“Hey, I heard that,” my father retorted.
“As you should have.” Hallan pointed a finger and my father smiled as Ace chuckled under his breath.
I wanted to ask again, but this time in his mother tongue, so I did. I tried. Turning toward him, I mustered the signs my mother had tried to teach me into the forefront of my mind as I asked if he wanted my help. He cocked his head like a bird and pinched his eyebrows in question before he arched one with a confident grin. He lifted his hand, readying a response, but a gust of wind pulsed from his palm and he knocked me on my ass. I leapt back to my feet.
“Mother Moon, what was that for!?” I cursed, glaring daggers at him. He shook his head and with a wave of his hand sent a wisp of wind tapping on Hallan’s shoulder to get his attention, who was currently bent at the waist with my father, laughing at me.
“What?” I questioned, growing impatient.
“You challenged him,” Hallan spoke up. “That sign was you asking for a duel.” He wiped a tear from his eye as he composed himself.
“No, I think he just wanted a reason to knock me down,” I said, dusting off. Ace gave me a knowing grin. We had always been competitive growing up. Challenging each other wasn’t uncommon. Hallan walked over to me, corrected me, and showed me the signs slower. The sign with both hands meant duel, and the sign with one hand meant help.
“Now try again,” Hallan encouraged as he gestured to his son, watching us with a smug smile, and I did. This time, Ace answered with a nod and a silent clap of his hands in praise as he gestured me toward the bedrolls. He tugged me into a quick hug before pulling away.
“Old friend.” Ace signed more than that, but that was all I picked up on.
“Yeah, I missed you too, you big lug,” I said, and he huffed a breath and smiled.
I remembered a time when we were inseparable as kids, but I guessed gaining responsibilities and growing distant was a part of growing up. He laid out beds for the women and children. I helped him and together, we gave each woman and child their own space as Hallan and my father started a fire.
The Sky Elves had a tolerance to the cold. Winters in the mountains were devastatingly frigid. Personally, I preferred the warmth as we gathered around the fire to fill our bellies with supper. I peered over at my father, who was sharpening adagger. I glanced around the fire, searching for something to eat, but I found nothing.
“Pada,” I called to him.
“Hmmm?” His tone was low in question as I continued, never looking up from his blade.
“Where is supper?” He peered over at me and smiled.
“A lesson,” he said, and I sighed, letting my chin fall to my chest and shoulders sag. Hallan chuckled at my response. Anytime my father was about to school me on the ways of survival, he always started his statement with this. He never missed an opportunity to enlighten me. I didn’t want to hear it tonight though. The sun would rise soon, and I was hungry and tired.
“Aw, come on, Eme, you’ve always been my good sport.” He winked at me, but I rolled my eyes at him and he snickered under his breath before growing more serious. “Catch your food. In the middle of a war-torn world, nobody will feed you but yourself,” he said as tiny skittering feet passed by my back. My father threw his dagger, killing the plump rat in its tracks.
“See, there’s my dinner,” he said as he stood, walking over to it. He picked up his blade, gutting and skinning the animal quickly before shoving a stick through it and roasting it over the open fire.
“Do you ever eat anything appetizing?” I asked, scrunching my nose as he ripped his first bite out of the side of his roasted rodent.
“What would you suggest, darling daughter?” he said in between bites. I knew my mother would reprimand him if she were here for talking with a full mouth.
“A hare, maybe? Or some venison? Anything is better than a rat.”
“Alright, then go out there and catch what you want, but let’s make it more fun since you want to be picky. No bending and take Ace with you.” It wasn’t a request.
Ace signed something to his father, and Hallan translated as he placed his own rat over the fire. I hadn’t even seen him catch it. I knew the phrase “Sky Elves were as fast as the wind,” but I now realized why it was true. Hallan grinned at my shocked expression before continuing.
“He wants to know why he has to go.” Hallan hit Ace upside the head. “Because, son, that was an order, not a request, and no bending for you either.” He signed and spoke at the same time. Not because Ace couldn’t hear, but out of respect for both cultures.
“As a matter of fact,” my father chimed in, “let’s make it a friendly competition. Whoever returns first wins.” My father never failed to make anything more of a challenge.
“What do I win when I return first?” I asked confidently.
Ace huffed under his breath before looking over at me with an arched brow, as if asking me if I seriously thought I would beat him. His eyes narrowed as he probed his tongue into his cheek in frustration when I didn’t back down from my claim.
“I’ll get you one of those moonstone necklaces you’ve wanted from the dock markets when all of this is over,” my father said, and a smile stretched over my features.
I had wanted one for a long time, but being rich in our way of life and not from wealth made it harder to get things from the markets. That necklace cost four furs last I checked, and my father would never waste four furs on something that was of no use to us. The stone represented light, hope, and new beginnings.
“Deal,” I said as I stood, peering over at Ace who was signing something along the lines of “stomping me into the dirt” toHallan. I begged to differ. I believed he underestimated me as most did, and that would be his mistake.
