Emilios was excited for the sleep he knew would come once they made camp. He was one who always considered the first day of any hunt a bust, save for whatever they were able to snare for dinner that evening. A bunch of yawning and tired man didn’t exactly mean quiet when it came to sneaking up on prey. But he enjoyed the lazy pace as they searched out a good site for the camp. The weather had turned from the night before, no longer crisp, no longer wet. The morning dew was quickly burned off by the sun, and the boys kept the conversation light as they made their way from the nearest houses to solitude.

As they came to an opening, it was decided between them that it would do, with enough space to sleep, yet plenty of coverage to be protected from the wildlife that might be close by. With Achilleas question came quick approval from the other two. Emilios dismounted, letting the reigns of his horse fall to the side. While the beast had been antsy the night before, he was well trained and would always stay where he was put, unless spooked by something. His boots crunched against the leaves on the ground. “So I’ll just stand here and look pretty then.” His grin was lazy, hands locking behind his head as if he was going to fall asleep standing up.

Of course, he knew better.

No, they left the hard work to him. “Fine, I’ll set the camp.” He didn’t mind the preparation. While it was far more labor-intensive than gather wood or watering the horses, he liked the order that was needed. As his brother wandered off to pick the dry wood from the forest floor, Emilios pulled the tack off his horse, finding a dry log to rest it on, leaving just the lead. Stephanos could take him that way and he would still have access to the tools required.

A small spade was pulled from his saddle bag. The work in setting the fire pit involved finding solid ground, so the damp leaves were quickly brushed out of the way. Large boulders were gathered, placed in a circle to provide a further barrier for the wood. Then, he dug a hole, making sure it would be large enough for a warming fire, but not so big that it would take a day or two to burn out. By the time Achilleas returned with the wood, the pit was dug out, wet leaves still close by to provide the further break in the fire. As the fire burned, they would clear the drying leaves out for safety.

His flint was pulled from his bag, handing it to his brother so he could get a fire started while Emilios set his bedroll, piling leaves into a layer to provide both comfort and a layer of protection from the cold, wet Earth that would chill all of them by the end of the night.