Swiftcurrent Creek you never thought we'd go to war, after all the things we saw

Arlette stood before him, protecting him in the only way she knew how, and he felt a small smirk pull at the corner of his lips—fully seeing why his best friend was enthralled with the little beauty. She was genuine—a trait so many others lacked these days, it seemed.

“I just need to know what to do and I’ll do it,” he informed her. Letting her bear the burden alone or have the garden die simply because he didn’t want to be reminded of his whirlwind romance seemed a foolish thing—

—a selfish thing.

He looked down to the fish he had brought momentarily—idly thinking back to the boy who had offered tot ry to build a fish trap. “Maybe we could use some fresh blood around here,” he murmured to her. They had never actively had to recruit—their borders had always managed to find a lone wolf here or there.