—
And a long night it was. Long and cold.
The wind had picked up shortly after Loqi's watch had started, and he huddled in on himself. Crestholm's cold was a still one, and he found himself counting the blessings he'd had there a little more every day.
How odd. Last week he'd been fighting the darkness as one of the leaders as they stood alone against the darkness. Now he was camping out with a half-feral man child that didn't appear to want to stop following him around the last few hours. He'd only gotten out to the edge of camp without the boy since he'd fallen asleep.
The morning would prove a challenge for them all once it finally arrived. Not that he had any amount of daylight to go by, but they'd be leaving once everyone was fairly rested.
It was fortunate they had two vehicles. Perhaps he could be in whichever one Highwind wasn't. Though… he doubted she'd let that happen. He was surprised she'd let him out of her sight even for this–
"Go sleep," Highwind ordered stalking up behind him.
Loqi stood from his cross-legged position. Well then. If she wanted him to take a shorter shift and get more rest, he wasn't going to complain. "As you wish, Commodore. Far be it for me to disobey you."
He could feel her anger rising as her jawline tensed. "Keep pushing me, Loqi."
Loqi chuckled. Yes, he was playing with fire, but Highwind was a mercenary, not a stone-cold killer of those that irritated her.
"Oh." He reached into his pocket, fishing out Callux's phone. "I presume your man will be wanting this returned."
Her stare was withering as she snatched the device. "Stealing crucial equipment, using our limited transportation without authorization, lying about authorization, and manipulating a kid on restricted mission availability – I wouldn't be surprised if Cor and Ravus decided to throw you out of the city on your ass once we get back."
"Doubtful. Life is a precious resource these days, Commodore. It would be a mistake to waste it over such trivial matters."
"Evan's life is not trivial," Highwind snapped. "Biggs can take care of himself, but you put that kid at risk."
"He's stronger than you give him credit for." Loqi kept his tone calm. "And I already told you – I didn't force him to come. He made his own decision."
Highwind barked out a laugh. "Right, I'm sure that wasn't due to your manipulation at all."
Loqi gave a half shrug. "I may have swayed him into helping me, yes, but I told him to think properly about stepping outside the wall with me."
She gritted her teeth. "Evan has a kind heart. He'd break the rules a million times over if it meant helping out those he cared about. Of course he'll go along with you if your dangling the lives of his family out in front of him. Six, you and the Princess both – taking advantage of him like that."
The Princess? "The Oracle? What has she to do with…" Oh. Oh, now that was quite interesting. "…I'm not the first to take him on a field trip, am I?"
"No," she growled. "Don't you realize that you're setting him back? Cor was getting more lenient with him, and now you've screwed that up. This is the type of thing that keeps him cooped up. His judgment is too easily swayed."
Loqi snorted. "Afraid the daemons out here are going to talk him over to their side, are you?" Loqi shook his head. "If you're worried about me creating a divide between him and you, Commodore, I'm afraid you've already done that yourself."
She scowled. "What are you talking about?"
Loqi rolled his eyes. "He's not happy, Commodore. Perhaps his discontentment is due to the Immortal or the eldest Flueret rather than you, but he's already been inquiring about coming with me to Crestholm. If you don't want to lose him, you'd best act quickly in bridging that gap. Otherwise, he's going to stick with his brothers and someone who hasn't tried to restrict him at every opportunity."
Highwind jabbed a finger into his chest. "Now you listen here you little weasel – you have no idea about what's happened in the past with him. I may not agree with the restrictions on him, but I get them, and you don't get to pass judgment without having all the facts."
Loqi swatted her hand away. "I don't need your facts. I need a damn trade route so my people don't starve. You may not approve of my methods, but I'm willing to do what's necessary to save lives – the same goal we all share. Evan and his brothers have a high chance of being the key to that."
"He's. Not. A tool. For you to use."
"No, he's boy a who's willing to step up and do what he can to help – this is what he can do to help!"
"You don't get to decide what's an acceptable risk for him to take! You aren't his guardian!"
"And if you want to claim that title, you best start stepping up!" Loqi shot back. "Or are you so deluded by your mercenary lifestyle that you think what you've been giving him is the proper amount of care?" Loqi thought back to one of the conversations he and Callux had on the way to the base. "Didn't he just lose his father figure recently? He needs your support now more than ever."
The moment the words had left his mouth, Loqi knew he'd struck a nerve. Something behind Highwind's eyes shifted.
"Don't," she said coldly. "Don't you dare bring him into this."
Oh, now this was all making quite a bit of sense. She'd cared for the King's Advisor, and she was still feeling the impact. He chuckled humorlessly. "Ah, I see… You're still not used to this, are you?"
"Used to what?" she hissed, not unlike Loqi's new Argentum shadow.
"To those you care about giving their lives for a cause," Loqi elaborated, shaking his head. "I suppose being a mercenary really does hold its advantages. I suppose you always got to take your pay and cut ties before the fallout caught up with you–"
Loqi's back slammed into the stone ground before he'd even seen Highwind move, and he tried to gasp as the wind was knocked from him. She had her lance at his throat.
"I've about had it with your shit, Loqi." Highwind pressed the tip of her lance into his skin, just short of drawing blood. "I don't know what kind of place Crestholm is, but you don't get to show up here and parade around like you suddenly know best about everything and everyone. You have no idea about my life or anyone else's–"
"Stop fighting!"
Highwind pulled away from Loqi instantly, her lance vanishing. "Evan…"
Through his mind's fog of not being able to get air, Loqi managed to turn his head and find Evan and the King's Shield standing not far from them.
Their argument must have woken them up.
The Shield was regarding the situation with a wary but almost relaxed stance. Evan was… not.
The distress on the boy's face was so great he looked like he might be about to burst into tears. Or have a panic attack. Or both. His fists were tightly clenched at his sides, head ducked like normal.
"Please stop fighting," he muttered, barely audible. His gaze flitted up to Highwind for a moment before dropping. "I know you've been busy protecting the city. Everyone has. I understand. That's most important. That's why I want to help too, but no one would let me! No one's tried to talk to Cor lately! Ignis…" There was a hitch in breath. "Ignis was the only one that would go against Cor about it."
"Ignis went against Cor?" The Shield scowled. Clearly that was news to him.
Evan nodded. "He was training me. He and Iris were the only ones that treated me…" He stopped, licking his lips and frowning like he couldn't think of the words.
"Normal…" Highwind filled in. "…Kid, I'm sorry. Your situation is… unique. And we should have given you more attention, but–"
"We've all kind of had a lot on our plates," the Shield finished, crossing his arms.
"I know," Evan said softly. "But he doesn't care."
Loqi paused as he was climbing back to his feet, but then finished rising.
"I think… I think it would be better if I went with him," Evan said firmly. "No one in the city would have to worry about me anymore."
Highwind looked like she'd been slapped in the face.
Loqi sighed. He should take this opportunity. He really should. But the older brother in him was screaming for him to say something else.
"Evan." He made sure he had the boy's full attention first. "I'm not your family. These people, no matter your current qualms with them, have raised you to this point. If you truly want to leave your life in Lestallum behind, I will not hesitate to take you in… but I would recommend that you try to work things out with them first once we return to the city. A full conversation with those most closely involved. No more proxy arguing and brushing things to the side for later as I'm gathering has been the case for some time."
Evan gave a hesitant nod.
"All agreed?" Loqi questioned.
"Yeah… agreed," Highwind said.
Loqi added family counseling to his mental resume.
—
