Shara bit down and used her teeth to rip off a piece of dried meat from the strip that was her dinner. Taeri and Hafi sat near her, chewing on their own jerky.
"This is a pitiful last meal," she complained.
"Well, if by some miracle this isn't our last meal, we'll need supplies," Hafi replied.
Taeri just looked at him, eyebrow arched.
Shara smiled at Taeri then turned to look at Hafi, "If this isn't where we die, then we've somehow managed to win and will be going home. We don't need all our supplies for that."
Hafi just grunted in response, putting his meat between his front teeth and pulling off a chunk with a lot of effort. He tossed the rest of it into the fire and stood, walking towards the provisioners.
Taeri laughed, "He used to love jerky. But, livin' off this unflavored crap has taken that out of him. It's nothin' like his mother used to make."
Shara smiled broadly as Hafi waved them over. The three of them clustered by the carts as the cooks started to get to work, bringing out pots and what little fresh meat they had, along with some vegetables and mushrooms. Her mouth salivated as she watched them dice and spice then split it all into the four large pots that were half her height.
As the smell of cooking meat filled the air, a crowd began to gather around them.
Hafi turned to face the troops, "Might as well have some good stew, tonight! It'll still take a while to cook. Stay in your seats and don't run the poor cooks over! We'll call when it's ready!"
They reluctantly turned away, shuffling back to their own fires while tossing longing looks back at the food. Shara caught one face that looked familiar.
It couldn't be! He was unregistered.
She turned to Hafi, ignoring her rumbling stomach, "Hafi, did we get recruits from the Underground?"
Hafi nodded absently, staring as boiling water was added to the soup pots, "A few. Arrested for something or other, and they were past conscription age, so they got sent here rather than to prison. Your mother was debating sending everyone left with nonviolent offenses, but I told her I didn't want any more chaos—I am regretting that decision now."
It was Jon. Had to be him. His unique angular features were easy to recognize, even in the dim firelight of the camp.
"I think I know one of them," She said to Hafi.
"Oh? How?"
"Sangria nights."
"I see."
"He was a good kid, I don't know what he would have done to get arrested."
"If he is from the most recent group, it was either stealing food or some retaliation about his Uncle's death. He was convinced Ayna was involved somehow."
"His Uncle Bobi? Bobi died?!"
"Oh, uh, yeah. That sounds right. A robbery or something?"
Shara looked back towards the troops. They were still standing, keeping an eye out for the first sign that food would be served soon. She couldn't see Jon. How the hell did Bobi die? He could have taken on any thieves that dared to try to steal from him.
Hafi sighed contentedly, bringing Shara back to the food. The cooks were whipping in flour to thicken the stew. It smelled amazing. The youngest of the group of cooks wandered over to them, "Another ten minutes."
Shara practically licked her lips before the boy wandered back to the fires. "Is it too late to ask them to add dumplings?"
"The flour for thickening was probably more than we could spare, already."
"I don't care if we starve after this, we should add some dumplings." Taeri chimed in. "I do love some dumplings."
Hafi rolled his eyes, waving down the cooks. Two came over. "Add some dumplings. Just a few, for these greedy fuckers." He motioned at Shara and Taeri, who offered giant smiles, "And a few for yourselves. Eat before you serve. You'll be serving for a while."
Sitting down with Taeri by the fire near the new small command tent they had set up in the center of camp, Shara waited for Hafi to join them as she scooped the glorious food into her mouth. Taeri sat silently across from her, devouring his food just as fast. Shara watched the army line up for food. Hafi waited until they were all gathered in the line and started to walk down the line from the provisions serving table. He spoke, his voice projected loud enough to echo off the rocks, "Soldiers, people of the Underground, people from Topside, we are Prin! And today, we are family! Don't think I have not noticed the fear and silence in you all—I carry the same fear. The end of Prin may come, the Xenai may overrun the city, tearing apart everything and every person we love. But, we stand to prevent that! Some of you will die, but no matter what hulking monstrosities, source and waves of Xenai they throw at us, we stand to prevent them from getting to Prin."
He paused and looked at the men, as did Shara. His speech was just reminding them of death they saw as inevitable.
Goddamnit, Hafi.
She shoved her bowl down to the ground beside her, sparing only a glance to make sure none spilled out as she stood. Her hand worked its way into her skirt's pocket, grasping her tinder. She kept her hand closed halfway over it as she used source to rub the small pieces of wood together. Striding toward Hafi, whose back was to her down the line, she spoke before he could continue in his failing speech, "We may be outnumbered, but we have something the Xenai do not. We have family and love and purpose."
The line turned to listen to her. Opening her hand as the heat grew, she moved the small flame into the air above her hand, "We are alight with the flame of our purpose!"
Hearing only a few reluctant claps, she pulled larger pieces of wood to her from the piles by the fires bringing them to her small flame as she broke them apart with source so the flame consumed them easily. A bonfire burned above her head. She manipulated it to move from above her to float down next to the line of men.
"We fight so that our kind can continue to create and grow! Tonight and until this next battle ends, we will hold our ground. Our fire will not end here!"
A notable yell rose from the men, supported by more clapping. Shara took care not to let the fire fade, instead sending it over to the campfire closest to the end of the line. Her fire melded into it. The men turned to each other and chatter rose from the line.
She turned and walked back to her bowl of stew as Hafi got in line behind the other soldiers.
She kept checking the men that walked by, looking for Jon. She finally saw him, at the edge of a crowd that was squeezing through some tents. She waved frantically. He saw her, looking hesitant, he said something to the others with him and came to her, standing with his bowl.
"Hey! Hafi told me we got some Underground conscriptions. You got here while I was gone." She patted the ground next to her, "Sit!"
He obeyed, eyeing Taeri. "Yeah, I guess its a benefit of the Underground that we weren't sent here sooner. But, we got sent just in time to die."
"Who else?"
"Dolores is here. Somewhere. She hasn't talked to me since we got caught. I convinced her to help expose the truth about Uncle Bobi; she knew him pretty well. She hasn't forgiven me that we ended up here."
"Shit."
Hafi walked up, his small bowl of soup in hand, and he sat next to Taeri, "Who is this?"
"Hafi, Jon." She introduced, waving between them, "Jon, Hafi."
Hafi arched an eyebrow, "Sangria boy?"
"It's not my legal name, but that pretty much summarizes my existence. Until recently, that is." Jon replied, his lighthearted tone souring.
"Life is shit, Sangria. Let's just do our best to keep experiencing the shit-tastic world around us."
Jon chuckled a bit, taking another bite of his stew and relaxing the best he could on the hard ground.
James sauntered up to them, "Good evening! Are we strategizing or talking shit?"
"Strategizin' about shit to talk when you finally showed up." Taeri responded.
"Good, good." He sat on the other side of Shara from Jon, crossing his legs, "I am ready."
"From what Shara says, you're as fast as you are ready. Not a good combo." Hafi chimed in.
James turned a nice dark red, "Well, you know, last night living and all—have to get in as much as I can as quickly as I can."
Shara felt the heat in her own cheeks, "It's not like I could really say that... But, it's fair for a girl to be concerned."
Jon chimed in, "That's why Underground boys are best—we have a lot of time to burn and not much to do down there, just sangria and stamina building."
James looked a bit surprised and glanced over at him, "I don't think we've met."
Jon reached a hand across Shara, "Jon."
"James," was the curt reply. He gave Jon's extended hand a quick shake.
Shara caught Taeri's eye and grimaced at the awkward exchange. The old man smiled and gave her a subtle shrug. She felt a gentle wave of understanding float into her from his direction.
She wanted to go find Dolores, but there was no way to ask Jon to go with her now, unless she asked James too. Instead, she turned to strategy and looked over at Hafi, "Hafi, there was a girl that was sent with Jon—Dolores. She's here somewhere. She isn't trained—neither is Jon. But, I think I could use them for support near my tower. I am going to need a bunch of wood chopped up as fine as possible and a constant supply—even if it means ripping apart carts and things. It would make sense for any new recruits that aren't trained to help with it. I need at least two, four would be nice."
"Uhhh—alright. What do you have planned?"
Shara just grinned over at him, "Something beautiful."