The Hunters of Sian

Preparations

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Chapter Twenty

Preparations

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When Nell woke, he was hungry. After bathing they had only eaten a light supper before returning to their chambers, both more asleep than awake. He shifted, stretching and felt a tell-tale twinge of pain in his backside. Wincing, he cautiously sat up on the edge of the bed.

'How are you feeling?' Sallos' voice made him jump and then immediately wince again.

'Sore but not bad,' Nell said, cheeks warming. His mentor propped himself up and Nell took a moment to take in the expanse of scared ebony muscle. His morning wood appreciated the sight, but he really didn't think he would be able to handle doing anything about it. Sallos gave a slightly lopsided smile.

'Take it slow. You will be tender for a while,' the demon said gently. Nell nodded, deeply grateful that they had soaked in the hot water the night before. He would probably be worse off if they hadn't. They both got ready for the day, Nell with some waddling and Sallos with an amused expression. To his credit, the demon made no comment even as Nell hobbled after him at a much slower pace than usual. They had slept in a bit and the food hall was packed. Furcus's grin was wide and toothy when he caught sight of them, but he said nothing. Jeremy gave Nell a confused look.

'You alright mate?' he asked, passing him an empty place.

Nell, conscious of the redness in his face, gave a false cough. 'Yeah, just, still a little stiff,' he said lamely. He waddled over to the food a quickly as possible before Jeremy could comment.

'I'm starving,' Jeremy moaned. Glad of the change of subject, Nell nodded. He started reaching for a plate of sausages when Sallos appeared beside the boys, startling them.

'Don't take too much this morning,' he warned. The apprentices frowned.

'That goes for you too, brat,' Furcus called out from where he sat.

'Why?' Nell asked. He tried to keep the whine out of his voice, but Sallos' raised eyebrow told him he had failed a little. Chastened, he put the plate down.

'Just take a little. You'll understand shortly,' Sallos explained. With one last longing look at the mass of food, Nell took some toast and went back to sit down. Jeremy was less collected and grumbled under his breath as he stomped back to the table with a small bowl of porridge. Sitting on the hard-wooden benches was not much fun either. Nell was grateful when they stood to leave but much less so with Furcus's next words.

'Go tack up your animals. We'll be out with you shortly,' he grunted. Nell paled. His head whipped around to his master, but Sallos only gave him a nod. By the gods he was not looking forward to riding...

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'Are you sure you're alright?' Jeremy asked him for the third time. Nell nodded stubbornly as Thorn pawed at the ground. Every shift of shoulder or back made Nell rock in the saddle. It was incredibly uncomfortable. There was little he could do to fix it either. If he tried to hold himself still and ridged, Thorn would complain and there was no way Nell had the ability to stay on today if Thorn decided to buck.

'Yeah, I'm fine,' Nell lied. The two hunters rode ahead of their apprentices, leading the way out onto the main road. The day was perfect, the sun warm, the breeze cool and the sky broken up with large fluffy white clouds. Despite his discomfort, Nell admired the morning. He breathed in deeply. He always felt a thrill of exaltation to be outside the oppressive stone walls and set free into the world.

Much of the plants along the roadside were still recovering from the harsh summer heat that was only now beginning to fade. Only the neat little fields of crops were still green. They didn't hurry as they made their way to the town (Nell was sure he probably would have handed in his manhood and cried if they had been made to trot.)