Shora waited in vain for Javad to return the next week. She feared for him. Her brother had an evil look in his eye every time she tried to bring up the boy.

The week passed slowly for her. Would she ever see him again? He'd said he was leaving soon, and she'd told him to run. But she had a feeling he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. She occupied herself with the normal tasks. Scouting for new herds of the desert deer, their most common prey. She got too lost in thought, and nearly blundered into a pack of the mostly hairless brute dogs. They were large skulled carnivores with long fangs that extended down past their muzzle. Their weight was carried by muscular front legs and shorter, stockier back legs. She reacted in time, scrambling to the high ground before they could surround her. In a sprint, she was faster, and they gave up the chase quickly.

She cursed at them as they retreated. Promising to make them her next meal. This encounter was the only excitement she got all week. Uzgar had picked the most barren part of the mountain to live on. She gathered the usual herbs Uzgar liked to add to the meals. She drew water from the local spring, keeping an eye out for other predators.

Her brother was impatient with her that week, refusing to mention the kiss she'd planted on the human boy. She tried to bring it up herself, but he only grunted in annoyance and stormed away.

Shora made a point of sparring with Uzgar as much as possible. She put on a bold face when training Javad, but his request had been difficult for her. She was young herself, still in need of training. Sparring with weapons was dangerous; she needed a lot of practice to train the human boy without injuring him. So she leaned on Uzgar as much as necessary to grow and maintain her own abilities.

He'd called her a nuisance on occasion in the past, but now she earned the word. Demanding over and over that Uzgar left Javad alone when he returned. She did not relent until finally, her brother responded.

"Why a human of all things?" he huffed.

"You didn't give me much choice!" she snapped back. "You barely even see your own war comrades, certainly not anyone my age. Did you want me to be as lonely as you? I'm not like that. I have one friend in this world. Promise you'll hold your peace."

"Alright. No more funny business between you two. Our kind would be disgusted. His kind would hunt you down."

"I get it, brother. But all I want is my one friend back."

"If I didn't scare him too bad." Uzgar said.

"He's not that weak or cowardly." Shora said confidently.

*

Two more weeks passed, and Shora hoped her words hadn't been a mistake. Her days passed in the same way the first decade and a bit of her life had gone. Shora kept climbing the ridge behind her house, looking down over the mountain. But he still hadn't come. Had he left for his temple, after all? Was she going to be stuck on this mountainside forever? Was this going to be the rest of her life? She was tempted to attempt Javad's stunt in reverse, storming into his village to ask where he was. But she was a little more practical than Javad. He'd come or he wouldn't; she could only wait.

Resting on the top of the hill one day, she saw the shadows on the mountain move. It wasn't different from anything she'd imagined over the past three weeks, but soon his silhouette became clearer. She made out the lad's serious face. He was scanning the hilltops, probably worried Uzgar would intercept him. Shora herself wasn't as concerned about that. She'd cornered her brother and demanded he leave Javad in peace if he returned. In exchange, she had to promise no more strange behavior like kisses. Her brother stated that even orcs rarely did that.

Javad saw her waving and approached. He told her about his new life as an acolyte. He'd passed the reading test and been admitted into the Temple. He was serving in the temple in exchange for a full education. So far, they'd kept the young acolytes from the rumored wild side of the religious order, but he told her about loud drumming coming from the basement some nights.

He drew his practice sword. "I'm ready to practice. Might not get a chance for a while."

She put her hand on his sword, lowering it. "I'm still concerned about Uzgar. He promised to leave you alone. But he's still angry. I can tell. The other problem. You won't get any better practicing once a month." She grabbed his arm, feeling at his loose muscles. "Already you feel less than you were, softer."

Javad held an arm out, pinching the skin. "I'm less lean already? The whole point of becoming an acolyte was to learn enough to become a man-at-arms. The priests of Inferno have interesting stories to tell, but it isn't what I wanted to accomplish. The way things are going, I'll become a priest, not a warrior."

He dropped his sword in the dirt and sat down next to it. "Things being tense with your brother makes it even worse. Why'd you have to go and kiss me like that?"

Shora sat next to him, leaning her face close. "What was wrong? Isn't that what a human girl does? When they like a boy?"

Javad blushed through his tanned skin, mainly visible as a redding of his nose. "You aren't wrong. But you aren't a human girl. And we're too young anyway."

His words weren't what she expected. She'd thought they got along very well. She forced aside the immediate disappointment. "Why's that important? I'm telling you I like you."

"I like you too, Shora, but it can't be like that. Even the more open-minded priests of Inferno would consider it some new kind of heresy. Anyone else in my nation would burn me at the stake if they caught you kissing me like that. And besides all that, I have a goal. I'm going to be a great warrior, a knight. We can only be friends. Can you deal with that?"

She heard the truth of his words, but her posture slumped at hearing it. "I'll be your friend. But what will you do about your lack of training?"

"I'll focus harder on my physical training. I'm getting more skilled. In my last fight with the village toughs, I beat them, outnumbered three to one."

"You defeated them? What were these warriors' deeds?" She mocked, in her deadpan sort of sarcasm.

"I can't help it. Not a lot of challengers around my village. There'll be much stronger people at the Temple of Inferno. It's a place of religion, but the god of passions has close ties to combat. I'll visit for training as often as possible."

"My brother has a grudge against you, remember? You shouldn't train here anymore." She felt miserable saying it, but it was the truth.

Javad sat in silence with her for several minutes, while Shora sat with him, dreading that this might be their final meeting. But at some point, the fire came back into Javad's expression. She could tell he'd made a decision. "I won't give up. You've given me the strength to start. I'll keep up my training."

Pride and sadness both rose in Shora. She latched onto the former. "I'm glad you won't quit. I've given you a good headstart." A wild thought came into her head for a moment. "What if I went with you?"

"I don't think they'd let you just walk onto the Temple Grounds," he muttered. He turned and pointed down the hill, towards the border. "The moment you cross the line of old war flags, you'll be an enemy of Qismat, an invader."

"What if I found a place close by? Somewhere hidden away?" she said hopefully.

"I will not ask that of you. I refuse to let you try something so foolish."

She grabbed the boy by his collar. "All this time together. You'd just leave me here?"

“Take it easy. I thought you understood my goal. It's your fault I'm even going. I never would have the ability without you."

"How far is this place?" she asked.

He took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "They gave me this map, to help me travel there the first time. It's several days away."

Shora snatched it from his hand. "I've never gone so far. But I understand the marks for trees, hills, and rivers. I could find this place."

"That would be too much. It's my goal, my life. Worry about your own. Don't you have your own plans, your own dream?" He held out his hand. "Give me back the map. Don't think foolish thoughts."

Shora turned to look at the peak of her mountain. "I've stared at that huge, stupid rock every morning. I go to sleep. Even at night, the bulk of it blots out the stars. I don't want to be here. This is my people's home and their prison. They lost their war, many times. There is no ambition left in them. None believe in victory against Qismat. They stick to this mountain, carrying out traditions. Brother is one of the few who chafes at the defeat. I have waited for your visits for a year. I enjoyed every fight. And now you're going. It will be worse than ever."

She opened the map. "The big dots are cities. This temple isn't close to them. It's near the arid lands. I could find a place. Then I'd find you."

"Shora. You would do this in some effort to prove yourself to me… We can never be together. Give up on this. I won't forget you. I will visit again. I'll succeed in my goal."

Anger rose at his words, but she forced it away. She heard movement in her longhouse. "I don't need to prove I like you. I told you that honestly. Uzgar is looking for me. It's time for you to go."

Javad stared at the map, clenched tightly in her fist. He wasn't getting it back and knew it. So he stood and withdrew down the mountain, looking back at her with an expression of resignation that made a lie of his confident words. He would not succeed.