"… In short, the Core Lands are bigger than the Wastes by approximately two hundred and fifty times… Are you even listening to me?" Sveta hit Annie with an elbow.
The two were seated in the back of a six-wheeled taxi car speeding down the lonely road leading to the Oaksters mansion. Ronson Oakster, the Sveta's father, owned a large tract of land near the city. The land around here was rich with the black earth, making it one of the richest soils in the region. Countless farms have been built here, several kinds of wheat, potatoes, and other valuable food sources for the Core Land was growing here through the hard work and care of the farmers. Even at this late hour, when the skies were only lightly touched by the last lights of crimson sunset, Annie could see herds of six-legged lambs grazing in the fields, watched over by the flying drones. Workers were busy closing greenhouses to protect the most vulnerable plants from the breeze of the night, trucks were moving across the fields, gathering workers for the night's rest. Svetlana explained that people live here for the entire season, extending their contract at the end of the season, or returning to the city looking for a new job.
People lived in their thousands even in this farming area, which was 42 kilometers away from the Houstad. The Church of the Planet built a small school around here, along with two schools owned by the government. The Oaksters themselves owned several barracks for the many immigrants who came to these lands to start a new life. Annie half expected to see some dark-looking buildings surrounded by stone walls, but the barracks were four-story tall structures painted a bright orange color, with nice-looking sidewalks and gardens surrounding them. Only immigrants who lived here yet worked in the city had to pay Ronson, whereas the state compensated the farm owner for providing living space for the rest of his workers and their families.
Annie herself spent time during travel by pestering her sister with questions about various martial styles of the Core Lands. Angoro left to meet with his family, half uncertain if he could leave Annie alone, but both sisters promised him that no problems would happen. Zeke bothered the scout the entire time while the sisters waited for the taxi driver to arrive, yet Annie was unmoved in her decision. Sveta refused to accept Annie’s tokens for the taxi, making the scout content with the fact that she could at least pay for a new set of clothes in the shop on the way to Sveta’s home. The Sunblade family was the most influential family among the sword saints. Their scions were involved in political life, the scions of the Sunblade family were some of the most famous knight captains. Some members of the Sunblade family even owned companies within the state, the wealth of this family was truly immense. Their word was not a simple matter. Annie had to force the store owner to accept money from her, the woman stubbornly tried to refuse at first, claiming that the Sunblade family was ready to cover the expenses.
But finally, all the unusual events were done and gone, and the six-wheeler was closing in on the Oaksters mansion.
"I am listening, truly," Annie responded offhandedly, thirstily reading through the manual. Olympiada was not a useless sport. It was an ancient martial art technique, predating even the destruction of the world. Apparently, it had numerous branches and schools around the Core Lands. Zeke trained himself in the "raw" version of Olympiada, a version that relied on outmaneuvering the opponent and using the weight and momentum of the foe for the crushing throws that send all the liquid inside the opponent’s body crazy. But other branches knew how to send foes flying by just grabbing the clothes or hair of the enemy with two fingers. Putting aside the manual, Annie looked at her sister with gleaming eyes, "I just can’t believe… This." She helplessly gestured at the world outside of the car, "There are just so many new things to see, so many different combat styles to experience…"
"An, seriously!" The scout grinned as she received another kick in the ribs. Stupid as it was, she really missed moments like these from her childhood, "Enough with all this fighting! First thing first, we will meet with my family, then dinner, and finally sleep time," Svetlana said in a command tone, bending fingers on one paw one by one, "Tomorrow we are going for a tour, I am going to show you around the city. Bet you never saw a proper cinema, zoo, or theater… And no fighting! You are here to rest and recover, sis!"
"What about having fun?" Annie asked innocently.
"That too!" Sveta eagerly nodded, "I have so much to show to you, waterfalls in the south, have you ever seen them?" Scout shook her head, and the student eagerly gesticulated with her arms, painting something in the air, "In short, these are magnificent manmade rivers made in a mountain range around the site of the battle where Ravager offed Mad Hatter. Originally, people wanted to build some memorial or something here, but you know how Ravager viewed those things. People kept pestering her and finally the blessed mom said that if people wanted to honor her, they should build something to have fun. Now you have a statue of Ravager there and a complex system of waterfalls that fall directly into hot springs."
"I am going to be honest, Svet, I think that I am not into this whole swimming thing." Annie shuddered at the thought of being surrounded by water once more.
"But you never tried to swim properly! Come on, give it a try, the water there is scalding hot and the marble scenery around..." Seeing the bored expression on Annie’s snout, Svetlana quickly added, "Also they make the best curry that I ever tried!"
"Now you’re speaking my language." The scout smiled in anticipation, hugging her sister.
The car passed through a simple iron gate, coming across the road to a large three-story tall mansion, made out of sturdy blocks of stone. The walls were painted brown, six black columns supported a huge balcony over the entrance. The road to the mansion was divided in two, creating space for a tall oak in the middle of the road. Several old-looking trucks were parked near the walls of the building, their drivers were busy performing maintenance. Most of the windows in the building were black, save for a few on the first floor.
A man in a dusty-looking working jacket, brown pants, a red shirt and boots dismounted from the brown horse at the sign of the taxi car. A wild grin appeared on the tanned face upon seeing who was in the car. A man quickly gave up reign of the horse to a nearby helping hand and fixed his wide-brimmed hat, trying to look imposing and strict while he waited for a car to stop. Yet when Sveta charged from the car toward him, the man easily grabbed the student under her arms, lifting the wolfkin in the air with ease, taking the student into a spin around himself and flashing the light of happiness in his grey eyes.
"Three months! Sveta, it’s been too long!" The man laughed, putting the student back on the ground and hugging her.
"Dad! Stop embarrassing me before my sister!" Svetlana said, yet the happiness and laughter in her voice told Annie that Sveta was faking her indignation.
Annie walked out of the car, noticing slashes on the oak before the main building. The ones near the bottom of the tree were barely visible and were crudely made. But the slashes that ran up and up across the trunk of the mighty tree were slowly becoming more elegant and more visible. Annie smirked, understanding who left these slashes. This is how Sveta measured her growth, huh? The slashes above may have looked more elegant, but there was something that united every single cut. No matter how Annie looked at them, they were all made by an amateur’s paw. The bark was badly damaged. Instead of smooth lines, the damaged area was torn and made into zigzag patterns.
The man let go of the student and looked up into the face of Annie. Scout half expected uncertainty or fear in his eyes. Annie stood head and shoulders above her sisters and weighed at least forty kilograms more. The scout's face was marred by scars, and her current clothes were honestly a bit of a mismatched mess, even by Annie’s modest standards. And yet the man sized her up carelessly, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Howdy there, Annie! Name’s Ronson Oakster, but ya can call me Ron just like everyone else," Annie carefully shook the man's hand, trying not to hurt him. Ronson grabbed her paw with all his might, prompting her to shake his hand for real. She felt several calluses on the skin of Ron’s hand, yet his grip was tough. Ronson did not fake his smile, he truly was unafraid of the wolfkin before him, "Ya can tighten your grip, girlie. These old bones can take quite a bit of punishment."
"Sorry, force of habit," Annie let go of his hand and bowed low to him, placing her paws over her knees and looking at his boots, "Thank you so much for taking care of Svetlana and nice to meet you, mister Ronson!"
"Pleasure is all mine, lass!" Ronson took Annie by her shoulders, lifting the scout upward. The farm owner mockingly gestured with his finger, "No need to bow, we are all friends here. Off to the dining room we go, before Jey burns the shit out of our home!"
"Dad tries to cook again?" Sveta asked with a mix of fear and disbelief in her voice. She wrapped her arms around the left arm of Annie, leading her sister inside the house.
"Don't worry, he's being watched." Ronson cheerfully said, out-speeding a maid in a white dress and opening the door before the sisters. He touched his hat with two fingers in a gesture of apology to the servant, before leading the sisters to a dining room.
Annie half expected this mansion to drown in luxury and gold. Instead, the insides of the mansion looked modest. The floors were covered by comfy-looking carpets, and light-colored wooden panels were installed on the stone walls. The staircase leading to the second and third floors was made out of wood, rather than stone. The halls were spacious enough for all three people to walk side by side and not stumble on the small tables across the corridor. One of the maids took the jackets from the people. Annie noticed that while the servants kept themselves official with the farm owner, despite his antics, most of them were smiling furtively at Sveta. And none of the servants seemed worried about the larger and more ravaged copy of the Sveta walking around.
As if they had already seen someone bigger than me. Annie thought, looking at the pictures on the walls. Most of the paintings were made in the old style, yet there were few photos among them. Svetlana and her parents live on a lake. Grinning mister Ronson with an enormous fish in his hands, Sveta and an unknown man were both busy tending to the plants on the field… I am envious. The scout admitted to herself, looking around in awe. This place felt wholesome and safe. But most importantly, this place felt like home. Svetlana must have had such great memories of her parents and a great childhood, while Annie… What do I have?
Restless thoughts left Annie's head at the moment when the doors to the dining room were open. Her mouth watered, while her nostrils caught the delicious smell of the meat. Spices! Tender meat! Weird vegetable dishes… Fried potatoes on the plates! The food, still hot and smelling like something out of heaven, was arrayed on a long table for guests to see. A tall and lean man was busy placing dishes on a table, looking critically at the picture of arrayed dishes before him. Unlike Ronson, he was cleanly shaven, his green eyes looked with curiosity at the approaching people, not a single wrinkle could be found on his face, his brown hair was cut short. The man was dressed in a strict gray suit, a white shirt, and a golden tie. Nodding to Ronson, he gently hugged Svetlana, kissing her on the forehead once, before turning to Annie.
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"Annie, I presume?" The man stepped forward, looking at Annie, as if she was some rare curiosity. He walked around the wolfkin, sizing her up, checking the size of her arms and legs. Finally, he nodded to himself, standing before the scout, "My name is Jeysich Oakster. Pardon my curiosity,"
"Pleasure to meet you sir." Annie tried to bow to him, but the man waved his hand quickly, an indication that this was not needed.
"The pleasure is all mine," He looked at Ronson, "I told you that Svetlana eats too little for her age."
"Your truth," The second man shook his shoulders cheerfully, "Girly looks like a midget compared to her sis. We should never have listened to her."
"With all due respect, dads," Svetlana folded both her arms over her chest, speaking each word slowly, "I am perfect as I am."
Jeysich Ronson burst into a roar of laughter, and even Jeysich smiled thinly at the words of the student.
"Thank the Planet that your sister is alive," Jeysich made a quick gesture with two arms, pressing the thumbs of his arms to the area above his heart. It was a simple prayer of the Church of the Planet. The man looked over the scout with a critical look, "Hm... Bruises, scars... We will need to..."
"Jey, we are dying of hunger over here!" Ronson clapped his hands together, "You can't just make a feast and keep us waiting!" Annie found that she was in agreement with the man, her eyes were locked on the food at the table. She tried to look respectable, but the food smelled like something truly divine.
"Right, it can wait. The Planet deemed it fit to allow me to prepare a food without...." The second man looked at the two servants at the other end of the room. The shirt of a male servant bore minor burn marks, and the man's face was dirty. Jeysich sighed, "Almost without incident. Let's enjoy it, everyone." He gestured at the table, showing places for everyone to sit, and finally Annie felt herself at ease. Annie tried to keep some manners at first and eat her food by using a fork and knife, like a normal person would. Alas, the food before her smelled so tasty… In the end, the scout allowed her instincts to take over, picking up pieces of meat, wrapped in green leaves of cabbage, with her claws, swallowing them whole. Mister Jeysich looked at Annie with a raised brow, Sveta tried to stop her sister, while mister Ronson gestured to his daughter to be calm, gulping food down his throat at a speed that alarmingly approaches Annie's speed.
"Sorry, if this may sound like a stupid question," Annie crashed a pumpkin between her jaws, licking the remains off her lips, "But if I understand right, both of you are Sveta’s parents, right?" Ronson nodded briefly, swallowing the sausage.
"Ron and I first met during the time when Oaksters first expanded farmland to the west," Jeysich calmly said, slicing a steak before himself, "Long story short, Ron and I have become life partners. Does this look unusual to you, Annie?"
"A bit," The scout admitted plainly to the man, "Among my people, such relationships are rare. Sorry if I offended you, you took great care of Sveta, and that’s all that matters to me. Also, your food tastes great."
"You can't offend me with the truth," Jeysich said, accepting the praise and nodding to Annie, "and I am pleased to hear that my efforts are appreciated," He smiled with his previous thin smile, turning to his daughter, "Sveta, have you thought about our proposition?"
"Thought and the answer is still no," Sveta shook her head, drinking juice, "Sorry dads, I want to test myself and not be led by the hand all my life."
"What is this all about?" Annie asked, before putting a finger to her lips, "If this is okay for me to ask, of course."
"Sure it is," Mister Ronson wiped his lips with the back of his hand and leaned back on his chair, "We purchased…"
"Rented." Corrected his husband mister Jeysich.
"Same thing. We obtained land in Pearl for the length of fifty years. As you know, Pearl currently experiences massive problems due to internal corruption and…"
"That’s why I am against nepotism, by the way," Sveta pointed with a fork at her dad, "If corruption can ruin even such a beautiful place as Pearl…"
"Sveta, please. Not today." Asked mister Jeysich.
"…An exodus of people from the north and because the cartel keeps flooding Pearl with drugs," Ronson became serious for a while, looking Annie in the eyes, "They can no longer efficiently use their own land. In exchange for providing a safe workplace for locals to work and paying them, in addition to selling part of the crops that we will grow on these lands to the government Pearl at a discount, we get to own their land, one at the south end, close to the border with the Ravaged Lands. If the cartel won’t off us, of course. We wanted to take Sveta with us as part of her first big job."
"Don’t joke like that, dad. I heard that people often go missing around there," Sveta asked quietly, looking at the plate of food before her. "You will be fine there, right?"
"Of course, we will," The lean man smiled and put his hand on the shoulder of his daughter in encouragement, "Svetlana, you know how cautious I can be. The respected mercenary company has already signed a contract with us, the company that is made up entirely of new breeds, no less, they will keep the pests off our backs. Plus, we paid the tribute to the Respectable People. Come on, relax a little, Ron is just messing around as usual. You think we would ever take you anywhere dangerous?"
"From what I've seen on the news, the cartel and their thugs primarily operate in the northern parts of the Pearl," Annie added, trying to cheer up her sister. "Misters Ronson and Jeysich should be fine if they stick to the southern border,"
Sveta smiled at her sister, removing the sausage that Ronson tried to sneakily put on her plate, and reaching to fill her glass with more juice. Annie took this moment to look around the room. The firewood crackled slowly in the flames of the fireplace. A large painting depicting young Sveta, surrounded by her parents and several other people in workers' uniforms, was placed on the second floor of the room. The walkways of the second floor run across the edges of the room, but tried as she might, Annie could see no stairways leading to the second floor. From the walls, portraits of the other members of the Oaksters family sternly look at the guests. The whole room was flooded with bright electric light coming from the ceiling.
"Speaking of, if this is OK to ask..." Seeing the nod of mister Jeysich, Annie continued her question, "Why in the world did you pay tribute to the Respectable People? If I understand the situation correctly, they are simply another gang in Pearl."
"They are a bit more than this. The Respectable People have their fingers in the government. Unlike the cartel, they hold someone by the..." Ronson started to explain, but his husband cut him off.
"In short, it is cheaper for us to work with them. They will keep the cartel's goons out of our land," Seeing the surprised face of Annie, Jeysich tapped his temple, "Yes, the Relcaimers will come to our aid if things go the way of the Old World. Yes, the mercenaries will protect us. Sveta, Annie, here is the question for you. Why do we need protection from someone within the Pearl then?"
"Maybe you want to keep the convoys that will move food back to our lands safe?" Sveta made her guess, while Annie folded her arms, lost in thought.
Dragena taught her to always look into the core of a problem. No one would be foolish enough to attack the convoys of the reclaimers. As Ivar demonstrated, such actions have disastrous consequences. What was left then? An attack on the Reclaimer's property? Out of the question as well, worst case scenario, the state will simply hire a bounty hunter or send the Omega team after the attackers, if Pearl's government refuses to cooperate. Maybe the Respectable People can halt the deal about food supply to the Pearl? No, this doesn't make sense, they get money from this deal and food for the population at a discount. Many store owners pay this gang for their protection. No goods to sell, no money to pay, this option is also out. Then the obvious answer was...
"To protect your new workers, right?" Seeing the confused face of Sveta, Annie quickly explained, "The people who will work on the new farms of your dads are locals. While they are on the state's rented property, they are safe. But when they're outside..."
"It is a fair game because they are not from the state," Ronson nodded with a shadow on his face, " If Pearl's police are so shite, it is cheaper to pay one group of thugs to keep our new workers safe from other thugs. The people are not at fault for being caught in all of this."
Seeing how the number of dishes on the table was slowly decreasing, mister Jeysich snapped his elegant fingers, calling for the maids to bring the second portion of the feast. Annie smiled broadly when she saw several large turkeys on silver plates. The smell of it really was something from the realm of the divine. With a single motion, her claws bisected the roasted turkey before the scout into four parts, her claws picked up delicious meat. Annie was swallowing large chunks of meat while listening to mister Ronson. He told several stories about Svetlana’s childhood, causing the young woman to groan from frustration at her childhood mistakes. Finally, it was Annie’s turn to tell stories about herself. It was easy to talk about the time under the leadership of the warlord Zero, although Sveta gasped for some reason upon hearing how Annie got her scars. Trying to find the right words, Annie told people around the table about her first mission as carefully as possible, trying to omit the most gory details. When the scout noticed Sveta's parents' suddenly darkened faces, she shut up immediately.
"Um… Sorry, if I said something wrong." The scout said nervously.
"I heard about mom’s passing. What about dad?" Sveta quietly asked, "How’s he doing these days? I tried to contact him, but…"
"He’s with mom now." Annie said bluntly, and looked at the empty plate before herself. There was no reason to beat around the bush, Annie decided that it was better to tell the harsh truth right away and be done with it.
"What?"
"The stupid fool drank himself to death and left me all alone," Annie responded angrily, staring at the plate before her. She remembered the constant insults from her father and his constant absence after the attack. Yet another person was also before her eyes. The one who always stood by Annie and Sveta and read them stories at night, the one who risked his life to save them. And he was gone, along with the drunken fool that he turned into, all because Annie could not bring the better person back on her own. Because she was too distant, because she was a bad daughter.
"Father had never drunk before … Nevermind," Sveta blinked, trying to get a hold of herself. She gestured to her parents to stay out of this, "Annie, how did this happen? New breeds like us are durable enough to endure even the strongest of poisons, surely there would be some signs of him getting sick. Annie how did you not noti…"
"Because I fucked up," Annie released her claws, allowing them to bite deeply into the table. Memories of that day pushed her into a rage. Annie felt the blood pounding in her temples, demanding the wolfkin to lash out on anyone or anything. Frustration, fear, and humiliation that were built in her over the years speared her body once more, and this time the scout could not handle them. Bad, bad, always the one who is bad. Annie raised her head, looking into the eyes of her suddenly small-looking sister, "Go on, say it, we both know that it is true. He was in my care, and I fucked up. Just like when I let you fall. I…" She licked her lips nervously, noticing fear in the eyes of people and understanding that she was growling and showing her fangs. Mister Ronson stood up from his chair, looking a bit pale. Jeysich merely pressed a finger to his lips. Svetlana looked horrified. Wolfkin retracted her claws, feeling nothing but shame, "Sorry about my unruly behavior. This was unworthy of me."
"Well, enough talking for today." Ronson clapped his hands, breaking the silence, "Today was a big day and we are all tired. Sveta, I will show Annie her room and…"
"I will escort my sister myself, dad." Ignoring the worried looks of her fathers, Svetlana first led Annie to the bathroom to wash her claws clean and then to the room on the second floor.
Annie walked alongside her sister in an awkward silence, far too ashamed to say anything. She could feel the rage boiling inside, but this time it was a sweet hatred, one that she knew how to handle. She was frequently filled with rage at herself. Hatred for being weak and a hatred for embarrassing others. This one was a sick and unworthy feeling, according to Kayleen and Carty, who both insisted that you should accept yourself to move on. And yet, Annie refused to let go of this feeling. She always believed that when you do something bad, you should feel bad. Like she felt right now.
She was invited to such a grand and magnificent place. She was reunited with her sister. All that was required from her, all that she should have done was to behave. And naturally, failure that she is, the scout found a way to fail in this as well. Sveta was afraid of her! Punishment for this seemed only fitting and deserving.
Sveta stopped before the wooden door on the second floor. The student opened it and came inside the spacious room, with a bed big enough to fit even someone the size of Annie. The wide windows were closed, behind them the scout could see the wall that surrounded the mansion and fields of the Oaksters farm. A lonely river runs far away on the horizon.