The following morning was uneventful, spent collecting the bedrolls and other personal effects, kicking the fire down with dirt, and piling back into the caravan. Emray and Antareon didn’t talk during the whole affair, which was just as well since she didn’t want to unless it was to learn how his magic worked.

Emray offered to accompany Xeerya in the driver’s seat while everyone else sat in the wagon. Susanna attempted to protest again, only to give a sigh when Emray climbed up undeterred. Xeerya smiled a wide, toothy smile as she sat down before giving the reigns a flick and setting the horses moving.

According to Gregor they were heading down south towards Fort Brume, one of the training yards for the Enclave’s military. The city of Oakspinner was a few miles away, and they would settle down there for a while while Emray and Antareon recovered. Emray was trepidatious about being so close to a military outpost after they’d seemingly destroyed her home and academy, but Susanna presented it as an opportunity to do some investigating.

“Investigating,” Emray mused to herself. “Better than sitting on my hands doing nothing.”

Xeerya placed a hand on Emray’s shoulder, causing her to hiss in pain from the bullet wound. Xeerya immediately retracted her hand, and then made a fist with it and rubbed it in circles on her upper chest.

“Does that mean sorry?” Emray asked, scooting a few inches away.

Xeerya smiled and nodded profusely, taking her fist and moving it in a nodding motion at the wrist. She then pointed to Emray, followed by laying her left hand flat with the reins in it and taking her extended right hand and moving it in a forward rocking motion twice on her left palm. The context for the apology Emray understood, but these signs were escaping her grasp.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand that one,” Emray apologized. Xeerya made a face like she was thinking, and then pulled out a small notebook and a graphite pencil from her pouch to scribble something down.

“Are you alright?” the page said, as Xeerya made the sign again.

“Other than the burning pain in my shoulder and the impromptu linguistics lesson, I’ve been better,” Emray answered. “My whole life has been ruined, I have no idea where I’m going to live now, and I’m pretty sure my one goal in life is a lie.”

Xeerya scribbled down another sentence on the page, having to think in-between each word as she jotted them down like a child learning to structure words together.

“What is your goal?” the page asked. Xeerya then followed up with another point at Emray, then holding her pointer fingers in front of her face and moving them towards each other without touching the tips together, and ending with holding her palms upward with a confused look and a shrug.

“Does it matter now? It’s finished, done with, never to be completed. Just focus on the road and stop talking to me.”

Emray sulked next to Xeerya as she turned back to face the horses. Emray had hoped that being next to Xeerya would mean she could avoid unwanted conversation, but apparently she was just as chatty as her companions could be. Emray wanted time to think on her current predicament.

After about five minutes of silence a soft, scaled touch against Emray’s ribs brought her out of her contemplation. Emray turned her eyes but not her head, then fully turned when she saw Xeerya holding up another page of the book, without signing anything.

“Whatever it was, it means a lot. Don’t give up on it just yet. I know how this feels.”

Emray read the page twice before Xeerya put it away and turned to face the road, flicking the reins to get the horses to move just a bit faster.

“How do you know what I’m going through, hmm?” Emray asked, an accusatory tine to her voice. “My whole life is gone, and here you are trying to give me sympathy when you can’t possi—”

Xeerya put one of her scaled fingers up against Emray’s lips to quiet her, then opened her mouth up wide. The inside was pink and fleshy, like any mouth would be, save for the fact that her tongue ended in a scarred stump at the back of her throat. The sight made Emray’s stomach churn but she couldn’t tear her eyes away until Xeerya put another page of writing in her face.

“I’ve lost much as well,” the paper said as Xeerya closed her mouth. “You either consume the loss, or let it consume you.”

Xeerya gave another nod as she put her writing materials away, then made a few signs. She placed a hand on her chest, then made duck-bill shapes with her hands, placing them against her temples and then moving them to touch Emray’s. The context thankfully wasn’t lost on Emray.

“You want to teach me your signs?” Emray asked, getting an enthusiastic nod from Xeerya. Emray pondered the idea, figuring that if she had nothing else to do she should at least attempt to learn what she could. Marigold wanted her to be curious about new things, after all.

“Alright, maybe tonight after dinner?”