Philippe leaned in close and whispered into Jeanne Pierre's ear, "It is clear, to me, tomorrow is when they will start." Jeanne Pierre looked doubtful and brushed Philippe's hand away in annoyance, his friend was too pessimistic. "War doesn't owe itself to the position of moons, Philippe. Rather, it owes itself to the whimsical fancies of men." Philippe was about to reply back, but a movement in the bush halted him. A twig snapped, less than ten meters away and both heard it. "be quiet" Philippe nudged. Jeanne Pierre knew better than to object, their lives depended on it.
Alban crouched behind the tree, and kept still. He couldn't be sure who the two men were and wanted a closer look but feared he'd given his position away. The enemy camp was just over that hill the two men were facing, their shapes almost silhouetted against the new moon. He chanced a look and saw the men appearing to glance away from him, but they had turned around and he realised he could be spotted. Taking a quick glance at his surroundings, he thought it best to crouch low and slowly back away to the nearby bush, which was shrouded in shadows.
"Stay alert Philippe, friend or foe, we do not know as yet, but keep your gun at the ready."
"Yes, old friend..." then as an after thought "stay close behind me," and with that, he stepped in front of Jeanne Pierre. "Actually Philippe, the gun would do us no good, we're less than fifty yards from the enemy camp. If you fire the gun, you won't have time to reload before the enemy is upon us"
"What do I do then?" shrugged Philippe, a cautious yet fearless soul. "Trust in God",
trust in God... these words provided a comfort at first but the feeling of being watched was also quite present. "I'm trying but someone is watching us." he whispered back.
"and God, is watching us all" returned Jeanne Pierre. Philippe smiled, and holstered his gun. "Ok, stay here Jean Pierre, I'm going to the tree" and with that, he moved forward towards the tree where they both heard the twig snap. It was probably nothing, he thought, and starting praying aloud, loud enough for anyone within ear shot to hear him. "Our Father, who art in heaven, halo'd be thy name, til Kingdom come..." another twig snapped.
"...thy will be done, Oh Lord, it's only you Philippe," Albon stood up and stepped out of the dark shadows, "I thought it was enemy scouts" he cajoled.
"Albon?" asked Philippe, "yes - it's me." answered Albon. Feeling a breath of relief, Philippe turned to find Jean Pierre exactly as he had left him, almost ten meters away, the wind was picking up. "IT'S ONLY ALBON, JEANNE PIERRE" he shouted... then a horn was blown from the enemy camp and rustling could be heard. "Oh darnit, you alerted the enemy you idiot, RUNNNN"