It was not something she had yet gotten used to.  It wasn’t that the Landian was rough or startling when he gently rocked her awake, in fact he seemed to take steps to make the experience as calm as possible, but Keto started at the sight of those pale pupil-less eyes looking at her.  Especially when it was in the dark.

Quartes shuffled back a step, staying crouched even as his knee gave a pop, giving Keto space to sit up.  She yawned, wiped at her eyes and then looked back to the Landian.  It was dark out, though she noted for a moment that the stars were faded from the sky.

“I have something I want to show you,” he gave as way of an answer.  Keto was loathed to leave her bedroll so early, especially without a new fire made, but also felt a surge of excitement.  In the past he’d waken her when she’d overslept, or when he was leaving to investigate something and wanted to make sure she was ok.  Waking her to show her something was certainly new.  Keto quickly slipped into her coat and hovered over her pack for a moment.

“We won’t be going far,” Quartes offered.  Keto nodded, leaving her pack save for her harp, and then began to pull on her boots.  Quartes was already dressed, his cloak hanging down from her shoulders but she noted that in one hand he held a bundle.

Hastily pulling on her boots, Keto sprung to her feet and followed the Landian as he turned and led them out of the camp.  He was taking them up a hill they had camped at the foot of, and Keto regretted her haste with her boots as the loose tops immediately chafed against her shin.

Still, she remained focused on Quartes ahead of her, doing her best to follow the long strides of his boot falls.  They had exited the woods at the base of the hill and passed into tall grass when she stumbled.  Deftly, he turned and caught her.

“Sorry,” Keto thanked him as she righted herself, still holding onto his hand.

“It’s ok,” he released her hand and straightened, eyes looking to to her untied boots.  “We’re not in a rush, I should’ve let you get fully ready.”

“Thanks,” she offered, groggily looking around for a moment a place to sit to finish with her boots.  There was none and she hesitated to sit in the dew covered grass.  “Umm,” she had started when the Landian bent down and began tying her boots, taking a moment to tuck the top of her pant legs into them.  “You know you don’t have to do that,” she eventually managed.  Quartes offered a shrug in response and Keto stood in silence as he quickly finished.

“Ready?” he asked as he straightened, Keto nodded and they continued up the hill.  Perhaps it was the incline but she swore his strides had shortened.  As they continued Keto’s mind slowly fought to come awake.  While the sky ahead of them over the hill was dark, she realized that over her shoulder were the first sign of of dawn.  The dark forest at the foot of the hill was just barely visible but any further beyond still belonged to the night.  A few minutes later, part way up the hill now they came to a small cleft where the ground plateaued.  The grass was just as tall here as the hillside but the Landian stepped to the center and drew out his sword.  A few swings made shortened a patch and revealed two wooden stumps and a flat stone.

Keto noticed that the stone had blackened marks on it.

“Have a seat, this will take a moment,” Quartes offered.  Keto mutely obeyed, sitting down on one of the stumps.  The wind was blowing gently on the hill and she regretted not taking a moment to bring a blanket, holding the wrapped bundle of her harp for what protection it offered.  She watched as Quartes busied himself setting the bundle he had carried onto the other stump and untying it.  The blanket was wrapped around a pot from which the Landian produced a pair of cups, some tinder and twigs and a small satchel.  He made a pile of the tinder and twigs, producing his flint and knife to start them burning.  As he finished he looked up to Keto.  She gave him a smile and he returned it before frowning at some sight.  Quickly he turned and returned around the growing fire to offer her the blanket he had carried the bundle in.  Keto gratefully took it and settled it over herself as the Landian returned to tending to his task.

Keto looked back around, saw the sky had further brightened, hints of the fields beyond the forest they had camped in beginning to come into view.  Her smile fully blossomed as a realization dawned on her.

“You brought me up here to watch a sunrise?”  She looked back to Quartes.  The Landian fed some of the grasses he had cut to grow the fire, the heat enough now to even consume the dew soaked strands.  He placed the pot on top of the fire and produced a waterskin from his belt to fill it.

“This is,” he paused a moment in thought, “my favorite spot in the Provinces to watch a sunrise.”

“And why is that?” Keto quipped back, her growing warmth and Quartes’ own excitement, in his muted way, helping to bring her fully awake.

“That would be spoiling the moment,” Quartes answered as he set the lid on the pot and settled onto his own stump.  “I found this spot after trailing a Hagerc through the area.”  The Landian turned and pointed along the ridge of the hill.  “I fought it there and was too tired to head all the way back down and so made camp on this flat and got my reward in the morning.”

“Smiting a dragonkin upon a mountaintop before being blessed with a gift from the sky itself,” Keto offered, the Landian shaking his head.  A smile on her lips, Keto turned back again to the lightening sky, and the growing cascade of colors forming on the horizon.  After a while Quartes stood, pulled off the lid of the pot.  The water was steaming now and he tipped some of the contents of the satchel into the water.  The leaves spun in hidden currents as their color began to leach into the water.  Keto sighed at the smell of the tea, at the warmth.  As the Landian tended to the tea she raised her hands from the blanket and begun to uncover her harp.  She took her time, checking the tune of the strings, looking up at the sun continued its rise and the lands before them came into color and light.  She could make out a few more hillsides now, and perhaps the gentle bend of a river.

As she worked, Quartes lifted his log and set it beside hers.  He then returned, both mugs filled with tea and set the them on the stump.  Removing and folding his cloak and he sat on it.  Cradling the harp in one arm she reached down to grab amug.  The smell of the tea, stronger now, greeted her and she savored its warmth as she took a sip.

“I’m guessing you didn’t bring the stumps and stone here on that first time.”

“No,” Quartes answered, lowering his own tea.  “That was the next time.  Table, seat, and stove.”

“How many times have you been back?”  The sky had brighten enough that Keto could indeed make out the bend of a river.

“Many, would you like an exact count?”

Keto gave a short laugh as an answer as she put down her tea and idly plucked at her harp, taking it through a simple tune.  Quartes sighed contently.  “You what, just make your way here anytime you’re nearby?”  The Landian didn’t respond for a moment and Keto turned away from the sunrise to look at him.  He was facing the sky but had that focused look she had learned meant he was working through something, finding the right answer.  Keto returned to the view before her and gave him his time.

“I come when I want to be happy for a bit,” he answered after a time and Keto smiled.  “Didn’t need the happiness this time,” he continued after a moment, “just thought you might enjoy it.”

The sun had finally crested the horizon.  She paused her playing to drink more of the tea.  The river bent widely across the valley below, it’s blue beginning to pick up glints of the sun and the colors of the sunrise.  Darker patches marked other forests along its banks or along the hills.  Two sets of cascading hills marked the horizon but a valley separated them.  A separation exactly where the sun was rising.

“It is a beautiful spot,” Keto noted as she put her tea down and returned to playing.  Quartes sighed once more.

“It’s the closest it’s been to perfect,” the Landian answered.