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"So I did," Kaito agreed, stretching. He folded his wings over his shoulders, warding off the cooling afternoon air. Spring had only just begun after all. "Come on, maybe we can sit in a wagon where we won't be bothering anyone."

He climbed to his feet and motioned for the girls to follow him.

Emile showed up again just before dinner - just in time for the food - and then they settled in for the night. The adults took turns keeping watch - except for Shiro, who had only a paltry skill in weapons, and Kaito, whom no one trusted to stay awake - and the night passed without incident.

When morning came, however, Earendil and Daeron, who were both on duty, were looking around apprehensively.

Earendil and Daeron both twitched a bit when Miyuki left the tent, both of them hyper aware of any movement around them. When they saw that it was her, however, Daeron turned back to his duty, while Earendil headed towards the center of their camp to greet his daughter.

"Good morning," he said quietly, hoping that they wouldn't wake the others - though admittedly he would be glad to lave this particular place behind.

"Well, I can't speak for your ada-tol," Earendil smiled, extending his arms for a hug, "but I certainly am. Perhaps I'll ride in a wagon today and nap instead of ride a horse, even if just for the morning."

Watching was a tiring thing, after all - to force oneself to stay awake and alert for hours on end when there's nothing to keep you awake and alert ... it took energy. A lot of it.

Earendil chuckled and made sure to give Senka a bit of attention as well so that she wouldn't get overly jealous.

"I know I would like that," he murmured. "Though if Andarien is in the wagon with me, she could also take a turn riding. If she goes too long without riding she'll lose her saddle seat."

As they referred to the callouses that formed on one's rear end after enough riding, that made it far less painful to ride.

Earendil chuckled softly. "Yes. The less you ride, the more it's going to hurt when you do ride. It's best if you ride as often as you can so that you're used to it."

He stifled a yawn, then headed towards the wagons. "Let's see what we can dig up for some breakfast while we're waiting for the others to wake up," he murmured, climbing up and opening one of the food crates.

Earendil rummaged around a bit in the crate. "One ... it's a bit mushy, though, it's got to be eaten or it'll go bad by tonight."

He picked it out and handed it to her, but before either of them could do anything else a red-shafted arrow thudded into the wagon near them.

Earendil's eyes grew hard. "Miyuki," he said crisply, "get under the wagon seat and hide. Don't move."

He dropped the peach and jumped over the edge of the wagon, heading toward the tents to wake the others.

Like a ghost, Daeron was suddenly in the camping area as well, sword drawn, bow in one hand. It had been his warning arrow, telling the others that they were under attack. His eyes flickered around the camp, and as Earendil ran to get Lin, he headed to Aethos and Luk's tent.

"Lin!" Earendil said urgently, lifting the flap of the tent. "We're under attack, take Andarien and hide with Miyuki in the wagon. Quickly!"

Arthael and Halmir already had their weapons out and had joined Daeron while River was in the process of climbing into the wagon.