Splinter Angel Chapter 216 (Patreon)

The mountain wind tore at the cloth of Mabb’s oversized tent, trying and failing to rip the pegs out of the ground and leave the three huddled within exposed to the cold. A trickle of cold air still made it in, but Mabb ran hot, and the tent was warm enough to not be uncomfortable. The only source of possible discomfort came from the silence, interrupted only by the constant rippling and snapping of the cloth as the wind beat on it impotently. And the only one who suffered from that silence was Mabb, who kept looking at Ana, clearly wanting to say something.

If Ana had cared about how he felt, she might have prompted him. But she was content to listen to the wind as she waited for her wings to refresh, so it was up to Mabb to decide whether the silence or whatever he kept hesitating to say was worse.

Finally, the silence won. “Ana,” the huge man said, “I’ve been meaning to speak with you. About Lara.”

“Hmm,” Ana hummed. Now that he’d spoken up she might help him along, but Messy’s ex-everything wasn’t exactly her favorite topic. She avoided thinking about the woman unnecessarily. Talking about her didn’t interest her.

“I’ve wanted to for some time now, but it never seemed to be the right moment.”

“Right.”

Mabb sighed. “I’ll get to the point. You don’t like Lara. That’s understandable. You love Miss Mestendi deeply, and not only did Lara break her heart, but now they’re reconnecting. I won’t suggest that you’re worried about your relationship. I’ve seen how Miss Mestendi looks at you, and I think Miss Kaira was right a few nights ago. Honey by the spoonful, indeed.”

Ana hummed again, slightly more agreeably this time.

“But I know from experience that a lover reconciling with a past partner is not something that is easy to stomach,” Mabb continued. “There’s also the issue of leadership. Lara is a higher Level, and was groomed to command. She’s been restraining herself constantly, but you’re perceptive enough that I know you’ve seen her disagree with your decisions.”

Ana’s first instinct was to just grunt noncommittally, but there was something she needed to clarify here. “That doesn’t bother me,” she said. Mabb, having expected that grunt and nothing more, closed his mouth mid-word. Satisfied that she had the floor, Ana continued. “If anything, I’d prefer it if she or anyone else spoke up. I’m happy to listen, and to defer to someone with more experience. Just ask Kaira or anyone else from Summer Angel. I’m not the leader of this Party because of pride, or experience, or even because I’m the Wayfarer’s Chosen, Mabb. I’m the leader for one reason, and one reason only: no one more qualified has offered to take over.”

“Ah.”

“Do you want the job?”

“Not as such, no.”

“I thought not.”

Mabb sighed. “That doesn’t change the fact that you don’t like Lara.”

This time, Ana did grunt.

“I’m not asking you to. But she is dear to me, so I ask you this: give her a chance. She is competent, she is good, and she is willing to do what must be done. We all know the threat that the Sentinel poses. We’ve combated it, just as you have, though in our case we failed to do more than save some part of the population of our Splinter. Lara is committed to doing what she can to prevent more tragedies like what happened in Misery— apologies, in the Misty Fens Splinter. She’s told me as much. If you can find common ground with her, you will both be stronger for it. In time, Fate willing, you may even find that she makes a good friend.”

Ana’s response was blunt. “I haven’t seen anything that suggests that she’s any more interested in making friends than I am. And frankly, I don’t care. She’s useful, and Messy still cares for her. That buys her as many chances as she wants, as long as she doesn’t get in my way or hurt anyone I like. If she makes some kind of overture, fine. We can talk. If she has comments, suggestions, or even constructive criticism, I’ll listen. But you’re right. I don’t like her, and I don’t care if she likes me. I’m not going to waste time or energy trying to change that.” Without waiting for a reaction, she turned her head to look at Trislain and asked, “Aren’t you going to weigh in? She’s your sister.”

The Healer shook his head ruefully. “Mabb knows her better than I do. Until recently, I had no closer relationship with her than with any other patient. But if you want my opinion, then yes, you should, as you put it, give her all the chances she wants. It may not be readily apparent, but she’s too heroic for her own good. As long as your actions defend the innocent, you’ll have a capable ally in her. And a Healer on call,” he added with a slight frown. “We come as a set, these days.”

“You’re not thrilled about that.“

“I’m not,” Trislain agreed. “I’ll be blunt. I want to be left to do my work and develop in peace and comfort. I had little enough of the latter in Misery Splinter, but at least I had the first. At the moment, I have neither.”

“You could stay in whatever settlement this Splinter has, once we find it. I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to see another Healer.”

Trislain pursed his lips sourly. “I would, but for reasons I do not intend to go into, I must remain with my sister. With how things are going, I expect you’ll soon see something quite extraordinary: a Healer, Delving.”

He said those last words with something bordering on contempt, and Ana wondered what kinds of reasons would be compelling enough to make the man follow his sister despite his obvious and intense distaste. He cared for her, that much was obvious, but enough to follow her into the wild rather than staying comfortably in a settlement? She didn’t think so.

The more she learned about Trislain, the more suspect he looked. But she’d seen nothing to suggest that he was a threat; on the contrary, he’d put her back together multiple times now, and seemed to have made it a point of pride to teach Jisha everything she could learn about Life-magic. She wasn’t going to risk her access to that without a compelling reason. Hell, even if what they said about Lara being an effective combatant wasn’t true, Ana would want to keep her around just for the sake of securing Trislain’s services.

And maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get to know the woman better. If she could win Lara’s respect, or even make her like her, then she’d be less likely to strike out on her own again. What they had wasn’t exactly a stable arrangement, after all.

“Tell you what,” she said, putting on her most sincere and conciliatory mask as she looked between the two men. “Tell Lara what I just told you about being open to suggestions. If she wants to talk properly, I’m open to that too. No reason not to make an effort if we’re going to be travelling and Delving together for a while. Trislain, talk to Komaki and Jisha about polearms, if you haven’t already. If you’re coming into Delves with us, you should have something to help you keep demons at a distance.”

Trislain just shrugged. Mabb on the other hand relaxed slightly and offered her a small, relieved smile. “Thank you,” he said. “That’s all I ask. She really is very dear to me.”

“I figured, with the whole, ‘big brother, little sister’ thing.”

“Hah, yes, well…”

They fell back into the same long silence as before, disturbed only by the wind tearing at their tent. Only now, no one was uncomfortable. A big improvement, in Ana’s opinion; now she could take another nap. Her injuries may not hurt, thanks to Trislain and Jisha, but magical healing was exhausting.

*

It took another four manifestations of her wings to bring Ana’s remaining Party members down to what quickly became their camp for the night. Two trips was what was safely doable in the three-and-a-half minutes that Wings of Glory lasted, and other than Mabb, weight wasn’t a problem; she even took Jisha and Rayni at the same time, one in her arms, the other hanging on to her back.

By the time they were all down, night had fallen. Ana had resigned herself to a night without a campfire; she’d camped in windy conditions before, but nothing like what rushed through this mountain pass. And the pass was almost entirely barren, with only some hardy scrub and grass bravely hanging on in the face of the wind. But just like with the tent, Mabb had a trick for that. Not only was he carrying enough firewood to keep them going through the night, but with some digging and a semi-circular wall of stacked stones he set them up with a wind-resistant firepit as well. The nearby stream provided fresh, clear water, and soon they had a simple stew going.

It wasn’t bad. A little bland, perhaps. Najal had spoiled them.

“I know we’ve talked about this already, but does anyone know anything about this place?” Torden asked as they ate.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” Messy said when no one replied for a few seconds. “However, we have a book!”

“The one you picked up before the ambush?”

“Right! It’s a compendium on Splinters and Waystones in this part of the Primes. We got it to help decide where to go, but it has all the most important information on a good number of Splinters. I just haven’t wanted to take it out, what with the wind, and then it was a bit dark for reading.”

“I have candles. Rushlights, too,” Mabb offered quickly, to little surprise. The big man often sat in the shade, reading; it was only to be expected that he’d be prepared to read in his tent as well.

“Well, what are we waiting for, then?” Messy asked. “Let’s finish our stew and… we should have at least one of the scouts as well. Someone with experience in mountains. Ray?”

“If it’s all the same…” Rayni said, resting her head against Torden’s shoulder.

“Komaki, then,” Mabb suggested. “You mentioned doing some caravan routes through the mountains.”

“Sure,” the elfin man said, raising his bowl in confirmation before drinking down his remaining broth with a sigh of exaggerated satisfaction. “There. Ready when you are.”

“Ana?” Messy asked, the invitation clear in her voice. But Ana had caught a look from Lara, and replied, “I think you three will do better without me getting in the way. You can tell me all about it in bed, alright?”

“Alright,” Messy agreed, kissing Ana in her favorite spot above her damaged ear.

After the three had retired to Mabb’s tent, Messy carrying the compendium in its protective leather case, Lara waited a minute before locking eyes with Ana. Not in a challenge, but in a way that suggested that she expected Ana to listen.

“Walk with me?” Lara asked.

“Sure,” Ana replied easily, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket she’d shared with Messy. Not that the wind bothered her too much, but the blanket still held on to some of Messy’s warmth. Then she rose. “After you.”

They didn’t walk far. With the strong wind, a few dozen yards was enough distance to not be overheard. “How’s your Danger Sense?” Ana asked. “Anything?”

“Mostly just you,” Lara replied. “It doesn’t like you at all. Never has.” Then, before Ana could respond, she added, “Same thing with Mabb. For the longest time I thought it was just reacting to his Level.”

“Seriously?”

“I was drinking a lot,” Lara said, not even pretending that it was a defense. “You, though? Having seen you fight, I believe in it completely.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Ana said, her voice flat.

“It was meant as one.”

Ana nodded, paused, then said, “I should thank you, by the way.”

“What for?”

“For your advice about my Craft. I managed to get it not long after. Your analogy of you being a blade and your Craft a whetstone really helped.”

“Oh! Well, you’re welcome. Glad to hear it.” For a long moment there was only the sound of the wind, and the windblown voices from the group remaining around the campfire. Then Lara switched subjects. “Funny you should say that, actually. I talked to Mabb,” she said. “Or he talked to me. Told me to stop glaring at you and have an actual conversation. I told him we’d had one, about Crafts, and he asked if I’d learned a single thing about you as a person.”

“And?”

“And I know that you were torn from the same place as those poor feral bastards we had to kill in the swamps, same as Miss Jisha. I know that you’re skilled in unarmed combat, and that you’re fiercely loyal to those who are important to you. I know that you’re the Wayfarer’s Chosen, hand-picked to save the Splinters from some terrible scheme of the Sentinel’s. But all that, either you volunteered it to the group at large, or I heard it from someone else.” Then she snorted without humor. “One thing I’ve seen for myself is that you’re deeply in love with Mestendi, and that you’re jealous and protective. Can’t fault you for that, though.”

“You still love her,” Ana stated.

“I do. I don’t see that changing, either. But loving someone and being in love aren’t quite the same thing, are they?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Ana said, barely loud enough to be heard over the wind.

“Oh?”

“I’ve only ever loved one person. Messy, obviously.” The admission came unplanned. She wasn’t trying to play on Lara’s sympathy or anything like that. But when she thought about it, it just felt right. That morning she’d told Mabb that there was no reason not to make an effort; in the same way, there was no reason not to admit something so central to who she was. “Before you ask,” she continued, “I don’t mean that I’ve only ever been in love with one person. What I mean when I say that Messy is the only person I’ve ever loved, I mean that she’s the only person I’ve ever felt more than a very basic attachment to. Your goal here was to get to know me on some level, right?”

“Ah… right.” Lara didn’t know how to reply. Most people didn’t. She’d probably want to ask for more clarifications, but she was perceptive enough to understand that Ana wasn’t done, and polite enough not to interrupt.

“Well, if you want to understand me, you should start here: I fundamentally don’t see you, or Jisha, or Kaira, or anyone else, as real people. I don’t mean that as any kind of insult. I know, intellectually, that you are. I know that you have hopes and dreams and fears, people who love you and people who wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. I know all that, but I don’t feel it. To me, there are only two real people in the world: me, and Messy. Are you with me so far?”

Ana couldn’t quite see Lara’s face in the starlight, but from how still the Slayer stood Ana could only assume that there was some kind of shocked or horrified expression on it. Or not; perhaps, if there had been more light, Ana would have been surprised to see sympathy or understanding there instead. In a way, not knowing was freeing. When she couldn’t see it, Lara’s expression could be anything at all.

“What that all means in practice,” Ana continued, “is that I can choke the life out of someone, hearing them cry and beg, feeling them struggle until they go limp and their heart stops, and feel nothing. In order to not turn my friends and the entirety of society against me, I make sure only to do things like that if I’m reasonably justified, such as in the defence of my own life and wellbeing, or those of the people I care about. Now, I’m not telling you this as any kind of threat, veiled or otherwise. As long as you don’t suddenly try to seduce Messy or something equally stupid, you have nothing to fear from me. The reason I’m telling you this is so that you will believe me when I say that if you truly still care for Messy, and if you want to save this world from the Sentinel, then helping me is the single smartest thing you could possibly do. Because I will do anything to keep myself and Messy safe, and defeating the Sentinel is the only way I can see to do that.”

With that, Ana waited. It was a lot to lay on someone, and it wouldn’t surprise her if Lara needed—

It only took about a second before Lara scoffed and said, “Well, that explains why my Danger Sense hates you.”

Of all the possible reactions Ana might have expected, indifference wasn’t one. “That’s it?” she asked.

“What? Do you want me to denounce you? Try to kill you, in case you burn the world down for Mestendi’s sake? Miss Anastasia, I grew up as a Saphahran noblewoman. Do you think you’re the first person I’ve ever met who thinks that you’re the only one who truly matters? Hells, you’re better than many of them! At least you truly love someone that isn’t yourself. That, and Mabb said that you’d happily listen to anyone with more experience than you. That places you far ahead of most of the nobles I’ve known.”

“Huh,” Ana said. “I’m a bit surprised, that’s all. I don’t usually lay it all out like this. My friends all know, or at least I assume they do by now, but it’s nothing we really talk about.”

“People don’t react well, I assume.”

“No. No, as a rule, they don’t. I’ve had very few people accept me for who I am. Messy’s one of them.”

“I’m not surprised,” Lara said, and though Ana couldn’t see it, she knew that the woman was smiling. “She always saw people as the sum of all their parts, no matter how ugly or jagged any individual part might be.”

“Lucky me,” Ana mused.

“Lucky you, indeed,” Lara replied, her voice tinged with regret, and Ana, in possibly the least appropriate response possible to that regret, laughed softly. Lara immediately bristled. “What?”

“Not laughing at you,” Ana said, waving her off. “It’s just… Mabb suggested we try to find some common ground. But it’s been there all along, hasn’t it? We both care for Messy. We both want her to thrive and be happy. What else do we need?”

“I’m not sure that’s the firmest foundation to build a working relationship on,” Lara said after snorting softly. “But sure. Let’s start over from there.” In the darkness, she extended her left hand, the one that matched Ana’s uninjured one. That was a nice touch. “Lara,” she said. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ana clasped it, wrist to wrist. “Anastasia Cole. Likewise. And call me Ana.”