Cerris’ party didn’t return until the early evening, and it only took one look in the mirror’s eyes to know that Anemone hadn’t come back with them.
We gathered by the fire, Cassian lying sadly against Cerris’ back and Oslowe carefully uncoiling a very chilled spiral from his neck. Mira stared up at me with wide eyes, teeth audibly chattering.
“So… why did you two wander out like that?” I asked tensely, biting back my desire to scold her.
“I d-didn’t want to,” Mira replied quickly. “I-I caught – ” her shaking continued to impede her speech until she gave up, swore, and curled against Oslowe’s leg for additional warmth. He sighed.
“Mira said she woke up to Anemone sneaking out and followed her,” he said, gazing down at the coiled mess of a spiral. “And she kept chasing until she apparently passed out.”
“Did Anemone say anything, Mira?” I asked, grabbing one of the blankets by the fire and draping it over her.
She remained wordless for a while, collecting herself before nodding. “Yes. Nothing that made sense, though. Mostly she just said ‘go’.”
“Where’s Moss? Is she still tracking?” I asked, glancing about the room.
Oslowe paused and let out a sigh.
“Kinda,” Cerris replied gruffly. “She said she was losing Nem’s scent and ran off ahead.”
“I’m glad you at least found one of them,” Nova said quietly. “And… I’m sure Moss will be able to track Anemone down.”
Cassian made a tiny, broken noise in response. I couldn’t tell if it was supposed to be words or not, and he didn’t attempt to correct himself, leaving our group to curl up where he and Cerris usually slept.
“Yeah. Yeah,” Cerris replied, brows furrowed as he looked between Nova and his coiled ball of a companion. I could hear his teeth grinding. The skydancer’s crests flattened.
“Cerris,” I began carefully. “You look… exhausted. I think you should get some rest – I’ll bring you some dinner in a while, alright?”
With how the mirror looked at me I was worried he was going to argue, but he relented, nodding and skulking away to slump against the far wall.
The rest of us sat in tense silence for an uncomfortably long time, until Nova cleared her throat and rose. “Shall I go tend to Rill, Wafer,” she intoned, tilting her head slightly as she spoke.
“Yeah,” I sighed, standing and moving to the stores to pull out what scraps of food would do for the night.
Mira climbed up Oslowe’s leg to settle between his shoulders, blanket and all. He didn’t move from the fire, watching me calmly as I rifled through our stores. It was unnerving, and I found myself fumbling as I gathered everything I needed before heading back and setting the pan.
“Oslowe, you were out for just as long as they were. Don’t you think you should go rest as well?” I asked.
“Thank you for your concern,” he smiled, shaking his head. “But I’m fine. And I’d like to help you.”
“Alright,” I replied, blinking back my surprise as the guardian offered his talon to me. I passed him the fish I’d brought before starting to work on what little meat we had to cook, removing the last of the feathers from a cockatrice as I waited for the pan to heat up.
Oslowe seemed to realize my intent and leaned in, exhaling a thin stream of flame that soon had the cooking fire roaring. “Should be at the right temperature now,” he stated softly, flicking a fish spine – ribs and all – into the coals before starting on the next.
“I wasn’t aware you knew so much about cooking,” I remarked, raising a brow. “It takes me so long to debone a raw fish I don’t bother with it.”
He chuckled, and even with the hint of sadness to it I couldn’t help but notice just how similar it was to fire itself: warm, lively, and strangely comforting.
“Fish is what you could call my specialty,” he replied, flicking yet another set of bones into the fire. “Is that really so surprising with where I’ve come from?”
“I… suppose not,” I replied feebly, embarrassed despite his friendly tone. He paused to look around the cave, and the conversation petered out into silence. Aside from the fire roaring, all I could hear was Cerris’ ragged snoring. I tossed the bird I’d cleaned into the pan, and a sizzle intermingled with the sounds. My eyes fell on Cassian, curled sadly against his serthis. I felt a twinge of pain in my chest when I noticed dried tears on his face.
“They fought,” Oslowe murmured, his rumbling voice so close I jumped slightly and had to steady the pan. I turned to look at the guardian, who had curled to speak in my ear. His face was solemn in spite of Mira who lay on his head, tail hanging precariously. “While we were out searching, I mean. Cerris was adamant that we wouldn’t return without her, and Cassian was… of a different mind.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, briefly turning away to flip the meat. When I looked back, his eyes were still on the spiral.
“It wasn’t long before he started seeming so… defeated,” he replied at a length, letting out a sigh that released a few embers into the air that soon faded away. “He acted as if he was certain Anemone was already… well, already dead. Cerris snapped at that and we continued on after a… discussion, but things only grew worse when we found Mira alone.”
I watched him as he spoke, studying how his brows knit, and how the contours of his face creased with what seemed to be deep and genuine worry. In spite of how slowly he moved, I still felt my heart flutter with surprise when he turned back to look me in the eyes. “I recall him mentioning that your clan found him. Do you know of his history before that?”
His eyes really were like fire. They held an intensity that defied his outward expression and even his lulling voice - I found myself speechless both from his gaze and the question he posed. Surely Cassian must have family somewhere?
“I… don’t know,” I replied, frowning at the rather flat answer. I took a deep breath and collected my thoughts. “After first tending to him, so many new issues took priority that it kind of fell by the wayside, I guess.”
Oslowe dipped his head, evidently considering what I’d said. “I don’t blame you for it – you’ve had much on your plate. But I think you should try to talk to him soon, Mister Wafer. That spiral…” he turned, glancing back to Cassian’s sleeping form before meeting my gaze once more. “He’s carrying a lot more pain than is immediately evident.”
The urgency on his face was clear, enough so that I wondered just how bad Cassian and Cerris’ fight could have been to cause it. Or did Oslowe just see something I was oblivious to? After all, he was even more of a mystery. How was it so easy to forget that?
“I’ll speak to him soon,” I replied, shaking my head to snap myself out of the confused reverie I’d sunken into. My head was buzzing, so much so that I could hardly make out the crackling fire anymore, and was just barely aware of a faded rumble that had begun. Spike must have been shifting in his sleep.
Or not. I started at the sound of Arc’s voice.
“Wafer, I’m sorry we were gone so long. I took Valen out to – are you aware your pan is on fire?”
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