Rune Stealer

The Morning After

Dark leaves blocked the piercing rays of the sun as it rose from its home beneath the horizon. I sat high up in a tree, watching the glorious ball of light rise above the horizon. Sensing below me, I knew that none of the boys were awake quite yet. Kian, at least, is usually up by now; they must be exhausted.

Zyn's soul is nowhere to be found, unfortunately. I wondered where he went at night, and what he did. After what he said last night to me, he sat with me till the last glowing ember died, then he flipped on his stealth and slipped into the forest. The world felt so big after he left and I felt very small. I climbed up in the tree soon after because I became aware of how cold the ground was.

A soul below me stirred and I looked down to see that Jhestan had rolled over onto his back; he seemed to be waking up, so was Kian. Kian was in a deep sleep the night before as if he had nothing to worry about, which made me wonder why he didn't think I was going to run for it. Adding Zyn to the equation, it all made sense. Kian was confident that Zyn would be awake and watching every night, but if that was so, then where did Zyn go whenever he left?

I shook my head, dismissing questions I might never have the answers too and turned back to admiring the soft yellows and oranges painted across the sky. The light glistened off the thin layer of water that had accumulated on the vegetation around me and I took in a deep breath of the wonderful smell of the forest. Things around me began to stir. Leaves quaked in the morning breeze while birds began singing their wake up songs. Soon we'd be back in the castle and I wouldn't be able to experience true mornings anymore. I don't know when I'd be able to feel all this again so I took advantage of it.

"Where's the girl." The deep voice of Jhestan startled me from my trance. I took that as my cue to appear before they began to think I had fled. I swung my legs down and around and gripped the branch I sat on with my fingers just as I heard angry grumbling.

My fingers slipped off the branch and the bottoms of my boots hit another branch. Immediately, I crouched and grasped the second branch with my fingers and let my legs fall.

"Where is she?" I heard Jhestan growl, still slightly dazed from sleep.

That was when I let myself fall all the way down. I hit the ground with a thud, pulling my knees up as my feet made contact with the ground to absorb the shock. Sleepy Jhestan jumped back in fright and stumbled onto the ground incredibly ungracefully. I threw my head back and howled in laughter.

Jhestan sputtered, the fall knocking him out of his daze. A grunt of pain escaped from him and he looked up at me with glaring eyes.

"Laika," he growled through gritted teeth.

"Yes?" I asked, trying in vain to stifle my laughter. Jhestan looked at me for another second before groaning and standing up, brushing off his rear end.

"Enough fun and games," Kian growled. "Wake the Lord." Jhestan moved to do as Kian asked, but I jumped ahead of him and stood over the gurgling Lord Plianne.

Plianne was spread out like tree branches, his mat and blanket flung about. Plianne had dried saliva coming from his mouth and going all the way down his chin. The powerful amplifier suddenly looked very pathetic and vulnerable. I giggled a little before jabbing him in the side with my boot. The Lord jerked and snorted, but turned over and settled back into his slumber. I scowled and kicked him harder. This time Plianne yelped and clumsily stood up, looking around for what hit him. His eyes narrowed once they found me.

"Time to get a move on, Lordy," I said, sweeping into a mocking bow. Plianne growled and opened his mouth to bark back at me, but his eyes shifted to something over my shoulder. At the same time, Zyn's soul appeared behind me. I smile happily and turned around to greet him.

"Good morning, Laika," he said with a nod and a spark in his eye.

"My, my," I cooed. "Someone's awful cheerful this morning." Zyn's mouth twitch once more as his cheeks seem to flare in a blush, but he stepped around me quickly and began to help tear down camp. I laughed to myself and then began getting Story ready for the ride.