They had made it past the creek when he heard it - the furious trumpet that was a little too erratic to be a one-off sound. He could sense his horse hearing it too, her hooves faltering midway between one step and another. 

“Pull back,” he said immediately, putting a hand out to signal the other two. It wasn’t common for Jevadhi to have episodes of berserk elephants with the amount of understanding their leader had of the animals. For this to happen it would be -

“Hunters,” Imay said from beside him and Val looked closer to see two men dragging one away from the rapidly approaching elephant. They had the spears he had seen before, now useless in the face of the danger they had dragged upon themselves. 

“You can’t fight that,” Saakhi said, bringing her stallion to a halt on Val’s right and he turned to see her staring at the unravelling scene with a calculating look, “We should run.”

He agreed, it was the safe choice. There were certain situations that were best left unattended until they were manageable. However, he knew what lay in the direction that the elephant was going and Val couldn’t let it destroy the place without doing something. The students at Ambaramanila were capable and trained but they were still kids to Val. 

“We need to create a perimeter and steer it away,” he said instead, gripping his reins tighter but Saakhi made a disagreeing noise. 

“Rushing into danger isn’t always heroic, sometimes it’s just plain foolish,” she said and Val was about to explain why he couldn’t avoid this when he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. Turning to his right, he saw the figure and felt the breath leave his lungs in a rush. 

“Who the hell is that?” Imay hissed as the new entrant barrelled past them, feet not touching the ground for more than a hit, black dhoti pants and a simple maroon tie-up shirt being the only visible things at her speed. 

As they watched, she slowed down but kept marching towards the elephant that was now clearly visible outside the shelter of the trees, his eyes flapping with frustrated anger. Val could recognise the animal now, the familiar bell anklet on its front right foot telling him who exactly this was. 

How did he get here from Swatan, he wondered with a new alertness but remained calm as the woman now approaching the animal kept her posture confident but relaxed. 

“She’s gonna get killed,” Imay began but Val raised a palm to gesture him to pipe down. They couldn’t divert attention to themselves. 

Her hands raised, the woman showed her lack of weapons but also began speaking to the elephant, her tone steel wrapped in cotton and a song-like rhythm to her words. It was a memory of old tongue, the chiding lullaby that he had heard from only two people and he was watching one of them staring down the beast she had helped raise. There were questions and reminders intermingled in notes of stern admonishments with soft requests; she never took her eyes off the gaze trained on her by the animal and it was like watching an older sister calming her panicked sibling who had just gotten into a temperamental fit. 

In a way, Val thought it was amusing to watch the past reverse, but he could see the elephant attempt to disobey while also try to focus on her words. 

Why are you away from home , she was asking in that same lyrical tempo and the elephant seemed to be calming, You’re scaring people, aren’t you, my dear? Will you not let us take you back to safety, where there is no harm? Go away from here now, please, don’t hurt yourself like this.

It sounded like a plea but Val knew her well enough to know the underlying anger that would come out later, at those who had dared to take the animal away from Swatan. 

Right when he thought the situation was under control, a good time having passed and the storm looked like it had passed, he saw it happen before he could react. One of the hunters had come back and Val watched in horror as he blew from his reeds, the darts flying towards the elephant. 

“Saanjh!” Val yelled but she had caught the movement, as late as him, and the elephant yelled in pain, anger surging all over again. 

The hunter was about to blow again and Val tugged on his reins but he saw another horse rush from beside him before he could begin. Back straight and bow drawn, Saakhi didn’t hesitate before shooting at the man, hitting his reed with her arrow. Saanjh didn’t turn to see who shot the arrow but began moving around the animal now, watching his erratic movement as she dodged his swaying bulk. As if matters couldn’t get worse, the hunter was furious with Saakhi’s action and brought out his hidden weighted net, throwing it over the elephant with a triumphant noise. 

In a case of gloating too soon, he was thrown against the closest rock with one turn of the elephant’s fury. 

“Catch,” Saakhi called out and Saanjh turned to see her, catching the thrown sword with precision as she ducked and rolled when the animal tried to charge in its fumbling. Saakhi jumped off her horse and moved forward on foot, her sword gone but still prepared to attack if need came. The weights of the nets were hard to get under the animal’s moving feet and Saakhi watched her back as Saanjh began talking again, her voice raised to get it across. It was difficult this time, the frustration doubled with all the added chaos,  but both the women were standing their ground even though their stances were strikingly different. Saakhi had her arrow poised but lowered and a foot back, half her attention on the elephant while the other on the couple of hunters who were approaching stealthily from the elephant’s back. Saanjh had the sword pressed to the ground, back straight and eyes raised to meet the elephant’s beady ones, her grip relaxed on the hilt of the weapon in a way that suggested she wasn’t going to attack. 

It was a battle of wills and dominance but the elephant stopped moving with time, allowing Saanjh to move forward with her sword with a restrained annoyance that was born from fear. Saakhi moved in time, giving the other woman enough space but also ready to strike if something went amiss. Saanjh got closer till she could get her hands on the net and used the sword to cut through them as she continued her words. 

When Saakhi followed closer, the elephant stiffened and Saanjh turned her head in the archer’s direction, giving a subtle shake before waiting till Saakhi dropped her weapon. Saakhi seemed dubious and Val watched her project another step only to pause, eyeing Saanjh for a minute before tossing her bow and arrow a few feet away. 

“How did she do that?” Imay whispered with a sense of awe in his voice. 

Once she had cut through the net, Saanjh pulled at it and helped the elephant shake it off calmly. When she had finally freed it, she reached out and waited till the elephant allowed her to touch him, stroking his trunk as her voice lowered. Saakhi was quiet behind her but the elephant paid no attention to her as he listened to whatever Saanjh was now whispering to him, letting her press her forehead against his trunk for a long minute. 

Val finally moved, seeing that the situation was under control and took his horse towards them, jumping off when he was close enough, cataloguing the situation from the closer view. 

“Are you okay?” he asked and heard Imay jump off his own horse too, scrambling to get to Saakhi. 

Saanjh nodded against the elephant’s trunk before leaning away, looking over her shoulder at him with a small hint of a smile. 

“Of all the things you could bring back, you brought trouble, huh?” she asked and he huffed in amusement, shaking his head as he looked over to see if Saakhi was fine too. 

“Hey!” they heard someone shout and Val turned to see one of the hunters, a young man in mustard and green clothes, stalking towards them with an angered expression, “How dare you take our prey! Get off her right now!”

“Her?” Val asked with a raised brow and the man’s eyes flew to the elephant before he corrected himself. 

“Whatever, it’s our beast,” he demanded, “We did all the hard work and you get to throw it back into the wild? Who do you think you are?”

“You did the hard work?” Imay asked with a sardonic tone, “You couldn’t even warn people of a berserk elephant and were just watching. And where do you get off saying this is your beast?”

“We’re hunters and this is our prey. We caught it fair and square,” the man scoffed and glared at Saanjh, who was still facing the elephant without care, “Just because you said some weird things doesn’t make it yours. Move!”

“This is an animal from Swatan,” Val interjected without rising to the bait, “Hunting is prohibited there.”

“Yeah, well it isn’t when the animal wandered away from your enclosures, is it?” the hunter sneered, taking a step forward and glaring at Saakhi when she stepped to the side, effectively blocking Saanjh from his view, “It’s not your call to tell us what’s allowed here!”

“No, it’s mine,” a voice interfered and all of them turned back to see the source of the command. 

Ammashak Puthriya was a short woman, her burnt-orange blouse projecting shoulders that were used to carry her infamous axe, and the white length of cloth wrapped around her torso doing nothing to hinder her confident steps. In her trademark two-piece saree with its red border and the traditional necklaces forming an armour to the chest, she looked like a controlled force to be reckoned with. The Matamahim or leader of the Jevadhi population, she had no time for trifles and no care for false pretence. 

As she marched towards them with her faithful senior disciples behind her, she didn’t look at those guarding the elephant and instead stared the young hunter down with the stare of a natural huntress. 

“Chief Ammashak,” the hunter looked unsettled for a faltering minute before his chin came up in false bravado, “We were just passing through Jevadhi on our way to Torni. I’m -”

“I know who you are,” Ammashak said with a smooth cut of knife-like precision, “Your father has retired, I see? He didn’t tell me his son was taking over. But it makes sense, the last time I saw him he was hanging upside down from one of our trees. Not quite a conversation stirrer.”

Val saw Saakhi chuckle and shook his head subtly at Imay with his own smile smothered. It was well-known that the people of Jevadhi were independent from the codes that the more ‘refined’ lands followed and hanging a man by his ankles wasn’t far off from a punishment they’d choose. 

The hunter looked indignant but there wasn’t many who dared to be impudent to the leader who could do the same again. He turned an ugly shade of embarrassed anger but spoke again. 

“We were taking this elephant as a present to the Crown Princess of Torni,” he argued, “It would be an insult to not take it after we’ve promised her.”

Val stilled and resisted turning to see the reaction to the statement but then Chief Ammashak answered without pause. 

“You can tell her that Matamahim wishes she finds better use of her time,” the leader replied, “And that we don’t have the inclination to give anybody’s freedom away in the future as well.”

Without waiting to hear his reply, she turned to look at the guests Val had brought, eyes skimming over them before landing on Val himself. 

“Come,” she ordered, “There aren’t hours to waste in a day. You both can rest with us too.”

Val nodded politely, guiding Imay to follow as they turned to leave. He saw Saanjh not looking in the retreating leader’s direction and exhaled, letting her be for the moment. 

As they walked a few steps, he heard a grunt and turned to see the rejected hunter throw a stone at the elephant in frustration. In a beat, Saakhi turned to look at Saanjh and shot out her hand. With one swift move, she grabbed the stick holding Saanjh’s bun in place and pulled it out, turning around to throw it at the stone with unerring accuracy. The disciple guards left Chief Ammashak’s side to rush and grab the hunter even as he began retreating. 

Val looked over from there to see Saanjh and saw her finally turn to stare at Saakhi, her braid having come down from its bun. Saakhi noticed her staring and glanced at her hair before offering a companionable shrug. 

“It works,” she offered as an explanation and Val knew that she had reacted immediately, even though her arrows and bow were still fallen a few feet away. 

Saanjh eyed Saakhi without saying a word before walking towards her. 

“Okay, if you’re offended then - wait,” Saakhi raised her hands as she began explaining but trailed off when Saanjh stepped around her to walk towards the dropped quiver and bow. Bending, she picked them up and took a single arrow from the quiver. 

With one deft snap, she broke it in half and Val heard Imay’s choked laugh but watched as Saanjh calmly gathered her casual plait back into a bun before shoving one half of the arrow into it. The emerald feathered fletching stuck out from her bun and Saanjh walked back to Saakhi. 

“It works,” she quipped before handing the weapon back to the stunned archer and turning to walk back through the path she had come from. 

Val watched Saakhi mouth a few words to herself till Imay went to drag her back and bit back a laugh as they followed Chief Ammashak to Ambaramanila.