Esper's comparison of my hiking skills to a child's was apt. After the day's events, I was a walking disaster. I kept tripping over rocks and snapping twigs. Whatever thoughts I'd had of a conversation had long since fled. I could only focus on putting one foot in front of the other. I lost track of the times she turned to glare at me, though even that stopped once the futility of that gesture became clear. I couldn't do better. The terrain we crossed was rougher and untrodden; each step required careful placement of my feet, but my focus was frazzled. My wounds had healed, but it had taken much from me. My body ached, and my head still throbbed from the fight.

She stopped next to a fallen log. "Let us take a break here."

"Do we have time?" I hadn't missed the increasing frequency of her upward looks nor the diminishing light from above.

"We are making good time, all things considered."

I studied the young [Healer], trying to suss out the truth of her words. She had quite the poker face when she wanted—scratch that, always. "If you say so."

We had fallen into an unspoken agreement. I was holding us back, but she remained polite. She hadn't slowed our pace, and I didn't complain despite breathing harder and my legs burning longer with each new hill we traversed. She always seemed to know my limit and never pushed me past it, even if that meant calling breaks more frequently than she'd prefer.

I sat down on the moss-covered log and let out a deep breath. I tried to ignore the growing ache in my legs and feet. Instead, I worked on rediscovering some of the forest's wonder before the attack had tainted it. The forest did have an unnatural beauty to it.

I flinched when something tapped my leg. It took a moment to register that the threat had consisted of a stick of dried jerky.

Esper clicked her tongue. "You need to calm down. Despite your fumbling through the forest, you are safe. The [Pathfinders] are doing their job."

"Easier said than done. I feel blind."

The death-claw raptors had tried to affect my mind, and I had detected them when they failed. At close range, I could also pick up Energy usage. I had these extra senses that, strange as they were, had become second nature. The combined fatigue from the battle and the hike had hindered them far more than my traditional senses. It left me foggy, not what I needed now that the deep shadows of the forest had taken on a new menace. Even if Esper never showed any concern, I couldn't relax.

Esper pulled out her own stick of meat. "You pushed your Marks, but you will recover."

"I hope so."

"They will. I would not have let you assist in healing unless I were sure."

We lapsed into silence as we ate our jerky. Despite her prior interest in my skills, she opted to remain quiet. I didn't try to strike up a conversation either. Instead, I savored the taste and the boost to my flagging reserves. It had a spicy flavor enhanced by the Aether it contained. The toughness proved a boon, preventing me from inhaling it. Though Esper hadn't passed on any words of warning, I didn't have a handle on my tolerance for foods containing high amounts of Aether.

When I finished, she stood up. "Let us go. We are almost back."

I looked in the direction she faced, finding only dense underbrush. "Really?"

"As I said, we are making decent time."

***

The foliage thinned quickly as we approached the camp. We stopped at the edge of the forest. I took in the size of the walls. Just this morning, they had appeared massive. Now, I wouldn't complain if they increased the height by another fifty percent.

I started when Selene spoke from behind me. "Looks like we got you here in one piece."

Esper turned to face our new guests, not showing a hint of surprise. "Yes, we have returned safely." She crossed a closed-fisted hand across her chest, following with a slight bow. "Thank you for finding a path through the danger."

Selene rolled her eyes. "From you of all people? I thought we were beyond this."

"Some things need to be said."

My eyes darted between the two women, and I didn't dawdle in choosing a side. I crossed an arm over my chest and bowed. "Thank you for finding a path through the danger."

Selene sighed. "You're taking her side?"

"She's my Senior." From the corner of my eye, I caught Esper's lips starting to shift into a frown, and I quickly added, "You saved my life. That deserves respect and gratitude."

Selene's sharp eyes bore into me. "We've already discussed this."

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Esper cleared her throat. Selene's gaze shifted, but she found her match with Esper. She let out a longer sigh than her previous one. "Fine. We can do this." She crossed an arm over her chest and bowed. "Thank you for trusting us with your path."

Esper nodded after Selene finished her bow. "That, my Junior, is how you show respect to the deserving. Now, I think you can head back to the camp. I have a few things to take care of here first."

"I'm tired, but I can still help."

"It is not something you can help with."

I frowned. "Okay. I can head back—" Then Rægnor's warning came back to me. "Actually, I think I might get in trouble if I go alone."

Esper muttered something under her breath, and Selene cocked her head, but then gave a small shake and raised a hand. "This doesn't seem like a good time."

"It is a good time," Esper replied. "We are back early."

Selene gave Esper a small smile. "That would be appreciated—if it is not too much."

Esper put a hand on Selene's shoulder. "Sister, I have already told you, I have the reserves."

"Then what's—" Selene's eyes darted to me. "Oh. Oh." Her eyebrows rose, and her eyes sparkled. "Are you worried about my honor? My men have seen me plenty of times. It isn't that sensitive a spot. Maybe he will learn something. You know how prudish Humans can be."

Prudish…?

The pieces finally came together. Esper was kicking me out of the room like I was a med student because a patient had to reveal a sensitive part of their body. When had that last happened? A gynecological exam in my third year? But that had been at the patient's request.

I almost retorted, "I'm a doctor," but that would have landed flat even if they had the context. Instead, I replied, "I am fully capable of respecting boundaries."

"Then respect the now," Esper snapped. "You have strained your Marks. You need to recover. On the rare chance that I need help, they can assist."

A flimsy excuse, but before I could push it, my skin prickled. I turned my head in the direction of the anomaly just in time to catch one of the other [Pathfinders] stepping out of a shadow in the foliage.

Selene's posture shifted, the casual air gone. She turned to greet her teammate. "Tell them to get ready. The respected [Healer] has the graciousness to assist us. We'll be there shortly."

He nodded, but before he could leave, his loosened bracer slipped enough to reveal a patch of red on his olive skin. Erythematous, with no visible scaling or ulceration, my view of it disappeared almost as quickly as he had appeared. The rash didn't trigger [Eidetic Memory], but the differential for diffuse erythema was too broad. I'd need a better examination, but that wasn't in the cards today.

I shifted my gaze back to Selene, but Esper was having none of it. "Wait here. You need the rest. I will be back shortly."

I let out a long sigh. It was hard to help when you're kept out of the room.

I waited, though not in the exact location. I walked the slight distance to move out of the forest and into the edge of the wall's kill zone. In the parts of the ground not bare rock and dirt, the grass had been cut short, leaving no place for anything to hide. I took a moment to take in the sunlight, letting it warm my neck and shoulders. I looked up at the cloudless sky, trying to remember the last time I had a moment to relax in the sun. Each time I had left the mine during the day, I needed to haul some cargo or rush to the Healer's Lodge. Even my inaugural walk from the Healer's Lodge to the General Store had occurred at the clipped pace set by the Tenevozh.

I eyed a patch of grass, took in the faint rustle of the wind in the trees. I could lie out here forever—until I had to sprint for my life in a desperate attempt to reach the safety of the walls before a raptor, direwolf, or something equally deadly finished me. I sighed, trying to shake out the tension that had crept back into my shoulders.

It's safe. Esper wouldn't have left me here otherwise.

As much as I tried not to, I kept returning to our last interaction.

I can't believe she kicked me out of the room.

I could help. Or maybe I couldn't, but neither of us would know unless I was there.

Hadn't we moved beyond this?

I started pacing back and forth. I hadn't worn an actual rut in the grass before Esper returned, but I had to be close.

"You should look up more."

My head snapped upward, but my eyes only met with clear blue sky. "Is that a joke?"

She gave me a serious expression. "Absolutely not. You are fine here because of the walls, but if we were in the Grass Sea..." She shrugged.

"Wonderful. Death from above to go with all the death on the ground," I muttered, before remembering what had angered me in the first place.

She raised a finger. "Do not."

"Don't what?" I snapped.

"Sometimes an apprentice needs to step outside."

I couldn't hold myself back. "I could've helped, and Selene didn't seem to care."

"She forgets herself. Why are we even arguing this? She had to become indecent; you needed to leave. Is that not what Humans do? Do not only female [Healers] care for women?"

My head rocked back. "Not where I'm from. Sure, we protect people's modesty, but as a doctor—[Doctor]—we take care of everyone, especially when the patient doesn't even care."

"It did not matter for this situation. Her men know what Humans expect, and they are quite protective of her."

"What did they think I was going to do?"

Esper shrugged. "It does not matter. They will not risk her honor, even if she is quite capable of protecting it herself."

My mind started to catch up to my tongue. "Wait a second. You agree with me on this? This was about politics, not modesty?"

"Of course, it is not about modesty. We are not Volki under a full moon. We can control our impulses. This, however, was not politics either. It is about honor—giving respect and gratitude to those who have earned it, even if they disagree. I could have forced your attendance, but to gain what? So you might have a peek at something that I am sure you will see later? It was hard enough to get them to agree to my help. In the future, we can come up with a better way."

I was at a loss for words; Esper clicked her tongue. "I am not your enemy, Daniel. You have earned the right to my name. Think about that before you cast aspersions on my intentions."

I opened my mouth, then shut it with a harsh clack. She wasn't wrong. I could afford her more grace, but she, of all people, should understand why that was not easy. It was not as if everyone could turn off the emotions with the flip of a switch. Still…

"You're right, I don't know the significance, but I will." She gave me a nod, one that I had come to learn meant respect. "I don't want to belabor this, but I would appreciate being involved. I learned a lot from your healing, and I have things to offer as well."

"As I said, I will try to find a way. It helps that Selene is not opposed."

"Thank you."

She turned and headed toward the gate without another word.

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