I really don't want to get up, the bull thought, pulling the covers up to his neck. The morning sun struggled through the remaining clouds and the curtains, softly highlighting Tony's face. He pulled the covers over his head. I just want to be back in my own bed at DeMontfort, sleeping in until noon, spending some time with friends, and enjoying the break.
He turned over onto his stomach, burying his face in his pillow. Why did I accept this invitation in the first place? If I would have known that I'd be sent to another world, have to kill or be killed just to get back, and have to try and sort all this out in my head, I would have, without hesitation, declined. I just don't want to be here anymore.
He sighed. Well, if going back home requires me to kill more things, I'm just going to have to. As Trenton told me, I have to do what I have to do. I may not like doing it, but I probably won't like the consequences of not doing it even more. Oh well. Time to find Paul and get home.
He slowly sat up in bed, yawning. Tony glanced over to Rich's bed. The feline wasn't there. Must already be up, Tony thought.
In fact, everyone else in the cabin was already up. Tony found this out a few moments later after he dressed and came out. Scott and Kevin were fighting over who got the last of their favorite cereal, while Cindy, Rich, and Sharon were at the kitchen table talking quietly among themselves while eating. Crystal was outside, performing some sort of dance with her sword. Lisa sat on the grass a few feet from Crystal, watching her practice.
"Good morning, Tony," Rich said as the minotaur descended the stairs.
"Good morning!" Cindy and Sharon added, nearly simultaneously.
"Good morning, everyone," Tony replied. He, like the others in the kitchen, ignored the two who were still fighting. Tony sat down heavily in one of the chairs around the table.
"Anything for breakfast besides what those two are having?" he asked, indicating with a head motion Scott and Kevin's little spat, which Scott seemed to be winning.
"Well, we made some oatmeal this morning. It's in a kettle down by the fire pit on the beach," Sharon stated, pointing in the general direction of the lake. "We have some dried berries for garnish, if you like that."
Tony stood up and grabbed a bowl and spoon from the counter, tossing a handful of the berries into his bowl. "That'll be fine. Thanks." He walked down to the beach.
Lisa saw him as he passed. "Good morning, Tony!" she called, smiling and waving at the bull.
He waved back silently. I wish I could be perky in the mornings, he thought.
Crystal greeted him with a small nod, barely pausing in her morning exercises.
As he walked down to the beach, he noticed Doug sitting on the sand near the fire pit. He was watching the waves come onto shore, slowly stirring and consuming his bowl of oatmeal. Tony knelt down near the fire pit and served himself.
Doug heard the clanging of the spoon in the kettle and turned to see who was there.
"Oh, morning, Tony," he said absently, looking back out over the lake.
"Good morning, Doug," Tony replied. He was about to head back up to the cabin, when he decided against it. "You mind if I join you here?"
Doug shrugged. "Sure, no problem."
Tony sat down on the beach and started mixing the berries into the thick mush. The oatmeal was better than DeMontfort's, but not by much. The berries helped make the breakfast somewhat palatable.
After a few spoonfuls, a thought struck Tony. He looked over at Doug. "Hey, Doug, I was wondering if you could answer a question for me."
Doug, eyes still focused on the waves, replied, "Yeah, sure. What do you want to know?"
Tony rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind my asking, but how did you meet Paul?"
Doug slowly turned his attention to the bull. "That's an interesting question," Doug responded. He put his bowl down on the sand, leaning back on his hands. "If you must know, we met at a math help session. Paul worked as a tutor for the math department. I was having some troubles with a few of my homework problems for my College Algebra class, so I asked him for some help. He was a nice guy and we ended up talking about all sorts of stuff. Truthfully, we just kind of clicked. It was like we knew each other already. It was kind of weird, really." He smiled at Tony before pushing himself upright again.
"Yeah, I can understand the weird feelings part," Tony admitted between spoonfuls of oatmeal.
Doug picked up his bowl, stirring the remaining contents. Looking in the pot, he spooned out a bit more oatmeal into his bowl. He took a hesitant taste of the mush before putting on a satisfied face. "Pretty good oatmeal, huh?" he asked the bull as the two continued munching.
Tony nodded. "Yeah, not bad." He paused as he fed himself another spoonful. Another question lingered in his head. "Do you mind another question, Doug?"
"Not at all. I may be quiet most of the time, but that doesn't mean that I don't like to talk." Doug grinned back at the bull.
Tony chuckled. "Okay then. Why'd you choose philosophy as your major?"
Doug shrugged. "I enjoy thinking, but I never did like science or engineering. I'm really bad at math, but logic is a forte of mine. Philosophy just sounded like a natural choice the more I thought about it." He ate another spoonful of breakfast before he continued. "I've enjoyed it thus far. What major are you, anyway?"
"Undecided still."
"Oh yeah, that's right."
Tony cocked his head, confused. "How'd you know that?"
Doug raised an eyebrow. "Paul told us about what he knew about you guys on the trip up." He paused. "I know that Kevin's a mechanical engineer, but don't know your other friends' majors."
"Ah."
There were a few moments of quiet contemplation as the two kept working on their breakfasts. Doug finally broke the silence with a question.
"So, my turn for a question about you, if you don't mind." He smiled at Tony. "Why haven't Cindy and you done anything about your relationship yet? At least anything obvious?"
Tony hesitated and took a deep breath. He was about to speak when someone called down to them from the cabin:
"Hey, you two slackers down there! Get up here! We're going to leave soon!" Kevin was yelling down toward them.
Saved by Kevin again, Tony thought.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to talk about that later, then," Doug said, slowly getting up. "You should probably put out the fire before you leave." He started up the hill to the cabin.
Tony took a relieved breath and quickly finished off his breakfast. He picked up the mostly empty kettle, swished a pot full of lake water to wash it out and poured the used water over the smoldering coals. Smoke and ash drifted up from the extinguished fire as Tony walked slowly back up to the cabin.
Luckily, the weather had cleared up from the previous day. The underbrush and trees glistened with small dew drops in the still humid air. The light breeze that drifted through the forest had that clean smell to it that so frequently follows rain. The peace of a cleansed world seemed to push out the troubles in everyone's heart as they ventured down the wooded trail. Everyone but two people, that is.
Crystal's thoughts constantly returned to the months when she dated Paul. What went wrong between us? she thought as she walked. It wasn't some other woman, at least as far as I know. He just became distant and moody. Was it because of me upstaging him?
No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't shake Paul from her mind now. I need to be focused and ready to fight when we find him. We never know what he might have up his sleeve. She paused in her thoughts. Assuming that he's even the bad guy here. I just don't know what to think anymore!
Cindy also couldn't shake Paul from her thoughts. As she walked next to Tony, she glanced at each of the group members in front of her. What if Kyther and I are right? she thought as she walked. Is it one of them? Or is it someone we don't know? She shook her head. Why did this idea even come into my head? It's an absurd idea. Absurd, at least, except that Kyther verified that it was possible.
"Thinking about something?" Tony was looking at her, caring and concern in his eyes. "Hope I didn't disturb anything important," he apologized when he realized that he may have disrupted her thoughts.
"No, that's okay, Anthony." Cindy smiled sincerely. "It wasn't important."
Their trip was simple enough to plan. They needed to travel south along the lake until they hit the stream flowing out of the southern end. This stream ran right next to the castle several miles downstream. Sharon had estimated the total trip to be about thirty miles, so they were going to spend two days traveling. The larger men were carrying enough food and other supplies for the party for seven days, just in case.
There was a good path alongside the stream once they got to it. It was slightly overgrown, with weeds sprouting profusely out of the hard packed dirt. It had obviously been in frequent use at some time in the past, but recently, it seemed that few travelers used it. Nonetheless, it was an excellent trail, running parallel to the stream for most of its distance and staying out of the hilly terrain surrounding them.
As late afternoon rolled around, the party was tired of traveling. They had kept up a steady pace all day. However, for Kevin, the pace was a little too fast.
"Can't we... take a break... already?" Kevin complained, leaning unsteadily against a tree and breathing heavily.
Tony stopped, turning around and looking at the exhausted cat. He pointed back five hundred feet to the top of the small hill they had just descended. "We just stopped back there. That was only about two minutes ago, Kevin." Lisa and Sharon looked behind at where Tony was pointing as they finished descending. They stopped next to Kevin, regarding the cat with interest.
Kevin unsteadily glanced back at where Tony was pointing. "But my toes--"
"--are all blistered and sore, and they're telling you that with every step?" Lisa finished his sentence, rolling her eyes as she did so. "You've been saying that since we stopped for lunch. Would you just stop complaining and keep moving?"
"Now that you mention it, Lisa," Sharon noted sarcastically, rubbing her shoulder, "he hasn't complained about his arms aching for at least the last fifteen minutes. We should at least admire him for not complaining about that."
The cat was too busy trying to catch his breath to retort. He pleadingly glanced at Tony.
Tony knew what that look was asking for, since the cat had been asking the same question for the last hour. "No, I will not carry you, Kevin. I have enough on my back at this point." He hefted the large backpack higher on his shoulders to prove his point.
"But you said that if... I was injured that... you would carry me. I'm injured now!" Kevin smiled wearily, hoping.
"I would hardly call blisters an injury, Kevin."
"Well, it's not really blisters, just more like--" The cat stopped, realizing that he just accidentally negated his only valid complaint.
Sharon couldn't stand it anymore. Her tone of voice made it unclear if she was joking or being completely serious. "You know, Kevin, if you really want to be injured, we could just hurt you ourselves. I've been itching to practice a new, very highly destructive spell. I can try it out on you, if you like. Then, you'll have something to complain about." She glared at the cat.
Kevin stood up straight. The break allowed the cat to catch his breath, which is what he had actually needed. He shrugged. "Well, remind me not to ask you for sympathy anymore." He turned around, heading down the path.
Sharon refused to resist the urge anymore and attempted to kick Kevin. He jumped forward as he felt her foot propel his tail to one side.
"Take that as a warning shot," Sharon grumbled, realizing that she missed her target.
Kevin sneered, and without turning around, he retorted, "And here I thought you were trying to tell me that you liked me more than Rich." He heard a soft growl behind him, and decided that perhaps breaking into a light jog, or even a full sprint, might be a good idea.
Tony chuckled softly, as he and Lisa watched Kevin run down the path, followed closely by an agitated Sharon.
"He really is out of shape, isn't he?" Lisa commented as she started walking again.
"Yeah, except when his life's in danger," Tony replied, chuckling as the pair split through the group further ahead.
The trail they were on soon wandered a little ways from the stream, onto a small flat clearing in the middle of the forest. They stopped in the clearing, looking around, noticing a side path that led to the water. Sharon estimated that they had about seven to ten miles left for tomorrow, so they decided to make camp in this clearing.
"Good thing there were those extra sleeping bags in each of the bedroom closets," Tony stated, as he unrolled another sleeping bag on the ground. The sun was setting slowly, casting its orange and red light through the trees around the clearing.
"Yes, those will be useful," Cindy replied. Holding out a large steel pot, she shot an order to Kevin who was just standing around watching everyone else set up camp. "Kevin, could you fill this pot with water for me, please?"
Kevin grumbled a bit as he took the kettle from her. "Sure, send a guy who hates water to get some. Makes sense to me." He stomped off to the nearby stream.
Sharon, who was taking food out of one of the backpacks near Cindy, shook her head at Kevin's remark. "Is he normally that moody?"
Cindy nodded. "When it involves water, yes. And if we ever need him to go berserk during a fight, all we need to do is splash him with cold water."
Sharon chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."
Kevin complained softly to himself as he approached the stream. At this point in the valley, the terrain had flattened out significantly. Thus, the stream's flow was reduced to a shallow, but wide, trickle over a sandy, stone-filled bed. This area must be a popular place to cross over to the other side, Kevin reflected as he stepped into a narrow grassy fringe on the stream bank. The other side had a wider fringe, which looked more marshy than the one he was on.
Kevin's grumblings attracted the attention of Doug and Scott who were already down at the creek. They were picking up large stones from the edge of the water for the fire ring, chatting quietly and trying to avoid stepping in the cold stream water. They turned around as the feline approached.
Kevin, taking note of the possible help, put on a fake smile. "Scott, buddy. Cindy would love it if you were to fill this fine cookware with some aqua and return it to her as soon as possible."
Scott, who knew most of the cat's idiosyncrasies, including the current one of trying to get out of any sort of manual labor, rolled his eyes at the attempted sweet-talk. "I'm sorry, Kevin." He smiled, sweet-talking right back and making sure the cat saw the large number of stones in his arms. "But I'm currently in the middle of another chore. Could you do it for me?"
Kevin's smile evaporated as he realized that his attempt at trying to get out of this chore was deftly avoided. He grunted at Scott, who smiled sweetly back at him.
The feline glanced over at Doug, hopeful. Doug moved his arms full of stones, effectively indicating that he was also too busy to help. Kevin sighed and knelt down on the bank of the stream. The cat heard Doug snicker quietly as Kevin reached down and filled the pot with water. Ice cold water splashed on his hands as he did so, causing him to cringe frequently.
Kevin stood up, full pot in hand. He glared at Scott, grumbling under his breath, "I hope you're happy now." Scott smiled and was about to respond when a disturbance on the other side of the stream startled him.
The three looked toward the other bank where the brush was shaking. Something was coming their way. In fact, many somethings were approaching the stream. They watched as four olive-skinned humanoid beings walked out of the brush into the marshy clearing on the other side of the stream, a few hundred feet from them.
"Ogres?" Doug whispered to the other two. "Wonder what they want?"
They watched the largish creatures with interest. One of the ogres quickly spotted the three men. Grunting and talking in an incomprehensible language, it alerted the others, who looked and pointed at them. The creatures then seemed to come to some sort of agreement and drew their weapons. About eight more emerged from the brush behind the initial four, advancing slowly across the wide stream. There were all indications that there were more behind them.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Doug whispered. "Would one of you go back and get the others, just in case?"
Kevin dropped the pot and ran back towards the camp. He yelled back to the other two, "I'll get them!"
Scott slowly reached for his sword. But, he was shocked when he realized that he had left it back at the camp. Doug, who had already drawn his sword, noticed the predicament and told Scott, "Go back and get it. And hurry! I'll hold them off if they attack!"
Scott hesitated for a moment. Doug yelled, "Go!" Scott rushed off.
As the ogres approached, Doug grinned, preparing himself for his change. "Time for some practice!"
Kevin rushed into camp, eliciting a few raised eyebrows from friends who had not seen him run much before. His breathless explanation of "Ogres!" and the urgent expression on Kevin's face were enough to set the party into frenetic action.
Scott dashed in a few seconds after Kevin and offered a bit more explanation to their predicament. He hastily grabbed his sword, telling the others, "We might be under attack. Doug's holding them off at the stream. We have to help him!"
"Doug! We're coming!" Sharon yelled as the group neared the stream.
Doug was in the middle of the stream, sword in a ready position, staring down a small crowd of the ogres. A few ogre bodies lay dead in the stream. The berserker, bloodstained from multiple injuries, pivoted quickly, looking back toward the new voice. His eyes stared vacantly at them.
Tony stopped in his tracks. "He's in berserk mode. Stay away from him!" he warned, holding his arms out to prevent the others from advancing.
Another ogre began its attack on Doug as his attention was turned away from it. Doug abruptly turned, swinging his sword in a large, powerful arc, sending the creature flying back the way it came, a large gash in its abdomen. The other ogres, about fifteen remaining, decided that the newcomers might be easier targets and charged toward them, rushing through the stream around Doug, who was directly between the ogres and the others.
Sharon, thinking quickly, started preparing a fireball spell. She shot it off toward the ogres, not noticing that Doug had rushed in between them and the oncoming troops, intending to continue his battle.
Rich shouted, "Doug! Look out!"
However, the spell had already hit near Doug by the time the berserker noticed it. He flew a few yards to the left from the explosion, hitting his head on a large rock in the stream bed. He bounced slightly, landing heavily face down in the cold water.
Before anyone else could even speak, Tony was dashing out toward the prone figure of Doug. The spell had knocked the ogres back a bit, but they recovered quickly. A few started advancing on Doug's unconscious figure, obviously intending to make sure he was dead. Tony bellowed at the top of his lungs, momentarily startling the creatures. They prepared for the onslaught of the warrior who was sprinting towards them.
Tony leaped at the group, sword flashing in the evening sun. The ogre he jumped at held up its club, preparing to block the strike. However, it didn't stand a chance as Tony's mighty blow cut quickly through its wooden club and impacted its neck obliquely, killing it instantly. As the body fell backward into the stream, Tony, using his rage to his advantage, swung his weapon quickly, blocking an attack from the ogre on his right. The sweeping blow connected with his opponent's hand, significantly injuring it and causing the ogre to drop its sword. Clutching its wounded hand, it turned away and ran before Tony could hit it again.
The other two creatures in the group regarded Tony with caution after watching their two comrades fail miserably. Tony waited for their attack in a ready stance, daring them with his eyes to make the first move. He hoped that they would turn and retreat, but, much to his dismay, they charged toward him simultaneously. He stepped backwards and to the right, quickly aiming his sword at one of the oncoming foes. The quick movement and the creature's inertia meant that Tony's sword became planted in the middle of the ogre's chest. The other ogre, though, having an open view of Tony's left side, swung his sword wildly at the bull. Tony, knowing the proximity of the attacking ogre, attempted to dodge, but the strike managed to still connect slightly on his left arm, opening a small cut. Tony yelped in pain as the ogre regained its footing in the cold water, and attempted to strike again. The bull's reflexes were just fast enough to pull his sword from the first ogre's body and deflect the strike. Tony pivoted quickly in the water to face his opponent. The ogre, sensing the tide turning to Tony's favor, retreated slowly, splashing as it paced backward. Tony watched the creature's retreat, advancing on it slowly. He knew that Doug was right behind it, and wanted to make sure it didn't hurt him. Suddenly, the ogre jumped backward. Unexpectedly, though, it pitched forward before it landed, splashing water as it fell face-first into the stream. Doug was kneeling behind where the creature had fallen, his sword outstretched. The ogre had jumped back into Doug's blade.
Tony glanced around quickly, noting that the others were in battle with the remaining ogres. They didn't seem like they were having much trouble, so he hustled over to Doug.
"Are you okay?" Tony asked Doug.
Doug rubbed his forehead, where a large bump was growing. He coughed, water coming out of his mouth.
"Besides a large headache, body ache, and a small bit of drowning, I think I'm fine." He smiled weakly, in obvious pain.
Tony stooped down, pulling Doug up to a standing position. He pulled one of Doug's arms around his shoulders, supporting the fighter out of the frigid water. "You should be fine once Cindy is able to help."
Doug grimaced, bringing his free arm to his head. He was bleeding freely from a decent number of cuts and lacerations on his arms and legs. He coughed lightly as Tony watched the others fight. "Almost went in over my head there," he muttered mainly to himself.
Tony, startled by Doug's voice, looked at him, concerned. "Just a bit. Why'd you do something like that anyway?"
"Just felt like I should. It looked like a fun time to try out my berserker ability." Doug smiled feebly.
"Fun?" Tony asked, incredulous. "You nearly got yourself killed."
"True. And that would have been bad for our plans." He sighed softly. "I'll try not to have so much fun...." His voice trailed off as a sudden wave of fatigue set in. He hung his head, weary.
Cindy and Sharon were rushing over to them. They had finally defeated their group of enemies. A few of the surviving ogres ran back toward where they had come from.
"Doug! Are you all right?" Cindy called as she neared them.
Tony answered for the groggy man, "Yeah, he's fine. Nothing a few healing spells and aspirin couldn't fix. But let's get him back to the camp first, okay?"
Sharon yelled over her shoulder, "Scott! Can you come and help here?"
Scott rushed over. Between Tony and him, they were able to help Doug back to their camp for the night.
"Ouch!" Tony complained as Cindy cleansed his arm wound with a small cloth. "Can't you just heal it?"
Dusk had fallen by the time Cindy and Rich had finished cleaning and healing Doug's major wounds. He would still need some further healing later, but they had decided to let him eat and regain his strength before continuing.
The fire was crackling, casting flickering shadows all around. Cindy watched their shadows dance around each other for a moment, before turning her attention back to the injury.
"It needs to be fully clean before I heal it. Otherwise, you might still get an infection." After a few more dabs, she placed the slightly bloodied rag into the pot of water she had next to her. After completing the incantation and small gestures for the healing spell, she rubbed her hand over the wound, slowly closing it and mending it. Tony felt the warmth of the spell and the dull ache of the skin being pulled back together. He grimaced for a moment.
"All done," Cindy said, patting the minotaur on the shoulder. He gently lifted his arm, examining the place where the wound had been. It had been replaced by a small, almost unnoticable scar.
"The scar probably won't be permanent," Cindy commented. "At least it shouldn't be if I healed the wound while it was clean." She smiled at Tony as she stood up, picking up her pot of water.
"Now, to go check on Doug again," she stated, walking toward the sleeping bag that Doug was in. On her way past the fire, she dumped out the water in the pot, refilling it carefully with hot water from a large kettle that was near the flames. She tossed the dirty rag into the fire, pulling another one from a small sack on her belt she had prepared for such emergencies.
Doug was sitting up, eating some of the smoked fish from dinner. Cindy knelt down next to him. He looked quizzically at her as she dipped her rag in the water.
"Another cleaning?" he asked, after swallowing. She nodded. Doug sighed, obediently letting her wipe off the lump on his forehead.
Cindy cast the healing spell again.
"Anywhere else that could use another healing spell?" she asked. Doug shook his head, taking a bite of fish afterwards. "At least you're feeling well enough to eat. You had us worried there."
Doug looked into Cindy's eyes. "Well, thank you again for saving me."
Cindy shook her head. "That was all Anthony. I've never seen him do anything like that before. He rushed in to help you without a moment's hesitation." She glanced over at Tony who was chatting with Kevin. "I think he was more concerned at that moment about protecting us than he was about killing."
"He must have been quite the fighter. I was kind of out for the count for most of it," Doug stated. Without any reason, he touched her hand as she cleaned off his shoulder. She turned to look at him, startled by the gesture. Doug quickly removed his hand from hers, looking sheepishly away.
"I'm sorry if I startled you there," he apologized. "It was just an impulse. I'm sorry."
Cindy's startled expression slowly changed to one of understanding. "That's okay. Don't worry about it." She stood up. "Please, call if you need another healing spell."
Doug nodded silently. He went back to devouring the rest of his dinner.
Cindy strolled back to her sleeping bag, placing the pot down near the foot of her bedding. The night was already getting quite chilly, so she crawled into the bag, pulling it tightly around herself. She heard Tony and Kevin still talking quietly. Because of the unexpected attack earlier, the group decided to post guards for the night. Kevin and Tony were first ones on guard duty for the night. Kevin was snickering softly at a joke he had just made, probably about Tony. Some things will never change, Cindy thought to herself, looking up at the crescent moon. She soon fell asleep.
Cindy was standing in a large, dimly lit room. She slowly pivoted, trying to find any detail in the shadows that loomed all around her. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere, someone was watching her, probing her, unlocking her deepest secrets. She wanted to run, but couldn't find the energy to do so. She stood where she was, letting the unknown being look through her soul. Then, Cindy felt something furry rubbing on her shoulder.
Cindy opened her eyes slowly. She looked right into the eyes of a large gray wolf that was standing next to her, nudging her shoulder. It sat down, baring its jaws full of teeth in a large yawn.
Cindy eyes opened wide suddenly until she realized that the wolf was Scott. With the adrenaline receding, she sat up slowly, stretching and yawning. "Yes, I'm up. Thank you, Scott. Is Doug already asleep?"
Scott nodded, looking pleased with himself. The eastern horizon was starting to light up slightly as sunrise approached. He loped back to his sleeping bag. Pacing in a circle a few times on it, he finally lay down and fell asleep almost instantly.
Sharon sat down next to Cindy. "Ready for a long day?" she asked the elf.
Cindy stared at the coals of the fire that were still emitting a soft orange light. She nodded silently.
Sharon, concerned about Cindy's lack of responsiveness, queried, "Are you okay? You look a little groggy."
"I'm fine. It just takes me a moment to wake up," Cindy responded, failing to add and figure out what kind of dream I just had. The dream had been slightly disturbing. However, it paled in comparison to what she had heard about Crystal's recent nightmare. She shook her head, trying to remove the cobwebs of sleep.
Sharon had already grabbed the large kettle near the fire. "Be right back," she said softly. "I'll get some water for breakfast."
Cindy nodded, slowly rising from her sleeping position. What was that dream all about anyway? It seemed so similar to what happened to me when I cast that dispel undead spell. She shrugged it off. That's probably it, then. I was just reliving that experience, I guess.
She strode over to the food backpack, pulling out the oatmeal container and the dried berries. Well, I hope they don't mind the oatmeal again, she reflected, smiling to herself.
Cindy and Sharon had already eaten by the time the others started waking. Tony was the first one up. He stretched, quietly stood up, and walked silently up behind the two women, who were quietly conversing. They noticed his approach. Sharon held up a bowl while Cindy held a spoon over her head, both of which he grabbed as he passed behind them.
"Breakfast is usually the first thing on his mind in the morning," Cindy explained. Sharon giggled softly.
After serving himself, Tony sat down next to them.
"Have a good night's sleep?" Sharon asked.
Tony speechlessly nodded, focused on his meal. After a few more spoonfuls, he finally spoke. "Yes, thanks for asking," he said. "You two?"
"Well, besides the early wake-up call, I can't complain," Sharon replied.
"Yes, it was early this morning," Cindy agreed. "Scott woke me from a weird dream, but otherwise I slept well."
"Weird dream?" Sharon looked intrigued.
"It was nothing really," Cindy answered. "Just one of those strange dreams you occasionally get." She frowned, not wanting to skirt the issue.
Tony half-grinned, recalling some of his weird dreams. "Yeah, I've had those kind of dreams before."
Sharon glanced back and forth between the two. A thought slowly formed in her head. "So, do you two dream about each other?" she queried hesitantly.
If Tony or Cindy hadn't been fully awake before this question, they definitely were after it. Both gazed at Sharon with wide eyes.
"Wh-whatever would give you that idea?" Cindy inquired.
Sharon chuckled and stood up. "You two are so cute together. Just a hunch I had, really." She straightened out her robe, adding, "Well, I'll go wake the others. We have an interesting day ahead of us."
Tony's expression slowly changed from one of disbelief to one of embarrassment. How'd she figure that out? Have I been that obvious? he thought, reflecting on his actions the last few days. He started as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Cindy was standing beside him. She patted his shoulder, smiling silently before turning around and walking back to her sleeping area.
The morning sun was hot on Tony's shoulders as he hoisted the backpack up. Everyone was finally fed and ready to go for the day. Scott had changed back to his wolf form after eating breakfast. He was planning to go ahead and scout their path. Doug had grumbled about having to carry Scott's gear again, but eventually gave in.
Tony was about to take the lead, when a hand on his right shoulder stopped him in his tracks. He turned around, whapping Kevin, who was on his left, in the head with the hefty pack on his back.
Kevin grimaced, holding his head. He reprimanded Tony, "Hey, watch it with that thing!"
"Sorry, Kevin," Tony apologized. Turning carefully back toward Doug, who had wanted his attention, he asked, "What's up, Doug?"
Doug thrust his hand out toward the minotaur. Tony accepted the handshake with a puzzled look on his face. Doug explained as they released, "Thanks for saving me yesterday. I never got to thank you properly."
Tony rubbed the back of his neck. "No problem. I would expect my friends to do the same for me."
"Well, thanks anyway. Hopefully you won't regret it later," Doug replied, grinning slightly.
Tony was confused by the statement. Does Doug know that I still have trouble with injuring people and other creatures? After a moment more of reflection, he concluded, Yeah, he must.
"Yeah, I hope so too. But I feel pretty good about it right now, so I should be fine." The bull shrugged.
"You two coming?" Kevin's voice floated through the trees.
Tony looked around to see the rest of the group already a hundred feet ahead of them. "Yeah, we're coming," Tony shouted back. Turning back to Doug, he added, "Shall we go? Hopefully, we'll find Paul today."
Doug half-smiled. "Yeah, let's hurry up."