36. Twisted Sense of Humor
He really didn't appreciate the Maker's sense of humor sometimes. The last few months had been a long string of prime examples.
First had been Commander Marius waiting for them when they returned from the Deep Roads, an apology in his eyes and signed reassignment orders in his hand. The one modicum of comfort Gabriel could find in the change was that it became official before Vincent gave his report, and was thus simply 'life as a Warden' and not some form of punishment or discipline for his and Miri's relationship. And at least he was simply parceled out to another patrol based in Kaiten; traded for an archer, a willowy blonde named Larysa who Miri seemed friendly with already.
That change wouldn't have been so bad; he and Miri still saw each other, snatched what moments they could together. And his new patrol wasn't hard to get along with-once you got used to them.
Jakob he already sort of knew; the big man was quiet, reserved, and watchful almost to the point of paranoid. This was countered by the other men in the patrol, Cinder and Rand. Both were considerably more laidback than Jakob, though Rand did at least share the man's quiet nature. For a mage who had spent literally his entire life as an apostate, Cinder was almost unbelievably fond of drawing attention to himself.
"He's been worse since we joined the Wardens," Rand explained when Gabriel asked. "I think he is making up for lost time, yes? All those years roaming Antiva City and he couldn't really show what he can do."
"Have you been with him so long?" Gabriel pressed, genuinely curious, but also trying to fill the silence as the two of them cared for their weapons.
Rand chuckled, reaching for a whetstone and lining up his throwing knives in a neat row. "Not really. We worked a few... jobs together. Crime lords and mercenaries are always looking for extra muscle, yes? Antiva's not that large a country, and our paths crossed once or twice before the Wardens. It wasn't until I got to the barracks and saw a familiar face that we actually became friends."
"Ah, I see," Gabriel nodded. "That makes sense."
"What about you? Any friends in the Warden racks?"
The elf let out a short, wry laugh. "A few. None as close as the pair of you, no?" He pulled out a cleaning rag and began polishing his sword. "I knew that might be the way of things when I joined and accepted it. It's still a better life than I would hope to have in Orlais."
"Don't suppose I can argue with that," the blond man conceded.
Their conversation after that roamed through many different topics as they continued cleaning their blades; touching on everything from the rumors the Ostwick garrison would need reinforcements to swapping stories of things they'd done and seen. By the time they went their separate ways, Gabriel had a decent idea of the man's character and felt better about trusting Rand to watch his back.
This turned out to be a very good thing. A couple weeks after his reassignment, Gabriel's patrol found a freshly killed hurlock along their route. Whatever had killed it had also started to eat it before something scared it away. Oozy black blood trailed away from the corpse, and the four of them followed. Right about the point the blood trail ended, the ground became muddy enough for the pawprints to be visible.
Jakob groaned as he knelt to examine them. "Bear."
Rand matched his dismayed groan. "...That's now corrupted," he finished for the Senior Warden.
"Oh, c'mon, Rand, there's four of us," Cinder tried to cheer him up. "I know bereskarn are not easy to fight, but I think we'll manage, yes?"
"You obviously don't know my record with bereskarn..." Gabriel muttered wryly.
The mage shrugged. "You have yet to lose to one. Or you would not be here, am I right?"
"Technically," the elf conceded. "I was on the very edge of losing last time, before Rahna distracted it. I still have the scars."
"Gabriel, amico, you didn't have me with you. I have a feeling this time will be different, yes?" He shot Gabriel a cocky grin, fingers caressing the pale wood of his staff.
"I hope you're right..." the redheaded warrior sighed as they followed Jakob further down the bear's trail.
It was different, but not in the way Cinder meant and they'd all hoped it would be. This bear had plainly been monstrous even before eating the tainted flesh. With the added endurance and strength, it proved nearly impossible to take down. Especially given that Cinder's apostate background had never afforded him the occasion to learn how to heal. He had, instead, focused on mastering a command of fire, which meant when the spiky monstrosity finally succumbed, the air was heavy with stench of burning fur.
"Alright... in-injuries?" Jakob panted. He'd barely voiced the inquiry when he grimaced and dropped to one knee in pain, adrenaline fading enough to make it clear his own wounds were the worst.
"Jakob?" The minimal damage they had sustained was forgotten as Rand crouched next to their leader.
The Senior Warden yelped in pain as the rogue's fingers probed the gap in the side of his armor, dropping his greatsword and bracing both hands against the ground. Rand swore under his breath and glanced back at the dead bereskarn.
"Oh, damn, damn, damn," he muttered. "Can you two get his breastplate off?" he demanded. "One of that thing's claws snapped off in his side. I need to get to it before it works deeper."
Gabriel and Cinder immediately set in on the buckles, first removing the pauldron that supposedly lent added protection, and then the breastplate.
Jakob sucked in a sharp breath, grinding his teeth as Rand tried to get a decent grip so he could pull the claw out. "Sonofabitch..." His fingers dug into the muddy ground for lack of anything better to grip. "Get. It. Out." A coughing spasm shook him, and he spat out a mouthful of dark blood.
"I can't." Rand may as well have shouted for the impact of his admission.
"What do you mean you can't?!" Cinder demanded as Jakob coughed up more blood.
"It's already worked too deep; punctured a lung, I'd guess. Pulling it out now-even assuming I could reach it-would only kill him more quickly."
"So there's nothing we can do?" Gabriel inquired, swearing in his native tongue when Rand shook his head. "Doesn't seem fair, no?"
"We're Wardens, amico," Cinder retorted moodily. "Life's rarely fair for us."
"'S generally not fair... to anyone," Jakob pointed out, smearing blood off his chin with one gauntlet.
"But it's extra unfair to us," the mage argued. "No rest for the wicked and all that rubbish."
"We get.. a-all the rest we need... when we die," Jakob retorted, a wry, shaky grin pulling at his lips as he spat out more blood.
"Not funny, boss," Rand protested, catching the warrior as his arms gave out.
"But...true. Woulda... Woulda gone for my C-Calling soon... soon enough..." he mumbled, eyes drifting shut.
"Bull," the rogue countered, trying to make the dying man comfortable. "You're just trying to make me feel less guilty, yes?"
Jakob shook his head. "Been... Been a Warden almost twenty year, lad. I kn-knew the end wasn't too far off. This... this is better than dyin' alone in the Roads, anyhow..." his voice slurred as he drifted toward unconsciousness.
"Jakob..." Rand began, but the taciturn warrior was too far gone.
"You said yourself there's nothing to be done, no?" Gabriel reminded him, but Rand appeared not to hear. "We can't save everyone, no matter how badly we might want to."
"I know. It's still hard, yes? And we have served on the same patrol long enough, I considered him a friend," Rand mumbled, his voice flat as they watched the life ebb out of the dark-haired warrior.
Figuring 'I'm sorry' would just ring hollow, the elf settled for a nod instead.
It was over a few moments later; the phlegmy rattle of Jakob's labored breath fading into ominous silence.
oOo
They were too far from Kaiten to even consider bringing his body back with them, so the trio settled for making good use of Cinder's aptitude for fire to give Jakob the closest thing to a proper funeral that they could. All three stood at watched in silence until the flames died away. It was only then that they continued on their patrol, finishing the wide loop without further incident.
Still, the death of a Senior Warden was no small thing, and Commander Marius had all three in his office to get the story. Miri was waiting for him when they finally got out, and the two elves spent the rest of the day shut up in her room, doing anything they could think of to forget everything beyond the two of them and the moment they were in.
Their conversation afterward didn't drift far from lighthearted banter about how they were managing without each other. Until Miri mentioned the rumors about Ostwick.
"Maker's breath, those are still floating around?" Gabriel muttered, nuzzling the back of her neck.
Miri squeaked out a giggle, turning over to face him. "Yes, and cut that out; you know I'm ticklish back there."
He grinned. "Cherie, why do you think I do it?"
She lightly swatted his chest. "Bastard."
"You love me anyway, so I can't be too bad, no?" he teased. "But tell me more about these Ostwick rumors."
Miri obliged, if a tad grudgingly. "Apparently, two of their patrols got ambushed a couple day apart. No survivors. Now they're putting out the word to any Warden bases that are reasonably close and may have the manpower to spare."
"Mmm. Wonder if that includes Rahna..."
"Doubt it," the mage shook her head. "Given what just happened in Amaranthine, I don't thnk she'll get asked to share for a while. There's still potential danger in the arling. It'll probably be us, Cumberland, perhaps Jader..." Her musings trailed off and she sighed. "Gabriel... they need a mage."
His grip on her waist instinctively tightened. "I'll have to pray very hard they don't send you, then, won't I?" He kissed her forehead.
She smiled at him, tracing the scars that ran back toward his ear. "Yes. Yes, you will, my love."
So he did. And the Maker cooperated; Miri got to stay in Kaiten.
They sent his team instead. Apparently, the powers that were thought a mage like Cinder was what Ostwick needed, rather than a healer with a knack for ice spells.
Gabriel spent the entire time he was packing giving the Maker an earful.
oOo
As if that wasn't proof enough his deity had a twisted sense of humor, it rained the entirety of their journey to Ostwick. Every single day, without stop. This did nothing to improve his mood. He normally didn't mind rain, but this weather, now, was like insult added to injury.
The fact Cinder refused to stop being his effusive, glass-is-always-half-full self was a further annoyance; in fact, it was the thing that had the elf a hairsbreadth from snapping when they finally reached their destination. Fortunately, their new commander gave them a chance to find their rooms and get dry before summoning them to her office. Celia was the perfect balance of courteous and professional, asking a few questions to determine how they fought, how long they'd been a team, basic things, before leaning back against her desk and eyeing Cinder.
"I have to ask," she confessed with a wry smile. " 'Cinder'?"
The mage ran a hand through his curls, letting out a small, scoffing laugh. "You and just about everyone else, yes?" He blew out a contemplative breath. "My parents died when I was little; five, I think. I...fell in with a group of boys who were cutpurses, petty thieves and the like. They called me Cinder because I was covered in soot when we met. When I was seven, I burned down a warehouse because the result of being startled was fire jumping from my hands. The other boys kept my secret, said my name fit even better. Never even thought about changing. It's just... me, yes?"
She laughed. "From what I can tell, yes, it is a rather good fit. And we will consider my curiosity sated on the matter. My next question for you would be: did you you have a fourth member to your team? You three seem to balance well enough without, but still..."
"We did, yes," Rand nodded, playing with a smooth white stone from one of his belt pouches. "Jakob. He was the team leader. Got killed by a bereskarn shortly before our... reassignment to your garrison."
"And was he a warrior, a rogue..."
"Why does that matter, Commander?"
She ignored the rogue's brusque tone. "Because I have a Warden without a team, and I'm curious how he would fit if I put him with you."
"Jakob was a warrior," Rand explained. "He used a greatsword."
Celia brought her her hands together and all but grinned, looking for a moment far more like a little girl in a sweet shop that a powerful Commander of the Grey. "Excellent!" While I am sorry for your loss, especially if any of you were friends with... Jakob? This means my Warden will fit right in."
"If I may, Commander, how is it that this Warden doesn't already have an assigned patrol?" Gabriel inquired.
"A fair question," she allowed. "He's the only survivor of the sodding ambushes that put me in this position."
All three men frowned in confusion. "I heard there were no survivors," Cinder commented.
"So did we. At first. But then he dragged himself back a week and a half later." She shook her head, wry smile playing at her lips. "Should've known that bloody bastard would be too stubborn and contrary to die."
Gabriel chuckled. "Sounds like a good quality for a Warden to have, no?"
She snorted. "Normally, yes, I'd agree with you. But he had a chip on his shoulder to begin with, and this just made it... well, a lot bigger."
Gabriel traded looks with Cinder and Rand. "I'm not sure now whether I'd rather meet him and get it over with or put it off as long as possible."
The Commander laughed. "A sentiment I fully understand, don't worry. But I did pull him from the mess hall in the middle of dinner to meet you, so I'd advise meeting him now. Else he might kill you in your sleep," she joked.
"You make an excellent point," Rand nodded. "I say we do it. Better to start off on as civil a note as possible. And it would be rude not to."
"Maker I hate it when you make so much bleedin' sense," Cinder laughed. "I concur. Let's get it over with."
Gabriel nodded assent as well, and the Commander crossed to the door and told a waiting page to fetch this Warden she wanted to add to their team.
When the dark-skinned young man entered and offered the Commander a perfunctory bow, Gabriel did have to admit he had an air of resentment about him.
"You wanted to see me, Commander?" he began, his accent Fereldan, as he side-eyed the trio with guarded curiosity.
"I did indeed. Meet your new patrol."
He turned toward them as Celia reeled off their names, the still-healing scar across his face tugging one side of his mouth into a permanent sneer. "Pleased to meet you, I suppose." He offered them a bow similar to the one he'd given the Commander. "I'm Carver."
A/N: Yes, that Carver. :3 And, be warned, I love him, so he will probably show up a good bit, at least in Gabriel POV chapters. Oh, yes, and if you're wondering, Cinder looks like Kit Harington, and Rand looks like Mark-Paul Gosselaar(only with blond hair :P). Also, I'm horribly sorry about the delay in posting; my internet was acting up yesterday, and I didn't have time to troubleshoot between work and my dog having puppies.