Besides the burning of their home on the first night of their deployment, very few events occurred for the first two weeks. The group spent a lot of time defending their new grounds and searching for resources. Once they'd established a safe water source and a few (rather packed) shelters, Ravus gave orders for them to hold off on engaging in any battles as the magitek soldiers were directed to defend the border by the control center all the way in Zegnautus Keep.
Wyn spent his time trying to find things to busy their minds as Ravus spent every waking moment contacting Glauca for clarity and searching for holes in the Lucian defense. Kara appreciated their efforts, but if she spent another day sitting and drawing shitty portraits in the sand, she would've lost her mind. Even Leo was getting sick of laying around with Mairi restlessly pacing back and forth past his head.
Finally, Ravus stepped away from his radio and approached the rest of the unit that had gathered around the fire pit for dinner. Kara glanced up, hugging her knees to her chest as she poked at their weak, glowing coals. Since the Kingsglaive almost turned them to ash, they'd grown weary of flames. Their commander crossed his arms, and when he stopped before them, his dirty overcoat brushed a sprinkle of sand off his boots.
"We've lost support for attacking the Lucian army directly. This decision was based purely on the number of magitek soldiers we've lost along the borders." Ravus raised an eyebrow when Loqi groaned and Kara chewed her cheek nervously. We're giving up just like that? "That being said, I have been authorized to initiate less direct means for picking off enemy numbers."
Wyn stood with a grin and turned to lift the wooden crate he'd dragged off the supply ship that had stopped by earlier that day. "These!"
"What do you mean 'these?'" Ky scoffed, though she kept her head lowered and her hand resting over the gnarled burns on her cheek as she poked at the sand with a twig.
"Land mines. They were Glauca's suggestion."
Kara's eyebrows shot up and her eyes darted around to gather the others' reactions. Leo wore the same expression and Mairi snorted, shaking her head and running a hand through her dark hair.
"Glauca wants us to play with bombs?"
Wyn set the box back down, dusted off his hands, and came to stand by Ravus. Their commander's coats matched only in shape; he was far dirtier, likely from all the time he'd spent keeping everyone occupied with training and hauling supplies from one point to another. Kara forced herself to sit straighter. Hunching over was starting to make her back ache.
"Listen, guys," Wyn started, resting an elbow on Ravus's shoulder. Ravus flinched, but he didn't push Wyn away for fear of distracting the soldiers from the point he was about to make. "We've all had explosives training at least a dozen times by now. Besides, Glauca isn't stupid. He sent us a new design from the labs. These bad boys won't blow until you activate them from a safe distance. No more meddling with triggers up closer and personal."
"And how is that going to work?" Lisa asked with a sniff. Kara rolled her eyes; the woman's attitude was unbearable.
"You'll divide into pairs and take sections of land," Ravus replied. "Each package has its own communicator for activation. Once everyone's mines have been placed, we return here and activate them to ensure no missteps."
Wyn nodded, stepping closer to the fire when Lis raised an eyebrow. "Right. Say Kara and I are one pair, and you and Loqi are another. We'd each have our own sections of land in which to place the mines, and once that was done, you'd wait until you hear confirmation that me and Kara are done. You both head back here, to…" He glanced around at their growing mound of wooden crates and weak shelters. "…base, and from here, you'll wait for everyone else to return."
"And that's so we don't blow each other to smithereens," Leo added.
Lis shot him a scowl. "Yeah, I got it now." He was only trying to be nice.
Ravus nodded his head once and let his arms fall to his sides. "We'll begin tomorrow morning, then. Rest well."
With that, he was gone. Kara sighed and leaned back on her hands. It was going to be a long night of wondering what could go wrong and what she could do to stop it. But, despite her worries, she fell asleep quickly, and when the sun came up and Wyn kicked at her ankles, she was ready.
Kara tidied up her uniform and stepped outside, stretching her arms over her head. It was finally an important day. Ravus was already pacing back and forth before the open crates, hands clasped behind his back and brow furrowed. He was thinking. I wonder what about.
Once everyone was there, Wyn spoke up and listed off the pre-planned pairs. Kara grinned at Leo when their names were called together. Finally something without Ky. Of course, that put Mairi in a bad mood. She and Leo had never been placed on the same job for anything, and everyone had their theories. Mairi believed it was because Ravus couldn't stand seeing anyone happy, Kylinn thought it was that he hated love, and once Loqi mentioned something about their leader fearing what the two would run off and do instead of completing their mission. It was all ridiculous conjecture, really. Kara knew that he just wanted things to get done and the two would most definitely not be the most efficient together, relationship or not. It was wild the things people came up with to make mountains out of molehills.
"You got the comm?" Leo asked, heaving a dark bag out of a crate and slinging it over his shoulder. "We're channel six."
Kara winced, worried that, despite all of their safety measures, his rough handling would send them all to the moon. Leo was certainly a brave man to be flinging such powerful explosives about. Pushing her worries aside, she nodded and raised the gray, radio-like device.
"We're in the central front," she reminded him as they took off, jogging to catch up.
The sun was out, but the sand had kicked up and clouded the air yet again, leaving the world dim and dreary. She kept her radio in her other hand, waiting for any sort of warnings about unseen enemies. The Kingsglaive had slipped in and out of their camp silently, almost too easily. It put her on edge, and rightfully so. Their negligence in trusting the area was secured by robots nearly cost them all their lives.
Leo glanced back over his shoulder and scoffed. "They're not lurking out here, Kara. Their king sent them on a special secret mission to make our lives hell. That's all."
"You don't know that."
"Oh, but I do." He chuckled and shook his head, adjusting the weight on his shoulder. Kara cringed as the metals clinked together. "They haven't touched us since and Ravus said their uniforms looked clean and unworn. They were dropped near us and escaped by the same methods. Simple as that."
"I don't know if I believe that," she muttered, keeping her eyes peeled for any movement that wasn't the flurry of dust catching the sun every so often.
"Maybe you just don't want to."
Finally, they reached their location as indicated on the screen of their communicator. Leo set the bag on the ground and wiped the sweat off his brow. It was as dark as ever, but along the very edge of their line of sight, the glowing eyes and glinting metals decorating magitek soldiers caught their eyes. The bots creaked quietly as they paced the border with their weapons at the ready.
Laughing, Leo pointed at them. "See? We've got our own personal guards."
"Like they did anything the first time," Kara retorted, tugging the bag open to reveal the pile of small, round mines. A cold sweat broke out across her skin as she pulled one out. It felt surreal to hold something so dangerous in her hands like it was no more than a stone she'd stolen off the shores of the waterfall. Of their waterfall. "It almost feels like cheating."
"What do you mean?" Leo plucked a few out and surveyed the grounds. "We're playing defense. There'll be only two ways to reach us now: the single passage we leave open to filter them in, and the sky."
"But to able to kill without being present?" Kara shook her head, turning the mine over in her hands carefully. "It's like turning in a test when you weren't in class on exam day."
"Defense," he replied, tapping his head with a smug smile. "Set the channel on that thing before we do anything else. Don't wanna blow up our friends."
"Just ourselves," Kara scoffed under her breath, but she did as she was told. Channel six. Got it.
Leo took the left side of their section and Kara took the right. They worked from front to back, ever so slowly heading back toward camp until they ran out of mines halfway there, just as Ravus had planned. Leo shook the sand out of the empty bag and shot Kara a grin. His arm jerked when his sleeve caught on the small chain around his neck and he cringed. She shook her head, unable to help the smile that crept onto her face as she held her radio up to her lips. His genuine love for his work was infectious.
"Front center, channel six, heading back to base."
"So official," Leo teased, bumping her shoulder and leading the way back.
Wyn's voice crackled back through the speaker. "Nice work, Kare-bear."
Leo snorted.
One by one, the other sections called in, reporting their successes. By the time Leo and Kara reached the dull, burnt-out coals and their commanders, everyone had called in except for Loqi and Kylinn. Just as Kara was about to tease her brother about what good soldiers she and Leo were, Leo stopped short.
"Shit, I think I dropped something back there."
"Back where?" Kara asked, her heart sinking with dread. Her legs were tired and her fingers were going numb, a sure sign that her spine was losing its strength.
"Where do you think?" He felt along his collarbone and sighed. "Mairi's ring. The chain must've snapped when I got my sleeve snagged on it."
"And you want to go back?"
"You don't have to come. It's not that far and you haven't activated the mines yet." He gestured to the empty camp, save for the two men that sat on empty crates and talked to each other quietly. "Besides, no one's back yet. I'll be quick."
Kara rolled her eyes and hurried to catch back up with him as he'd already started speed-walking into the dusty horizon. "You can't go alone. I'll get in trouble."
"Ha-ha," Leo retorted, shoving her with his shoulder. "It's okay to admit that I'm your second older brother, Kara. I don't mind."
"I don't know where you got that from, but it's false," she scoffed, shoving him back. "Besides, how do you plan on finding such a small thing out here? There's sand blowing everywhere. Surely it's already been buried."
Leo shook his hair out of his eyes. "Maybe it has been, but I remember where we were. I have to at least try."
"If you're quick, then I don't mind the extra time away from Ravus's scowl."
Laughing, Leo cracked his knuckles and kept his eyes glued to the ground. His arm had caught his necklace at the edge of their personal minefield, just before she called in to tell the others their channel was in the clear. She remembered it as clear as day.
For a second, Kara contemplated telling the others that they'd headed back over the radio, but her eyes were glued to the activator and she knew they were going straight toward their section. Besides, she was the only one that would turn their section on. A sprinkling of fairly uniform blue specks dotted the gray screen, indicating all the inactivated mines straight ahead of them. She was certain they had it under control.
But she'd forgotten that not even those she trusted to guard her sleeping body at night were worth trusting once the sun rose. Especially not those with hidden ambitions.
Leo kept his eyes on the ground, slowing his walk once he recognized where they were. Carefully, he brushed the toe of his boot through the sand, eyes narrowed. Kara glanced up from the activator for a moment, hoping to see a glint of gold beneath the shifting soil. I really don't think we'll find it.
"I know it means a lot to you, Leo, but I really doubt we'll recover it."
"Just give me one more moment." Leo took a few steps into their field and Kara glanced down at the dots nervously. He was hanging dangerously close to the mines, but as long as the speckles were blue, they would be okay. "Gold can be replaced, but my head can't after Mairi rips it off."
"Well, I'll tell Mairi it was my fault and she'll have to suck it up."
Leo glanced back at her with a grin. "If only that would work."
Kara scoffed, rolling her eyes and glancing back down at the tiny map. Everything was normal. Gray and blue. A small white speck where Leo stood and one where she stood. Odd. What do we have that it's specifically picking up? She took a breath to speak and lifted her gaze toward Leo, but the screen flickered and her heart stopped so suddenly that she jolted.
"Leo, don't move." Her voice was commanding, cold, serious. Devoid of all emotion because fear had devoured her.
"Huh?" Leo glanced back again, raising an eyebrow. If it weren't for the dust that darkened their world, he might have noticed how pale her face had gone.
"There's—"
"Oh, for fuck's sake, Kara, are you going to tell me there's a bug on my back? I won't buy it." He turned to face her and his feet shifted. Kara's heart leaped into her throat when his little white dot shifted closer toward an angry red splotch.
"Leo, don't!"
He paused at her panicked volume, raising his eyebrows. His smug smile never moved from its place. "Kara, this isn't funny."
"The mines are active."
"Did you set them?"
"No! Why would I—"
Leo scoffed and glanced back down. "Well, if I'm not on one I'll keep looking."
"But you—Leo!"
Leo had stretched out his shoe to poke at the sand a little longer, but he'd done so in the exact wrong direction. For a moment, it seemed as though nothing would happen. Kara briefly wondered if red didn't mean something bad. Perhaps she'd panicked too soon.
"What—"
But then it happened, and it did so loudly. The blast was so immediate that it sounded like a cannon. Kara's scream was lost under the rumbling boom, and all she could do was try to peer around the hands that blocked her face. Sand blew past in cloudy waves, obscuring her view of anything except her beeping activator. Despite her fear, she prayed that a chain reaction didn't spark.
Heart pounding and fingers ice-cold, Kara lifted the activator, struggled to find the button that switched the mines off, and waited the five gut-wrenching seconds she had to wait before their lights flicked off on her map one by one. The moment the last red dots turned blue, she sprinted into the dust cloud, eyes watering and throat dry.
"Leo!"
She heard a cough and a moan and swiveled around to orient herself toward the sound. The dust clouds shifted every so slightly, and through their gaps, she saw him, on his back, head thrown to the side, body in a growing puddle.
Filled with terror, Kara ran toward him. Her knees hit the ground hard enough to send a shock wave through her spine, but even if she could have moved, she wouldn't have. She felt sick, sucking in the scent of his blood as he laid there, gasping for air and groaning, hands stained crimson as they stretched toward what was once his leg. But it wasn't there, at least not the bottom half. Nausea overtook her every sense and she had to turn away for fear of vomiting on his trembling chest. The blood… gods it was splashing to the ground with every pump of his struggling heart.
Taking a deep breath through the collar of her jacket, Kara tried to refocus her mind toward saving her friend. That was all that mattered. They needed Leo to live. She needed Leo to live. The loss of Aloc tore through her chest in a resounding echo of pain from the past. She couldn't take it again, not so soon.
She gritted her teeth, tore off her jacket, and jerked at the bottom edge of her shirt until the material ripped all the way around. Forcing herself to ignore the gushing blood, she tied the strip around his thigh as tightly as she possibly could. Leo's face was whiter than the marble of the Manor's polished floors and his eyes turned to the clouded sky. Raspy breaths continued to pump in and out of his blood-smeared mouth.
How many times had Wyn assured all of them that he would be there if they were ever in danger? How many times had he carried injured soldiers for miles without complaint? How often had she rolled her eyes when he swore to protect her at all costs until the day they died, side by side? And yet, despite all these promises, it wasn't her brother's name that spilled past her lips in a desperate cry for help when her sticky crimson fingers dug into the buttons on her communicator.
"Ravus! Ravus, answer me!"
The response was immediate, faster than Ravus had ever given her before. Because it wasn't Ravus. It was her brother, coming to her rescue as he swore he would. Believing that he could save them like he always had.
"Kara?! We heard the blast; is someone hurt?"
"Yes!" Kara choked on the air and her tears, reaching out to smooth Leo's ruffled, scorched hair after he'd flinched. She was screaming into the device, hoping in desperation that a higher volume would bring them quicker. "It's Leo. He—" She choked, and the words no longer came out.
"We're on our way," Ravus replied sternly.
Shuddering, Kara gave up, dropping the radio to the ground and reaching out to clutch Leo's hand. He blinked a few times and then his fingers curled around hers. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he ever-so-slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.
"Kara…" He winced and Kara flinched. "Kara, you have to keep fighting."
"Gods, Leo, don't say things like that." Kara sniffled, chewing her lip as another pair of tears spilled over. "You'll be okay. We just have to get you out of here."
Leo smiled. It was caked in drying blood, but it was warm and it was proud. "You're going to save them, you know that?" He managed a small laugh. "They're depending on you."
"Stop," Kara pleaded, clutching his hand tighter with both hands. "Leo, stop it. You're not going to die. You can't." She shook her head, wrestling the lump in her throat that threatened to suffocate her. "You have to love Mairi and take back Lucis and avenge your family—"
"No." Leo squeezed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying his hardest to swallow whatever it was that was choking him. "No. You'll do those things for me, won't you?"
Kara's breaths were staccato, stuck in an irregular rhythm that fought her every step of the way. She reached out to touch his hair again. "I won't have to."
Leo shuddered. "Remind Mairi why she's fighting. Don't let her forget."
"Leo—"
"Kara!"
Kara turned so sharply that her neck cracked, but she didn't feel it. Wyn, Ravus, and Mairi were coming at them full speed. When Ravus saw her turn, he slowed, hanging back and taking in the scene.
"Wait! Are they off?"
"Yeah," she whispered, voice cracking and chest tight as she nodded. Seeing Mairi running toward her—toward Leo—with distress powering every pump of her arms made Kara's eyes burn even more. She was the reason Leo was lying there in a pool of blood. She was the reason he was suffering.
"Leo," Mairi forced out, gasping for air as she fell to his side. She choked up immediately, reaching out to touch his blood-spattered face.
Kara wanted more than anything to kneel at her friends' sides and wait to see whether help or death won the race to Leo, but she knew even after all those years they'd spent together, that it wasn't her place. Trembling, she stumbled backward onto her feet. Wyn didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into a tight hug. They both knew that no help was coming. It was over. Leo was gone for good.
very hard chapter to write :'(
also y'all better be looking forward to the next chapter this weekend if you're big ravusxkara shippers ;)
and especially to the next few if you really like drama
imma go back to playing ffxiv now