Not quite a river, but more than a trickle of water entering the valley.
“Ya can talk here,” he said quietly. “But keep it down. I like this spot because the stream has small rapids that obscure what can be heard by others.”
“Is this where you meet them?”
“One of them,” he said, nodding sharply. “That’s another of my secrets. I don’t meet everyone in the same place. That’s too vulnerable. Every scout I send out has a meetin’ spot where I find them, or they can find me at. Sometimes, they’ll beat me here, and I’ll catch them campin’, which is fine. This spot is where they live when they aren’t goin’ out.”
“Oh.” Mave was amazed he had put so much thought into it, not that she thought he would do any less. He just considered more than she would. “They don’t have homes?”
“They have a low tent, a bedroll, some light cooking equipment, but nothin’ that can bang or make too much noise. They live on the land, just like I did when I went on scoutin’ missions,” he explained. “They’re fine. Half of them are wild at heart and wouldn’t do well in the village or on a team. The other half have…problems with those situations.” He gave her a sad look. She understood, even if she didn’t get any details. Trauma was funny like that. The very things she thought were her safe harbors could be prisons for others. “They all make good scouts, though.”
“It just seems like a hard life,” she commented softly. “As long as they’re happy, though.”
“That’s how Alchan looks at it, too,” Bryn replied with a small chuckle.
They stood there, waiting patiently. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be looking for, but Bryn was content to sit in the grass and stare at the afternoon clouds, so she joined him.
At one point, she felt Luykas send a curious wave through the bond, and she sent one back, asking him to ignore her and her whereabouts for a little while. Their mastery over the bond only grew, and she was beginning to understand how Nevyn and Varon could hold an entire conversation in a glance. It went beyond the definition of what Luykas told her about the blood bond when it happened. If they ignored it, they could only pick up physical sensations, but when they cared for it, they could do so much more.
“Luykas wanted to come see us,” she told Bryn softly. “I told him to leave us be.”
“Thank ya. He’s too close to the spies for me to be comfortable lettin’ him see this half of the intel. It works both ways, though. He doesn’t let me see the spy books anymore, and none of my scouts have them. They bring in information the old way.”
“Sometimes, I think half the rebellion is run out of my home,” she said with a teasing poke to her husband’s ribs.
“Aye, it is,” he confirmed with a grin. “And yer very gracious for lettin’ us run wild and get things done without demandin’ too much of us.”
“And you are very gracious about letting me focus on other things as well—like Emerian. Having a nemari is much more work than I thought it would be. Isn’t he supposed to be working for me?”
“Sure, if ya want a bad nemari.” Bryn reached out and grabbed her hand, his thumb making circles on the back. “A nemari runs errands, manages schedules, and more, as an exchange with the one trainin’ ‘em. It goes both ways. For all the time you spend trainin’ him, he’s supposed to take somethin’ off your plate. It teaches comradery in an upcomin’ warrior. A lesson that no individual can thrive unless the unit thrives. Ya don’t have much of a schedule to manage, though, so it probably feels a bit one-sided.”
“He’s not bad, but you’re right. Maybe I should have him do more. What is a nemari supposed to do?”
“I’d say ask Rain and Alchan, but…” He pulled his hand away and made an obscene gesture. “We know how that played out.”
She couldn’t stop the laugh. “I know! Ah, Emerian is a good male, but I don’t think a warrior and nemari relationship is supposed to play out that way. Actually, that was what pissed off Zayden.” She remembered it clearly now. “It’s actually exactly what isn’t supposed to happen.”
“That’s right, but ya know what? Who cares?” Bryn shrugged. “Yer just like every other female in the village. Ya look at that