Chapter 8 – A New Tradition

Nadea Heart

Nadea approached the workshop and pulled the heavy door open. The smell of iron that filled her nose would be enough to make any new student stop in their tracks but Nadea had grown used to it in the two weeks since starting at Haven. What she had yet to get used to however was how the air felt. The remnants of dust from past users that filled the air made it feel volatile, like a single sneeze would cause an explosion large enough to reduce the building to rubble. She pushed the feeling of unease aside and walked into the workshop.

The workshop was very different to every other building on campus. Instead of the traditional Mistralian wood floor, the ground was solid grey stone. The walls themselves lacked paint and instead were red brick with vents spaced one metre apart. The room itself was a large space filled with thick metal benches and tables, which held a variety of tools. On one end of the room was a door that led outside to a gated off area behind the building where the forge was held.

Nadea scanned the room's occupants for her targets and found them sitting at one of the far tables. She took a breath in anticipation of having to talk to Nick and set off towards them. Camea was the first to notice her approach and gave a small wave. Her face was smudged with oil and her usually pristine braid had begun to come undone. As Nadea got close, she saw the pieces of one of Camea's shields laying on the metal table. Nick was currently leant over one of the parts.

"Hello Nadea," Camea welcomed her. Nick groaned as Camea said her name.

"Hey Cams," Nadea replied, ignoring Nick. "Hows the shield upgrade going?"

"Better if you'd fuck off," Nick interrupted.

"It's going fine," Camea answered as she give Nick a light nudge on the shoulder, earning a quick sideways glare from him. "How did you know I was upgrading it?"

"Ran into Ella on her way back from lunch and she told me," Nadea replied as she leant in closer. "What are you trying to do?"

"What she is trying to do is install a delivery mechanism that coats the chain of the shield in dust to give her some elemental damage without overheating the engine that powers the rotation," Nick once again interrupted. "It's all very complicated so would you shut up so I can focus?"

"Fine," She directed at Nick and turned back to Camea. "Wanna go and get something to eat?"

"Sure," Camea smiled and stood up. "Do you want anything Nick?"

"Salad."

Camea gave a nod in response and the two in them took off. As soon as they left the workshop, Nadea took a deep breath of fresh air.

"By the grace of Oum, how do you stand it in there?" She asked as she breathed out.

"You get used to it," Camea said while pulling her shawl from her waist, putting one end over her hair and wrapping the rest around her torso.

"I would rather not," Nadea replied with a grimace. "But lunch will be ending soon so we should get going."

"Actually, there is a little café a couple of stops down the mountain that serves an amazing Sunday sandwich," Camea suggested.

"And how expensive is this place?"

"My treat,"Camea offered. "Plus, I know the people who run it so I get a discount."

Nadea took a moment to think before she gave a nod and changed her direction towards the mountain's dreaded elevator. While Haven's cafeteria food wasn't bad bad by any means, she could certainly do with something a little different.

"So what made you wanna adjust your shields anyway?" She asked as they entered the line for the elevator.

"Well it's just Shrill really," Camea replied after a second of thought. "The chainsaw is great but it struggles against aura so I needed to adjust it. Plus, Nick said he had an idea from looking a Majorella's staff."

"You really trust him to not blow up you shield?" She said, only a little seriously.

"He's actually really smart," Camea chuckled while the elevator came into said with an almost inaudible hum. "And he's not as aggressive when he really gets focused on something."

"Still not gunna trust him anywhere near my guns," Nadea replied and stepped into the elevator.

"You really should, he might be able to help with the degradation of your blades," Camea tried to reason. Nadea noticed her voice wavered slightly. "Just think about it."

"Maybe."

Nadea conceded easily because the elevator doors were closing and she was more concerned with subduing the wave of panic that she knew would try to overtake her. She had had a problem with small spaces ever since she had been trapped under the rubble and lost her hand three years ago. At first she would panic whenever the door to her room back in Russle was closed but over the years she had learned to control it better by closing her eyes and thinking of an open field. That was exactly what she was doing while the elevator slid down the inside of the mountain and Camea,who had seemingly noticed this over the last two weeks, didn't try to continue the conversation.

The humming of the elevator stopped as it came to a halt at their floor. Nadea hurried out and took a breath of relief. She heard Camea ask if she was alright and simply nodded in response. Nadea opened her eyes and found herself in a long stone corridor with thick green vines hanging along the walls. It was obviously well cared for and she saw that just to her left she was a large balcony that overlooked Mistral. This was the direction that Camea was motioning for her to follow.

"So how was your study session?" Camea asked as she led her down a set of small stairs that branched off from the balcony.

"It was okay, Ixia spend most of it flirting with Alyse but she didn't seem interested in him." Nadea replied with a sigh. "I definitely won't be studying with him again."

"That would be rather annoying to deal with while studying I guess," Camea agreed while slowing her pace. "Here we are." Nadea looked at the building before her, if building was even the correct word. The entire store was into the face of the mountain with a sign saying ANGELS REST one of the two doors, the other read EMPLOYEE ENTRANCE.

Camea wasn't lying when she said little. The window showed that it was only big enough for five, two-person tables leaving just enough room for the employees to walk around.

"We can go somewhere else if its too small," Camea said with a cautious smile.

"It's fine," Nadea countered, despite knowing that this shop would be a test.

They walked into the shop and took the seat by the window. Nadea was immediately grateful that the seat was available as she felt the all too familiar pressure, that was once again beginning to press in on her, start to dissipate as she looked out the window. They both sat in silence for a minute until a cheerful, blonde-haired waitress came over to take their order.

"Just two Sunday specials please Jasmine," Camea smiled back with evident familiarity. "Oh and could you prepare a vegetable salad for when we leave."

"Of course, that will be 125 Lien please," the girl replied and typed in the order on her scroll.

Camea handed over the required amount and the girl began to walk away before she seemingly remembering something and turned around back to face them.

"I would probably get fired for asking this," Nadea heard the blonde haired girl ask Camea in a whisper. "But can you please get your mom to call Mr Bell back? His constant complaining is starting to give me a headache."

"I'll drop a hint," Camea nodded back with a smile. The girl mouthed the words 'thank you' as she walked away. After the girl left, Nadea and Camea spoke for a little while until their food arrived.

It hadn't been and understatement on Camea's part when she said the food was amazing. The warm slice of gravy soaked bread made the chicken sandwich feel like heaven in her mouth and while the sandwich itself was rather large, in less than five minutes she had finished it and deeply desired another one. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't afford another one and didn't want to ask Camea to pay for another one.

"I told you it was good," Camea smiled as she patted her mouth with a napkin.

"You were right," Nadea admitted with a chuckle.

"So would you uhh..." Nadea noticed Cameo's body language suddenly get rather fidgety but she allowed the girl to continue uninterrupted. "Would you maybe like to do this again next week?" She finished in a voice half its natural volume.

Was that it? Nadea thought to herself. Why was that something Camea would be nervous ask?

"Sure," Nadea smiled back. "But do you mind if I ask why that seemed important to you?"

"Well..." Camea hesitated once again but finally seemed to just give up and speak. "It might sound stupid but I was actually thinking we could do this every week, just the two of us, as a sort of way to bond and stuff."

Nadea felt the urge to chuckle but held it back, remembering how her partner had never made fun of her own claustrophobia.

"Doesn't sound dumb to me honestly," Nadea smiled. "But we are partners Camea so please don't feel nervous asking me for something, no matter how stupid you think it is. Okay?" Camea gave a nod in reply, her nervousness still evident.

"If I didn't know who you were, shifting like that would probably give me cause for a stop and search." Said a blue-haired woman, in what looked to be part of the Mistral police force attire, who had suddenly appeared behind Camea. Nadea saw her partners face instantly light up into a massive smile as she quickly turned around in her seat to face the woman.

"Oh my Oum, Sarah!" Camea stood up and threw her arms around the woman. "When did you get back?"

"Yesterday, sorry I didn't come up and see you but I was really tired," the woman smiled as she hugged Camea back.

"It's fine, Camea said with her face muffled in the taller girls shoulder. After she pulled back, Camea seemed to remember where she was and turned back to face her. "Sorry Nadea, this is my oldest friend, Sarah O'Shen. Sarah this is my partner Nadea."

"Ohh partner, I thought you were on a date," Sarah winked at Camea and gave the girl a teasing nudge while holding her hand out for Nadea. "Nice to meet you Nadea, I expect you will be seeing a lot of me around Haven during your time there."

"How come?" She asked as she took the woman's hand.

"Well I'm with the Huntsman Division of the Mistral Police Force," The woman said proudly. "Haven is mainly our jurisdiction so if anything happens with a Haven student, which it usually does, it's us who handles it."

"Sounds busy," Nadea remarked.

"Very," Sarah chuckled while turning to face Camea. "Speaking of busy, I have a meeting with the Mistral council I must get too."

"Could you perhaps tell my mom you saw me here when you get there?" Camea asked. Nadea noted this implication. Sarah seemed to understand because she simply shook her head with a smile.

"Will do," she replied and gave Camea another hug. "I will send you a message next time I am up in Haven."

"I look forward to hearing about your mission," Camea smiled.

"It's a good story, promise you that," Sarah said and opened the door to leave. "Sorry for the wait Mrs Nikos..."

Nadea watched through the window as Sarah walked away with a tall red-headed woman. She wasn't to sure how she felt about the new acquaintance. While she had seemed nice enough, the revelation of an active police presence at Haven concerned her and the fact that her partner was so close to one of then only added to the worry. What if Camea was to reveal where Nadea came from to the officer? Nadea knew Camea probably wouldn't do it on purpose but people slip up. A fact Nadea knew all to well.

"Are you ready to go?"

Camea's voice broke Nadea from her thoughts. The girl was already replacing her shawl and a new box was was on the table that she guessed was Nicks food.

"Is everything okay Nadea?" Camea asked, slight concern in her voice.

"Yes. Sorry, I just zoned out a little," She answered to settle the girls concern. "I'm ready."

Nadea stood up and they made their way out of the shop. As they walked through the door she felt her chest loosen from a pressure she hadn't completely realised was there but now that she was outside, the relief was evident. It looked like this new weekend tradition would be a good way to work on more than just hers and Camea's bond.

The two of them remained quiet until they had returned to the top of Haven mountain. However, once the stepped out of the elevator back onto one of Havens courtyards, she decided to bring up a subject she had heard earlier.

"So your mom is part of the council?" Nadea asked, careful to keep her voice even. She had told Camea of her mistrust towards the council on their first day as a team but had no idea that at the time she was insulting the girls mother.

"Oh, umm sort of," Camea replied and Nadea saw her partner rub her arm underneath her shawl. "She's the representative for Upper Mistral."

"What does that entail?" Nadea pressed, hoping to gain a little more information so as to not insult her partner in the future.

"Basically, the people and companies of Upper Mistral come to her with their problems and she sorts them by seriousness and brings them up to the council," Camea explained, though Nadea did notice the wavering of her voice over the words 'problems' and 'seriousness'.

"Sounds tiring," Nadea offered.

"Sometimes..." Camea seemed hesitant once again. "I know how you feel about the council so I hope this doesn't cause any problems between us."

"I'm not Nick, Camea," Nadea replied, a small amount of annoyance dripping into her voice. "I don't judge someone by the actions of others."

"You overheard?" Camea asked in surprise.

"I was nearby so yeah," Nadea admitted. "What happened sucks but taking it out on you is unfair."

"I don't like it either but I sort of understand it," Camea responded.

"Anyway, it doesn't sound like your mother is the one who makes the decisions so no, there's no problem," Nadea said dryly. "And even if she did then my annoyance would be at her, not you."

Camea only gave a nod to show she understood but it was enough.

"Well I should get back to Nick," Camea said as they approached the workshop building. "Do you need anything made while I'm there?"

"I could use some more .44 electric and ice rounds," Nadea replied.

"Will do," Camea smiled as she made her way off towards the workshop.

Nadea watched her partner walk into the workshop. She had learned a few things today and wanted to mull it over so she decided to head towards the shooting range. A little target practice always helped focus her thoughts.