The Curse of the Blessed

Chapter Thirty-Seven

I woke at dawn, when golden sunlight peeped through the dew-sparkling brown of the trees, and my companions had begun to stir. The rain had stopped. The fire had gone out at some point in the night.

I'd had no nightmares, probably because I'd been so bone-tired that I hadn't dreamed at all. It was refreshing to have my waking untainted like this.

As I sat up, I realized I was soaked to the skin. Dewdrops had settled on my clothes. As I moved, they soaked into the fabric.

"I'm wet," groaned Dren.

Ista rolled their eyes at him. "You'll dry."

"I'm wet," Dren repeated. "Why didn't we bring Emmet with us? On a rainy, dewy, wet day, he would have been the perfect Blessed to have around."

Cass sat up and shrugged, grinning at Dren. "The sun's coming up. Soon enough, it'll be warm, and we'll dry off."

Dren sighed.

"We're all wet too," said Ista. "You're not the only one who has to suffer."

Dren ignored her.

"So," said Jaret, "breakfast?"

"Breakfast," Cass agreed. "Clean up the camp. We'll eat while we walk. We're only a few hours away from the town."

"Let's get going, then," said Brinley. "Maybe we can even score a warm meal."

Cass grinned. "You never know. But we won't get the meal if we don't get up and get going."

"Exactly," Ista said, grabbing Dren by his arms and trying to pull him to his feet. He just groaned dramatically as he was dragged along the ground.

Sighing, Cass began to stuff the blanket she'd slept under back into her pack. "Why do I ever expect these trips to be organized?"

"Because your expectations for us are much higher than they should be?" suggested Jaret.

"Because we're lazy," Dren proclaimed, throwing his arms into the air as though he was making some big announcement.

Ista gave up and released Dren's legs. "Because you always invite him along."

Dren rolled to his feet and stood. "If you want to leave me behind next time, go for it. Say hi to jail for me."

Ista stuck her tongue out at him.

"We'd do just fine without you," said Everyn.

"No you wouldn't," said Dren, "otherwise none of you would put up with me. You know you need me."

Ista shook their head. "We know no such thing."

"Anyways," Cass said, nearly shouting in order to be heard over the chorus of groans and objections that had been raised at Dren's last statement. "Pack up! We're going in ten minutes, and if you're not ready by then, I'm leaving you behind."

I smiled, stuffed all my things into my pack, and sat on a fallen log, waiting for everyone else to get ready to leave. It was fun to watch them. They scurried about like squirrels, sometimes jumping over kneeling bodies, or colliding with each other while reaching down to pick an object up.

"Are you all ready?" Cass asked once the ten minutes was up.

There was a chorus of yeses, except from Dren, who hurried to gather up a few more things before adding his own, late, "Yes."

"Great," said Cass. "There should be jerky and an apple in your packs."

Jaret raised his eyebrows. "That's it?"