Dragonfly Web: Whitestuff

Nineteen | Let's Say I Believe You?

"You insects are really noisy down here!" Ciara sat in the sunny field off the path. It was her own path now. She'd begun wearing traces of her foot-steps into the grass towards and away from Skye's cave.

She had deeply slept another few nights in the cave.  Her days had been spent carefully spying, then checking for TJ. He'd been busy each time. She'd looked for footprints and tried tracking for campers that she'd not been able to find. By the time the sun set, she was exhausted, and easily drifted off into slumber. I can't remember feeling cold or even turning over once while I slept—must be getting used to not remembering things. 

Today's lunch was a combination of berries and seeds squashed into cakes, with some sprigs of fennel tucked between parchment. It seemed Skye had been borrowing lunches as well, and she didn't want to think where these might have come from. If she didn't accept them she would go hungry, so she ate them with glee.

"I haven't seen one large animal footprint yet. Not even the students seem to come this way," she mumbled out loud. "I'll have to try practicing again in order to learn more."

She had been comfortably repeating her white light energy pumping technique and found herself able to sense much more of the lay of the land. I'll go up toward the higher rainbow valley or somewhere there next, I guess.

She was determined not to say anything more about possible flying or next lessons from Skye for fear getting more than she wanted, but she was eager to think what flying might reveal, especially in her frustration at not finding outer camp kids. I'm sure I can't be a Tracker! Where are these kids?

"I've been looking for you!" called TJ, as the grass softly squished a distance away. The warmth of the sun beating down kept her relaxed, so his sudden appearance didn't startle her.  "—Thinking about your concern over those crates," he added.

He took off his hat and wiped the climb's sweat from his brow, resting fists on his hips while his breath slowly returned. "How's the head? Still feeling confused?" He waited, surveyed the land briefly, then wiped some more sweat from the sides of his nose.

Ciara considered. "The spinning has stopped."

"Good. I just came to ask you—what else might you think about somebody pretending to seal all the crates? Do you think they went out of the front door or back?"

Ciara stood up. "Oh—maybe both. I don't know if there might be more than one person." Wow. He takes the theft as a serious possibility now.

"We did find some tracks in the back of the Vault and brand new shavings that came from a crate, but they were not from past shipments, according to Ylva. They were the same material packed with the pen. However, that crate is now gone, so how did that get there? Could be nothing, or just missed it before, but I was curious when I recalled your comment that those crates had been opened, and resealed—perhaps before the pen's disappearance? So, a possibility—hmmm.  Meantime, a magical pen like that could theoretically be brought back by conjuring, if enough sincere magi put their minds to intention. But someone was physically there and I'd like to catch the culprit myself, first, if you're right."

Ciara picked her way to the rock TJ sat on. "You do think someone took it on purpose? Really—?"

TJ nodded. "It is possible you could be right. And, so far we've found nothing more. What was your theory? Did you suppose the missing pen and the other artifacts from the back were connected, somehow? Nothing seems missing, but still—"

"Did you check all the crates that had their seals replaced to make them look closed?  Was it the same seal on all of them? I thought that it was—"

"Same seal? That would be of interest, I guess."

"—And it was only those crates—?" Ciara tried to confirm.

"Oh—I don't know.  I wasn't looking for that, so I didn't notice. I'll have to go back and check again. Ylva said she hadn't got to the rest of that shipment yet and Liv isn't here, so I'm inclined to think you were on to something, or else why else were they opened before and now closed? Do you want to join me? I'm planning to pull a surprise inspection of the Circle Barracks, today."

"I wouldn't want to seem—like I'm prying. Will the kids wonder why I'm with you at their camp?"

"Well, with your permission, we'll do all the camps. I'll just introduce you as a new student to Tracking. That should help. Okay with you? Could you observe whatever you do and let me know when we are through?"

"All right," she agreed.

"We'll start at the low-land, with my Tracking Circle kids, and next criss-cross our way back up the hill to the Highland House Circle—Hilltop, they call it—the High Camp. The outer camps are a bit of a distance for one day's round, but we'd be coming downhill after that. And—I suspect the pen might be closer at hand than that, anyway."

"Do the students use symbols? Sorry. Somebody said I should have a symbol assigned. I don't know what that is."

"They all should have their own, but they likely don't wear them. The young folks at Hightop, believe everyone knows them, having been born here in Aulde High. And the students in Tracking are a bit of an energetic handful who are not fond of rules, but a pretty good bunch, as long as I keep them all much too tired to really do anything else. —Don't tell them I said that." He winked. "The rest are more somewhere around the moderately-behaved middle—and somewhere out there." He gestured.

"Where? I didn't see any tents."

"All across there. There are fourteen more camps." TJ waved his hand to the fields on the range.

"I didn't see anyone. I didn't even notice a space for tents in the grasses." Good thing I didn't explore more thoroughly. Where the heck are they?

"Well, that's good for them, then. At least, when we get to Hilltop, they won't feel like they are the real target of my suspicions, and I won't have to hear about their complaints from Robesaille tomorrow. Are you ready to go, now?"

"Yes." Ciara stuffed the remnants of her lunch into her pocket. I wonder if I'll need the cloak?

TJ straightened his hat and began in the lead, then he paused. "Oh, by the way, I spoke to the Council." He turned to hike straight through the much rockier field, downwards, where they would eventually have to connect with the main trail after they rounded the bend.

"They've agreed to hear what your—sky friend—has to relay. I'll make arrangements when we get to the top there, this afternoon."

Ciara's throat scratched. "Ahhhk—" but she stifled the sound.

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