East

"What do you do, goddess?"

Warmth bloomed within me at his tone. "The usual. Getting lost."

"It is good I found you."

I turned to face him and tried to act natural.

Not that there was any reason to act unnatural. Except the fact my heart began to race when he drew near. I looked up at Batu without being able to identify his features in the darkness. Heat radiated off him, and I stood stupidly for a moment, trying to recall if I should move closer or hold my ground if I didn't suddenly feel so awkward around him. What did I normally do?

"This way, goddess," he said and started off in a direction I hadn't been going.

Somewhat relieved, I trailed him until we entered the familiar tent that was ours. "Where did you go today?" I asked and shook off the rain before moving closer to the fire.

"The clans are moving south. I was greeting old friends and family," he replied.

"Moving south … oh, for winter. How often do the clans move?"

"Every three to four full moons."

"Are we moving?" I stripped off my over tunic, got tangled in it and finally managed to pull it off, accompanied by one of my other tunics. I had three layers on, though, so missing one more didn't really matter to me.

When I tossed them to the side, I found Batu gazing at me, eyes laughing. He had managed to strip his over tunic with none of the difficulty I experienced with the heavy material.

"What?" I demanded.

He approached me and pinched the material of the second layer I wore. "This goes against your skin. This" he tugged up the undershirt I wore "goes on second."

"Oh." Ruffled by his nearness, I laughed. "So I was wearing my underwear all day long for everyone to see. That's just … ugh! Batu!" I groaned, my emotions skittering and evolving too fast to track. "I'll never fit in! They're going to think I'm crazy."

"They already do, ugly one."

I looked up at him, startled, and my breath caught at his strong features and nearness. "They do?"

"Unique. Mad." He shrugged. "Did you think you were not these things?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I thought I could try to fit in."

"If you fit in, I would not find you so beautiful."

My face warmed despite my goal of not letting him know I was affected by him. "You like unique madwomen who wear their underwear for everyone to see. It would explain a few things about you." I started away, embarrassed but too … fluttery to give it much thought. In truth, I knew I did stand out. If I were a more emotional person like my delicate friend Kendra, I'd probably develop a severe insecurity complex. As it was, I was generally resigned to being a freak of nature here, but one everyone seemed to love. I could live with that.