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The sky was a mass of dark and grey feathered clouds. A strong wind rolled rapidly over the crude greens and browns of the Sietter Hills. Tashka and Vadya rode over the brow of a hill, the wind whipping their cloaks against their faces and tearing at Tashka's blue cap and Vadya's brown hair. In the dull metallic light, they saw the weather-stained grey and fawn tents of Sixth H'las set out on a flat area of ground near a stream.
"Should we move the camp more that way?" Tashka said immediately. "That stream might flood."
Vadya, who had been smiling fondly at the sight of the familiar old tents, studied the terrain more carefully and nodded an agreement.
Behind them, Tenth Sietter were moving to make camp at a sufficient distance from Sixth H'las. There was still uneasiness between the H'las army and the two Sietter troops who had so far declared formally that they would side with Clair, Arianna and Tashka rather than Lord Pava. Vadya, Tashka and Dar had all been agreed that for Tenth Sietter and Sixth H'las to make camp together would lead to trouble.
There were arms waving from among the tents and the troop's banner-bearer was running to set up Vadya's banner. As they galloped into the camp, Petra was there to take Vadya's reins, Flava to take Tashka's. Tashka swung off Jewel and took Flava's arm in a warm firm shake then went on to take Hanya's arm. Hanya clasped her arm tightly and said: "W-what troop was that behind you?"
Tashka grinned into his face. "That is Tenth Sietter, you butterfly-wits," she said affectionately. "Can you not see Vaie's banner? I should have thought you would recognise his insignia by now!"
Hanya stared up the hillside to where the soldiers were wheeling into place with Dar's red and gold banner unfurling in the wind above them. He took a quick step in the direction of the Sietter troop then looked back at Tashka.
Tashka laughed. "Wait a bit," she said. "Let Dar arrange the dispositions of his troop. He will come to look for you, he told me so only six times while we were riding here!"
Hanya looked away up the stream, smiling and wriggling his shoulders and blushing. Tashka gave the puzzled Flava a wink and made a kissing pout, to indicate that
yes it was a love affair
. Flava laughed, handing Jewel's reins back to Tashka and going to give his fellow Lieutenant an affectionate buffet on the shoulder.
"We've enough to do ourselves," he said to Hanya, "with two Units each to move higher up the hillside away from the stream. I told Captain Araine how it would be as soon as the Captain arrived! but he would have it that if we camped nearer the stream it would be easier to water the horses."
"Lazy pig," Tashka scoffed, starting to walk towards Second Quarter. "Mada got away alright then?"
"There were a few tears," Flava said with a smile, "and he tried to say his father would be glad to support Lord Esha's cause but we put it to him that they were your expressed orders that he should go back to Soomara and asked if he wanted to face you in a courtmartial. We promised he can come back when the war is over."
Tashka smiled mechanically, there was a flicker in her mind that said,
if it goes our way
. They had taken the Maier Pass, they were holding papers which demonstrated that van Sietter had conspired with van Iarve to assassinate his daughter by marriage - just cause for Clair to go to war with him, but the King was under the influence of these two Privy Councillors. Clair had shaken his head when they asked, did this not mean the King might command van Sietter to withdraw his declaration of war. He said it should mean other regions, Iarve in particular, would be warned off taking van Sietter's side but that it was unlikely to give them more than that. Meanwhile, there was the problem of the chronic shortage of expensive arms for the H'las Generals' strategic staff to try to resolve.
As she led Jewel through the encampment, Tashka smiled at her troopers, pressed a hand here, gave a mock punch there. She enquired after the wellbeing of this or that trooper whom she gathered had suffered small injuries, she remembered in embarrassingly precise detail whose equipment ought to have had what done to it, telling them of it with an intent look that also said:
And I will be round to check on it shortly
.
She spent a busy couple of hours organising the removal of her Quarter's tents further up the hill. Once they were well underway with the re-setting of the tents and picket lines of horses and she had ensured that her own horses were being well cared for and that her kit was stowed in her tent ready to unpack, she strode off through the camp to find Vadya and get her orders from him. As she went, she met up with Fiotr Araine who said he would walk to Vadya's tent with her. She was glad of the chance to talk about tactics for how they might ensure the defence of the Maier Pass but not as pleased as she would have been six months earlier. She had been hoping for a surreptitious kiss with her husband.
She went into his tent first and he looked up from where he was crouched over his box-desk and smiled widely and warmly at her. He was still in civilian clothes: tight-fitting hose and a warm jumper. He had carelessly kicked off his boots which were lying to the side, his big feet were comfortably clad just in his socks. She was already in her felt winter uniform, her highly polished black thigh-length army boots. The H'las colours had always suited her, the severity of the black emphasising her powerful tall lean physique, the blue details picking up the blue of her eyes. She smiled down at him and he grinned back, his cock giving an excited hopeful quiver in the tight hose. Then Fiotr came in and he said: "Oh! Er, yes, your orders. Yes, well, I am glad you two are come together. Very glad. We must talk about replacing your Lieutenants: el Darien, el Vaie and el Farin, who have all had to go back to their own regions."
Batren was unpacking Vadya's clothes-chest and hanging his clothes on his clothes-rail at the back of the tent. Vadya's boots were already arranged below the rail and his mail on its stand. Batren came forward now and said to Tashka: "Have you unpacked your gear?"
