52 Friends with Benefits

The sun set and the two moons lit the plains with their shades of purple and blue. I sat and watched while the others rested. I leaned back and used my ears which could pick up the sound of a mouse scratching or a snake slithering.

The wind picked up and it was surprisingly cool, despite being summer and a long way south. We'd spent three days crossing the plains with no sign of the Dokkalfar mountain range. Our pace was lacking because Redmond was painfully slow in his new lump.

I would have gone and searched for the Dokkalfar alone, but it was too dangerous to split the group. They were carrying supplies and an ever-growing hoard of qi cores from the monsters we crossed.

I heard footsteps, barely. "Gisael," I whispered.

"You know it is me," she sounded happy.

I stretched out my arms behind me searching for her in the darkness. She touched my arm and then came to lie next to me. "Only you would be so quiet."