Butterflies in Winter

::Chapter 30:: Divisions

Organised chaos was the perfect description of the sight which met the group as they reached the border.

It seemed to buzz with life. The place itself seemed to be alive as it moved and breathed with people.

Whilst Kit had expected it to be busy, this was something else entirely. He had imagined the to be maybe a hundred, perhaps two hundred people here to protect this part of the border. It seemed as though the entire population of the earth had turned up.

Barely anything could be seen except for the heads of thousands of creatures.

Little else aside from the sounds of chatter and conversation. Millions of scents bombarded his every sense, he could barely think straight as his more animalistic instincts told him to explore.

Under any other circumstances, he would have given into his instincts. To run from the group and search through every part of this new and exciting place.

Yet the situation was infinitely more serious and dangerous then that, lives were at stake. Kit had keep his head.

Even if it did feel like his head was going to fall off at any moment from the sheer exhaustion of having to keep holding it up. Deprived of sleep and the opportunity to heal, Kit didn't know how much longer he'd be able to stay on his paws.

Romany, apparently noticing the nerves running through the wolf beside her. Rested a hand against his neck, taking a handful of his fur between her fingers. Like a child with a comfort blanket.

Kit tilted his head back, rubbing is head against her hand for a split second. Then he allowed the shift to take over his form. Soon he stood on two legs instead of three and was looking around. His head calming a little now the scents were more diluted to his human nose.

He looked to Sybil, thankful to find her looking more certain than he felt. She paused, her eyes drawing across the clearing until she seemed to catch sight of something and began to make her way towards it.

As it turned out, it wasn't something she caught sight of, rather a someone. A large man, maybe twice Kit's own height, if not three times towered above them. His breath caught in his throat as he watched he man.

"I take it no one told you giants exist?" Romany's words made him jump, he had forgotten her presence as he was left in awe of the creature in front of them. "That, is Peter." She said with a gesture of her hand, indicating grandeur.

Peter was not the name Kit was expecting to hear. Goliath seemed a lot more fitting, but he wasn't going to argue with the name choice. Considering the giant looked quite capable of snapping Kit clean in half.

At one point, Kit had thought of the beasts as terrifying. Yet, this giant was something else entirely.

"Do you want to know the best bit?" Josiah added, a smirk marking his grey expression. "He's considered short compared to the rest of his kind."

Kit had to swallow the knot forming in his throat, for fear he was going to choke on it.

"No way," Kit felt like a child asking questions of his parents. He didn't notice the chuckle of the two beside him. Too busy watching the centaur and the giant. His eyes the size of the full moon, he stood in silence.

Were Kit in wolf form, his tail would have slipped between his legs when the giant turned his head to stare down at them. "Did your mother never tell you it was rude to stare?" it called, an eyebrow raised.

Even though the giant's voice wasn't humourless, nor could it be considered mean. It scared the hell out of Kit, and instantly his head darted left. Never intending to move from this position for the rest of his life.

However, he had looked at the giant long enough to notice one key piece of information. The man only had one eye.

Already Kit was beginning to like this colossal man more and more.

"Just about all of the reinforcements have arrived, save for a few groups. However, the guards will be able to keep an eye out for them." Peter's voice carried without need for the wind, it seemed to boom. "For now, get some rest. Tomorrow, we will put the plan into action. Your group leader's should know their assigned buildings. Sleep well, and get as much rest as you can."

Once again, the world descended into chaos. As creatures folded together and went in what seemed to be a million different directions. Kit turned to look at Sybil, who gestured for them to follow her as she lead them away.

The log cabins seemed a lifetime away, here everything was metal and cold. Kit didn't think that this place could ever be considered a home.

But it was warm, safe and would provide shelter for the night. It would do.

On the inside, they were greeted with a great metallic kitchen. Kit paused, unable to remember the last time he had cooked properly. He didn't need to look in the fridge to know that it was fully packed, he could smell that from here

"Who wants to make dinner? Because if one of you doesn't soon, I will eat one of you," grunted Romany, her stomach rumbling as though to agree with what had been said.

Despite her attempts at injecting some humour into the atmosphere, it was beginning to feel a lot like their last dinner. No one as much as chuckled at the words of the sniper, rather they shifted a little uncomfortably.

These people were soldiers, not chefs.

Josiah spoke up, with some caution as though doubting his own ability. "I can give it a go, don't expect the most amazing meal of your life. But I wont poison you," the goblin explained in a low tone of voice. "Probably, anyway."

He set to work as quickly as his hands would let him. Josiah worked in silence, with surprising speed as he darted left and right, collecting ingredients and thinking to himself.

Soon enough, food was ready. Josiah would gain no points for presentation, but it smelled amazing and Kit had to hold himself back from devouring it in one bite.

At last, the group were all seated and the food was divided out. Unceremoniously, they tore into it.

Kit didn't know if it was due to how hungry he was, or if Josiah was full of surprising talents. Yet dinner tasted surprisingly good. It was over far quicker than he wanted it to be, but he felt stuffed to the bone.

"Pass us a napkin will you?" He asked to no one in particular, not needing a mirror to guess that he had managed to get a fair amount of the sauce down his chin.

Callum threw it to him. It thudded to the ground behind Kit, and he chuckled a little. Lifting an eyebrow as he reached down awkwardly with his arm. Reaching over himself to grab it and clean himself with it.

"Nice throw," Kit admitted. Not annoyed that the vampire had seemed to forget a key part of Kit's anatomy. "You need better aim though," he said, patting his mouth. He had cleaned it, but needed to hide his chuckle.

Had it been possible, the vampire would have flushed red. Kit felt that his inability to do so at least let him save some face.

The rest of the evening past quickly, filled with laughter and chatter. If it was going to be one of their last evenings, they were going to do what they could to make it a good one. However, soon their weariness began to catch up with them, and they all made their way to their bedrooms. To get as much sleep as possible. Before the true war began the next day.