"No, not from Dante, from the storm on Nadia's home island--" Kaden started to explain to Lilith just as Nadia walked in.
But when Nadia asked about the bite mark and Lilith's cut he looked at his sister, uncertain plain on his face.
"Sis, do you want me to explain? or would you rather --"
He doubted either of them wanted Nadia to know the whole story, certainly not where it touched on Lilith's past, but by this point the whole castle probably knew who had been fighting whom and why.
There was a moment of hesitation before Lilith declared herself hungry and left Kaden the job in question. Kaden didn't blame her one bit. He waited until he was sure she was gon before starting.
"Remember all the commotion and people surrounding Shola when we returned? Well it didn't take me long to figure out what it was about. Short version is Shaka attacked Lilith last night and Dante intervened and killed him for it. I didn't know the part about Lilith being attacked and when I asked Dante what happened we ended up fighting as well."
Kaden shrugged, "It'll all get sorted eventually."
He very carefully did not say who had started the second fight. For some reason he felt it was better to let everyone blame him.
"You should also know that Aquaman got caught in the crossfire trying to break us up and the Boss Lady is, justifiably, pretty pissed at the two of us."
Maevric looked up from where he was currently going over some of the reports he and Trevean had been working on the night before in a cramped little office in the back quadrant of the soldier's barracks. Truth be told it hadn't phased him at all when his brother hadn't shown up to work. He knew the other man hadn't been sleeping again. It wasn't exactly a new thing, and he always could tell. It was something about the tilt of Trevean's head and the sideways glance in his eyes. Though it seemed the man had learned to hide it better since those times when they had been boys.
What did take him by surprise was the way the captain was dressed. After a moment looking her over he managed to close his gaping jaw and process what it was she had actually said.
"If--" he had to clear his throat, "if he's left that damn violin behind you can be certain he'll be back in a few days. I wouldn't worry too much," he grumbled looking back at the papers.
"I do not have a few days," Shola replied quickly. "I need to go find him now. I want to find him now, not in a few days. Isn't there anywhere he might be, a place maybe he goes to brood? I need to talk to him, to apologize."
Maevric's head jerked up at her tone and he paused, daring to look Shola directly in her eyes. "Trev doesn't hide for no reason, Sho- Captain." Maevric winced at his blunder. "Where he hides has always depended on why. I mean is this a he thinks he's about to be punished thing? Or was there something recently that would threaten his sense of safety." And then as if he thought that statement needed clarification, "to be honest he's not really the hide because of a fight type. Trev's always confronted fightable things head on. It's when he can't that he hides."
Maevric paused a moment and grew decidedly pink around the ears. "And for the record he would not be happy to know I'd been paying that much attention. So as a sibling I'd rather you not tell him"
Although Shola had frowned as Maevric almost called her by name, she sighed a little and relaxed her posture.
"I suppose the latter-- I do not think he thinks he is in danger of being punished, although I do not know why he'd think his safety was in danger either. All I know is that he is angry with me, and I need to make things right. We had a fight about our relationship, and it is my fault. I need to make that up to him."
"The safety thing doesn't even need to be related to you," Maevric tried to clarify. "But when we were kids there would be things that would set him off and he would vanish after. Stupid things really. Like one time Ed managed to trap him in the bathroom . . . Had no idea he was so claustrophobic before that - or that blond guy we saw in the market -- looked a lot like that painting --"
Maevric shook his head suddenly as if to clear it. "Psychoanalysis of my brother aside, I need to ask you something first. No disrespect meant, but are you coming to me as his brother, or as one of your soldiers?"
She closed her eyes and bowed her head a little.
"As his brother. I don't know anyone else to go to, Maevric. I'm coming to you as Shola, as just another person who happens to care deeply for your brother, but is terrible at showing it sometimes."
"Alright," Maevric started before standing to fish through the tiny desk in search of some paper. "But you didn't hear this from me. Tell him you can track him or something."
And the soldier grabbed a pen and began to sketch a small map. "You remember how my folk's house sits just past that cliffy hill that rings that tiny little beach? The whole area is our property. Papa Kord bought it before Dad lost everything when that damn loan came due. Anyway . . ." And he trailed the pen down the page drawing a rocky path and some steps.
"This comes out at one end, over here on the opposite side is a small cave. It's pretty well hidden behind a small rock outcropping, kind of a tight squeeze." And he ticked an X at the spot.
"At first it all looks like a small room. But if you listen for the ocean you can find another room at the back. The door's all hidden in the shadows, and Trev may have gotten clever and painted a big board to look like more rock and rigged it to act like a door from the other side. Not the best, but in the dark you can't tell. If you can get back there I think that's where you'll find him."
He finished the sketch, blotted the ink, and then carefully handed it to her.
"I'm fairly sure Trev has no idea I know it's there. But sometimes I used to catch him sneaking out and I'd follow. Just to see if he was going on one of those jobs or not. We fought a lot about those back then . . ."
Shola felt panic well up in her when Maev confirmed that Trevean had left the city. That meant he was in danger, and there was no time to waste. Hurriedly she took the paper and gave Maev a slight bow.
"Thank you! I will make sure Trevean returns safely, and I will not tell him how I found him unless he presses me."
With those last words, Shola hurried off to find her horse and without pausing rode off to the Auster's, her hair streaming behind her.
Trevean, meanwhile had made it out with his pack and a roll of blankets, a lantern, and a hammock he had managed to put together after talking with Nadia. His original plan had been to borrow from his folks, but that ran the risk of getting caught and answering awkward questions. Right now he just needed to be alone.
Finding a nice sheltered nook he transformed into that white bear and took the pack and roll up in his teeth before breaking into a galloping run. The form was fast enough to get him where he wanted to be in good time, and not the type to be easily threatened.
Once there he made short work of lighting the lantern and making his way through the cave to his little saferoom. It had remained untouched by all except time since his last visit. That was a relief, and he instantly felt
The iron hooks were still securely in the wall and from those he suspended the hammock, setting the lantern on a little makeshift rock table, tossing his bag in a corner he knew would stay dry, and then unfurling the blankets into the hammock to make a little nest of wool and furs. The chill of the cave was almost welcome, helping him clear his head, but Trevean knew he could not stay unprotected in it for long.
"Something happens," he muttered to himself as he climbed into the hammock and wrapped the furs as tightly around himself as he could. "Every time I find a place I want to stay, something always happens . . . I just – I just didn't think it would be this." Shivering slightly with the cold as his body worked to warm the blankets he rolled onto his side. He tried to focus his thoughts and figure out what this meant for him going forward. If he couldn't somehow explain his point of view then . . . But the Dire Queen's voice and the words "you'll destroy her," kept playing in his mind." Yes it somehow felt as if she were the one breaking him.
It didn't matter if he slept now or not. Trouble lingered in both worlds now.
Tying her horse up in a sheltered cove unlikely to be found, Shola made her way into the cave and let one hand glow so she could read the map, following it to the wooden door. Carefully she opened and shut it behind her, bracing it with a few loose stones to keep unwanted intruders out. In the short distance she saw the lantern glow and followed it, pausing only to trace her fingers along the drawings she'd left there long ago. So it had been a safe spot for both of them at some point or the other. It made sense, and to think they'd been very near to finding each other for so long-- this had to be fixed. It just had to be.
Finding Trevean in the hammock, she hesitated for a long moment, unsure if she should wake him or not. Finally she squared her shoulders a little and called, gently:
"Trevean? Altera?"
Trevean gave the sharp intake of breath of someone jolted from a deep troubled dream but no other sign. Yet from beneath the edge of the furs Shola could make out the gleam of his electric blue eyes peering warily at her. Yet while he did not welcome her, neither did he send her away.
"Trevean, I've been an ass. And I understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore. But I want to ask for another chance, even if I wasn't there when you needed me, and even if I did treat you like a toy… I know what that means to you after Sophia, and the last thing I wanted to do was be like her. To diminish your worth in any way. You mean the world to me, and… I thought I could keep you totally apart from my work. But you're part of my life, all parts of it."
She took a deep breath.
"Where do I begin? I thought no one would respect me if I was no longer the iron solitary soldier. If I was seen in-- with someone. But I was being a fool about dealing with it. Trying to hide you won't fix the problem. I'll-- we'll manage, somehow. But I truly do hope it will be 'we' from now on. I was an idiot, Trevean. I'm so sorry I hurt you."
There was a moment of silence as Trevean took in her words, and then a sudden motion as the fur moved enough to reveal an arm reaching for her.
"Come here," he started his voice raw with emotion, "please?"
Shola moved rapidly to the hammock, grasping his hand before bending to look at him between the furs.
"May I join you in the hammock, Mr. Auster?" she asked, squeezing his hand.
No words were said, but the covers moved enough to allow her space and the hand holding hers gently tugged her in. There was a moment of awkward shifting as they tried to both lay comfortable in a way that wouldn't cause the hammock to dump them both and the cold floor. The end result was they lay side by side with Trevean's arms around her in a way that clearly indicated he was afraid to let her go.
"Do you mean it?" He whispered finally into the candle lit dark.
Shola settled in against him, curling her fingers in his shirt and nuzzling her nose against his.
"Absolutely. I stand by every word that I said, and I am so sorry I hurt you. I was afraid you would get hurt coming here-- I was afraid I'd lose you."
She ran the backs of her fingers across his cheek and then curled them around his shoulder.
"Everything you said earlier was right. I need to integrate you more into my life. I need to include you, even if there are times when I need space. I need to communicate more, better… I need to lean on you sometimes, we need to lean on each other. And I haven't let you do that for me. It's hard, but… I'd like to try. To start."
"I wasn't sure what was happening at first," he whispered back, not quite finding it fitting to speak normally. "And I honestly didn't think I was asking for too much. I'm really not asking for a lot, just a little acknowledgment, a wave or smile, or to at least be referred to as your Other . . . I promise that's all . . . and I may have let my mood get the better of me and not been as gentle as I should have been when I did say something--"
"You didn't ask for anything unreasonable," Shola replied quickly.
"I let stress overwhelm me and didn't tell you how bad things were. I was embarrassed to think they might see me differently, but that's their problem. I'm proud of you, and proud that you are mine. I want others to know it too. That's what's fair to you, and I want you to know that I'm not ashamed of you. Anyone would be proud to be yours, and I am."
She paused, biting her lip.
"We are together, are we not? I know, now, that the ruse in Waterworld when I first wore the rings was something to do with signing over territory or contracts, but since then, since we talked in the forest in Piper's homeworld, are we… Together?"
Trev blinked at her in surprise. He hadn't quite expected this.
"I've thought of us as something togetherish since you didn't outright refuse me after I stole that first kiss," he mumbled uncertainly. "If we're not together now I've been an outright fool for not making it clear."
Shola nodded against his chest and closed her eyes.
"That's what I needed to know… It feels good to hear it. I was afraid I might have misunderstood somewhere. I don't want to hide our relationship. I was thinking… I want you to go out with the Red Guard and myself. We haven't gone out in a long time, and I think we all need the break. I'd like to introduce them to you."
"If you're sure you're okay with that," Trevean answered slowly, "And I'd like to set some clear boundaries as far as what's okay and what's not when you're working and how to communicate when we need spare or comfort. Or other things. I know most couples fight, but it seems most of ours stem from communications mishaps and I want us to work out . . . is couple okay with you as a label for this? As in if I were to refer to you as my girlfriend?"
"I'm very okay with that, with you meeting them and with being called a couple. As for when I'm on the job… Perhaps just hugs and quick kisses? I cannot do too much when I'm in uniform, but I do want it to be obvious we're a couple. You are much better at social cues than I am, I'm sure you'll know what to do."
She tilted her head up and kissed his chin.
"I want you to always feel like I value you, and us. What can I do to help with that when I'm at work?"
"A hug or quick kiss would be enough," he assured gently, "or if you're super busy maybe some sort of acknowledgement about talking to me later or over dinner or something. We don't have to figure it all out at the moment, just so long as we agree to figure it out . . ." His voice trailed slightly as he struggled to suppress a yawn. And then failed. "Sorry," Trevean mumbled. "Haven't slept much lately."
"I'm sorry. I wanted to go to you, but there was scarcely a moment I could sleep either, let alone not be putting out a fire of some sort. If it is possible, however, we need to get back into the city as soon as possible, and… I don't know if you intended to see your family, but it would be best if they came to the city with us. The taboo I put on their property won't hold much longer, and when it goes, they'll be in danger."
Shola began to raise her body temperature subtly, hoping to counteract the chill of the cave.
"I think we can swing a good nap, but after that, we may need to gather up and leave."
The warmth Shola gave off only served to make it harder for Trevean to stay awake. "Are you -- portal us -- back?" He managed. If she had asked him he would have to admit to exactly how much he'd been forcing himself to stay aware, but he still felt it was important to hear that answer.
"Of course," Shola replied, running her fingers soothingly over his stubble.
"Go to sleep, get some rest, Altera."
When Trevean woke up again Shola was awake, but still. As they managed to climb out of the hammock Shola helped Trevean keep from falling and packing up the campsite.
"Let's go see your family and help prep them to leave, okay? I think it'll go much better if you talk to them first. They need to know that we need to hurry."
As they walked up to the house, Shola held his hand tightly, walking next to him with some of the gear slung over her other shoulder.
It was early evening when he woke, and Trev had to admit the sleep had done him some good, even if it wasn;t enough. Shola's presence certainly had helped.
Once more they approached the house and trevean felt apprehension, and once more it was Ya-ya's sharp eyes that led to her being the first to greet them.
"What news what news?" She hollered as she practically flew down the steps to great them both with a hug and a kiss each. "Why you arrive so late? You miss meal. You both need meal, but now is over and dishes all put away. Come in, and say what news is!"
Trev waited only until everyone was gathered before explaining. Nothing had seemed so hard as telling his parents and Ed they needed to leave the house, except perhaps telling Ya-ya the same. When he finished he looked to Shola for support.
"I am sorry, but Trevean is correct. You all must leave now, or you will lose your lives. I'm sorry. I know what this means to all of you, this house. I can try to seal the house up, but you might do well to take whatever is most valuable to you. Once in the city, I'll-- we'll find you all a place to stay and work. You will not want for anything. But I must insist you come with us. The field, the ocean, they're no longer safe."
Once they had gathered their belongings, Shola opened a small portal and escorted them through it, bracing Ya-ya once they came out.
"For now, will you all stay in the palace? I have some rooms you could stay in until we could find a home in the city for you."
Trevean sadly watched the chaos as his family packed and left, though he was surprised at the little they all took.
"I have my family, that is enough," mathias told him as he braced his mother so Shola could have her arm free again, the little old woman shooting alarmed looks at the closing portal over her shoulder.
"We would be happy to stay with you," Kaliah assured Shola as they walked. "If you're certain we won't be a bother."
Trevean said little but wavered between walking with Shola or them, eventually pulling her to walk with the group so they could all walk together. "I'm sure it'll be fine . . ."
