Morning brought discovery.
Aria woke to Kaelan's urgent but quiet voice. "Aria. Liora. Wake up. Carefully."
She came alert immediately, the months of crisis training making her responses sharp. "What is wrong?"
"Nothing wrong exactly," Kaelan said. "But we have visitors."
Aria sat up slowly and looked where he indicated. Twenty feet from their camp, barely visible in the morning mist, stood a deer. But not just any deer. Its coat shimmered with an iridescence that definitely was not natural. Its eyes, when they met Aria's, showed intelligence far beyond animal awareness.
"Spirit touched," Aria breathed.
Spirit touched animals were rare, appearing occasionally in places where the barrier between normal reality and the spirit realm grew thin. They were not dangerous typically, but they were significant. Often considered omens or messengers.
The deer watched them for a long moment, then turned and walked deliberately away into the forest. Not fleeing. Moving with clear purpose.
