“We haven’t seen each other in a while.”

The next afternoon, Little Water was once again seated in the welcoming room of the estate, trying to contain her excitement. She’d wanted to claim her reward for her discovery immediately, but Lou refused. Her human wasn’t being held in the estate, but in a warehouse with their other belongings. They would have to retrieve him. That, and Lou insisted that their meeting be chaperoned. She didn’t want to bother at night so Lou declared that it would take place the next day.

She, Earl, and Kierra had already departed to retrieve Khan as well as the rest of their belongings some time ago. When Little Water heard footsteps approaching her, she suspected it was the sound of their return, her tail tapping the cushion it laid on as she straightened. Her attention waned to confusion as the fair-haired human she’d captured to be her guide to the agent entered the room.

She thought she was quite good at reading expressions, having studied with her human, but his features were smooth and his tone casual, giving her no hints. He was outside of his armor, a rarity for a northern knight, his lean figure covered by ill-fitting clothes of common design. Days old stubble soiled his usually clean shaven face and the whites of his eyes were tinged with red.

“You have not been around,” she stated neutrally as he approached. She didn’t understand the fair-haired man. She’d assaulted him, kidnapped him, and forced him to aid her. Logic dictated that they would enemies, or at least that he would be hostile to her. Yet, he wasn’t. If anything, he friendly.

He sighed, perching on the end of the couch she sat on. “I needed some space. Your revelations were quite shocking.” He chuckled. “I offered to help with the March, but Alana firmly said it was none of my business and sent me to the Myriad Zone with some funds.” The smile conjured by his laughter twisted into a rueful expression. “I guess she was getting me out of the way. I wouldn’t have been much help.”

Little Water wondered if he was expecting her to comfort him. Her human taught her that humans bared their fears to one another, seeking support from their brood. It was a concept more foreign to her than their aboveground shelters. Her sisters never hesitated to pounce on any failings she displayed, doing anything it took to raise their positions and eliminate competition.

She had proved herself nothing but an enemy and yet, he was still making himself vulnerable before her. It was…strange. Strange, but not unpleasant. Far better than him working against her.

For that, she decided to grant his unspoken request. Moving closer, she extended her tail, wrapping the end around his calf. He jerked, looking at her with an expression that was hard to decipher. “It is good that you were away,” she said, softening her voice to the whisper that worked well with her human when his worries got the best of him. “Your death would have been an unnecessary loss.”

He chuckled with a little more energy. “Didn’t know you cared.”

“I owe you.” He had helped her. If he was an enemy, she would use him without care, but if they were going to be allies, she should work to erase her wrongs against him.

“I won’t argue, though you’ve already given me something.”

Little Water thought back, but she couldn’t remember such a thing. “What?”

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“Insight.” His eyes glowed as he raised a hand. Little Water flinched as a ball of light appeared over his palm, brightening the gloom of the room caused by the tightly closed shutters over the windows, but she quickly mastered herself. Experience told her that magic being used to next to her was an attack and it took effort to convince herself otherwise.

“I never thought hard about my life and what it’d amount to. There aren’t many options in the north, but this set my path in stone. I would be a knight, a duelist, and I would slay titans. I never saw a problem with it or doubted my path.”

The glow in his eyes faded, the ball disappearing as his hand dropped limply to his side. “But now, all I have is questions. How did things get to where they are? Victory marches beyond the Peaks every winter to fight monsters. Hundreds and thousands die, but we’ve gotten accustomed to the loss. They die so that the next generation gets one step closer to victory. Victory over, apparently, the estrazi, who are guarding the world from the being that nearly ended it. That doesn’t make any sense.

“Why are we fighting? We should be helping one another. No sane person would march against you if they knew about you, what your people do. So, did the founders not know? If they didn’t, why didn’t the estrazi tell them? And if they did, what were they thinking?”

“If there are records about the brood interacting with the humans of that time, I don’t know of them,” Little Water offered. “I do know that the estrazi generally don’t cooperate with other creatures in our duties. We were given purpose by the majesties. Our missions are sacred. Only those who dedicate themselves to them the way we do could be trusted and every civilization’s dedication has been found wanting. In the end, they always prioritize their people, their cities, or their personal glory. This would have been right after what you call the Great War, when our people were attacked around the world and driven away. Trust would have been…difficult. Impossible.”

He shook his head. “So, the answer is to send titans after us?”

“No. While we languish in the north, the rest of the world continues without our intervention, those who would engage in the worst taboos living without censor. That’s why it’s so important that we open communication with Victory.” The estrazi were the guardians of the world, not the corner of a single continent. While guarding the prison of the Defiler was an important duty, it would be for naught if another Defiler appeared because of their shortsightedness.

The fair-haired human shook his head. “That’s the biggest question of all. It’s impossible to go back to being a simple knight grateful to make it back home at the end of a campaign. Not when there are cities being crushed and dragons lurking. I…have to do something. But what do you do in the face of those kinds of problems? It’s all so…big. Give me a sword and an enemy, I’m fine. This? I don’t have a clue. Maybe that’s why—"

He cut himself off by coughing into a hand. “What I meant is that I admire your vision. I understand how impressive it is to face these things head on. You’re an incredible woman, Little Water.”

His words were foolish. If he thought as much, she could only assume that he had seen very few impressive things in his life. What was her reckless floundering against obstacles before her sisters, like Great Earth, that maintained and expanded the estrazi’s warren every day? Or Great Fire that could reduce even the largest of the titans to ash with a single spell? She was insignificant. That’s why her decisions had to be larger than her.

“I face these issues because there is no other choice. If nothing changes, they will crush us.”

He hummed noncommittally while staring into her eyes. The moment dragged on for so long, she was contemplating asking him if something was wrong but a commotion drew her attention. She looked over her shoulder as Lou and Kierra entered the room, a long rectangular box between them. They set it down carefully, Lou letting out a long sigh and rolling her shoulders.

“I thought I would have to throw Marcella out of a window to get her off of us,” the agent sighed. “Where is Max when you need her? Without any competition to be wary of, that woman is getting bold—”

Lou paused as she saw the two of them on the couch, her annoyed frown turning into a smile after a short pause. “Am I interrupting?”

“No.” Little Water quickly retracted her tail as the fair-haired man stood. “Good to see you, Lou.”

“You too, Lance. You’ve got interesting timing.” Her foot lightly tapped the box. “We were just about to wake sleeping beauty.”