Figurehead

eight

I have more now than I did when I entered the Avu empire's outermost and poorest province. A hare's pelt thinner than parchment and now devoid of any scent sits beneath my chin, tied loosely at the back of my neck. Dried sandeer meat is packed within my bundled belongings, and in one of my innermost pockets of one of my few cloaks is nestled an intricately-decorated clay pendant dangling on a thin string of silver. With these things are two small, tightly-packed bundles of dried herbs. I have a new dagger strapped to the inside of my jacket, one I don't plan on using but am grateful for nonetheless.

I feel incredibly grateful, blessed.

I tuck my hands in the pockets of my jacket with a smile. It is barely first light now, the breezes still cool, the day not yet quite here. The sky is, of course, beautiful. It is pale, cloudless, inked by swirling marks of fading gold and fire. The stars have disappeared.

I stand behind the healers' hut with my friends gathered in front of me. Tui, Tri, Yef, Eris, Kued, Par, Krit, Werv, Ersu- all of them here for me. It warms my heart to know this, to know I matter to them. "Be safe, Janf." The chorus is unsynchronised and messy, but music to my ears. "Fare well."

I wave to them, meeting each gaze individually with a smile. "Thank you," I reply. "Fare well."

And I turn my back, pull the cloth over my nose and mouth, and I leave them behind. I don't look back.

I will miss these people, these who I never expected to know, let alone befriend. It is Den now. Just started. The last month of Dre is here. I am 24 Dre, have been in Deritri for two months and have no idea what to expect upon my return.

I'm learning to accept there is a lot I have no idea about.

Thank the Lord for that.

The oasis reflects the growing light so clearly and so brightly, I have to look away from the water's surface.

There are three shelters here now. There were two when Tui and I passed. I stop after having ascended the slight slope of the sandhill that sits between the water and the shelters.

"Are you alright there, traveller?" The voice carries an unfamiliar accent that must come from one of the Avu provinces. It curls his words, each one lingering in the air long after being spoken. It's beautiful. It's musical. I want to hear him speak again. He does, this time his words laced with a hint of warning. "What are you doing here alone?"

I tug the hare's pelt away from my face, searching for the voice. "I came from Deritri. I'm a trusted messenger, and I'm returning to Escatin land."

"Alone?" I nod. His accent is so- so enticing. Finally, the man emerges from- from where? I don't know. He must have come out of the third shelter, which is positioned slightly behind the other two, its entrance not visible from where I stand.

He holds a spear in one hand and wears nothing but a loincloth on his tan skin. A bow is strapped to his back along with a quiver of arrows. His hair and eyes are dark, and he tilts his head as he eyes me. "So why have you stopped here?" he asks after a moment. In my periphery, I see a woman holding a baby glance between me and the man before walking past me, headed for the oasis without, it seems, any fear or concern for who I might be.

"I have something for someone." I suppress a wince when I realise how vague my words. "Kiop. Is she here?"

He frowns. "Who told you someone called Kiop was here?" I tense up as he approaches, eyebrows furrowed as he examines me. In the distance, a group of blurry and shadowy figures appear on the horizon. They're probably returning from hunting or something.

"Ersu told me," I say. It's not entirely true, considering it was Par who told me, and not quite Ersu himself. Well, they both told me, really.

He comes to a stop a few steps from me. He's tall, taller than Dein. I think. I can't remember anymore. "She lives here," he replies eventually. "She'll be back with some of the others soon," he adds, flicking a glance at the group approaching from a distance. Beneath their billowing cloaks, the armed men and women wear nothing but torso wraps and loincloths, their clothes worn and bloodstained. Some hold sacks, some bunches of herbs, others carcasses.

"Alright," I answer eventually, noticing him waiting for a response.

He flashes me a sudden smile that completely lights up his good looks. I just want him to speak so I can hear his accent. And also so I know why he just smiled at me for no apparent reason. "So who are you?" He splays his fingers at the base of his neck. "I'm Keir."

I awkwardly copy his gesture. I'm still not used to it, even after two months. "Janf."

"Janf," he repeats, testing it out on his lips. It sounds like music. "Why were you on Avu land?" He walks past me to sit, back resting against the trunk of one of the trees. He gestures for me to join him. I do, keeping some distance between us. After all, he's capable of killing me if that's what he wants to do. I try to avoid thinking further about that.

"It got really hostile between the Escatin and Avu people living there, so I was told to go and act as peacekeeper or something, with other Escatin trusted messengers." I keep it simple. No need to go into details he wouldn't care for, like how Avu High Commanders tried to trick Dein into visiting Kalsemir.

"So where are the others?" He raises an eyebrow. "Dead?"

I shake my head firmly, thinking of how blunt he would sound if it were the case. "No." I shake my head again. "Definitely not. They wanted to stay."

He raises his eyebrows. "Strange." I shrug and don't elaborate.

I can feel the gaze of the approaching hunters flick between Keir and I, even as most of them pass by to wash the carcasses and herbs and weapons in the water. The baby cries, a shrill, loud noise that makes me wrinkle my nose. Then he and his ama walk past, returning to the shelters. A few of the hunters come to stand before us, their shadows looming and stretched.

"What's she doing here?" one of the three asks. Her accent is the same as Keir's, just as musical, just as lingering and beautiful. "Where'd she come from?"

"Calm," Keir says, rolling his eyes. "This is Janf, trusted messenger returning to Escatin from Deritri."

"Alone?" the same hunter asks, raising her eyebrows. She shakes her head, long tendrils of golden brown tossing with each shake. "Real smart."

"Janf, this is Gua," Keir gestures at the woman. "My former tied and continual thorn in the foot."

Gua rolls her eyes, which look to be golden from where I sit. "You're so funny, Keir," she says mockingly. She raises an eyebrow at me. "But why are you here?"

"For Kiop, apparently," Keir replies, gaze flicking to the woman standing a short distance behind Gua. The other hunter, a man, seems to have lost interest in my presence because he goes to join the others in the water.

"Me?" she asks, voice hard. Her hazel eyes fix on me. "What do you want?" Most of the harshness has left her voice, touched by confusion.

"I have something for you," I say, holding up the thing from my pocket.

"I've never met you before in my life," she says suspiciously. Her accent is the same as Kued's, or Eris'.

"I know. It's from Ersu."

"What does he want?" she asks in surprise, suspicion still lacing her words. But she takes it, the sealed lumpy message. There's a small pendant inside attached to a thin gold string.

"To give you that," I answer eventually. Her eyebrows furrowed, she backs up a few steps, turns, and disappears into one of the shelters. I stand, Keir following suit.

"You leaving?" Gua asks. Keir sidles up to my side and kisses my cheek before I can react.

"Maybe you should stay a while," he says, slipping his arm around my waist.

Their voices are beautiful and he is good-looking, but I have no interest in staying here. "Thanks, but I need to go." I take his arm off of me and smile politely at them both before heading in what I remember to be the direction of the Eska.

Behind me, I hear Gua's laugh and her teasing words, "If she were me, I'd escape you too."

He laughs at that, replying, "You sure you don't want to be tied to me anymore?" He grunts in pain after a smack of skin on skin, his muttering drowned in her laughter.

I shake my head with a ghost of a grin on my lips and keep walking, tugging the cloth over my nose and mouth while the cheek he kissed burns with ice. At least my promise is intact.