I received no invites, no meetings, from the sects before the declaration ceremony. It made more sense once I learned that recruitment was typically approved by the sect’s second in command and, of the six sects, two actively disliked me and one sect never recruited which halved my chances from the start. Of the rest, I doubted they knew much more about me than my infamy which brought my chance of an invite even lower.
However, their inaction allowed me to make my choice without any further complications. I laid out all the advice I had been given in my mind along with what I wanted and the complications that could arise from my various options. It didn’t take me long to realize I had already made my choice. All the sects might have some appeal but there was only one that kept holding my attention.
Prevna wasn’t surprised when I told her what I was going to do. There was still some small tension between us that we both ignored, I think because we both knew that if either one of us pried into it we wouldn’t be able to keep what we were holding back to ourselves. But she had returned to teasing and smiling that knowing smile, and I made sure I wasn’t accidentally shutting her out due to the looming deadline.
Wren got a handful of us together a few days before the ceremony was expected to happen. She might not have the sway over me she used to, but she was still convincing enough that I found myself joining a party I would have otherwise avoided. We ended up at a wide outlook point overlooking the lake and distant mountains with food, drink, and some games.
Prevna was there too along with Dera, Juniper, Loclen, Breck, and Nii. I wasn’t surprised that Andhi and Ulo weren’t there, but I was a little surprised about Ento and Idra. Wren likely could have gotten them at least to the outlook point if she had tried. Either they were even more standoffish now than I last heard or Wren hadn’t extended an invitation to them for some reason. A minor mystery I wasn’t sure I’d ever bother finding the answer to.
Chirp fluttered over to my shoulder to beg for treats. Rather than suffer his relentless nagging for no reason, I quickly gave into his demands and he fluttered off again to bob on Dera’s shoulder. It wasn’t long before he got a treat from her too.
For the most part everyone else chatted while I listened in, though Juniper was fidgety and not as talkative as she’d been in the past. Breck was also comfortable with silence but when she had a story to tell she told it well.
That was how I learned Loclen had also been scouted by the Scales sect and Wren had been approached by Hundred Eyes, Beastwatchers, and the Caretakers. Dera was also in demand. She had been approached by all the sects except for the Seekers, but there were hints that they were also interested her. Apparently, she had made quite the impression these past years between her blessing to manipulate bone and her smarts.
Prevna tried to ask Juniper if anyone had reached out to her though she didn’t seem keen on answering. It came out a little bit later that she had received an invitation from the Peacekeepers but she wasn’t as enthused as I would’ve thought. Prevna talked to her off to the side a bit and when they rejoined the main group Juniper didn’t seem quite as put out as she had been before. That piqued my curiosity, but Juniper was drawn into another conversation and Prevna murmured that they had just discussed her ‘options’.
Part of me was still interested in what those were, but I wasn’t keen on gossiping about someone when they stood only a few feet away, nor did anyone need to know I was curious about where Juniper would end up. She was both very similar and the exact opposite of me, which sometimes made her drifting itch in the back of my mind. Made me want to force her to see the potential she was wasting by spending all her time moping.
I would never admit it aloud but it was nice to spend time among the cohort. Not relaxing or exactly comfortable, but they didn’t look at me and see all the stories they heard first, they didn’t try to glare me to death, and I didn’t have to worry about what plots they might try to use me for. Not when it came to this party at least. And a very small part of me was…relieved to interact with others my age besides Prevna. Other seedlings, our cohort. The chance to do so had become scarcer since we started traveling with Mishtaw.
Still, there was a sense of distance between Prevna and me, and the others. While we were off bouncing around the territory, they had their own experiences together. There were jokes and references we didn’t know that everyone else knew to laugh at. There was also an undercurrent of unease that didn’t extend to us. Watching them, I realized it was because they had gotten used to us coming and going, but they had all been together in some capacity since we were first brought to the Seedling Palace—they weren’t sure if their relationships would survive joining the sects.
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Some would, some wouldn’t. I had little doubt about that. If everything was going to stay the same then there’d be little point to this last get together before the ceremony.
I looked over to where Prevna was busy competing with Loclen and Nii in a game of Recall. Our relationship would last. One way or another.
“Having fun?” Wren joined me at the railing.
I nodded.
“It’s nice to get everyone together. I’m glad you and Prevna have been able to stick around a bit more since your last relic trip. Do you think you’ll still go on those even after joining a sect?” she asked.
I shrugged one shoulder. “If we’re needed.”
Which wasn’t likely. Mishtaw and her group had been doing just fine taking care of the relics before she got stuck with us. I wanted her mentorship to continue, but I wasn’t sure there’d actually be time for it between her responsibilities and my new training as a Sapling.
She leaned back against the railing. “I’m looking forward to getting out of the Palace more. Beastwatchers will be good for that. Have you decided which one you’re joining?”
I nodded again.
Wren winked. “Keeping it a secret? Most are. Dera won’t even tell me what she decided—said she wanted it to be a surprise. But with Chirp and growing up moving around, it just makes sense to join Beastwatchers. Seems like Prevna felt the same.”
I kept silent because I wasn’t sure what to say. She was either just making small talk or trying to get me to divulge information. Prevna’s choice was her own to share, which it seemed like she had, but I also wasn’t sure what else Wren wanted me to say.
She continued when it became clear that I wasn’t going to interrupt her monologue. “I’m hoping we’ll all still stay in touch even after splitting between sects. Our new boon should be helpful for that. So…” For the first time she hesistated before she rushed on, “If Dera joins the same sect as you will you look out for her? Even if she doesn’t, I’ll make sure to help Prevna if she needs it.”
If Dera joined the same sect I was planning on, I’d be more than a little surprised since it didn’t seem to fit her inclinations at all, but if she did…
“I’ll do what I can,” I said.
Wren grinned. “That’s perfect! We should all do that. Keep enjoying the party!”
She left as quickly as she came and I was glad for it. Better that than forcing her to carry the conversation all by herself. I knew I could be a better participant but it was also interesting to see her spin a conversation out of practically nothing. Nor was I inclined to help her out when her words seemed to have less substance than they used to.
Wren speaking to me punctured the bubble of solitude I had wrapped myself in and, the next thing I knew, Prevna was helping Loclen pull me into a game of Circles and Stones. Apparently, Loclen still hadn’t forgiven me for not paying attention during the game we had years ago.
I won this time around.
It didn’t seem to make her any happier.
She demanded another game, but Breck started to tell a story of one of her hunts in Haggler’s Cliffs and distractions didn’t last long in the face of her storytelling. She had gotten better since the last one I heard.
After that everyone started swapping stories and the conversation turned to our recent trials in the wind spirits’ home. Breck and everyone else wanted the details of what had happened when I earned my last boon but I maintained the story that I had completed my tempering before the wind spirits suddenly seemed to decide the trial was over. There wasn’t any reason why I should know their motives better than anyone else. Just bad timing, what else could it be?
No one really bought the excuse, but they did get the message that I wasn’t going to divulge all the secrets of my trial. It helped too that the others who had earned both boons weren’t keen to go into detail about what happened during their tempering either. It wasn’t exactly easy to describe all those sensations and different kinds of pain happening at once.
Only Breck, Ulo, and me had completed all of our boons. Everyone else would have to finish their tempering with the season changing storms. The cold season was expected to begin only a day or two. Then we’d have the declaration ceremony the first night after the storm passed—just enough time for everyone to recover from tempering or the First Flurry Festival.
I wasn’t looking forward to being stuck in the middle of Palace wide celebrations while Prevna was out in a storm trying not to freeze to death. Really, I had half a mind to join her despite already having the boon.
The conversation turned to speculating what the tempering would be like since they couldn’t earn the final boon all at once. Would they gain resistance to cold and cutting winds or would they not gain any real benefits until they braved the Warming Winds at the end of the cold season? None of us knew and the whisper women said they’d have to find out for themselves.
The party continued past the point where I was ready to leave but I stayed until everyone else decided to call it a night. Prevna was happier than I’d seen her in a long time after all the socializing and Juniper seemed to have been sneaking glances at me but she never actually asked whatever had been on the tip of her tongue. Loclen had gotten her game in, Breck her stories, and Chirp all of his treats. Nii and I were still on awkward terms from when she had fallen in with Andhi and Ulo, but everything stayed civil and Wren seemed pleased to have been the host.
It made me wonder when, other than the declaration ceremony, we would all be gathered together again. The cohort were the people I’ve known the longest since coming to the Seedling Palace and soon we’d be split apart. In some small way, it felt like leaving the tribe and it made me dread that soon I’d have to learn to navigate a much larger, new group.