By the time dawn broke, I was exhausted. What surprised me was how much energy Kibi had. She was like a hungry wolf tracking prey. We had to stop several times so Tessia and I could rest, and each time, Kibi could barely keep still. Her antennae moved constantly, like an insect's.

The trees eventually grew sparse, and when we reached the edge of the forest, my mouth dropped open. This wasn't just a clearing. It was an endless expanse of yellow grass, stretching as far as the eye could see.

These were the plains that I'd only heard stories about. Green in the spring, and yellow the rest of the time. I could feel the late summer sun beating down on the pale grass. I thought of Siena and her stories about living with a tribe. And more stories about the Aberration-hating Krat tribe. Sember's tale about how a different tribe of Plainsmen had tried to burn her and Goben alive made me shudder.

I wasn't looking forward to meeting any Plainsmen at all, but if Kibi's home was among them, then I would have to brave it.

"We should rest here," Fen suggested.

I was shamefully eager to agree.

Tessia collapsed against a tree, while Fen slid the pack off his broad shoulders. I immediately sat on it. Fen shook his head, leaned forward, and wrapped his huge hands around my waist.

I stopped breathing.

With one fluid movement, he shifted me to the left, then unhooked one of the pack's compartments.

I stared at him, mouth ajar, as he rummaged inside. By the time he produced a water skin, I'd managed to close my mouth.

He'd moved me as if I weighed nothing. Plus, I rather enjoyed his hands on my waist.

We passed the water around, then he unpacked bedrolls.

Kibi stopped pacing long enough to notice what Fen was doing. She pointed emphatically out to the plains, her antennae twitching.

I shook my head. "You need rest."

Her lower lip protruded.

"Okay, I need rest. Just for a little while, okay? Come here." I moved to one of the laid-out bedrolls and reached out to her.

She dragged her feet, but came and sat next to me anyway. She didn't resist when I eased her head down to my lap, and when her eyes fluttered shut, they stayed that way.

Tessia had fallen asleep on the ground, and Fen tenderly transferred her to a bedroll.

"You have a way with difficult children," Fen said quietly, after settling on the ground with his back against a tree.

I shrugged. "I used to be one. You seem to have a soft touch for kids as well." I glanced to Tessia for emphasis.

He looked at her sleeping form. "It makes me mad when kids can't grow up innocent and happy."

I thought about my childhood, compared to what these two girls faced. Despite never knowing my parents, I had grown up innocent and happy. I was about to ask him to tell me about his childhood, but he beat me to the question.

"In what way were you a difficult child?"

A mischievous grin made its way onto my face. "Ohh . . . I was a bit defiant. Someone would tell me not to do something, and I'd find a way to do it anyway."

He chuckled. "Then you haven't changed much."

I smiled, raising my palms in a what-can-you-do gesture.

Tessia stirred, kicked one foot out, and settled again.

"Why is she special to you?" I asked, tilting my head at the sleeping girl. "She says everyone at Camp avoids her. Why don't you?"

"Oh." He busied himself with tidying the contents of the pack. "You know."

"I do?"

He stopped fidgeting and looked at me. "Why don't you avoid her?"

"She's sweet."

"Yes, but she can also discover your innermost thoughts and feelings."

I dropped my gaze in thought, poking at a dead leaf on the ground. Then I met his brown eyes. "Maybe that's a good thing."

He held my gaze, a small smile of understanding playing on his lips.

Stop staring at his lips, I scolded myself, and returned my attention to the leaf.

"Get some sleep," he said, leaning back against the tree. "I'll keep an eye on things."

I wanted to keep talking to him, but the heaviness in my limbs and eyelids meant, for once, I did as I was told.

***

The rustle of leather straps being tied woke me, and I fixed my eyes on the source of the sound. Fen was bent over the big pack, securing something. He must have felt my eyes on him, because he looked over to me and smiled.

I smiled back, liking the thought of waking up to his friendly face a little too much.

"We should get going," he said. "Hopefully we'll reach Kibi's tribe before dark."

I looked out toward the plain and found the sun already starting its descent. "Can you tell which tribe we're heading toward?" It didn't make any difference to me since I'd never seen any of them, but I was hoping I'd recognize the name. Maybe the next time someone at home mentioned it, I could say, "Hey, I've been there!"

"The Zurbo."

Zurbo. This sounded so familiar. How did I know this tribe?

And then it hit me.

"That was Siena's tribe!" The birds around us went silent at my loud declaration. "Well, it wasn't really her tribe. They were the barbarians who took her mother captive, so she was born a captive. What an awful life that must've been. But then she escaped! And she found us—I mean the Forestfolk, not you and me. And then—"

"You're talking about the Siena, who defeated Borga?" Fen's brow lifted high on his forehead.

"Yes! She's my friend, you know." I puffed out my chest a little, happy to be associated with someone famous. "I was her first friend in Foresthome!"

"I'm not surprised. You have a way with people."

I shrugged. "Eh, sometimes."

His brow went up. "Why do you say that? Sure, my people didn't trust you at first, but they don't trust any Normals. They were warming up to you."

I studied a leaf on the ground that didn't need studying. "Sometimes I forget to shut up." Not wanting to divulge more, I looked out to the late afternoon sun. "We should get going."

After waking Tessia and Kibi, we headed out into the wide, open plains.

Time to find out if the Zurbo have changed at all. Maybe they vote now!