Duran didn’t actually go to the beach because there were way too many people there already. Instead, he found an old, barely visible road and followed it up through the trees. Maybe he should have been worried about getting lost, but it was easy enough to find somewhere he could see The Spire from so he wasn’t too worried.

Also, he had a swarm of pixies stalking him. They seemed fascinated by his hair, constantly flying around his face and tugging at clumps of it. If it wasn’t going to get him laid, he was cutting it off.

Duran found a small creek that flowed down towards the ocean and sat down on a big rock that rested along its bank. He really shouldn’t mope about not being able to do exactly what he wanted. It was silly to be sad when he’d grown up expecting to be nothing but a slave and spent the last year of his life sitting alone in a room, waiting for the next time his master felt like using him.

Just being able to sit and listen to the burble of this creek should have been enough. Being with Danya and Fanner, being free, those things should have been enough. Maybe he was just broken inside, cursed to seek until he found something he couldn’t have so that he’d have something to be sad about.

Or perhaps he was just in the mood to wallow in self pity. He didn’t think he was a particularly miserable person by nature. He’d found happiness in worse situations than this.

Duran watched as a brown and grey wolf ran up to the creek some distance from where he was sitting and drank from the water. It was odd how quickly he’d become comfortable seeing such massive beasts roaming around. It should have been scary, but at this point it just wasn’t.

The wolf had noticed Duran, and it headed up the creek bank towards him. It was Slone, Duran realised now that he was closer. The hairless section of scarring across his shoulder gave it away.

Once he reached Duran, Slone shifted. He did it far more quickly and fluidly than Yore.

“Hey,” Slone said as he, completely naked, waded into the shallow creek and sat down in the middle of the clear, flowing water.

“Hello,” Duran said. “Did someone send you to find me?”

“Nah, I was just wandering,” Slone said. “Saw you and thought I’d wander here and see what you were up to.”

“Nothing too interesting, I’m afraid.”

“Yeah?” Slone asked. “Shame. I don’t come out to The Spire too often, but it’s a cool place. Thought maybe you’d be enjoying it.”

“I went to the top. That was nice.”

“Oh yeah?” Slone said. “Maybe I should head up before I go. It’s been a while.”

“Where are you going?”

Slone shrugged and splashed water up over his chest. “I’m a wanderer. I travel around and I see what I see. If I tried to go somewhere, I’d probably just get distracted on the way and never make it.”

“I wish I could go with you. Wandering sounds nice. I guess you probably wouldn’t want me to even if you could keep me balanced, though. You’re a werewolf. I’d slow you down.”

“It’s not always such a bad thing to be slowed down,” Slone said. “You miss a lot when you go fast, but it ain’t always easy to go slow just for the sake of it.”

“You’d really take me with you if you could? You’re not just saying that because you know you won’t have to?”

“Nah,” Slone said, water running down his body as he stood up and walked over to where Duran was sitting. He sat down on the pebbly bank of the creek next to the rock Duran was sitting on. “Lying makes things too complicated. I say what I mean.”

Their heads were at the same level now and Slone was hot and naked. Duran grabbed a fistful of his scruffy hair, leant in, and pressed their lips together.

Slone didn’t pull away, but he also didn’t kiss back. After a moment, Duran let go of him and sat back.

Slone offered him a lopsided smile. “Sorry. Can’t say I’m into men.”

“I can look enough like a woman from the right angle.”

“Mm, prob’ly,” Slone said. “But you don’t smell like one. Not gonna work, I’m afraid.”

Duran licked his lips and looked away. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Nah, it’s fine.” Slone stretched his arms out in front of himself. “You ever see us do our wolf greetings when someone’s been away for a bit? If I’ll shove my tongue in my own brother’s mouth, I ain’t gonna be too flustered by a little peck on the lips.”

“I assumed being in wolf form made things like that a little different.”

“Sorta does and sorta doesn’t. Wouldn’t do that on two legs because our senses work different. Wouldn’t make sense to. That’s all. Anyway, why you kissing up on me? Thought you were after humans for that.”

“It’s not all about energy. Why does nobody question it when Hamish is just horny, but when I am, everyone wants to delve into my motives and intentions?”

“You don’t think it’s more complicated for you?”

Duran lifted his legs up and folded his arms over his knees. “I don’t want it to be. I want to be able to just enjoy the things I know I enjoy about life, to rediscover the good in sex, but I feel like everyone keeps pushing me back towards my trauma. Everyone thinks that those dark parts are what it has to be about for me first and foremost. That everything I do and everything I want must spring forth from that and therefore needs to be coddled and danced around.”

“Yeah?”

Duran let out a long sigh. “I’m not saying I’m not fucked up, but that’s mine to deal with in my own ways and in my own time. I don’t want or need anyone else to worry about it. I love Danya and Fanner, I like a lot of the people I’ve met here, but part of me wants to just go. To find people to be around who don’t know who or what I am or what I’ve been through.”

“You regretting letting Kit share that thing?”

“No. Things were always going to be like this. People having more or less information doesn’t change anything. They were always going to think they understood when they don’t.”

“Ah, well, if it helps any, I know I don’t understand shit.”

“Good. Don’t try to change that and we’ll get on great.”

#

Hamish’s pants were absolutely drenched in fish blood and other even more questionable fluids from lugging the sloshing bucket of fish guts up the hill, but he was almost to his destination. This was where Yore had told him Cookie would be, and he’d brought with him the price he would need to pay her.

She was laying on the porch, sprawled out at the feet of the frog man, Noel. Neither of them acknowledged Hamish as he made his way up the stairs.

“I brought you something in exchange for a conversation,” Hamish said, setting the bucket in front of Cookie’s face. She lifted herself up just enough to fall face first into the bucket. Hamish did his best to ignore the sounds that followed.

Kit materialised in front of him. “Make it quick.”

“I wanted to ask you about something.”

“I assumed so. Also, I can read your mind, so we have several layers of redundancy and wasted words here.”

Cookie made a horrible guttural sound and Hamish worried she was choking, but Kit seemed unconcerned.

“I had a conversation with Duran,” Hamish said. “He said you showed him some things. Mountains, flowers, some turtles. He’s sad because he can’t go with you when you leave and see those things.”

“Uh huh.”

“Yeah, but, see, the thing is, he was talking about it and inside I was just like… damn. That actually sounds really cool. Don’t get me wrong, Magic Town was great and I’m sure Magic Town Two will be as well, but things are going to be different now. I lived for the times when we’d go out and rescue some slaves. I like the action. Of course I’m happy that we don’t need to do those things anymore, but my life can’t just be living quietly in a charming little village, you know?”

Kit nodded. They looked completely disinterested.

“You travelled with Noel, didn’t you? Just you and him, when he was still human?”

“Yes.”

“For a very long time, too. Yore said he was old and frail by the end.”

“Yup.”

“Did you protect him? It’s dangerous out here and an old man can’t run or fight. Did you use your powers to mind control anyone who threatened him?”

“No. Not everything has a proper mind to get into, and it takes a lot of energy. That’s a trick for special occasions only.”

“Then how?”

“The fae aren’t always as obvious about things as making someone into a half man, half frog monstrosity. Sometimes the changes they make to someone are subtle. The fae had already changed Noel before we set off together. He ate and drank, got tired and grew old, but the world left him alone. That was his gift.”

“So if we went with you, we wouldn’t be safe like he was.”

Kit’s eyebrows lifted. “Who said you were invited?”

“Well, there’s no point in asking if we can go with you if it would just get us killed. I mean, I can fight, but compared to some of the crazy shit out there…”

“You wouldn’t last a week.”

“Hypothetically, though, if we did find someone a bit more capable of kicking ass, would you take us with you? Would you show us those places?”

“What’s in it for us?”

The bucket was empty by now. Cookie had it upside down on her head and it rattled around as she licked out the inside.

“Food? We can hunt. We can also talk to people who may be convinced to share their supplies with us.”

“Find your bodyguard and I’ll think about it,” Kit said, fading out of existence as Cookie lay down with the bucket still on her head.

Hamish went to pull the bucket off, but Cookie chittered in annoyance and flailed her legs at him.

“Okay. Guess that’s yours now.”

#

Hamish spent all day looking for Slone, but it wasn’t until the sun had set and everyone was gathered in the middle of their temporary camp for dinner that he actually found him. He had a plate piled with bread and fish and he was eating like he was being timed.

Hamish tilted his head towards the path that led down towards the beach. “Can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you about something.”

“Ah, yeah, sure,” Slone said around a mouthful of food as he stood. He shoved another piece of bread in his mouth and barely chewed it before speaking again. “Whatdya want to talk about?”

Hamish led the way out through the camp. “You’ll be leaving soon, right?”

“Yup,” Slone said. “Never really stay anywhere too long.”

“Sounds fun.”

“Sure ain’t for everyone, but I like it.”

Hamish ran his hand through the long grass that ran along the path as they walked. “I was talking to Duran. He really wants to travel, too.”

“Ah, yeah. Had a conversation with him about that myself. I’d take him with me if I could, but I can’t keep him balanced.”

“What if I went, too? I keep him balanced. You keep us safe. I talked to Kit, too. They were less enthusiastic, but if we can get them on board, they might be able to take us places even you haven’t been before.”

“Sounds fun. Might be good to have a mage and a human out and about meeting people, too. Lotta folks don’t really know what to think about all that, or don’t really know anything at all. You could be sloppy diplomats like me.”

“I do like getting sloppy.”

Slone grinned. “I reckon your diplomacy might end up looking a lil different from mine, but there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I guess now I go back to Kit and see if I can talk them into going with us?”

“Nah, let me deal with that. You talk to Duran.”

“Where is he, anyway?”

They’d reached the beach. Slone pointed out towards a point of illumination on the rocks. “Think being around so many people is too much for him.”

“Understandable. I guess I’ll go talk to him. Make sure you bring some food when you go to talk to Kit. It takes a lot of energy, so you need to feed Cookie.”

“I’ll head back up and grab some more on the way. Good luck.”

“Yeah, you too.”

As Slone headed back up the path, Hamish walked across the sand towards the rocks that led up from the beach and jutted out over the water.

It was a little disconcerting to be climbing up rocks that were wet and slippery in some places and sharp and pointy in others. He knew Duran had noticed him when there was suddenly a ball of light hovering above him, guiding his way.

“Thanks,” Hamish said when he made it to the spot where Duran was sitting, looking out over the water.

Duran gave him a nod and went back to staring out at the ocean as the waves beat against the rocks. The wind blew his hair around, but he didn’t seem to care.

“Can I sit?” Hamish asked.

“Imagine if I said no. You climbed all the way up here, but no. No sitting. My rock.” He shot Hamish the barest hint of a smile. “Yes, you may sit. I’m guessing finding me wasn’t an accident this time.”

“No,” Hamish said as he sat next to Duran. “I’ve been thinking about what we talked about earlier.”

Hamish had sat a respectful distance away, but Duran immediately moved closer. Not quite touching, but closer than would be normal or entirely comfortable for most people. Of course. He wanted the free energy.

“Which part?” Duran asked.

“Well, all of it, but mostly the stuff about travelling. It actually sounded kind of nice. I thought maybe you, me, Slone, maybe Cookie. Just… exploring. Just living.”

“You’d bring me?”

“Yeah, why not? You wanting to go is reason enough, but I’m sure you’ll be plenty useful. When you’re camping, having someone who can clean things and always make a light is extremely useful.”

Duran was watching Hamish now, an edge of vulnerability to his expression. “We can really just… go?”

“Who’s going to stop us? There might be people with things to say about what we should do instead, about what’s safer or more useful or more sensible, but… fuck it, you know? I’ve done plenty for other people these last couple of years, and your whole life has been about living to serve someone else. We deserve something just for us.”

“Thank you,” Duran said so quietly the wind almost stole the words away.

“Yeah. No problem.”