- The glade Emmerich and Elsie resided in comprised a circle of thick, red trees, their leaves a burst of olive green and fruiting pink petals. It wasn’t a large grove, big enough for the two of them to sleep comfortably, with Elsie’s legs flailing in Emmerich’s face (which would have happened no matter the size of their den), but it was warm, shielded from wind and rain, and quiet. It wasn’t easy to spot either of them through the tree trunks, and that’s just how Emmerich liked it. No one, and nothing, could sneak into their refuge. Bird nests sat sparse on the thick olive branches, currently empty while their occupants twittered and yelled through the canopy.
Emmerich rolled his eyes, stretched, and rose to his feet.
Elsie grumbled beside him and sprawled her legs over the freshly unoccupied space. “It’s not even morning yet.”
“It’s well passed morning,” Emmerich replied, squinting against the struggling beams of sunlight breaking through the leaves. “I’ve got patrol in an hour.”
Elsie mumbled something indecipherable while Emmerich dug through their supply of food, consisting of a few crisp fruits and dried grass set aside in squat, woven baskets. Living in the barrens for most of his childhood taught the siblings to hoard where they could. Never knowing when your next meal might come left them with habits unfitting for Homewood, but difficult to shake.
“Where’re you going today?” Elsie murmured, voice thick with sleep.
“Ruins.” His favorite place to patrol, but the ruins were relatively comfortable compared to the bog and the barrens, so assignment there was a rare treat. No stinking poison to snuff and no relentless heat to wizen you to a husk. Predators were more abundant in the Ruins, but Emmerich was prepared or that. Ever since his visit to Grandfather Tree, he’d been keenly aware of predators stalking the metal skeletons grown by the Others. He’d rather deal with tooth and claw than heat and stink.
Elsie perked her head up, eyes bright and ears flexed forward. “The ruins?”
“Yes.” Emmerich swallowed his breakfast and turned to her. “That’s not unusual.”
Elsie shot to her feet and closed the distance between them, craning up to stare him in the eye with an unflappable, uncanny grin. “Maybe you’ll run into the companion again.”
Emmerich grunted and shoved her away. He’d made the mistake of telling her she’d met a companion patrolling the ruins, figured it was a safer conclusion to his day than mentioning his leg got torn up by a cat beast. He would have been better off with the injury. Apparently Emmerich “lit up like a twitter-pated fawn” when he mentioned Dousan’s competence. Maybe he lingered a little too long on how much he admired the buck’s ideas for Erli, but he wasn’t twitter-pated. Elsie’s incorrigible nature - and her status as sister - turned her into an absolute beast about it. He tried repeatedly to tell her he had no inclinations toward a companion. If Emmerich wanted to take on a romantic partner, and he had no plans to do so, it would be with another scout. Someone... athletic and strong, maybe as hot-headed as he was. A fighter.
Not a soft-bodied, soft-spoken companion, even if Dousan had a promising mind for strategy and was handsome in his own right. Even if Emmerich liked the idea of protecting him while they marked the ruins for danger. Anyway, a companion would be overflowing with romantic offers. What did a beat up old Scout have that would catch a companion’s fancy?
“You’re thinking about him!” Elsie’s voice snapped Emmerich back to the present.
“I was thinking about what a pest you are.”
Elsie reared up and propped her knees on Emmerich’s shoulder, bumping his neck with her chin. “I can read your mind.”
“Good,” Emmerich chewed. “I’m thinking about all the ways I could squash you.”
“With your fat butt!” she leaped away, cawing with laughter.
Emmerich wheeled on her, snapping at her tail as she pranced out of his reach. “I’m going to-“
“Excuse me?”
Emmerich stiffened, throwing himself in front of Elsie, brandishing his horn low. He felt Elsie shiver against him, ducking low to hide herself. They spotted the intruder and relaxed into friendly stances.
The speaker was another buck, pale grey and wearing a cape sporting Brightheart’s symbol at the clasp. He poked his way through the entrance to the grove, quiet enough that Emmerich didn’t hear him over his and Elsie’s squabbling. Emmerich didn’t recognize him.
The stranger cleared his throat. “Sorry to intrude, I’ve come with a summoning message from Brightheart. She’s resurrecting a new species and hopes to find noulicorns willing to sponsor a new familiar. She’s waiting at center glade for candidates.”
With that, the buck ducked out of the thicket.
“That’s great!” Elsie sprang out behind Emmerich and raced in front him.
“You should hurry, then. There’ll be a crowd gathered for Brightheart.”
“Not for me, silly. For you.”
Emmerich stared at her.
“You’re always going on about how lonely you are-“
“I’ve never said that. I’m not lonely, I have you-“
“And you’re obviously not going to bustle up the courage to talk to that companion fellow on your own. This way you’ll have someone watching your back all the time!”
“That’s not how that works, Elsie. I’ll probably get stuck with another useless hanger on, like you.”
“Jack hops aren’t useless.” Elsie stomped the dirt. “Scuttle scales aren’t useless.”
“I’m a scout, I can’t take care of a familiar and do my work too.” He turned away from her, heading for their glade’s exit. “They’d be in constant danger, Brightheart wouldn’t agree to that.”
“Are you in constant danger?”
Emmerich stopped, ears perking forward then flicking back tight against his skull. She’d trapped him. If he said yes, she’d worry about him on patrol, and the last thing Emmerich wanted to do was make Elsie worry. And if he said no... well, there’d be no reason not to attend the bonding ceremony, would there?
“I’ll think about it,” he said with a huff.
Elsie dashed forward and nuzzled his cheek. “You’ll do it then!”
He didn’t bother correcting her. He always had a hard time telling Elsie ‘no.’ He’d be at the damned bonding ceremony when the time came.
