We found them outside, overtaking the backyard.
Ilianna and Ciren were sparring lightly with wooden daggers while Zephyr was further away, looking at a specific spot in front of him, about thirty feet away from us.
"Are you ready?" asked Cintia.
"Yeah, go on," said Zephyr.
We stood near them but didn't want to bother and stayed silent.
Cintia concentrated, and her eyes lit up white.
"Okay, I can see it," said Zephyr, waving his hand.
She relaxed a little, but her eyes didn't change.
"Okay! I'm doing it!"
She shouted and walked backward step by step... after about a dozen.
"Stop! It disappeared," said Zephyr, looking back.
She released her power and took a deep breath. "About 45 ft, not bad!"
He walked back towards us slowly, and Cintia took a seat.
"That was my limit," she said, looking towards us, fully aware we were watching the whole time. "I increased it since coming here."
"That's incredible, Cintia, you can safely use your power from a good distance away. How many does it affect?" asked Demelza.
"It's up to me, I can make you see anything from a few feet without much stamina loss, but once the distance goes beyond 20 ft, it's harder to maintain the illusion, it drains me. The more people, the faster," she explained.
Zephyr came closer and asked. "So tell it, which arrowhead won?"
We retold what happened over at the smithy, while Carlos took over the supervision of the kids' training.
"We overheard Alexander's big speech to the troops, so tell me exactly when, where, and how," I asked.
"In six days, preparations are done, and we make our way towards Hori, which is about a day or two on horseback, yes ladies... ride," he said it again when we shot some looks.
"In order to make this as fast as possible, we all ride, no wagons," he continued.
We shared some excited looks, added to the to-do list, riding lessons.
"Anyway, depending on how long that will take, we either come home or go towards Misao... we'll see and decide then," he finished.
"I'll say let's go and pick horses!" Eleanor was very enthusiastic.
""" Let's """
Before we could leave, a sweaty little girl approached us.
"Dad told me I can pick my horse now," she said nonchalantly.
"It's called a Pony, princess," Zephyr picked her up.
"Yes... I'm getting one as well... what?" Ciren asked her brother while patting her clothes. "If Anna gets one..."
I stepped closer to my family. "Did you check if we even have ponies?" I asked him.
"Nope... but it's not my problem, I'm not the one who promised her this months ago," he shrugged, handing me our daughter.
Ughh... I forgot about that one. She was promised by me, but lately, I'm thinking she played me like a fiddle.
"Fine, we check, and if we don't have any, it'll have to wait until we're back," I said, giving him a quick kiss and followed the girls who had already left.
Along the way, we ran into Veila, who looked out of breath.
"Hey... guys... I'm looking for Zephyr?" she asked, stopping in front of us.
"He is home. We just left him. Why? Something wrong?" I asked.
She shook her head quickly. "No problem, just want to ask if I can come along with my sisters."
As she said that, we saw Mia and Aim coming from afar.
"You want to make some coin in the villages?" asked Demelza.
"Absolutely... I read people's future here too many times," she said without an ounce of shame. "Arriving with other blessed headed by Leader Zephyr will already be enough to attract clients, rich ones."
I bet people from Hori will pay good coin, but...
"What about your sisters? They want to perform as well?" I asked.
"Nope, they want to join the hunt," she answered, sounding a little skeptical.
They just caught up to us. "Hey ladies, we are looking..."
"He is at home. Good luck," I cut Mia off.
We left them and walked until we ended up the newly built stables. Having more than a hundred more horses now, they needed space, so they were quickly built and maintained.
"So many horses," Eleanor stepped up timidly. "Is there anyone in charge of them?"
That was a good question. I saw some guys standing near. I put Anna down, and asked them.
"Lylly, it's me," it was Thomas Hender, a guy who asked for my hand when we were eighteen years old.
"Hey Thomas... I didn't recognize you. How have you been?" I asked.
He looked different from the skinny little guy I remembered; he'd grown a few inches, and his hair grew out.
"I'm very well, thank you. Leader Zephyr asked me and my family to look after these horses. My aunt thinks it's a prophecy from the Monroe girl coming true," he said with a shy smile.
I remembered hearing something like that.
"I see. Well, we came to pick a horse... how much do they cost anyway?" I didn't bring coin with me but could send Eli home for some.
"That will be a day when Leader Zephyr has to pay for his own horses." he gave an incredulous look.
"What do you mean? Aren't these horses..."
"Are the property of Emet village and with it Leader Zephyr's," he said with unshakeable resolve.
I saw some signs of fanaticism in his eyes but ignored it.
"I... Alright then. Can you bring some ponies for my little ones? Zephyr wants them to have one," I asked.
He and some others went away, and I rejoined the girls. One was already patting her chosen one.
Demelza was feeding a large brown mare, giggling as she took the apple from her hand. "I'm going with her... we like each other already," she said, patting her side.
I took a look myself and saw Zephyr's black mare standing in her own little round pen, enjoying some people washing her. That looked like one pampered horse but fitted him perfectly. I needed one equally radiant.
Spotted a few horses in a separate large round pen with a few colourful ones no one paid attention to.
Thomas and some men brought back a few small ponies delighted the girls as Eli joined me, watching them.
"Thomas said they called Mustangs, and they're wild horses... hard to break in, dangerous even," she explained.
"I see... let's go get one for ourselves," I said after a few seconds of silence.
"Had a feeling you'd say that."