The first sun took its time to climb up the horizon, its light sending streaks of color across the waking sky.

Nadirah gave the sunrise barely a glance. Her attention was being taken up by holding up a wagon while Regara made hasty repairs by firelight. Her arms were just beginning to shake with strain and sweat dampened her fur. “Are you almost done?” She growled through clenched teeth.

“Nearly.” The other doe replied, twisting the patched wheel as she worked it into place. “I just need to finish-”

“I don't care what you need to do.” Nadirah snapped, interrupting her explanation. “Just do it faster! Despite what that accursed druid promised, neither my strength nor my patience is inexhaustible.”

Regara let out a note of irritation but said nothing more. The wheel was finally slipped onto its spoke with less than great haste and the fasteners applied. “Just a little longer.” She said, taking her time.

“Need some help with that?” Came a voice from behind the pair. The wheel forgotten, Regara gasped and spun around, falling over onto her rear. Nadirah growled in irritation, readjusting her grip before tilting her head to look at the owner of the voice.

A large black-speckled bull stood beside Taiyra, smiling at the pair of them. His large horns swept out to either side of his head, each decorated with dangling charms and bands of colorful cloth. Fresh bandages wrapped around his chest and an ankle.

“Melogo!” Regara cried. “You walk among us again!” She swiftly rose to her feet and ran to the bull until she collided with him, his arms wrapping tightly around his mate. “I feared the winds would claim you!”

“They very nearly did.” Melogo replied as he gazed down lovingly at his mate. “All thanks go to the healer that returned me to the soil.” Regara lifted her head to press her nose against that of the bull.

“Taiyra, you've more than earned our gratitude.” Regara cried, her voice cracking on the words. “You brought my love back to me.”

“I didn't really do that much.” Taiyra replied bashfully. “His spirit was strong and his body was already mending. I merely helped it along a little.”

Patience at an end, Nadirah released the cart and took a swift step back, allowing it to fall heavily to the ground. The crash of it settling caused all three of them to turn their attention to the MidKnight. “Touching.” She said coldly, flexing her sore fingers. “Don't let me interrupt.”

The bull scowled and turned his attention to the rude disruption. Suddenly his body tensed and his nostrils flared wide as he looked her over. “What is this!”

Before Nadirah could respond, Taiyra set a gentle hand on the bull's arm. “That is my companion. The doe I told you about.”

Melogo gave an angry snort, his gaze never leaving the MidKnight. “You failed to mention that your companion was one of the undead king's minions and left loose in my camp. And left alone with my beloved at that!” He finally turned his angry glare to the druid. “What manner of trick is this, druid?! Are you in league with these monsters?”

Nadirah's nostril's flared and she opened her mouth to respond, but Taiyra's hand coming to rest on her shoulder brought a halt to the words. “There is no trick here. She has somehow freed herself from the undead king's influence and earned my trust. While she still has the abilities granted to her by the necromancer, she is one of us again and should be treated with the same respect.”

“I trust the MidKnight about as much as an ork's truce,” Regara spoke up, shifting her gaze between Nadirah and her mate. “But she's offered no harm so far, and I'll admit the extra hands have come in useful while you were healing. I made the promise that the MidKnight could stay and I stand by the decision.”

Melogo gave a disapproving snort, but offered no further disagreement. After another tender touch of his mate's nose, he released her and took a step back to assess the MidKnight. “I will honor the agreement. As long as you remain in peace... then no harm shall come from us.”

“Then everything is settled!” Taiyra said cheerfully, again interrupting Nadirah as she opened her mouth to reply. “How about we finish the last of the repairs together before I take my leave?”

“Of course.” The bull replied, his tone growing lighter. “But we must have a feast before you leave us. At least let us provide you a good meal before sending you on your way.”

The last of the repairs went by swiftly with four sets of hands. The rest of the tribe busied themselves with the preparation of food for the coming feast. Dried grasses and sweet smelling herbs were passed around to be used in place of bathing in water. The air around the camp was filled with tension and excitement as everyone prepared for the celebration to come.

Taiyra led Nadirah to the communal cook fires. A variety of foods were spread out on the woven mats around them. It was more than Nadirah had ever seen. Sweet breads rested beside bowls of dried and fresh fruit. Various oats, steamed roots, and vegetables lay scattered about, waiting to be made into delicious meals and side dishes.

Within minutes, everything had been transformed and was laid out for the offering of any that cared to partake of it.

A handful of tarous still tended the fires while the other members of the caravan plucked their breakfast from the mats and settled nearby to eat and gossip. The feast and the healing of the injured put all of the caravan in high spirits, so that even the MidKnight was welcomed among them as she approached.

Taking as little time as possible, Nadirah selected her meal and settled down by herself, a short distance from the rest of the group. She sighed when the druid came to settle beside her but did not bother to offer a protest. “How soon can we be on our way?” She asked pointedly before taking a large bite of sweet bread.

“Well, with everything being fixed, I imagine they'll be ready to go after breakfast is cleaned up.” Taiyra replied.

“Great.” Nadirah said disinterestedly. “But how soon can we be on our way?”

Taiyra turned her head to look at the MidKnight, her brow wrinkling in confusion before being straightened by the weight of realization. “Oh. You mean... When can you and I leave... together?”

“Why are you suddenly speaking like you've forgotten how to?” Nadirah asked, tipping her plate to her mouth to capture the crumbs of her meal.

“Oh dear.” Taiyra replied with a sigh and set her own plate aside. She turned to face the MidKnight, her smile curved uncertainly. “Nadirah, I brought you here for a reason.” She said in as soothing a tone as she could produce. “Where I have to go, I can't take you with me. They would kill you before I could explain. And I'm going to be flying there so I can arrive as quickly as possible. Even if there was no danger, I certainly can't carry you. You understand, don't you?”

The MidKnight stared silently, unmoving but for the twitch of her tail and the folding of her ears. Her eyes narrowed in anger and her lips were pressed thin. Despite the drone of chatter surrounding them, the weight of the doe's silence was oppressively heavy. Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped, all emotion seemed to bleed out of the MidKnight. Her ears went slack, her eyes relaxed and her tail stilled. “Understood.” She suddenly said in a disinterested tone and turned away to finish her meal.

Taiyra frowned and looked down at her own plate again. She knew she should eat, she would need the energy for her long journey, but she had suddenly lost her appetite. For some reason, the MidKnight's unexpected apathy hurt her worse than her anger. She had expected an argument, to be insulted, even. She had not expected to be forgotten before she had even left.

The kordox bellowed loudly as it noticed the swift approach of two riders. The restless beasts jingled their harnesses and pawed at the ground, distrustful of the unfamiliar scents brought in with the breeze. Given the alarm, every eye turned and focused on the pair as they came closer.

Kai and Ryllae slowed their mounts as they drew close to the caravan. “Tarous, more than anyone, hate humans.” Ryllae said softly. “Let me do all the talking. Usually they're alright with my kind.”

“After you, then.” Kai replied, reigning in his horse.

The wood elf took the lead, slowing her kerstaug to a walk. A large black-speckled bull climbed down from the lead wagon and began to walk toward the pair. The bull's body was tense and his gait was stiff, a toss of his head showcasing his readiness to fend off the interlopers should they prove hostile.

“Greetings!” Ryllae called out, raising both hands in an attempt to look harmless. Both she and Kai halted their mounts to allow the bull to approach. “We bring no harm.”

Melogo stopped only a few feet from the pair and swept his large horns side to side in warning. “You'll not catch us so off guard again. Go back and tell them all that we are ready to defend ourselves!”

“Be easy, friend.” Ryllae said with a forced smile. “I don't know who you think we are, but we're not here to hurt you.”

Regolo snorted and stared suspiciously at the pair. “A tree hopper and a fleshie traveling together and you expect me to believe you merely stumbled into the Avid by mere chance? If you're not spies for the retches that attacked us last time then you're spies for the ones that want what little we have left. And either way you'll get none of it!”

Ryllae glanced back at Kai with a questioning look, but he simply shrugged. Finally she turned back to the bull. “I'm afraid I still don't understand who you're talking about, bull, but I assure you that our business is not to steal your possessions. I am Ryllae of the Blackwood Vale and this is Kai Nicotera of Hawk's Reach. We're just simple travelers in search of a... friend, I guess you could say.”

The bull's ears flicked thoughtfully as he looked over the mounted pair. His tail whipped back and forth furiously. “You'll not find your... friend... among us. Be on your way and do not bother us again.”

The wood elf's smiled hardened as she looked down at the bull, her eyes narrowing. The leather of her saddle creaked with the shifting of her weight. “Well, we'd like to...” She turned her head to look over the make-shift camp and the many pairs of eyes staring back at the two intruders. “Question everyone else. Just to be sure.”