After what seemed like ages of walking, the trio took a rest at the river bank. They decided they would follow the river and make a beeline for the castle when they got close enough, completely ignoring the training that obviously continued without them. Lina's strength was not returning to her and Katie was less than willing to carry both her and muscular Frank back to the castle. The younger girl, reaching her limit, took a rest on one of the exposed buttress roots by the tree line while Katie washed her face in the stream.
"Why do our parents let you wear tights, but not me?" the girl yelled, frustrated.
"Oh my, you've been holding that in, haven't you?" Frank piped in, "My guess would be that your sister is already claimed by her rightful mate and you aren't. I don't know why she's taking longer to get marked though," the last part the man mumbled more to himself so that Katie would not hear him. Unfortunately for him, the girl's sharp hearing wouldn't let that slip by.
