorrow. Come in by the fire and get warm.”

“Yeah, come in where it’s warm, It’s getting dark, and we wouldn’t want you to get hurt,” I said. The spirit turned towards me, eyes glowing in the dark. Although I might have been seeing things I could have sworn that I saw it nod towards me. “You never know what might be out there,” I muttered.