Love, Against All Odds

IV - Chapter 8

'Are they still working all right?' Raine asked while standing in front of Becca, her arms folded.

Becca waited for the X-ray glasses to finish powering up, and then her view of the world changed from brilliant colors to simple black and white depths. 'Ja.' She touched the frame's side where the sensitive button was located and powered off the lenses. 'I'm not used to wearing glasses.'

'They make you look different,' Andren remarked. She stood in front of the tent flap, waiting for Becca to join her.

Becca rolled her eyes and glared at her guard. She pulled out the heavy gloves from the coat's pockets, working them on her hands.

'How long will this meeting be?' Raine glanced between both of them.

Andren remained quiet with her arms folded.

Becca shrugged. 'It could be a few minutes to several hours. I guess it depends on how well everyone plays nicely.'

Yesterday they had arrived a few marches from the Verath Mountains. The trip from Rauoa to the mountain range should have taken a half day, but it stretched on into the late afternoon. The winds had increased, and flying snow made it difficult to see and navigate. Once they made it to the location, it took all hands to build the campsite, which included erecting several heavy canvas tents, building snow walls for wind, and packing down snow for safety. Small, controlled campfires inside the tents took care of most of the snow and made it warmer. Even now, Kaden was curled up on a weatherproof animal skin by the fire located in the center of the tent.

'We should be going, Becca.' Andren was one of the few people going to the meeting. Her orders were to stay close to Becca but within reason so that Alpha Prime wasn't suspicious.

'Be careful,' Raine said.

'Keep the fire going for me.' Becca grinned and shifted toward Andren, but paused when Kaden trotted over to her. She knelt and smiled at the locke, who was prepared to follow her. 'You have to stay here with Aunt Raine.'

Kaden wagged her tail and nudged Becca's forearm. Her snowy eyes sparkled until Becca shook her head.

'It's not safe, Kaden.' Becca sighed and ruffled her friend's fur. 'I won't be long though. Promise.' She stood up and hoped that Kaden would stay in the tent with Raine.

Outside, the wind had died down compared to yesterday. The twin suns had only peeked over the horizon an hour ago. Their warmth was welcomed against Becca's exposed face, which wasn't covered by the hood. As she and Andren trudged through the snow, she stole a glance back at the tent that she shared with Raine and Andren. Kaden had poked her head out and had full attention on Becca, who waved briefly.

By the time they arrived at the rovers, Becca was certain her eyebrows were frozen by the cold. Kardos was one of the coldest provinces in Kander, and many believed every ten marches farther north equated to another degree in temperature drop. It seemed absurd that Alpha Prime was attempting to survive at the foot of the Verath Mountains, much less carrying out a resistance propaganda. But Kalmar were hardy people and could tolerate cold weather.