[Complete] Eroh has reached his seventeenth spring and has finally become a man. With manhood comes a gift: marriage to the woman he loves. But when a strange new woman from another world enters his life, he is stuck with the decision to honor his...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Nhedri voice rang. "We overslept!"
I fought my eyelids open then rubbed the soreness from my eyes, blinking until I saw her standing over me, frowning. I would've much preferred waking to Lylef's beautiful green eyes and her warm smile.
"The clans have marched in the middle of the night." Nhedri smacked her forehead. "How could we be so careless?"
Lylef sat up, batting her eyes. The black hair on her head tangled in a bundle on top. She yawned, causing me to do the same. My ears popped and I released gas. Then stretched
Nhedri snapped, "Why haven't you put your leathers on …"
I looked down at my hide robe, knitted with red patterns of boar, and filled with leather strands knotted holding beads. "We won't catch them …"
"It's not about catching them. It's about saving Eroh, or have you forgotten?"
Lylef sprang to her feet and ran to the wall where her leathers hung. I preferred to stay plopped down like a dog, and did so, even under the narrow eyes of Nhedri. I yawned again, placing my hand to my lips.
"Eroh is a resourceful Young Horn. And our father's know how to battle … I'm sure everything will be fine."
Lylef yanked her leather chestplate down. "The Merfolk killed Elior," she said in a dry, cold tone. "What do you think they'll do to Eroh?"
I grunted and wobbled to my feet. "They'll release him when we win the war."
"How sure are you?" Nhedri asked, crossing her arms. "Eroh is your best friend … if it were you, he'd come after me."
"And if it were me in prison I'd wished you stayed." I took a deep breath and tasted the cool morning air. "I know Eroh. He wouldn't want to put his soon-to-be wife, his little sister, and his best friend in harms way. Now, as the man of this group I say we stay—"
"I don't have time for this …" Nhedri looked towards her hide bed, kneeled, and pulled out a long leather sheath holding a blade of some kind. "I'm going after him."
I asked, "Where'd you get that?"
She wrapped the belt around her waist and tugged it taut. "Does it matter?"
"Wait. I'm coming with you."
"Lylef, no …"
"Nhedri is right." She pointed. "We need to help him."
I stomped my foot. "I say we stay put! We need to be here when Eroh get back."
"You useless, fat hoofling—"
"Nhedri, that is enough!" Lylef said, strapping her bracers to her wrist. "There's no need for insults."
Nhedri flicked her eyes on Lylef. Nose wrinkling. I felt I should run away to avoid being caught up in the middle, but I froze, too intrigued to see what would happen. They'd never fought before. Not that I was aware of. And for it to be on my account was worth sticking around.
