July 2023 ver.

The soldier cleared his throat and his pale complexion flushed as he offered a hand to her, “I’m Harrington Remis.” Harrington turned a few shades brighter in an instant. The young man faltered, “I-I mean Remington H-Harris! I, er, uh…” He withdrew his hand and lowered his eyes.

She canted her head at where he sat with the raise of an eyebrow, “Devin Chanoix.”

“How’s that?” Devin still couldn’t quite meet Rowan’s gaze despite such a direct question. The highest she could reach was his chin. She gave her arm a bend.

The young lady nodded, “Much better. Thanks.” They had withdrawn to their own encampment with the soldier in tow. He was setting up on Rowan’s side, which was significantly more ripped up than when they’d left. His bedroll was the most notable change with a new massive hole in it. A casualty in his scuffle with those criminals. There would be no mending it. They were going to have to buy a replacement.

The mage sat down after healing her arm again. Completely this time. They weren’t going to keep that gamble on the table after tonight. Her knuckles had been considerably torn up as well. She hadn’t permitted him to heal her sooner in her desire to leave the traffickers’ camp and everything there behind as quickly as possible.

The brawler went to her own bedroll.

“Are we going to be safe here?” Avery asked, fidgeting throughout the question.

Rowan offered a reassuring smile, though she didn’t find it very comforting, “Safe and sound now.” Her brother was still digging a finger into the dirt. He wasn’t finding much comfort in their cousin either. Their elder put a hand out to the slightly younger ginger, “Rowan Blackhurst.” They shook without issue unlike the attempt with Devin.

“Avery Chanoix,” the teen completed the introductions, attempting to at least be cordial with their new acquaintance despite the piling discomforts. She was grateful for the distraction.

The soldier blinked, “Oh, so you’re…?” His finger drifted a slack point between the siblings who nodded. Then he was examining Rowan, “And you’re…?”

Rowan cut in with a lift of his hand, “We’re all family.” A thumb was hooked at himself, “Cousin.”

“Oh! It’s nice to meet you all.” He had quite a smile. Bright, but not stupid like Rowan’s. “Wait,” he put hands above his own ears, to mimic the triangular shape of an emeran’s, “why don’t you have cat ears?”

The mage scoffed, “I’m only a quarter emeran.” It was their time for questions, which the eldest handled asking, “So you’re a soldier, Remington?” An indication toward the insignia etched into the armor plated gauntlets on him.

“Yup! Almost four years.” Remington didn’t look any older than Rowan. Actually, he barely looked older than her and he’d already been in the military for four years? Not to mention, that display earlier was the best he could manage after that long? “Joined at fifteen.” Her jaw dropped. ‘Fifteen!?’ She couldn’t help glancing at Avery and his still not very matured figure. Actually, was he bigger? “And feel free to call me Remi for short.” Her focus slipped back to the one speaking. “Though… my unit usually calls me Lemming…”

“Eh?” She voiced her confusion. Remi seemed like a perfectly fine short-hand to her so she blurted the inquiry without much thought, “Why do they do that?” He quickly grew flustered making eye contact with her and looked away. Yet he didn’t have a problem looking at Rowan. The person who murdered a woman not a yard from him an hour ago.

He scratched at his cheek, “It’s some kind of animal, I guess. What most people learn about them is they’re… not… very bright.”

Her lips pursed as she stared. She squinted at him from across the campfire. Did he just admit that his fellow soldiers call him some derogatory nickname that means he’s stupid? Who would fess up to that without prompting? No wonder he ended up with it in the first place.

“Uh,” Rowan had sprawled on his side as he often did, frowning at Remi from the position, “Where exactly is your unit? I wouldn’t think they’d send you guys anywhere solo.”

“They don’t.” Remi broke eye contact with everyone to busy himself with taking off the bits of plate armor he had. Gauntlets, elbows, knees, and a chest plate just big enough to protect the most vital of vital organs. “I was with them until today. We came across those traffickers, but the other guys wouldn’t back me up to our sergeant that we should do something.” More and more his shoulders slanted. “Since I wouldn’t shut up, they ditched me. So I tried to take care of it by myself and…” He gave another of his smiles, ruffling up some of his orange hair, “Heh, that didn’t go very well, did it?” The ginger also finally dared to peek at her again, “Th-thanks, for saving me, by the way.” She suddenly felt a little warm. Why was he looking at her like that?

“They were going to ignore them?” Her cousin’s voice thickened with disgust. “Typical. Can’t depend on anyone you’re supposed to be able to.” That comment twisted her stomach. Rowan continued, none the wiser, “Ditching you on top of that. No loyalty either.”

Remington replied, “If it had been one of the other guys it wouldn’t have gone that way. I get moved around to different units all the time. I kind of mess things up so this isn’t the first time I’ve been left behind.” He said it with a shrug like it wasn’t as sad as it sounded. Her eyes slid to Avery then to Rowan. She could barely imagine actually being outright abandoned. She didn’t like the feeling that came with the image.

“Uh,” the mage fumbled again, picking up on how sad this guy’s life was, even though Remi didn’t seem to realize it himself. “Are you going to be okay by yourself?”

“Yup! I actually have pretty good luck. At least, I think so. Sure I got beat up.” Didn’t he mean nearly killed? “But I only lost one tooth from it and got to meet interesting people.” He blinked, “Er, you guys, that is.”

She couldn’t help an amused smile, “We got it.”

Avery pried further, “Are… you going to be able to find them though?”

Remi nodded, “We were part of the mass reassignment to Marion so I know where to go.”

He had unwittingly captured every scrap of their attention, but Rowan would be the one to pick at the issue, “Mass reassignment? How many soldiers are we talking here? Why Marion?”

The other young man simply shrugged again, “Don’t know. Didn’t ask. They told us some are temporary and others are permanent.” He sighed, “Although I don’t know where to go once I’m there. I don’t have a lot of money to stay anywhere.”

“They don’t house you?” Her cousin fell further and further into disappointment in their country’s handling of their armed forces.

Remi practically folded over on himself he slumped so hard, “Not if they run out of beds. I’ll be a whole day behind the others now.” Rowan snorted and laid back.

A sly twist overtook Avery’s face, “You know, if you need somewhere inexpensive to stay in Marion.” He dragged his bag over and pulled out his journal for some reason. A loose paper was removed from the book which he handed to Remi.

“Th-this cheap!?” He held the paper toward Rowan, “I’m actually not so good at reading. Am I reading it right?” Their cousin opened one eye to look at it.

He confirmed prior to cautioning him, “The area is kind of bad.” She knew it…

“That’s fine!” The guy wasn’t bothered in the slightest. “Thanks! I didn’t think I’d be able to afford staying anywhere.” Was their pay that low? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“Our pleasure, the innkeeper is a friend of ours,” the cat boy was grinning again.

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“Oh, another warning, Remi.” Rowan’s tone went deathly serious as he stared into the other man, “Don’t uh, don’t take her flirting seriously, okay? She just likes to play around. We’re not her type.” His face soured at whatever memory he was reliving. “With that. I’m ready to call it a day. Again.” He rolled over then threw a wave, “Night. Nice meeting you.”

They had all better follow suit even if she wasn’t sure how well she’d be able to sleep.

x x x

Devin shot upright.

“Morning, sunflower!” Her kin teased. Then Rowan’s positivity vanished a second later, “Devin? Are you okay?” She quickly hid her face behind her arm and wiped it in the process.

“Yeah, fine. Bad dream is all.” She went to work fixing her hair that had knotted up with all her thrashing about in her sleep. “What time is it?”

“What do you think?” Avery sassed her with a yawn, “Probably almost noon if you’re awake.” She looked to see the sun was already high, but why was Avery yawning? He wasn’t just yawning, but rubbing his face too.

Rowan cleared it up, “You both slept late today. All the action in the middle of the night must have wiped you.” He was fiddling with a vial. His focus was honed in on some thin stringy material in his hand as he went to drop it into the awaiting mixture already present. It melted like ice in lava upon contact then he corked it.

Her attention wandered, “Where did that Remi guy go?” There wasn’t a hint of his stuff.

“He left at sun up.” She came back to his smirking face, “He said to tell you both goodbye and to tell, you, Devin, thanks again for saving him.” What was that dumbass look for this time? She scowled at him. He started rubbing his neck. She kept glaring until he was so unsettled that he sought a topic change, “A-anyway.” Devin hauled herself up to stretch as he moved along. “What’s the verdict?”

“Verdict?”

“Yeah? Marion or no?”

“Um…”

x x x

“Whoa!” Rowan snatched his hand off her shoulder in an instant. He gulped nervously, holding both mitts aloft to beg mercy from her. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Her fist was a hair from connecting with his throat. They had stopped off when the heat peaked today, but she hadn’t taken a break, merely found some shade.

Her heart was pounding, “S-Sorry.” She forced herself to relax and Rowan did too.

He hooked a thumb at Avery packing up behind him, “I think Avery’s done with adding to his plant collection so I just came to check if you were ready too.”

She nodded, but didn’t speak.

“No offense, but you’ve been really jumpy.” Hand at the back of the neck once again, he shifted his weight to the opposite leg, “Actually both of you have been since yesterday. I know…” His head rolled atop his shoulders, “I know it’s because of what happened. It was more than a scare, but really, you don’t need to worry. We came out of it fine.” Rowan smiled with a tip of the head at her, “I’m here to protect you.”

Her gaze simply darted from him. It had only gotten worse. All day she had been thinking about the stories he’d told them over the years. About how many times she had chosen to interpret something one way.

‘Exactly how did you acquire such a precious object?’

She remembered how he had replied with a shrug, ‘They were the ones killing people.’

How many times was he actually saying he’d killed people?

They set out again. Their order had changed. Avery was on Devin’s other side instead of Rowan’s. So she was in the middle, constantly glancing off at the scenery to keep their cousin out of view. They didn’t talk.

A drop struck her cheek and Devin took a gander at the sky. The clouds had been gray for a while. More raindrops speckled them. It was building fast. Rowan snapped his fingers to form a slanted sheet of barrier magic above their heads. It drifted along as they did.

A downward flood ensued and they were soon tromping through puddles. She watched the drops patter on the translucent surface. A nuisance to the boys, but to her it was a reprieve she didn’t know she was waiting for.

The brawler shimmied off her bag to present it to her elder. He eyed her with curiosity as he took it. She was highly aware of him watching as she jogged out into the downpour. Devin turned skyward again and held out her arms. The rain had her promptly soaked to the bone in seconds. It washed away some of what had been dragging her down.

Devin stayed where she was until the pane of barrier magic slid over her once more. The girl fell back into stride with her family and wrung her hair. Avery cringed and took a step from her as she did so. Rowan offered her bag. She took it without a word. He sighed, unable to even squeeze a thank you from her.

x x x

Another new day. “I can’t stop thinking about that zefiil girl,” Rowan was making attempts to spark a conversation. He desperately hoped he could bait Avery at the least. “She literally created an animal, not some pseudo plant life. One that was big enough to ride. I didn’t think I’d ever see a real summoner in person.”

Neither of them took up the other end and he slumped.

The man went on to ramble to himself, unable to withstand the silence, “She was really young to be skilled in a complicated element like anima though. I mean she wasn’t a child child, but adult zefiil females are supposed to be…” He held a hand level about an inch lower than the top of his head, “About my height I think.” Then he was shaking his head, “I’ve only ever heard of elves being able to manage a legitimate summoning. It’s supposed to take decades to master since animals have more intricate circana.” He was quiet only for a few seconds, “Now that I think about it, I hardly ever even see female zefiil. And I’ve never seen kids. I wonder what her story is to be traveling alone so far from the desert. Any theories?”

He was looking at them, waiting for a response, fishing, but the words to talk to him normally wouldn’t come. The best she could give was a noncommittal shrug.

x x x

“Okay, I can’t take it!” The mage stopped and the felines trailed to one as well. Now they had to look at him. He crossed his arms. “Guys, we can talk about what happened.” Avery squirmed and Devin frowned. One of his palms lifted, “I know you’re not used to dealing with people like that and it’s okay to be freaked out. You should be a little, but it’s been days we’re fine. You’re safe.”

Her hold tightened on the straps of her bag, “…because you killed them.”

He blinked at the statement, “Is that what this is about?” The young man presented his case with that same hand, “They were awful people. Kidnappers. Traffickers. Slave traders. They would have-”

She didn’t want to hear any examples, “I know that.” She couldn’t handle thinking about what would have been if they were someone less prepared. If so many pieces hadn’t come together at once. “I’m not saying you were necessarily wrong to do it.”

“What do you mean not wrong!?” Avery whipped around on them to criticize. “You-,” he targeted Rowan, “They were disarmed, wounded, and you murdered them in cold blood! They were still people, living beings, a-and now… now they’re dead. Forever.”

Rowan actually sounded a little angry with him for once, “Avery, do you really not get what they were willing to do to you? What they’d already done to other people? How many lives they’ve ruined?”

The brawler couldn’t help siding with their cousin on this one, “That woman threatened to…” She swallowed the word. It was too grotesque even for her.

“I’m not stupid! I know that!” His stance grew weaker alongside his argument, “But she didn’t actually-.”

This time Devin snapped, “Yeah, because I complied. We have no reason to believe that her threats were empty and I wasn’t going to risk finding out. So that argument you’re about to spin is moot.”

“It still doesn’t give us the right. It doesn’t make us the law.” The boy solidified himself against his elders, “That’s why people like Remi exist.”

Rowan’s reply started with a flat out laugh, “Yeah, because that was working so well. He would have died from his injuries if we weren’t there to save him. And he told us himself the others couldn’t be bothered to care.” He wasn’t going to roll over on this. “Stop being naive, we’re not in Terring. There isn’t a guard or some convenient military post that’s actually paid to care right around the corner. If we were normal travelers, I would be dead and you two would be sold off into slavery. Probably in another country. And the only people who might notice we’re gone are so far away they wouldn’t realize for months.”

Avery threw his own hands up, nearly snarling, the behavior was startling coming from him, “That’s not the point! Yes, they did horrible things, but they were still people. You don’t get to just… do what you did without any input from the rest of the world!” His tail was lashing, “That’s not justice! Now they’re dead and they’ll never have the chance to be anything but the horrible people they were. They can’t ever pay back the damage they’ve inflicted, because you, Rowan, took that away from them.”

Their cousin seemed to be trying to understand, to see his side, but in the end, he just couldn’t, “They had their chance to be better when they were alive. They chose over and over again to be who they were.” Their kin was outright callous, “A person is their actions. The second they touched either of you, I don’t care about any ‘potential’ they had,” he cut the air, “they were done.”

The two stood in challenge of each other until Avery spoke next, “Then what do your actions say about you? Just how many people have you killed? How many people have begged you for their lives and you just… executed them like that? Why don’t you think about that? I-.” His ears sagged as he put his back to them, “I can’t believe I looked up to you.”

Avery wasn’t watching, but she was. She saw exactly how much those words hurt. The mage drifted back a step, lingering in a void that had swallowed him. Devin hesitantly grasped his shoulder.

“Hey… I…” How was she supposed to make this better all by herself? “I understand, okay? Avery will too, eventually. He needs time to adjust. I need time to adjust. We’re not used to thinking in terms of kill or be killed. Give us a little more time.” He barely acknowledged.

It’d take a while, but eventually they would find their way to a semblance of normal. The boys didn’t prattle to each other like before when something excited them. But it was better than the nothing Rowan had been receiving. She was glad she didn’t choose to go to Marion. She didn’t want Phoebe or grandpa to see them ripped apart like this.