No one wanted to eat. The river water had made their stomachs feel weird. Gregor put his flashlight on low and set it in the middle of the group. It was all they could allow themselves, with a long trip ahead and no torches.
"Your light, Gregor. How long will it last?" asked Luxa.
"Not for five days," said Gregor.
"I don't like the dark," said Hazard plaintively. "I miss the jungle. There was always some light there."
"When we sleep, Hazard, it will not matter if it is light or dark," said Luxa, smoothing back his curls. "May he go to sleep now, Howard?"
"Yes, Hazard may rest, but we must wake him every time the watch changes," said Howard. "It is standard with head injuries."
Luxa wanted the first watch. She was still too worried about Hazard to do anything else. Gregor realized that her loving Hazard had brought a new dimension of anxiety into her life. Made her vulnerable in a way she had not been before. It was unbearable to think about losing anyone you loved, but that time Gregor had thought he'd lost Boots it was as if the world had ended. Little kids ... you just loved them in a special way.
Between the incident with Hazard and her ongoing fear for the mice, Luxa was being pushed to the limit. Gregor volunteered to take the watch with her before anyone else had a chance. Just to keep an eye on her.
Despite the dampness of their clothes and fur and even Temp's shell — periodically trickles of water would run out of some part of him — the others fell asleep quickly.
Gregor sat next to Luxa on the smaller picnic hamper that she had positioned over Hazard's bedside. He reviewed his situation in his head.
Boy, was he ever in trouble now. The list of his transgressions was quite impressive. He had secretly gone to the mouse colony with Luxa. He had taken Boots along. He had crossed the Swag, which he knew nothing about, and then been cut off by an avalanche. He was five days from reaching Regalia, which meant during that time his family would be in hell. All they would know was that he had taken Boots on a picnic and never returned. A thought hit him.
"Hey, Luxa, if all that water ran into the Swag from the river, they would know in Regalia, right? I mean, the whole river would be lower," said Gregor.
"Yes, I suppose so. The water here stopped rising after the avalanche. It seemed to have blocked it off. But we have no idea what happened on the other side of the Swag," said Luxa. "Why?"
"I was thinking, at least people might guess we had come here and know it might take us some time to get home," said Gregor. "I mean, say they came to investigate why the river was low. And they found where we'd had a fire at the nibblers' colony. Maybe they could put two and two together and know we'd gone through the Swag."
"But, Gregor, that could have been anyone's fire. And once the river fills the Swag it may flood the nibblers' colony as well, erasing all signs of us," said Luxa.
She was right. If a big wave had come out of this side of the Swag, a big wave had probably come out of the other side, too. Gregor didn't know enough about science to even guess what would happen to the river or to the surrounding areas when everything had settled.
"Besides, they have no reason to think we would come so far. Had it been only you and I, possibly. We are not much trusted. But we took Hazard and Boots, whom we cherish. And Howard ... no one ever would expect Howard to make such an unauthorized trip. He is so dependably good," said Luxa.
"That didn't keep them from putting him on trial for treason," said Gregor.
"True enough, but he was easily cleared of the charge. And this morning Vikus saw us off with two hampers of food. I expect they are searching well-frequented picnic sites for us," said Luxa.
"Oh. It was just a thought," said Gregor. "So ... how are you doing?"
"Better, now that Hazard breathes," said Luxa.
"Don't worry. Howard will make sure he's okay," said Gregor.
"Yes, Howard watches over him," said Luxa.
"He watches over you, too," said Gregor, remembering his uncomfortable date conversation. His face turned hot again. "Look, you know when we were leaving Regalia and I said that whole thing about the picnic being a date? I'm sorry. That was just to get us out of there. I didn't mean ... you see, I didn't know... in the Overland a date's not that big a deal... well, it would be for me, but for other people ... okay, you can stop staring at me now. I'm done."
Those violet eyes had been locked on his face as he floundered through the explanation. "Did Howard say something to you about it?" asked Luxa, not looking away.
"Yeah. He made it pretty clear you and I weren't going on any dates," said Gregor. They both laughed.
"I knew you did not mean anything by it," said Luxa. "I am sure I am not at all the person you would choose to invite on a date."
"That's not true," Gregor blurted out. Oh, man! Why did he say that? She had been perfectly willing to go with the "that was just to get us out of Regalia" excuse! And here he was, stepping right back into it. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with you." That sounded bad, too. "It's just the whole queen thing."
"And the Overlander thing," she said, finally looking away.
"Yeah," he said. What did that mean? That if he weren't an Overlander she might... she might what? He had to stop this now. He needed to change the subject. New subject... new subject... "Do you want a sandwich?" he said.