By the time morning fully settled over the forest, the rocky outcrop had already lost most of the stillness it carried through the night.
Not because anything had attacked or because the forest had suddenly become loud either.
But because Liam had started moving.
Inside the hollow chamber hidden within the outcrop, the small fire he had used through the night had already been reduced to a low bed of dying embers. Thin lines of smoke curled upward from the pit before slipping toward the narrow crevice entrance, disappearing into the pale morning light outside.
Liam crouched near the coldest corner of the chamber, silently sorting through the supplies he had managed to gather yesterday. The makeshift water container rested against the stone wall, sealed tightly enough to prevent spills. Beside it were the remaining two out of the three smoked fishes and the deer meat wrapped in broad leaves and tied with vines.
