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Chapter 9

"If..." Willow started and stopped before finally pushing forward again. "If...if I wanted to form an engagement with someone..." He cast furtive looks at Rowan and Thorn before looking down at his boots again. "...well, how would I do it?"

His companions just stared at him for a moment and Willow felt his face burning even more fiercely. This wasn't easy even with his closest friends. The elf had purposely waited until the three of them were alone before bringing up the topic. Not only was he nervous about the topic of marriage, he was also embarrassed about how little he understood the process.

Willow knew Thorn had been engaged to Sable since she was twelve and would have married her when she turned eighteen if she hadn't scarred herself. The blond man had mentioned those facts often while Willow was growing up. He also distantly remembered Rowan being with Laurel while he was a child. But other than that, the younger man had no example to go by.

"Who is it?" Rowan asked, finally, not bothering to conceal a grin that teetered on laughter.

"No one particular," Willow said. "I was just curious. But never mind. Just forget it."

"No, really, who is it?" the dark haired elf persisted. "No laughing, I promise. We're all grown men here. We discuss this maturely."

"We could if you weren't already laughing."

"Who's laughing? I'm happy for you."

Rowan continued teasing him until Thorn finally intervened.

"There's only one girl who isn't engaged," he said, not looking up from the metal knife he was sharpening. "Daisy's already engaged to Caper, Sala is already with Tibir, and Igira will marry Sumur in a couple of months."

"That leaves Len," Rowan said. "How long have you been in love with her?"

"I'm not- I mean-" Willow stammered, mortified beyond coherent words at this point.

The truth was, he had been admiring her for a while now. Musically inclined like her father, Len specialized in singing and playing instruments. During the year since they joined the band, Willow had become fascinated by the art as well. She began teaching Willow how to play the pipes only a few months before. After initially progressing very quickly, he was beginning to falter during lessons because he would get distracted by how much prettier she suddenly appeared to him.

"I don't think you're ready for marriage." Rowan shook his head. "Look at you. You can't even string three words together."

"If you want to marry her," Thorn said, still examining the metal knife, "go to her father. Tell Galnar your intentions. Tell him you are able to hunt for her, shelter her, and take care of her and that, when she's eighteen, you'll make her a good husband. Then, he will decide whether or not to allow you to marry his daughter. If he allows the match, you'll exchange vows now and then renew them when she becomes your wife."

The blond man rose and sheathed his knife.

"I'm taking Girzal out hunting tonight," he said abruptly and hurried away.

Willow watched him leave, worried he might have hurt Thorn's feelings by bringing up engagements knowing the other elf wasn't allowed to form one. He glanced over at Rowan, who seemed to be thinking the same thing. They sat quietly studying their boots, not saying a word for a few minutes.

"When do you plan on talking to Galnar about Len?" Rowan asked, soberly. He didn't tease or make jokes at his friend's expense for the rest of the night.

"These prints were left by... a stag! I yearling stag!"

Girzal looked up at Thorn for confirmation. The two elves knelt by a set of deer tracks in the snow.

"And how do you know?" the blond man asked.

"The size," the boy said. "The tracks are smaller than a grown stag, but bigger than a fawn's."

"How do you know it's not a doe?"

Girzal's reply was instant this time. "Stag hind tracks are narrower than the front ones."

"That's right," Thorn confirmed. "And how fresh are the tracks?"

The process of teaching Girzal how to hunt had started out low between getting past the older man's nervousness and all of the bad hunting habits the boy had acquired from Caper's teaching. But by this point, they had both improved so much that finally Girzal was ready to track and bring down a deer on his own.

At least Thorn hoped he was ready. That's why he was giving him an extra drill before he let him go out on his own. The blond man hadn't been the authoritative and domineering teacher Lord Sable had been with him. There was no yelling or threats followed by punishments. In some ways, that worried Thorn. If he didn't use the methods that worked so well on him and Rowan, would he still be able to make Girzal the hunter he needed to be?

Well, this would be the test.

Thorn handed the boy the elvish hunting knife and watched him go off into the woods.

"Girzal," he called out to him.

The boy stopped and glanced back. Thorn shifted uncomfortably. Someone looking up at him with so much trust and respect was difficult to live up to.

"If you don't come back with anything..." he started.

Don't expect to eat tonight, Lord Sable's voice echoed in his mind.

"...don't worry about it. We can try again tomorrow."

The next evening, the band feasted on Girzal's first kill. The beast was a beautiful stag with short antlers that had only just started to branch out.

An ecstatic Daisy insisted on butchering and cooking the deer herself.

"Thank you for teaching my brother to hunt," she said to Thorn as she laid the food out. "I'm so happy he has you to help him." A distant expression filled Daisy's blue eyes when she finished arranging the food for the evening meal. "Our father died when Girzal was nine. He had only just started teaching him before it happened."

Thorn didn't know what to say. He had never seen the girl unhappy before. Daisy usually shined bright and serene like a moonbeam. She nurtured and healed others who were upset, not the other way around. He didn't really know how to respond to this. The nervous elf was about to mention that had never known his own father and had to learn to hunt from someone else too, but stopped. That wouldn't brighten the conversation at all. But he had to say something.

"Your father should be proud of how fast Girzal's learning," Thorn finally said. "Not just any elf can bring down a kill their first night out."

A slow, sad smile curved along her lips. "I bet you did."

"Sort of," Thorn confessed. "I was so nervous, I scared all my quarry away. The more I tried the more frustrated and angry I got, and the more I ruined my chances. It went on and on until the sun came up."

"So you went back to camp empty handed?"

"No. I stayed out all day, sleeping as best I could under my cloak. I didn't go home until the next night when I finally calmed down enough to bring in a doe."

Thorn sunk into a new level of depression at the memory. But Daisy laughed.

"I can believe that," she said. "You're so nervous and determined. You didn't want to disappoint your band."

Disappointing his band had been the last concern on his mind. It had been more about fear of punishment and his pride refusing to show weakness. But he left the mistake uncorrected. He liked her version better.

Thorn was as grateful for the opportunity to help Girzal as Daisy was. The task gave him something to plan and think about other than his own troubles. It also helped him venture outside of himself and little by little join in with the rest of the band. Thorn wanted to thank Girzal and Daisy for that, but he didn't really know how to without sounding strange or pitiful.

Soon, the men came up to collect the shares of food and everyone settled into the evening meal. Almost everyone.

The elf lord stood at a distance from the others, staring up at the stars.

This behavior made the rest of the band very anxious. Whenever Nir got this way, as if he was having an important discussion with the skies, it meant a change loomed ahead. The last two times, the entire band had to move camp abruptly without notice or explanation. But, sometimes his star gazing meant new band members.

"Do you want me to get your food?" Hunter asked his sister.

Kara shook her head solemnly, watching her husband.

The rest of the group ate in worried silence.

"Hey!" Hunter cried. "Why is everyone so down? We've got ourselves a brand new hunter and tracker in our midst. That's something to celebrate."

"Yeah," Falcon said. "Tell us about the hunt, Girzal."

As the excited boy regaled them with the details of his tracking adventure, Nir quietly collected two shares and sat down, handing one to Kara.

"Is something wrong?" she asked in a whisper.

Thorn and the others tried not to listen, but they couldn't help it.

"I'm leaving tonight," he said.

"When are we going?"

"You can't come," Nir said. "Just me and some of the men."

"Why?"

"I don't know."