The Light of Day

"What was the blood on your cloak?" Alithea asked that morning as she fed Alamea. "Did you and Drindl catch something?"

Fallon looked down at the right side of his cloak. He'd missed it. "A small dinjou scurrying around. I thought I'd killed it then it got up and ran away. Felt bad that it was suffering but I couldn't find it."

"Dinjou blood has an orange tint to it." Alithea said as she let the babe feed from her finger.

He shrugged. "Maybe it wasn't a dinjou."

She turned to look at him. "You know, one of the many things I love about you? Your courage, your caring, your fairness." He smiled at that. "But you really believe you're a good liar." She turned back to Alamea. Fallon burbled a few broken words and she turned to face him again. "You lick your upper lip right before you lie." He looked surprised. "I'm a doctor. Most of my patients lie to me. You warriors are the worst."

His shoulders slumped, then he told her about the encounter. "I'm sure there are more of them. That's why there are so few animals here in the south. They must be killing them for food."

"Why wouldn't you tell us? This is something that affects all of us, not just you." Alamea hiccupped. "You snarfulumpala, you ate too fast," she said to the babe, then placed her lips on the young one's mouth and sucked softly to reset the child's breathing.

"If something were to happen to us, you wouldn't know so you couldn't tell," Fallon said.

Alithea turned to him. "Torture, interrogation? That's what you thought? Even more important that we should all know."

"Where else can we go?" Fallon asked. "Some of our people may be living in the highlands or south of there. We can't live in the high mountains to the east. Not with young ones. I was trying to spare you."

"A burden shared lightens despair," she reminded him as she gathered Alamea into her cupped palms and turned to Fallon. "Here, hold your daughter. I'll get Erthen. Let's eat."