"You should say something."

Both young angels hobbled slowly down the hall towards their barrack, curls brushed over his shoulder when his companion shook her head, and he sighed deeply in regret.

"I can't say anything, Sasha, they'll pull me from training."

"And if Nis finds you he'll pull us both into his office."

"Sash." She looked up at him with wide eyes "You gotta promise not to say anything."

"Akeelah, you can't expect me to not to tell someone, you know what'll happen if someone finds out and they find out that we knew and didn't say anything."

She was adamant though "You got to swear."

He knew it was a bad idea, but Akeelah had been his friend since the very beginning, he couldn't break that trust over something like this. And at the same time, the phantom pain of the Power's hand made his bottom burn instinctively, he knew how this could end if anyone else found out.

But he still met her gaze "I swear."

Sasha helped his friend wobble the rest of the length of the hall, mindful of the wound to her leg, and they slowly made their way into the darkened barrack to their bunk. It had been a lowly made slash of a sword had knicked her there, it had been called out for foul play, and they had tried to make the young lady get herself looked after, but she had been adamant on her wellbeing and they had let the matter go, against their better judgement.

She was far from as okay as she said she was.

But he helped her sit on the edge of her bed, waiting until she slowly turned to lay on the soft bed as best as she could, Akeelah hissed softly as she laid down and pulled the blanket over herself.

…

Things came to a front the following week, during training, hand to hand combat under the ever-vigilant eye of their own mentor. Paired off, they usually took to each other, but this time were separated. Assigned partners by their Mentor, they paired off, parting from each other's side with a long-shared glance.

The Power took note of her favoring her left leg, but wrote it off as a bit of sore muscles from the vigorous training of the week, conditioning had taken over their time on the field, and conditioning was used to separate the ones who were strong enough to handle life as a warrior, and those who were not. Part of him was a bit let down to see that something had gotten to the stubbornest angel he had ever had the pleasure of knowing.

But the look shared between the two of them was a tad concerning though. One didn't just share a look like that unless they were keeping secrets.

Still, he threw it off, walking between the pairs as they began their sparring, critiquing as he went and offering gentle guidance.

And then the sweep of the leg came. He watched attentively as the opponent swept his leg under her, dropping her to her feet, and she looked up at his appearance, flinching at the look of disappointment that crossed his features, as he turned to move on to the next pair. She would wave away the hand that her opponent he held out to her for aid, and he stood back, watching as she struggled to get to her feet. Across the way, Sasha watched his friend with concern, ducking under a swing from the other's fist in quick succession. It broke his heart to see his old guardian spare that sort of look, his friend looked up to him for approval, and to gain only disappointment was going to hurt her more then the wound on her leg.

So, mind set, despite the consequence for his part in the matter, he called softly to the Power when he made his way to where he stood sparing. Nisroc raised an eyebrow, his hand held up to pause the other, and stepped forward at his charge's beckoning.

He bent, still so much taller then the other despite how much he'd grown, to allow him to whisper in his ear.

And his eyes immediately turned to watch their Baby Power.

…

The stood at attention at their Captain's appearance in their barrack, armor having been removed, hands tucked loosely in the belt around his waist. He waved their attention away with a hand, his focus only on the one who had not managed to stand at his arrival, Sasha looked guilty, perhaps for telling the secret that had been so closely kept, but he had been raised well.

They all returned to what they had been doing, stepping aside when the Power, and he knelt before the young lady sitting on her bunk, humming at the downturn of her head, knowing that the secret had been spilled.

"I believe you know why I'm here?", he nodded in time with her, and reached out for her, "Come with me."

Akeelah didn't struggle when his fingers curled around her middle, pulling her out from her bunk, and the large hand that guided her arm around his neck. She barely reached the floor, and he had to lean to the side for her to stand on her good leg. The Captain motioned for his charge to follow, and they left the barrack in silence, guiding their limping companion down the hall.

"When did this happen, Akeelah?"

She flinched at the calling of her name, Nisroc usually called her by her fledglinghood nickname, but her name meant that there was trouble to be had for the action that had been taken.

"Two and a half weeks ago."

He stopped them, the three of them came to a standstill, and he turned a stern gaze onto the two sheepish young ones at his side "You mean to tell me that you two knew of this for two and a half weeks before coming forward?" there was no response and he hummed, nodding his head at the silence that answered his only question.

"A healer will look at your leg and then we will address this lack in judgement."

They both nodded silently, not wanting to say anything more that may make him angrier then he already was, and he thought it was an educated choice on their part. The healer was waiting in his office, and he aides the youngling to sit up on the end of his desk, before stepping around to sit behind her at the desk. A wave of his hand had his charge sitting tenderly in one of the chairs across from him. He watches as the healer attends to the wound on the young lady's leg, grimacing at the pasty color it has turned, and felt an odd sense of satisfaction at the hiss that was released as the infected wound was disinfected, and sat silently, finger tapping at his lips, as the leg was bound in bandages, a jar of disinfectant to apply when the bandages were changed again.

Nisroc continued to tap at his lips as the healer bid them a farewell and shut the door behind them, they refused to meet his gaze as they sat before him and that was just as well.

"I'm rather disappointed." His tone carried his feelings rather clearly and they both cringed, "You both know well enough that such a thing is not tolerated, in any manner, you were both raised with such knowledge."

When there was no response, he sighed deeply "Sasha. I raised you myself." The young boy looked down to his lap in shame, fingers fiddling with the edge of his tunic "You know the consequences for keeping such a thing from me, personally." Nervous eyes flitted up for a moment to meet his stern gaze "Yes, 'Roc."

He turned to the young lady at his side "As for you, young Akeelah, I did not raise you, but I played a rather large part in your upbringing, didn't I?" she nodded silently, refusing to look up to meet his eyes, and just as well, his tone gave way to his disappointment more then his gaze ever could. He sighed when it became evident that nothing more was going to come from them both. "Then you both know what to do." They exchanged looks and nodded, Sasha stood from the chair he sat in, positioning himself to the side of the large Power. For all his consequences in his fledglinghood, Nisroc had never crossed the unspoken line that had been drawn at their very first meeting, and that maintained itself to this day, he would never lay more then a hand into passing on lessons that needed learned with a bit more of a firmer hand.