Work Text:
Breathing wasn’t a loud sound.
To ask anyone if it was, would grant an odd look and a rather obvious answer of ‘of course, it isn’t.’ Perhaps a quick excuse to depart from the questioner would follow from there.
Breathing is usually silent, generally quiet, yet Su knows that it can be loud.
It’s not too weird to think it could be so.
To gasp in awe, to stifle a yawn, to cough out a laugh, to sniff a delicious smell. Very ordinary and quite expected to hear at, let’s say, a party. A grand party with a grand feast with far too many grand guests to entertain.
Yet all of those breaths would be drowned out by a lovely band of musicians. In comparison, the breaths would not be considered loud.
Well, what if there wasn’t a party or a band? Or as far away as one could get from the bustling festivities? Like a temple that sits high atop an oddly round rock formation.
Temples kind of have a rule of silence. It’s sort of a sign of respect for the place and the history held within. Also, they have such big rooms that are perfect for echoing whatever small noise is made. It makes people want to step extra carefully with how clunky their footsteps sound in those rooms, so breathing would be loud then.
Breathing could be loud, at times.
It happens sometimes.
No reason to worry.
Nothing to worry about this particular set of breaths, either. Right?
The harsh exhales and stifled yelps continue to echo down the stone stairs. They are high pitched. Youthful. It draws her sight up to the pair of short silhouettes.
So young. Too young to fight, yet they both move with the swift purpose of overpowering the other. The sight stiffens her spine.
Far too loud, working with her roaring heartbeat to drown out the trickling stream.
Especially the sharp clonk of something hitting stone. No, someone hitting stone.
She whips her eyes to the elevated ground where a small, curled up thing twitches. An animal of some kind. A pet? Why is a pet here? Why are children here? Why is there fighting here?
The questions don’t have time for answers as a flying kick tumbles a combatant off their feet. With one body on their knees and reaching into a tucked away pocket as another regains their stance, her own pushes away from the chamber door and takes the stairs two at a time.
The need to end this before true damage is wrought overcomes Su’s hesitation. Her trusty staff swipes through the air with a whistling speed. Her stance is as steady as the mountain they rest upon. Her voice snarls with the echo of thunder.
“Drop it.”
Her command makes them freeze. The two little warriors were reduced to just two little girls caught with their hands in mischief.
If only it was just a jar of sweets they were fighting over.
If only.
Yet it was not.
Its haunting glow is far too familiar.
Neither of them responds. The standing one looks confused as if unsure of her own raised arms, the fists at the ready. The kneeling one is closer to the tip of her staff. Frozen, just staring up at her with stunned eyes.
Maybe she was too stunned. Shocked into stillness, to stone itself, the look settles into a pit in her stomach. She couldn’t help the soft nudging of her staff against the narrow set of shoulders. Grateful for the slight give of cloth and skin, she must hide it with another gruff retort.
“I will not repeat myself.”
It is carefully said while breathing deeply to hold back the disgust that tries to rise in her throat. Those words always had a way of making the receiver feel as low as mud. A questioning of the self and a jab to disobey.
Su blinks away the memory of how low she once felt.
The kneeling girl slowly lays down an odd shape. It takes a moment to recognize the frail string and the long cylinder as not a weapon. Too small, too round, and too easy to flick away toward her own wrapped feet. The light clinks of the tossed object are lost to the rippling water.
She forcefully ignores her curiosity of its purpose. Distraction can be a dangerous spark to such frail inaction.
Without moving her gaze or her staff, she sways her stance onto one leg while curling a foot around the cylinder. A smooth transition from toes to fingers has it stashed in her belt, safely away from either mischievous child.
“Up.”
This command is, thankfully, followed at once. The shaved head is bowed, yet the eyes narrow in defiance. Little embers ready to burn anew. Searching, searching yet they will not find purchase before her.
Not again.
Still, it is the one in the border of Su’s sight that speaks out.
“Who are you,” is asked. When it should have been more demanding, edged with steel, it comes out breathless and uncertain. Unsteady.
Just push a bit more, lead them away from here.
“Doesn’t matter. You both are leaving.” The commands need to continue, yet they dry out her throat. Focusing on keeping her breath even, Su is thankful of the bulky mask that hides the sickly flush that races up her jaw.
“You are trespassing on sacred ground and as Guardian of the Dragon Gem, I, Princess Raya, command you to state your name.”
Su vomits out her laughs. She helps it be sharp and mocking, and the girls’ startled jumps only make them surge out more. A tremble settles in her knees but makes her steps sure and fixed on the balls of her feet. Stalking around to the girl dripping in silky finery, a girl whose name she will use as an insult for revealing so much.
“Trespassing, eh? Then what is this?” A slap of wood against stone makes the pair flinch anew. Granting her time for another deep inhale to power through. “None of the triggers in any of the halls were touched. As skilled as you are to dodge them all, oh great Raya, even you would have ripped up your fancy clothes.” She can’t help but make an exaggerated swooping motion to the pair.
They are both beautifully dressed for the far-off party. A silk dragon is sleeping along Raya’s shoulders while her partner in crime is almost sparkling in all the jewelry she is carries. Sprinkling her hair, wrapping along an arm, and hanging on her ear, it draws her gaze away from Raya’s almost modest trinkets keeping her hair braids intact.
However, any sort of identifying color is drown out by the glow, keeping her focus on tearing through brave, bold Raya.
“But you didn’t have to,” she hushes her tone, wool covering steel. “A little bird did sing your praises, oh Dragon Guardian. Youngest ever to succeed.” She circles closer to Raya, pinning her in place with her tone alone.
“Only you would know how to turn off the alarms. To lead your sweet friend through the tunnels without anyone else knowing. But I’m not anyone else. I will not stand aside and allow such betrayal to-”
“No! I w-would never!” Raya chokes out. Her rising panic cracks her stance and her voice. A burbling mess of words are poise to flow out in defense if not for another snap of her staff on stone.
The interruption could not stand.
They could not stay here.
They needed to go away.
Su’s own words perch on her tongue, ready to sweep the pair out and be done with this whole mess, yet they simmer out at spotting a splash of darkness on Raya’s fingertips.
The small fists are now open by the shock of the accusations, reaching out slightly, and doing so revealing the smudges. Already being so close to the girl, her own hand latches onto the wrist and turns it towards the glowing light before Raya can flinch away.
The sense of resistance flickers in Raya’s uncertainty, enough so that the mask can lean close. The whole of the palm is scraped up with the deepest cuts being hidden by blood. The clenching fists had smeared it along the inside of her fingers.
The hint of iron that wafts up snaps something within herself; a rusty lock clattering along her ribs and sinking to the pit of her stomach. An old sadness trickles out to chill her bones.
As a deep ache burbles up from within, she releases her already slacking grip. Afraid of the creaking and the crunching and the falling of herself, she wants space. Away from the cramped halls and heavy doors. Wants it more than the air stuttering into her lungs. She knows that she shouldn’t want that but breathing deeper doesn’t help her blurring vision.
Turning and walking slowly, she goes up to the source of the glow overlaying the room.
Su doesn’t bother with looking at the gem. She knows every curve and facet from multiple angles. She knows how heavy it feels. She remembers how much it burns.
Instead, her gaze traces the droplets that are swirling around it. The constant flow and change bring to mind a small school of fish twirling along a great current.
It’s been so long since she had taken a day to swim. Just to swim.
Despite having her back turned, she knows Raya hasn’t moved while her friend has begun shuffling towards the stairs. Su realizes that she didn’t really get a good look at the other girl, only staring at her face. Are her palms as scratched up as Raya’s? She did take a nasty kick to the ground.
This time, the tap of her staff is quiet, but the room is quiet too, making it loud.
“Sit.”
Not waiting for the pair to comply, her careful stride along the steppingstones leads her to one of the far walls. With her short stature, her staff was always helpful in extending her reach which she now uses to part a curtain of vines. The thick foliage, though heavy, tucks away without much fuss though you wouldn’t guess that from the twin gasps from behind her. A large smile stretches her face at the overreaction.
To the girls’ defense, dragons always had that effect on people.
Giving a deep bow with a circle gesture level to her wooden face, she kneels to grasp a platter full of candles. She moves slowly, willing herself back to the center of the room and to the scrutiny of wide eyes.
Raya is already sitting and has just finished setting down her own circle gesture from her forehead while the other girl stands at the outer edge of the spring with her gaze fixated on the stone dragon.
“H-how are…,” she stutters then fades off. The earring glitters with the shuttering of the girl’s slight frame. Whether in fear or excitement, Su could not tell, but the uncertainty allows an odd plan to bloom in her mind. Hopefully, it would not spook the girl into running off.
“Come here, Sparkles. Help Raya light these candles.” Raya doesn’t try hard to hide her snicker at her companion’s new title. Then again, she does have her hands full with the given tray. Su turns before a retort could be crafted.
She steps out of the innermost circle of the room, giving the children and herself space to feel out this turn of events. Well, more for the children as Su busies herself with brushing aside and tucking away more curtains of blue-tinted greenery. After each time, she repeats the bow and the circle gesture before moving on.
She wishes she could extend time somehow, yet there were only three more dragons.
Turning back for the last time grants her a somewhat hopeful sight. Now both girls are sitting before the gem. The orange of the candles helps only slightly against the persistent glow, but it was enough for Su.
Enough to not mistake this moment for another night terror waiting to go wrong.
Enough to set her staff on the ground before joining in a graceless slump.
Enough to lift up the heavy mask and latch it onto her belt, loosening the strings of a bundle next to it.
Only tensing as with her viewpoint closer to the floor, she could now make out a small shape clambering closer to the group. Su’s sharp glare falls in shock as she recognizes the animal from the stairs. Her revealed and widening eyes alert the girls into turning in place. Raya springs up at the sight.
“Tuktuk!”
An answering squeak has her scooping the soaking pillbear cub out of the pool faster than the sound leaves the air. The two take some time to fluster over the other with gentle fingers and soothing licks but it isn’t too long until they remember that they are not alone.
Su makes sure to have a soft smile on her lips and an inviting wave of her hand as the two turn back.
She doesn’t watch Raya sit back down as Su fully reveals a spare roll of cloth. She always carries a spare roll in case her foot wraps have to be changed. The material was more for wrapping up than wiping down, but it, along with the water of the spring, would do the job well enough.
Having Raya fall to infection on her watch would be a bad time for everyone involved, more so for poor Sparkles being the cause of the cuts.
As if somehow hearing her thoughts, the sparkling girl speaks out.
“I am Namaari, heir of Fang.” It sounds recited yet a deep pride shows in the lift of her chin and the set of her shoulders. Challenging Su to call her differently. Yet Su isn’t the one who needs the warning.
“I like Sparkles better,” Raya cuts in with a sour smirk, drawing Namaari’s ire.
“Shut up, dep’la,” she growls back. Su’s eyebrows shoot up to hide in her loose hair. The two are so swiftly focusing on each other that they don’t notice.
“Make me. Oh, you can’t ‘cause I’ll kick your-”
“Whoa! Wait,” Su cuts in before they come to blows again. Ignoring her fingers that itch to grab her staff, she grabs at the closest distraction.
“Where did you learn that word?”
Her sharp question makes Namaari wordlessly point to Raya.
“And where did you learn that word?”
“Dep’la?” Raya parrots. Su presses her lips together and nods once. “Some of the guards call their friends that.”
Friends!? What else has Raya been hearing? She continues, oblivious to Su’s mortified panic.
“Namaari was nice enough, so I called her that. Now I know I-”
“So you were making fun of me?” Namaari’s glare is smoldering even from a profile view. Raya meets it with her own and Su is about ready to pummel the pair.
A quick twirl has her staff hovering in the space between the two. All it would take is a swing to either side to bash someone in the face. They should have a few baby teeth that need knocking out, right?
Only the girls’ eyes move.
“You are not talking to each other.”
Not a challenge.
Not a command.
A statement.
Whatever they saw on Su’s face made their words die in their mouth. As one, they moved enough to not be looking at each other. Their whole attentions were focusing on ignoring the other.
It is enough… for now.
She makes her movements slow as she retreats her arm and sets the staff back on the ground. Unclenching her free hand, the nearly forgotten bandages were ready to help her tie this mess up. While she unrolls the fabric, Su doesn’t have high hopes that unrolling the tension that wraps so tightly around them would be just as easy. Not even little Tuktuk dares to squeak.
Lost on how to start, Su falls back on the age-old icebreaker and see where it takes her.
“I am Su.” Keeping the truths short and sweet would be best for this. Hopefully.
“I am not from Heart, but I live and work here now.” A square of fabric is separated from the roll with an easy slice.
“I travelled a lot before. Haven’t had the chance to go to Fang.” Reaching out a hand, she motions loosely toward Raya’s lap, where her cub stands guard.
“I saw how brave you were.” Tuktuk looks at her with wide, alert eyes. Tiny yet mighty.
“You have a strong spirit. One day, you will grow to match it.” The cub straightens at the praise, unknowing of the truth yet happily accepting Su well enough so his little antennae tickle her fingertips. He graciously allows her to tug away Raya’s bloody hand.
“Dep’la is not an insult, but it is a serious word. An adult word.” Her free hand takes the piece of cloth and raises it up.
“Translated directly, it means ‘strangely beautiful’. Kind of like when you like something about someone that is hard to put into words.” The earring’s glittering is even more obvious now with the playful oranges mixing with the constant blue.
“It is meant for…really close friends, but you don’t want to call them a ‘friend’ because they mean… more to you than that word can show.” Benja better watch where his daughter spends her free time because this is exhausting to toe around.
“She doesn’t deserve it,” Raya’s voice is low and cold yet speaking more to the floor than anyone. Trying her best to hide her embarrassment beneath cruelty.
Sorry, not sorry, Raya.
“You didn’t call her that because she deserved it. You called her that because you wanted to tell her that you cared for her.” The square in her hand grows heavier with gathering water.
“Maybe you thought she did not believe you. Maybe you thought that bringing her here would help her understand.” Raya’s gaze stays fixed to the floor just past her knees and only moves to run her free hand over Tuktuk’s smooth shell.
Letting her own gaze fall grants Su a fresh look at the injury.
Hoping it was one of those that looks far worse than it was, Su removes the section of cloth from the spiraling droplets and sets about cleaning the blood off of Raya’s palm. The girl is tense but does not complain about the obvious discomfort caused by the dabbing motion. Whether it is from stubbornness or familiarity, Su doesn’t ask.
The silence settles around them nicely enough to keep it there.
Before long, Su has used up the soiled section and places it to the side before unraveling the roll even more. A small blade peaks out like a shy fluttershrew before hiding away within her large sleeves. Almost unnoticeable yet diligently doing its job. Well, almost.
Su could feel a tingle in her fingers as Namaari’s eyes latch onto every single movement done to Raya. The intensity in her eyes holds true as Su lays the fresh piece to the frayed skin and begins to wrap around it. Not the prettiest bandage, but passable. Though ‘passable’ seems to be irritating to Namaari with her scrunched up nose.
Distracted by the embers breathing anew, Raya’s voice catches her by surprise again.
“I never knew they were here,” she whispers with awe reflecting in her whole self: wide eyes, dropping jaw, and purposely stilled frame.
All directed to the stone quartet lining the walls.
A mix of that lingering pain and bubbling gratitude made Su answer the question that lingers in the air.
“They were always here. This temple was built around them and this pool. The plants took over from there.” She begins. Su swears that any nearby vegetation behaves oddly when it comes to the stone giants. Like it had behaviors in the first place. Like the very earth wishes to cradle their former and fallen guardians. Just wishful thinking and all that.
She pauses her tending to point along the row.
“That classy looking one over there is Ambadatu of Light and Laughter. That’s Praneedatu of Faces and Fables. Jagandatu of Mist and Mysteries. And last but not least, Pengudatu of Rain and Rapport.” She keeps her voice steady through sheer will.
Their names deserve to be bellowed up to the stars and spread along the winds. Though Su would not do that, she could, at the very least, say their names without blubbering like a baby.
She takes a deep breath to finish the introductions with the dignity they earn.
“They, along with Sisudatu, were the last dragons of Kumandra.”
Su does not dare to continue. Instead, she uses all of her attention to tuck away the end of the wrapping nice and tight.
An end. Full stop. No more. Yet more questions come, but not from Raya.
“Why do they look so calm?” A near silent whisper.
Raya hums, confused, and turns to Namaari.
Su clicks her tongue, warningly, making Raya face forward. Her order still stood, even if it meant occupying their attention.
Calm would never be the word Su would describe them as, but she does understand. All dragons are stuck in their last actions which, for most, happen to be fighting. Rearing up with bared teeth, ducking low with horns at the ready, curling around with slashing talons, and so on. Though frozen and pale gray, it was easy to see the danger, the power, and the ferocity they were unleashing in the centuries finished war.
The four, in comparison, seem to look calm. Rearing up, but not to their full height. Their shoulders were slack, and tails were curling in. Muzzles were smooth, hiding away their fangs. Eyes were searching, not glaring.
Waiting eyes. Pleading eyes.
To extend her silence, she reaches for the other hand. Since she started this, it would be better to cover all of her bases. Be a somewhat decent adult and caregiver. Be thorough.
How exhausting.
It is with annoyed relief that she uncovers the other palm and sees no blood. The skin is only slightly scuffed making Su wonder when Raya had taken a fall. She had a solid standing with her earlier spat with Namaari, barely balking at the traded blows.
Maybe it was when Su was distracted.
Clearing her throat, she repeats the process of wetting a new piece of cloth. Cleaning wouldn’t do much but buy time. Buying time was good.
“I never see them as calm.” She starts, slowly tasting the words. “Waiting for… something? Sure, but not calm. Resigned, maybe? Yielding.”
“Yield? Dragons don’t yield to anyone.” Raya’s boldness is equally soothing and scathing, making her stomach clench.
“Except the Drunn.” Namaari chimes in, staring at Su.
“Except the Drunn.” Su parrots somberly. “The Drunn… are like a relentless fire. Instead of eating wood, they eat us and every time they eat, they would grow twofold. Being a fire, they never stopped eating. Never stopped searching for things to eat. They ate and stoned anything that they could catch.” She allows muscle memory to gently clean the abused skin as she makes sure her voice doesn’t waver.
“Most animals were swift enough to evade them. They fled Kumandra in huge herds, leaving the jungles silent and the skies empty. Humans had their cities and families to think about, making them slower to leave. Too slow. Whole villages were consumed in a single night leaving them empty of people and full of statues. This enraged the Dragons. They were friends to all creatures, but they had a deep love for humans. Sharing their songs, their stories, and their lives with each other had made an unbreakable bond. A bond that the Drunn tried to destroy, and the Dragons vowed to fight. They went into battle with all their fury. Their fury was the Drunn’s newest meal.”
Su swallows her drying throat, allowing a glance at her listeners. The girls wore matching sets of anticipation, spellbound at the story. Even Tuktuk, in Raya’s cradling hand, was listening to every word.
Tucking Raya’s hand back to her lap, Su turns and reaches out to one of Namaari’s. This knocks her out of the spell, suspicion narrowing her eyes and leaning her shoulders back. The reaction makes Su still momentarily before pulling away.
“Sorry. I-ah saw you take a… hard fall.” The excuse feels as lame on her tongue as it sounds in the air. It was a bad habit of hers: being easily distracted by a little carved-away corner of the world that doesn’t reflect its entirety.
Su had been in Heart long enough to grow used to the strange place. Strange even amongst the unique lands. With crime and unrest nearly dormant, the Heart citizens had grown in security and peace, the likes of which were unheard of in their sisterlands. This sort of environment allows naivety and generosity to bloom to the point that it was a weedy mockery to whoever looked in.
The closest any land could come to it would be Talon, yet their generosity often had strings attached. Loose strings, but strings, nonetheless.
She can still remember how quickly they can tighten.
Quick to avoid the awkward stare, Su turns her attention inward. Thankful for her long hair hiding much of her bowed face, she fiddles with the roll. Her use of patience to securely reroll the loose fabric back onto itself bordered on ridiculous. Considering how this night was going, it fit in well.
“How much did you see?” Now it is Raya’s turn to have the burning gaze.
“Not enough,” Raya’s scrunching face makes Su add on. “This situation is very ‘she said, she said’. With both of you-”
“She is a thief! She was going to take the Dragon Gem for Fang and-”
“And again,” Su cuts back. “You can say one thing, Namaari can say another. Heart can say protection, Fang can say assault. With both of you being princesses and heirs of your tribes, this will drag them down too.” The threat growls out between clenching teeth.
As Su takes a moment to try relaxing her jaw, the girls tense theirs. The matching accusation on such cute faces makes her laugh meanly. Her eyes close to savor the hysteria in it.
“No one has ever touched the gem, no one has touched the gem tonight, and I will never pity the fool who does. Cursed thing…,” is spoken through the fading chuckles. Su’s lungs are still trembling in containing her giggles when Raya tries again.
“What are you talking…,” trails off when Su’s smiles back. She knows it is too big, too menacing. She lifts a long sleeve to wipe at her own face. The stiff muscles are slow to relax but they do return to hide most of her crooked teeth. The smirk that remains holds all the bitterness of the sickening realization that the girls don’t understand.
Then again, the pair don’t really want to be children. So eager to be big and tough and grown. Playing adult, here of all places, sets her teeth on edge.
So, she makes her next words rake their ears.
“The legend of the great Sisudatu. She gathered so much dragon magic and made it into the gem. Uses it to banish the Drunn and save Kumandra. Everybody knows that part. Everybody loves it. And nobody talks about how she failed to save her family. All of her kin, everyone she was ever close too is still stone. Nobody talks about how Kumandra wasn’t even saved. Ripped apart in endless wars for a rock that didn’t even do what it was supposed to do.”
Opening her eyes to dispel a broiling vision built on her own words, Su turns away from the girls, glaring straight at the gem.
“This is it. This was their last stand. This was made in desperation and fear. Cornered on top of this mountain with Drunn as far as the eye could see, can you even imagine the hopelessness? No hope for escape. No hope for rescue. Completely trapped, but they still tried. They tried to reach for that hope that things could be better. A maybe. A somehow. So, they made this gem. And with the statues of her last family surrounding her, Sisudatu tried to give Kumandra a chance.”
A hard swallow takes back the growing volume, continuing in a whisper.
“Her greatest legend is about her greatest failure and you two are living, breathing proof of how that chance is wasting away.”
The silence is so loud.
The trickling water is so quiet.
Su is done for tonight.
She roughly swipes for her staff. Her fingers settle into a set of groves with a tingle of familiarity. Giving it a squeeze makes her pounding heart less distracting as Su flexes up to her feet.
The candles huff and flicker as the tray is also brought up with her in the smooth movement. She doesn’t spare a glance at the trio as she returns before the statue of Amba. While the tray and the majority of the candles rest at her talons, Su takes her time in taking a single candle to each of the other dragons. She doesn’t acknowledge the heat of the melting wax or the silence of the girls.
She doesn’t want to feel anymore.
For tonight.
Maybe tomorrow would look better.
The girls’ obedience clings to them like smoke, swallowing them whole. They are still and silent and somber. Such an ugly reflection of Su makes her throat close up and kill any further commands that she could have made if she wanted to.
But she doesn’t want to. She never wants to, but she must.
Her sudden muteness leaves her to click her tongue to get their attention again. All it takes is a vague wave towards the door to have the girls rise and leave the chamber. None of them give the gem a last glance.
The group’s small journey is foggy for Su. She knows that Raya and Tuktuk lead, Namaari follows, and Su brings up the rear. She doesn’t remember if they closed the door or when they picked up the pairs of shoes or which hallways they took to greet the open air again. If only the moon could tell Su what she had missed.
Then again, it doesn’t bother her too much since she’ll have to return to clean up the shrine, but the fog leaves her mind to repeat their interactions. Chewing them over like a bull with cud, it has a time and place, but Su starts to hum to avoid the sickly thoughts.
A soft chant bubbles up from her along with even softer memories soothing her ugly mood. Su sings about the moon and sun. The earth and air. The heart and mind. The endless flow of directions. The endless flow of life. Mumbling and humming through most of it, an undercurrent of sadness swells at the thought that the girls can’t understand it.
The language used in the chant is so much older than Su is.
Their journey ends at the last set of stairs. Su stops at the top, knowing that there was a cleaner, well-lit path to ensure their safe return to the party. The trio notice the distance growing in Su’s last sets of hums as they turn as one.
Their blank confusion has Su give a vague point onward. Away from the shadows that swallow the mountain. Away from the cold glow. Away from her. She doesn’t mix well at parties anymore.
“What will you do,” Raya asks. It prickles at her new calm, and she immediately rejects the thought of more questions, but she musters up her last shreds of composure.
“It is late. I am tired. And I have too much work to do before I can sleep again. You’re getting one question a piece. So, is that your question?” She hopes that Raya agrees as it is an easy enough question to bluster around.
“No…its Tuktuk’s question.” On cue, Tuktuk chirps up his claim from his place at Raya’s shoulder.
Su gives her it with an amused huff. Just because Tuktuk is too cute to deny.
“Patrol. Clean up. Look menacing. You know, the usual.” She flippantly grips her mask from her belt and settles it on her head. A piece of armor at the ready. Maybe sensing Su’s growing restlessness, Raya blurts out her own question.
“Will you tell my Ba?” Again, an easy question with an easy answer. Politic and tactful.
“Chief Benja, and most certainly, Chief Virana will be notified that a tense spar happened between the two of you and that the dragon gem is secure. I’m not the best at the itty-bitty details so good luck with all that.”
The little wiggle room doesn’t seem to comfort Raya as she shifts where she stands. Oh yeah, the poor girl is definitely grounded until the end of forever. Su doesn’t have time to turn her head to listen to the last question. She’s somewhat grateful for it wipes the smirk off her face.
“Why have I never heard the legend told the way you have?” Namaari decides to ask with the subtly of a swinging mace.
When Su does lock eyes with the Fang girl, her eyes are sad. The kind of sad that happens when you chew something over and over and over, but still can’t swallow the sickening glob down. Knowing that there is no alternative yet still being disappointed that this lot in life is all there is. Such an old sadness in young eyes tugs the truth out of her lips.
“Love,” Su sighs while stepping closer. “Love is… weird. So small and too big and shown in a hundred different ways. Dragons loved us so much that they fought to their end. Your ma loves you so much that she teaches you all about strength that she had to figure out alone. Raya’s ba loves her so much that he reaches for some old dream he could never believe in alone.”
Once she is close enough, reaching out as slow and as obvious as possible, Su rests a hand on Namaari’s lean shoulders. She is still, but her breaths turn measured and deep. Su closes her eyes at the last exhausting truths leave her.
“An adult’s job is to inspire courage for the children to face the future. Stories are made hopeful. Edges are dulled down. They lie about the future until you are strong enough to face it. Sometimes, they forget it’s a lie because they want to believe in the best for you. Even if they can’t have it, knowing that you are closer than they were gives them peace.”
Namaari’s forehead presses into her ribs. Su briefly wonders if her approach was as slow as her own until a hitch under her hand makes it unimportant. What is important is wrapping her arm more fully around those shoulders and hiding the burning tears that seep into her shirt.
The moment is soothing and scary and short. Su’s thumb starts a circling motion attempting to ease the sobs that are denied release. The stillness makes Su squeeze her eyes harder denying her own heating eyes a way to vent. All the while, Namaari’s small fists stay firmly at her sides.
Feeling the beginnings of a retreat, Su uncurls from Namaari. She blinks her eyes in time to see Raya had moved closer and was reaching out for Namaari. Copying Su’s slowness, the back of her unbandaged hand brushes down a bare arm before covering a fist. While the girls took a moment to look at each other, Su’s eyes linger and gaze at the lacing of their fingers.
Almost like watching a flower bloom.
Blink and you’ll miss it.
None of them blink.
Neither of the princesses give a backwards glance as they descend the final set of stairs. Though sweet Tuktuk does turn on his perch, Su couldn’t begin to understand the question in his eyes. Still, she can’t help but give a faint wave goodnight.
The sight makes a small prideful thing nuzzle her heavy heart. From how this night had started, Su could be slightly at ease that they understood that this night could have ended so much worse for so many more people. The phantom chill at the mere thought makes her grip her staff with both hands for stability.
“Wasn’t as smooth as you, big brother, but they’re safe,” is lost to the growing breeze. It carries a whiff of rain.
Even as the group grows smaller and blurry with distance, the hands stay linked. A silly hope tickles her and makes her wonder if the pair have already reconciled and are just searching for the right words and a quiet moment between them to express it.
Maybe desserts would help in smoothing things over.
A little sweetness goes quite a ways.
Su remains on the stairs until the little trio gains a solid shadow from the palace’s festive lights.
On cue, she turns away. The fast march she sets for herself has her halfway up the extensive stairs before she even knows it, silent with only the tapping of her staff as it aids in working with her to overcome the steep incline. So much so she notices that she’s missed her turn.
Sheepishly going back down a set of stairs leads her next to a rather unnoticeable spot. Having the same sprawling flora and weathering stones as the rest of the hike, there was no visual clue as to why Su would stop here. A growing grimace was the only sign at all as she rested her staff against a stone pillar before leaving the path altogether with a frightening speed.
Su bounds off the brick-laden trail with the swiftness of a coursing river. Her wrapped feet pound against the ground with the force of a great typhoon. Her lungs pull and push the thickening air with the strength of a raging fire. Her eyes gain an inner glow as mysterious as the dark side of the moon.
The only witnesses to this surging might were the silently stirring creatures of the night yet they dare not raise an alarm. It might draw the attention of the predator to their location not knowing that this hunting beast had her senses fixated already and would not be swayed.
Su only slows from her breakneck pace at the sight of a particularly thick-rooted tree. Instinct has her crouching down on all fours as she prowls along a massive truck. The murmur of a slumbering wilderness gives way to the sounds of mismatch snoring, guiding her to peer down at a small opening amidst the tangling roots.
On the ground was a group of six adults.
Three men. Three women. All soldiers.
Right where she had left them.
Su drinks the sight of them in their deep unconsciousness. The stresses of the day and their duties were nowhere to be found, leaving behind smoothed brows and lax muscles. While most laid on their backs, one had moved in their sleep, cuddling against another. They must be feeling cold with the growing gale. Though their clothing was elegant and well made, it was sparse. The men didn’t even have shirts, exposing toned yet slightly puffed stomachs.
Huffing aloud, Su wonders why they ate so much from the banquet so far below them if they were going to be so active. Being so full made the group heavy-footed and slow. It led the group to being so easily found and subdued.
Hopefully, the grass stains will scrub out of their pale clothing.
Another burst of the growing breeze swings a bunch of Su’s pale hair into her vision. She grins widely at the heady smell of rain. Managing the thick mane back into compliance, she lifts her glowing eyes up. The blanket of clouds beyond the branches promises the remaining night to a soft downpour. The ancient lullaby from the falling water will help the tribes rest deeply while ensuring no more moonlit wanderings.
The admiration for the crafted tempest was interrupted by a soft movement and softer sound. A groan makes Su flash her eyes back down. Tensing at the threat of a fight, she glares at the group to see another begin to curl up. A shoulder is raising in goosebumps as the discomfort twitches across their face.
A curling hand brushes a pouch at her hip.
The feeling of smooth glass was comfortably heavy.
A fresh dose of sleeping tonic would do wonders for them.
“After all, you meddling kids didn’t think you were staying here?” Su snarks, knowing that they were no better than her.