Dear Diary,

People wonder why when I hear 'I'll help, I'll help' I cringe just a little bit.

So after yesterday, which I lost to Sister Siobhan forcing me back to bed after waking me for each meal, which were not only hand delivered by Marie, but hand fed to me as well, I woke up this morning in the Infirmary feeling kinda cranky. On the other hand, I woke up feeling way less 'every part of my body aches', so I guess that's something.

Dreams through the day included chibi hibachi chef Saffron yeeting shrimp at me again, and night time brought a lack of said shrimp, so it looks like my guess about the hibachi closing at sundown were more or less correct.

When I pushed myself sorta upright, Sister Siobhan hurried over. "Tabitha! You're awake!"

I worked my mouth to get a little spit going, because I had a fierce case of dry mouth. "Yeah. Feeling a lot better too. Thanks for that. I needed it and sure as hell wouldn't have done it on my own."

She nodded, and I got that faint tingle across my front before she said, "I've a small bit of bad news, I think."

I sighed, spun my legs out of the bed and propped myself vaguely upright with my elbows on my knees before saying, "of course you do. Nothing's ever easy, right?"

She smiled ruefully and said, "someone has realigned your Mana recently, haven't they?"

I lifted an eyebrow, but really I should have expected her knowing it. She's the local expert on souls, reincarnation, and medical Mana related bullshit, after all. I kept my reply to, "yep."

"Might I ask who?"

I shot her a lopsided grin before saying, "My Patron."

"Oh. Oh, my. I thought perhaps you'd been exaggerating or speaking metaphorically when you came in yesterday. Well, I suppose that's why he didn't notice."

My get up and go got up and went, and I flopped over backward. "Notice what?"

She came closer, eventually sitting down on the edge of my bed. "Anyone with exceptionally strong Mana flow and retention, and Gods certainly qualify, notices problems with Mana flow or the Soul long before they recognize more mundane problems."

With my head dangling over the edge of the bed, my eyes slid closed. "You mean I didn't need my shit fixed?"

Sister Siobhan tittered a little at that. "Oh, no, if your Patron did so, I assume he was correct. I wouldn't be surprised if you needed something after that marathon Curing session of yours. No, the problem, while similar in nature and solution, is much more mundane. You appear to be in need of some skeletal realignment."

I thought about how often I'd beat the shit out of myself, as well as how often I'd just pushed through rather than bothering to get things looked at, and sighed. "You can tell just by looking at me?"

"Oh, no. I Assessed you just after Marie brought you in, and something looked odd, so I brought Doctor DeLeon over to look, and he confirmed it. Again, it's nothing terribly outré, just a bit of massage and minor chiropractic work should get you right as rain, assuming you rest after."

I sighed, then sat up and climbed to my feet. The ache from Loki's work had diminished, but that meant I felt like moving like a forty-year-old with a hangover rather than an arthritic seventy-year-old. "Is breakfast over?"

"Not yet. Are you certain you're up for walking to the Dining Hall and back?"

"And back?" I knew what she meant, but tried to weasel anyhow. "You really want to do this thing today?"

She nodded. "You'll want a day of rest afterward, and by the time you've recovered you should be recovered from your Mana realignment as well. So you should be right as rain, or nearly so, by Freyday."

I sighed, stood there with my eyes closed for a moment, then straightened my shoulders and smiled at the Sister. "Okay, then. I'll need to speak with the Cadets going with me about supplying our expedition, but if we plan on a Friday morning departure, I should be ready for it by then, right?"

At her nod, I snapped her a quick, informal salute in the form of two fingers touching my brow, then strolled down to the Dining Hall. I still wore my civvies, but apparently recovering hadn't been physically strenuous, because they didn't stink to high heaven. Okay, there was a whiff of cinnamon spice, but that's just me in general. When I got down to breakfast, Bill spotted me first, saying, "hey, our glorious leader has returned!"

I laughed a little, slipped into my seat and said, "yeah, sorry about that. Apparently I'm due for my ten thousand mile servicing and nobody told me." Most of them looked a little confused at that one, but laughed at it anyway. I sure as hell enjoyed the sound of laughter way more than I had the hacking coughs and crunching snow from before my whole convalescent period started. While I waited for a fresh tray of eggs, I looked over to Bill. "Hey, did you get the paperwork to duBois in time?"

He swallowed a bite of black bread and said, "all the personnel paperwork is in, just waiting on the equipment and supplies."

A thought struck me, and I facepalmed so hard I almost didn't notice the Maid sliding a tray of spicy eggs in front of me. I scooped up a big bite with a spoon, downed it, then said, "tell me most of them know how to use crossbows?"

He looked a little chagrined himself, but said, "yeah, I've got no idea. I'm assuming you want crossbows for everyone then?"

"Yeah, and I've got more bad news on the medical front. Sister Siobhan says she needs to do some kind of thing that will have me out most of the day tomorrow as well. I'd really like us to get moving by Friday if we can."

Angel spoke up at that point. "Even if our units don't know how to use crossbows, they've all had basic formation fighting and shield and spear handling. If we get the equipment today, we can distribute it tomorrow, walk them through the basics of crossbows, and have everyone ready to go first thing on Freyday."

"Crossbows for everyone makes the supply situation easier too, in a couple ways." We all turned to look at Bonnie, who blushed a little but followed up with, "we only need one spear per Volunteer, and don't have to worry about arrows, just bolts."

I facepalmed, but made sure she could hear it when I said, "why the fuck didn't I think of that." Shaking my head, I went on, "good catch, Bonnie. So, we'll need armor for all the Volunteers; honestly even the ones who already had some issued could probably use a replacement by now. One shield and spear each; for us as well, just in case."

"Lancaster's not gonna like that."

I turned to Fred and said, "Lancaster can shut up and soldier. I doubt any of us will wind up fighting as part of a shield wall, but it'll also mean we're carrying spares for the Volunteers who need them. One crossbow and twenty bolts per person, us included. One tent per two people, if we're gonna be using those little pup tents. Three extra pairs of socks each."

Bill cut in with, "three extra?"

I nodded, remembering what my ROTC instructors told me back in Camden. "The worst minor injury for a soldier, from the army's point of view, is to the feet. Hell, some of the worst major ones are too. Foot injuries mean somebody has to straight up carry you, or you fall out because you can't keep marching. In this kinda weather, people are gonna want to double up on socks, and unless I completely miss my guess we'll be fording at least one stream or river, plus we'll be marching through snow and slush. I'd say more than that, except we don't have a really great way to clean and dry them, so swapping and letting them air out or something is the best we're gonna get."

"Three extra pairs of socks it is. Anything else?"

"Can anybody think of anything I forgot?" Raven snickered a little and held up a hand. "Go on, tell us."

"Food?"

I chuckled a little, "I hadn't mentioned it, but I was saving that for last. Once everybody has their kit, we want them all carrying as much food as they can."

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Bill asked, "won't that be a little cumbersome? Don't we want carts or something?"

I shook my head. "Double check with Lancaster, since we're heading into his back yard, but unless I'm misremembering the lesson entirely, we're going to be doing a lot of up-and-down. Carts don't handle snow well either. Can we get them rucksacks or duffel bags or knapsacks or something?" When they all blinked and stared at me, I facepalmed again. "Like, a tough cloth bag, maybe with a metal frame to hold its shape better, with a pair of straps you can hook your arms through to carry it on your back?"

Fred asked, "where would you stow your shield if you needed your off hand?"

I shrugged and replied, "right over top the backpack."

A couple of them brightened up after that. "Oh, backpacks! Huh, I'd never seen anyone using them like that before. Wonder why?" Bill's question seemed to voice what everyone at the table was thinking. I had a guess, but now was absolutely not the time to bring it up.

"Dunno, but if we can get one for each person, that'll get us at least a few days of food, right?"

At this point Bonnie cut in with, "more, if you go with a tinker-style backpack with a metal frame and hang stuff from it, like waterskins or stuff that can travel in bags." Everybody turned to look at her, and if she blushed, she didn't back down this time. "What? I have an uncle who's a tinker. Learned it from my great-grandfather."

Bill looked a little thoughtful, "haven't most of the villages got a smithy? Hell, most of the big farmsteads have one now too."

"Yeah, but little ones don't, and sometimes the local smith is fine for, like, horseshoes and nails, but can't make frying pans for shit. My uncle does some other crafts, too; every village has something where the local guy is only middling good, and my uncle fills in the gaps, like." Bonnie shrugged.

Raven asked, "Don't the locals take offense at that? Somebody coming in and showing them up?"

I caught an undercurrent of something less than pleasant when Bonnie answered, "maybe, but if they make too big of a deal about it, their neighbors shut them up, because nobody wants a frying pan where the handle falls off the second time you use it."

"Okay, then. Bonnie, can you find us enough of those backpacks for everyone in the expedition to have one?" When she worked her mouth and nothing came out, I said, "charge it to the Academy, or maybe the Army. Fred, you go with her. Take Lancaster, Rider, or Rosen along with you if you think you're gonna need somebody to bully shopkeeps or whatever. Don't, y'know, steal 'em, but we need those backpacks, and I'd really rather not have to explain to the Headmaster why we bankrupted the Academy for gear."

She made a face, but nodded. "Can do."

I smiled at her. "That's the spirit. Angel, Bill, Raven, can you three handle the rest of the equipment and supplies, as well as getting the paperwork to duBois by the end of the day tomorrow?"

All three of them nodded, and Bill repeated Bonnie's, "Can do."

I nodded, "now that we've got that handled," I reached for my spoon, but a glance across the Dining Hall made me wince, so I got up and, after assuring everyone I'd be right back, wandered over to the Barbie Brigade's table.

Lancaster looked up from his breakfast; a bowl of oatmeal with some sliced fruit of some kind in it, and said, "Cadet Diaz. Good morning. I assume you need someone here for something?" Amazingly polite for Larry boy.

I nodded, "if you could. In case you haven't heard, General Lancaster has put me in charge of taking an expedition out to Lancaster House to see why we haven't heard from Lachlan."

He nodded politely in return, although he'd taken a spoonful of oatmeal while I spoke, and had to wait for him to swallow before he answered. "I received a letter from him yesterday, noting that. When are we leaving?"

"If all goes well, first thing Friday. I've got some medical treatments that are going to have me sidelined until then, and I was hoping those of you going along could help with some of the gear acquisition."

He smirked, "it would be a poor showing if a Lancaster couldn't afford to help pay for the expedition to Lancaster House. Of course I..." he trailed off, frowning, "those of us? Who all is going?"

"You, me, the whole ROTC table over there, Rider, Rosen, and Carruthers."

Carruthers, one table over, popped his head up, "what?"

"You're going along on the Lancaster House Expedition, we leave Friday morning."

He looked a little poleaxed, but then shrugged and said, "okay," and went back to eating.

"Ten Cadets?" asked Lancaster.

"And twenty units of Volunteers. We've got no idea whether we're looking at another area hit by the Plague, or if the assholes in Calverton have decided to use the Plague as a good time to kick us while they think we're down."

For the first time, I got to see Lancaster looking pissy with someone other than me or mine. It was still kinda punchable, but I could tolerate it when he pointed it at people who deserved it. "Or monsters, either taking advantage of the Plague or driven to farmsteads and villages by the winter. So, what did you need us to procure?"

I took a deep breath, knowing that what I said next was likely to bring down a bit of a shit fit. "Enough tinker-style backpacks to outfit the entire Expedition." I nodded toward Bonnie and said, "Bonita has family who work on the road, and it seems like the best option for us to carry our supplies in, since we've already been told no carts or boats."

"You..." he trailed off.

"Yeah, Larry?" I kept my voice upbeat, since a brawl with the one who would likely wind up second-in-command of this shitshow-to-be before we even left the Academy wouldn't really look good on my record.

"want us..." he waved a hand at Rosen and Rider. "To wear tinker backpacks."

"Unless you can think of a better way for us to carry all our food and camping gear on our backs?"

He inhaled, held his breath for a five count, then blew out a sigh. "Of course you do. May I ask one thing?"

"Hey, as long as you don't start sealioning, I'm down for answering as many questions as you need answered. Hell, you might think of something I didn't."

He looked a little surprised, but asked, "why will you not be bringing us supplies with that teleportation thing you do?"

I cocked my head, because I only realized just then why I hadn't thought of it, but answered honestly, "good question, but you know those medical treatments I mentioned?"

"Yes?"

"They're because I hurt myself doing that shit in the battle before Yule, and might have done more of the same with all that Curing."

I swear, he and the Barbies looked like I'd just announced that I'd auto-decapitated or something like that. "Truly?"

I shrugged. "Got no reason to lie about it. Hopping around a room winds up hurting like a bitch right now. Loki tells me I'll be on the road to recovery by Friday, and I might be able to hop back here in an emergency to, I dunno, bring us Sister Siobhan or some critical whatever, but I don't want to lean too hard on it, y'know? Definitely don't want to plan on doing so."

"I suppose that's why you won't be teleporting us all straight there as well?"

Again, something I hadn't thought of, but realized why when he mentioned it. "That and the fact that the more people I take per trip, the more it strains me, plus the fact that I don't think I can really Translocate to someplace or someone I'm not really familiar with."

He looked a little confused. "You've met Lachlan, though."

I looked him right in the eye and said, "so far the only one I've Translocated to without knowing the spot where they were? Saffron."

He shut his mouth and nodded before saying, "ah. 'Familiar' familiar. Understood. Well then, once we're done breakfast, I'll get with Cadet Obol then?"

I nodded. "Thanks, Larry. I hoped I could count on you."

He nodded as well, "of course."

I trudged on back to the ROTC table, dropped into my seat, and realized that dealing with that particular group took more energy than I'd realized. "What was all that about?" asked Bill.

"Just making sure Larry and his crew wouldn't straight up refuse to work with Bonnie and Fred." I paused a second, glancing at Bonita's chest to confirm that her last name was, indeed, 'Obol'. "He says he'll join you after breakfast to start shopping. Hell, he might even pay for them."

If her eyes got a little wide, she didn't say anything against it, just kept shoveling breakfast. I took her example and tucked in myself. By the time I finished with leftover cleanup, I'd hit the point of wanting to sleep again, so I wandered back to the Ladies' Infirmary and lay back down on my cot. Right as my butt hit the bed, the menace shouted, "MAMA!" and I had half a second to brace before she slammed into me and tumbled me back onto the bed. Fortunately, my head thwomped down on the painkiller pillow, so I just hugged her, then grabbed her under the armpits and held her straight above me.

"Hey, Menace! Grandma watching you today?"

"Yah! I hep Sissa Shavan!"

I glanced over to where the Sister herself approached at a much more sedate pace. "She's not making a nuisance of herself, is she?"

"Isnomi? Never. She's been nothing but helpful. If, well, a tad enthusiastic at times."

I looked back up at the menace, "Momma's so proud of you, Menace!" I pulled her in for a hug, and she purred at me and rubbed her face against mine. After making sure I was completely disheveled, she wriggled away and bounced off to 'help' someone else. Grandma, I assumed. "So, when and how do we do the thing?"

She nodded, then pulled the curtains around the little alcove shut. "To begin with, I'll need you to disrobe. Apologies, but clothing can both hide the way muscles are moving and prevent proper external manipulation of them."

I shrugged, rolled to my feet, and slipped off the skirt and blouse I'd been wearing since Saffron booped them onto me yesterday morning. I lay them next to the pillow on the bed and sat my ass back down. When I looked up to ask what I needed to do next, Sister Siobhan was very studiously not looking away from me, nor looking anywhere but my face. "I... I was unaware you were skyclad beneath your clothes."

I smirked up at her. "Aren't we all?"

She took a few deep breaths and blew them out. "I'll need you to lie face down on the bed. Most of the work will be on your posterior muscles."

I lay down as she'd asked, turning my head to avoid suffocating myself. As she looked down and began her little examination prayer, I quipped, "my butt muscles?"

When I flexed the muscles in question, her professional mask dropped for a second. "No, no. Well, not specifically. The big muscles of your back, including your, ah, butt muscles, do most of the work of moving you around, so those are the ones I'll be focusing on, but I'll need to check your thighs and calves as well."

"No worries, Sister. You need my arms up or down?"

She paused a moment. "It shouldn't matter, but let's start with 'up'."

I lifted my arms, folded them under my head, and braced my forehead on them, holding my face just above the pillow. "Okay, just let me know what you need me to do when."

I gotta say, for all that she seemed a little taken aback by my habit of going commando, the Sister was nothing but professional. Well, I mean, as professional as you can be when you're bare-handing somebody's butt cheeks, y'know? By the end of the day, the worst thing that happened to me was that I found out that my oubliette of a digestive tract apparently could wind up with air stuck in it, and some combinations of position and pressure forced that air out. Rapidly.

If Sister Siobhan wondered why my farts smell like pumpkin spice, she didn't ask, and I sure as shit didn't tell her.