Dynamis | Chapter 24 - Sinking (Patreon)

An annoying blare stirred Karl from his slumber. His eyes fluttered open, and the cool air stung the tender flesh. Who the hell was ringing his doorbell? He ran his hand over his face and turned to lay on his side, hoping whoever it was would leave. Once he was settled into a comfortable position, he closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

The annoying blare came again, and Karl’s eyes snapped open. “Yes, I’m coming!” With a sigh, he rolled to his left, gathered his willpower, then sat up. He threw on a T-shirt and hobbled to the door just as it buzzed for the third time. “Yes! I know! Hold on!” The door clicked open and his breath hitched. “Lilibelle?” He groaned. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Sean’s awake,” she said. “I thought you would want to know.”

Karl gasped softly. “He’s awake? How is he doing? Can he sit up?”

“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I overheard someone talking about him. That’s all.”

Karl nodded. “Right. Well, thank you.” Just as he moved to close the door, Lilibelle yawned and pushed her forehead against the door frame. Deep bags hung under her eyes and strands of hair stuck out of her pigtails. She was dressed in a black tank top and dull green parka jacket with a pair of baggy cargo pants to match. “Have you slept?”

“No. Had a lot of work to do.”

“Regarding what?”

She shut her eyes and sighed through her nose. “Do you really want to talk or are you just playing nice?”

He was in no mood for her antics, either. “I’m just concerned. You’ve been weird lately.”

“Weird?” She scoffed. “This whole situation is weird.” Karl cocked one brow and looked at her expectantly. Lazily, she opened one eye and let the seconds drag on just long enough to be a nuisance. “I received a negative score on the test.”

Karl licked his lips and chose his words carefully. “What do you think happened?”

“I know what happened, I just don’t agree with their assessment.”

Karl tapped his thumb against the doorknob. “Do you want to come inside for a minute?”

Lilibelle flushed. “W… Why?”

“You look terrible, and I’m sure you’d like to sit down for a bit.”

“Fine. I’ll take you up on the offer. But I’m not sitting down.” She gestured with her hands to let him through, and Karl stepped away from the door to make room. The scent of mango and honey wafted through the air as she passed by. Strange, considering she didn’t usually wear perfume. “So, this is your pad, huh?”

“I know it’s not much,” Karl said as he brushed shoulders with her on the way back over to his bed, “but I prefer to keep things simple and tidy. Makes it easier to think.”

“Yeah, you seem the stuck-up type,” Lilibelle said, the hint of a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Normally, Karl would’ve rolled his eyes, snapped something back, gone through the back-and-forth rhythm that had become second nature to him. But in a weird twist of fate, he found that he was actually happy to see her snap back. It meant that her soul was still intact. That was more than he could say for Daidari. “What do you keep in here?” she asked, rapping her knuckle against the dresser to her left.

“These weirdly soft and delicate things called clothes,” he said as he started to make his bed.

Lilibelle groaned. “You know what I mean, smartass. What do you wear? Do you have a preference? Why?”

Too many questions. Karl hesitated. He was reserved when it came to his hobbies, especially in regards to his taste in music and fashion. His brother and mother had spent a good deal of their time teasing him for his tastes, and he had a strong inclination that Lilibelle wouldn’t be much different.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he answered after a pause. After he finished making his bed, he turned to his side to look at her. “Jackets, T-shirts, the usual.”

Lilibelle was leaning against the dresser, eyes closed and a steady stream of air coming in and out of her nose. “Uh huh. Probably something nerdy,” she muttered.

“Do you want some coffee?” As soon as he stepped toward her, Lilibelle’s head snapped back up.

“No. I’m awake, I swear.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose. “I’m listening.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think anything I wear is particularly interesting.”

“Oh, come on. Everyone’s got preferences. I like knowing the why.”

Lilibelle Katsun? Curious? “What about you?” He flicked his head toward her. “Why the baggy clothes?”

“Comfy.” She shifted her shoulders forward and back for effect. The nylon of her jacket hissed with the movement. “The more air the better. I knew it was going to be a long night, so I wanted to be comfortable.”

“I see.” He leaned against the divider between the small space where his bed was and the kitchen. “So, tell me what happened.” He hoped that she would forget her question about his wardrobe if he prodded her about what had happened.

Lilibelle stared at the wall and clicked her front teeth together for a bit before answering. “Our test was… unusual. We were given three different scenarios, each with their own associated DF.”

“Three different scenarios?” That was unusual. Typically, the scenario remained the same, but the choice of DF and approach were up to the conductors’ discretion. 

“Weird, right? Anyways, one involved wiping out a local Fiend invasion. Another required us to take toxic waste away from the environment, and the third asked that we hunt down a traitor who sold blueprints to Stinger.” Confusion twisted her features as she shook her head. “I figured this was likely a trick scenario.” She looked him in the eye. “Karl, which one would you have selected?”

“Personally? I would want to wipe out the Fiend threat.”

Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, you can’t be seri—”

He raised his hand to silence her. “That’s not what I would’ve picked, though. That’s what I would’ve liked to do.” Part of the test was knowing which of these things took greater priority over the other tasks. It wasn’t nearly so simple as ‘pick the scenario you most prefer.’ “I think the other selections were placed there to gauge your priorities as well as your commitment to Deadeye and its cause.”

Lilibelle’s features relaxed as relief, clear as day, swept over her face.

“I would’ve picked scenario three,” Karl said. “Hunt down the traitor.”

Lilibelle smiled. Her eyes watered and she quickly brushed them with the back of her hand. “Damn it, this room is so cold! How do you sleep like this?”

Karl chuckled. “Very easily. I run hot.”

“Well, it’s making it hard for me to see!” When she was done, she sighed and slipped her hands back into her jacket pockets, kept her head bowed to the floor. “That idiot Derrin insisted we go with the Fiend scenario.”

She actually let him run the ship? I have a hard time believing that. “Why that one?”

“I didn’t have a choice! An order came down directly from Admiral Stick-Up-His-Ass insisting that I let Derrin take the reins. As Almezer put it, it was supposed to be a”—she raised two fingers on each hand and wiggled them—“learning experience.” Then she tucked her arms back into her jacket pockets. “I was still allowed to make suggestions and refute his ideas, but he held the final sway over how we approached our mission.”

Karl took a step toward her and leaned against the partition beside him. “I’m assuming you wiped out the Fiends?” Her face contorted with obvious frustration. His eyes widened. “You didn’t?”

“There was nothing I could do,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders. “The dumbass wanted to lead the party so he took the fighter seat while I supported!”

“I’m sorry, Lilibelle.”

“Fuck, I’m so angry! If he had just listened to me, then… urgh!” She kicked the wall, leaving behind a black smear that matched the toe of her boot. “Ah—”

“It’s fine,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t worry about it.” It actually bothered the hell out of him. Lilibelle was letting her selfishness get in the way of things again. Even so, he still wanted to help. “So, if that’s the case, what have you been spending all this time doing?”

“Arguing with anyone who will listen. It’s stupid that they paired up with a moron and then docked me points because I did exactly as I was told.”

“Maybe that was the point. We don’t know for sure, but just like the test itself, maybe they wanted to see how far Derrin could push you before you took matters into your own hands.”

She gaped. “But we couldn’t very well… if I… gah! I’m sick of this mental gymnastic shit! I wish they’d just give it to me straight!”

Of course, Karl had no proof that what he said was true. It made sense when he said it out loud, but given Lilibelle’s track record, the opposite held just as much probability. Without the official report, which the details of such were always vague, there would be no way to know for sure. He wanted to offer her some sort of peace, some reassurance that everything was going to be okay, but Deadeye was acting in ways he had never seen coming.

“Hey, why don’t we go chill off and talk with Sean for a bit?” Karl said.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She combed her fingers through her hair and one of her tails came undone. Grunting and swearing, she picked up the hair tie and quickly wrapped it back around her hair, though now the newly made tail was a bit lopsided compared to its partner. “I’ll snap or say something bad.”

“That might be exactly why you should go.” He shrugged. “You can stay here if you want. I can’t make you go if you don’t want to. But I think it would do you some good to look at the face of the person you saved.”

“I’m looking at the face of someone I rescued right now.”

Karl smiled gently.

“Ugh. Fine,” Lilibelle relented. “Twenty minutes, that’s it.”

“That’s longer than I was planning to stay.”

He strode to the door and opened it with a wave of his hand. Lilibelle crossed her arms and threw her nose into the air as she puffed out her cheeks and marched out into the hallway.

Always such a princess.