A/N: Chapter 1 of 3 posted today!
Something had been bothering Anur most of the day, in addition to the panicked flashback Maltin had accidentally induced, so Kir wasn't exactly surprised to wake up to Anur hunched in on himself and shaking at the edge of the bed.
Sitting up, he swung his legs over so they were sitting next to one another, pressing their shoulders together and murmuring, "Brook?"
"Ugh," Anur grimaced, "I wish it was just memories, but my nightmares decided to get creative."
Frowning, Kir wrapped an arm around Anur's shoulders and tugged him closer, the Herald practically collapsing against him and he hissed. Nightmares, twisted memories – they happened to both of them more frequently than they'd like but the last time Anur had been like this, half-curled against Kir's chest and trembling, he had just finished killing Cristan.
"Is there anything I can do?" he finally asked, Anur huffing a laugh and saying into his shirt, "Just – tell me something. Would you burn someone alive for punching me in the face?"
Kir could feel his eyebrows climb up his forehead at that question. What could that possibly have to do with Anur's nightmares? And for that matter, how could his response possibly be in doubt?
"That seems a little… overzealous," he finally offered, keeping his tone mild. "Perhaps their hair, so long as they were awake to notice – and it was long enough their scalp wouldn't immediately be scorched."
Another quiet laugh, this one slightly hysterical and Kir grabbed one of the blankets folded at the foot of the bed to wrap around both of them. This was going to be a longer one, he could tell.
"Did someone threaten you?" he asked, reminding himself to keep his tone mild still, because if Anur was somehow worried about him being disproportionately overprotective, snarling a demand about who had dared to frighten him so would be counterproductive in the extreme.
"No no, nothing like that," Anur was quick to reassure him that, at least, hadn't happened. "Just – not all your Firestarters are so clear-sighted."
"Someone burned another person alive for punching them?" Kir asked, aghast. Here he had thought that by some miracle they had wound up with a group of Firestarters that didn't need to be trimmed down immediately!
"Not them, for – for punching Etrius – a few times, I think it was a brawl, some sort of escalation from verbal taunts and torments to physical and it just – he burned one alive Kir and I think it took him months to realize he'd probably overreacted – probably! I stabbed acolytes Kir!"
Seras, Kir realized, no one else would be so homicidally protective of that particular acolyte and it explained quite a bit about the teen – the darkly amused edge when he spoke of his dorm-mates not being a problem, the bite to his smile when he promised Maltin's tormenters had been cowed, if only temporarily. Even unconfirmed, the knowledge that there was someone that utterly devoted to your well-being and happiness could do quite a bit.
And if you happened to just never clarify who, exactly, had reported and arranged what, it was amazing what people would believe you capable of.
He had taken the wind out of a few sails with bland smiles at mention of Phyrris' death, his first years in the Sunsguard.
Phyrris, good Sunlord if Seras had gone after an initiate for harming one he viewed as his – perhaps it hadn't been Jaina at all, who'd dealt with that thorn. It made more sense than the fresh Incendiary managing something like that, but he hadn't been about to make the mistake of underestimating her.
Instead he'd been underestimating the truly eldest of them.
"Seras," Kir murmured, not needing Anur's shudder to know he was right. "He told you this?"
"Wanted to know what I'd have done, if Maltin's tormenters hadn't just been talk – I'd have killed them, I said. And I would have."
"I would have helped," Kir nodded, even the thought of such a thing happening sending a spike of rage through him, "That's not disproportionate."
"No, but – he said he'd done similar things before, had had reason before, been careful but finally it was just too easy, too quick, to kill for offense and insult and excuse it as protection. He hasn't, since that initiate but just – the idea that it could happen I stabbed them it was nonlethal but what if next time I don't?"
"You won't," Kir said confidently, talking over Anur's muttered response and making sure to enunciate every word, "You won't, Anur. Herald. You couldn't. You may react, you may respond violently, but you would never kill on accident. And the moment you thought it over, you'd be able to discern if death was necessary and you'd never choose death needlessly. If anything, it is I who should be worried about that – you can't kill someone with no more than a slight shift of focus, Anur. You need to very deliberately act and that gives you time to catch yourself, gives Aelius and I time to catch you, if you are truly unreasonable."
:It is precisely for this, that I am here, Chosen,: Aelius murmured in both their minds, :It is one of our purposes, our core callings, to keep our Heralds from going insane, because that's what it is, Chosen. To respond that disproportionately to something – to go from a brawl to condemning a child to death – it's not the behavior of a rational person.:
:Besides, I know you, Chosen-mine. You would never.:
Anur calmed, somewhere in the middle of their assurances. Stopped shaking, his mental presence losing some of the frayed hysteria that set Kir's teeth on edge and temper to snarling because his brother was hurting, and simpy breathed.
Letting that silence stand, Kir rested his head on top of Anur's and let his eyes slip half-closed, knowing that he, at least, was too on-edge to sleep right now but that was no reason to keep Anur from rest. The Herald needed it more than he did at the moment, with how emotionally stressing the day had wound up being for him.
As he had figured, within a few minutes Anur had fallen back into somewhat restful sleep, because an odd position or posture was hardly going to keep that contortionist from dreaming.
"Kari," he murmured.
A golden wash of flame, muted, not as bright as it could have been, left the distinctively mottled Firecat sitting next to him, eerie blue eyes fixed on his face.
"You knew of Seras' past… poor judgments?" he asked, the Cat giving a rolling shrug he decided to interpret as basic knowledge, but with no particulars.
"I would consider it a kindness if you would keep an eye on all of the Firestarters for that sort of behavior," Kir took a steadying breath, closing his eyes briefly before refocusing on the Cat, "In particular, keep an eye on me."
Because while he would not burn someone alive for punching Anur, depending on circumstance he would feel little guilt indeed for crippling them. For scarring them permanently, for marking them because Anur was his brother. More frightening was the fact his control of flames didn't require him to be in the same room, in the same vicinity – so long as he kept a light touch on their internal buzz, he could be across a village and burn their hearts to ash in their chest or flare a candle into their eyes, even burn the support beam of a roof to send it crashing down.
He had trained himself to be creative, to be efficient and to be subtle. Burning swarms of bandits to ash, setting fire to half the Hardornen countryside with Griffon, containing a firestorm with a ghost's assistance – they were all very awe inspiring, very powerful.
Very obvious. So obvious, in fact, that who would think he could do otherwise? Who would consider for more than a moment that it could have been him who caused Cristan to die in his sleep those nights ago? There would have been scorch marks, had he been involved. The scent of smoke, at least.
It was one of the reasons he was truly terrified of the idea of remaining in Sunhame. It was loud, yes. He had few fond memories of the place, also true. But Sunhame was a vipers' nest, Solaris' reforms aside, and he feared what would happen, what damage he could cause, if he took this District's poison into his heart. Perhaps after Solaris had been in power a few years, maybe even a season, were she truly efficient, he would consider it safe.
Seras was simply a horrifyingly blatant example of what could happen if one stayed in Sunhame too long, if one dealt with the power plays and shadow games that were once carried out as a matter of course. That were probably still happening in corners and hidden alcoves, and would forever. This was the seat of a government, some of those dealings couldn't be avoided.
One of his worst nightmares was waking up to find he'd burned half the world to ash, a fate he'd once taunted Griffon with. The most fearsome part was how easy it would be to wipe a city off the map, leave it nothing more than an ash-stricken wasteland.
:You will not fall to such depths,: Kari said to him directly, Kir hardly flinching at it. He was going to resign himself to hearing from more than Anur and Aelius soon. :And I think, this night, it is the pair of you that need me to fend off foul dreamings. Get resettled; you, at least, can't sleep like this.:
Kir didn't have it in him to argue, so just lay back, dragging Anur with him and pulled the blankets back over the both of them. Kari settled across his stomach, unaccountably light, for a creature of his size, and purring.
His fingers were tangled in Kari's fur before he knew it, and he was drifting off, finally understanding what Anur's fluffy and huggable comment had meant those short weeks ago with :It is my turn now, Elder,: following him into sleep.
***===***pagebreak***===***
By some miracle, Anur managed to keep a straight face until they'd gotten all the way back to the Firestarter Hall, and restrained himself to a grin until they reached the kitchens. But the moment those doors shut all hope was lost.
"It's not that funny," Kir grumbled, one arm supporting Anur as the man collapsed into laughter, Aelius' mental snickers really not helping matters at all.
"Ah – your Illuminatorious?" one of the generals' aides asked hesitantly, Anur just pointing at the man and laughing harder, Kir rolling his eyes and letting him drop to the floor, the Herald leaning against Kir's legs and howling.
"Just – put the papers on the table," Kir sighed, waving a hand towards the table in question. Two aides had been volunteered into helping trek paperwork back to the Hall, because apparently the idea of Kir and Anur actually carrying their own paperwork was just too much for the already stunned generals to bear.
"And if you could restrain yourselves to Incendiary, as a title, and perhaps pass that on?" Kir asked hopefully, the men finally comfortable enough to at least exchanged amused looks before they bowed to him, saying, "Of Course, Incendiary," and departing.
"Really Anur?" Kir grumbled, stepping away and letting Anur drop onto the floor entirely, the Enforcer sprawling on the wood and snickering. "I will find the ridiculous titles for Enforcers, or Vkandis witness I'll make some."
"Illuminatorius!" Anur crowed, finally sitting up and managing to stop laughing as he went for the tea cupboard, Kir digging through the pantry for something more substantial. "That's by far the best title! Bests Luminary by far! And Incandescence! Illuminatorius!"
"By Ari, who would use that ancient formality?" Colbern demanded, sticking his head in from the courtyard, having undoubtedly heard Anur's hysterical laughter. "Oh no – don't tell me, the generals?"
"First thing they said," Kir sighed, "I'm just glad this one managed to refrain from laughing in their faces. It would have completely undermined the hardline message we were trying to send. Undoubtedly there's a line outside Solaris' door of men anxiously waiting for the chance to hand in a resignation, I'll bet by the time a moon or two are out we'll be left with half the number of generals in the overall council."
"Which is just as well because the council was an oversized thing anyway – what possible use could there be in ten generals? There's the cavalry bandit-hunters, the foot units, and a couple river and lake groups. Three, perhaps five, if they want to have a separate representative for the corpsmen and training schools," Anur pointed out, "If half of them quit, then that saves us the work of figuring out which positions we can cull."
Kir could see Colbern out of the corner of his eye, shaking his head and looking both disbelieving and disquieted as he left, having satisfied his curiousity. He'd have to pull the man aside and discuss the changes that were coming with him; hopefully having a chance to brace himself would make them easier to swallow, particularly for someone so apparently hung up on chains of command and following to the letter the proper channels of authority.
Kir had to wonder, though, if Colbern would be half so devoted to chains of command if his status as a Firestarter didn't happen to trump most of them.
:Probably,: Anur commented, :You were projecting again.:
:I really don't think I was,: Kir replied doubtfully, :You and Aelius aside, I'm far too used to keeping everything behind shields – the consequences weren't worth considering otherwise.:
:All right, not projecting for anyone else, but for me? I could hear you loud and clear,: Anur took a seat next to him, the two companionably splitting the food Kir had pulled out while their tea steeped.
:As could I,: Aelius chimed in, :But as you said, Chosen, it wasn't projecting for anyone else.:
Kir just nodded thoughtfully, using the gesture to switch conversational mediums and saying, "So which stack of papers do you want to take?"
"Ugh," Anur grimaced, eyeing the rather impressive armfuls the aides had deposited for them. "I guess I'll take the ones on the right? Personnel evaluations are the priority, right?"
"Captains, yes. Then chaplains," Kir sighed heavily, "Even coming up with some sort of regular criteria would be helpful – then we can at least hand the checklist to others and eliminate some of the dross we have to read through."
"And unfortunately 'not an idiot' isn't specific enough to be useful," Anur grumbled, breaking off a piece of his roll and pulling the top file towards him. :Bet I can finish more than you!:
Kir narrowed his eyes, smirking as he snatched his first file, :You're on.:
Anur definitely underestimated the length of the files, or at least found things that slowed down his reading, as Kir had gotten through half his stack while Anur was hovering at just over a third when Jaina followed Colbern in some marks later, the pair having finished with their drills. Her halberd was casually propped over her shoulder, his yearmate maneuvering through the doorways like she'd been walking with a polearm for years.
"Well doesn't that look familiar," she said, sitting across from them with food of her own, Colbern sitting next to her. "I hear you plan to return to your northern duties soon – I certainly hope you're not leaving me with that mess to finish."
"No, it should be finished by tonight," Kir reassured her, setting his current file aside (acceptable, particularly if a good chaplain to pair him with could be found). He laced his fingers together on top of the table and continued, "I hope to leave within the week. I cannot simply abandon my unit."
"And a permanent posting in Sunhame would drive you mad," Jaina added dryly, "I do remember that much, at least. No, we could not keep you from your unit, and I wouldn't want to. The others may not see it that way of course, but it can be dealt with so long as you are in regular communication with us."
"Two weeks out of every eight I plan to be in the District," Kir explained, a weight lifting off his shoulders at Jaina understanding, if not approving, of his need to return to the 62nd. "Between that and Kari as a line of communication in emergencies we should be able to manage easily enough; everyone has their own projects in addition to the overall tasks set for the Order to keep them busy."
"For the ordained members, certainly, and Lumira and Laskaris have her Hardornens to deal with," Jaina agreed, "I may travel out there myself at some point, to offer services as a healer. I never received formal training but I can work some minor magics that may prove helpful."
"I can continue working with the others on weaponry," Colbern added, a slightly manic gleam in his eyes at the idea and Kir didn't envy the others. He recognized that gleam from Sergeant Greich before particularly devious training regimes were introduced.
The fact he had occasionally helped develop and implement them in recent years was irrelevant.
"The acolytes too, if you wouldn't mind," Kir suggested and the other priest waved his hand dismissively. Undoubtedly he had planned to include them anyway but it was worth stating aloud.
"Speaking of, what is going to be done with Rodri?" Jaina asked abruptly, Anur looking up from his own paperwork at last and raising an eyebrow, looking between the two of them as he asked, "Going to be done? Does something need to be done?"
"He's been in the district only a couple of years, true, and he's nowhere near ready to be advanced as an acolyte, that will have to wait another year at the earliest simply to get through the schooling necessary, but he's far along enough to be considered for sponsorship," she elaborated, looking between the two of them. "It was assumed that I would end up with him, simply because of his knack for flames and my own rank, but you're a much better match, Eldest. Both because of your shared affinity and the already established trust."
"I," Kir started, then paused in his near automatic refusal to truly think about it. Being a chaplain was no place for an initiate to learn, not with war coming. That wasn't even considering the whole under the table agreement with Valdemar that wasn't heresy any longer, but was still technically treason.
But he had truly enjoyed teaching Rodri, the few times he'd managed to speak with him. Had come to appreciate the young teen's own twist on their shared talent, had delighted in his enthusiasm, near admiration, for fire and flame that was so like his own, but untainted by grief and regret. Letting the chance to mentor him pass by would be painful.
"Wouldn't want him in the 62nd," Anur said bluntly, apparently catching some of the worries he was most certainly not broadcasting and deciding to bring them to light. "Not with a war coming and not with the unit hard-pressed as it is, come the high season."
"Certainly not!" Jaina shuddered, "Chaplains never take acolytes fresh out of the initiates. Sixteen is the age of conscription and most chaplains are at least in their twenties before being assigned – being ordained before twenty is unusual, I assure you, though Kir undoubtedly gave a different impression."
"No," she continued, directing her comments back to Kir, "No I was thinking he would reside in Sunhame continuing his studies as an Initiate but you would provide guidance on his flames when you were in residence and when he was old enough, he could accompany you on some form of rounds. I simply don't feel comfortable with guiding his flames anymore, he's far outstripped my memory of your explanations and it's your techniques he excels in."
"You can't deny you want it, Eldest," Colbern snorted, "You're already fond of him and he idolizes you. Best to just take the chance. Student would be good for you. The both of you. Besides, it'll show your honest commitment to the future of the Order of some such rot."
"It's not rot it's a valid angle of interpretation!" Jaina hissed, Kir laughing as he got more of an idea how the Order had been run in his years of exile. It was a much healthier picture than he had feared.
"You both raise good points," Kir said, picking up his next profile for review, smiling at Jaina and saying, "I'll raise the matter with him later."
"Good," Jaina nodded, "Now, what are you looking for with these? We can help."
"Oh thank the Sunlord," Anur groaned, shoving half his stack across at Colbern who yelped, "I volunteered for no such thing!"
Continued bickering made working through the remainder of the stacks much more enjoyable and Kir found himself almost looking forward to being Incendiary. Well, perhaps not being Incendiary, he mused, rolling his eyes with Jaina as Anur and Colbern fought over some minor point of a story the old priest had been telling. But being a true part of his Order again, of really coming to know these people who'd sworn the same oaths as him, who'd taken the same vows.
He still hated Sunhame though.
***===***pagebreak***===***
Between meeting with the generals and getting a solid moon's worth of laughs over Kir's by far most ridiculous title and powering through paperwork with Colbern and Jaina's bantering assistance, the day had gone extremely well. Anur was more than pleased with it, especially considering how yesterday had gone – not poorly, not really, but much more stressfully.
He hadn't realized how deeply Seras' confessions had alarmed him until he'd woken up panicking from a nightmare of dying acolytes, murdered idiots, and realizing it had been him who'd killed them for the crime of offending Kir, of being in his brother's way. Immediate assault for offense against self he would never understand, but immediate assault for offense against one he called dear, against one he called brother?
Oh yes, he saw the appeal.
But Kir and Aelius had managed to get through to him, managed to reassure him that while he may wish misfortune upon someone who'd so erred he wouldn't murder needlessly. Just the occasional stab, a reaction he should probably work on.
Nichter didn't count. That private acted against Kir with lethal intent and deserved everything he'd had coming to him before Kir's guilt complex stayed his hand.
Of course, with this coming conversation he'd probably be adding a person to his protect at all costs list and didn't doubt Kir was making the same adjustment, if he hadn't already. When Jaina had suggested Kir take Rodri as a student Anur had honestly been surprised the matter had ever been in question. Hadn't discovering his awakening, saving him from a mob and introducing him to Axeli already created an uncontestable claim?
But with the way the question had thrown Kir, his brother's mind fair reeling with potential complications and an underlying current of wistful want, it hadn't been such a given to everyone. At least he'd managed to get Jaina to address Kir's concerns and elaborate a bit, because he couldn't let Kir pass up this chance. Kir may have somehow missed it because he utterly failed at identifying any emotions coming his way that didn't involve flinching away in terror, but Rodri looked to him as a hero.
He looked to Kir like Mara did.
Anur was all in favor of anything that got Kir used to the idea of people being truly happy to see him, of people being able to smile at him without any fear or resentment buried underneath.
Frosted hells, Kir looked calm but he was a bundle of nerves and they were just going to find Rodri and ask what he thought about the idea. It was painfully endearing to witness, this nervousness and near irrational anxiety over asking a boy if he'd like to be his student.
Anur didn't care if Seras didn't like it, he definitely owed Verius a punch.
They found Rodri sitting at one of the better-lit desks in the library, frowning over an essay he was working on. The initiates' curriculum was going to have to be reworked entirely with the reforms, but until then Seras had taken it upon himself to come up with probably more rigorous assignments to keep him busy. Anur was sure Rodri appreciated the gesture deeply.
"Rodri," Kir said, Anur hiding a smile at the relief on the initiate's expression when he stopped working on his essay.
"Father Kir!" he pushed back from the desk to stand and offer a bow, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Nothing that will keep you from your assignment for long," Kir gave a soft laugh at Rodri's briefly crestfallen expression, "But perhaps for a bit. Did you hear of Solaris' announcement earlier today?"
"No, Father, I went to the main Sun Rising service and she was not presiding," Rodri replied, clearly curious but willing to wait for an explanation.
"Ah, well at the noon service she announced that initiates and acolytes have the same familial contact and visitation rights as Sunsguard cadets, and as Anur and I are traveling northward soon I thought we could deliver a letter to your family, if you would like," Kir's voice trailed off towards the end of that, waiting for Rodri's response.
The teen had a disbelieving expression on his face that was slowly replaced with a smile, "Yes, Father, I would like that a lot. I'll get you that letter tomorrow."
"No rush, we are not leaving for a few days," Kir reassured him, hesitating before continuing more formally, "I also have something further to ask of you."
"Of course Father," Rodri blinked, apparently startled by the shift in tone. Anur had guessed Kir would leave this for afterwards, not wanting contact with his family to seem to be contingent upon his accepting Kir's offer of mentorship.
:Easy Kir, just ask him,: he murmured.
"I've been informed, and agree, that our flames align well," Kir said, using what Anur had been informed earlier was something of an archaic formula to ask an initiate if they would consent to be your student. It did imply that an initiate could say no, after all, which wasn't something more recent regimes would accept, even if the Firestarters had never entirely done away with it.
Rodri clearly recognized it, inhaling sharply at the words and a tenuous hope growing in his eyes. These two were going to be the death of him, he could already tell.
:Hmm. Much like you and Kir are going to be the death of me, as I could tell the moment he showed up in Valdemar with that ridiculous makeshift flag,: Aelius murmured fondly.
:Hey, that was an impressive amount of white fabric to dig out of a Karsite cavalry unit's non-existant surplus,: Anur defended, almost missing it when Kir continued.
"And would therefore ask that you consider allowing me the privilege of guiding yours," he said, near visibly bracing himself for Rodri's reaction.
All the bracing in the world did him no good at all, seeing as Rodri nearly knocked him over when he flung his arms around him, Anur managing to steady them before anyone hit a bookshelf. It was only for a few moments, Rodri hastily pulling back and wiping his eyes with his sleeve, beaming as he apologized, "Sorry, Father I was just – yes. I would be honored to receive your guidance."
"No need to apologize," Kir reassured him, the smile on his own face utterly incapable of capturing the joy Anur was picking up. "It's going to be unusual, in that you're still an initiate and I'm still a chaplain, but we'll work it out. Seras apparently feels no restraint in assigning you essays."
Rodri groaned, glaring at the texts and paper he had on his desk, "No," he grumbled, "He feels no restraint at all."
Kir laughed, "Not much has changed then. Well, if it can wait, perhaps you could leave it for the moment and we three can get some tea and figure out how this mentorship is going to work?"
"You are getting two mentors for the price of one, after all," Anur finally spoke up, offering the startled looking initiate a grin, "Can't help with flames, but I can certainly help with steel! And drinking songs!"
"No."
"Oh come on Kir, what life is complete without a few drinking songs that go to hymnal tunes? You're the one who taught me a few of those!"
"I'm sure Father Colbern and Father Valerik would be happy to assist with that," Rodri replied with impressive innocence, Kir simply shaking his head and muttering under his breath about the whole matter being a horrible mistake.
He was still smiling though.
It didn't take long at all for them to get the details out of the way, but they managed to stretch it until the Sun Setting service, letting Rodri put off his essay until the next day. Etrius and Maltin dragged him away for something at that point, the other Firestarters likewise breaking into small groups to entertain themselves for a few marks before retiring. Kir and he retreated to the kitchen, as was almost a habit by now, claiming the nice chairs they'd dragged in and returning to old past-times.
Namely, knotwork and whittling.
It was probably only a few marks before midnight when their comfortable silence was interrupted, Kari padding in and saying to Anur, :Solaris would speak with you two.:
"Guess we should have brought a third chair in," Anur murmured, relaying the message to Kir. Kari just shrugged, leaping up to land on Anur's lap and butting his hand with his head. Anur rolled his eyes and started scratching at the Cat's ears. Firecats seemed to like him a lot more than Cats of Fire, at least.
Kir's eyes were crinkled with amusement when Solaris arrived in a wash of flame, Hansa in her own arms. "Brother," she said with relief, waving off Kir's attempt to offer her his seat and dragging a tall stool over from the counter, "I have been sitting in armchairs most of the day, allow me to stretch my legs at least. Two generals have entirely resigned, and both of them those I wanted immediately gone, so thank you for that."
"It wasn't any great burden," Kir replied dryly.
Anur snorted, "If anything, we're saving ourselves more work, the two I'd put money on were obnoxious."
"Oh it's the same two, I'm sure," Solaris rolled her eyes, "There are only so many you could be referring to."
"I wouldn't underestimate people's ability to be obnoxious," Anur cautioned with a grin, "They''ll always surprise you!"
Any response was interrupted by Jaina and Fabron entering the kitchen, deep in conversation about some tome they'd both read. Jaina noticed Solaris' presence first and quickly bowed, Fabron echoing her with wide eyes. "Apologies for interrupting, Your Eminence," Jaina said, "We were simply in search of tea, we can come later."
"No, no it's quite all right," Solaris replied, "I needed to speak with you anyway, and offer an apology for the manner in which I made my first set of announcements."
"A forewarning as to our Order's errors would have been appreciated," Jaina agreed mildly, Fabron looking between the two of them with clear wariness and no little regret over finding himself in the middle of this, "The announcement was a total surprise, and quite a traumatic one."
"Kir has taken me to task over it, and quite appropriately," Solaris replied, Anur raising an eyebrow and Kir murmuring to him, :While you were following Maltin. We are a small Order, but no less vital, particularly given her plans for the future of the Order.:
:Oh I agree, just sorry I missed it,: Anur said, listening with half an ear as Solaris and Jaina danced around apologies and regrets. They'd straighten it out soon, he was sure. Fabron was taking advantage and inching his way towards the cupboards for tea and water, apparently hoping if he moved cautiously enough he'd be overlooked.
:It wasn't particularly thrilling,: Kir replied dryly, fingers continuing to expand his current knotwork Sun in Glory. He'd started that one on the road to Sunhame, and Anur was actually surprised it had taken him so long to finish. Kir had definitely completed entire projects on one long ride before, when the footing was good.
:I simply pointed out that her announcement could very well have left me with half an Order, given the way some were leaning towards self-immolation, and then where would we be? Covering the border with any sort of comprehension would be out of the question, giving them time to actually recover and cope would be equally difficult, and much more devastating to go without. I would also have been hard pressed to maintain my duties as a chaplain, which would have ended… rather badly, for me.:
:For us,: Anur gave a mental scoff, :Because I may be acting calm now, but trust me, it is a thin veneer indeed, wearing thinner everyday we're here. If you were less stable, I would be completely lost.:
Kir's glance was concerned, his tone worried, :I thought so.:
"Well then, I found your assistant," Solaris said, Jaina and she seemingly at ease with one another again, or at least as 'at ease' as they would ever be. Fabron certainly looked relieved, and then startled when the mugs of water he was holding were suddenly steaming. A quick glance at Kir gave away the source of that particular moment; he was hiding a smile.
"Before Midwinter a few requests for transfers into the chaplain branch came in and one of them seemed a good match – I reviewed the information and spoke to him myself. I rather think it's confirmed," Solaris said, casting Kir an amused look when Fabron very gingerly handed Jaina a mug of tea, seemingly worried it was going to burst into flames or some such. "You can of course have final say, but it may take longer to find someone else. He's even in Sunhame at the moment so you can interview him and then leave immediately, if you like him."
"Excellent," Kir sat back in his chair with a relieved smile, "Thank you, Sister, for finding a candidate so quickly. Open-minded, I trust?"
"Oh definitely," she hesitated, cutting a quick glance to the other Firestarters before continuing, "However, I wanted to give both of you something of a warning, before meeting him, as I believe you've encountered him before?"
"Not Loshern, is it?" Anur asked, Kir's eyes narrowing and both of them were relieved when Solaris shook her head, chuckling as she said, "Oh no, I don't think he'd ever request to be a chaplain. His bias was well known even before you told me of your encounter. No, this one is only recently ordained, worked for a year or so as a village priest with his mentor and is looking to strike out on his own. He was trained in Sunbeam Brook."
:Peace,: Kari said, ringing command breaking through the roar of flames and echos of screams that had threatened to swamp him, Kir's hands on his shoulders and quiet reassurances in his ears.
Letting out a shaky breath, Anur loosened his white-knuckled grip on Kari's fur and reached up to rest a hand on Kir's, "I'm all right," he murmured, glancing towards Solaris before meeting Kir's worried gaze, "I'm fine."
"I had not thought – perhaps this won't work," Solaris said, sounding rather distressed, "No, I can find somebody else, my apologies I thought it might – might make explaining easier, give something of a starting point, particularly given his doubts over the whole matter."
:So long as he doesn't want to burn all White Demons it would be a… not awful idea,: Kir acknowledged mentally, speaking to Anur alone as he slowly returned to his seat, :But we do not need it, Anur. Not at this cost.:
"What happened in Sunbeam Brook?" Jaina asked, seemingly torn between concern and curiosity, "I can't recall any truly great news from there, was there an investigation?"
"I think there was a failed burning a few years ago? Not one of ours, though, we'd know more otherwise," Fabron quickly hid behind his mug when they looked at him.
Kir opened his mouth to explain but Anur raised a hand, saying, "I've got this, Kir."
He'd been thinking about this, after all, after telling Seras he did not care for flames. Someone was going to ask, eventually. Someone was going to wonder after the circumstances, and if somehow a connection was made between him being traumatized by fire and Sunbeam Brook capturing a White Demon, the conclusion would be fairly obvious.
But this entire enterprise was an exercise in audacity. If there was one thing they could claim to be true experts in by now, it was audacity.
"I've been working with Kir unofficially for a while," Anur informed her and Fabron, not daring to look straight at Kir while he spun this incomplete truth. "Before I was officially sworn in as Enforcer, I was investigating things in Sunbeam Brook and ran into a boy with a gift for prophecy – later confirmed, he prophesied you, Solaris, for one thing. In the course of it, I was accused of being a Demon Rider."
He could tell he'd stunned everyone – Jaina and Fabron, hopefuly by the sheer absurdity of the accusation, the others in the room and in his mind by the utter recklessness he'd apparently exhibited.
:Chosen – what are you doing.:
:I've got this Aelius – Kir, Kir I've got this, all right? It's going to be okay you need to breathe or Jaina is going to know something is up!: he shot back, hoping to cut off Kir's panic before it really started and hoping that he wasn't lying as he reassured them. Fabron choking on his tea was hopefully a good sign.
Meeting Jaina's stunned gaze, he gave her a rueful smile and shrugged, "Four days later, they managed to wrangle a confession from me – not that I was in my right mind by then."
"But your horse isn't even white," Fabron said faintly, having managed to avoid spitting tea everywhere. Jaina shook her head sharply and followed up with seeming calm, "They tried to burn you then? After a – after that? How did you – Eldest?"
"I got him out," Kir said flatly, knuckles white on his chair, "I managed to disguise myself as a Demon Rider and get him out, hoping that the disguise would throw off any pursuit. It was – one of the reasons we decided to get official backing for him. I couldn't – we couldn't risk that happening again."
"I would say not!" Jaina snarled, calm evaporating, "What were they, stupid?"
"Your horse isn't even white," Fabron repeated, apparently still stuck on that incongruity. "How would you even jump to that conclusion? And Sunlord, no wonder you reacted so badly to Maltin's illusion crafting, he was pulling on old memories, not crafting wholly new experiences!"
Jaina was white-faced, rounding on Solaris and hissing, "You want to assign one of the imbeciles responsible for this as Kir's understudy?"
Solaris held up her hands peaceably, saying to them all, "I assure you, young Henrick was badly shaken by the whole affair and during the interview spoke with very clear regret about the boy that was to be burned with you. He also doubted you were a Demon Rider, even with the seemingly Heraldic rescue, and even then – I rather doubt he would have cared, so long as the child was still safe. He was deeply disturbed by Cristan's actions, and that crafted much of his later choices. I would not have suggested this if I did not think it would work."
"Oh – Cristan. That makes sense," Fabron relaxed, "He was insane. Patrolled Lumira's district all the time and always ended up leaving injured and traumatized people behind for little evidence gained. Him finally dying was not met with much grief on our end."
:Well that's convenient,: Aelius murmured, tone still shell-shocked, :Insane to more than just us.:
:The reasoning gap that led to him hurting Anur could have been evident in other ways,: Kir pointed out, also a bit shaky, :I wouldn't be surprised if he were known as one of the mad ones that was just useful enough to keep around. He was a more than fair justicar it was just when he tried his hand at witch-hunting things seemed to break down.:
"Sunlord bless, I just realized most of those who fled after being wrongly accused of witchcraft probably headed north," Jaina groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose, "What are we going to do about that if they decide to try coming home?"
"Accept them and thank the Sunlord for their safe return," Solaris replied promptly, "There is nothing else that would be appropriate."
"Though perhaps we can avoid mentioning that decision until it comes up?" Kir suggested, Anur grinning at the wry amusement in his tone; it was all the more entertaining with so few in on the real extent of the joke. "Not all the Firestarters are ready to take that step just yet – we're still working on the witch-powers no longer being evil. Much less the priesthood as a whole. Anything on a new name for those, by the by?"
"So far the only one we've got is Talent," Solaris replied, "With various subcategories for the different types for clarity."
:So basically they're copying Valdemar but using a different word than a direct translation of Gift to avoid being blatantly obvious about it,: Aelius snorted, Anur letting a smile show when he said, "Better than not-really-witch power, at least."
"Well if that's going to be your metric," Jaina laughed.
"If anything I thought you'd go for the more ridiculous name," Fabron said slyly, "Colbern said someone used Illuminatorious?"
"No," Solaris looked at Kir, grinning, "The Generals actually used that title?"
"Repeatedly!" Anur crowed, "My new favorite!"
"The next person to call me that is going to have their hair set on fire, I swear," Kir grumbled.
