15 Alliance

As soon as Syd got over his initial shock, he burst out laughing.

"She's good!" he told Rayvad, whose expression made it obvious that he did not agree with that statement.

"Whatever," Rayvad murmured as he walked away. "I was right about them."

Before Syd could reply, he had disappeared inside the woods.

"Where is he going?" Brightise asked.

"Probably needs to let some steam off. It's not that often that someone pisses him off."

Brightise looked at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"Well, not that much," Syd admitted with a smile.

His smile was contagious. Brightise, who had been in low spirits ever since she and Clober had left Paldagor, found her mood suddenly improving. The two of them sat down and started talking about what all strangers talked about: the weather.

"That storm last night," Brightise began. "Was that you guys playing around with Thunder?"

"Yeah, that was Rayvad losing his temper."

Brightise's eyes widened.

"I'm joking!" Syd said quickly.

"You got me there," Brightise admitted.

Suddenly, Clober started stirring beside her. She stretched her small arms out and then opened her brown eyes.

"Hey there," Syd told her.

Clober jumped at the unfamiliar voice. Brightise took her hand to reassure her.

"We have company," she said.

Clober sat up and rubbed her eyes hard before she looked at Syd curiously. Her hair was tangled up from sleep and her clothes were muddy from the rain the previous night. She looked like a younger, wilder version of Brightise.

"What's your name, little one?" Syd asked her.

"Clober."

"I'm Syd. My brother Rayvad and I are going to escort you to the Amazon camp. It's probably best that you didn't wake up to find him here."

Clober looked confused.

"Trust him on that," Brightise told her.

Then she stood up and took two apples and the knife out of their bundle. She cut the apples up in small pieces and offered some to Clober and Syd.

Syd declined politely. "Rayvad will bring some food back."

Sure enough, an hour later, Rayvad returned with two rabbits. He set them down next to Syd and looked at Brightise evenly. "I'll light the fire," he told her.

He had put out the one they had lit last night before Brightise had woken up.

Brightise did not object.

"Can you at least skin the rabbits?" he asked her.

"I don't know how," she said.

Rayvad seemed taken aback.

"My sister would have," Brightise added.

"The little one?" he asked her in confusion.

Clober cast him an angry look. He hadn't even introduced himself and he was talking about her as if she was not there. He was the epitome of rudeness.

"The little one's name is Clober," Syd told him.

Rayvad nodded in acknowledgment. "So no one here can skin a rabbit," he concluded.

Brightise thought she could skin him if the need arose.

"I can eat a rabbit," Clober said.

Rayvad looked at Brightise pointedly. "I can see why you're related."