First Eclipse

Fauna opened her eyes, and she was at the bottom of a mountain. She looked around. It was all trees and nature, with not a single building in sight.

"I guess I'll take the muddy one."

She turned around and looked to see him standing beside one of the ATVs. One of them looked like it had been dipped in mud.

He glanced to their left. "Prince Leone went down the hill by mistake and landed in a pond."

Fauna looked at the amount of mud and then in the direction he was looking. "Are we going that way?" She was just a little bit excited about driving one of those. With four wheels, she wouldn't even have to think about balance or turning. It was going to be fun. "Where's the cabin?"

He turned around and looked up the incline. "Up there. The prince said it was about a ten-minute ride through the trees."

Fauna looked in the direction he pointed. "What's the plan? Go up, park these, and go wander around."

He shrugged. "More or less." He pointed to the ATV beside her. "I'm sure I don't have to explain how to drive that."

She smiled. "I'm sure I'll manage."

He wiped the rack off on the back and then secured his bags.

Fauna put on her backpack and climbed on. There was no helmet, but that was fine with her. "Straight up?" She glanced at him. He was eying the machine as he climbed on, probably trying not to sit in the muddiest part. "That's what he said."

She smiled. "Okay. I'll see you up there."

~

When Tim finally caught up to her, they were close to the top. He glanced left and spotted what he thought was a building. If she didn't accelerate, he might catch her. The captain wasn't kidding when he said worrying about her on that machine wouldn't be an issue. If anything, he had to slow down a few times, or he would have hit a tree or two watching the way she maneuvered it.

He accelerated and dodged a tree. She glanced back, and he pointed, then almost lost control of the machine again. Slowing, he watched her turn and head in the direction he'd pointed. For a while, he wondered about riding on one of the Gemini's bikes, but now he decided that was something he didn't need to experience after all, at least not with any of them watching him.

She definitely had the advantage and knew exactly how to use her body weight to get the machine to turn fast. He was afraid his size was going to tip it right over. Now, he didn't find it as amusing that Prince Leone had landed in the pond. Tim was just as big as he was and doubted he'd have managed to avoid it, either.

When he got to the cabin, she was already off the ATV and opening the door. Panic hit him. She was just like the princesses and queens. They would do that too, just open a door and not think of what could be on the other side. Turning it off, he quickly grabbed his bag with his sword and had it out of the bag by the time he reached the door.

"You brought a sword?"

He stepped inside and looked at her on the other side of the small space. "Yes. Always."

She gave him a strange look. "Well, unless you need to defend us from a few spiders, I think you can put that away."

He held it beside his leg and looked around. There were two cots, a wood stove that he doubted should have been lit after years of sitting, a table, two chairs, and a cupboard.

"What did they use this for?"

He almost said hunting and then shrugged. "To get away. Life as a royal can be taxing."

She scoffed. "Oh, I'm sure."

He supposed to most the image of royal life was much different, but he knew how his royals were, and they worked more than anyone he knew. There was no sitting in gilded chairs getting plump for them. "Having so many brothers is hard, I imagine."

"Do you have brothers?" She opened the cupboard and then closed it.

"I did. I had one."

"Had?"

He nodded. "He died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry."

Tim shrugged. "It was a long time ago."

"That's right, you guys live a long time."

He turned around and went back outside, preferring the fresh air to the dusty inside. "We do."

She came back out, went over to the ATV, and picked up her backpack. "How old are you?"

Tim went over and picked up the bag he'd dropped and pulled out his strap and sheath for his sword. "Three hundred and twenty-four."

Fauna laughed. "Yeah, that's a long time."

He glanced at her. "I'm young still." She was giving him a strange look. "What?"

"Do you really think you need a sword out here?" She looked around. "The scent of the metal will be a deterrent for most animals."

He looked at it and then sighed. "I suppose not." She had a point; they were just going for a hike to see if they could track down any strays. He put the sword away, pulled out the small knife, and put it in the case under his pant cuff. He wasn't going to be completely unarmed if they came across a bear. "So, you can communicate with animals?"

She nodded. "Warm-blooded ones, except birds. I can't seem to with them."

Tim carried the case to the cabin and set it inside the door. Although the chances of anyone coming along were slim, he wasn't leaving it sitting outside. "That's still pretty cool."

Fauna smiled. "Thank you." She shrugged. "I was born with it, so it's just a normal thing to me."

He grinned. "Well, it's not really."

She gave him a skeptical look. "Well, the way your kind feed isn't normal to me." Her brows creased. "You're not like Vex, are you?"

"No. I'm an essence feeder." He shook his head.

She held up a hand. "I don't need to know what that is. You fed before we left, right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, that's good. Just give me a warning if you need to go back because you're running on empty."

Tim tried not to smile at her apprehension. "I'm good for a day at least."

"Perfect." She turned in a circle. "I think we should head down. There were some pretty dense areas on the way up a perfect spot to hide." "Sounds good. Any idea what kind of friend we can find for Tawny?"

She jammed her hands in her pockets. "They don't want big, but Kara told me to bring them home if we come across another feline."

"They'd be a few months old now, maybe older if it was an early litter."

She grinned. "Yes. Still young enough to train though."

He patted his pocket. "I brought some jerky. In case we need to bribe anyone."

"Great." Fauna pointed. "Let's go."

Tim started walking and then paused and looked at the bag the seer had given him. Going over, he grabbed it and swung it on his shoulder. She wasn't just thinking he'd get hungry, that much he knew. Although, with some of the warnings she had given since she'd come to Alterealm, he hoped this was just simply a longer stay than they'd planned. It was doubtful, but he could hope.