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“I can grab a few things from my little quarters in the village after we have our walk?”
“Yes, yes that will be perfect.”
Excitement bubbled up in his chest, and he was looking forward to something for the first time in quite a while. “Let me just tell Cade and Poe that I won’t be staying here. I think Tyr is still out there as well.”
“I’m happy to let Tyr know. It would give me a chance to hold the baby for a moment while she’s still.”
Brayden got that. Melissa was getting big now, walking and jabbering words that he couldn’t understand, so it was so nice to hold her when she was asleep and rock her, let her be at ease.
So they split up and he went to tell Cade and Poe what was going on while Harden wandered over to talk to Tyr and his brother, Sloan. Sloan glanced over at him, eyebrows raised, after Harden started his explanation and he just raised a hand, grinning.
This way he didn’t have to have a long discussion with Sloan about things either, which was great. He knew it would happen but not tonight. They joined up again out in the big clearing in front of Cade and Poe’s house. Those two lived halfway up the mountain from the village, splitting the difference between the Galinea Clutch down in the village and the Rocky Mountain Clutch just below the height of the peaks.
Harden’s cabin was on a beautiful, flat piece of land near the river bed, and he looked forward to having a walk and spending time with Harden.
“So did you enjoy your party?”
Brayden chuckled softly. “Yes, I’m glad it’s over, but there are very pleasant things about it. The pastries were the best gift.”
Harden bumped shoulders with him. “I’m glad you like them. It was very pretty, the way Cade and Poe made the decoration.”
They walked deeper in and off the path into the woods, where the light disappeared, leaving them moving through shadows and quiet.
“We’ll go down to the river and then follow it to the village. I know it seems dark now, but it will clear soon.”
“Have you walked this path a thousand times?”
“Possibly more?” Harden chuckled softly. “My people live down the river, far enough that you have to fly or get on a small boat.”
Brayden was shocked at himself, that he’d never thought of Harden having a family. “Oh, what do they do?”
“They raise ysidri as well, but they mostly have bocapal. That is where everyone around here goes to buy them.”
“I guess it takes a lot of space for that, doesn’t it?”
“It does. That is why I only have a few. They need a great deal of land to roam on if one is going to breed them.”
“They look like something out of a movie. There was this series of movies where I come from called Star Wars. I always think bocapal look like the animals they had in those movies.”
Harden gave him a curious glance, moving just a bit closer. “What sort of movies are they?”
“They’re called sci-fi, science fiction. Basically things that actually don’t exist in that world. They’re all made up from people’s imaginations.”
“Sometimes the stories I hear from you and Poe and Sloan sound like they’re just made-up stories, that there’s no way that it could happen,” Harden offered.
“I can understand that. Absolutely. I’m glad to be here, though, with you.” Harden helped him step over a huge log where the footsteps had pressed in after years and years of steps, then they walked out to the riverbank. The trees seemed to be pushing back, and the moon shone bright along the black sand.
It was beautiful. Utterly perfect.
“Do any water dragons live in the river?”
Harden’s steps slowed, both of them ambling now. “Not here, but where the river is deep? Yes. They are much more tricky than the ones from the sea. They can be wicked, but they have a sense of humor.”
“See that sounds like another legend from the human world. The creatures of the water were called dryads, and they could totally be tricksters.”
Harden shook his head. “I wonder how much of their ancient knowledge comes from the same place. I wonder which world came first.”
“I’d totally say dragons came first. Hawk can’t even remember how old he is.”
