Author's note: Theis is just an excerpt from my novel, so if you don't recognize the characters, that's alright. I'm just looking for feedback on my writing style.

The first rays of sun always seemed to fall in Arkai’s face, no matter where he slept. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning as the cool morning air ruffled his hair. In the beds next to him, Tinsha, Seoras, and Chiadu still slept, so, after grabbing his soft doeskin boots and pulling them on, he tip-toed across the room and slid out the balcony door, easing it shut behind him.
A light, mist-like rain was falling over the camp that morning, and the fresh scent of water filled the air. Feeling pleasantly relaxed for once, Arkai curled up in one of the chairs, eyelids heavy with sleep.
“Arkai!” whispered an intent voice from directly above him. Arkai jumped and fell out of the chair, heart pounding painfully against his ribs. “Calm down, you dolt; it’s just me.” Vice dropped gracefully onto the balcony from the branch above, and Arkai grinned in relief.
“Damn near gave me stop-heart, you jerk!” he laughed, punching the black-haired scout playfully on the shoulder. “How’s it going back home?”
Vice frowned, and swatted Arkai’s hand away. “Be quiet, would you?” he murmured. “I don’t need the whole town hearing this.”
Arkai was fully awake now. “You have news?” he asked, sitting next to Vice. “Can you tell us anything about the war to the South?”
“Only a little, and I can’t stay long,” Vice whispered quickly. “I came here to attend the peace talks. The Earthsong Elders want to extinguish the flames of another world war before the embers even have a chance to smolder, but Mairon still has not sent its delegates.”
“Anyone from Azuretei?” Arkai asked. “They’re usually rather peaceful.”
“Not this one.” Vice looked as if he’d swallowed a sour berry. “His name is Yahto, and he’s as hot-headed as Fiekra.”
Arkai winced. “That’s pretty bad.”
“Even worse for the negotiations. Our delegate is Aksaja, and he’s no better than Yahto. He’s a professional mischief-maker.”
“Why don’t our country’s Alphas go?” Arkai lowered his voice, as if suspicious of an eavesdropper.
“The Clans are at war, Arkai. You know that. The Alphas are training the troops to fight against Gold Sun. Which brings me to my point.” He gestured for Arkai to move closer. “The No-Man’s Land.”
“What?” gasped Arkai, a shiver crawling up his spine. He’d heard tales of the No-Man’s Land—who hadn’t? But it was mostly a story told by parents to scare their kids straight when they misbehaved. Children who steal get sent away with gypsies to the No-Man’s Land.
“You heard me. The Azuretei have been catching black magic interference on the winds.”
“They’re sprites, Vice!” exclaimed Arkai in exasperation. “They’ve been crying ‘black magic’ for a hundred years, and nothing’s turned up.”
Vice made a soft tsking noise under his breath. “Not that you’ve been informed of,” he snapped. “You have only just been recognized by the Clans as a full-fledged warrior, and you still should not be hearing such classified information.”
“Then, why—?”
Arkai was interrupted before he could finish his question. “Another time, Arkai. There are more important issues at hand.” Arkai nodded reluctantly, as Vice pulled out a small chip of quartz. With a quickly muttered incantation, it immediately began to glow, then projected a 3D map into the air between them. “Every territory is building up its armies. The Azuretei border each one—except the No-Man’s Land, obviously—so they’ve been able to estimate the size of each army from the amount of energies emitted.” He pointed to the country in the far East. “Setsurao has the largest army by far. Their forces are twice the size of ours, but not even a tenth can use their power as efficiently as we do. They’d be obliterated in a heartbeat if they fought us—or even Azuretei, for that matter.” Arkai nodded as the statistics played themselves out in a series of charts and bar graphs. Vice pointed to Kamirolaz. “Our forces would be two-thirds the size of Setsurao’s if we could unite the Red Moon and Seven Fangs Clans. Twilight is on our side, and obviously Red Moon is, but if we can’t reach some sort of arrangement with Seven Fangs, they just may side with Mairon. And Gods know that’s the last thing we need.”
Someone was stirring in the room, but Arkai couldn’t see who. At best, it could be Chiadu, and at worst, Seoras. “Hurry up,” he whispered.
Vice snatched up the crystal and shoved it in his pocket. “Mairon’s army is slightly smaller than ours, but the Azuretei have reason to believe that they’ve allied themselves with Gold Sun in the No-Man’s Land, where the sprites are blind.”
Arkai felt suddenly nauseous. “What does that mean for us?” he choked.
Vice pulled an envelope from his coat pocket. “I don’t know, but things are really beginning to fall apart. Whatever’s happening, it isn’t good.” With an air of resignation, Vice handed the letter to Arkai. “No getting around it, then,” he muttered to himself. “I need you to give this to Hazel. She needs to read it.” The envelope was made of the heavy homemade paper the Elders used, and was sealed shut with blood-red wax and the tree-and-shadow insignia of the Shadow Clan.
“What is it?” Arkai asked suspiciously, head tilted slightly downwards, but gold eyes still fixed on Vice.
“A summons. Hazel has been named Alpha in Jay’s place.”
“Jay...” mused Arkai. “You mean, while he’s at war, she’s in charge?”
“No,” Vice replied sadly. “In Jay’s place altogether. He was found dead two miles from the wall. He was with the Amber Waters Scouts, but he went missing in the middle of the night. When they woke up, all they found was his sword and a pool of bl—are you alright?”
Arkai didn’t dare blink, for fear the tears flooding the rims of his eyes would fall. Instead, he stared intently at the dusty floor, praying he could regain control before Vice saw him cry. “I’m fine,” he said, in what he meant to be a casual, offhand tone. Unfortunately, his voice shook.
“Arkai?” called a voice from the bedroom.
“I must be going,” whispered Vice, hopping into the tree beside the balcony. “Moon’s grace.” There was a gust of wind, and he was gone.
Arkai fell to his knees as the balcony door opened behind him. “Who was that?” asked Tinsha, peering over the wooden rail. A soft, snuffling moan was all the reply he got. “Arkai? Oh no, Arkai, what is it?” Tinsha knelt next to the younger warrior, and with a guttural cry, Arkai let loose the tide. Next thing Tinsha knew, he was stuck against the wall with Arkai sobbing into his shirt.
“It’s... it’s Jay,” he cried, tears streaming unchecked from his eyes. “Jay’s dead!”
“What!” Tinsha grabbed Arkai by the shoulders and held him at arm’s length. Tears and snot dripped from the boy’s face—in short, he was a wreck. “Who told you this?”
“V-Vice,” blubbered Arkai. “He c-came... news about G-Gold Sun… J-Jay, he...” At this point, Arkai had dissolved back into a pile of sobs. “Why is everyone dying?” he wailed.
“They’re not all...” began Tinsha, but Arkai continued without hearing him.
“We almost lost Hazel y-yesterday, Tain was murdered by one of the few people Jay trusted, Talin died two weeks after I met him... and now Jay’s...” Tinsha felt the familiar icy fist clench in his chest. These were old tears Arkai was shedding. Not just for Jay, but from the barely-healed wound Talin’s death had left him with.
With this sudden realization, sympathy overcame his mild disgust at Arkai’s snot problem, and he pulled the boy into a comforting hug. “It’s okay, Arkai. It’ll be okay. Calm down.”
After awhile, however, it became clear that Arkai was not going to calm down. His shoulders shook harder and his breath came in ragged gasps as he squeezed Tinsha’ ribs. ‘The dumb kid’s going to hyperventilate,’ thought Tinsha in mild annoyance. “Arkai, really, you need to calm down,” he said softly, as Arkai took a large, hiccupping breath. For a moment, it seemed as if he would calm down, but then the tears welled up in his bloodshot eyes.
Before Arkai could start wailing again, Tinsha wrenched his arm back and smacked Arkai smartly across the face. “Ow!” yowled Arkai, clenching his right cheek. “What was that for?”
“You were going to hyperventilate,” replied Tinsha. “Best you let it out now, though, because there will be no room to cry in the future.” He stood up slowly, Arkai’s weight half on him. “Our losses have only begun, Arkai.”
A strange emptiness seemed to fill the air, until Arkai finally spoke. “I’ll kill them,” he whispered hoarsely. “Every one of them. I’ll annihilate them, even if it’s only revenge that’s driving me!”
Tinsha nodded slowly. “How will Hazel take it, I wonder?”
“Vice left this for her,” said Arkai, passing the letter to Tinsha. “Apparently the Elders have named her Alpha, and made Aksaja our delegate.”
“You’re joking.”
“That’s not the worst of it,” sighed Arkai. “Azuretei sent its delegate as well. Of all people, they sent Yahto.”
“The two saints,” groaned Tinsha. “Aksaja, Saint of Light; and Yahto, Saint of Chaos. Mix chaos under the sun and you get childhood mischief.” With a smirk he continued, “Not the best for peace negotiations.”
Arkai smiled slightly. “This should be interesting,” he said. “Well, I guess we should get the others up.”
The unspoken intention of delivering the summons was left hanging in the air between them.