God killer

Camp

Devu didn't need a map. He had an easy demeanor to him as he stepped between trees following a precise path. In contrast, my siblings and I snagged and tripped on every bush, our minds saturated with hunger.

We paused our hike at a clearing and Devu lent us his waterskin to drink from. We took seats on the forest floor, learning against a tree to quench our thirst and dredge up some strength for the rest of the walk. Devu hadn't given us any information on how far his camp was, not that we asked. There had hardly been conversation since we began following him.

He took stock of the clearing, his rough trousers rustling as he crouched to peer at tracks, scrutinizing scratches left on trees, and looking into the distance for mysterious dangers. The naked skin on his back coiled and released when he moved his arms. I watched his self assuredness with disdain. Even the atmosphere seemed to part around him. If he stepped into the air to fly like the Gods, it would not have surprised me. There was nothing about the man that seemed remotely distrustful, and that made my disdain worse. He didn't show a moment of self-doubt while I sat on a lifetime's worth.

Laughter split the sound of languorous bird calls, and we were up unsheathing our weapons again.

"At ease. It's just my people," Devu held his palm up noticing us

"Ah, Devu! You missed the best part!" a woman called out as a group emerged into the clearing. They wore a medley of colors in opposition to any that matched, and like Devu their skin shone a rich mango wood.

"Really?" Devu asked, a smile back on his face.

"Yeah! The tribe almost ran into us in their flight out of the camp. We were still midway into moulding another panther print when we heard them heading our way at breakneck speed. That's when Paal here," the woman pulled a boy out of the group "debuted his animal cry skills and sent them running!"

"Show him, Paal," an elder member of the group spoke up. "Show Devu-ji what you can do," he used a suffix usually reserved for elders with Devu's name affectionately.

A scrawny boy who had been standing near the front now shied, moving to hide behind a woman's skirt.

Devu knelt in front of the boy with a conspiratorial smile.

"I'll promise to play on your ball team if you do it one more time," Devu waggled his eyebrows.

Paal considered him like a merchant at an Amaran market. It was a moment so wholesome I almost chuckled. He finally nodded, apparently this was a very good deal for Paal. He cleared his throat, angled his head back and let out a terrifyingly accurate panther growl.

The group whooped and patted his back in admiration. Devu ruffled the boy's hair with a compliment that made Paal's day.

In all the commotion, we had forgotten our manners and had stood dumbly to the side gawking at them. The woman who had spoken earlier sighted us and came forward. I composed myself by putting my hands together and bowed my head to greet her.

"Good to make your acquaintance, Valli. I'm Madhu," she smiled warmly before worry creased her brows. "Devu, did you not feed them?"

He pretended as though his mother were admonishing him and comically snuck to hide behind a tree. Only Paal appreciated the act, who was now doubled over slapping his knee.

Madhu rolled her eyes and turned back to us. "Please have something to eat," she said, offering us some millet cakes she had in her pack which we took without hesitation, thanking her profusely.

The group set off on a stroll towards the camp after we had finished eating. A relaxed conversation wove between the group as we followed them.

"Bandits!?" my sister choked. "We've been rescued by bandits?"

"Oh relax. We're bandits in the loosest sense," Madhu coaxed and regaled us of their exploits. She counted off rescues of hapless individuals, looting of classist fiefdoms and tricks to scare off potential evil do-ers. Madhu was right, they didn't seem like run of the mill bandits. Akila shot me a bewildered look. We didn't have the best opinions of bandits in Amara, Rakshans had once just been bandits, and now they were an invading force.

After a half a day of trudging through the jungle, the path widened into a comfortable walkway. The group's chatter grew excited, we were approaching the camp. The red soil under our soles turned rich and damp, while the trees thinned letting through a soft evening breeze.

Akila, Aman and I rounded the last bend of the trail and stared. Ahead of us lay a vast maroon space dotted with trees and lined with the pale canvas of makeshift tents. In the distance, just beyond the edges of the camp, rows of green peeked through indicating farmland this community sustained on. This place was like no town or city I had ever seen.

The group dissolved as we entered the camp, leaving Devu to escort us to our tents.

"It's amazing isn't it?" Devu asked gesturing to the camp around him.

"I don't understand how this works," Aman's usually fierce eyes observed the lively campsite in wonder.

"One monsoon and they would be destroyed," I agreed.

"We move into the forest when the rains hit. We use our canvas to build larger rain proof encampments," Devu explained. He stopped to briefly speak to a jovial passerby.

"But how does this work, do you guys have a leader?" Akila asked once he returned. She was always the curious one.

"Not one, but many," Devu replied. "This is the first time we've been in a spot long enough to make ourselves a farm. We used to eat off the land, but now that we've grown so big we needed a more reliable source of food. We have many people now leading the different camp mainte-," someone called his name, interrupting him again. He waved and walked over to talk to a woman about rotating harvesting shifts to a different time.

"Busy man!" I remarked as he finally walked us to a tent that had been setup for us. For how underdeveloped their homes were, they sure knew how to make their guests feel welcome. I smiled at the welcome site of bedding and towels. They had even set aside a spare set of clothes. Someone must have informed them that we had lost our supplies.

"Not too busy," he mumbled, his voice faded to the sound of the tent door flapping closed behind us.

"What?" my brother asked having not heard him.

"Not too busy to show my guests around," Devu smiled, his eyes lingered briefly on me as I read the lie on his face. It had been years since a man was bold enough to express interest in me. Being a Princess came with as many curses as it did blessings.

The last time I had engaged in romance was when I served at the warfront. I was in a brief and naive affair with a young general that ended as soon as Akila walked in on us. Always protective of her older sister, she raised hell. She threatened him into silence, commanding that he never lay eyes on me again unless he wanted to face her wrath. In the end, she needn't have bothered. The general was slain at a Rakshan ambush just two days later. It was the first and last time I wanted to experience that kind of pain.

I turned away from Devu moving to pick up a towel. Hopefully, my hint would suffice. He had all the love of the community here and with those angled brows and he definitely had a line of suitors. I had more pressing matters on my hand and to top it off, I hated queues.

"There's a lake just past the southern edge of the camp for you to freshen up," his voice remained upbeat. "I hope you can join us for dinner at the fire."

I nodded, purposely ignoring the warm eyes that watched for my response. Akila and Aman formally thanked him again for extending guest rights which he abashedly waved away before ducking out with a see-you-soon.