An Axe in the Flames

Clearing the Air

Draxx sat on Nila, slowly rocking side to side as she stepped over the uneven terrain on the outskirts of Red Sands territory, the leather saddle groaning under his weight shifting. The little-used trail had become the trek of choice, as the group wanted to avoid as many people as possible. Pela rode beside him in her usual silence, her eyes big as she took in the surroundings of the changing landscape. Forest had turned to a dirt and sand mixture, churned together in a burnt orange color, pines and firs turned to thick-trunked shorter trees with giant rubbery leaves of a deep red and green blended hue. The foliage was still dense and the trail was not well known, so riding side by side came with some difficulties as the oversized leaves of the Sand Frond Trees battered Draxx occasionally. Anese rode behind him on one of the three horses Amery had procured in Dry Lake. It was a beautiful chestnut color with a powerful gait that made traversing the trails relatively easy. Amery and his horse, a black and sleek Racer breed, plodded along barely behind her.

"I guess cutting our hair was for nothing?" Anese quipped, finally breaking the silence.

Draxx lowered his head and gave a side glance to Pela who shrugged. Over the last few days, after leaving Dry Lake, Anese had become almost unbearable to talk with. Granted, she had lost her family and was thrust into a protective role of sorts over Pela and had to trust two men she barely knew, but it was becoming too much for Draxx to just let go. He became irritable every time she opened her mouth because everything she said was always negative in one way or another. Be it food, and the way it was seasoned or not seasoned or even cooked. It could be the way the leaves let sunlight in through the forest ceiling, and it had become irritating to her eyes. Even worse, despite the smooth gait of her horse, she would complain about the saddle and how it wasn't made for long rides, and the inside of her thighs were becoming sore, like no one else mattered except for her. The riding was long, and the nights longer when it felt like you were walking on eggshells so you didn't piss someone off, and sat around the small campfires in uncomfortable silence.

He blew a breath out in frustration, "Anese...what's the deal here? You've been unbearable for days."

She pulled the reins on her horse and forced it to a stop, "The deal? My deal? Are you serious?"

He had done it now, and he should've known better but he couldn't hold it in anymore. Whatever was eating at her, be it the obvious or something more, he needed to air it out. They were on a long journey to the Emerald Castle and crossing over lands that would be engulfed in war. This needed to happen, and now was as good a time as any. They were hundreds of miles from the nearest town and he couldn't live like this anymore. In soldier camps, if you had a problem with another man then you dealt with him face to face. You didn't let things fester and grow into dissension, that was the quickest way to see cohesion fall apart in ranks. This wasn't the army, but this was a small warband in a way. They needed to have each other's back and they needed to all be on the same page.

He patted Nila's side and she came to a stop as well, "Yes, your deal. You've complained about literally every single thing in the whole world of creation for days. Spit it out and let's figure out a way around it."

Amery pulled his horse short and came to a stop behind Anese and shook his head, looking down at the ground and not wanting to meet her eyes. Draxx had tried to sound as even-keeled as possible, without animosity but talking to women or children was just not his forte.

"My deal is that I watched my mother get torn apart by a man that my father trusted. I watched my father get taken prisoner, and for all I know he's dead now too. I left my home which was the only place I've ever known. I'm riding through unknown lands to an unknown castle, to meet unknown people for unknown reasons. Do you see a theme here, Three-Fingers?" She spat.