To say the wedding festivities came and went quickly was an understatement. The Joining Hall was thrown together in hours, the wedding itself a blink of an eye, the celebration a hazed out blur of awkward traditions that the newlyweds were forced into. The Capitol made the day a holiday for everyone. The king didn't half ass even a rushed event and the frivolities spread through the entire city. Togata was no prince, but it was a royal wedding nonetheless.
Togata's mother, the King's sister, made it overseas in time to make the celebration, but his father was detained from attending. The Capitol had a secondary reason to celebrate to have their once princess home again for the first time in twenty-six years and the bright, beautiful woman shed joyful tears to see her homeland and her son after so much time.
The Todorokis did not attend, as had already been expected. Fuyumi had seemed indifferent about it and overall calm about the entire situation up until the ceremony. Something in her eyes changed when she saw Togata standing with his mother before the officator. Her steps became incredibly slow and her voice shaky as she repeated her vows, never meeting his eye. Even so, she didn't run from Togata like she had at the betrothal ceremony. She stayed at his side through the event, she took his hand, she allowed the seal of the marriage kiss and everything. But she shifted uncomfortably everytime Togata's mother was near.
Momo took in the entire thing as a distant spectator. She also did her duties and showed her support to her cousin, but she took the role of observer, watching the girl closely, watching to be sure Togata seemed happy, and, annoyingly, watching Commander Tenya more than she should have. He hadn't spoken to her beyond basic courtesies and acknowledgment, but she found her eyes followed him.
His eyes were always on Fuyumi. Protective it seemed. Cautious. Like the Todorokis and their subordinates were as suspicious of the Yagis as they were of the Todorokis. Momo might have found it upsetting if she weren't doing much the same thing. Watching Fuyumi and Togata with cautious suspicion, waiting for the enemy house to make a compromising move.
But neither did anything except get married, eat cake, and fend off nobles trying to congratulate them. For all intents and purposes, this was a beautiful, joyful event for the entire kingdom to celebrate. The Yagi and the Todoroki houses were joined, the Princess Tana was home, the King was relishing his every moment with his last living sibling, Togata was swinging his bride on the dancefloor to her shock and surprising amusement, and for that day their family was more together than it had been since before Momo was born.
Only the event was just a day. One droplet in a bucket.
Three days later the Capitol's forces were armed, mounted, and prepared to leave.
It gave the newlyweds a very brief time to get to know each other, and things were certainly not comfortable with them yet, but the farewell that Fuyumi offered her husband at least sounded real. Perhaps she wasn't going to actively miss him, but when she said that she hoped he would return safe, Momo actually believed it.
Togata on the other hand...well, he actually seemed to like her. He held onto her hand longer than Momo expected and placed a kiss on her forehead before beaming his signature smile, saying, "I'll be back before you know it."
She gave a courtly bow of her head and moved back to Commander Tenya's side. To Momo's surprise the Tarlson Commander was not leaving with the army. Her initial feeling was of excitement, but she turned it quickly to suspicion. If the danger was as real as Togata said, why leave such an invaluable military leader where he could affect so little in the war effort? The Todorokis wanted him here for some reason and the Queen's unofficial assignment to Momo buzzed in his ears. Never trust a Todoroki.
Momo didn't stop herself from crying when she hugged Togata goodbye. He squeezed her tightly, even lifted her off the ground for a moment. She knew this would be hard, but it hurt more than she really expected. It wasn't that he was leaving. He did that all the time. It was the underlying threat. The fact that they had rushed a wedding before he was sent away. The fact that it wasn't just a joke between them, but that the powers that be were planning around his possible death.
When they pulled apart he childishly messed her hair like he tended to do and she laughingly swatted him away.
"Don't go planning my funeral just yet," he winked and moved to mount his horse.
She really wasn't feeling like playing their usual dismal game right now, but for his sake she pulled out a smile and a shrug.
"No promises."
Momo stayed on the ramparts until the army was entirely out of sight and sound. The entire city felt heavy. The joyful heart of a few days prior was lost to the reality of war. Every family in the sweeping streets and cityscape below were sending a loved one to possible death today. It wasn't just Momo risking loss, it was every baker, farmer, stonemason, and street performer. There was a strange solidarity to be found in it, but it didn't make the weight on her chest lighten any.
"Momo?"
The princess raised an eyebrow, more surprised that Fuyumi was actually using her given name without titles than surprised to find her approaching without warning.
Pulling on her diplomatic face, Momo turned to her and smiled. The Lady was standing straighter than Momo was used to, head up, voice even. She was probably just relieved that the wedding business was over and with Togata gone she could finally have some real peace.
"Yes?"
"This last week has been a chaotic blur," Fuyumi gave a breathy laugh, sounding almost comfortable, "You've been incredibly generous and forgiving, but I feel as though I haven't been as courteous to you. We may have started on some bad footing, but I'd like to fix that. We're family now and I'd like us to be friends."
The wind rolling over the ramparts was the only sound for a solid moment as Momo let that sink in. She was searching her face and her voice for the underlying sinister intention, for the game the Todoroki girl must be playing. But Momo couldn't pick up on anything. Was she actually trying to make friends?
"Oh." Momo sputtered a moment, her diplomatic posture dropping as she seriously considered it. "I think that would be a good idea too."
Fuyumi's cheeks pushed up in a gentle smile and it made Momo smile in return. Smiling was a constant state in her family, besides her mother, and the girl's sullen nature had been grating on Momo from the start. It was easing to see her finally smile for real.
The Lady moved to the stone wall of the ramparts and leaned on the surface, looking out over the town, gray eyes bigger than usual as she breathed in crisp air. Momo returned to her spot beside Fuyumi and cautiously eyed her.
"It's beautiful here," Fuyumi sighed, "Tarlson is beautiful too, but it's different here...you can see farther and there aren't so many clouds."
Momo gave a sad laugh, "It's a beautiful day to send your loved ones to war, isn't it?"
It got very quiet, before Fuyumi turned sympathetic eyes to Momo.
"I'm sorry about Togata," she said, "I know you must be worried."
Momo shrugged, trying to deflect from how scared she really was. "You should probably be more worried than me," she said lightly, "Unless you managed to work some magic over the last few nights, you're position in our family won't be very stable without an heir. Aunt Tana is a wonderful woman and will be very accepting of you with or without her son, but even that will be reliant on your family being willing to let my family sweep you off to an island nation."
Fuyumi shook her head. "We both know that won't happen. I know how important an heir is. That's my value to my house. If Togata dies and I haven't conceived then another marriage will be arranged."
Momo's stomach tightened. She was well aware of the political realities, but it was sickening to hear the girl speak about herself like that. The unease was clear in her face, the thought of going through this again, this hellish week of displacement, living among strangers, and forced intimacy with a person she hardly knew. She was a noble, but she was human, she felt discomfort like any other did.
Fuyumi's arm wrapped around her gut. "I still don't really know him, but I think you were right that I've been blessed with a rare union. I can't see myself getting this lucky twice."
"He'll come back," Momo smiled, putting a lot of hope into her words that she struggled to believe, "He always does."
Pushing back from the wall Momo looked the girl up and down, took in the pensive stare she turned out to the horizon, the tight hold she had over her stomach, the way it told her fears and hopes without a sound.
"Can I ask you something?" Momo tilted her head and Fuyumi gave her a quick nod, "Did Aunt Tana say something to you?"
Fuyumi startled a little and blinked at Momo in confusion. "What? No! What do you mean?"
"You've seemed upset with her," Momo frowned, "I don't know her very well myself, but if she's anything like my father, which she seems very much to be, I can't see her being cruel to you."
Fuyumi shook her head and waved her arms to dissuade the idea in Momo's head. "No, it's not that! She's been wonderful to me. Your father has too. You come from a loving, incredible family. I'm not upset with her...it's upsetting to see her."
"Why?"
A long breath passed from Fuyumi's lips and she folded her arms over herself against the breeze. "She's been treating me like a daughter and just seeing how she is with Togata… I just miss my mother is all."
Momo instantly softened from head to toe. "Oh...I'm sorry, Fuyumi. I didn't mean to accuse you of anything."
"It's fine," Fuyumi shook her head, "It's just been reminding me how she wasn't here for any of this...how she wouldn't have been even if things weren't rushed. I'm sure you understand. No girl wants to say their wedding vows without their mother there."
Momo nodded. Her own family was integral to every part of her life. Even if the wedding was to an eighty year old man from a half rotten lordship, she wouldn't want to be married without her parents at her side.
"I get it," she said, "Some days I want to scream in her face, but I can't imagine living my life without my mother. What's your mother like?"
Fuyumi smiled distantly, "Well my answer is probably the same as any other persons. She's sweet, loving, caring, and a wonderful mother…"
Momo chuckled, "My mother is a frigid bitch...but yes...she's also a loving and caring mother so I guess you're right that we all described them the same. They're our mothers after all."
"Well she was," Fuyumi's shoulder slouched, "She hasn't really been a mother to anyone in years. I'd still be missing her if I was home with her right now."
A head tilt indicated Momo's need for further explanation and Fuyumi dipped her head before taking the queue to continue.
"My mother isn't a very well person," she said tentatively, "She's not ill necessarily...she's just not all there. Not that I can really blame her."
Momo's eyes narrowed. "I've heard that these mental illnesses often pass on…" she gave a very pointed look to Fuyumi and then to her stomach, making clear a concern she wasn't voicing...the concern for future children her cousin might be raising.
"Not this type," Fuyumi bit her cheek, "though I do have plenty of my own fears. My mother's body was not hospitable to her children. We lost count of the miscarriages and stillbirths. When you've held more of your dead children in your arms than living ones...it takes its toll."
A shiver went up Momo's spine. She wasn't sure she had the giving, loving heart that a mother should, but the very idea of repeatedly losing children to her own body was horrifying. Her heart went out to the poor woman in question and then more to the young woman standing across from her, holding tight to her own stomach.
"You're afraid it will happen to you too," Momo observed, "You're afraid your body is going to kill your babies like your mother's did."
She gave a quick nod. "Me and Natsuo and...well the two of us have been around it our whole lives so we're oddly used to it, but that doesn't mean it will be easier if it does happen. And it carries the risk that I might fail to bear a living heir and in that case the marriage could still be annulled and I could be sent home to be married off again. I...I don't know why I'm telling you all this. It's not in my best interest for you to know this and there's nothing stopping you from telling the King and ending this right here and now, but like I said...I do want to be friends with you Momo. I want to trust you."
A short laugh escaped Momo before she could catch it. She was surprised and impressed. To admit such a flaw that could devalue her entire union was possibly extremely foolish...or extremely gutsy to say to the princess of all people. The words, "never trust a Todoroki" were a distant echo in her mind the more she spoke with Fuyumi. She had yet to find something threatening about the girl, yet to find something dishonest or underhanded. She didn't want to be foolish...but giving Fuyumi a reason to trust her felt like a good idea and something Momo's heart was asking her to do.
"Your secret is safe with me," Momo moved to her side, linking their arms in a friendly way, "Besides...there's no saying if it'll even happen. You may be worried for nothing."
"I hope you're right," Fuyumi tapped her shoulder lightly into Momo's.
They descended the ramparts arm in arm, easing into a familiarity that each girl was trying to grow to one another. Which left Momo feeling open enough to ask a question plaguing her for some time now.
"What's with Commander Tenya?" Momo raised an eyebrow, "Why is he still here and not leaving with the others?"
Fuyumi shrugged one shoulder. "Our families don't exactly trust each other. Your father wouldn't send you to live in Tarlson without someone watching over you every second."
"That's fair," Momo laughed, "So is he staying indefinitely then?"
"I suppose," Fuyumi said nonchalantly, "Until I don't need him anymore or father finds a better use for him somewhere else. But I'm glad he's here either way. It's nice to have a familiar face among so many strangers."
"Are you friends?" Momo asked.
Fuyumi nodded. "The Iida family has served our Lordship forever. We all practically grew up under the same roof. His brother is Natsuo's right hand and Tenya leads his own battalion of Tarlson soldiers. Natsuo has always been closer to them, but I'm fond of them too."
A touch of jealousy hit Momo's chest, but she forced it down quickly. She shouldn't even be asking about this. She'd already resolved that she wasn't going to think about the little infatuation and this wasn't helping.
She steered the conversation away from the Commander and contented herself in friendly chat. Every passing minute was making having Fuyumi here and Togata gone easier. Fuyumi was genuinely sweet and kind. She had a wonder for the world around her and Momo was having a hard time staying cynical towards her.
At night they retired to their rooms with a laugh at how much time they had lost conversating. It was incredibly late and Momo's exhaustion was strong. Her handmaids prepared her for bed and she slipped into her sheets with a content sigh. Her heart still ached to have Togata gone and in danger, but spending today with Fuyumi had eased so much of that away. Her heart felt almost full and she found herself genuinely hopeful that Lady Fuyumi had gotten lucky over her few nights with Togata and maybe she would have a little one to expect.
All pleasant thoughts to lull her to sleep.
But sleep never came. It hovered on the brink, about to take her, when a voice she didn't know brushed hot air across her ear and said the words, "Stand."
Momo's heart slammed into her chest as without any voluntary thought she lurched up and stood beside her bed. Shocked and terrified that her body had just acting without her will she opened her mouth to scream.
"Be silent." The voice commanded and her mouth snapped shut.
"Be still."
Momo's body locked up and all she could do was breathe heavily and throw her wide eyes about the room in search of what was making her do this. There was nothing but shadows and darkness, but something shifted in her periphery and she tried to force a scream from her mouth to no avail.
In a single, silent stride, a tall, lanky figure moved in front of her as panicked tears hit her eyes. A man dressed in limber black attire, mouth covered with a slotted mask, eyes glowing a bright violet on her through the darkness, hovered close with a short blade poised in his hand.
They only managed to travel about two miles before their exhaustion took over and they were forced to stop and rest. They went a little off road to where there was an outcropping of trees, but not so far that they couldn't see the path they were traveling. With no rations and no blankets they did what they could to make it liveable.
Katsuki gathered wood while Shoto leaned Nana to a tree and encouraged her to rest. She nodded off almost immediately, having grown weaker with every mile they went.
Shoto had arranged some stones in a circle and when Katsuki returned he made a fire with a quick burst of magic. The two boys said nothing to each other, just passing glares before lying down close on either side of the heated stones and smoldering wood.
Their bodies were weary, limbs weak, and heads heavy, but when Shoto closed his eyes what he saw was the recurring image that had stayed with him since that battle. The silhouette of the Archdemon, the sea of mangled corpses, the swirl of blood around the Blood Mage. Stricken, gored faces, staring lifeless. The chattering grotesqueness of that half-rotten undead, the burn in his skin as it cleaved flesh from his face. The screams of dying men.
His fingers dug into the dirt and his heart raced like it had done every night since he had seen the Archdemon. He shifted again and again, uncomfortable and aching. He lifted his arm over his head, holding himself close as he heard shifting across the fire. Shoto went very still, eyes pulling slowly open. He didn't move though, listening instead as Katsuki rolled and rustled the leaves beneath him. He went quiet again after a moment, almost convincing Shoto that he'd fallen asleep, before he heard a sharp gasp and a breathy curse.
Shoto's heart rate settled at the restless sounds. He couldn't explain it, but there was a strange comfort in hearing that he wasn't the only one disturbed from sleep right now, not the only one haunted.
While Shoto listened to the Captain's breath turn even again, something else caught his ear that didn't sound quite normal. It came from the trees, shuffling so light it might have been a could have been an animal were it not for the hiss of a whisper. There was someone nearby, he could practically feel them.
Shoto's staff was next to him, but he stayed still, feigning sleep, not wanting to give away that he noticed anything. He didn't trust that it wasn't just his imagination and he didn't want to disturb his already restless companions over nothing.
Then muted feet hit the ground, not a leaf crunched or twig snapped, but a definite impact that some sense he could barely name picked up on. It also told him that there was an extra presence in their makeshift camp and that it was approaching him.
Blood pulsed through his ears as he waited until the very last second, waited for the intruder to get just close enough to touch before lunging for his staff and praying that he would be the quicker man.
Shot's weapon came into his hand and he was on his feet spinning on the intruder in a mere second, ready to fight.
"Oh shit!"
The reaction did not match his intended actions, but the rest of the intruder looked the part. Lithe, nimble, dark brown attire with a hood over hair that was so brightly yellow blond that it stood out like a beacon even under his cowl. There was a dagger on his belt, but nothing in his long fingered hands; it hadn't been drawn to be used, he hadn't been intending to kill the sleeping man at the least. Shoto wouldn't make his attack lethal either; fair was fair. He'd make it hurt like hell though.
Shoto lifted his arm, blue light forming on his fingers in the conjuring of magic. The man immediately stumbled back, fear all over his half hidden face as a sharp whistle shot from his lips. Across the fire another smaller body was physically flung from where the Captain jerked violently awake.
The second intruder hit the ground with a guttural "oof", her own hood thrown back on the impact, revealing wild pink hair around translucent skin and framing massive black eyes turned wide on the towering menace that was the sleep deprived, angry Captain stalking towards her with his sword in hand.
"Who the hell are you?" Katsuki shouted.
The man in front of Shoto exchanged looks with his accomplice and then let out a short, nervous laugh back to Shoto.
"Yeah...not part of the plan, hun," he said to the girl, backing up, "Run!"
Neither Shoto nor Katsuki had any intention of letting that happen. The second they tried to make a run for it the captain and the mage were on top of them, Shoto casting a dull shard of ice to collide with the back of the first intruders head, while Katsuki swung a wide swipe at the girl. Her voice hit the air in a shriek, but she ducked it, rolling away. She got barely a foot away from him before Katsuki placed a swift kick into her gut and sent her sprawling on her back, coughing up air and dodging another strike.
The male intruder stumbled at the hit to his head, but kept his bearings, whipping out his dagger and turning on Shoto to fight. He crossed his arms in front of his face just before a much harsher spell was able to knock him clean out. It struck the bracers on his arms and rippled over the light armor like his magic had done over the shield Katsuki had used at the encampment. More enchanted armaments.
It was annoying, but his area of defense was small and at best it would be a small challenge for Shoto to fight around. Mainly because the young mage was acting entirely on adrenaline and the fact that his own magic attacks could knock himself on his ass in a split second if he accidentally put too much power behind it.
"Ha!" the intruder smiled after deflecting the attack.
The smug look fell quickly as Shoto raised his staff and his right hand at him, unphased by the deflection and forming both green and red glyphs on him at once.
"Shit…" the intruder turned to run and escape the spell heating up in Shoto's hands. He barely made it a step before he came face to face with the heavy, darkened eyes of Nana illuminated like a monster in the glow of the dying embers.
Seeing her stopping the intruder in his tracks, caused the magic in Shoto's hands to dim. He retracted the spell as Nana took the hand with the dagger in it and twisted it back with dark, vine-like magic. She ripped the blade from his hand, keeping his wrist twisting in such a way that he yowled in pain.
"Ah!" he screamed as she kept his arm bent painfully and fisted her free hand into the front of his tunic, physically lifting him off the ground.
Shoto's mouth dropped open in shock at her strength, especially in such a state as she was, but then the cowl fell back to reveal the sharp points of elf ears and his surprise was gone. The small framed creatures were naturally very light, like a bundle of clothes stuffed tight with straw, but even still it was unexpected from the mage that he had practically carried over the last mile of their journey.
Her eyes went wide on the revealed face and her lips parted to say something, but it never came out as Katsuki's bellowing caught all of their attention.
"Get back here and die you bastard!"
The man that Nana was lifting off of the ground squirmed frantically in her grip as the Captain grabbed the girl's hood and threw her back to the ground violently. His boot slammed into her throat and her pale, pink tinted fingers clawed at his foot to get free, her own short sword already out of reach. Big black eyes turned up to the Captain, fearful as he swept back his sword to make a finishing move.
"Denki!" she barely managed to squeal past his choking foot, just before everything came to a solid standstill on the whipcrack of Nana's voice.
"Stay your blade!" She bit the air. Katsuki threw harsh, stubborn red eyes at her, arm held above his head, still ready to strike the girl down and obviously upset that he was being told to hold off.
Shoto turned an equally curious look to Nana, but she was staring wide eyed at the elf boy in her hands, confused and disbelieving. Katsuki asked the question before it could leave Shoto's lips.
"Why? They tried to kill us!"
"We weren't trying to kill you," the elf boy's feet kicked in the air as he whined on the continuously harsh twist against his wrist, "We were trying to rob you!"
"Jokes on you, shithead, we don't have anything to steal!" Katsuki huffed and ground his foot a little harder into the girl's neck, paying little attention to her peachy pink skin turning a hint of blue under his suffocation.
The man, Denki as the girl called him, formed a tightly concerned look at the Captain, biting his inner cheek as he thrashed against Nana's hold.
"Let her go, you're going to kill her!" he shouted at Katsuki, frantically.
"Captain, let the girl breathe," Nana snapped, inexplicably lowering the elf back to where his feet touched the ground and releasing his twisted wrist. "I know this elf."
That surprised everyone including the elf.
"Wait, how?" Katsuki growled.
"Yeah, who are you supposed to- oh..." Denki started to complain before his own eyes widened on the older woman.
Nana turned a severe look to Katsuki. "Let the girl breathe and I'll tell you. Haven't enough people died today, Captain?"
Shoto felt as iced by that statement as Katsuki looked. He was frozen for a good moment, but finally moved his foot, cursing sharply under his breath as he let up on her windpipe. The girl coughed and gasped like she'd never tasted air before, rolling to her side to grab her chest and heave deep gulps of oxygen. A moment of respite was all she got before Katsuki had her by the hair again, pulling pink curls away from sharp ears as he put his blade an inch from her throat in a tangible threat.
"What's going on, Nana?" Shoto eyed the sharply blond elf and then the face of the woman staring him down.
"Is that really you after all these years?" Denki sounded taken aback and shook his head before looking at her again
Nana let go of his shirt and smacked an open palm to the front of his head.
"Ow...yeah, that's you."
"I'm surprised you remember your own damn name," Nana sighed and shoved him away, rubbing against the dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Who are these people?" Katsuki pulled on the girl's hair roughly and she yelped, but stayed fearfully still while a blade hovered over her throat.
"I'm Denki Kaminari," the elf boy rubbed his forehead, turning a grit smile to Nana and then the others, "That's Mina."
Nana eyed the girl closely and then groaned back at Denki. "A Moondance elf? Denki!"
His hands went up defensively.
Shoto relaxed a bit, noticing the ease in which Nana and the elf had instantly fallen in with each other. It was very curious and bore a plethora of questions as to what history she had with this elf currently doing a poor job at being a thief.
"Nana?"
Her expression softened on Shoto. "You remember I said that I learned magic from the Solstice Elves? Me and Denki's father trained together most of those years. He and his brother were my closest friends in Solen. We haven't spoken in a long time, but I've always respected him deeply... and I can only imagine what he would say if he knew his son was trasping around in Gaetha with a damn Moondance Elf!"
"I take full offense at that," the girl chirped before biting back her lips at the subtle press of Katsuki's blade.
"Hey, I thought you were the open minded one!" Denki huffed, "Besides he's aware. Extremely aware…"
Nana stared at the intense glare he was directing at the ground for some time before she sighed with a weight as heavy as bricks, pinching the bridge of her nose
"Denki...he threw you out?"
"Banished actually," Mina, the elf girl, tried to chime in again, but got a hair tug for her efforts.
Denki gave her a look that begged her to shut her mouth before turning back a laugh to Nana.
"Funny story actually…" Denki shifted and shrunk a bit to notice Shoto's threatening proximity and Nana's disapproving glare so close to him, "You know the old Prayer Tree?"
Nana's disapproval turned to something darker instantly.
"What did you do?"
"Would it help if I said it was an accident?"
Nana's face said clearly that it would not, in fact, help.
"Look my father wanted me to learn to use magic so I tried! I really did!"
"Damn it boy," Nana shook her head.
Katsuki was already far away from whatever the incident with the tree was when he yelled in a disgusted tone at the yellow haired elf. "What sort of degenerate species chooses to learn magic?"
"The Solstice Elves don't believe magic has any inherent evil," Nana eyed Katsuki narrowly, "That it's a tool the same as a sword or rake."
"And do you believe that?" Shoto couldn't help the question.
"That's not important right now," she shook her head, "Katsuki, let the elf go, please. I think you've made your point. They won't try anything." The look she gave Denki demanded that he agree with her, that he make sure what she'd just claimed would be true.
"You said it yourself, you've got nothing for us to steal," Denki shrugged, eyes darting from Mina to Katsuki tentatively, hopefully. They were both playing this off like it was nothing, but he could feel Denki's fear every time he looked at the girl. While she was in Katsuki's hands he had every right to.
Air shot from the Captain's nostrils violently before he pulled the sword away and shoved the girl back into the dirt. She didn't care, just scurried away from him as fast as possible, grabbing her throat as she found her feet and took cautious steps around the mostly dead firepit to move over to Denki, watching Katsuki with cautious black eyes.
Denki met Mina halfway and situated himself between her and the rest of them, both of their more cautious glares spared for Katsuki alone. He returned the look a thousand times more viciously.
The tense threats that remained unvocalized dissipated from everyone as Nana's knees unexpectedly buckled beneath her. Shoto was fast, but not fast enough to keep her knees from scraping the ground through the folds of her robes. Denki startled and reached out to catch her as well, but Shoto was already on it, easing her back into a seated position by the embers of the fire. Concern pulsed in his chest and with a flick of his wrist he hit the pit with another fire spell to surge it back to life and return reasonable light to their surroundings.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, observing Nana's face closely. There was a strange feeling dripping off of her, dark and throbbing like the encroachment of the ether, but smaller and more sickly. Her skin was pale and her eyes were surrounded by dark purple. She was breathing fine, but overall she was extremely weak.
Nana shook her head lightly.
"What's wrong with her?" Denki was hanging close, but not too close once Katsuki marched around the fire to drop beside them.
Katsuki roughly shoved Shoto back and assessed the situation himself, placing a couple fingers to her throat and setting the back of his hand to her forehead.
"What are you doing?" Shoto glared at his peculiar actions.
"Checking her heartbeat and temperature," he still sounded petulant despite attentively, if not roughly, helping the older mage, "We all learn basic shit in the army so we can keep each other alive without healers." He grit his teeth at Shoto's surprised expression and then spat harshly. "We're fucked if she dies so back off, mage."
Denki pulled something from his waist and hesitantly held it out towards the Captain. "I have some water if-"
"I'm not taking your fucking poison!" Katsuki barked, but Shoto was already on his feet and taking the flask from Denki.
"Why would his own rations be poisoned, Katsuki?" Shoto rolled his eyes and dropped back beside her.
It was his turn to shove Katsuki away as he took Nana's head and helped her take a long sip. Shoto's own mouth felt incredibly dry while watching it. All three of them had gone a considerable amount of time without water or food and Shoto was beyond parched.
She took a long breath once she finished and sighed, leaning forward onto her propped up knees. The dark feelings around her subsided just a little, but they were still there, faint beneath the surface.
"I'll be fine," she said shakily, "I haven't recovered enough to have been using magic again. I shouldn't have stepped in."
"There's no changing that now," Shoto frowned, sitting back on his heels and eyeing Katsuki's twisted lips.
"She has a fever," the Captain said, "We have to get to Dawnsend fast. Without rations or blankets she'll die out here and all this shit will have been for nothing."
The chattering sounds of Denki and Mina whispering nearby caught their attention just as Mina gave Denki a sharp nod and darted away from the camp. Katsuki was on his feet, hand on his sword, moving to chase after, but Shoto grabbed his pantleg firmly and yanked him to a stop.
"Shoto," he said testily, like he could just as easily turn the blade on the mage.
"She'll be right back," Denki defended, "She's getting our supplies. It doesn't exactly benefit us to fight with you guys! Nana's the only family I have here. I want to help."
The rage filled blond let that simmer a good moment, seeming to lean towards hunting down the girl and killing her anyway, despite neither of them having given any real sign towards being a threat. He was so annoying and irrational sometimes it made Shoto want to rip his head off.
"Relax, Katsuki" Shoto demanded, "Trust somebody for once."
The Captain jerked away from Shoto's reach, sneering. "I trusted the Lord Commander with my life and I had an entire army put their faith in me. Don't talk to me about trust, mage." The words were like a whisper, but spiteful to their core, cutting.
Shoto had to swallow back the pangs of loss that hit his throat when Katsuki spoke as well as the misplaced sympathies that tried to rise for the Captain. There simply wasn't time for that.
"I'm going to use healing magic in the meantime, so just calm down," Shoto sighed, laying hands to Nana's back and chest, hoping he remembered those three healing spells he'd learned well enough to perform one.
He could feel the heavy sweat through her clothes, Katsuki had been right about the fever.
"You mages have death wishes or something?" Katsuki bit, "You look like shit too. I'm not dragging both of your half-dead asss to Dawnsend!"
Shoto paused. It was a surprisingly observant conclusion. Shoto had less rest than Nana since they'd stopped for the night and he was running on the dregs of adrenaline from their brief fight. Without rations and some actual sleep using more than a minute amount of magic could easily hurt him more than it healed Nana. But if he was careful he could at least settle her fever and stay on his own feet.
Precision was not his strong suit with magic. Harsh, dangerous, strong magic in short bursts was his expertise. "Too much power too fast," he'd been told by the Magesterium masters frequently. At the time he didn't see why multiple weaker spells were better than one big one, but right now he could actually see the benefit to their desire for his temperance.
"I'll be careful," Shoto hissed back, not waiting on another argument before activating the spell.
It came in a violet light, dull across her body. He fought to keep it somewhat weak, but his magic wanted to pour like a busted floodgate. The instant it felt out of his control, he cut off the spell. He only hoped it was enough.
The two blond males watching closely held their breaths until Nana took a deep inhale and lifted her head. Shoto fell back on his ass beside her, winded and shaking away a dizzy head now that his adrenaline was drained and his actions were free to weigh heavily on him. His vision suddenly blurred out and his equilibrium vanished.
He didn't realize when it happened, but after a few blinks Shoto opened his eyes to find Katsuki shockingly close, pissy as ever, but making sure the mage hadn't killed himself. Fingers pressed to his throat and his sharp red gaze observed the fog of Shoto's mismatched pair. It was shocking enough for Shoto to jerk back and hit his hand away, glare meeting glare before Katsuki stood and shook his head.
"You're fucking fine," he huffed, "Shake it off, mage."
"You guys look awful," Denki commented just as Mina appeared through the trees with a pack on her back and multiple bundled items in her arms.
There was no complaint from Katsuki this time when the elves passed around a couple more flasks of water to each of them and placed a blanket around Nana's shoulders. It was hard for the Captain to complain when his throat was being quenched for the first time in many long, grueling hours. The elves shared some food rations as well, but Katsuki refused that, still too wary of the elves.
With Nana's fever so quickly broken, she was more alive that she had been before and voiced the gratitude that the other two weren't willing to offer when Denki crouched beside her to drape the blanket around her shoulders. He got comfortable at her side and, after she'd put some food on her stomach, searched her drawn face and then the faces of her companions.
"What happened to you three?" he asked as Mina sat down close to the fire on the other side of Shoto still hungrily wolfing down a ration of dried meat and glaring at Katsuki.
"We were at the fronts," Nana said somberly.
"Really?" Mina gasped, "We were headed there to do some scavenging! Is it that bad?"
"Scavenging?" Katsuki's nostrils flared at her.
"It's a living," Denki crossed his arms, "It's not like the dead need that stuff anymore."
Katsuki sucked his teeth, shaking his head at the elves, obviously disdainful of them, but not saying anything further.
"What happened there?" Denki directed the question to Nana this time.
She pointedly met Shoto's eyes for a moment, getting a wince from the younger mage.
"Too much," she said, "Everyone is dead...except us."
"You were involved in the fighting?" Denki sounded disbelieving, "I thought you were an outcast here or something. Why would they send you to fight demons, don't they try to kill mages like you?"
Shoto pulled into himself, feeling the words were somewhat accusing, aware that he was one of those mages who was meant to kill mages like her.
"A lot has happened since I left Solen, Denki," Nana patted his arm, "Obviously...I mean, you're hardly a child anymore."
Denki chuckled and settled down comfortably next to her. "Tell that to my father."
"Hmph," Mina rolled her eyes over a bite of food.
"What happened," Denki returned his attention to her, "Where's-"
"Toran is dead," Nana said darkly, her mouth a tight line.
Denki's curious expression fell to nothing, his knees pulling up. "Oh. H-how?"
"By leaving Solen," she stared hard at the ground, "By doing like you and coming where it's dangerous to be a Solstice elf, much less be a magic user. Your ideologies don't match this world. As long as you're here, be grateful you never learned magic. The Synod would kill you sooner than check your lineage."
"That's not…" Shoto caught himself from arguing, from biting back against the things she was telling Denki. He was torn on which side he really was taking in this anymore, but his instincts told him to repeat the same drabble he'd told himself and others for years. It didn't mean it was wrong and it didn't mean it was right, but now wasn't the time to be debating Synod policies.
Nana seemed to notice the sensitive spot she'd struck in Shoto, though, and changed the direction of what she was saying. She took the young elf's hand as tightly as her weary fingers could and gave a sad smile to Denki.
"I miss him," she said, "I miss all of them. It was my fault...I've been trying to make up for that for a long time. I learned things that would make your father very disappointed in me over my years of trying to fix things. I came here to end this war, to sacrifice myself in the attempt if I had to. But I failed again and the encampment was overrun. We barely got away with our lives."
"What sort of things did you learn?" Denki eyed her sidelong.
"Blood Magic," Shoto filled in, eyes locked on the licking flames of the fire, feeling his own stomach turn at what those words meant for him specifically.
Mina stopped chewing and Denki bristled.
"Nana…"
"I've never killed a man to use it," Nana scowled, "I've hurt myself using it more than any other living person so don't go looking at me like that. You haven't fought these Demons, seen this Archdemon...it can't be beaten the usual way."
"Some Moondancers use Blood Magic," Mina commented, tilting her head at Denki's disapproving, sour face.
"Well you're a bunch of heathens so that's not really an endorsement," he crossed his arms at her.
The girl didn't give any sort of defense to being called a heathen, just shrugged, not disagreeing, and quite not caring.
Shoto didn't know much about elf cultures and it was confusing to watch these two. There were plenty of elves in the Magesterium, but everyone was raised the same there, no one had any culture outside of the one they all lived in. They studied the integrated elves, the ones that lived in human cities and intermingled, but the Tribes were a different matter. Solstice, Moondance, Twilight, Suncast, and Daybreaker Elves lived outside of Gaetha, out of the reach of the Synod's authority. They briefly overviewed them, but the main commentary on them was that they were unimportant, like the Bog Mages. Primitive and not worth the Synod's attention and higher goals.
"We have to stop the Summoner," Nana went on heedlessly, "It has to be Blood Magic. There's no other way and we're out of options. I've gained us time at the front, it's sealed off, but only for so long. You should leave Gaetha, Denki. If we fail then this entire country will fall and the world around it will follow."
Denki frowned thinking about what she was saying. "Well you're not leaving...neither are they…"
"We have to," she said, "We're the only ones who can fix this. The only ones willing. I have to face the Archdemon and repair this. I devoted my life to protecting the innocent after I lost them and I will do whatever I have to to see that through. To honor their lives through my actions."
Denki nodded to himself. "That's really beautiful, Nana, and I appreciate that you want to honor Toran like that, even if I don't like the idea of you getting yourself killed to do it. But what about them? Why are they so keen on risking life and limb to fight an Archdemon?"
Katsuki leaned back onto the ground, one knee propped up, sliding an arm under his head. He glared at the stars. "It's my duty…" was his only response.
The pink toned elf raised an eyebrow at the sulky form and shrugged at Denki.
"What about you?" she asked Shoto, "What makes you want to fight Demons? Is it your duty too?"
Shoto scowled at his feet, unsure how to answer. He didn't have a heart of gold with a destiny that drove him to help others. He wasn't compelled by a strong sense of duty to follow his role to its end; if he were to have been dutiful to the Synod he'd have killed Nana from the start and stayed his ground to his inevitable death at the encampment. He knew the reason, somewhere deep down, but he didn't want to say it, didn't like complete strangers or even someone he was growing fond of like Nana, knowing that part of it.
"I'm a battle mage," he fabricated his reasoning, "We fight demons. It's our job."
Katsuki scoffed. "You did a great job of that," he snipped sarcastically, "How many mages were in your cohort again? Thirty? All dead in the first battle except for you. And you're alive because, why exactly was that again?"
Shoto's face heated up, fists clenching in his lap.
"Because Nana fought two demons for you the first time and because you ran away the second time." It sounded both bitter and snide
Shoto could feel his fingers tingling with the need to conjure a volley of pointed ice shards at his pissy mug. "And you've conveniently forgotten that it's the only reason you're alive."
The two elves exchanged looks at the two heated boys and then shrugged to each other as Nana shook her head wearily.
"How we got here doesn't matter," she sighed, "where we're going does. We just need to get to Dawnsend, get supplies and a Honing Stone from their Synod Stationmaster so we can get this damned all mission started and find the Summoner."
"How are we supposed to get that?" Katsuki shifted to look at her, "I'm not a mage, they won't give it to me, it doesn't matter what my rank is. The Synod doesn't respect military authority in their own houses. And no one in Dawnsend is going to back the quest of a Blood Mage, no matter how unhappy they are with the Synod, so forget trying to use my military connections there."
"I can get it," Shoto spoke with more confidence than he felt, "They won't know me. I went straight to the encampment from the Magesterium without stopping in Dawnsend. Maybe I can convince them I'm a Master or something."
"You're one of the Synod mages?" Mina looked him up and down closely, leaning back a bit warily.
"It's sort of complicated…" Nana leaned heavy on Denki, relaxed now, but still very tired.
"Not really," Shoto shook his head, "I'm still a Synod Mage when all this over and done with and I still am now. I'm acknowledging the laws I'm breaking and the punishment I'm encurring just like the Captain is. I won't be Fallen like you...even if I have to do the things they do."
A glance in her direction showed the disappointment she was failing to hide, but she didn't say anything to it. Instead she addressed his plan.
"You getting the Stone is all good and fine, Shoto, but how will you convince them you're a Master," she said, "You're young, your clothes are covered in blood and dirt, and your robes aren't Master's. Your staff is the real deal at least, but that won't be enough."
Denki tapped his lip. "We might be able to help with that."
A grin spread over Mina's mouth.
"How?" Katsuki was the one to question.
"We're not always so clumsy about our thievery," Denki winked at him, "We can swipe you anything you need or find someone skeevy enough to trade it."
"Denki, I don't want you getting involved with this," Nana pleaded, "It's dangerous to be close to this situation. Not just finding the Summoner and fighting the Archdemon. I'm a renegade and if I'm caught by the Synod my life is forfeit as is anyone's who aids me."
"But you're still going to Dawnsend with the grumpy humans?" Denki raised an eyebrow at her, "Look I don't have anything better to do for the remainder of my banishment, I might as well help out the only family that still wants anything to do with me, right?"
"Hey!" Mina grumbled.
Denki's arm went up at her in some example that Shoto didn't understand. "We're not bonded, shove off."
"With an attitude like that I remember why," she appealed to the moon.
He shook his head, "Come on, Mina, you know what I mean."
Nana patted the elf's shoulder fondly, tapping the top of her head to his. "I get the feeling you're not going to take no for an answer, are you, Little Spark?"
Denki shoved her and snickered a fond scoff "Ugh, you sound like Toran."
Nana chuckled fondly, but sadly, before lying back slowly. "That's not a bad thing."
"So the elves are coming with us?" Katsuki groaned.
"It would seem so," Shoto turned one side of his mouth down as Denki walked around to drop next to Mina and pull out another blanket. He tossed it over to Shoto and he caught it with a surprised raise of his eyebrows. "What's this?"
"Sorry we only have two," Denki brushed away the twigs on the ground, "I wasn't going to give it to Captain Pisswad over there and you look half as bad as Nana so…"
"But don't you need them?" Shoto didn't understand the gesture or the reasoning.
"Not really," the girl elf smirked.
Denki shoved the pack up and laid his head down on it, grabbing the Moondance elf and tugging her into his chest. She was squirmy as she wrapped in close to him, sliding their legs together and getting comfortable.
Shoto's cheeks burst with heat to watch them act that way so blatantly and out in the open. Nana's eyes were already closed and Katsuki couldn't seem to care, which left Shoto the only one red faced and staring at the far too intimate pair of elves. He wanted to believe it was just an elf thing to be so carelessly affectionate, but he knew elves in the Magesterium and their instincts were like most other mages. Attractions sprung up among youthful mages the same it did among any other group of teenagers, especially in the little families that formed behind the walls of the Magesterium, but public displays of any affection were strictly looked down on, even if the Masters knew what was happening behind closed doors.
Shoto had never had a problem with it, other than that one time Izuku got too excited and tried to hug him and they both got their knuckles bruised for it. The green eyed boy figured out how to keep his enthusiasm bottled up and expressed only in private after that, which was still a hell and a half for Shoto to fight off.
Settling in under the blanket, Shoto couldn't stop himself from continuing to just watch them. Their eyes closed and their breathing slowed. Mina's hand was tangled in Denki's yellow hair and their legs were slotted together like puzzle pieces as they snuggled chest to chest. It hollowed something out in his sternum while it also grated over his skin. So inappropriate...but so intriguing to watch.
He had to shake his head and roll over to get it out of his head, to focus on anything else as he tried to let his weariness take over again. But he should have known better than to so flippantly turn away a distraction. The slightest leeway in his tired mind brought back the Archdemon, the ebbing pulse of the ether swallowing him in and the ever flesh rending horror of dying screams and ripping flesh.
Not even the Captain's restlessness could comfort him this time. His body would likely glean some rest from lying still until dawn, but his mind would panic and haunt him through the night.
