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The door opened up to let Ri’kara into the hot, stuffy room. She blinked a little in the sun that streamed through the windows opposite directly into her face and sidestepped the beam to walk over to the small table that sat in the middle of the room.
As usual, she regarded him with something that he supposed she meant to be neutral but was tinged with contempt. She reminded him a little of the former Highlord, the way she walked purposeful, the way she kept her eyes on him trained to watch for danger. Still, Var’gash regarded her with a smile.
“Good afternoon—”
He could barely get out a greeting as she raised her free hand and spoke.
“It’s all done. I know that having it in writing is more for the Hierarch’s benefit than yours; we never really did have much on record, but… It’s there.”
A large scroll wound tight and kept closed with a deep red ribbon was placed onto the table’s glass surface, no doubt filled in with her slightly haphazard handwriting.
“And now I’ll be handing over to Enzu; you won’t see me again.”
He stepped over to her, bent a little to catch her eye. As always, she took a tiny step backwards to keep more distance between them, though he tried his best not to let that bother him; it seemed to be a habit.
“Thank you, truly.”
She shrugged and cast her eyes to the side. They flickered back and forth between two points on the floor as though weighing something in her mind, and then she sighed again.
“I… also wanted to apologise before I go. For my behaviour.”
He blinked, tilting his head as her words sunk in.
“What?”
“You’re right; I don’t like you. If you want to know one of the other reasons I’m stepping down, it’s because you remind me of your father.”
“My…” He trailed off, narrowing his eyes. “You knew him?” In the back of his head, the memory of his final talk with Alarak tugged at him, the words in his dismissive, harsh tone playing over again.
“Killed by his pet before it fled to Aiur.”
“… Well, I’ll be honest I don’t know. I assume he might have been your father, I mean… You smile in the same way; your crest and cheekbones are similar… It could be a coincidence.”
The Highlord kept his voice in that same curious, confused tone as puzzle pieces began to fall into place. Here, somewhere wrapped in this conversation, were at least parts of the answers he had been trying to get from her for weeks.
“Is he dead?”
“Yes; I know that for sure.” She looked… guilty? Resigned? Her expression was, for once, softened at the edges. Her arms snaked around her middle; the screen pressed against her chest. “He was my overseer, and I was his…”
“His pet?”
The former phase-smith flinched at the word. “Maybe I would have been if I hadn’t killed him. Maybe I was already. ‘Favourite’ is a nicer way to put it.”
Var’gash reached out halfway into the space between them, the usual urge to put a comforting hand on one’s shoulder stymied by another flinch. He let it hang there, deciding to let her continue to speak.
“I don’t talk about it; only my closest friends know, but I thought you deserved to hear it. I’m sorry even if we won’t ever truly know if he was related to you.”
“I suppose we won’t know… But thank you for your honesty.”
He had to try not to allow the satisfaction that was lodged in his chest to show in his voice. He hadn’t expected to be handed the confirmation of his suspicions on a silver platter. An overseer killed so soon after the End War? There was no way that Alarak could have known about him in advance… She told her ‘closest friends’.
“A thorn in my side at best.”
Just as Gahl’i can be a thorn in mine, no doubt.
The silence stretched out a little, and he drew his hand back. Perhaps she could be prodded for a little more before she slipped through his fingers forever.
“Ri’kara… One more question, if I may.”
“Hm?”
“I… Don’t suppose you know what happened to Ji’nara?”
“Ji’nara?” Her eyes, already filled with that regretful expression, somehow looked sadder. “… She died on a solo mission. I always wondered if it were on purpose, but I don’t know. It isn’t as if Alarak would have told me otherwise.”
“Mentioning her seems to upset you.”
“It does a little. She was prickly, difficult, treated me more like a servant than Alarak had in the beginning, but I think she was just frustrated; she was a lot nicer after a while... I could have won her over properly, or…” She shook herself and then tilted her head. “Why?”
“… You have told me something personal, so I’ll return the favour, hm?”
“Alright.”
“I was… only ever on the Chain to kill her. She had my mother killed when she was innocent and could have helped her identify the other traitors.” Unexpectedly, his eyes welled a little, the unbidden thought of his mother’s corpse lay scalped and oozing blood passed across his mind’s eye. “I cared for my mother.” He blinked his tears away and added with a soft laugh; “If you can believe that.”
“… I can. I’m sorry.” Ri’kara ran a hand over her crest, her expression one of pity. “And I am sorry you didn’t get what you climbed all the way up here for, though I suppose killing him… That would have been enough to you.”
He nodded. “Yes, though I do still say I am sorry that I had to.”
Another suspicion was fully confirmed for him then. She really had no idea what they had agreed upon, the plan that would allow him to live. More answers only led to more questions. They were close enough that she told him things she would tell precious few… Why wasn’t she allowed to know that he might live? Especially since…
Those words were all it took for her expression to harden back into the slight frown she always regarded him with, those protective walls closing in around her again. “Is that everything?”
“I suppose it is.”
She bowed a little lower than she had for the entire time she had known him, and turned without another word, shutting the door behind her and leaving him in a cold silence.
Gahl’i pushed himself from the shadowed corner just underneath the window, the red hexagonal shimmer of his cloak dissipating as he walked over and placed a gentle hand against Var’gash’s shoulder.
“An interesting little meeting.”
“My last, I suppose. You heard what she said?”
“I did.” He slid that hand down his back and snaked it around his waist. “She may have seen you and warned him early. It is little wonder he was so cautious.”
“And little wonder he knew of my father.” Finally, the Highlord let his shoulders sag, allowed himself to melt into his companion’s side. “And yet he didn’t tell her his plan… He is here on Aiur; they are waiting for him to wake up, and yet…”
“He may have had his reasons.”
“It isn’t as if she’d do anything much but grieve—”
Gahl’i laughed softly. “She is stronger than I. Slayn and its Tal’darim would have been levelled in an instant had I been in her place.”
He tried not to freeze as his arms fully closed around his middle in that tight embrace. His tone as so dark suddenly, so sure… Alarak’s warning rolled around in his skull as it had for many nights since he had heard it. He matched his laugh.
“… I am sure you would never do that truly. You’re the only one I would trust to continue this if I were to die.”
The bloodhunter seemed to pause, then rested his sharp chin against Var’gash’s shoulder.
“Of course. I would never.”