-5-

[https://i.imgur.com/LoYByv0.png]

Awake... uuuugh! Am I awake already?

I tightened my eyelids as my mind stirred.

I refuse to wake up on my own. I'm going to sleep until someone drags me from this bed—

Ahhh! What was that!?

Something in my bed was wriggling wildly next to me. My eyes shot open wide.

A curly mess of red hair filled my vision.

Oh. It's just Rias.

I was in a curled position, lying on my left side. My sister was sprawled out next to me, squirming against a pillow.

I gently swept her invasive strands of hair away from my face and closed my eyes. Just as I was falling back to sleep—I was jarred back awake.

A new sensation from behind caused my body to shudder. Something was intertwining itself around my legs. I was unable to twist around to see who—or what—was behind me, so I slowly craned my neck around. Just within my periphery, an arm lazily moved its way up my side, coming to rest across my chest.

A small hand clenched tightly to my shirt, coming dangerously close to grabbing more than just cloth...

A soft mumbly voice came from the same side as the arm.

[https://i.imgur.com/OWLBtDa.png]

"Mmmm… Is it morning already, Airis?"

After freeing my legs I slowly twisted around, as to not disturb Rias, and found myself face to face with another mess of red hair. Hailey’s cherry-red hair, to be precise.

Okay, what!? What in the name of the Celestials is happening??

Hailey looked at me sleepily, her eyes barely cracked open.

"Whaaa…?" she mumbled.

The events of last night drifted into thought, and although they were a bit hazy, I definitely remembered Hailey walking me back to my tent… And staying, apparently, as I couldn’t recall her leaving.

Hailey snuggled her face into my neck and wrapped her arm back around me. Her leg coiled its way around my own.

Out of my control, a weak ‘eep’ escaped my lips. My face was hot and my chest felt like it would burst at any minute.

"Mmm… Go back to sleep, it's too early…"

Hailey and I were close when we attended the Academy together. We had shared a dormitory room, and I used to convince her to stay up until absurd hours of the night with me. We’d study until we were so exhausted that eventually we’d end up falling asleep together, just like this.

What I never told anyone though, was that I just wanted her to sleep in the same bed as me because I had a major crush on her… A decade later and it still looks like nothings changed.

Another flash of last nights events stirred in my mind. Realization flooded in.

Hailey had walked me back to my tent. Before heading back to her own, she gave me a hug. But I didn’t want to let her go… And…

Oh Celestials...

I asked her to stay the night with me, like we used to.

Rias tossed over in her sleep and now had her head pressed up against my back, trapping me in place. Exhausted and facing new levels of drama if I tried to escape, I chose to close my eyes and try to get back to sleep.

Get ahold of yourself, Airis.

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I was woken up by a finger repeatedly poking my face. I cracked one eye open.

Julius was staring down at me. His eyes drifted to my right, then my left, then returned to me. I wasn’t sure what kind of look was on his face... Ah—no, I had it. This was concentrated confusion, but with a hint of smugness.

A brand new original Julius expression.

"Not one word. I will kill you." I whispered sharply up to him.

"I have… just so many questions."

Hailey shifted in bed, "Mmmmm—oh, hey Julius." She turned her body back towards mine and buried her face against my back, "Five more minutes..."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" Julius asked.

"Tell you what?" I hissed.

"That you two were a thing."

I felt my face flush with heat, "We aren’t—I don’t—she’s—” I stammered, unable to come up with anything cohesive, “C-can we not have this conversation right now!?"

Julius started to speak but broke off and turned around. I heard someone stepping into our tent. Mitchell came into view, his face was pale.

"Julius, Commander Airis, have you seen Hailey? I checked her tent this morning but she was…" His voice trembled slightly with panic, but it slowly drifted off as he looked from Julius, to me, to Hailey. He stood there silently as he tried to comprehend the scene.

"Good morning, Luke. As it turns out, I have seen Hailey." Julius grabbed him by the shoulders and led him back out of the tent, "Come on, let's go grab some breakfast."

I’m not going to catch a break with this at all.

Luke’s entrance had woken up Hailey. She started laughing hysterically, which in turn, woke up my sister.

Rias rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. She stared blankly at the wriggling mass of blankets that was Hailey having a giggle fit underneath.

"Hmm… Hailey?" Rias mumbled, barely audible, as she looked at me, "Did she sleep in our bed last night? What is so funny?"

I refused to answer. My embarrassment level had reached a new peak. I reached for a sheet to hide my own self under, but Hailey had managed to hog them all.

Hailey was now having trouble catching her breath in the midst of her laugh attack, "It’s just that—he was probably so worried! And then he comes in here… ahaha!"

Her laughter renewed its ferocity and she was left unable to form coherent words. Rias continued to stare blankly at me, waiting for an explanation.

I covered my bright-red face with both hands and refused to give her an answer.

“Sis, are you okay?”

I shook my head and slowly crept out of bed, intent to track down my clothes.

After Hailey had calmed down, she stuck her face out of the tent and got a guard to grab her two fresh uniforms.

She held out one of the uniforms, complete with a Commander’s insignia, for me to take. As I took it, our eyes met.

"H-hey, about last night, and this morning, I…" my eyes darted around the room

She leaned in close and her eyes sparkled, "Yeeeah?"

You can’t tell her. You can’t tell her. You can’t tell her. Don’t say anything stupid, Airis.

My heart was racing again.

“I-I, umm… wanted to say thank you, for the wine.”

"Anytime!"

Once we had finished getting changed, she grabbed onto Rias and I, dragging us from the tent.

We ended up at the command tent, where Julius, Mitchell, and Hanna were already eating. I sat down a few chairs away from Julius.

I am not getting baited into any of his nonsense this morning.

Rias and Hailey sat on either side of me.

Great, from the bed to the breakfast table.

Mitchell shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he shoveled food into his mouth.

Hanna and Hailey left together after breakfast to get status updates from all the camp’s sectional leaders. Which left Mitchell, Rias, Julius, and I to figure out where we could be helpful. Rias was the first one to offer up a genuinely good idea to begin our day

"I’ve been tinkering with a new invention for the last few days with Dori’s help. I asked her to pair an action class Sonic enchantment and a combat class Aether enchantment to enhance some small handheld runes. If you channel a small amount of magick to it, it will let you connect to any of the other runes over a far distance. In theory, you can talk into it and it will transfer your voice on the other end. She should have them done, would you mind going with me to see her?"

"Magic runes that allow you to speak over long distances? Sounds like some artificer fiction to me, Rias. But of course I’ll go with you." I gave Julius a wave, "Byeee. You boys are on your own this morning."

And we left before they could protest.

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The camp was in a frenzy. Tents were being torn down, supplies boxed up, and wagons loaded. It was quite a sight to see how organized the whole process was being handled. I had expected there to be a little more disorder.

The blacksmith’s tent was a few minutes walk from where the command tent was positioned. I looked over at Rias, who was scampering ahead of me.

“Hey, Rias. Hold up a second!”

She skipped forwards and spun around. “Of course! Are you feeling okay? You were acting weird this morning.”

Gah!

“I’m feeling just fine, thank you. I wanted to talk to you about how you ended up at the camp with Luke and Hailey. I thought you were returning to your school?”

“Oh, well I was.”

I waited for her to keep going. I leaned my head towards her and raised my eyebrows.

“But what happened? How did you wind up here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m relieved you’re okay. And I’m happy you’re safe. But…”

“But what?”

But I’m worried I’m about to take you with me into a battleground.

I shook my head.

“Doesn’t matter I guess,” I grabbed her side and pulled her in for a hug, “Knowing you’re safe is the important thing.”

Rias returned my embrace and we scuttled forward.

“I don’t know how we ended up here really. After I got to Dori’s schoolhouse, she had us pack everything up and we left the city that night.”

Of course, Dörien the artificer was Rias’ teacher. A lock lifted and the gears in my brain started to spin freely.

As we passed through the camp I got more than my fair share of greetings and salutes. Apparently the news had made its way around the camp that Hailey and the Consulate had appointed me as the acting High-Regent.

Rias and I arrived at where the blacksmith’s tent had been, but found only a large wagon packed to the maximum with crates and soot covered stones.

"You think your runes got packed up in those crates?"

"Maybe… I hope not."

Dörien’s head popped up from behind one of the crates on the wagon, calling out to Rias.

"Oi! Lil’ tinkerer, over ‘ere."

"Dori! Hey! Did you get a chance to finish that rune project? I wanted to show it off to Airis."

"Aye, got ‘em right ‘ere."

She dug out a handful of coin sized runes from a rucksack near her feet and handed them down to Rias. "Gettin’ yer’ points in wit’ the new High-Commander are ye’ lil’ tinkerer?"

"I don’t have to worry about that, Dori," Rias let out a chuckle and then grabbed me in a side hug, "Airis is my big sister."

Dörien stared intensely at us, her eyes darted back and forth between Rias and me. "Aye... Guess ye’ could see a resemblance."

We left Dörien to get back to her tasks. Rias handed me one of the runes.

"Here, take one. Place it just in front of your ear and give it a light tap. It should stay in place once activated."

I looked it over in my hand. It was a small unassuming runestone with elaborate carvings. "Have you decided what you’re going to name this project of yours, little sister?"

"I’ve been calling them communirunes for now. Got a better idea?"

I let out a light sigh, followed by a groan.

Rias gave me a great big smile, "So it’s a perfect name, then. Thanks sis!"

LOOTABLES

ITEM

ATTRIBUTES

DESCRIPTION

COMMUNIRUNE

-

A small intricate rune. Enchanted with Sonic and Aether magick. Allows for long distance communication.

I did as Rias explained and tapped the rune while near my ear. The rune gave me a harmless static shock when it energized, but it caused me to jump a little bit. I let out a yelp by reflex.

“Eeek!”

"Oh sorry! I forgot to mention that they should channel magicka from you to work. It’s a negligible amount though, even someone without an affinity for Aether can use them."

I gave Rias a look of mock disappointment.

"Come ooon. I bet it didn’t even hurt! Let’s test them out. Just stay here, I’ll stand over there and you’ll see how awesome these are."

Rias ran a fair distance away. She was close enough that I could still see her, but there was no way I’d be able to hear her say anything. I’m not sure I’d even be able to hear her well if she was yelling.

The faint hum of magickal energy filled my ears, followed by the crystal clear voice of my sister, "Heeey, Airis, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, Sis. I can hear you."

"Awesome!"

"So, how do these things work? I know once you’ve energized them they’re on. But I didn’t sense any magickal energy until you started talking to me."

"Dori said she enchanted them to be intent based. Basically, if you subconsciously think about who you want to be able to hear you, your rune should transmit to theirs."

I can’t believe these little runes could be so complex. That dwarf really knows her stuff.

I rejoined Rias and we started heading back to the command tent. It was past noon now, and I wanted to get our party together to make sure these runes worked for everyone.

We arrived quickly—but the command tent was already being taken down. A quick scan around nearby and we found the members of my party gathered together close by. Julius spotted me at the same time and waved us over.

I shoved a rune into his palm, "Here, stick this to your face."

He gave me a blank stare but, after seeing the rune I had placed near my ear, he placed the rune near his and gave it a tap. His posture tightened slightly and the blank look narrowed sharply to a piercing gaze.

In a voice rich in sarcasm, dramatically I clutched my hand to my chest, "Oh, did I forget to mention that it would give you a little jolt? I’m so sorry."

That’s what you get for messing with me this morning!

I handed out runes to the rest of the party, giving a second one to Mitchell to give to Hanna later. Rias explained how they worked to the whole team.

When everyone had settled back down I tapped my wrist rune and brought up a party visual. I added the members to our party, and assigned the designated roles. It wouldn’t be long before we’d be heading out.

It should be about that time any minute. The camp is pretty much packed up and wagons have already started to head out of the clearing.

Hanna approached with a small group of soldiers with her. I recognized a few of them from the remainder of Luke’s scouting party yesterday. They must have been assigned under Hanna’s party last night.

Hanna saluted Hailey and I, her right arm snapping into place across her chest with precision.

"Camp breakdown is completed, Commanders. I’ve given orders for all sectors to depart. They’re underway as we speak."

I returned her salute, "Thanks, Hanna. At ease. Mitchell has something for you. I would appreciate it if you would take it and see Rias, she’ll explain how to use it."

"I’ll see them right away." She started to walk away but paused mid step and turned back, "Hey, Commander, I was wondering something. Why don’t you call Luke by his given name, but you call me by mine?"

I gave her a blank look, "Hmmm…" I tapped my chin with my left index finger.

Why don’t I call Mitchell by his given name?

I shrugged, "If I had to guess, It's because when we met, he introduced himself as ‘Knight-Lieutenant Mitchell’. But when you and I met, you were just ‘Hanna’. I didn’t really notice I was doing that."

She let out a huge sigh, "Oh, okay! We were worried you didn’t like him."

Mitchell had walked over during our conversation, and his face was completely red again.

Poor guy couldn’t catch a break today. Hanna patted him on the shoulder, "Luke, good news! The commander doesn’t hate you!"

I looked at the now ruby red face of my party member, "Would you like it if I called you Luke? If so, I have no problem if that’s what you’d prefer."

"Y—you really don’t have to, Commander. It’s not a big deal. Really." He stammered.

"Well it’s settled then, Luke. Now, if you would please take Hanna to see Rias and get her all set I’d appreciate it."

"Of course, Commander! I’ll get her all caught up."

Hailey had been watching our exchange and let out a laugh. She followed after Luke and Hanna.

I packed up the rest of my gear and helped Julius load our equipment onto our horses.

When the three returned from getting Hanna’s communirune setup, we all rode together to the front of the marching army.

The mountain pass was still quite a few hours away. And Tolin was a two day ride from the outpost, but with this many soldiers on foot it could easily take double or triple that.

It would give me plenty of time to think.

I pulled my coin from my pocket, and Julius and I started calling sides for who would decide on potential battle plans.

----------------------------------------

We made camp at the mountain summit and I was planning to settle in for bed as soon as possible.

I was exhausted from a day of riding. Everyone else seemed to have the same feelings too, because after dinner they practically crawled into their tents.

Julius, Rias, and I had agreed to share a tent again. He had offered to get his own tent, of course. But I hadn’t spent a night away from Julius in the last few weeks, and his presence had become a sort of calming coping mechanism for me to be able to get to sleep. I responded to his suggestion with a piercing glare and he retracted the offer.

I disrobed unceremoniously and flopped into bed, Rias was already fast asleep by the time I had gotten back from dinner. My head hit the pillow and I closed my eyes. I had almost drifted off to sleep, when I heard Hailey’s voice from the entryway.

"Airis, are you still awake?” "

Just a few words and I was out of rhythm.

I lifted myself up, clutching a sheet close to my body, “Yeah. I’m up. Did you need something, Hails?”

I could hear her boots scrape against the dirt as she kicked her foot around.

“I completely forgot to have someone make me up a tent… and so I’m kinda without a place to sleep—”

“—You want to sleep here!?”

“Is that okay?”

“I—We just have the two beds so you’d…”

Have to sleep with me…

I was so nervous I couldn’t even bring myself to even say the words. She had stepped into the tent and was now hovering above me in bed.

She bent down and softly whispered into my ear, “It’s not like I haven’t slept with you before, Airis.”

I swallowed hard and tried to keep my face from flooding with embarrassment.

“You have to watch your phrasing!”

She giggled and dramatically placed a hand over her mouth, “Whaaat? Did I say something wrong?”

Hailey spent a moment taking off her gear. She glanced over towards Julius, who was already asleep.

Or at least pretending to be, I’m sure I’ll hear about this in the morning. I can hear his smugness already.

She stripped down into her smallclothes and slipped in under the sheets. Her soft breath slowed in pace.

No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t settle myself down.

After I was certain she was asleep, I carefully adjusted in bed so that I was facing her. The bed sheet clung close to her chest. Rising and falling with each breath.

I synchronized my own breathing with hers.

In… out… in… out… she’s so beautiful—Gaaah!

I mentally slapped myself and focused on the slow and steady breathing until my eyelids grew heavy and I finally fell asleep.