Sleep didn't come easily for Aike. Or at all. They were prone to fits of sleeplessness more often than not as a rule, of course, but tonight they knew their mood was having an effect. They scowled up at the tipi's ceiling, working the day over and over again in their heads. What more did Atsida want? The removal of the eastern patrols had come with its fair share of grumbling from Cortla's Councilmembers. The creation of the new mountain forts had gained more approval once it was shown to be a regular travel point for invaders, but to close them entirely?
It was impossible. Even if the very idea didn't set Aike on edge, proposing such a thing would be disasterous. There was only so far their name could carry them, after all, and to add something that felt like a death sentence to their people? Impossible.
The most frustrating part of it all was that for all the pretty words between them, it was repeatedly made clear that Talu didn't even consider their efforts worthwhile. 'You must also bend,' indeed. 'Talu has taken the biggest step,' indeed. Aike could feel their entire frame heating up, the agitation building until the tipi felt almost cloying with its coziness. All they wanted was to get up and march about in the cold as was their custom on bad nights, but that, too, was impossible. For all Aike knew, it'd be pointed at as them trying to attack the Taluvans.
In a land where it is practice to hide your face, words will be hidden, too.
Aike let out a sigh, rubbed their face, and listened to the stirring of the other Trapdoors in the tipi. Listened to their breathing, to the soft shuffle of fabric as Sitkal rolled over onto his left side as he always did. Listened to the footsteps on the frost outside as their watch changed places, to the chill of the air and the ground.
...A map. Aike needed a map.
They sat up suddenly, and it was a mark of how often this sort of thing occurred that none of the Trapdoors gathered stirred in the slightest. Even those on watch knew what it sounded like when sleeplessness and agitation took hold of Aike, knew the sounds of late-night scratching on parchment and other bits of work. What they didn't know the sound of, however, was that of the impact of one tiny body against another, and the surprised squawk it brought about.
For a moment, Aike was stunned by what happened. They had only just sat up when it felt like they'd gotten hit with a full patrol pack, and they grabbed onto the offending weight on instinct to pull it off of themself. However, the "pack" didn't seem to like that much, and it squirmed and growled to where for another moment, Aike suspected a wild animal had gotten in. By the time Rakal pulled fire into her hand to light the tipi, Aike was standing and holding out a small toddler at arm's length, looking caught somewhere between incredulous and surprised.
"++Who the hell is that?++" Rakal asked, and she nudged Sitkal hard with her foot. He groaned and grumbled as he sat up, blinking into the semi-dark at the Governor and the small child.
"++Who had a baby?++" He asked, tiredly, only to earn another hard nudge from Rakal's foot. The physical impact shook the last of the sleepiness cobwebs from him, it seemed, and then all of the Trapdoors were on their feet.
Aike's lips were pressed into a thin line again. As if the day could not get any worse, now there was a small Taluvan child in their tent. They could hear the accusations of theft and kidnapping and attempted murder now.
"Where did you come from?" Aike asked, again wishing they had even a scrap of knowledge of the Taluvan dialect.
