The Ways of War

Chapter 2

There was another moment of silence that was filled solely with the sound of wind whipping above the base a second before Mathias bustled up to me, his dark eyes filled with worry as he scanned me over. "Of course you would be the one to get into trouble." He said on a sign when he noted that I was free of any new injuries save for a couple frazzled nerves.

I laughed at his words and moved away from Opher, who was quick to follow me as I trailed after Mathias. My eyes were taking in everything around me as more and more of the people dispersed, my near death experience not something that could hold their attention long. They had seen too many of those situations that had not ended as luckily as mine had to be more than a little relieved that the girl that they had never met had survived being shot at.

Mathias led Opher and I towards where the rest of our travel companions were waiting, their eyes were filled with worry as they scanned me over, similarly to how Mathias had done.

"Alright, now that we're here I'm going to run over what is going to happen to all of you." Mathias told us as Alvin, Patrice, and I gathered around him, our Dragons peering over our shoulders, their large heads blocking out the already weak light so that it was almost as if the four of us were in a scaly cave. "Now, the three of you will be staying in the same tent along with nine other people. You will each be reporting to different people and all the information that you will need for the duration of your stay here at the base camp will be brought to your room before the day is up . Now, the three of you are the first ones to arrive for your tent, so you'll have lots of room for a couple of days." He said as he turned and moved from the scaly cave, his hand motioning for us to follow.

With the alleys as wide as they were, Alvin, Patrice, and I were able to walk side by side with room to spare around us, while our dragons were forced to proceed in single file, their eyes wide as they took in the strange surroundings. It was odd to think that our dragons were as lost as us, they had never before left the school and knew as little about the war, perhaps even less, than their riders.

While we wondered through the intricate twists and turns of the Base camp I let my eyes trail over the activity, noting how the fires were tended by riders who appeared to be injured and how nobody seemed to be resting or in any way wasting time. Everywhere people walked with purpose, their eyes ringed by heavy bags that spoke of little sleep and little nourishment, however every other aspect of them seemed to be better.

Their muscles were larger, their reflexes quicker. These were the riders that the stories were made of, and these were the riders of whom many of the people they saved would never hear of.

After a while, when lifting my booted feet was a struggle do to the immense amounts of mud that covered them, Mathias stopped in front of a tan tent, which had sporadic dots of color where the fabric had been torn and then patched. The mouth to the tent, which was enormous, was large enough for our dragons to squeeze into, which they did gratefully once Mathias pulled the fabric apart.

Stepping into the tent I gave a quick glance around before I moved further in. Alvin and Patrice were similarly exploring, while our dragons were forced to remain at the entrance do to the beds.

Three sets of bunk beds rested along each side of the long tent, leaving enough room between the feet of the bed to fit two-stacked set of drawers and a yard of walking room. The back of the tent held a long table with more than enough spaces than the twelve people who could live in the tent would ever fill, as well as some book shelves, a stack of fire wood, and a small fire pit which was below an opening in the top of the tent.