Chapter 44: Bulwark

They ended up staying at the beachside bar for longer than they planned. The fruity red drinks were sweet and smooth, and the food plentiful. Adriana had no problem covering them both, and after four hours of eating, drinking, and laughing, she’d only gone through a third of her haemar. Not bad for a good celebration, and Lucas had made it sound like they’d be on the move enough to not need to worry about day to day costs.

It had been too long since she’d had extended peace, and it allowed her to relax enough to get sloppy. She slammed a half-empty cup on the bar, letting out a large belch. Davos laughed and slapped her on the back.

“You’re an animal, Adriana,” he said while his eyes focused and unfocused. “You remind me of…”

“Of who?” she demanded when he didn’t continue. “You can’t keep fucking with me like that. You can’t keep acting like you got this whole big story out here that’s too painful to tell.”

Davos nodded and took another drink. He was about as sloppy as she was, but he had a spark to him that he normally kept hidden. “You know what? You’re right. You deserve an answer or two. So, picture this!” He raised his cup dramatically, and his drink splashed out over a large man walking by.

“Hey!” he barked. His expression turned murderous. “You’re gonna pay for that.”

Davos whirled around to face him, and then his eyes went unfocused. “S-sorry about that,” he said. He set the cup down and clasped the man’s shoulder. “Lemme buy you a drink to make up for it, yeah?”

Even without the Mystery of Precision to spoil it, Adriana saw the punch coming from a mile away. If she hadn’t been as drunk as she was, she might have been able to intercept it. Instead, the man’s fist slammed into Davos’ cheek. Her friend spun around and fell to the ground.

The bar wasn’t especially crowded, though it had picked up business as they came closer to sunset. Enough for some of the twenty other people to be the man’s friends. At least, she guessed one group to be, after she slugged him and they stood up.

“Oh hell,” the bartender grumbled before ringing a bell. “Brawl! Brawl!” she called.

Half the people there had been through this before. Some picked up their drinks and got the hell out of the way. Others got up and saw a chance to have fun. Adriana grinned at them and motioned for them to come at her. She didn’t try to dodge the first punch that came her way.

It hit, and it almost hurt. The man had no Divinity to him, and his punch felt like being hit by a particularly large child. She laughed and kneed him in his considerable gut. He let out a choked sound as the air left him, then Adriana grabbed him by the shoulders and practically threw him at his friends behind him.

Davos picked himself up and threw a punch after the fact. It hit Adriana in the shoulder. She laughed and smacked the back of his head. Her friend reeled and steadied himself by taking a drink. Then came the next round of attackers.

There was an honest joy in a bar fight. Something small, without stakes or worry. Not once did she consider using one of her abilities, or even to punch too hard. As angry a person as she was, Adriana was a happy drunk. The rage was buried beneath joy as she let blows rain down on her, only occasionally lashing out with a strike that sent her foes crashing backwards.

For every person she knocked back, another two took their place. She laughed as they collapsed on the obvious threat in the room. “Fuck off,” she crowed, “you are flies trying to swat a God!”

The bell rang again, a cloud clanging that jolted Adriana and made her pay attention. Her opponents got off her, but not before one last punch hit hard enough to make her pause. The bar cleared out of everyone except her and Davos, and the armed and armored men running straight for them, weapons out.

“Bulwark, on your knees and submit!” the closer of the four officers of the Bulwark barked. He had a thick, powerful mustache and a scowl on his face.

Davos complied at once, only stumbling a little. He dropped to his knees and put his hands behind his head. The dumb grin never left his face. “C’mon Adriana,” he said. “We’re caught, fair and square.”

She was outnumbered, four to one, and they were ready for a more serious fight than she was. Beating them was possible, but then what? The drinks caught up to her, and she dropped to her knees. “But we still won the fight, right?”

They weren’t especially gentle as they tied their hands and marched them out of the bar. The moment she stepped into the light, her hair and hands ignited once more, and the Bulwark stopped for a second.

“What’s wrong?” Adriana said with a cheeky grin. “We broke the law, right? Take us in!”

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Davos laughed and nudged her with his shoulder. “You heard the lady! Let’s go sleep it off, maybe get some water.”

They marched them off to the nearest jail, and a runner went up to the temple to inform them of the disturbance. Neither of them were worried. Who was going to care about a simple bar brawl where no one had been hurt and only a few tables broke? It was easier to just go along and laugh as they were ushered to a cell and locked up.

“Hey Davos?” said Adriana, “were we the only ones arrested?”

He looked around. Three other people were in the holding cell, and they kept their distance. “I think so. Goes to show, the stronger you get the more of a target on your back. Remember that.”

She nodded at his sage advice. It was definitely a truth in her life. The more she stood tall and proud, the more the world sought to knock her down. Not the world, but people. It only made sense that they arrested the strongest person at the bar. She’d simply been winning too well.

“Hey,” Adriana said as she remembered, “What was the story you were going to tell me? About who I remind you of.”

The smile vanished off his face. Davos took a deep breath and settled in, bent over with his elbows resting on his knees. “Daphne. Her name was Daphne. And she was my best friend. What is it you think I did, back before we met?”

Adriana shrugged. “I never gave it much thought. I figured you were a scout or something. That’s what you’re good at, right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m good at,” Davos chuckled. He stayed silent for a moment, mulling over his words. Right when Adriana was about to poke him, he said, “I used to rescue people, after disasters. That’s how I got my first ability. I impressed Angelina, lady of the roads. There was a disaster, and I jumped in to pull people out of the water.”

After all this time, hearing even a snippet of Davos’ past had her attention. Unfortunately, so did the alcohol, and focusing was difficult. “You got your Gusts from Angelina directly? For rescuing people? What happened?”

“The Maw happened. This was about when she first turned, you see. No one knew she’d gone rogue.” Davos smiled bitterly. “Back then, she was just the goddess of the wild. She was still queen of beasts and monsters, but it was to protect nature, you know?”

She didn’t. Adriana had been four years old when the Maw became a force of destruction and death. There was never a time in her life where the Titan had been considered anything but trouble, and the idea that she had been good before… “Are you serious?”

Davos nodded, then held his head and groaned. “Yeah. The Maw’s creatures attacked, and it started a fire. I got people out but suffered a burn. So after everything was said and done, the village prayed. For days, they said. And their prayers were answered. The village received a spell of protection, healing, and me and a couple others were given gifts to help defend and save the helpless.”

Adriana thought about it more. “Juthida. You helped them out in the past. How?”

“Oh, that one was pretty easy. There was a shipwreck, and -- “

The door to the jail opened. Lucas and Cora came in. Cora looked amused, Lucas did not. The lead member of the Bulwark stepped between them and the cell. “This one of yours then, Lucas? She was caught starting a fight down on the beach.”

“So I heard,” Lucas said. “I’ll pay for any damages or fines, if you’d be willing to release them to me. I’ll take responsibility for anything they do.”

Adriana rolled her eyes. “I take responsibility for myself!” she shouted. “It was a simple, harmless fight. And I won!”

“Of course you did,” Cora chuckled. “Look, Michael, we both know this was a big nothing. Will you let them go if I promise not to heal their hangovers?”

The burly, armored man thought about it. “That and pay their fine and we’ll skip the headache. This really one of yours?”

“You better believe it!” Adriana stood on shaky legs. “I’m his brightest new star. I’m going to kill the Maw!”

Michael stared at her. “Uh-huh. Well, if you do, I’ll pay that fine back and then some. Until then, don’t pick fights in my city.”

They had an audience as they left the jail and headed back to the temple. Lucas led, while Cora trailed behind. Adriana waved fiery hands to people as she passed. Every so often she blew a kiss and laughed.

“Would you stop that?” Lucas snapped when they reached the first of the many stairs. “You promised me you would behave and set an example, and then you immediately get arrested for getting in a drunk fight. Is that the example you want to set?”

“It’s fine,” said Adriana. “It was just a bit of harmless fun. Celebration! Starting now, I’ll be a good little soldier. Promise.”

“She’s lying,” Cora said from behind. “But I’m sure you knew that.”

They climbed the stairs, Adriana and Davos slower than the others. Water sounded good then. Water, and a good, long nap. By the time they got to the first landing, she needed a break and to steady herself on Davos, who looked half asleep already.

Lucas allowed them all a break. His frown killed the mood entirely. It made Adriana groan and ask, “What’s the big deal? It’s no harm done. If you want, I’ll even say sorry to the jerk that hit me. We’ll laugh and have a drink over it.”

“The big deal is that we already have a mission,” said Lucas. “We’ve got something to do, and we leave in just two hours.”

Adriana paused. “Oh. Yeah, fair. What’re we going to do? Slay monsters? Hunt down dark Demigods?”

Cora snickered. Once more, Lucas sighed. “Wrangling cattle.”

“Cattle?” Adriana scoffed.

“To be fair,” said Cora, “they’re man-eating cattle, twice our size, and they broke out of their pen. They’re threatening to overrun all of one of our satellite islands.”

“Man-eating cattle,” said Davos. He snorted and shook his head. “I’m all for it. Adriana?”

She thought about it, through the fatigue and the drunken haze. “I’m down for anything if it means proving I’m serious and getting you to stop looking like that. Let’s do this!”

Even in her drunken haze, the desire to fight and grow her legend meant everything. If it meant knocking around some giant cows, then she’d strike fear into the hearts of cattle everywhere. And maybe then Lucas would trust her.