Seven years before Wayfarer

The night was frigid. Strong wind blew the snow in horizontal white lines, and howled through the coniferous trees around the camp. They had long since given up on keeping any sort of fire burning, after barely managing to warm some water for tea and fleeing to the safety of their caravans.

Jale hoped to one day be a confident enough ranger that she didn't need to travel with a convoy, but that evening she appreciated the older, more experienced rangers. Even if they were all men. Instead of settling down for the night in their separate caravans, they had decided to all stay together, knowing that they would be much warmer packed into one caravan.

And given that Veturotar, Jale's mentor, had the largest caravan in the convoy, his was the one they chose to stay in. He had had the foresight to roll out his canvas early in the morning, before the snowstorm, meaning the inside was dry aside for the snow that had blown in as they climbed inside. The five male rangers awkwardly moved around each other in the snug space, getting the bedding laid out and trying to get comfortable. Jale was laying on one of the benches, watching. She was closer to the canvas and therefore the chilly outside air, but she valued the little bit of space the bench provided her. Even more so as she watched the five men struggle to get comfortable, pressed up together, arms and legs getting tangled, grumbling and laughing.

Vetur ended up closest, and he lay on his back, looking up at her. "The luxury of travelling in the winter."

Jale laughed and rolled to peer over the edge of the bench. "You look very comfortable. Why are we travelling in the winter, anyway?"

"Somebody's got to do it," one of the other rangers, an older man named Ronar, replied. For the past few weeks, the other rangers had joined Vetur in treating Jale as a younger sister. She didn't mind, really. It was better than the other kind of attention men could be trying to give her.

"But why us?" Jale asked.

Ronar chuckled. "Weis. Our goods cost more in the winter. Supply and demand."

"Seems cruel," Jale said. "The villages need the goods even more in the winter."

"Hmm," was all Ronar replied.

"They won't get the goods at all if we don't deliver them," Vetur said. "We risk our lives on nights like this."

"Hmm." Jale echoed Ronar without truly meaning to. She tugged her blankets up to her chin. "I think transporting people would be more interesting than goods, anyway. And people don't want to travel in the winter. So I don't plan on risking my life very often."

Vetur had heard her plan before, and he just chuckled. But Ronar spoke up again. "People bring their own risks. You can't just tie them up in your caravan and trust them to stay put." His comment earned some laugher from the other three men.

Jale smiled to herself. "That's exactly why they'll be more interesting."

Ronar grunted. "Well, I'll be retired by the time you're a full ranger. So you'll have to come visit me and let me know how that business works out for you."

"You, retire? You wouldn't know what to do with yourself," Jale said.

"All right, all right," Vetur interrupted. "This is my caravan, and I say it's time to sleep. If the weather clears up tomorrow, we might be able to make it to Morie Caro by nightfall. And I am really looking forward to a warm bed without all of you tucked up beside me. So let's get to sleep."

There were final grumbles of agreement as the men adjusted themselves again. Jale burrowed further into her blankets and eventually managed to fall asleep, despite the howling wind and discordant snoring.

***

They arrived in Morie Caro shortly after nightfall, and only because Vetur insisted on carrying on long after they would have normally settled down for the night. But the extra work was worth it, as the group, covered in snow and chilled to the bone, walked into Morie's Caro's only inn.

It was a popular place to be. A large fireplace in the middle of the room kept it wonderfully warm, and whatever was cooking over the flames smelled delicious. Most of the tables were packed with men, and most of those men were probably miners, relaxing after a hard day of work. There were a few other people who looked like they might be travellers, but Jale guessed that they had probably been in Morie Caro for days—surely no one was crazy enough to leave the town during this weather.

Vetur and the others went up to the counter to book rooms, but Jale wandered over to the roaring fire. She peeled off her scarf and gloves, then her hat, and was just beginning to unbutton her jacket when Vetur appeared beside her, holding two room keys.

"What are you doing?"

"Enjoying the warmth," Jale replied.

"No." Vetur shook his head. "Not until the kyloe are tucked away in the barn. And since you're my apprentice, that's your job."

Jale groaned. "All of them?"

"No, just ours. The other men can find their own apprentices, if they want to." Vetur laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "I'll order us some dinner. Go on."

Jale gave him a withering look, but redid the few buttons she had managed to undo before being interrupted, pulled on her scarf, hat and gloves, and crossed towards the doorway.

Outside, the wind was blowing so hard she could hardly keep her eyes open. Jale pulled her hat over her eyebrows, and tugged her scarf up over her nose, making the exposed part of her face as narrow as possible. Even then, she held up a hand to block the wind as she trudged through nearly knee deep snow around to the side of the inn. The other rangers were already there, unharnessing their kyloe and leading the animals into the barn. Jale quickly got to work. Kyloe didn't even seem to mind the snow, they had such thick hair. But she knew that taking care of the animals was an important part of being a ranger.

Once she had the first kyloe's harness undone, Jale clipped a lead rope to its halter and tugged it towards the barn. "I'll be right back," she promised the second kyloe, who didn't seem to care that she had spoken.

The barn was quite large for such a small village inn, but it quickly became crowded and humid with five teams of kyloe and a handful of horses inside. There was a teenage girl in the barn, exasperatingly giving directions to the other rangers. She looked about Jale's age, around eighteen. An old furred coat hid her figure, but her hood was pushed back in the warm air, revealing long dark hair.

"Ronar!" she called, turning to him and Jale. "I hope your kyloe get along, because they'll have to share a stall. I've already had to move some of the horses around."

"All right," Ronar agreed gamely, leading his kyloe past the young woman.

Her eyes landed on Jale next, and confusion crossed her pretty features. "Is that Vetur's?"

Jale nodded. For no reason she could name, she felt a nervous flutter in the stomach. "Yes. I'm his... he's my mentor."

"Oh." She seemed pleasantly surprised. "It's nice to see a new face. You can use the last stall on the left."

Jale swallowed, and nodded again. "Thank you." She wanted to say something else, just to keep the young woman's attention a little longer, but one of the horses began stamping its hoof and she went off to tend to it. Jale watched her for a moment, then caught herself staring and dragged her attention away to lead her kyloe to her warm stall.

She quicky went to retrieve the second kyloe and bring her into the warm barn. After making sure the animals were comfortable and had both hay and water, Jale lingered in the middle of the barn, watching the young woman. She wanted to wait until the woman finished fussing over the horse, but suddenly Ronar dropped his arm over her shoulders and steered her towards the door.

"Let's go see if Vetur thought to order dinner for us all," he laughed, before stepping into the wind.

Jale followed him after darting one last glance towards the girl. Outside, the wind was too loud to manage a conversation, so she had to wait until they were back inside the inn and shedding their layers of clothing before asking, "Who was that?"

"Raserani?" Ronar asked, clarifying even though Jale didn't know the name. "She's the innkeeper's daughter. Usually handles food." He crossed the inn, and Jale followed him to the large table Vetur had claimed. The others were already eating and drinking.

Jale sat. Even as she ate her steaming, delicious stew and sipped at a cool glass of irdka, she thought about Raserani. Every time the door opened, she glanced over, hoping it would be the innkeeper's daughter. But it never was, and Jale realized she had probably used a back door.

She excused herself from the table before the men were even close to winding down for the evening, took her room key from Vetur, and went to bed.

***

Jale was the first one up the next morning, which didn't surprise her. She got dressed quickly and packed up her few belongings, then went to the front of the inn in search of breakfast.

And there she was. Raserani. In a sensible but pretty wool dress, her long dark hair braided and hanging over her shoulder as she leaned down to pull a pan out of the fire.

Jale waited awkwardly by the counter, not wanting to interrupt and startle Raserani. Raserani used tongs to turn over the strips of meat she was cooking, then tucked the pan back into the fire. When she turned around, she seemed startled to see Jale, but she smiled.

"You're up early." She hung up her fire mitts, and walked around to get behind the counter. "What can I get for you?"

Jale blinked. "Oh, um." She gestured towards the fire. "That smells delicious."

Raserani smiled. "You can have some as soon as it's cooked. Have a seat." She turned and pulled down a plate.

But instead of going to sit down, Jale leaned against the counter. As soon as Raserani turned around, Jale tried for a friendly smile. "I'm Lirajaleanor, from Krier Till. But you can call me Jale. I just... you seemed to know all the rangers' names, so..."

"They're here every few months," Raserani said. Her eyes were a lovely shade of brown, lighter than Jale had ever seen, and they widened with curiosity. "When did you start working with Vetur? I've never seen a woman ranger before. It must be hard work."

"Just this season," Jale said. "It isn't too common, but it's something I've always wanted to do."

"Freeze to death?" Raserani teased.

Jale laughed, feeling more at ease. "No. Travel. People are always coming and going in Krier Till. Sailors and merchant ships, rangers and caravans. It always seemed so exiting! Getting away from the city, seeing the beautiful forests and hills, meeting interesting people. I hope that by next season I'll be able to officially call myself a ranger."

Raserani's pretty eyes twinkled. "Have you met any interesting people?"

"Oh." Jale was caught off guard by how direct the question was, but after a moment she collected herself enough to nod. "Yes. I have."

Raserani carried the plate over to the fire, and carefully picked up a few strips of the meat. "Has it been hard?"

"The weather is making it hard," Jale said, watching Raserani.

"Well, I hope the weather doesn't deter you too much." Raserani placed the plate in front of her. "It would be nice see you more often." She ducked and popped up again, to hand Jale a fork and knife. Once Jale took them, she leaned against the counter, propping her chin on her palm. "I'm Sera, by the way. Well, Ra—"

"Raserani," Jale said. "I know, Ronar told me. It's a beautiful name."

Jale was pleased to see a blush colour Sera's cheeks. "Oh. Thank you. Lirajal..."

"It's a mouthful," Jale laughed.

Sera grinned. "It's unique. Just like you. A woman ranger."

Jale felt heat raise to her own cheeks. "Not yet."

"Only a matter of time," Sera said confidently. "It'll be so wonderful to have a friend stop by and tell me about adventures."

For a heartbeat Jale could think of nothing but the word 'friend'. "I will," she finally said, hoping Sera hadn't noticed the pause. "I promise. I'll tell you all about them."

***

Jale found herself thinking about Sera frequently as the caravan continued to move towards Esler Tigo. The weather changed as it always did in the winter. Sometimes warm and sunny, other days cloudy and snowy, others a strange combination of the two. Jale worked just as hard as the men, and sometimes harder.

"She's young," the men often claimed. "She's got more energy than us."

She didn't mind, for the most part. Jale truly loved being out in the forest, even if the other rangers didn't always make for the most exciting company.

Esler Tigo was a city entirely unlike Krier Till, that much was clear the moment it came into view. It sat high on the side of a mountain, overlooking a valley white with snow. A divot curving across the valley was the only indication that there was a river.

Jale loved the city. It was steeped in age and tradition, compared to the ever-changing culture of Krier Till. The buildings looked as though they had been there since the city's founding, unchanged. The people spoke with an accent untouched by Morcean slang. The temple was beautiful and well kept, and immediately become Jale's favourite place to visit.

The group had been in Esler Tigo little over a week before Vetur suggested they start the long trek back to Krier Till. Ronar and one of the others decided to stay longer, but the other two agreed to travel with them. There was safety in convoys, after all.

Jale wasn't upset to leave Esler Tigo. She knew that she would return to the city again, and besides, travelling back to the coast meant passing through Morie Caro.

***

It was the middle of the week of Tier Kuin-Shon when their convoy arrived in Morie Caro. Jale had participated in the celebration every year of her life, but it had never seemed as magical as it did in the little village. Back in Krier Till, winter was grey and wet, and no amount of decorations could change that. In Morie Caro, the snow sat in fluffy pillows on top of the buildings and tree branches. Sleigh tracks carved along the road. Human figures made of snow and sticks lined the road, a charming replacement for the fancy ice sculptures that bigger cities displayed. The icicles hanging from every roof sparkled in the sunlight, as if Tier herself had placed them there as decorations.

And the people were delighted to see their three sleighs appear. At almost every house they passed, someone stuck their head out a door or window and shouted a welcome. Vetur invited a group of children to climb aboard the sleigh, and they excitedly did, standing in the back and waving at everyone they could see. Everything about Morie Caro was cheerful and bright.

The inn looked particularly magical. Pine boughs, twisted together to create the shape of Tier's lantern, hung from the door and windows. Light from the roaring fire within was visible through the slats of the windows. Jale hurried to help get the sleigh prepared for the night, and lead the kyloe into the barn, eager to get inside in the inn.

She had barely stepped inside when Sera appeared beside her, dressed up in a warm jacket, with a scarf elegantly draped around her shoulders and head. "Vetur said you were here." Sera caught Jale's hand and tugged her back outside. The sun was still reflecting off of the snow, making it almost blindingly bright, but soon it would start sinking into a sunset.

"Where are we going?" Jale asked, puzzled but more than happy to follow Sera.

"You'll see," Sera replied, leading Jale across the fenced in front yard of the inn. Ahead of them, a young man was hoisting a pot onto a wooden table, and Sera tugged Jale right to him. "Thanks, Olrow, I'll take over now."

"You always get the fun jobs." The young man rubbed her head with his knuckles, laughing, and walked back towards the inn.

Sera rolled her eyes. "My brother," she said, before turning to the steaming pot.

It wasn't hard to tell what was inside, Jale could smell the sweet maple syrup. The children who had taken a ride on Vetur's sleigh were still playing nearby, and they ran over the instant Sera picked up a ladle and dipped it into the syrup.

Sera sent the children off to look for small sticks. It was clearly a yearly tradition. As soon as the children returned, they lay their sticks in the snow in a neat line, so Sera could pour syrup over them. As the syrup chilled in the snow, it hardened, and the children rolled up their sticks to collect the treat. When they ran off, they shouted,

"The inn's syrup is ready! The syrup is ready!"

Very quickly, a crowd formed. Jale found herself drawn into the process, helping Sera find sticks, stir the syrup or collect fresh snow. And as they worked, they talked.

"I want to hear about where you've been," Sera said, as Jale returned with a bucket of snow. "You promised!"

"Oh, of course." Jale told her all about Esler Tigo, describing the city, the valley and the people as they prepared chilled syrup for the villagers. Then, after Sera's curious prompting, Jale continued to talk. About Krier Till and growing up in the port. Then her family, her father and mother, her father's other eetos, and her five older siblings and the boring jobs they did. Sera found it all fascinating.

Once Jale was out of stories and the crowd was dying down, she asked, "What about your family?"

Sera shrugged. "My father avoiding working the mines by inheriting the inn from my grandmother. She wanted to pass it on to a daughter, but she only had sons. It's supposed to be mine next, but I'm not sure if I want it. I love Morie Caro, of course, but..."

"You want an adventure?" Jale guessed.

"I don't know about an adventure," Sera said. "I like hearing about them, but I think the work involved is too much for me. I'd like to have a nice house in a busy place. Like Krier Till. Where adventures could come to me without me having to leave home."

"You would definitely get that in Krier Till," Jale agreed.

"Well. Maybe that's something to think about." Sera poured all that was left of the maple syrup out onto two sticks, and rolled them up. She popped one into her mouth and handed the second to Jale. "Once I've cleaned up, would you like to come to the Singing with me?"

Jale tried very hard not to think about how the sweet syrup was sticking to Sera's lips, and nodded. "I'd love to go with you."

***

Jale had been to more Singings that she could count. Everyday Singings, Singings for holidays and festivals, Singings for ceremonies. And yet, she doubted she had ever been as happy at a Singing as she was at that moment, kneeling beside Sera in Morie Caro's tiny temple, listening to their voices meld together as they sang Tier's verse of the Song of the Seasons.

As it wasn't the final day of Tier Kuin-Shon, the Singing didn't last too long. The special songs and speeches would happen in a few days, after Jale and the other rangers had left Morie Caro—unless Jale could convince Vetur to stay in the village a little longer.

She thought about how she could convince him as everyone left the temple and began to walk home. Then Sera's hand found hers, and all thoughts of Vetur vanished. Sera didn't say anything while they walked, following after her family and many of the inn guests.

Jale could think of nothing but Sera's gloved hand in hers. She ran scenarios through her head on a loop. Visions of tugging Sera to a stop, turning her around and kissing her. Or waiting until they were warm in the inn. She wondered what Sera's reaction would be.

Her own nerves annoyed her. She wanted to be a ranger. She was brave enough to travel through the forest, dealing with all sorts of possible dangers and hardships. She could be brave enough to kiss a pretty girl, certainly.

But she couldn't work up the nerve. They walked through the moonlit snow, snowflakes gently drifting down. It was a beautiful, perfect night. The inn was getting closer and closer, and soon the magic of the snow would be replaced by the bustle of the inn, and—

Sera kissed her.

Jale was so startled she froze, and her thoughts went perfectly still as if they had just crashed headlong into a wall.

Sera stood in front of her, top teeth biting her bottom lip. Snowflakes catching on her scarf and eyelashes. "Sorry. I probably should have asked first."

Jale's thoughts started up sluggishly. She felt like the team of kyloe were struggling to pull her mind out of a deep snowdrift. Then, they finally slid free. Almost. "Yes. No. You didn't need to ask, that..."

Sera's shy laugh interrupted her, and gave Jale the moment she needed to collect herself.

"I was trying to figure out how to do that."

Moonlight sparkled in Sera's eyes. "Would you like to do it again?"

Jale nodded. "Yes, but... What if I want to do it every time I visit Morie Caro?"

"Then I hope you'll be visiting very often, Ranger Lirajaleanor," Sera said. She leaned forward, and this time Jale was ready. She cupped Sera's cheek with one gloved hand, and slipped the other around her waist, pulling her closer. Sera's hands went from Jale's shoulders to her cheeks to the back of her head.

It was a perfect, beautiful moment, on a perfect, beautiful night.

And, Sera's lips still tasted like maple syrup.