He cleared his throat, and then glanced to Soren at his side, who was watching Turuk with wide eyes. He sighed again, and then shifted slightly, touching Soren’s arm gingerly. “So, what do you plan on doing about Geran. Nothing?” He shifted his gaze back to Turuk, and watched as his face slid from smug, to serious.

The man grunted, and then turned to speak behind him. Almost hesitantly, the guard walked through the entrance of a tent, casting a cautious smile to Soren, which faded immediately as Soren sunk against Aurem’s side. Aurem gave Soren another squeeze, but arched a brow at the guard, and then Turuk.

“We travel tomorrow. Aurem stay with Turuk. Mage with Kirma. Keep safe.” Aurem blinked, in surprise, and hesitated.

“You want Soren to stay with this…Kirma?” he echoed, giving the guard a hard look. Realizing he was being judged, Kirma stood a bit taller, and returned the stare. He looked young, though older than Soren by a few years. “How can you be sure he’ll be able to protect Soren? He didn’t do anything but get you, when Geran came in here. What if you’re not around next time?”

Turuk grunted, and then glanced to Kirma, speaking in his gruff tone. Apparently translating the question, because Kirma first bristled, and then Aurem saw the bit of shame shift through the man’s frame. He said something quietly at first, and then spoke up a bit, fixing Turuk with a serious look. Turuk grunted, and then turned his red hues back to Aurem. “Kirma says he protect from Geran now, because Geran mean no good to mage.”

Aurem arched a brow at the answer, and then snorted softly. Clearly Kirma was a bit naive, to not have noticed Geran’s intent, when coming into the tent. But the other Undari didn’t seem to treat Geran with disdain or fear. So, he might only have acted this way around Delfin. When dealing with foreigners, Aurem supposed Geran felt all bets were off the table.

“And what if Soren says no? And what if I don’t want to stay with you?” He set, stubbornly setting his jaw, remembering the way Turuk confidently declared that Aurem indeed did want him.

There was a flash of amusement in those red eyes, and then Turuk knelt back down, so he was on an even level with both mages. “Turuk will not force mages. Smart to listen to Turuk, but Turuk will allow mages to be stupid. Will still keep safe.”

Aurem snorted, his lip threatening to twitch into a baffled smile. It seemed Turuk was always obnoxiously confident in his rightness. Before he could respond, though, Soren spoke. “I don’t like it. Being separated…especially with that…Geran.” Soren frowned, and Aurem glanced to him, frowning.

“Well, Kirma looks like he could take the bastard on in a serious fight,” Aurem murmured, watching out of the corner of his eye as the warrior puffed up. It was interesting that at least a handful of the Undari seemed to have a basic understanding of their language. It was smart though, soldiers on the road didn’t often keep their plans a secret. Who would have needed to, when they thought the Undari too barbaric to ever understand the Delfin tongue. “Geran is kind of puny, compared. But if you don’t want to, I’ll stay with you, Soren.”

Soren flickered his gaze to Aurem, and he watched as the other mage shifted his gaze from Turuk, to Kirma, seeming to hesitate to come to a decision. Aurem arched a brow as he saw the two of them lock eyes, resisting the urge to rolls his eyes, as a faint shyness seemed to come over Soren’s features.

“Do you trust them, Aurem?” Soren asked, leaning closer, trying to keep his voice low. Aurem snorted, and then eyed Turuk, seeing he was watching them patiently. He pursed his lips, and then ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out how to answer.

“I don’t know,” he said, honestly. “I’ve seen evil people more than once, and they don’t seem that bad. But they’re still holding us captive, Soren. We might not have been hurt by them yet, but that might change if something happens.” He frowned, almost wishing they didn’t have a choice in this. It would be much easier to say they had been forced into anything that happened. But that they were being given a choice, was what mattered. He fully believed Turuk planned on keeping his word. As much as he had made it clear he preferred it his way, Aurem didn’t see him going back on his agreement.

“For now, it might be our best bet.” And, Aurem couldn’t deny that part of him wanted to agree with Turuk. Only because of Siira and her pups, of course, no other reason. Aurem eyed Turuk, and set his jaw, trying to ignore the smirk that had once again found its way onto the warrior’s lips. None at all.

Soren sighed, and then eventually gave a faint nod. “Then if you think so, I suppose I agree. But tell them to stop calling me mage. My name is Soren,” he said, frowning slightly at Turuk.

Aurem chuckled, and then squeezed his arm, and looked back to Turuk. “His name is Soren, not mage. And both of us agree to this plan. As long as we can still see each other during the day, I see no trouble. Tell me, does Kirma fear magic like all of the others? Will he keep Soren silenced completely?”

Turuk blinked, but then snorted. “Only old Undari fear magic. Fear dies out slow, faster now,” Turuk smirked faintly, and then grunted, and said something to Kirma. Aurem caught a few words he recognized. Magic, Soren’s name, fight. His brow lifted slightly, when Turuk turned back to him after Kirma’s reply. “He will see. Trust is earned,” Turuk grunted, and motioned Kirma to come forward. After hesitating a moment, the guard moved forward and then knelt, copying Turuk’s stance.

As he spoke, his words were halting, and hesitant. “Kirma will try trust Soren. Soren try to trust Kirma, too?”

That took Aurem aback for a moment, and from Soren’s little tense, he could tell it had the same effect on him. Aurem glanced to the mage, seeing him work through his thoughts. But Aurem remained silent. This was an answer that only Soren could give, and Aurem wouldn’t influence his choice. He watched as a small smile lit Soren’s features. Kirma looked sun struck at that simple smile, and Aurem had a feeling trust would blossom easily between the two. He rolled his eyes, and refused to look at Turuk, as Soren finally responded. “I will try,” he said softly, his decision made. It would seem Aurem wasn’t going to be the only idiot in this camp, after all.

Aurem glanced around the tent briefly, knowing this was the last night they would spend in it. Tomorrow, they would be on the move. One last night spent here, and then they would start to move. Aurem wondered how the Undari traveled through all this snow, but they would have their answers the next day. Suddenly feeling fatigued, despite only having being awake a few hours, Aurem sighed and let his shoulders slump. Whatever happened next, Aurem knew they had little control over. All he could do was steel himself for the journey ahead, and try to figure out what their next moves were.