The Unicorn's Forest

"Not really," Beth freely admitted. It wasn't like she grew up with these names or anything. Or even was used to whatever naming system they used in this world. Although, she had to admit that even on Earth there were some names that she kid of felt like they'd merely made by just fitting sounds together more than anything else. Despite the fact that she was confident that there was likely cultural aspects to the names that made them sound fine to those who lived in those areas.

"So, how many canyons do you think that Tim has found while we've been gone for us to check?" Wes asked as their party started walking up another slope on their way out of the mountains.

"Will it be an 'us' when we get back?" Beth asked.

"What?!" Wes yelped, looking as startled as Beth ever remembered Wes getting. "What're you talking about?"

Beth just shook her head. She didn't feel like she should spell it out for him, as he was smart enough that he should be able to figure enough of it out on his own. Though, giving him a little bit of a start wouldn't hurt. She felt rather confident about that point.

"You remember how Hannah and I were selected by the marquis to be his daughter's bodyguards, right?"

"Uh, when did this happen?" Wes asked, making Beth wonder if he'd forgotten some of the key points of why they'd had to leave Hannah behind.

"Well, why'd we leave Hannah behind?" Beth asked in return. If he couldn't remember that much, then maybe she'd need to spell it out for him after all. Which was more of an inconvenience rather than a headache. Like so much had been on this trip.

"Because she'd had an assignment from the marquis, right? Though, I'm not sure why that'd mean you'd have to stay back when we returned."

Beth sighed. It seemed like Wes remembered enough for her to maybe not need to spell it out, but she had a feeling she was going to need to spend more time on it than she'd really like.

"When that 'assignment' was given, Hannah and I were the ones who were given it. So, since I came on this trip, that left Hannah alone to do that 'assignment.' Which means when we get back she'll likely want to switch out with me," Beth explained, hoping that Wes wouldn't need any further clarification on the subject. Otherwise she had a feeling she was going to be worn out when it came time for her to…

"What is it?" Wes asked when Beth stopped walking suddenly.

"I just remembered, we don't have a turn at watch tonight," Beth said, feeling a little surprised. She wasn't sure how she'd forgotten that point.

"Uh, actually, Ralph traded spots," Wes informed her. "Not sure the details, but he took Feon's spot just after midnight. So, he'll be on watch then."

"Do we really know when 'midnight' is here?" Beth asked, wondering if maybe they'd figured out something that she hadn't.

Wes merely shook his head. "Not really. His is just the second watch and if I remember correctly, on Earth the watches lasted about three hours each, or at least with the Roman empire, which would make the second watch at about midnight."

"Uh, if they lasted three hours, then if you don't consider daylight savings as a factor, wouldn't that make the second watch starting at about ten or eleven? I mean, considering when the sun goes down in the summer, it doesn't stay up until nine, so wouldn't that affect the watch?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't think the watches started when the sun went down," Wes replied, scratching his head. "And I don't think that the sun set at the same time for them as it did for us. What, with the mountains we have in Colorado and all that."

Beth merely shrugged. "Well, I mean, it's not like they had electrical lights to help them see when the sun went down. So, I'd have thought that it would have begun as soon as it started getting dark."

Wes took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, I'm not going to get into all that. I just find it easier to think of the second watch as midnight. It's a nice round number, so it works for me."

Beth was about to move on when she suddenly remembered something she'd heard from their history teacher. She couldn't remember if it was during class, if it was in relation to something she'd once asked him, or if it was from overhearing someone else asking a question.

"You know, I think they might have calculated the watches starting a six," Beth said. "I think Mr. Barker once mentioned something about that. That the first watch might have started at six at night and the last might have ended at six the next morning. Or at least with how they could tell time back then."

Wes glared at Beth. "Why do you have to get on me about that? Couldn't you just accept what I said rather than coming up with that?"

Beth smiled to herself. She knew that Wes more upset that he'd forgotten something like that rather than having been able to remember itself.

"So, would that mean Ralph would be on the third watch?" Beth asked, as innocently as she could. She knew that Wes might be more upset with himself than he was with her, but she also knew that he'd lash out at her if she needled him too much or if he felt she was really mocking him.

Wes held his glare on Beth for a minute before he sighed and looked away. "If you're right, then he'd be on at about nine."

Beth didn't really care about the exact time Ralph would be on watch. She just thought Wes would like to be more accurate than he'd been. Although, she couldn't help but wonder if it was just that they'd been walking along for so long that he'd forgotten some of the more simple things that he used to know or if there was something else that was affecting his memory. Not that she could think of an answer to solve it right away. Not if it was any of those possibilities. As if it was, then she suspected what he needed was some time to just rest and relax. Rather than continually moving every day like they were doing.

_

Jenn settled down in her bed of straw. She wasn't sure if she'd gotten everything set up, but she was at least happy that enough had been put into place that she could go out without worrying about things maybe falling apart while she was gone again. This time for an unspecified amount of time.

As she closed her eyes, she was hit with a thought that if she hadn't gotten her 'stand-ins' together to take care of things while she was gone, that maybe the settlement would have chosen a new leader by the time she got back this time.

She didn't think that it would be likely, but she knew that it would be much more likely than it would be for them to do that now that she had 'stand-in's in place. Although, she did wonder if maybe a part of her didn't want them to find someone else. If she really wanted to be the one that they looked to.

Much like Cherie did when there was a thunderstorm at night.

Or maybe she was just overthinking things. Especially since she felt so lost with what she needed to do and what was expected of her. As it wasn't like she could just say 'oops, let's try that again' if things like the food ran out or that something else went wrong.

While she trusted the people who had been taking charge while she was with the Lost that last time, she still wasn't so sure that they'd be able to handle an emergency. Maybe they would, but unless she saw that for herself, she wasn't sure she felt safe about it.

Then on the other hand, while she did care about others, she couldn't understand why she was so willing to get so involved here. With Cithis and Haln, it was clear that they needed someone who they could seek protection from, but she still couldn't understand why she had gotten so attached to them so quickly.

Yet despite all of that, she didn't see a reason to try and change anything or get anything reworked. While she might not understand why she had been so willing to let herself get pulled into this, she also didn't see a reason why she should just abandon them without a second thought.

As Jenn ruminated over things, she suddenly thought of her friends. She wondered if any of them might have some suggestions for her to work with. Though, she couldn't be sure if they'd be able to have a dream conference while she was on a separate world. She hadn't tried it before and had doubts that it would work. Yet, at the same time, she couldn't see a reason as to why she shouldn't try. As if it worked, then they'd be able to count on it, even if they all went to separate worlds for any particular reason.

Feeling a little better about the idea, Jenn let her head rest on her 'mattress' and closed her eyes while she pulled on her magic. She hadn't done this in a while, but at the same time, she was confident that she'd be able to get the dream conference started again.

She was pretty sure that it would be dark on the other world as she did this, though she couldn't be sure that any of her friends might be on watch at that time. Though, she didn't think that it would cause them to fall asleep just to join in on the conference. Not that she was certain of that.

Though, rather than pulling all of her friends in on it at the same time, she focused on getting them one at a time. If only so she could be sure that she wasn't overlooking anything or missing something, like when she'd first joined these things.

When she first started it, she closed her eyes when she started to feel the sensation of moving without moving herself. She couldn't help but wonder if she might try to pull her friends in while they were awake and how that might affect them. Like if it would make them fall asleep or if they just wouldn't appear. While she wanted to learn which it would be, she also didn't want to create problems for her friends, given how she couldn't know if any of them were standing watch or if they were in a dangerous place and needed to stay awake, or at least keep at least one person awake.

However, the only thing that felt off about this attempt as opposed to when she'd done this previously is that it took longer before she saw Beth appear before her. Though, what Beth was wearing came as a shock to Jenn. Though, Jenn wasn't sure why she felt so shocked about it.

"Charlie?" Beth asked as Jenn looked at the tunic and vest on Beth. It wasn't anything that really caught her eye, but it wasn't something she had ever thought to see Beth wearing.

"Yeah," Jenn replied, suddenly feeling rather sheepish. "I'm here."

Beth looked surprised herself, and Jenn could see the wheels turning in Beth's mind as she stared at her.

"Uh, I'm guessing you're pulling us together for a dream conference, right?" Beth asked after a minute.

Jenn nodded. "Yeah, I just thought I'd catch up with you guys," she replied, as she started thinking of Hannah next. "Uh, I mean now that I can use my magic again."

"Wait, why couldn't you use your magic?" Beth asked, looking rather alarmed, not that Jenn could blame her.

"I couldn't use it because I didn't want them to know I could," Jenn replied, as they started to 'move' again, causing Beth to jog over to her and put her hand on Jenn's shoulder.

"Were you a slave?" Beth asked, and somehow Jenn saw herself standing on the auction block with Cithis and Haln next to her. Not only that, but she saw it as if she was from a distance away.

"Uh, yeah, I was," Jenn said, not sure what else to say, but was saved from Beth saying more when Hannah appeared. For one thing, she wasn't sure how much she wanted to share with any of her friends about that at the moment.

"Why not try for everyone at once?" Beth asked as she saw Hannah appear wearing a casual dress with a sword at her hip attached to a sword belt.

"And what are you wearing?" she added after a moment.

"What?" Hannah asked, looking at her outfit. "You don't like the sword?"

Hannah looked like she nearly lost her balance and fell as they started to move again as Jenn shifted her focus to collect Amelia.

"Do you have to do that without warning?" Hannah complained as she walked over to Jenn and Beth. "It may feel weird, but it's rather unsettling when we start with that 'moving' thing if you don't at least give me a heads up on it."

"Sorry," Jenn said, unsure if she was doing that to speed things up or if she just hadn't actually taken how her friends might react to it into account. "I guess I've just been away from you guys too long."

"I'll say," Amelia said, making Jenn wonder if she was able to hear her statement before Amelia had even appeared as she spoke as she was appearing. As she appeared, she was wearing a dress that Jenn was more accustomed to seeing Amelia's mother wearing, rather then the more risqué outfits that Jenn knew Amelia liked. "Why'd you leave in the first place?"

"Uh, I have my reasons," Jenn answered, wondering if her friends would let her get away with not actually explaining her reasons about that.

"Well, now that Beth has rescued you, how long until you guys get back?" Amelia asked.

"Oh, yeah. You did head off to see if you could save her, didn't you?" Hannah asked, making Jenn feel like she was missing something. Something that felt like it was a significant topic.

"Uh, I wasn't able to purchase her," Beth said. "Nor have I seen her since she was sold."

"Wait, you were there?" Jenn asked, an explosion of emotions erupting inside her. She felt touched that they would do that, but also uncertainty, gratitude, and unease.

"Why? Weren't you, Wes, and Ralph collecting money to try and buy her at the auction?" Amelia asked.

"Uh, let's talk about that after everyone else is back, okay?" Beth asked, sounding like she had things that she might not want to talk about.

Which made Jenn wonder if she might find this topic rather interesting. Despite the fact that it involved when she was still a slave. Although, at the same time, she wasn't sure she really wanted to hear all the details. Especially if it was brought up how she was naked at the time. It might not have been her fault, but with how each of them seemed to be able to see into each others heads sometimes without trying, Jenn wasn't sure she wanted her other friends to see her that way.

"So, who's next?" Hannah asked, pulling Jenn back to the present. "We haven't moved since you got Amelia. So, who're you trying for next? Or were we the only ones you wanted to talk to?"

Jenn took a deep breath. She wasn't bothered by the question, but she was a little surprised that she had forgotten to continue on collecting her friends. It was almost like she'd lost herself in their talking and let everything else become forgotten. Despite what she had already intended to do. Or if the fact that the others had learned that she had been a slave and tried to save her, despite being unsuccessful at it.

"Sorry," Jenn said, focusing on Tim next. "Let's hold off on talking much before we get everyone then, okay? Then I won't have to worry about getting caught up with you guys getting caught up."

"You know, she might have a point there," Hannah remarked. "She is the one that's the most out of the loop of everything that's happened."

Jenn was half afraid that Hannah would continue on, but when Tim appeared, wearing a stereo-typical 'explorers' outfit, and she shifted her focus to Wes, and Hannah didn't say anything more, Jenn felt a little relieved. She knew that they'd have limited time for this conference, but she also wanted to try and get everything talked about that they could.

Or at least that she was willing to tell them. Primarily since she wasn't sure she should let them know about the people she'd essentially become the leader of, nor where she currently was. Even if she was confident that Beth wouldn't try to find her, she wasn't sure if she wouldn't feel hurt if Beth didn't want to try to find her, but at the same time she didn't want Beth to want to do that.

With that complex web of emotions, Jenn only realized she'd stopped paying attention to the conversation when Wes arrived. Not so much because she suddenly started paying attention to it, but rather because when Wes appeared he was wearing a hooded dress, similar to the tunic and leggings Beth wore in that it didn't have any special markings on it. Also, it wasn't so much about what Wes was wearing, but rather what she said that made her aware of how the conversation topic had changed.

"Why're you wearing that?" Jenn blurted. "What happened to your usual costumes or sweaters?"

"Charlie, weren't you listening?" Tim asked. "We've started wearing those so we can blend in better. Though, it does take some getting used to, but it's like how Beth's gotten used to wearing that tunic and leggings. We're getting used to the clothing here."