Vella refused to leave the old hunter in the frontier village with a leg that had barely closed.
His watchtower clearing had also collapsed around him, which left him nowhere safe to recover except her supervision.
He lasted one mile in the cart before declaring the transport an insult.
Vella lasted one second before declaring his transport non-negotiable, then tightened the bandage whenever he tried standing to prove her wrong.
Hans rode propped against the salt sacks with his pinned sleeve turned toward Ash.
The child spent the whole morning staring from Hajin's chest with open fascination and an expression far too serious for his small face.
Somewhere past the second village, the boy blink-stepped into the cart and sat down across from the old hunter.
He had apparently decided that distance was the only remaining flaw in his investigation.
The cart carried two veterans of two different wars after that, sharing one bench in careful silence.
