I guess this is the first real update to the DCU in 2022 so far? As always, I promise I'm not going to bail on Bloodline. But I want the ending to be worth the buildup and right now it's just not where it needs to be. I'd hoped to have it wrapped up by the end of 2021 and I'm gutted that hasn't been the case. Idk guys I'm tired. But life goes on and so does the prequel rewrite.
This is an Arra chapter. Is she OOC? Probably. But Mika and Kurda have been OOC since chapter 1 and you're still here. I've tried to keep Arra's characterization as accurate as possible but you have to understand that this story is centred around a premise that would absolutely never happen in canon. To put the timeline in perspective, this chapter takes place during the council gathering before the one Darren attends. (I.e. he's about the same age as Gracie).
Two key points before we get started:
1) I wholeheartedly ship Larten/Arra. Like how I consider Mika and Kurda to be each other's "one" within the context of this AU, I think the same of Larten and Arra (SLC did not do their relationship justice imo). But while Mika and Arra aren't a love story for the ages, their dynamic is more complex than friendship and it makes for an interesting addition to Mika and Kurda's daily routine. Remember, M and K don't know they're each other's "one" yet.
2) Kurda's thoughts and opinions earlier in the chapter on Arra do not reflect MY thoughts and opinions on Arra. At all. I love her as a character and I've grown to enjoy writing about her. There is a very distinct point here where Kurda is actually a bit of a jerk. Maybe it's OOC. Maybe even the loveliest people have their moments of weakness. We'll never know.
Chapter 18: Extended Family
T-MINUS ONE WEEK TIL THE FESTIVAL OF THE UNDEAD
Every time Mika didn't think he could get any busier, he proved himself wrong. His list of responsibilities regenerated like hydra heads. For every task he eliminated, two more took its place. It wasn't that Mika had a hard time saying no to things. In fact, no was one of his favourite words. But relinquishing control? That was another story.
It started a couple months back, when the Vampire Flu swept through the mountain staff and left Seba with heavily reduced manpower. To keep the Festival preparations on schedule, Mika stepped in to help Seba out. Admittedly Mika enjoyed the change of pace more than he'd expected. It was refreshing to connect with Vampire Mountain on a more hands-on level than the Princes normally did. But of course he wasn't about to slack on his executive duties either. That meant longer work nights, sleepless days, and what felt like the appearance his first grey hair. (Still unconfirmed; he was afraid to check).
So with one week left on the countdown, Mika was starting to feel the strain. But it was fine. He was built for this. He liked keeping busy and loved being challenged. Not to mention at this point he was so involved in so many operations, he felt a little squirrelly at the thought of handing the responsibly over to someone else. So even though he could've delegated whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted, he didn't.
That will come back to bite him in the ass later. But for now, all you need to know is that he's got a lot on his mind and he wasn't paying a shred of attention to his surroundings. Then again, with guards lining the hallways for his protection, he never really has to.
But apparently the guards on duty didn't anticipate the attack any more than he did. One second Mika was minding his own business, rounding the last turn before the home stretch back to the Hall of Princes. The next second he was fighting off an assailant that seemingly dropped on him out of nowhere like a spider-monkey.
He knew who it was the moment she made contact, but he still swore in alarm and jumped about a foot into the air.
"OW! Charna's fucking guts, Arra!" He panted while trying to disengage from the headlock she had him in. She laughed uproariously, but it was barely audible over the shouting as three guards converged and hauled her away from Mika.
"What is the meaning of this?" One of the guards hollered at her, apoplectic with shock. "You'll be put on trial immediately for attacking a Prince!"
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Another guard added.
Arra didn't pay them a shred of heed. She looked to Mika, grey eyes crackling with energy.
"Got you." She declared smugly.
Mika rolled his eyes as he dusted himself off and gazed critically back at her, trying not to smile. This was their thing. A game of sorts. Every time Arra arrived at Vampire Mountain, the first thing she did was track Mika down and greet him with a sneak attack. She'd been doing it ever since his investiture. To keep him humble, she claimed.
"Your grip is weaker than I remember." Mika remarked nonchalantly. "For a second I thought you were a really aggressive bird. Wouldn't be the first one that snuck in this year."
"It's a sad day for Sire Ver Leth when he needs three armed guards to protect him from a bird. Ever think about retiring?" Arra retorted. The guards still had her arms behind her back so she couldn't move. They'd keep a hold on her til Mika instructed them otherwise, but they seemed to have figured out she wasn't a legitimate threat. They were glancing bemusedly at each other, and at Mika.
"I could've had you on the floor in two seconds flat." Said Mika, then he gestured to the guards and added briskly, "I just wanted to make sure they were paying attention. Good work, gentlemen. Thank you for your service."
"Uh… how would you like us to proceed, Sire?" Asked the tallest of the guards as he side-eyed Mika dubiously. Mika respected the young vampire's earnest commitment to doing his job by the book. He was new to the role - the more seasoned guards knew what to expect when General Sails came home for the holidays.
"I think an arrest would be extreme. But can you maybe just hang onto her for an hour so I can get some work done?" Mika deadpanned. He watched with satisfaction as the guard's mental gears spun, trying to gauge how serious the request was.
"As you wish, Sire."
"He's fucking with you." Arra scoffed at the guard, twisting her body halfway around to glare at him. "Take your hands off me. This is getting old. Don't you have an empty hallway to stare at?"
Mika arched an eyebrow at her. "You know, one of these years I'm actually going to let them arrest you."
Arra snorted dismissively, knowing full well he'd do no such thing. Mika stopped fighting the instinct to smile. He'd missed this. Missed her.
"Alright. I guess you can unhand General Sails. If she attacks me a second time, I take full responsibility for any harm I may sustain. Don't feel obligated to intervene." Mika instructed the guards. He could practically see his sarcasm whizzing over their heads. They were still glancing back and forth at each other with mild confusion. But they did as they were told, and returned to their posts.
"When did you get in?" Mika asked, turning to Arra. "I wasn't expecting you for a couple nights yet."
"About five minutes ago."
"Welcome back. I'm honoured your first priority is to harass me."
"As you should be, Sire."
Mika would've appreciated a heads up, but he hadn't been expecting one. He supposed tonight was the night he'd finally introduce one of his best friends to his recently acquired human daughter, whether he was ready for it or not.
"I was on my way to pick something up from Paris." Mika added after a pause, gesturing at the looming door at the other end of the hall. "Come with me? I'm sure he'd like to see you."
They carried on. While Paris certainly had a high opinion of Arra, he wasn't the reason Mika invited her to the Hall of Princes. The something Mika had to pick up was Gracie. Mika had just finished a long meeting with a group of Generals who'd arrived for Council, and Kurda was busy examining a few outdoor access points. So Gracie had been on Papa Paris time.
While security screens Arra before entering the Hall of Princes and Mika laughs at how inconvenienced she looks, let's take a moment to review the roster for those who've lost track:
Gracie has two adoptive dads, Mika and Kurda, whose love for her proved stronger than their aversion to each other. No contest. The friendship they've forged is a miracle, and it doesn't even stop there.
She also has an Uncle Arrow who lights up like the sun when he sees her, because his adopted children were the greatest thing that ever happened to him. And now his best friend finally understands why he was willing to leave the clan behind. (Mika has never actually had the conversation with Arrow - "You've got the kid if Kurda and I both bite it unexpectedly, right?". He doesn't have to say it out loud. Both of them already know).
She has an Uncle Vancha who in all likelihood will be the one she calls to bail her out of jail with no questions asked, a few decades down the road. It's hypothetical, of course. Gracie is a perfect angel who will never do anything wrong. But Mika likes to joke about it anyway. Kurda doesn't think it's funny.
She has a Papa Paris and a Grampa Seba who don't just agree to care for her when her dads are busy. They demand that Mika and Kurda book them into the schedule each week.
And of course, she has a fan club consisting of too many miscellaneous mountain staff members to count. It's not a conventional family, but it's a good one.
Mika's always known Aunt Arra would be part of Gracie's family too. Or at least he hoped. At one point last year Mika had casually broached the topic of maybe honouring Arra by making her first name Gracie's middle name. Kurda took such a strong stance against it that Mika, the CEO of confrontation, immediately backed down and never spoke of it again. It wouldn't have been right to guilt or pressure Kurda into changing his mind, but Mika couldn't deny he'd been disappointed at the time.
Arra's eyes grew wide as dinner plates when she saw Paris sitting in his throne with Gracie on his knee. She glanced questioningly at Mika, silently asking if Paris's mind had started to slip. But she didn't have time to voice that concern because as soon as Gracie spied Mika approaching, she sprinted down the stairs of the throne platform and into his arms, shouting "Hi Daddy!"
"What did she just call you?" Arra choked out, eyes wide with disbelief. She was a difficult vampire to surprise. But Mika had succeeded.
"Didn't you hear her? I figured the entire mountain heard that." Said Mika as he scooped Gracie up.
Arra's eyes looked liable to bulge right out of her head as she gawked at the little girl wrapping her arms possessively around her old friend's neck. It took Arra a moment to find some words, but eventually she managed a couple: "That's yours?!"
"In all the ways that matter, yes. She's mine." Mika replied with finality. "Aunt Arra, meet Gracie. Gracie, meet Aunt Arra."
So it began. Mika got comfortable and retold the origin story from the beginning. From start to finish, Arra took it exactly as expected. Til the bitter end she remained convinced Mika hadn't actually adopted a human child with Kurda Smahlt and it was an elaborate prank he'd cooked up to get her back for all those sneak attacks.
By the time he'd caught Arra up to present day, Mika was lounging sideways in his throne with Gracie flaked out in his arms. She was half-asleep, tired from a productive evening of "helping" Papa Paris with his duties. Arra was sitting beside them, in Vancha's empty throne. Generals weren't typically allowed to touch the thrones, and Mika wouldn't have let it fly if anyone else was in the room to see it. But if there was anyone here besides Mika, Arra would have minded her place and stayed on the pews. Professional boundaries look a little different when friendship precedes promotion. Arra's friendship was one of the few parts of Mika's life that hadn't changed when his promotion took effect, and it meant the world to him.
"I don't expect you to understand. I don't even fully understand. But I don't regret it." Mika finished as Arra sat there processing it.
"Gods, who are you?" Arra groaned, as if Mika had just committed an unspeakably embarrassing offence. "The Mika Ver Leth I remember would look a crying baby in the eye and ask it to be quiet. Remember the Germany mission when we took the train?"
Mika remembered. In his defence, he'd been very polite on that occasion despite suffering a terrible headache.
"I know better now. They don't listen to reason or authority. You have to bribe them with food." He replied sardonically. Arra didn't laugh. She barely even looked at him, and he added more seriously, "I'm still me, Arra. I can't deny I have a soft spot for her, but I haven't gone soft. Big difference."
Arra nodded stiffly, seeming to accept that. Mika refocused his attention on fixing Gracie's braid, which had become dishevelled throughout the evening. He knew Arra was still staring critically at him but he didn't particularly care. He wanted her to be happy for him, but he couldn't force it. He'd already made peace with that.
"Is she… you know… going to stay forever?" Arra broke the silence. The pointed emphasis on forever told Mika exactly what she was getting at.
"We don't blood kids. You know that." He replied tersely. He hoped that would be the end of it, but she wasn't done.
Arra scoffed and waved a hand impatiently. "I know the rules as well as you do. But she won't always be a kid. There's a reason they say vampires shouldn't get attached to humans. And you look kind of attached."
Arra's pragmatic words hit Mika like a throat punch, and for a moment all he could do was stare back at her, slack-jawed. Did she think he was new? Did she think he wasn't acutely aware of how the human circle of life stacked up against that of a vampire? He felt white-hot fury rise up in his chest, and for a split second he thought he was going to snap at her for even bringing it up. It was so inconsiderate, so unnecessary, so -
Then Gracie stirred in his arms, mumbled some sleepy nonsense, and turned over so she could nestle her head against his chest, right on his heart. Mika sighed, and contentedly stroked her hair as she went back to sleep. Taking Arra down a notch wasn't worth disturbing the peace, so Mika took a minute to consider his response. The easiest and most accurate answer would've been: "I don't know what the future holds and it's none of your business anyway."
But this was Arra. Her tactlessness was a defence mechanism born of necessity, just to survive in this clan of men who viewed sensitivity as weakness. Mika couldn't hold that against her. There was a time when he'd considered her his other half. And that was long before he ever felt the slightest inkling of actual attraction to her. The desire for romance came and went. But their bond endured the test of time so well, Mika didn't even have to fake a smile when he attended her mating ceremony as a guest. And in almost two centuries he'd never doubted for a second how much Arra respected him.
"Hey, Princess. Want to show Aunt Arra your trick?" Said Mika, lightly tickling Gracie's back to get her attention. Her face lit up with a smile, and she slowly sat up to face the doors at the other end of the Hall. Mika glanced cryptically at Arra. "Just wait til you see this."
Arra arched an eyebrow, skeptical as ever. But she watched.
Gracie reached out and placed her hand on the left armrest of Mika's throne. The iconic doorway to the Hall of Princes whooshed open the second her palm made contact. She was glowing with pride as she grinned up at Mika. She had no idea it was really his hand that was controlling the doors from the other armrest. They'd been playing this game for over a year now, ever since the night Mika watched her determinedly tapping his arm rest and realized she was trying to copy him.
"Good work." Mika told her. "Now can you close them for me? We don't need any more birds getting in here."
Gracie laughed like that was the funniest thing she'd ever heard in her life, and touched the armrest again. The doors slid shut, and she sat back triumphantly.
"I understand now. It wasn't enough to be the youngest Prince in history. You wanted to be the first one with a nepotism baby." Said Arra drily. She rolled her eyes, but corner of her mouth twitched."Talk to me when she's broken my record on the bars. Then maybe I'll be impressed."
"Next council for sure." Mika chuckled. For now, this was enough.
Gracie napped for an hour and a half, and Mika and Arra spent the whole time catching up like they'd never missed a night.
TWO NIGHTS LATER:
It's no secret that Kurda has always been openly critical of the vampire clan's long tradition of toxic masculinity manifesting as ritual violence and unnecessary bloodshed. Because he believes in the ridiculous notion that the current status-quo might not be the healthiest thing for everyone, there's no small amount of irony in the fact that one of his loudest critics is someone who spent half her (yes, her) life working twice as hard as her male peers simply to be acknowledged as a peer.
Kurda makes a point of not thinking about Arra Sails. While he respects her accomplishments, he doesn't feel obligated to like her as a person. Mostly because his respect for her has never once been reciprocated, no matter how hard he tries.
All Kurda knew about Mika and Arra's history was that he took over her training from a much older mentor, and helped shape her into the ruthless General she is today. That happened mostly during Arrow's time away from the clan. Kurda theorizes Mika was in withdrawal from his prodigal sidekick, so when he heard the name Arra he said "Close enough", and the rest was history. Kurda also knew they kind of almost had a thing at one point. But ultimately she only ever had eyes for Larten Crepsley. Kurda neither knows nor cares about Mika's stance on that.
Kurda was aware Arra arrived in the mountain a couple nights ago, but he'd managed to avoid her. The mountain was buzzing with pre-Festival chaos and that had been working in his favour. But now there was no escape because she was here. Sitting with Mika in the Hall of Khledon Lurt, at the table Kurda always sat at, in the chair Kurda always sat in. And most offensive of all, she was holding Kurda's baby.
Kurda took a deep breath as he approached. Regardless of his lifelong rivalry with Arra, he had to respect that she was family to Mika in the same way that Arrow was. And that family pre-dated the one Mika and Kurda accidentally built here with Gracie. It was only a matter of time before there'd be some overlap.
"Hey. How'd the territory discussion go?" Said Mika nonchalantly as Kurda arrived at the table. "I wanted to catch the end, but my conference ran long."
"About as you'd expect." Said Kurda, purposefully not looking at Arra. "Got in about twenty consecutive minutes of productivity, then Zales started a fistfight with McCallan. Didn't quite get their full attention back after that, but progress was made. I'll present the full summary at the roundtable conference tomorrow night."
"Can't wait. You know how territory disputes thrill me." Mika smirked. He was going for sarcasm, but Kurda happened to know he actually did find territory disputes thrilling. (And yet Kurda's allegedly the nerd here?)
"General Smahlt." Arra chipped in, greeting Kurda with a curt nod.
"General Sails. Welcome. I see you've met my daughter." Kurda replied, mirroring her nod.
Arra arched an eyebrow and looked Kurda up and down in the same scathing manner as she always did. Then she shot a sideways glance at Mika. "Please tell me you aren't letting him turn her into a pacifist."
"Gracie's latest thing is hitting people in the shins with her fairy princess wand thing. So I think we're good for now. But I'm keeping an eye on it." Mika shrugged. He was more focused on skimming some official documents while munching his breakfast, so he didn't notice the steam billowing from Kurda's ears at Arra's snide remark. She smirked at Mika's deadpan joke and refocused her incinerating gaze upon Kurda.
"I hear your diplomacy mission went well." She said. The words themselves were polite. But the mocking, singsongy tone in which she said diplomacy mission was anything but.
"It did, thank you." Kurda replied evenly, meeting her critical eyes unflinchingly. "And I hear your axe duel with Viktorya Akimov went terribly."
Kurda knew he shouldn't be vindictive. It wasn't a good colour on him. But hey, she went low first.
Arra turned deep red. Mika looked up from his notes so sharply he probably should've gone straight to a chiropractor.
"What? When did you duel Akimov?" Mika asked her incredulously. Then his eyes flicked to Kurda. "And how did you know about it before me?"
"Last night. And trust me, everything I know I learned against my will." Said Kurda with a disparaging smile. "I got stuck sitting behind Azerion and Rojas in my first meeting today. They wouldn't shut up about it."
"Azerion and Rojas wouldn't know their own cocks from a stick on the ground!" Arra snarled.
Kurda watched Mika forcibly restrain himself from laughing at that comment. After a few moments of struggling to keep a straight face, he leaned across the table and gently plucked Gracie out of Arra's arms. Presumably to keep her from getting caught in the crossfire in case Arra decided to launch a physical assault on Kurda.
"Arra… you can't just say things in front of her. She listens." Mika sighed resignedly. "And Gracie, you can't repeat what Aunt Arra just said, alright?"
Gracie peered up at him, baffled. "Why can't say stick?" She inquired innocently.
Mika almost laughed again, but caught himself. "Never mind. Want the rest of my pancake?"
Gracie absolutely did want the rest of Mika's pancake. Once he'd distracted her, he was free to tune back in.
"Wait. You lost to Akimov? She's barely five feet tall." Said Mika, jaw hanging open just a little. He wasn't being condescending; Kurda could tell by the affectionate gleam in his eye. That gleam was one of the more subtle Mika-isms, only visible when he interacted with his nearest and dearest: Gracie, Arrow, Paris, Vancha. Kurda sometimes, depending on the day. And apparently Arra.
"Akimov cheated!" Arra barked immediately. "She was using a weighted blade!"
"I realize I'm not a weaponry aficionado, but I feel like extra weight should've put her at a disadvantage." Kurda put in, hating how much fun he was having with this.
"That's not how it works, Smahlt!" She fired back, face turning an even darker shade of red.
"I'm sure everyone's already forgot about it." Mika told Arra placatingly. "Get some practice on the axe range and challenge Akimov to a rematch at the Festival next week. Vanez could probably find some time to refresh you before then. Or forget the axes and invite Akimov to duel you on the bars. She won't be able to touch you there."
As a fellow diplomat, Kurda couldn't help but appreciate Mika's attempt to diffuse the tension. But there was something about the sight of Arra sitting here, taking up a space that Kurda didn't normally have to share. A space Kurda didn't realize til just now he never wanted to share with anyone else.
"I get why you didn't broadcast it to the entire mountain, Arra." Kurda added. "From what I heard, you figured you could win on intimidation alone. You didn't think to ask how much formal axe training she had. And as it turned out, she had just enough."
"Easy, Kurda. Save something for the Festival." Said Mika, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, shut up." Arra growled, rounding on Mika. "I don't need you to defend me-"
"Unless you're in an axe duel, apparently." Kurda interjected. "Has your sportsmanship always been this fragile, or do you just feel especially threatened by Akimov because the gaming tutors have been saying she has the skill to beat your old records?"
Kurda was pretty sure he'd just signed his death warrant with that one, but in the moment he felt it might almost be worth it for the level of pure scorn that burned in Arra's eyes. He'd gotten to her, and that was hard to do. Maybe next time she'd think twice before making another worn-out pacifist joke at his expense.
"Kurda. Enough." Mika snapped. As usual he hardly raised his voice. With that tone and those eyes, he didn't have to. His message came through loud and clear.
"I was done anyway." Said Kurda breezily. Mika rolled his eyes and Arra seethed.
"You will be done when I challenge you." Arra hissed at Kurda. "One week from now, even you won't be able to refuse."
"He knows the rules, Arra." Said Mika, standing up from the table with Gracie latched happily to his shoulder like a koala. His voice was as sharp as it had been addressing Kurda. He was equally irritated at the pair of them. "I'm about to be late for a conference. I don't care what either of you do next, as long as you do it as far away from each other as possible. We don't need any casualties before opening night."
"How ever will I keep myself from caving to my basest instincts?" Kurda snorted, rolling his eyes back at Mika as he scooped Gracie into his arms. Mika glared in warning.
"Kurda…"
"Fine. I'm leaving."
"I understand why you adopted the kid now." Arra grunted at Kurda's retreating back. "You think you've finally got a good excuse to refuse combat challenges now that you carry a human shield everywhere you go."
"Arra. Watch yourself." Mika growled.
But Mika's blunt admonishment didn't feel sufficient. Kurda whipped around with sparks flying from his eyes.
"As always, it's been a pleasure catching up with you, General Sails. Truly such a treat." He addressed her stiffly through gritted teeth. He really could've just left it at that, but he didn't - "And to think people still wonder why Larten Crepsley disappeared after the dissolution of your mating agreement."
Nope. Too far. As soon as the words flew from Kurda's lips, he wished he could pull them back. The jab clearly hit home in the worst possible way. Arra's face went from red to white. Her lips parted like she was trying to speak, but no sound came out. Kurda had won, but he immediately recognized it as an empty victory.
"General Smahlt, I'm excusing you from the diplomacy project session tomorrow. Your presence will no longer be required." Mika interjected after a moment of deafening silence. He was as calm as ever, but his voice was dripping venom.
"You… you're what?"
"You heard me. I'm not going to repeat myself."
"Mika, you can't kick me off that project! I'm presenting at least half of the information!" Kurda gasped.
"Not anymore. And that's Sire Ver Leth." Mika dealt Kurda one final icy glare and stalked away in the direction of the door. Kurda followed him determinedly with Gracie in tow. He didn't glance back at Arra - but if he had, he would've seen her still sitting alone at the table with her face in her hands.
"Wait, Mika! Slow down! I'm trying to talk to you! Gods, would you just stop for a second and listen to me?" Kurda panted as he caught up with Mika just outside the doors to the Hall of Khledon Lurt.
Mika halted and whipped around to face Kurda, still glaring daggers. Kurda set Gracie on the floor, and she wandered over to look for spiders behind a nearby statue of some old Prince. Mika pointedly waited til she was out of earshot before diving in.
"I did listen to you, Kurda! I heard everything! Neither of you were at your best, and I was impartial til you brought Larten up. You've never been one to speak impulsively, so don't try to tell me you didn't mean to hurt her." He hissed. Kurda could see how hard Mika was working to keep himself composed, and realized he'd underestimated how much Mika still cared for his one-time apprentice.
"I took it too far! I admit it!" Kurda groaned, throwing his hands up. "But don't pretend she's the victim here. Why are you protecting her? You've watched me argue with Arrow a hundred times and you've never gotten this defensive!"
"You don't cross those lines with Arrow! You've never brought up his dead wife to win a fight!"
"Bringing up Larten isn't the same thing!"
"It's damn close enough!"
"Why am I being punished for standing up for myself? She was right about one thing, she doesn't need anyone's protection! What the hell's your problem, Mika? Gods, do you still love her? Is that it?!" Kurda forced out, voice thick with frustration. And for the second time in mere minutes, he wished he could un-speak his words. The air between them was crackling with electricity now.
Mika didn't speak for several long moments. He held Kurda's gaze unflinchingly and Kurda didn't think he could've looked away if he tried.
"This isn't about protecting her. I've watched you stand up for yourself for years, without ever resorting to underhanded, personal attacks like that. I respect you more than you know. I always have, even when I wouldn't admit it." Said Mika at last. His face was impossible to read.
"I see. You hold me to a higher standard than her. Doesn't say much about your mentoring abilities." Kurda chuckled bitterly.
"You set that standard yourself! It's all well and good to use words as your weapon of choice. Gods know you need a way to hold your own in this mountain of violent brutes like us." Mika snorted, derision flashing in his stormy eyes. "But when you use a low blow to hit someone where it hurts, are you really that much more evolved than those who settle disputes with honourable combat challenges?"
"Gods forbid I step off the high road one damn time. I'd take it back if I could, and I'd apologize if I thought there was a chance in hell she'd accept it. But don't you dare look me in the eye and tell me my crime fits your punishment. We both know that if it was anyone but Arra, you wouldn't have given a damn." Kurda snapped back. His voice broke, and Mika seemed to flinch when it did. But only for a moment, and then Mika laughed. The sound was harsh and humourless, and it made Kurda feel like the oxygen had been sucked out of the room.
"Well. I guess neither of us know each other as well as we thought." Mika murmured, each word measured and precise. He started to turn away, but paused. His eyes were trained on the statue across the hall that Gracie was investigating. "Kurda, you know how often I hear people say Gracie's going to turn out just like me?" he was speaking even more quietly now, and not for the first time Kurda wished he'd just yell instead.
"All the time." Kurda sighed.
"And you know what I tell them? I hope she takes after Kurda."
Those words hung there in the air for a few minutes, like fog on a cold morning.
"…You're lying."
"Why would I lie? I know she looks up to both of us. And I keep that in mind every second of every day. But if I had to pick one… I'd want her to be like you. Not me."
This time Mika didn't stop to watch that comment sink in. He no longer seemed able to meet Kurda's eyes as he turned his back and carried on his way.
Reeling with guilt, Kurda picked up Gracie and the two of them headed in the other direction. It wasn't until he got back to his room that he realized Mika had never addressed the question - do you still love her?
LATER THAT NIGHT
The argument weighed heavily on Kurda's mind, but with a week til the Festival of the Undead he didn't have time to dwell on it. That turned out to be a blessing; he poured his energy into his to-do list and completed it in record time. Mostly it was stuff Gracie could "help" him with. Inventory, overseeing last-minute renovation tweaks, and of course drafting polished copies of his many lists of talking points he'd need to present throughout council.
The final thing on his list was to assess an overflow pool in the Hall of Perta Vin-Grahl. Kurda himself wasn't a building expert, but he was the one who knew how to draw a blueprint rendering of the source of the issue and pass that along to the foremen. Rather than bring Gracie on a trip to the chilly cavern that could potentially be full of nude vampires, Kurda dropped her off in the Hall of Princes for some grandpa time. Seba and Paris were sitting around socializing with a bunch of old friends, and they were only too delighted to to show off "their" honourary grandchild.
Kurda slipped down to make quick work of his task. He could hear chatter as he approached; sounded like there were at least half a dozen vampires in the main bathing pool. Nothing like taking an ice-cold bath with all of your closest friends. He was pretty sure he heard Mika's voice among them, so he took the long way around to stay out of sight.
It didn't take him long to locate the overflow pool in question. It would probably need to be widened, but the foreman could be the one to make that call once Kurda presented a visual display of the logistics it would require. And although peace ventures would always be Kurda's ultimate passion, he thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of taking a real place and bringing it to life on paper. It took about an hour, and as he walked back to the main cavern he realized the chatter of voices had ceased. Assuming all of the bathers had moved on, Kurda bypassed the detour tunnel he'd taken on the trip down.
But before he turned the corner to access the main bathing hall, he realized he was wrong. There were still two vampires in the cavern, but they were talking so quietly he hadn't heard them over the waterfall. It wasn't difficult to decipher their identities once he got close enough. He was right, Mika had indeed been among the group. As was Arra.
Kurda froze and stayed out of sight. It was freezing down here, surely they'd move on soon.
"He really hasn't kept in touch with you?" He heard Mika say in an undertone. Kurda's heard sank all over again. He knew exactly who Mika was referring to.
"Not a word since we went our separate ways." Arra replied. Kurda couldn't see her, but he could hear the bitterness. "I reached for him through our mental link about a decade ago. He said he was alive and healthy, and he wished me well. That's all I got."
"You know I could always pull his location from the Stone of -" Mika began to offer, but Arra cut him off as sharply as the steel daggers she favoured.
"What, so I could stalk him to wherever he's hiding and throw myself in his arms like a lovesick schoolgirl? Who the hell do you think I am, Mika?"
Weary sigh from Mika, then he put the matter to rest. "It's an option. That's all I'm saying."
Kurda didn't hear anything else and wondered if they'd left. He moved back down the wall a few feet where there was a thin, natural fracture in the towering stone wall. He couldn't get a clear view, but it was the only way to check without being seen. He truly didn't want to eavesdrop, and was horrified by idea of either of them thinking he was eavesdropping.
They were both still there, sitting side-by-side on the edge of the main bathing pool with their feet in the water. Neither had gotten dressed, but both were wrapped in towels. Kurda couldn't help but notice Arra had one of Mika's personal nice towels, as opposed to the ragged grey ones provided for guests.
Arra was staring into the water with a harsh, resentful look in her eyes. Her expression reminded Kurda of how Mika always used to look, before Kurda got to know him. Ironically, present-day Mika looked quite placid as he sat gazing around at the waterfalls. He seemed to be there for no reason besides quiet solidarity, since Arra was clearly working through some stuff. Whether that stuff were a result of Kurda's earlier comment or simply exacerbated by it, Kurda felt like a world-class dick.
"Did you ever find out why he retreated from the clan after declining his investiture nomination?" Arra inquired eventually. Her tone was clipped and composed again, but forcedly so. She half-glanced at Mika, but not enough to meet his eyes.
"No." Mika responded. Both the word and his face were completely neutral.
"Do you really not know, or are you not allowed to tell me?" Arra pressed, raising one eyebrow at Mika like she figured he knew more than he was letting on. Mika shot her a funny look; a mixture of sympathy and disappointment that she'd doubted him.
"If I knew, I'd tell you. Even if I wasn't supposed to." Said Mika quietly.
"Between Seba, Vancha, and Gavner, surely one of them knows." Arra pressed.
"If they do, they haven't spoken of it. And although I'm curious, I respect Larten's privacy so I've never asked. I always assumed you knew." Mika tilted his head to the side and cocked an eyebrow, mirroring the skeptical look on her face.
"I don't." Said Arra flatly.
Silence again.
"I looked for his name on the guest record in the access tunnel when I arrived. I know he isn't here yet, but there's still time." Arra's voice had changed again. There was something different in her eyes, too. She was still looking at Mika, but not in the same skeptical, sideways manner as before. It was hope.
Mika's face shifted almost imperceptibly, and his shoulders sagged. Whatever he was going to say next, it wasn't going to be what Arra wanted to hear.
"I've never sought Larten's location specifically, but I did use the Stone to check on the last dozen vampires we're waiting on before the Festival starts. He wasn't one of them." Said Mika, a little hesitantly. Arra didn't respond, and he added, "I don't think he's coming to Council this year. I'm so sorry, Arra -"
"Larten isn't your responsibility. Don't apologize to me." She snapped before the words were fully out of Mika's mouth.
"It's about time someone apologized to you." Mika fired back, as if he was challenging her. "And I don't think it's going to be him."
"It doesn't matter! I've moved past it. If I want you to pinpoint him in the Stone, I'll ask. But until then… forget about it."
"So you want me mind my business while I watch your heart break in slow motion every twelve years when he doesn't show up for Council again?" Mika was trying to sound sarcastic, but the hitch in his voice exposed the emotion underneath.
"It's not like that!"
"Lie to me all you want. We both remember the night you showed up here after he ended it. At least be honest with yourself. You deserve that much."
Mika's words hung in the chilly air for what felt like an eternity. Arra seemed to crumble from the inside. She leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees and forehead in her hands.
The silence that followed was so heavy, Kurda could feel it through the wall and he wished with every fibre of his being he'd never come down here. And then he heard a sound so surreal it took him a second to identify it. Arra was crying. Even in tears she sounded angry. But more than that, there was genuine heartbreak in her sobs, amplified painfully by the way it echoed off the cavern walls.
"Gods, Arra… I'm sorry." Mika sighed. "I'm so fucking sorry."
"I wouldn't have done that to him!" Arra croaked. And if Kurda hadn't known there were only two other people in this cavern besides him, he wouldn't have believed the words came from her. She was completely vulnerable in devastation. And as much as Kurda resented her, it hurt to listen to. Nobody deserved that.
She continued weeping into her hands as Mika visibly winced at the sound. That was the thing about Mika. He didn't just look tough, he was tough. He had to be. But in Kurda's experience, the sound of someone crying was enough to unravel that stony facade. Kurda had witnessed it time and time again as Gracie grew up. And he'd experienced it personally, a few times now. Whenever Kurda fell apart he could practically see Mika's brain short-circuiting. And right now with Arra was no exception.
Mika put his arm around her. He moved tentatively, as though expecting her to slap his hand away, or bite it or something. A reaction that would make sense, given how similar they were. But she didn't reject his touch. He left the limb draped around her shoulders as she leaned defeatedly into his side. Mika was offering whispered words of comfort that Kurda could've picked up if he really listened. But he felt no desire to eavesdrop any further than he already had (albeit accidentally), so he prayed this would be over soon.
The vampire gods seemed to hear his prayers, because at last he heard Mika murmur,
"Hey, I'm supposed to be at a conference in about half an hour. But I'll skip it if you want. Just say the word."
"Why would you skip it?" Arra scoffed, abruptly looking up to glare at him. Her voice was hoarse and strained from crying but she was already putting her tough front back up.
"I don't need to be there. Arrow's running it. I was only going for support. But if you wanted to just sit here a bit longer…"
"I don't. I've already wasted enough time feeling sorry for myself."
"Fair enough. We can still go down to the bars later. I'll have Gracie with me so I won't be able to spar with you. But we can catch up while you practice."
Arra sighed again. Lot of sighing happening here tonight.
Difficult as she was to deal with, Arra was easy to figure out. Because Kurda already had Mika figured out, and he was the blueprint. Mika and Arra shared a vicious competitive streak, and intelligence so shrewd they'd practically weaponized it. Both terrified of showing weakness. They were actually more similar in mannerism than Kurda had even realized til now.
"You really love that human, don't you?" Said Arra.
"I go into withdrawal if we're separated for more than an hour." Mika chuckled. He posed it as a joke, but Kurda knew it was kind of partially true.
"Always thought you hated kids." Arra sniffed, more derisively then Kurda thought was necessary. But Mika's response was rock-solid, and so swift he must've had it locked and loaded in case this exact topic came up:
"She's not kids. She's my kid."
Arra rolled her eyes, but she smiled up at Mika and patted his leg affectionately.
"As long as you're happy. I still can't believe you picked one that looks exactly like Smahlt, though."
And just for a second, Kurda's guilt vanished as he glared from behind the stone wall. But Mika had a comeback for that one too. And Kurda realized then and there that Mika truly did take Arra at face-value. He loved her as a friend (at the very least) and he respected her as a colleague. But he wasn't blind or deaf. He heard her chilly reproach and he didn't like it any more than Kurda did. But he knew exactly how to handle her.
"Wow, you're right. I should've dumped her off at the roach-infested orphanage because our hair doesn't match. I really didn't think that one through." Mika deadpanned, his face as impassive as the stone walls around him.
When you really know someone, you can set a boundary without directly saying it. Arra bumped his shoulder with her own and chuckled ruefully.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to make light of it. You're doing an honourable thing. As always, I admire your dedication. But come on, Mika. Kurda Smahlt? I remember when you couldn't even sit in on the same meetings as him. How did that turn into this?"
"Kurda and I got stuck in an impossible situation. Both of us had ample opportunity on that mission to make better decisions than we did, which would've resulted in intercepting the mad vampaneze sooner. We never should've met Gracie. Kurda blames himself as much as I do. That's all we've ever had in common, but it was all we needed."
Despite the stone wall that separated them, Kurda could hear Arra's mental gears turning as she tried to come up with another angle from which to continue her anti-Kurda tirade. And it seemed Mika heard it too, because he cut her off before she even got started.
"Arra, you're family to me. Always have been. But I need you to understand Kurda's isn't going anywhere. I can't force you to respect him. But unless you're engaging in a mutually consensual combat challenge, I'd better not ever hear you threaten him again." Mika added. His tone was deadly serious and Kurda felt a stir of emotion deep in his chest.
"I don't not respect him." Arra forced out through gritted teeth. "The fact that he's survived this long is impressive. I'll give him that. I didn't even think he'd survive his Generalship training, never mind make it this far."
"Me neither, honestly." Said Mika.
Dick, thought Kurda.
"But I'm glad he did. He can be a little righteous, but when it all comes down to it, he… he's good for us. The clan, I mean." Mika added, taking Kurda by surprise.
Arra nodded slowly, absorbing all that. Kurda felt a prickle of foreboding at the shrewd curiosity in her eyes.
"Listen, Mika. I have to ask -"
"Oh gods, what now?"
"Is there… something… going on between you and Smahlt?"
The silence was deafening. Kurda was certain his pounding heart was about to give his location away. How could they not hear it beating? More importantly, why was it beating that hard?
"We're raising an orphaned human together, as I've mentioned several times now. Does that count as something?" Said Mika at last. And there it was, that cool, guarded edge to his voice that always came out when someone tried to get too personal. He was regarding her out of the corner of his eye like he was trying to gauge her intentions.
"Don't dodge the question." Arra pressed, making her intention excruciatingly obvious."You know what I mean!"
"Of course I know what you mean. And I can confidently assure you there's nothing going on between Kurda and I. But I'd love to know why you felt the need to ask." If Mika felt a shred of embarrassment over her line of questioning, he didn't show it.
"Well, clearly you're close. You spend a lot of time together."
"And? I'm close to Arrow. Do you think I have something going on with him too?"
"Gods, no. That wouldn't even make sense."
"Then why Kurda?" Mika pressed. Kurda didn't know if he himself wanted the answer to that, but Mika sure did.
Arra huffed in exasperation, eyes rolling like Mika was being dense on purpose.
"You just seem different. When he walked into the room, your eyes just… changed. Fuck, Mika. I've never seen you look at anyone like that. I don't know how to explain it."
Kurda frowned. Since when did Mika look at him differently than anyone else?
"I love Gracie more than I've ever loved anything. Kurda's the only one who gets it, because he's in it with me. You can't be surprised that I've moved past picking fights every time he opens his mouth." Mika explained bluntly. "Obviously we're close. It's… it's a different kind of friendship, and I never saw it coming. But Gracie is all we share."
Silence again. The longest one yet. Arra broke it eventually:
"Well. Thank the gods for that."
Kurda was sure that was the end of it. No doubt Mika would be eager to steer the conversation into smoother waters. Or any other waters. The last thing Kurda expected was for Mika to add as a weighted afterthought:
"But if there was more than that… would you have at least pretended to be happy for me? Hypothetically?"
Kurda didn't know what to make of the quiet reservation in his voice. Was it… disappointment? Hurt? No way. That wouldn't be very Mika. Kurda chalked it up to the stress of the council preparations getting to him. No doubt Mika was concerned he'd inadvertently given the general public a reason to suspect there was something between him and Kurda. Please. As if anyone in their right mind would draw that conclusion.
"If it meant you were happy, I wouldn't have to pretend. Even if it was Smahlt. Hypothetically." Said Arra. Her voice was clipped, and Kurda figured she maybe half meant it. Not that it mattered either way. She managed a thin smile and elbowed Mika in the ribs.
"I appreciate that. Hypothetically." Said Mika. He smiled too as he elbowing her back. But he did it far more gently than she'd done it to him. Kurda watched him inhale, pause for a moment like he was deciding whether or not to speak, and finally add: "And I shouldn't have to tell you this, but in case you had any doubt… just because my life looks different now, doesn't mean there's less room in it for you."
Kurda exhaled slowly. It all made sense now. In Arra's world, Mika was family and Kurda was the intruder that slipped into her place when she wasn't looking. And even though it really wasn't like that, Kurda knew he couldn't blame her. Not after his irrational resentment earlier that day upon seeing Arra taking up a space he felt was rightfully his. Arra would rather die than admit to feeling a shred of jealousy over Kurda. And Kurda had to admit the feeling was mutual. Luckily they could both maintain plausible deniability, because Mika had figured it out on his own.
Evidently Mika's comment rang a little too true for her liking. Arra abruptly disengaged from the half-embrace and stood up, adding a very tactful fake-gagging sound effect as she did so.
"Gross. You really have gone soft. Time to go." Arra scoffed. But she held out a hand to Mika. He took it, and let out a contented laugh as he stood up.
"Lead the way, General Sails."
Kurda's mind was spinning faster than ever as he made quick tracks back up to the main part of the mountain. He thanked the gods he didn't run into either Mika or Arra on route as he picked Gracie up and ushered her off to supper.
The hours passed, and Kurda wished he hadn't covered his to-do list so quickly. He needed a distraction more than ever. Luckily Gracie had some excess energy to burn off, so Kurda engaged her in a game of tag. They had lots of space within their three-cavern suite for Gracie to sprint at top speed while Kurda jogged earnestly and pretended to pant from exertion.
Suddenly he heard Mika's voice in his head, and he jumped in alarm.
MVL: Heads up - I think my meeting is gonna run long.
KS: That's fine. Want me to just keep Gracie?
MVL: I haven't seen her all day. Can you bring her down to the Hall of Baker Wrent in an hour?
KS: Of course.
Mika withdrew without responding. Normally he still sounded even blunter telepathically than he did speaking out loud, but this was cold even for him. After the conversation he'd overheard, Kurda no longer blamed Mika for being on edge where Arra was concerned. But because he'd also heard Mika blatantly defend his name despite not having the slightest idea Kurda was listening, Kurda wasn't bothered by Mika's cold front. He just wanted to put it behind them forever.
As promised, Kurda showed up in the Hall of Baker Wrent an hour after his brief conversation with Mika. He already knew Mika had plans to spend time with Arra, and sure enough she was there. But unfortunately Mika wasn't. And Kurda wasn't about to dump Gracie on Arra and leave. She was busy stretching when Kurda walked in, and didn't bother looking up.
"If you're looking for Mika, he's running late." She grunted as he approached.
"I know. He asked me to meet him down here, to save some time. Once he shows up I'll hand Gracie over and be out of your hair."
"Hmm. Surprised you know where the sporting halls are."
"Took me three maps and two hours to find the place, actually." Kurda deadpanned. As if they hadn't spent years training alongside each other. Like all Generals, they'd logged hundreds if not thousands of hours in these rooms preparing for the demanding career ahead of them. Kurda knew every nook and cranny of the sporting halls. Not to mention he'd personally designed and overseen the renovation of the very bar system Arra was currently climbing.
"Maybe if you looked up from your drawings every now and then, you wouldn't need them to find your way around." Arra retorted, peering haughtily down at him from her perch.
Charna's fucking guts, Kurda almost caused a scene all right then and there. For one split second all he wanted to do was tell Arra he'd overheard every word of her intimate conversation with Mika. It was one thing for Mika to see her vulnerable; they were close. But if she knew Kurda witnessed it too? She'd never recover from that. Kurda had the bullet loaded in the chamber. And against his better judgment, his finger was on the trigger. How often did the universe give him so much as a shred of advantage over Arra, in anything?
And then, like a baby bird on a warm spring day, he heard Gracie pipe up:
"Hi Auntie Arra!"
Her voice was pure and earnest, alive with the childhood innocence that would inevitably expire one day, because that's how life works. Kurda looked down at her. One of her hands was holding Kurda's and the other was waving at Arra. She was practically bouncing with excitement. And suddenly all Kurda could hear was Mika's voice in his head: You know how often I hear people say Gracie's going to turn out just like me? And you know what I tell them? 'I hope she takes after Kurda'.
Kurda knew his long-standing quarrels with Arra wouldn't, couldn't, and shouldn't be resolved here in the Hall of Baker Wrent tonight. He'd accepted long ago that her opinion of him was set in stone, and he'd sort of taken that as twisted compliment. But it wasn't just Kurda versus Arra anymore. It wasn't his job to wage the futile war for which the prize was maybe a scrap of her respect. Kurda's only job now was to blaze a trail he was proud to have his daughter follow.
Kurda bent down and picked Gracie up so she could have a better view of Arra. He didn't plan on making a habit of letting Gracie witness displays of ritual vampire combat, ever. But Arra was alone up there, which meant she wasn't bludgeoning anyone with her staff. When you take out the bludgeoning aspect, bar work almost looked like dancing.
"What do you think of the height differences on the parallels in the new section?" Kurda inquired unassumingly, gesturing to the portion of the bar setup that looked noticeably less worn than the rest.
"At first glance I thought it was a waste of space and they should've left the old one where it was." Arra replied, tactful as ever. Kurda started to roll his eyes, only to realize she wasn't finished. "But I'm actually impressed with it. The angle makes the height difference a lot more challenging than I expected. It's hard to tell til you're actually up here. Whoever designed it knew what they were doing."
"Thanks for the feedback. I figured you'd appreciate a fresh challenge." Said Kurda, a smile creeping across his face.
Arra stopped dead, her shrewd eyes boring into his soul from all the way up there. "This was you?!"
"Don't look so surprised, General Sails. You're the one who said I draw too many pictures. I may not be much help in the heavy lifting department, but all of our remodels started as pictures."
Arra continued to survey him for a moment more, then she granted him a curt nod of acceptance. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. You've always had an eye for this sort of thing." She said. "Maybe that's why they've kept you around this long."
"I think I heard a compliment in there. Thank you." Said Kurda. He paused, inhaled, and held it for a second as he decided whether he should go there. And then he went there: "And in case you were wondering, I have some regrets about how I acted earlier. Specifically regarding -"
"I wasn't wondering." Arra cut him off coldly before the words were even out of Kurda's mouth.
"Well, I'm sorry regardless."
"Noted." Said Arra. But she gave him a curt nod, which Kurda mirrored. A silent truce had been declared.
Arra resumed training. She was about twenty feet up now. Kurda shifted his attention back to Gracie, only to see her sights were locked on on Arra with profound fascination.
"Does that look fun, Honey Bee?" Kurda asked, ruffling Gracie's bright golden locks with his hand.
"Me too?" Gracie demanded, nodding and pointing at the bars.
"Let Auntie Arra have her turn. Watch her closely. She's the best bar master in the whole clan." Kurda told Gracie seriously. He didn't pay any attention to Arra, but she stopped in her tracks for the second time in a row and glared at him as he knew she would.
"Do you have something to say to me, Smahlt?" She growled. "Or are you whispering in her ear about how if she reads lots of books and stays in school, she won't have to worry about turning out like me?"
"Your ears must not be as sharp as you think. I was telling her she could learn a lot from watching you." Kurda countered calmly.
Arra frowned, narrowing her eyes at Kurda like she was trying to find something to criticize. But there was nothing. Kurda meant what he said. Arra's gaze shifted to Gracie, and she managed a tentative smile at Gracie's obvious fascination.
"It's all about balance and core strength." Said Arra, directly addressing Gracie for the first time. "Anything you can do on the ground, you can do on the bars. Be aware of your feet and trust your instincts."
Gracie nodded up at her with wide eyes, listening with rapt attention like she was absorbing every word. Meanwhile Arra resumed her warmup session once again. Kurda couldn't help but notice her movements seemed more fluid than before, as though her brief interaction with Gracie had released some Kurda-induced tension.
"Me too." Gracie repeated more urgently, looking at Kurda then pointing at the bars. On an impulse, Kurda lifted her up to the lowest bar and sat her upon it, eye-level with him. She dangled her feet contentedly while Kurda hovered with both arms outstretched in case she took a tumble.
For a while, Gracie was happy to just sit there and take in the view from six feet up. Kurda figured that would be enough to satisfy her itch for adventure, at least for tonight. But then without warning she tried to stand up. In Kurda's opinion she was more coordinated than average for her age range. But with that's not saying much, because there's actually no such thing as a coordinated toddler. She promptly fell off the bar and into Kurda's arms. Despite the soft landing, she still began to cry from the shock of it all.
"Hey, hey…. it's okay… I got you." Kurda patiently consoled her, rubbing her back while she clung to him and bawled into his neck.
The sound caught Arra's attention. Kurda cringed internally as she halted her workout yet again. She began to nimbly make her way down to the lower levels til her feet were back on the floor. Kurda braced himself for a scolding, and this time she wouldn't have been completely out of line. It was common courtesy in the sporting halls for spectators to be quiet while someone was warming up on the higher levels, lest a distraction cause them to slip and fall.
"I'm sorry, Arra. I didn't mean to distract you. Honestly." Kurda grimaced. "I shouldn't have put her up there. We'll just go sit in the armoury til Mika gets here."
But Arra wasn't even looking at him. She was watching Gracie with something that looked almost like empathy. Almost.
"She hurt?" Arra asked.
"No. Just scared herself." Kurda sighed. And not in a million years would he have been able to guess what Arra's next move would be. Almost hesitantly she reached out and lightly patted Gracie's trembling shoulder.
"Hey. Chin up, little princess. There's no crying in Vampire Mountain." Arra's words were as gruff as you'd expect, but there was a new softness in her voice. It didn't even occur to Kurda to say "Actually, she can cry wherever she damn well pleases. I'm making a point of not letting her end up emotionally repressed like her other dad". Because even though Kurda could tell Arra had no earthly clue how to interact with this child, she was trying. That was worth something.
Gracie shifted around in Kurda's arms to get a better look. Her eyes widened in surprise when she realized Aunt Arra herself had climbed all the way down here just to check in.
"You had a fall. It happens. You'll never get better if you waste time feeling sorry for yourself." Said Arra. Her facial expression was still mostly serious, but there was an awkward little smile starting to form. Gracie stopped crying, apparently too astonished to stare and whimper at the same time. "Did you like being up on the bars?" Arra added.
"Mmhm." Gracie affirmed, with minimal hesitation.
"It's peaceful, isn't it? You can see everything from up there. As if you're on top of the world." Said Arra. She was gently wiping the tears from Gracie's cheek now, and Gracie was nodding along, hanging onto every word Arra was saying.
"Not bad for your first try, hmm?" Kurda added, bouncing Gracie in his arms a little. That always got a smile out of her, and this time was no exception. "Maybe if we sit quietly and let Aunt Arra get back to work, she'll show you some of her moves."
Then Arra glanced up at Kurda, eyebrow arched and eyes glinting with excitement.
"No legendary bar master has ever progressed by watching from the floor, Smahlt."
Mika was walking faster than he'd ever walked in his life, because he was running even later expected. Kurda and Arra were almost certainly in the same room waiting for him at this very second, and he couldn't help but feel a chill of foreboding. Despite the clear boundaries he'd laid down with both of them, he didn't expect for it to make a hell of a lot of difference. He figured cold civility between them was the absolute best case scenario he could possibly hope for. And the worst case scenario? He didn't know what that looked like but he hoped to the gods it wasn't waiting for him in the Hall of Baker Wrent.
He paused at the door and took a deep breath. He didn't hear any arguing. Maybe they'd already killed each other. That would probably be the worst case scenario. When Mika eased the door open, he realized he'd been totally wrong about what the best case scenario could look like. Now he knew. It looked like this:
Kurda was standing on the floor, about eye-level with the lowest of the bars. Arra was up on the same bar, perched like a cat. And there was Gracie in the middle of it all, standing upright on the narrow strip of wood like a balance beam, arms outstretched, making her way towards Arra who was coaching her eagerly. Kurda was spotting her from the floor, at the ready in case she slipped. Gracie was moving carefully, placing one foot in front of the other with deliberate accuracy and blazing determination in her eyes.
"Don't look at your feet! You're going forwards, not down." Arra instructed Gracie when she glanced down for a moment. "Breathe deeply, but don't hold it in. And straighten your back! Engage your core muscles -"
"She doesn't have core muscles. She's not even three." Kurda chided her. But he was beaming, and Arra laughed at his remark. A true laugh. No sarcasm, no derision. It sounded like a bubbling stream on a summer evening.
"Of course she does. Look how she moves! She walks like she owns the place." Said Arra as she proudly watched Gracie work her way along the bar.
Mika was standing in the doorway now with his jaw on the floor. The others still had no idea he'd arrived, but he didn't mind at all. He didn't have to be directly involved for this moment to be perfect.
Then Gracie faltered, arms pinwheeling as she tried to regain her balance. All the way across the room, Mika heard Kurda gasp as he prepared to catch her. Gracie let out a small yelp of alarm, but Arra didn't miss a beat.
"You're fine. Trust yourself. Pause and find your centre again." Arra coached her. She spoke as briskly as always, but with a level of patience Mika hadn't believed she was capable of until now.
Gracie teetered back and forth for a moment longer, but she heeded Arra's words to the letter and within seconds she'd steadied herself. Even after recovering her balance she looked visibly shaken.
"You can get down any time you want." Kurda chipped in from below. "You've been so brave! It's okay to stop if you've had enough."
Arra rolled her eyes ever so slightly at Kurda's earnest caution. Gracie looked at Kurda, taking that into consideration. Then she glanced over at Arra who was still perched on the bar a few feet away. Mika cringed in apprehension, knowing exactly what Arra would've said to a trainee vampire in this position because he'd heard her say it at least a dozen times while tutoring: "Either piss or get off the pot, I don't have all night!"
But she didn't say that. Arra met Gracie's questioning look with calm reassurance, and Mika internally kicked himself for ever doubting her.
"It's up to you. You're in control here." Arra told Gracie, voice low and steady. "Not me. Not your dad. This is all you."
Gracie's face cracked into a fierce grin as her eyes lit up with determination once more. And she practically ran the last few steps along the bar into Arra's waiting arms.
There followed a moment of celebration in which all three of them were laughing and cheering as though Gracie had just broken a world record as opposed to simply walking across a piece of wood. Arra embraced her for a second, then gently lowered her into Kurda's waiting arms. Then she sat down comfortably on the bar and watched as Gracie hugged Kurda around the neck, asking him if he'd been watching. As if he'd even blinked while she was up there. Mika didn't know he could feel so much at once.
"What am I looking at right now?" He inquired as he approached. He was so stunned by disbelief it took a moment to get the words out. "Did you both get into Vancha's mushroom stash?"
"Gods, about time you showed up." Kurda greeted him, grinning ruefully. His face was still flushed with secondhand excitement from Gracie's accomplishment, and he only seemed to glow more brightly the moment he saw Mika.
"Daddy! I walk on the bar!" Gracie chirped, still bouncing from excitement in Kurda's arms as she pointed at the wooden apparatus she'd conquered.
"I saw you. Very impressive." Said Mika, ruffling her hair fondly as he drew even with them. "Can you teach me how to do that?"
"I seem to recall you being beyond help as far as the bars are concerned." Arra
smirked at Mika from upon her perch.
"Auntie Arra say you need a core muscle." Gracie informed Mika earnestly, before he could even utter a retort for Arra.
"She listens better than most of the cubs I've tutored." Said Arra, gesturing to Gracie.
"She had a top-tier teacher." Kurda added ruefully, shooting Arra a meaningful glance. She rolled her eyes and scoffed, but without any of her usual abrasion.
"All I did was give her a few pointers on form." Said Arra with a shrug. "She moves with confidence that can't be taught. I take no credit for that part. She knew you'd catch her if she fell."
"Well, she's glad you're here anyway." Said Kurda. He smiled at Gracie and gently brushing a lock of golden hair out of her eyes.
"Damn. I didn't think I was running that late. Honestly, are you both high? You can tell me. It'd explain a lot." Mika remarked, eyebrows raised. He kept glancing warily back and forth between Arra and Kurda, growing more bewildered by the second as he tried to figure out exactly what had shifted between them, and when. And how he'd somehow missed it. But they merely rolled their eyes, this time at him rather than each other.
"You used to tell me what's yours was mine." Said Arra wryly. As she spoke the word yours, she nodded in the direction of Kurda and Gracie. The gesture was so subtle, Mika doubted Kurda even picked up on it. But it told Mika everything he needed to know.
"Well. You've got me there." He managed at last. Flabbergasted didn't even begin to cover it.
Arra set out to resume her practice session once more, ascending back up the bars. Kurda rolled his eyes and handed Gracie over. Mika made a point of catching his eye and whispering "Thank you." He meant it with every fibre of his being.
"You're welcome." Said Kurda simply. He held Mika's gaze for a second or two, and for that sliver of time, the rest of the world went quiet. While Arra was practicing some intricate maneuver up on one of the higher tiers, Mika took advantage of her distraction to touch Kurda's forearm lightly and add in an undertone,
"Kurda, I owe you an apology. You were right, I am protective of her. But she doesn't need it, and you didn't deserve professional consequences for a personal dispute. I take it all back. We can talk about it later, but I hope to see you at the diplomacy session tomorrow." Mika knew the discreetly muttered apology wasn't enough. But it was a step back in the right direction.
"It's okay. We don't have to talk about it. Ever again. It wasn't a shining moment for anyone involved." Kurda grimaced for a moment before smiling slyly and elbowing Mika in the ribs. "But just for the record, I had no intention of skipping that session. Direct orders or not."
Maybe it was the new torches blazing on the walls, but Mika couldn't help but be drawn in by the benevolently mischievous gleam in Kurda's eyes. Only for a second, then he realized he was staring. Mika sighed, rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair carelessly, trying to save face. "Probably for the best. The session would've lasted fifteen minutes at the absolute most without you there to present the information."
Kurda raised an eyebrow. "I know. That's why I was going to show up regardless."
Gods, you're so much better than me. How are you so good? Mika heard his own internal commentary whisper as he stood there, silently reaching for the right words to convey that notion without actually saying it.
"I'd be so fucked without you." Was what his external commentary eventually came up with.
"Language!" Kurda fired back, pointedly cupping his hands around Gracie's ears.
"Sorry. My life would be such a shit show without you."
"Mika."
"I can't help it! You make it too easy. Now get out of here." Mika chuckled, rolling his eyes and lightly bumping Kurda's shoulder with his own.
"Bye, Daddy!" Gracie added.
"Bye, Gracie. I'm so proud of you." Kurda leaned in to kiss her forehead, then turned towards the door. Mika watched him go, and he was still watching when Kurda paused and turned back around. "Oh, Mika? One more thing."
"Mmhm?"
"Next time we run out of things to talk about… I'm willing to circle back to the topic of designating a middle name." Said Kurda after the slightest hesitation, smiling sheepishly. "No promises, but this time I'll let you finish stating your case before I decide whether or not to shoot it down."
Mika didn't respond. He quite literally couldn't. His throat was closing up, but in a way that didn't hurt. He blinked a couple times as he gawked back at Kurda, trying to pull some cohesive words from the crevices of brain so he might come close to articulating how much this meant to him. But he was spared for the time being, because Arra's sharp voice broke his concentration. Not a moment too soon.
"Leaving already, Smahlt? Care for a practice round before you lock yourself back in the art studio?" Arra hollered from up on the bars. "You designed them, after all. Have you even tried them yourself yet?"
"I'm alright. Thanks for thinking of me." Kurda called back. But to Mika's total astonishment, he added - "But if you need a partner, I'm willing to stand on the floor and cover Gracie's eyes while you knock Mika down a few pegs."
Arra let out a sharp laugh. "Please. I could do that with my eyes covered."
"It's not as if I've set three different swordsmanship score records or anything. No, I'm completely helpless. Thank you for reminding me." Mika scoffed. But he was grinning as he passed Gracie back to Kurda and climbed up to meet Arra face-to-face.
Mika didn't actually have time for any of this. His plan had been to sit on the bench and edit some pre-documents while idly chatting with Arra as she practiced. But one round turned into two, turned into three. Mika lost track of time and the score. He was a top-tier warrior after over two centuries spent training to within an inch of his life on every sport in this mountain and then some. But on the bars? Arra was untouchable. And contradictory to his ruthless competitive streak, Mika had no desire to outdo her.
They went for ten rounds, and Arra beat him every single time. But there were a few moments where Mika almost toppled the Queen of the Bars from her throne. And in those fleeting moments when victory was in his grasp, he could hear Kurda cheering for him on the ground.
And even though Arra swept the scoreboard without mercy, Mika still felt like he won.
Dedicated to F.