“And?” I chuckled. “What’s her name?”
I didn’t think I’d ever heard Eira use the word ‘sweet’ until recently. She was usually a battle-hardened badass, but being around these dragons was bringing out the softer side in her, and I liked it.
“Svass.” Eira smiled, and the little yellow dragon cooed and nodded happily.
“Svass.” I grinned. “Or ‘sweet’ in the old language.”
“Right,” the redhead agreed.
“I think it’s very fitting,” Asta chimed in.
“Yes, me, too.” Kas smiled and reached out to stroke the little yellow dragon on Eira’s shoulder.
“Very fitting indeed,” I said, and I reached out to pet her as well.
“Alright, alright,” Eira said, and she playfully swatted mine and Kas’ hands away. “You’re going to get my hair all bloody.”
“She has eyeball juice on her fingers, but she’s worried about a little blood in her already red hair,” Kas laughed and jokingly rolled her eyes.
“That’s fine,” I chuckled and ignored Eira’s playful glares. “Anyway, we should grab what we can off these bandits and then head to our camp spot. It’s going to be dark in a few hours.”
The girls and I quickly looked over the bandits we’d just taken out and gathered up all the supplies we could find. They didn’t have much on them but a few silver and copper coins and their weapons, though we did find a small stash of supplies in the woods where they’d come from. It wasn’t much, just some elven bread, smoked meat, and jugs of water, but still, we took it all and loaded it into the cart.
After that was done, we moved the bodies of the men back behind the trees so they weren’t out in the open and hopped back in the cart.
“Well, that was exciting,” Eira said with a half-smile as we reached the field we’d been in the day before. “There’s never a dull moment with you all, is there?”
“I don’t think so,” I chuckled.
“I bet you’re glad you’re here with us rather than back in Asgard fighting all the time,” Asta said with a wide smile.
“She’s just fighting with us, too,” Kas pointed out with a laugh.
“Hm.” I pursed my lips. “You have been with us for a while. I’m sure you’ve been missed. Once we set up camp, I can have Blar make a portal so you can get home.”
“Oh, yes, we appreciate your help.” Kas nodded. “But we know you have other duties as well.”
“You’re a respected warband leader,” I added. “We don’t want to take you away from your duties.”
“Fuck my duties.” Eira smiled and reached up to pet the little yellow dragon still nestled in her hair. “You all won’t get rid of me that easily.”
“We’re not trying to get rid of you,” Kas chuckled.
“Good,” the redhead said. “Because I’m staying. I want to be here and be part of this. It’s far more important than any other mission I’ve ever been on. I probably should let the council know I’m staying, though, that way they can replace me for a while.”
“Oh, good!” Asta clapped and bounced up and down on her seat. “I’m glad you’re staying.”
“Me, too,” Eira agreed. “I wouldn’t miss being a part of this.”
I smiled at the redhead. Of course, I wanted her to stay, but I’d never ask that from her. She’d worked her way up to warband leader, and I didn’t want to be the reason why she left those duties. Still, I was glad she’d decided to stay. Not only did I like having her around, but she was a great asset as far as fighting went.
The warband leader had more experience than Asta and Kas, and though the two of them were learning quickly, Eira had hundreds of hours of battle experience to draw from.
We reached the field with the tall yellow grass, and the horse-like creatures navigated through it easily until we reached our campsite from the night before. There was a break in the grass near a wooded area where we’d set up camp, and I pulled the cart over to the trees and tugged on the reins to stop the animals.
“Asta and I can set up camp while you two run to the council,” Kas offered as we all climbed out of the cart.
“That’s probably a good idea.” I nodded. “No reason for all of us to go. Thank you.”
“Of course,” the strawberry-blonde said.
“We can make dinner, too,” Asta added with a wide smile.
“Don’t worry,” Kas laughed. “I’ll look up a spell so it tastes good.”
The two girls were terrible cooks, and this wouldn’t be the first time Kas looked up a spell to try and improve her cooking. It would kill two birds with one stone, though, so I didn’t mind eating cooking that had a little extra magic in it.
Blar’s paws hit my leg, and I looked down to see him stretched out and looking up at me with round blue eyes. He cocked his head to the side and blinked twice.
“I know,” I chuckled. “You’re hungry.”
“Why don’t you grab some of that smoked meat the bandits had,” Kas suggested. “It should tide him over for a little while at least.”
“Good idea,” I told her. “We shouldn’t be gone too long.”
I gathered up some meat from the cart and gave Blar a little piece. The sweet blue dragon gobbled it up within seconds and then looked to me for more.
“Wait your turn,” I told him, and I broke off pieces of meat for Inger and Uffe and a smaller piece for the little yellow dragon.
I held the food out so Svass could sniff it, and
