“It doesn’t matter,” Aurem said, breaking the short silence. “Turuk said that there was going to be a blizzard. And Siira seems to agree. I don’t know how bad, but he seems to think it’s going to delay us a few days.”

“Oh?” Soren blinked, and then craned his neck back, shielding his eyes as he looked at the clear sky. Just as Aurem himself had done, minutes ago. “I don’t feel anything, but Turuk knows these mountains and this weather better. And if Siira thinks so too, then I believe it.” Soren said it as if it was simple, but Aurem knew any other Delfin would have been doubtful, if not outright challenging Turuk. He had seen it happen before, on one of his first battles. The captain of a small unit had gone against orders to not move, when a warning was issued for snow. He had lost a hundred good men by being stupid. But such was the way, with Delfin pride. Looking at Soren, Aurem concluded he must have been a bit odd back home, even for a noble mage. No, especially for a noble mage, considering the higher class thought themselves above everyone else.

“Agreed. I trust Siira more than anything, and she seemed uneasy. So, it must be very bad to have her worried.” Aurem grimaced, realizing it truly must be bad for that. She had gone into battle fully pregnant, and Aurem hadn’t even realized until she was giving birth. She was hardy, and strong. To see her so cautious meant it was serious. “Which means we just have to prepare for anything.” They had all heard horror stories of being trapped for months on the mountain side.

“The Undari are used to it though, right? Even if they’re worried, no one is outright panicking. And we’re still moving. If it was a true emergency, you would think we would hunker down here, and spend all day making the area into a camp.”

Aurem considered, and then nodded. “Or they’re expecting it to be bad enough to need more structures around us,” he offered, looking ahead. They were in the mountains, and though there were trees around, the area was a bit more sparsely populated than the places they had previously made camp. Aurem shrugged, not sure which it was. And he definitely wasn’t going to go back and ask Turuk. Not right at the moment, anyways. His fumble was for too fresh in his mind. Gods, he was acting like an inexperienced child again.

“So, where is your new beau?” he asked, determined to change the subject, and giving Soren a sly look. He chuckled to himself as the mage’s pale cheeks flushed a deep red.

He stammered for a moment, and then glared. “That’s not fair! Kirma and I aren’t- that’s not how it is,” he managed to get out, all in a huff.

“Oh? So those looks you’ve been giving him are just for show?” Aurem cocked his head to the side, biting back a grin, as Soren turned a shade of red even deeper than Turuk’s hair. Finally, he laughed, and bumped into Soren’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, I’m teasing. It feels good to do so, after Turuk has been teasing me for so long.” Aurem rolled his eyed, nudging Soren, until he got a sheepish smile.

“He does seem fond of teasing you, doesn’t he?” Soren chuckled, when Aurem scoffed. “I don’t know, I just didn’t expect the Undari to be so…docile.” He made a face at the word, and then shook his head. “Well that’s not what I mean. Not docile, but…”

“Welcoming, accepting? Civilized” Aurem offered, and received a nod in reply, if a sheepish one. Aurem sighed, and nodded as well, whisking a hand through his hair. “Neither did I. But here we are, aren’t we? Even the great learned mages of the tower couldn’t have prepared us for this.” He paused, musing softly. “Our enemies are just as human as us, after all…”

Soren was silent for a moment, but his features softened more than usual, and he smiled faintly. “I think Kirma might be close to asking Turuk to release the silencer a bit. Like he does with you. He’s been asking about magic, and curious,” Soren said. Aurem could see the hope flicker in his eyes. As healthy as Soren looked, Aurem could see the dark circles under his eyes. He winced in sympathy, and touched his arm. It was hard, being separated from one’s magic. When he had explained the feeling of magic like the bond between Turuk and Siira, once, Turuk had gotten a dark look in his eyes. That night, he had released the silencing just a bit more. There was nothing more than a thin thread keeping him from his magic, now. And even that he barely felt.

“If that’s true, then I’m happy, Soren. I was once collared for an entire year,” he murmured, shuddering at the memory. “It was different, then. I wasn’t able to control my magic. So it was for safety,” he shook his head, though. “But it is unpleasant as hell.”

Soren murmured in agreement, and lifted a hand, rubbing lightly at the collar. “Do you think they’ll ever take them off?”

Aurem frowned, and looked ahead, finally sighing. “If I knew that, I think I’d be a lot less anxious about this whole thing, Soren.”

Soren heaved a sigh, but nodded. Aurem felt Soren’s head lean against his shoulder, and felt a warming in his heart. The last thing he had expected to gain through all of this, was an actual friend. His life had been a mostly solitary existence. Before, it was just his mother. And then after she died, he had been alone. Having a companion like this was strange, and new to Aurem. But he enjoyed it, of course. How he had lasted so long without losing his mind, Aurem didn’t know. Perhaps he had just numbed his heart completely to the world- and now there was no going back. He touched Soren’s arm in an affectionate manner, and then nearly jumped out of his skin, when Turuk’s voice sounded from the other side.

“Make camp just ahead,” he said in his usual gruff tone. Aurem blinked, and looked over, and up at him, seeing his face set in a look of worry. He felt his heart sinking a bit, but nodded. A moment later, the call went through the group, and Aurem saw a few people breaking away to collect wood and other supplies they might need.

They were coming up on a sheer cliff wall, with a group of trees clustered around the opposite entrance. It seemed to be a decent place, as far as Aurem could tell, and at least the cliff wall would protect one side of the camp. As they approached, all the men and women around them set to the task of getting the area ready for the camp. From the look on their faces, Aurem knew it was going to be a long, and brutal storm. He sighed softly, but nodded to Soren, and turned to help Turuk set the camp up.

Not even his magic could stand up to the brutality of a blizzard. But at some point, he might be able to help, and reduce some damage. If the Undari trusted him enough….that would have to wait to be seen. Even without magic, there were things he could do. An extra hand here or there, made all the difference, he had learned. And once he got Turuk’s tent up, he would go to help the others. The Undari packed their tents tight with snow, when preparing for a blizzard. It added insulation, and the tents were built to withstand feet of snow piled on top. Aurem heard a distant rumbling, and lifted his eyes to the sky, as the tents came up. Dark clouds hovered on the horizon, and Aurem shivered. Even from here, he could finally see how monstrous the storm was going to be.