More schedule movement at work, with even more likely coming before the end of the year. At the same time, we're being moved to a new office at work in the next few weeks. And by that, I mean we're losing our nice office for a fancy trailer so they can put a bunch of software people in our current building. Going from my fantastic spot in the corner away from foot traffic to a seat right by the front door of the new place, as well as the bathroom. Think I might speed up my plans to apply for management just so I can get an office.
On a completely unrelated note, a good vtuber streamer friend of mine has started a GoFundMe to raise money to be able to pursue training in pathology to begin a new career that will better suit her physical/medical needs. I'll be putting the information in my profile page if anyone is interested. She's also celebrating her birthday this month on Twitch with daily streams. To help incentivize her fundraiser, I've told her that when we get to $10k, I will do something I am sure to regret...learning to dance The Floss (which I despise) and perform it live on stream. I'd love if any of you can chip in even a little and spread the word so we can help this amazing person start a new chapter in life.
Speaking of chapters, on with Scarred Steps! See what I did there?
Talk about awkward.
Agreeing to let Raven and her bandits have first access to the supplies made sense. No matter how Adam wanted to spin it, they were at a disadvantage here. The bunker was designed specifically to keep things inside, meaning there was only one way in or out. If the White Fang had gone in first and the bandits changed their mind on playing nice, Adam and his forces would be trapped trying to fight through a narrow chokepoint up a ramp. Every tactical advantage would be on the bandits' side. On the other hand, if Adam tried the same underhanded trick while the bandits were inside, Raven could and very likely would break through their line and kill them all. She held all the cards here. Agreeing to a temporary truce while her men claimed the majority of the goods made perfect sense.
Unfortunately, that left Adam with nothing to do but wait his turn. Raven had sent for the rest of her men outside the walls, which meant it was only a matter of time before some of the rear guard of their own forces showed up as well. He didn't even have orders to give. The prisoners of Paulownia were already being gathered in a single building not far from the depot. A skeleton crew of White Fang now manned the wall in case of Grimm or a counterattack. All in all, everything had gone smoothly after the initial attack and Adam's run-in with Rauch.
Which meant all he could do was stand around, trying not to crash as his adrenaline petered out. Worse, Blake refused to talk to him for some reason, cutting off his best lifeline. Things only became more awkward when Raven suddenly reappeared after only a minute or two. Adam almost wished she'd come over and talk - a chat between two leaders - if only to pass the time. Instead, she leaned against the remains of the depot entrance and watched them from a distance.
At least, he assumed she was watching them. Hard to tell with her mask back on. For all he knew, she'd fallen asleep. He wouldn't be the one to test that theory. She'd probably come up specifically to make sure they didn't try to double-cross her.
After an excruciatingly long wait, one of her men emerged from below, quietly giving a report before hurrying back into the dark. Raven strutted forward, making it clear she wanted to talk.
She stopped halfway.
Adam bit back a snarl as he made his way over, knowing he didn't have the luxury of a fully concealed face like she did. He'd bet every lien to his name that she was smirking as he approached. Why come all the way when she can force him to meet her halfway? Like a dog called by its master, Adam begrudgingly obeyed, joining her in the open between the depot and his forces.
"We're nearly done here," Raven said, uncaring for the dangerous terrorist before her. And why should she be? They both knew how a fight between them would end. "You'll find your share of the loot waiting for you, as promised."
"One third?"
"You don't trust me?" She tried to sound offended, but there was no hiding the mocking laughter in her voice.
Not in the slightest, but he wasn't interested in poking the Ursa. "I don't trust your men." Bloodthirsty savages who lived only to indulge in depravity. Theft would be a pretty minor thing to people who determined their leadership by killing off the competition.
"Trust that they wouldn't disobey me." Because the only thing more violent and vicious than a bandit was their leader. Raven ruled with an iron fist. Crossing her would almost certainly be the last thing anyone would ever do. "A strong leader commands absolute obedience. You'd do well to remember that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means what it means." Great. Riddles. He loved those. "But yes, one third of the depot is yours. Consider it a gift. Unless you were hoping for more." The dangerous edge to her voice told him a third would be more than enough. "You could always challenge me. Defeat me and claim my share."
A fool's errand, and she knew it. Worse, she'd made sure to say it loud enough for everyone nearby to hear. A final bit of flexing at his expense. Accept and she'd kill him. Refuse and he looked weak.
Adam opted for a third option. "Enough blood's been shed today." His didn't need to be added to it.
"A pity." Raven sounded disappointed at his refusal. "Some of my men actually thought you might give me a challenge. I would've enjoyed freeing them of that ridiculous notion."
As much as he hated to ask, he couldn't help himself. "Then why didn't you?"
Bandits quite literally lived and died on their reputation. The weak die. The strong live. Raven sat on top of it all because she was the strongest, and her men knew it. Some had probably challenged her early on and paid for it with their lives. In the eyes of her tribe, Raven was unbeatable. A force of nature that none could stand against. The type of person who did what she wanted purely because no one could stop her.
That kind of reputation had to be fed. People tended to forget over time, doubting stories or even their own memory in favor of new ideas. Maybe Raven had gotten slow and lazy with success. Or those previous challengers just weren't that strong after all. Eventually, someone would dare to challenge the status quo, giving Raven the chance to prove herself once more. The more dominant the display, the more secure her position became.
So what could be more dominant than taking out someone like Adam? His reputation painted him as a vicious, killing machine, much like Raven. Taking on a supposed equal and winning would kill any doubts her men might have and cement her authority once and for all. Best of all, it wouldn't impact the tribe. No loss of manpower. No loved ones who might seek revenge or betray her. A clean victory.
"Call it a professional courtesy." Professional, eh? He'd never really thought of himself in that way, and it certainly didn't apply to a bandit. Not even their queen. "Speaking of which, I have one final piece of advice, from one leader to another." She beckoned him closer, leaning in to whisper, "A place like this isn't usually worth attacking. Too many losses."
Adam kept his voice low, even if he had no idea why they were whispering. "What changed?"
"That's the question, isn't it?" One she didn't seem interested in answering by the looks of it. Stepping back, Raven went back to speaking normally - that is, loudly. "I suggest you finish here quickly. I doubt we're the only ones who know Paulownia has fallen."
In other words, Mistral would be on their way. Laurence had done his best to intercept transmissions, but he'd rather not take the chance that some slipped through. If Mistral knew he and his forces were still in Paulownia, they'd throw everything they had at the town. The place would be crawling with mercenaries and Huntsmen in no time. Rauch had almost been too much for him. He wouldn't last long against real Huntsmen.
Raven sauntered back to the depot and headed inside, vanishing from view, leaving him to hurry back and start barking orders. "Laurence, call in the airships. We need to be ready to load the moment the depot is clear. Azul, go make sure the prisoners are secure, then have everyone pull back from the walls and join us here. Azure, I want you-"
"Already done, boss."
Adam paused for a second in confusion. "What do you mean it's already done?"
"Already radioed for everyone to gather here while you were talking with tall, dark, and broody over there," Azul informed him, tapping her earpiece. Right, they had those still. Adam had his off, not wanting his initial chat with Raven broadcast to everyone. "Nag's gonna do a final check of the prisoners, then send everyone up."
Azure continued, "Already got the men here organized into teams to secure the cargo for loading."
"Airships are on their way, too," Laurence finished for them. "Should be here in a few."
Which left Adam with nothing to add. It took a few seconds for his brain to catch up and point out that this was a good thing. Embarrassment aside, it meant his team was learning to operate independently. More than that, they were planning ahead and making smart decisions. The type of decisions he would make.
"V-very good." So good, that he really didn't have anything to add. Still, standing there saying nothing made him look ridiculous, so he had to add something. Scrambling for anything, he finally managed to order, "Let me know the moment Nag and the others arrive. I want everyone accounted for before we leave."
A solid plan, even if he realized too late what it entailed. "I'll send a crew to gather our dead."
He knew they hadn't escaped unscathed this time. He'd even killed one of his own men by mistake. Rauch had tricked him. He knew no one here would blame him.
They didn't have to - he blamed himself plenty.
Whether or not he'd been set up, that man had died by Adam's hand. Bad enough he could still hear the screams of his men as Rauch made them pay for his cowardice, but Adam could vividly remember the man he'd carelessly cut down toppling through the fog, a pained look of confusion on his face as the last thing he'd seen was Adam delivering a fatal blow. He'd died because of Adam. They'd all died because of him. If he'd just been strong enough to face someone like Rauch on his own, then no one else would've had to die in his place.
No. He couldn't think like that right now. He needed to be strong for those that remained. Failing that, he needed to look strong. They'd known the risk coming here and fully expected casualties. It was a lot easier to see them as numbers than actually deal with the bodies. He could figure things out later. Right now, he needed to keep everyone focused until they could clear out the supplies and get back to Reyno.
Of course, they still had to wait for Raven and her tribe to take their haul and leave. Going in early, even to just inspect the supplies, might cause trouble. He really didn't need to accidentally start a fight with Mistral almost certainly on the way. Raven hadn't brought any vehicles with her, so he had to assume they had some hidden outside Paulownia. Whatever the case, he just wanted them to hurry up and finish so they could take care of their portion.
Adam waited for the bandits to start reappearing.
And waited.
And waited.
The minutes dragged on endlessly. Nag and the rest of the White Fang trickled in bit by bit, giving a report that Adam halfheartedly listened to while keeping an eye on the depot ahead. Nothing stirred. Not even a single bandit bringing a first load up. Were they waiting until they had everything ready to move, not trusting the White Fang to hold back if they only sent some of the men back up? Why not send Raven first for insurance then? Didn't she know they were on borrowed time?
When the airships arrived and began to land, Adam felt his patience snap.
"We don't have time for this," Adam grumbled as he approached the opening. He looked down the ramp, but nothing beyond the initial landing was visible from up here. "Hello?" Adam called, hearing his voice reverberate into the chasmic vault beyond. "Raven?" They weren't exactly on a first name basis, but he'd be dead before he called her Miss Branwen. Or Misses. Was she married?
No answer came, either to his greeting or his unspoken question on her nuptials. In fact, he didn't hear anything at all. No voices coordinating the loading. No footsteps. Nothing at all.
He waited until it became painfully awkward before finally starting down the ramp. Sticking to the side, he found a set of steps carved in to make things easier. Each step echoed ahead as he made sure to walk a little heavier than needed, announcing his presence well before he reached the bottom. Surely someone would be on lookout just near the entrance and notice his approach. Better they be on guard than surprised by his arrival.
Adam wound up being the one surprised.
The room was empty. Empty of life, at least. The depot stretched on and on, expanding outward into a massive, man made cave lined with row upon row of metal shelving. Lights hummed overhead, a few flickering slightly but making it easy to see the complete lack of a bandit tribe. The only thing left was a sporadic mix of crates, some of which had been taken off the shelves and left unceremoniously in the aisles as Raven and her men no doubt sorted through the stock and selected the best for themselves.
Then, they'd vanished.
Switching on his comm device, Adam hurriedly demanded, "Everyone get down here."
He could hear the frantic scrambling long before they arrived. Blake got there first, sliding down the ramp and ending in a roll with her weapon out and aiming at nothing. Marcus tumbled in behind her, having tried and failed to copy her rapid descent. It didn't take long for the rest of the squad to arrive.
And not much longer to notice what was missing.
"Where'd they go?" Yuma asked, having cheated and glided down, landing softly behind Adam.
"They're gone." Where, he had no idea. How, even less. "Fan out. Search for a second exit." Alpha Squad began combing over the depot, looking for any sign of an escape. "The rest of you, start getting this topside. I want this loaded and airborne within the hour."
Now that the initial shock of the empty underground warehouse had worn off and with a task to focus on, the men busied themselves looting the depot for every scrap of remaining supplies. Lucky for them, Paulownia kept most of their equipment inside the depot, including pallet jacks, furniture dollies, and even a forklift, though that seemed to be missing its keys, much to everyone's disappointment. It looked like brute force would be the order of the day.
Meanwhile, Adam joined the search for this hidden exit. How long had they wasted topside waiting for Raven and her bandits to reappear? She had to have done that on purpose. One final insult on her way out. Finding the other way out was more than just curiosity, though. If worst came to worst and Mistral arrived, they might need a new way out. The blueprints Sienna's spies had obtained didn't show any other way out, but that didn't mean there wasn't one. Raven might've even had her men tunnel their way out, though if they had that capability, then why hadn't they just used it to get inside and steal all the supplies while the White Fang fought their way to an empty depot?
Whatever the case, their search turned up bupkis. "Nothing," Trifa reported as they started giving up one by one. "There's no sign of how they got out." That seemed to be the general consensus, even if both Laurence and Yuma refused to believe it and continued scouring the same areas over and over. They double and triple checked every spot, tapping the wall periodically in search of a hollow spot. Laurence even went so far as to start searching the floor, convinced there just had to be an answer. Something that would give away the secret. A loose tile. Scratch marks from a moved shelving unit. A tiny gust of air through a crack. Anything.
"Let them look," Nag insisted before Adam could force the issue. "Laurence can't stand not knowing something."
"And Yuma's too stubborn to give up," Trifa added as she headed for the entrance to help lead the loading.
"It's like they just disappeared."
"People don't just disappear," Adam pointed out. One person, maybe, but not an entire tribe of bandits like that. Even Semblances had to have limits. Invisibility could work, and while the very thought of invisible bandits should keep people awake at night, making that many people vanish didn't track. Some Semblances were more overpowered than others, but there was always some limitation. Aura consumption. Physical distances. Even his required charging up and only using what energy he could store. He'd used nearly every drop against Rauch, then pushed himself to stop Blake's fight. His arms still felt like someone was stabbing them over and over again with tiny needles, not that he'd ever admit it. He'd pushed himself a little too much and would probably pay for it later.
Not that he regretted the decision. He'd have gladly broken every bone in his body to keep Blake safe. A little discomfort was nothing to keep her out of Raven's cruel games. She would've won easily, of that he was sure. No random bandit was going to outdo his star pupil. She could've picked him apart without a second thought.
Which scared him the most. That she wouldn't give it a second thought. Raven wouldn't be satisfied until blood had been spilt. She'd made it abundantly clear the fight was to the death, meaning Blake would've been forced to kill, taking a life at only fifteen. He knew where that led. She'd be taking her first steps down a path he'd been following for years, straight down into the filth of this world. She'd be taking her first steps toward becoming a monster.
Just like him.
He wouldn't allow it. Not like that. Blake deserved better than that. She was his last hope - his anchor keeping him from being pulled under completely. Just as he'd wade into the darkness to protect her, she'd be there to pull him out before he went too deep. That was their agreement, and he intended to keep it. If that meant he had to shed blood to keep her hands spotless, then so be it.
Despite that, she seemed to be upset with him suddenly. It didn't take a genius to realize she was avoiding him. They were pretty much just supervising at this point, but she kept her distance the entire time. Normally, she'd be by his side, taking advantage of the downtime to chat, joke around, or just be near each other. That was sort of the whole point of dating, wasn't it? Instead, she seemed intent on giving him the cold shoulder, always distancing herself anytime he tried to approach.
The flight back to Reyno wasn't much better. She'd ducked into a different airship making it clear she wanted space. He would've given chase, but she literally jumped on an airship as it was taking off.
Message received.
He tried talking to Indie about it on the ride back, since she'd helped him out before. She just muttered something about hoping all men weren't so helpless before telling him she'd done enough relationship therapy for a lifetime. Nag just shook her head pityingly while Bane decided he was extremely interested in the clouds outside his window.
Their uselessness aside, Adam knew better than to let something like this fester. If he wanted answers, then he'd need to go straight to the source, no matter how aloof that source may try to be.
And boy did she try. He looked everywhere for her when they landed, even asking Nag to give the initial report to Sienna for him and promising to contact her tomorrow with an in-depth report. Even freed of his meeting, he still struggled to find Blake. She avoided all the usual places all evening, leaving him little hope of tracking her down despite his best efforts. She probably figured he'd give up after a while and leave it be until tomorrow.
She gravely underestimated his stubbornness.
The great thing about Reyno was that there weren't a whole lot of places to hide. She might be able to avoid him by hanging out in the woods or ducking into a classroom during the day, but he knew she'd eventually get tired of running and call it a night. Which is why he marched his way up to her room well after sunset, spotting the telltale flickering of candlelight coming from a window. He knocked on her door, uncaring for the rumors that would probably already be making the rounds. Not so much as the squeak of furniture could be heard within.
As if he'd come this far to give up that easily. "Blake, I know you're in there." Nothing. "It's Adam." As if she didn't know that already. "I just want to talk."
She'd always been stubborn.
"Fine. If you won't open the door, then I will." Forcibly. He aimed for the handle, ready to blow it off the door entirely. "Might want to stand back a bit."
The door swung open in a flash, revealing a very ticked off Blake. Progress. Not great progress, but an angry Blake still beat no Blake. "What do you want, Adam?"
"I want to talk." Adam slipped in before she could think to slam the door in his face. She stormed across the room while he gently closed the door behind him. As usual, he'd come up with a solid start to a plan, but now that he was facing his enemy, he had nothing. Winging it sounded great right up until you actually had to do it. "So…about today…"
Blake plopped down on her mattress, arms crossed and ears flattened as she stared him down. Clearly he wouldn't be getting any help there.
Fine. He'd just have to deal with the problem the way he always did. Head on. "You're upset."
If she wasn't before, she certainly was now. "You think?"
Off to a great start. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"
"For what?"
For bringing her along in the first place? For saving her? For thinking this was a good idea? Mostly the last one, but he wasn't dumb enough to be that honest. The truth will set you free, unless you were dealing with an angry woman. Then the only thing it would free you from was this mortal coil. Adam racked his brain for any idea of what had her so pissy right now. He'd taken her on the mission and had her involved in the fighting, just like she wanted. She'd been right up on the frontline, too. Sure, she'd almost had to fight for Raven's amusement, but that was her own, dumb fault, not his. She'd been the one to basically volunteer herself. He'd tried to cover for her, and when that failed, saved her from having to go through with it.
His lack of answer proved an answer itself, and not a very good one. Blake shot up from her seat, hands clenched at her sides. "You don't even know, do you?"
He'd just led a charge against a fortified depot, fought Rauch to the death, and then defied Raven freakin' Branwen all in the course of a few hours. So how the hell did a fifteen year old's temper tantrum scare him? "N-no?"
"Gah!" Blake clutched at the air in front of her, choking the life out of him from a distance before stomping away to her window. His keen senses told him he might've dug the hole deeper with that one.
"Blake, I-"
"Why don't you trust me?"
A deathly silence fell between them, not just at her words, but at her tone. She still sounded angry, but it was buried under something that cut him even deeper. She sounded…hurt.
Trust her? Of course he trusted her. More than anyone else. She was his second-in-command. The first person he'd ever trained. Heck, they were in a relationship now, though part of him worried that was about to change. "I do trust you."
"You don't!" Blake whirled around, and Adam's heart sank.
She was crying. Blake was crying, and all because of him.
"You don't trust me," Blake repeated in a softer voice. "After everything we've been through, you still don't trust me."
"What's this all about?" He knew his ignorance wouldn't help, but beating around the bush would be just as useless. He'd done something to hurt her, and he needed to know what. "What did I do?"
Blake wiped her face free of the damp tracks below her eyes. "Today…with that fight…"
"The bandit?" Finian. Adam remembered his name, just as he remembered all the others. Just another face to haunt his nightmares.
Blake nodded. "You didn't trust me to fight him," she explained. "You didn't think I could beat him."
What? She absolutely would've won. Maybe not as efficiently as Adam had, but that had more to do with his experience and Semblance than any lack of skill on her part. Finian was doomed the moment Raven put him in the ring, regardless of which of them fought. He'd just hastened the end a bit. "Of course you could've beaten him."
"Then why didn't you let me?" Blake didn't bother letting him answer. "Why is it that you kept trying to get me out of it? Hm? You kept making excuses. You even tried to get someone else to take my place. Why were they good enough, but I wasn't?"
They were all good enough. "It wasn't that. I-"
"Then what? Is it because I'm just a child?" And now they were back to square one. "Old enough to be part of the army, but not old enough to fight for myself?"
"It's not-"
"And then, instead of trusting me, you had to jump in and do it for me without even asking." As if she would've agreed. "That was my fight, Adam - my chance to prove myself - and you stole it from me."
"That wasn't what I meant-"
Still not his turn, it seemed. "Is it because I'm too young? Too inexperienced? Or maybe you just think I'm not strong enough. Is that it?"
"No, I just-"
They really needed a talking stick so he could know when he could speak. "Why, Adam? Why wouldn't you let me fight?"
"Because I couldn't lose you!" His outburst stalled her assault long enough for him to finally defend himself. "I couldn't…I couldn't risk losing you, Blake."
She was too important to him, whether she liked it or not. Even if they weren't dating or whatever she wanted to call it, she still meant a lot to him. She always had. He didn't even know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, Blake Belladonna had become irreplaceable, to the point he was willing to challenge Raven to her face just to keep Blake safe.
It wasn't the romantic feelings that they often wrote about in books. He'd felt that way long before he'd ever even considered the idea of them getting together. Blake represented everything he wasn't. Optimistic. Idealistic. Someone who could still see the good in the world, even the good in him. She had everything life had stolen from him. A loving family. Joy. Innocence. The kind of life he'd given up on long ago.
It wasn't lost on him how he'd begun to ruin her. Just as she helped pull him up from the deep, he was starting to drag her down. Little by little, his very presence was corrupting everyone around him. He was a cancer, spreading to anyone that dared get too close. In trying to protect her from the filth of this world, he'd gotten too close and let his own dirt blemish her purity. Family? She'd run away from home to follow him. Joy? Here she stood, crying because of him.
He'd be damned before he let her lose her innocence.
Blake didn't see any of that. She remained as blissfully unaware of her own contamination, just as she somehow saw through his filth to the scarred soul that hid beneath.
Just as she somehow missed his meaning. "Couldn't lose me? I knew it. You didn't think I could win."
"You would've won." There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she would've emerged victorious. "That guy was no match for you."
"Then why didn't you say that?" He had. Right after…
Crap.
He hadn't said that, had he? He'd been so focused on keeping Blake from fighting, he'd barely even spoken to her. He'd just jumped in, done everything he could to stop her, and left her wondering. He tried to prevent the fight. Offered himself. Heck, at one point, he was actively looking for someone else to substitute. In his mind, he was just trying to save her from having to kill someone.
In her eyes, he was trying to keep her from fighting and losing.
Adam tried to slap his own face, only to wind up hitting his mask instead. He wore it so much anymore that he sometimes forgot it was on. "I'm an idiot."
"You can say that again."
"I'm an idiot." Finally, a smile. Well, half a smile, but he'd take what he could get. Honestly, it suited Blake more than some big, goofy grin. The little half-smirk and eye roll was something he'd seen a lot. "I'm sorry, Blake. It wasn't that I thought you'd lose. I never doubted you for a second." Far from it. His real fear was that she'd win.
"But you said you were scared you'd lose me."
One of these days, he'd learn to actually say things out loud instead of just thinking them. "I was. I knew when you won, Raven would want you to kill him." Because just like him so long ago, she would've stopped short of finishing her opponent, which would only make things worse. The fight wouldn't end just because Finian couldn't fight any longer. "What do you think would've happened when you won? She would've made you execute him right then and there."
Blake's eyes widened, proving she hadn't really thought it through before now. A death in combat was one thing, but they both knew she would've gone for a non-fatal victory in the end. Just like him, she would've stopped short of actually killing. When aura broke and blood was drawn, a fight normally ended. That was how they trained. No matter how much he taught them to not hold back in a real battle, all it took was Finian being disarmed or injured and Blake would've declared herself the victor.
"She wouldn't."
"She would." Without hesitation. "She would've demanded you kill him then and there."
"I'd refuse." Easy to say now from the comfort and safety of Reyno. "I would've let him go."
A nice thought, but she was forgetting one very important detail. "And when Raven threatened to kill you if you didn't?" Kill or be killed. The weak die, and to her, mercy was a weakness. "Or worse, when she threatened to kill the rest of us?"
Blake didn't answer. She didn't have to. He could see the inevitable in her eyes. She would've given in. He could see it now. One shot to the head, hoping the distance would make it less personal for her. Her eyes would shut as she squeezed that trigger, but she'd never get that final moment out of her head. She'd remember the broken, beaten bandit looking up at her with desperate eyes, silently begging for a kindness that he knew wouldn't be granted. Her gun would fire. His life would end. Those were certainties. He could imagine the round striking his head, ending his miserable life as blood sprayed back at Blake, leaving her sullied by the same red that he wore every day.
He hated the image.
"Taking a life isn't easy." Or it shouldn't be. It'd become all too common for him. "I didn't want you to go through that. I didn't want you to be like me."
A monster, uncaring of the death and destruction that followed him. The very thought of being forced to execute a defenseless man shook her. He'd cut the same man down without hesitation. She was nothing like him, and he intended to keep it that way. The White Fang only needed one monster leading it.
Blake's hand sought his out. Reading his mind, she offered, "You're not a monster." She pulled him closer - or rather, she pulled and ended up stumbling into him - and wrapped her arms around him. Her hair tickled his nose as he hugged her back, filling his nostrils with her scent. Not the fruity, flowery odor that most women masked themselves with, but something far more real. They stood in silence, driving back the rest of the world as he held her - his one, small hope in a dark, dismal world.
He had no idea how long they stood there, but loathe as he was to break the silence, he knew it couldn't last forever. "Thank you, Blake."
"For what?"
"For being you." His lips pressed against her hair softly. It felt silly, yet intimate. She leaned back, hesitating for a moment as she looked up at him before stepping back. In that moment, it was hard to see her as the young girl he'd always known. Blake was right. She wasn't just some kid anymore. She'd been through too much to still be seen as a child. The person standing before him was a young woman, full of life and light that shone in the darkness of a world gone mad.
And with that realization came the fact that he was in her bedroom with her. Alone. At night. With the door closed.
The room felt about a million degrees hotter as he tried to speak, choked on the words, coughed, and desperately tried to ruin the moment as fast as he could. "Good work today. I'll call Sienna in the morning with the good news."
"Y-yeah. Good…mission." Adam wasn't the only one to realize their situation. She bumped a fist against his arm, only making everything more awkward. Mortified by her own weirdness, Blake put a little more distance between them. "Too bad those bandits showed up and ruined everything."
"Actually, I'm kind of glad they did," Adam said, surprising her. "Don't get me wrong. I hated having to deal with her again and we could've used all those supplies she took." They still had a decent haul, but imagine what they could do with three times as much. They'd be set on supplies for a very long time. "But Raven did deal with two of those mercenaries. I only had to fight one." And barely made it out of that alive.
"We would've found a way." He wished he had as much faith as she did. Rauch by himself was a nightmare. Three at once would've been all but impossible. He'd need the full might of Alpha Squad, and even then, they might've struggled. "Still, I guess you're right. She did make things a lot easier in the long run. We're lucky she showed up when she did."
"Yeah…lucky…"
"What's wrong?" Blake questioned.
Adam waved her off, but he was already deep in thought. "Nothing. It's just…something Raven told me before she left." Something that was now eating at him. "She said they wouldn't normally attack a place like that. Too much risk."
"The shortages must be affecting them too." He hated the comparison, but their methods were pretty similar to bandits. Most of their supplies came from raiding caravans or hitting smaller, softer targets. Granted, their results were usually a lot less murdery than the bandits. He'd seen entire villages wiped out from bandit attacks, either because they fought back or from the Grimm that followed.
In trying to starve out the White Fang, Mistral had inadvertently been hurting the bandit tribes at the same time. Eventually, just like Adam, Raven would have no choice but to up the ante a bit and tackle a bigger target. Hoarding supplies at the main depots was just asking for trouble.
"Why would they attack the same place as us?" That's the question, isn't it? Adam could still hear her words taunting him. Something was up.
"Maybe they're camped nearby?" The bandit tribes were mobile, always moving to a new area when things got too hot. Otherwise, the caravans would just avoid their immediate surroundings and Mistral would know where to find them. It was a simple, effective way to minimize risk for the tribe.
Still, the convenience of them being in the area wasn't enough. "Yeah, but on the same day?" The location he could almost believe, but the timing was far too convenient. Fate had a sense of humor, but this was too much.
Raven made a point of saying they wouldn't usually pull something like Paulownia. Too many losses. As strong as she was, her men wouldn't last long against a concentrated defense. The White Fang were better equipped for a full-scale assault thanks to the Atlas weapons they'd stolen. Raven wouldn't hit military targets like that and risk antagonizing Atlas to come hunt her down. Better to focus on enemies that couldn't fight back and enjoy the spoils.
So what changed? If losses were a concern, then she needed a way to minimize them. A distraction. Sabotage. Anything that would give her an easier path into Paulownia. Like having the White Fang attack first and split the defenders. But for that to happen, she'd need to know they were coming in advance. But the only people who knew the plan were in the White…Fang…
No. No way. They couldn't. And yet, it made perfect sense.
"I have to go." Adam bolted for the door, fumbling with the knob as he tried to shove it open, nearly knocking the whole thing off the hinges.
"What? What's wrong?"
Finally remembering to pull instead of push, Adam got the door open. He hesitated in the doorway, knowing Blake would want an answer but also worried who might overhear. He didn't want to believe it, but if he was right, then he couldn't trust anyone. Instead, he waved for Blake to follow as he ran for the communications building. It was late, but he needed to call Sienna immediately. This wasn't something they could afford to sit on.
It all made sense. The failed missions. Raven showing up at Paulownia. Either fate was having a laugh at him, or they had a much bigger problem. One that could doom their entire operation in Anima and get them all killed.
The White Fang had a spy.
Uh oh. I mean, did we really think Atlas/Mistral wouldn't try to infiltrate the White Fang? Every country spies on and meddles with every other country as much as they can, so it was only a matter of time until the Kingdoms tried to get someone in the White Fang. Dangers of recruitment. Now comes the fun of trying to root out their security vulnerability.
Meanwhile, Blake and Adam have some growing pains thanks to communication failures. Not looking to jump them straight into the deep end of a relationship, so we'll hit some speedbumps along the way. Gonna try not to let the relationship stuff dominate the story (and not just because it's my least favorite part of Adam's story).
Next chapter: The hunt begins.