[Arry]

Wulfham


He was nearly to the camp when laughter echoed from somewhere to his left and then faded. Brand did not recognize it, and curious he changed his course to find the source.

It was dark beneath the trees despite the fact that it was autumn and their limbs for the most part were bare. Still, their thick limbs and thinner branches wove in and out amongst each other, allowing only a spattering of moonlight here and there. At the inner edges of the trees, was a small glade, its grasses brown now as the promise of winter was coming nearer.

The moon shone bright in the glade. And there was Vaenosa’s horse, heading toward someone lying on the ground. From his vantage point, he could see it was Vaenosa. Not wishing to startle her, he stepped from beneath the branchy shadows and called softly to her.

‘Vaenosa, may I speak with you a moment?’ He did not wait for her reply, fearing her good mood might turn sour at the sight of him. Brand sat down on a fallen tree, a little ways away so as not to loom over her or appear threatening, and began to speak.

He took a deep breath and blew it out loudly, as his tongue tried to put words to his jumbled thoughts. He made a few false starts which trailed off into silences . . . ‘Geez! You know I’m really not all that good at talking to females,’ he confessed. ‘If only you were one of my ewes, this whole thing would go a lot smoother.’

You idiot! he chided himself silently. Now you’ve gone and wished her a sheep!

‘Right . . . then!’ he began once again. ‘Let me just try to speak plainly.’ He cleared his throat nervously. ‘We’ve gotten off on the wrong foot somehow. And I’ll be the first to claim my share of the blame for it. I haven’t been at my best when I’ve tried to talk to you, have I. It makes me very uncomfortable, this tension I feel when we try to have some sort of interaction. And I really hate the unpleasant feeling that I need always be on my guard.’ He reached up to rub the back of his neck then thought better of it and placed his hands one on each knee. ‘I’d like us to start over if we could.’

He cleared his throat again, this time gaining a little confidence. ‘Now I’ve done a little thinking on this, for my part. I’ll try to curb my plain-spoke tongue and try to respond to you in a less . . . well, hostile manner. I won’t crowd you too close . . . and please, make it known when this dumb shepherd tries to herd you in a way you just don’t like.’

Brand bit back the words of sympathy which had nearly spilled from his lips. He thought that perhaps Incana had spoken in confidence about her friend, and he didn’t want any bad blood between the two women.

She’ll tell me herself, or not, he cautioned himself, if she chooses and in her own time. And some secrets he knew were simply best left unspoken. There were some he held near, himself that would never see the light of day . . .

‘Anyways, that’s just what I’ve been thinking . . . ‘bout you and me, at least. Hope I haven’t talked your ear off and even more I hope you’ve made some kind of sense out of my bumbling thoughts and tangled words.’