Snippet #1770974

Journie stepped onto the small dock and tied his tiny boat to one of the posts. His pack was small, but seemed heavy as he hefted it onto his shoulder. Another boat was already pushed onto the shore. He would have almost called it a canoe, long and slender, but it was too flat at the bottom and would only have fit one person comfortably. The tribal designs painted on its side seemed vaguely familiar, but it wasn't until the tall figure stepped out of the trees, staff in hand, that Journie knew why.

"Zaurillis," he said.

The old mage nodded and waited for him to walk forward before looking inland. "The others haven't arrived yet, but I sense some disturbance from across the island."

"I felt that," Journie looked as well, as if he expected to see the small blonde appear as well. "He's here, isn't he?"

"He is."

Journie looked at the taller man whose pale eyes were changing colors rapidly as he looked through the trees. Seeing with different lenses, he'd called it, and Journie waited for the colors to settle before venturing the obvious question. "Do we interfere?"

"We do not. He has a plan." Zaurillis stopped staring at the trees and turned to look directly at Journie. "I hope."

The younger mage chuckled. "I know what you mean. But it's him. He'll get it worked out." There was a smile on Journie's face; peaceful, a fondness bred from familiarity and long friendship. "He always does."

"We should go choose our rooms," Zaurillis said, but didn't move from the spot.

"You don't want to?" Journie's eyebrow rose.

"This is a bad idea," he said, then slid his eyes to Journie. "A powderkeg. All we need is a match. One insignificant remark about religion, theory or moral codes and this will go up in flames."

"I agree. Let's not be the cause of that, shall we?" Journie ignored the frown aimed at him and put his arm around the other man's back, pulling him toward the house. "I'm glad we got the rocky end of the island. Our little cat's gonna have to deal with leeches once summer really hits."

Just like that, their conversation turned to menial things and they walked casually under the late spring sky. It was early afternoon, the others would be trickling in after a while and there was still much to be done.