Page 134 of Phoenix's Fire

Iwasn't hungry, but Zasen made me eat anyway. As I tried to force back the dry bread and juicy meat it was wrapped around, Rymar slipped behind me, rubbing my shoulder on his way to get a drink. Surprisingly, he was wearing beige leather pants and a lightweight shirt of nearly the same color. Around his waist was a belt, but the crossbow hanging from it surprised me.

"You're armed?" I asked.

"I'll be leading the city defenses tonight," he admitted. "Believe it or not, I've picked up a thing or two living with these guys."

"Yeah, me too," I said jokingly.

Which was when Kanik made his way into the already crowded kitchen and made a point of looking me over. "Good, you're wearing the brown."

I looked down at my clothes, confused. "All my leathers are brown," I pointed out.

"The others are darker," Kanik explained. "Too close to black."

"Like the Moles," Zasen said from his spot in the corner.

"And we don't want you to get caught in the crossfire," Rymar said. "If some Dragon gets scared, they might not look well enough before releasing an arrow. The brown makes that less likely."

I nodded, showing I understood. How often had I been tempted to release an arrow on impulse? Never mind the number of times I'd had to walk through the forest to retrieve one afterwards. In the spur of the moment, the mind wanted to overreact. Zasen had done his best to remind me to slow down and think first, but it was the hardest thing about hunting - and our food wasn't trying to shoot back!

But standing in a room with these three, my solid-colored clothing stood out. Even Rymar had a pattern, but I was just brown. Brown and orin, if I considered my skin, although I wasn't sure that term still applied to me. Brown and white?That didn't sound right, but still. I wasn't camouflaged like the guys, and out there, under the trees? I was worried it might become a problem.

"I wish I had skin like a Dragon," I mumbled.

"Huh?" Kanik asked.

"You blend in!" I huffed. "Zasen shouldn't, but he still does."

"I don't," Rymar reminded me.

"But stripes and spots are harder to see than just brown," I said before swallowing the last bite of my meal.

"Brown and blonde also blend," Zasen said before looking over at Kanik. "Did you eat?"

Kanik nodded. "About an hour ago. I'm good."

Zasen pushed himself off the wall he was leaning against. "Then let's go."

There was some shuffling as we all gathered up our weapons. Kanik strung my bow for me. Zasen passed me three quivers of yellow-fletched arrows. He had another of blue for himself. My krael were dangling from my belt, and my hair was tied back. That meant I was as ready as I was going to get.

The guys had even more weapons. Zasen wore leather that strapped across his chest. Various knives were sheathed in it, turning his body into an arsenal. Kanik had his weapons on his waist and legs. Unlike Rymar, these two only wore loincloths, and while that exposed more of their skin, it would also make them much, much harder to see.

There was a lot of bumping and shuffling as we got the last of our things and piled out of the house. Belts were checked and double-checked. Weapons were counted. Thankfully, I wasn't the only one patting myself down to make sure I had everything.

"Okay," Zasen said once we were on the street and heading deeper into town. "Jeera is leaving Meri with Lessa. Brielle is going to be with the city emergency services. The hospitals have protection, and we have medical gear." He blew out a breath. "What am I forgetting?"

"The arrows are all poisoned, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, handled that last night so the venom could dry on them."

"Then sounds like it's just the pep talk," Rymar said with a little smirk. "The militia is going to need one, and they'll expect you to give it, Zasen, not me."

"I can do that," he agreed, but he still looked tense.

When we arrived at the gathering spot, I realized why. There werea lotof people. My eyes jumped from group to group, trying to count how many of us were here, but I couldn't. Men drifted from one group to the next. Women gathered and then separated.

"I didn't know there would be so many," I breathed.

Kanik grabbed my shoulders and turned me a bit, directing me to follow after Zasen. "The militia has gotten a lot of new recruits. Most of them are volunteers, but after last time?"

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