Chapter 17: In Vino Veritas
Writer's Note: If anyone wants a breakdown of the parodies done last chapter, head over to my forum. And while you're at it, post there. Yes, I am quite shameless, why do you ask?
"Zackel?"
"Yeah?" The mage said, looking up from his Thrust stone. It had been another quiet day, and Zackel had done his best to push his concerns to the back of his mind. With nightfall had come the pair's usual Thrust game by the fire, with Rielle having learned and adapted enough to the game that Zackel actually had to think his moves out now. He'd been doing just that when the draenei had spoken.
"Why did you arrange a trigger for a blizzard? Wait wait, I know it was for cover in case things went tits-up for you, which they did, big surprise…"
"Point. Please. Now." Zackel said, twirling the stone in his fingers.
"I mean, why did you have a technique like that to begin with? Triggering a storm? It doesn't exactly strike me as anything but a big waste of magical power. Especially since you're not good enough to stop it, despite your efforts. Also the fact you said that an outside mage could potentially stop it as well."
"Yes."
"So…explain?"
"Well, the answer's pretty simple if you're in certain fields like arcane magic. Considering your particular skill set, it's understandable why you never heard of it." Zackel said. "Tell me Rielle, how cold does it get in Northrend?"
"You mean in terms of I felt like someone welded bits of metal to my breasts most of the time, or in terms of 'You wander off at the wrong time and stay out of sight for ten seconds, you're most likely dead'?"
"Well, both. The latter moreso, though, Rielle." Zackel said, as he put the stone down. "The Lich King's armies are nasty enough as it is. Most Scourge creatures feel neither pain nor fear, and often have poisonous bodies that can kill you even if you hack them to bits. But when the call went out that the Alliance and Horde were taking the fight to Northrend, the magicians of the world quickly realized something else. Scourge creatures, most of the time, literally can't freeze to death. Oh yes, you can encase them in ice and shatter them, or do something more subtle like make the water in their bodies expand via freezing, which leads to near-complete cellular destruction but is troublesome to do, to say the least…but the traditional way of exposure? It doesn't work. They just freeze solid and lay dormant until someone thaws them out, and then they're back 'to work' without any loss of effectiveness. And Arthas has been sitting up on Northrend attuning himself to it for so long, the whole continent, as you yourself told me, feels like an extension of his will. Just landing the armies and champions of the Light on Northrend would be foolhardy. All it would take would be one giant storm over a battlefield, and the Scourge would not only win, they'd have greatly bolstered their ranks from all the unfortunately warm-blooded creatures who froze to death. And the Lich King is capable of summoning such a storm. It would be, I suspect, the least he could do."
"So…you try and stop him by…summoning the storms yourselves?"
"Not quite Rielle." Zackel said, before sipping from his canteen, which contained his makeshift alcohol mix. Zackel had dubbed it PT, for 'Passing Time', and having spent some time tweaking it, he was fairly confident it would not make any demons inside his head worse. If the demons were actually OUTSIDE his head, well…he'd have to think of another solution. "The mages of the Kirin Tor, and the rest of us, decided we had to make sure that Arthas couldn't turn the weather against us to that degree. We would have to learn counter-magic, both on a massive and on a 'on the spot' scale. That way, not only could they have mages devoted fully to the tasks of jamming Arthas' attempts to kill us with the weather, but they could have every mage ready to lend a hand if they desperately needed to re-direct a storm, or throw more muscle behind an attempt if one of Arthas' lieutenants, like Kel'Thuzad, made a personal effort to try to make such a blizzard…"
"Kel'Thuzad's dead. Horde killed him." Rielle said, her tone becoming bitterly annoyed.
"You mean like how he was supposedly killed in the Plaguelands?"
"Not this time. Argent Dawn saw to it personally that afterwards, there were no loose ends."
"Ah…well, good for them, I suppose."
"Speak for yourself."
"Getting back to my point." Zackel said. "The best way in magic is to teach how to build before you break down. So all mages began to be trained in methods to cast their frost talents on a grand scale, hence starting a blizzard. Once they'd learned that, they would then learn the counter-magics to STOP one."
"And you hadn't learned the counter-magics yet." Rielle said in a teasing tone.
"To be fair, when I was being taught as an apprentice mage, everyone had virtually forgotten about Northrend and Arthas. It was all about Ragnaros and the Shifting Sands and all that, and then the Dark Portal. By the time they started teaching such anti-blizzard spells to all magic students, I was out of training. I had to pick it up as I went along, from my peers and anyone else I ran into who could teach me."
"And you did a pissssss-poor job." Rielle said, drawing out the word purposely before she lightly flicked Zackel in the forehead.
"Ha ha. Yeah, it turned out that way. But that's hardly my fault, Rielle. The erstwhile defense that trapped us here, it was part of the training I was giving myself. To get better at it, and start on the counter-spells. It's not like I would have gone to Northrend with my skills at their current level." Zackel said. "Magic's not like one of your combat routines, Rielle. There's always variance, always issues. The mages of the Kirin Tor knew that above everything else. Why do you think they moved Dalaran above Northrend?"
"To show off?"
"Maybe, yes. But it served two primary purposes. One, it's a neutral base for Alliance and Horde…"
"Regretfully."
"And two, it's the primary focus of the spell-jamming efforts against Arthas. From what I've heard, they've got no less then twenty-eight mages up there devoted entirely to blocking Arthas' efforts. It's also why Dalaran's floating in the air, instead of on the ground. Not only is it easier to defend that way, but it's right up close to the atmosphere that needs to be manipulated, or re-manipulated, or whatnot."
"And the rest of you mages around Northrend shore up the sidelines."
"Precisely."
"And you couldn't do something like freeze the Horde out of Wintergrasp with a directed storm."
"…I'm not there, Rielle. I don't know why they do things." Zackel said. "I can venture a guess, though. They're purposely remaining neutral."
"Neutral?! Do you know how much manpower and effort is being wasted because the thrice-damned Horde keep trying to seize the Wintergrasp Mines?!"
"That's regretful, I'll admit. Especially since they were opposing you." Zackel said, his tone serious up until that point. "Really, I'd hate to have seen what those Horde people might have done to you, if you weren't, you know, YOU, the all mighty and powerful and ferocious and unstoppable warrior…"
"You left out hot!' Rielle said, giving Zackel another smack.
"Fine. Hot too. Absolutely smoking. I would be drooling a river over your looks and body if my sheer terror of you didn't leave my mouth dry."
"Perv." Rielle said, (very lightly) backhanding Zackel. "I need to step up my beatings of you. Maybe swell your eyes shut so I don't feel them ogling me all the time."
Zackel opened his mouth to retort that it was half the time at most, and then stopped at the flirting insult made him feel strangely ill.
Not so strange mage…
"Keeping your trap shut. You're learning well, squishy." Rielle said, and placed her Thrust stone down. "And I believe I win."
Zackel regarded the board for some time, then picked up a stone and placed it down.
Several moves later, he muttered a resignation. She had indeed out-maneuvered him.
"You should feel proud mage, making something as awesome as me even more…breathtaking, in all aspects."
"More like gagging."
"YOU WANT GAGGING!?" Rielle said, and pounced on Zackel, the two briefly rolling around before she got him in an arm lock.
"Say it! Say it!"
"Okay, okay…YOU CHEAT!" Zackel said, and semi-twisted out of Rielle's grip and tried to reverse it. To his own semi-surprise, he actually managed to.
"Savor this moment, mage." Rielle said, glancing over her shoulder. "I'm going to make you regret it all the more in about three seconds."
"Or we could, you know, stop fighting before we accidentally kick the Thrust board into the fire or something."
A few seconds later, Zackel was flat on his face regretting that his attempted psychology hadn't worked. Rielle walked over to the Thrust board and carefully placed it aside, and then walked back over and slammed herself back down on a rising Zackel.
"Maybe it's about time I started teaching you the REAL dangerous holds." Rielle said, pressing her forearm into Zackel's throat.
"CAN WE…POSSIBLY DO IT TOMORROW?" Zackel rasped.
"…nah." Rielle said, and spent a few more minutes tying Zackel up in knots.
Journal Entry No # 451
I do moan and groan, but I actually have begun to like these sessions with Rielle. For all her semi-bullying, she has astonishing control of herself, and I actually think I've learned a thing or three struggling with her. As much as she herself complains, I think she's come to like staying here. We're both learning from each other…
There is often so little time in this crazy world of ours to stop and think…and observe…
Of course, Rielle's patience with me is probably helped by the fact that I'm pretty sure the storm will end soon, and have told her so.
Until then, we keep trying to get to know each other.
…I'm not sure where to stop that.
"Come ON Zackel. If you're going to throw ice at me, at least make me TRY." Rielle complained, her axe at the ready. Zackel's only response was to rub his hand beneath his nose with an annoyed snort.
Rielle whirled around and knocked the ice out of the air as it fired behind her. A second later, she thrust her axe behind her back and blocked the follow up ice ball Zackel had thrown at her. She spun back around, smirking at the mage's semi-astonished look.
"Not good enough, Zack. Your eyes betray where you strike. And your heart betrays how you would follow." Rielle said. "Here, let me help you. Stop me mage, or I'll KILL YOU."
Zackel's eyes widened, and that was all Rielle needed to charge forward, grab Zackel with one hand, slam him against the wall, and then smash him into the floor. No sooner had she done that then she had her axe in both hands and was swinging it up.
The floor iced up beneath her. Rielle expected that.
She did NOT expect the ice to form so fast that it literally bulged up and shifted her feet beneath her, throwing off her balance. One kick to the legs later, courtesy of Zackel, and Rielle found herself crashing to the ground. Half a second later, the mage was on top of her, an ice dagger at her throat.
"And I believe the phrase here is, 'you're dead.'" Zackel said, poking Rielle in the throat. Rielle's reaction of surprise faded almost instantly, her face becoming a mask of stone.
Once again, Zackel really had no idea what happened to him. The next thing he knew, Rielle was now on top of HIM, holding his ice dagger at HIS throat.
"Too slow." Rielle said, giving Zackel a firm jab in the Adam's apple. "But not too bad, mage. Not good enough though."
"Really." Zackel said, as his eyes glowed. The ice manifested even quicker than Rielle's reaction speed, lancing up through her hand and stopping just short of her own throat. Rielle blinked, before giving Zackel a slight grin and putting the ice dagger aside.
"Well, at least I'm not wasting my time." Rielle said. Zackel relaxed.
Within the next half-second, Rielle had her own knife out, its point an inch from Zackel's eye. Zackel got a far closer look at the sharp end then he would have liked, due to how his eyes dilated in shock.
"Never stop fighting. Until the fight is done. And by done, I mean DONE." Rielle whispered. "From here on out, I expect you to follow by those rules in our training, mage. If you don't, I will hurt you. Not because I get angry at any success you may have. Because I get angry at your failure to be better. Do we understand?"
"…I understand." Zackel said. "Shall we take a five minute break?"
Rielle nodded, getting off Zackel and letting him up. Tossing her knife in her hand, Rielle watched as Zackel began summoning some water.
"Why didn't you attack me?"
"Pardon?"
"After asking for the break. There might have been an opening there. Did you think it was improper?"
"A bit. But I could also tell you were on your guard for such a thing. Would have just got me hurt."
"You ARE learning."
"You're an excellent teacher." Zackel said.
The mage couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn that Rielle turned away to hide a slight flush, something she had never done in regards to any of his other compliments.
Or maybe it was just a prelude to the joy she wore on her face when she promptly wiped the floor with him several more times shortly afterward, even with Zackel following her request to not hold back. Yet despite her dominance, Zackel did not feel like he'd been beaten to oblivion afterward. Not like their earlier times.
Part of Zackel thought he was getting better. The other part acknowledged he was, but nowhere to that degree. And Rielle certainly wasn't getting weaker.
Instead, Zackel got the sense that with their earlier sessions, she had been both toying with him and making sure she proved a point, hence his pain. Now that she was taking him seriously, he was still getting manhandled…but she was doing it without causing lasting damage or pain, even brief amounts. Her strength was astonishing, but her self-control was even more so, even more than he'd earlier observed, that she could go all out and yet not hurt him.
For all their disagreements, she now trusted him that much. From the way she talked, Zackel wasn't sure if she'd ever trusted someone like that. Maybe her warrior teachers, but no one else, it seemed.
Zackel, despite it all, still wasn't sure what that said about him, or her. He just went along with her workout slash training, and tried to keep his focus on that.
He'd been able to keep the roiling feelings buried deep in his gut, and for now, he wanted them to stay that way. Releasing them was a dice roll.
And after Jasciona, Zackel was loathe to play games of chance with people he cared about.
Still, Zackel was not so much a coward that he would not test the waters, as he did that night.
"I never did finish."
"Huh?" Rielle said, sharpening her axe as she looked at the Thrust board.
"Why no one tried to use the blizzard manipulation against the Horde."
The sour mood became very clear on Rielle's face, and she took another swig of PT.
"Well you might as well tell me. As stupid a reason as it's likely to be."
"Not so stupid. The blizzard creation and dispersion wasn't just thought up on the Alliance side, and even if it was, the Horde would probably soon follow suit. Using it on each other would just be wasting magical energy, with both sides constantly trying to use a weapon that might work one times out of ten, and not for very long. And then there's the more important reason." Zackel said. "Northrend belongs to Arthas. The best way, maybe the ONLY way we're going to keep that weapon out of his hands is if we work together on stopping his efforts. If Alliance and Horde mages start trying to use this defense against each other, then the united front is lost. Cracks form. And the Lich King gains an advantage, and people lose their lives. That's why the Alliance never tried to freeze the Horde out of Wintergrasp, or vice versa. It's the same reason the Kirin Tor opened Dalaran to both sides. Because they have to be above such things."
"And yet immediately, the Horde goes and forms its own little insular pocket in Dalaran."
"You mean the Sunreavers? They only did that because of the Silver Enclave, which did it first."
"And why did the Silver Enclave form?"
"Some high elves opposed blood elves joining the Kirin Tor…"
"And why would they do THAT?" Rielle said, and drank her canteen empty before offering it to Zackel. "While you're answering, more please."
"…don't you think you've had enough?"
"Who are YOU to tell me when I've had enough?" Rielle said, her eyes narrowing.
"I'm not…I just have noticed something. My mix seems to sharpen your tongue."
"You mean about the Horde. Pheh, Zackel, it's not like I didn't mention my dislike before. I don't like them, any of them."
"Yes…but the last time you said that, you sounded less…involved?"
"…I have a brain, mage. A pretty damn good one, if I do say so myself." Rielle said, her tone cross. "I am capable of using it, and I know its worth in constructing an argument. It can mean the difference maker if your enemy matches, or exceeds, your strength. But to me, my brain is a tool, just that. My heart is my true self. What you hear now, comes from my heart. I don't want to be using my brain, which is why I'm drinking this fruity crap. No offense." Rielle said, indicating her canteen.
"None taken."
"The blessings and understandings of the Light I, and my people, have learned from the Naaru, can only take us so far. Eventually, the other side has to step up. The Horde never does. Considering all the influence that psychotic nutcase Hellscream is gaining, I don't have a lot of hope for the future."
"Maybe, but…are you in the best position to pass judgments?"
"Zackel, shut up." Rielle said. "I didn't go to Wintergrasp looking to pick a fight with the Horde. I didn't go looking to confirm that all orcs are more attuned to being monsters than messiah-types, and that all their allies are savage, deranged, arrogant, pitiless, or a slave to old arrangements, or worse, using the excuse of old arrangements to unleash their worse, or true, sides. I went there to secure resources for the Alliance, and my people among them. To fight the Scourge, and the Legion. If the Horde had shown a whit of grace or willingness to work together, I would have had no problem working with them and sharing said resources. Might not have liked it, but I'd have lived with it. But they didn't. They attacked us, wanting it all for themselves. And despite the efforts on both sides, neither side could stop fighting. And after the Wrathgate…well, I almost got the sense of relief on the Horde side that they could stop all this democratic nonsense and impose their dominance without any bullshit getting in the way. Yeah, they didn't get me dumped here, my supposed human-on-the-Alliance teammate did. But all the time spent with you has made me realize that it's not what you are, it's WHO you are. Fel, yeah…maybe I need to actually meet Thrall, or some similarly enlightened Horde member…but I haven't. I can't see how I could without going out of my way. And in truth…I really don't want to."
Zackel was silent.
"So, you think I'm weak then?"
"…that's not the term I would use. Perhaps…drawn to familiar ground. Something all adventurers seek. It's hardest to move beyond it…but sometimes it's for the best."
"Maybe. As said, I know how to use my mind. And it's not closed." Rielle said, thrusting her canteen at Zackel again. "But my heart speaks as well. And I will not quiet its voice, no matter how much you may not like it."
"Your heart has its reasons. So I think it would be best if we changed topics." Zackel said, taking Rielle's canteen. "Still, let's make this filling-up the last one, shall we? I like your heart, but I like your mind too."
"Feeling's mutual." Rielle replied, giving Zackel a comradely pat/semi-shove on the shoulder. "Even if not all our opinions are."
Yet it's not enough, is it Wintersoul?
You know full well what alcohol does. It's why you really made it. Not to pass the time. Not to relax.
Because you want confirmation.
You dance and zig-zag around, but you want to know. You deny it and hate it as it begins to leak out, but you want to know.
Fel, you do know. Deep down.
You DO know.
Her TRUE heart.
And what it means in regards to you. Now, and then.
And you know how it will end, one way or another…
Zackel jerked up from his furs, staring at the stone wall for several seconds. The voice was echoing again. After all his efforts to understand and justify his most recent experiences, there it was once more.
Zackel's gorge rose, and he put his hand to his mouth, fighting to quiet his stomach. He didn't want to start all this up yet again. No more midnight wanderings, wondering if he was hearing voices or his own mind's dark corners. He'd done that enough.
He glanced at Rielle, finding her, as usual, peacefully asleep. Based on what had happened in the past, Zackel made a point of being semi-noisy as he went to put more wood on the fire.
And based on what he was about to do.
"Nuhsulowd." Rielle murmured as he knelt by her afterward.
"Sorry. Go back to sleep." Zackel said, lying down next to Rielle.
"Mmmmkay."
Sleep took longer to come to Zackel.
Journal Entry No # 452
She didn't complain.
I went to sleep beside her because that seemed to be a comfort on my mind, a purely selfish reason. I did the equivalent of climbing into her bed at night.
She didn't wake me up angrily. She didn't tell me not to do that again when I woke up. She didn't even mention it. She just asked me to check how much food we had left that morning. And I know Rielle. She's not the type to think that she might have asked me to do something and then forgot about it. If she had a problem, she would have told me.
…there was a point, during the night, where I was half-asleep, that I thought her arm was on my chest. Can't tell. Might have been a dream. Might have just been her random sleep-movement.
…I…
…I can't tell if I'm being prudent or cowardly any more.
The voice did not come again, the next few days. It did not need to. Zackel's mind did the job for it.
He tried to quiet it by his interactions with Rielle, as they went through their various training routines. Throwing ice at her, grappling with her, and once even joining her on her run around the fortress. Sometimes it even worked, like during the times she and Zackel trained and worked in the hand to hand weapons fighting Rielle was trying to teach him. For brief periods of time, Zackel was lost in those thoughts, of the faint inklings of not just learning a few defensive tricks for himself. Of being on the edge of something larger, of a brand new fighting style, a hybrid combat and magic mix that could have all the potential in the world.
Then Rielle would toss a light insult his way, or smile at him, or look at him in a way that their eyes locked, and it would all come roaring back. Zackel tried his best to hide it, but in truth he was starting to reach his wit's end. Worse, he had no idea what tact to take to solve the problem. Or whether the cure would be worse than the disease.
Whether Rielle noticed or not, Zackel could not say. She had her own set of amazing eyes, in many aspects. And with her iron-clad self-control, he might never realize the truth of what she realized, or knew. Or not until it was too late.
The truth…
However bitter it might be.
…And whether he was subconsciously aware that he was upping the potency of the PT mix each night, or whether he was completely oblivious to it…didn't really matter in the end.
And so night fell, and the usual events occurred. Until they, after about two hours and a fair bit of PT, crossed over into the unusual.
"You're kidding me." Rielle giggled, putting a Thrust stone down. "You slept with a dwarf?"
"Once, once." Zackel replied. He wasn't quite sure how the conversation had gotten onto this topic, or why he wasn't steering away from it as he normally would. Part of him wanted to say it was because Zackel had left the subtle planes of intoxication behind that night and was well on his way to the more overt ones. But the other part had chimed up that it was because Rielle was his friend, and you could share secrets and experiences with friends. And it had been a long time since he'd had a real, true friend. Not since Jasciona…
And Daldion.
"Well, technically three times. It didn't last very long." Zackel said. It testified to his state that the sour feeling of his memories was not enough to snarl the tread he was heading down now.
"You were that bad?"
"What? No, no, no…!" Zackel said. "We were just briefly passing through each other's lives. We had some fun and a new experience together, and moved on. Besides, she didn't complain."
"And you?"
"No complaints either. True, it was a little awkward at first…but I adapted, as did she. She actually said she liked kissing a face without a beard. And the feel of it kissing her and…I think we've gone far enough there."
"Awwwwwww." Rielle said. "What was her name?"
"Nekola. Nekola Splinterset. She was a priest. Met while investigating The Badlands on some possible new activity around Uldaman. Helped each other, enjoyed each other's company, intimately a few times, then she headed back to Ironforge and I went up to the Arathi Highlands. She had a really nice laugh. Good dancer too."
"You two danced?"
"No, she danced for me. I played music. Had a small talent for the lute, once upon a time. I'd do a little strumming, and she and some of our party would dance." Zackel said, before drinking more PT. A tiny voice spoke up in his mind, whispering a warning, but for the most part Zackel ignored it. "You act like this is strange. It's not like I took a vow of celibacy after Jasciona."
"I just thought someone as uptight as you…"
"Uptight? You wound me." Zackel said. "I didn't bed a new woman every three days or something, but once I started traveling…well, it's a dangerous world, and there's a lot of hardship. Sometimes people want to forget that, or want a taste of it without leaving their safe corners. So yes, there was a farm girl or two. One bar waitress. Two other women I traveled with, besides Nekola. I never got involved with a woman who was already in a relationship of course, as far as I know. And being an alchemist, I have certain options available to me to prevent unfortunate things like unexpected pregnancies. Even if they taste foul as hell. That's why I was able to mix up a breath tincture, by the way. Experience had taught me women don't like be kissed after drinking something like my protective draughts."
"Still, a dwarf?"
"Why judge? As you yourself said, we're all crafted from the same clay in the end. Heck, I've met at least one woman who was in a relationship with a male draenei, though I didn't see him at the time. Not to insult your race, but those tentacles they have on their faces…well, compared to that, a dwarf is, uh…not as noticeable to me?"
"Not good enough." Rielle said, giving Zackel her usual smack. "But I'll stop harping on it. At least it wasn't a gnome."
"Hey, what's wrong with a…well actually yeah, that could be seen as…having unfortunate implications. But I'd rather not be a hypocrite, so I won't judge." Zackel said, looking down at the Thrust board. "Was it your move or mine?"
"Who cares?" Rielle said, putting a stone down. The look on her face made it seem like she expected Zackel to protest, but instead he just shrugged and laid down another stone. "Well well. When did you become fun, mage?"
"I'm not. My boorish nature has just infected you enough that your definition of fun has changed."
"Ah, an infection. Finally you pick an appropriate comparison to what you are. I was getting tired of 'powerful wizard' and 'attractive to women'."
Zackel surprised himself by laughing, and then paused at the fact. Then a loud belch abruptly bubbled up from his stomach, and its noise and the look on Zackel's face afterward caused Rielle to crack up.
"…that…ha ha…should not be so funny…" Rielle said a brief period of time later. "I think I better sweat some of this drink out. Zackel, give me a beat."
"What?"
"You like to watch women dance? Give me a beat, I'll dance and ruin the experience for you in the future. I'm just mean like that."
"Uh…okay…?" Zackel said, as he began trying to drum something resembling a rhythm on the Thrust board.
"No no, that sucks. Try something else. No…no! Ugh!" Rielle said with mock frustration as she stood up. "Just when I think you can't suck any harder. Knock it off, I'll hum my own beat."
Zackel didn't have the heart to tell Rielle she didn't exactly have tone mastery over the humming/wordless vocalization that came out of her mouth as she danced. In truth, he didn't really notice that fact as Rielle danced in front of him.
"…uh…Rielle…after you're done you should drink a fair bit of water. Make sure you keep yourself hydrated…and all…"
"Oh please. Like you care about how exsuccous I might get."
"…what?"
"HAH! I FINALLY KNOW A WORD YOU DON'T! It almost makes up for how I'm debasing myself over here." Rielle said, as she continued to dance.
"If you really think you're debasing yourself, stop."
"Oh, you'd like that wouldn't you? Me all zonked out on your poisons so you can do perverted things to me."
"Please. Like I could do anything to you you didn't want me to. Besides, YOU'RE the one who insisted on details about Nekola."
"It was probably a pity screw anyway." Rielle said, and kept dancing. Zackel opened his mouth to reply, and realized it was a secondary concern.
It has been so long, and it's not like she doesn't like you on some level. And come on, it's not…
The ghost of the memory, this time, was enough to sour Zackel's mood, and he turned his attention to conjuring up the water for Rielle. She didn't notice for a bit, but when she did, she looked insulted.
"Oh why do I even bother, you wouldn't know a good thing if it bit you on the ass." Rielle said, her tone mostly not serious, though there was a noticeable touch there.
"I resemble that remark." Zackel said. Rielle snatched up her water-filled canteen, stuck her tongue out at Zackel, and began drinking. "In all seriousness though…there's plenty to pay attention to. In all your aspects Rielle."
"Empty flattery." Rielle said, turning around and walking over to the alchemy table where Zackel had left his prepared chemicals.
"Hardly. This mess, stuck together…it's been a worthwhile experience. It almost makes me glad I used my Runes before I got here."
Zackel was not so under the influence that he wasn't able to see Rielle's body stiffen, and a second later the bottom dropped out of his stomach at what he had just said.
"…what." Rielle said, turning back around.
"Uh…I was…"
"If you try and change what you just said, I will actually be angry, Zackel." Rielle said, as she crossed back over and knelt by the mage. "What do you mean you used up your Runes?"
"…does it matter?" Zackel said helplessly.
"Zackel. I'm not saying I would easily throw our time away. But I never pressed about why you didn't have any Runes of Portals, and it's becoming clear to me that maybe I should have." Rielle said. "So I ask again, and I want the truth. Why did you not have any Runes?"
Zackel was silent.
"Zackel…"
"You're not going to like it."
"Unless you purposely got someone killed and fled prosecution, and all that earlier stuff you told me about being up here was a lie…well, I don't think you're that good a liar. So try me."
"…even so…" Zackel said, looking at the fire. "You're not going to like it."
"That's not going to get you out of it. Tell me."
Zackel closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Well, maybe it was time to cross this barrier. Maybe it would be for the best.
Zackel had no idea how wrong he was.