That night, as usual, Tunu found himself sleeping in company.
It had all been as Elua had said. After remaining with Elua for a while he had enjoyed his time at the feast, then headed to sleep. And he had thought that, once his scales were back, everything would feel normal once again.
But that bed was too vast and even with a half-dozen females to warm him it was still empty.
So he waited for the last of them to close their eyes before getting up. By then the keep had fallen into a slumber, with only a few warriors left to guard. The one at his door let him pass without a word.
With his horns grown back Tunu could practically feel everything around him.
Most of the warriors had retreated to an adjacent tower with rooms to kobel size. A few still drank in company while the last candles lasted.
As for Elua, she was on the rooftop.
Despite having ample space to sleep inside, the winged kobel had decided to head there, followed by the old champion Tuorka.
She had joined the two above, to keep them company as well.
Even two floors below he could even perceive her words.
"Me? With Tuorka? You can't be serious!"
"But he alone."
Uokror's voice was disharmingly simple.
"I am with Tunu. What would you say if your woman sought another kobel?"
"I not know."
"I do not know." Tuorka corrected.
"I do not know. I not have woman."
"Well you would feel terrible! And betrayed! You... never had any woman desiring you? But all of your tribe should have been at your feet!"
At this the beast remained silent for a while, then pleaded:
"But he alone."
"Oh stop it!" She exclaimed.
And Elua found it so childish that she could not help but giggle.
She could not help but creep closer to the winged kobel and put her head against his wing. Like everyone else, the wyvern intimidated her, but in the darkness she actually felt safer with him than she had been for a long time.
"Our tribe has plenty of women who would kill for your company, you know. You will have no trouble finding one or two to your taste."
"Not you?"
Her heart skipped a beat. For a brief moment she had imagined things.
"Not me."
"How long do you intend to stay there, woman?" Tuorka groaned.
She felt those words like a knife on her side, huddled a bit more against that wing and the kobel, feeling her hurt, put his clawed wingtip on her head, like a caress.
Elua was letting him do it.
It made Tunu freeze in the middle of the unfinished stairs. He could feel it, in details, her head nested against that membrane, her fur rubbed by those claws. With Uokror she looked serene.
But she shook off and got up.
"You too should head inside! It's getting colder now."
They wouldn't move, so she gave Uokror a last glance, then left for the stairs, made sure to watch her steps while walking down in the darkness.
The black veil hid Tunu from her.
Once she was gone Tuorka was about to talk but the winged kobel put his paw on the warrior's shoulder.
"Stars are bright. We luck be here."
"We are lucky. Come on Uokror, apply yourself."
He knew the beast could detect him. Those massive horns had to be as effective, if not better than his curved ones. Uokror could tell Tunu was there, hiding just one floor below.
The scaled kobel felt bad, turned away and left.
Behind him the two kobels were lying down to sleep.
But he could not forget it. How Elua had had rested on that wing, it reminded him of just how much rage was boiling in his heart.
It worked him so much that the kobel left the keep to walk in that flowery garden.
He was furious, he was agitated, he could not even tell why and blamed his own heart. That foreign heart was beating a bit faster, as if preparing for a battle.
Tunu had walked all the way to the wall, up to the gate where he stopped. People on the other side where discussing. One, two dozen of them.
One of those voices were the chief.
"And if they don't work?"
"They work."
"But what if they don't? If those chains break, we'll have a wild wyvern murdering the tribe."
After a couple seconds, Etelet's voice repeated, just as starkly: "They work."
Some of those around them were kobels but most, most were from other tribes. They were showing the chief one of the heavy chains hidden inside the wall. Iron chains, Tunu could tell, quite heavy but otherwise seemingly normal.
If they had some magic imbued, the kobel could not see it. Nor could the chief.
"The other problem is approaching him. I've seen it, he can perceive things from far away, even without looking."
There was no need to answer this part. Not during the night. Whatever Etelet was planning, he wanted to strike while his target was sleeping.
But Tunu, weirdly, was still not sure if they were talking about Uokror, or about him.
He remembered how cryptic his friend had been during the day, and how weird Elua had acted. If it was him, if something was wrong with him and he could not tell...
"Let's wait another day." The chief weighed. "Maybe with sleeping powder, or incense? If you can make that, we could hide it in the food, in the candles."
"It won't work."
"So you want us to reach the roof, with those heavy chains, without being heard? And hope he is sleeping? We have to at least to bring him somewhere safer."
There was a sudden relief. It was Uokror. They were talking about Uokror.
So Tunu walked past the gate to reach that group. He had come so silently that even when he appeared, none noticed him. Then a captive nearly shrieked.
"Tunu!" The chief exclaimed.
The scaled kobel put a finger before his muzzle.
"It's better to strike now." He offered to the group. "He flew all day. I'll be able to tell from his breath if he is asleep."
Etelet, after a moment of fright, had calmed down.
"Good. We wait for the clouds and strike."
He pointed toward the horizon. Not that many could see much in the dark but still his gesture was perceptible.
Black clouds had begun to form afar, a mass that warned of an incoming storm. If it rained, if it thundered, those on the roofs would wake up. But for now, they were silent.
So if they remained so, soon the skylights would die. Darkness would be their cover. Even then, they would have to wait until Tunu could be certain that the winged kobel was asleep. Otherwise, with the horns he had, he could have perceived the group crossing that garden.
If anything, he realized, the wyvern was probably waiting for him to come back to his own room.
"I'll go ahead. When he is asleep, I will give you a brief light. Cross the distance and don't let the chains rattle."
"Easy to say." The chief remarked. "Look at that length, and their weight."
But Etelet waved it off.
"We'll do it."
"Okay. Eh, Etelet? Thank you for everything."
He didn't know why his friend wanted the wyvern captured. And truly he didn't care. Not because of the thrill in his heart, not because of his own grievance.
No, he trusted the apprentice had nothing but the tribe's interest at heart.