Gaen and Frewic needn't have worried that Eirian would leave them behind while he traveled to Briton.
The morning was chilly enough that Eirian was still warm and asleep in bed when a beta servent came in that morning to serve a quick breakfast to Eirian before he had to leave with his escort to Briton.
Eirian woke to the smell of warm bread wraps and hot cereal. It was a fairly simple meal, but Eirian didn't have the stomach for it, his abdomen had been feeling queasy since yesterday evening, and Eirian silently prayed he wasn't coming down with a sickness.
Just his luck to get an autumn sickness right before he's supposed to be married.
Eirian forgoes breakfast and instead packs a few sentimental items, his favorite writing pen, a few pieces of jewellery his dame gave him, and his most worn chiffon.
Frewic is waiting outside his door, both him and Gaen already prepared to leave for the trip.
The escort is waiting outside when they arrive, several horses saddled and packed.
It's a relatively small party, considering the trip will be long and take them through the mountainside.
King Alpin is standing just outside the main entrance to the castle, Eirians former home, and doesn't say a word before leaving to enter the castle.
Eirian stands there beside his horse and tries to tell himself it's because his father is so sad to see him go, that he can't say bye face to face. Even if he knows that's not really the case.
Eirian mounts Isbel, the dappled grey he recieved as a foal several years ago.
The party all mount their horses and set off through the entrance to the town that lies just beyond the castle walls.
They are greeted with jovial smiles and friendly waves as they pass through the town.
Eirian is pleased, it's a sign of good rulership its the citizens are happy. Eirian is surrounded on all four sides by guards though, so he does not get to wave back, but he doesn't mind, better to get through the town faster and not dwaddle. It would just make leaving home that much harder.
As they travel further the town, the roads become increasingly rugged and narrow, until the lead navigator decides they must stop for the night, lest they all get injured trying to travel in the dark on the ragged roads.
Almost everyone has already unmounted their horses and have started pitching tents and setting up a place to make a small, controlled fire.
Eirian slips off Isbel and ties her reins in a slipknot on a sturdy tree branch. Hefting his saddlebags off her and to the ground.
Eirian honestly has no idea where to start, seeing as he was never allowed to leave the castle, he has no idea how to set up a tent to sleep in. And it would be severely shameful for him, as a prince to not be able to handle this on his own.
So Eirian looks at the other soldiers set up their tents and attempts to copy them.
Gaen eventually takes pity on him, already having gotten his tent up a while ago.
"Would you like some help with your tent your highness?" He offers, to which Eirian is extremely grateful and embarrassed in equal measures.
"If you wouldn't mind teaching me? I don't want to have to go through this every time we stop for the night." Eirian replies, handing Gaen the tools he was using.
"Well, it would also probably be helpful if you weren't trying to use saddle rope to tie your pitch." Gaen says, and Eirian blushes deep in embarrassment.
"I really should know all this, thank you again, for helping." Eirian says, taking the hide Gaen hands him, positioning it where Gaen says to.
"It's alright, at least you're willing to learn," Gaen smiles, and then frowns in succession, "Unlike some useless asses I could name!"
Several guards, including Frewic, all look away from where they were laughing at Eirian struggle and look shamefacedly down at their feet.
Eirian smiles gratefully at Gaen, the both of them having successfully gotten Eirian's tent up.
They're set up next to the river that runs along the main road, so after Eirian has finished setting up his space, he takes his spare clothes and takes them down to a part of the river where it's calm enough to wash.
He removes his old clothes, flithy from travel and begins to rub away the grime and smell with the sand that lies on the banks.
He also quickly washes himself down, rubbing off all the dirt in the river. He changes into the spare tunic he brought, taking his now clean clothes to the fire set up at the camp to dry.
Eirian has just finished when he notices almost all the soldiers staring hopefully at him.
"What? You all know how to set up a tent, but can't clean your own clothes?" Eirian huffs, watching nearly every head nod in embarrassment. "Well go on then, hand them over."
Eirian spends the rest of the evening scrubbing away dirt from soldiers tunics and wraps. It's not hard work, and helps Eirian to feel like he's contributing to the group.
He was never taught to fight, being an omega, he was expected to stay away from fights and combat.
His father taking that to the extreme and barely letting Eirian into the gardens. Which was quite shameful, considering it made Eirian useless in being self-sufficient, which was expected of all Pict people.
Because of Eirian's status, it's even more important that he can be useful. Being a prince, even only in name, and not being able to handle himself, is the most dishonorable thing he could do.
Eirian of course, was given lessons in many courses, but none of them had included fighting, or staying out in the forests or outside the castle walls.
Eirian finished the clothing, and was done in time to eat with Gaen and Frewic. It was only rabbit though, the only things some of the soldiers could catch on such short notice.
The night gets progressively more chilly as the night continues, so Eirian shifts to his wolf and eats before retiring to sleep.
"Goodnight Gaen, Frewic, I'll see you in the morning." He says, amd Gaen and Frewic both say their goodnights too, before Eirian enters his tent, laying down to sleep on soft sheepskin.
They keep traveling like that for several more days, the weather staying fairly kind to them.
Eirian continues helping out, Gaen even showing him how to hunt for rabbit.
They hunt as wolves, Eirian with his light brown, almost blonde coloured fur and Gaen, who had contrasting black brown colours.
Eirian had never felt so good as he did than while running around with Gaen, and sometimes Frewic, who had dark grey fur and white paws.
Within a week though, as they approached the mountain pass, the weather began to take a turn for the worse.
