Banished Pt. 20

"Lucia isn't mad at Nathan. Lucia just misses papa," the girl explained.

I chuckled, patting her on the back as I did.

"I know. I'm feeling a little down for my own reasons too," I said, and Lucia sat up.

"Is Cammy mad at Nathan?" Lucia asked, and I shook my head.

"She's just feeling sad too. Because Ethan took away our baby," I explained, and Lucia shook her head.

"But... not every seed becomes a tree. Cammy is alive. She can bear a new one," Lucia said, the confusion on her face evident.

Was this perhaps the Kobalt way of seeing things?

I hadn't spent sufficient time amongst them to understand, but her confusion definitely suggested as much.

"Well, maybe you are right, but Cameron... she needs a little bit of time. To grieve," I explained, and Lucia frowned.

She crawled her way around to me, then wrapped her arms around my lower body, hugging me as she curled up beside me.

"I'm sorry, Nathan."

We stayed like that for a while, when Lucia spoke again.

"Nathan? Lucia doesn't know what to do now," Lucia said, and I looked down at her, noting the look on her face was quite despondent.

"What do you mean?"

"Lucia wanted to kill monster; but monster that killed papa is gone... swallowed by Hans. Lucia wanted to protect Nathan, but godling was taken, and Lucia did nothing..."

I shook my head at her.

"You didn't do nothing, kiddo. That monster would have caused a lot of trouble if you hadn't picked up on his presence."

Lucia frowned.

"Lucia didn't do it for Nathan. Lucia did it for Lucia."

The girl began to cry, so I scooped her up into my arms, and held her tight.

"We all do things for ourselves sometimes. And that's fine. You do a lot for me when you can, but you have to do things for yourself too, okay?"

"Mhm."

The words were muffled, mumbled into my shoulder, so I decided to just hold her for a bit, and stroke her hair reassuringly as I did.

I began to notice, however, that her hair was a bit dry and tangled, which struck me as a bit strange given how flawlessly smooth and silky most of the Kobalt's hair generally appeared.

I was still thinking about it when suddenly, I felt a presence behind me, and as I spun around, half-expecting to see someone there, Lucia looked up, then looked at me, slightly confused.

"Is Nathan mad at Byaka?" she asked, and I tilted my head at the question.

"What? Why would I be mad at her?" I asked.

Lucia shot me a confused look, then turned to look ahead of me, and I shook my head, as her expression seemed to indicate that she was looking at someone.

"Ugh! Did you have to sell me out like that? I told you to be quiet!"

I jumped, as Bianca's voice spoke quite clearly in front of me, yet nothing was there, until suddenly, I noticed a shimmering presence forming the familiar outline of her form, and I stared in wonder as she slowly came into view.

"Ta-da~," she sang, as she struck a cute pose, and I blinked back my disbelief, as I studied her.

"Is that a new skill?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yup! I call it, 'shadow stalker'," she declared proudly, gesturing with her arms, and uttering the phrase with an air of mystery. "It's tied to this... thingie," she explained, holding up her token, and as I gazed into the thing with sensory perception, I noted that a skill had indeed formed there.

"What does it do, exactly?" I asked.

"I haven't tested it out properly yet, but it looks like I can erase my presence from the sight of anyone I choose, just by concentrating on them really hard and activating the skill."

I turned to Lucia at this.

"So, you saw her all the time?" I asked, and the girl nodded, frowning a little.

"No fair. Lucia wants new skill. Why does Byaka get toking?" she whined, and Bianca cackled at her.

"Because Nate knows who's really useful, and who's just a little whiny brat," Bianca shot, teasing the girl by holding her token up in front of her, then snatching it away just as Lucia lunged after it.

I set her down as she tried to go at Bianca, but as the two caused a bit of a stir, prompting some of the sleeping Kobalt hunters to grumble, I quickly put a stop to the fuss.

"Come on, you two. Take it outside," I said, scolding them a little.

As we headed outside, however, I stole a look at Bianca's hair, and she stopped to study me as I reached out to give it a feel.

"If this is a new head pat technique, I like the old way better," she complained, but I ignored the comment, instead giving her hair a little sniff. "What?" she asked.

"Your hair. It smells like, some kind of flowers," I began.

"Yeah? You don't like it?" she asked, giving her own hair a sniff, but I shook my head.

"No, I mean. How? Are you using something, like a shampoo or soap or something?"

She grinned at me.

"A lady never tells," she answered mysteriously, and I rolled my eyes.

"I'm asking for Lucia," I clarified, and Bianca's eyes went wide.

"B-but she's a child," she said, her tone aghast, and I massaged my temples in frustration.

"Bianca. Her hair," I said, gesturing at Lucia who was now looking up at Bianca's hair while examining her own coppery brown locks.

"Hnn," Bianca said, as she examined the child.

"What? What's wrong with Lucia?" the child asked, and I chuckled.

"Nothing's wrong, sweetie. Your hair just needs a little bit of a wash," I said.

Lucia pawed at her own hair, then after looking at Bianca's she frowned.

"Byaka washes hair?" Lucia asked, and Bianca scoffed.

"Well, duh! Just because we fight like warriors doesn't mean we need to smell like one too," she said.

Lucia frowned, her expression getting a little teary, and Bianca quickly stooped down beside her.

"Tell ya what, I'll show you how I wash my hair when we get home. Then we can both look like a pair of beautiful, kick-ass assassins!" Bianca said.

That seemed to cheer Lucia up, and I shot Bianca a thankful look.

"Nate! There you are!" Blair greeted me, a sly look on her face as she sauntered towards me, her hands behind her back. "Say, if we were to have acquired, I don't know, some... special beverages, along with our newly seized fort; then imbibing said drink might be seen as an appropriate way to celebrate the victory, wouldn't you say?"

I snickered at her.

"What kind of alcohol is it?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Seems like rum and wine," she replied, and Bianca perked up at this.

"Wine? Like, good wine?"

I eyed Bianca, and Lucia looked between us, an interested look on her face.

"Wine? What is a 'wine'?" she asked.

"An adult drink," Bianca replied, looking down on Lucia which prompted her to grumble a little.

"Lucia can drink a wine. Lucia can drink anything Byaka can!"

"I'm gonna veto that one," I cut in. "This might be around the time to put you to bed," I added, and Lucia frowned, making a whining sound very much reminiscent to Bianca's mannerisms, and I chuckled a little.

Guess the two were getting along much better than I thought, huh?

As I followed Blair outside, however, she stole ahead of me, shooting me a smirk as she did.

"Nate said it's okay to drink!" she declared, raising both hands, but before I could say anything, cheers erupted around the courtyard.

Everyone seemed to have gathered up while I was inside, and as I spotted Casey, I quickly moved towards her.

She scowled, shooting me a disapproving look, and I shrugged.

"They're been through hell this past week. Might as well let them have this one," I said, and she frowned.

"We're not out of the woods yet," she said, but as we spoke, Alva moved to join us.

"A feast to celebrate a pivotal moment is custom amongst our people," she said. "But rest assured, Frei-Casey, our 'High protector' will keep his wits about him."

Raul sighed as Alva gestured in his direction, but Casey, to my surprise, shook her head.

"You can drink," she said. "Just don't pass out. Your implant can metabolize all of the alcohol in your blood almost instantly if you desire it-"

"So, we can just stop being drunk whenever we want to?" he asked, and she nodded.

Raul smiled, but it quickly faded away as Alva shot him a slightly disapproving look.

"Maybe just a little," he added hastily, and I chuckled a little to myself as the two headed off together.

The bottles were loaded up in cases on a nearby cart that itself looked to be on its last legs, but as two hunters brought in some planks, steadying the cart, everyone moved in to inspect the cache.

"Unlabeled mystery wine; my favorite," Cameron said, snagging herself a bottle. "Do we have glasses in this fort, or-?"

"Think I saw some wooden cups in the kitchen," Casey said.

"Sorry my lady, it seems most are with the rot," a hunter cut in, and Cameron smiled.

"By the bottle, it is!"

I shot her a disapproving look, and she shrugged.

"What? I'm not pregnant anymore," she said, but despite the wide grin on her face, I sensed something flicker behind her gaze.

"Well now; we've got to hear a toast from our king, don't we?" Molly declared.

"Yes! Speech!" Blair exclaimed, smirking as chants of speech broke out amongst the gathering.

"Alright, alright. Can I stand on this thing?" I asked.

"It is sufficiently braced, high one," a hunter confirmed, so I climbed up onto the cart, eyeing Blair as she passed me a bottle of rum, and I cleared my throat, as everyone went quiet.

"Two days ago, we set off on a mission to rescue one of our own, and face what was probably the toughest enemy we've encountered so far. So, to stand here; holding a drink. With all of the people I set off with still alive and kicking, is nothing short of... a blessing."

"Hear, hear!" Molly cheered, and I raised my drink to her.

"What has it been, three weeks since we came here?" I asked.

"You kidding?" Blair asked, and Nolan scoffed.

"Not even," he said.

"Not even, indeed," I said. "But what a time it was. Most of us came into this world never having gotten in a fight, much less shed blood, or taken life."

"Speak for yourself!" Blair exclaimed, and I chuckled.

"Fair enough," I said. "Over these few weeks, we learned some tough lessons. We learned about the sacrifices we have to make; from what we believe in, to what we're willing to do; to survive and live in this world. But most importantly, I think, we've learned what we're willing to do to make sure that we make it; together, as a group!"

Some cheers sounded, and I extended a hand to Cameron, who smiled a little before taking it.

"We leave no-one behind, and we move forward together. That was what we decided, and that is who we are."

The group cheered again, and Cameron blushed a little.

"I have to admit; there's nothing quite like seeing all of the people you love show up to save you, drenched in the blood of your enemies," Cameron declared, and Blair smiled broadly as she interjected:

"Aww. I could get used to this. Usually people are all like, 'whose blood is that?' and 'where did you get this meat?'."

I shook my head at her disapprovingly, before uncorking my bottle, and waiting as everyone else did as well.

"To Cameron, and to our future!" I declared.

The toast was met with cheers and the clinking of bottles.

Cameron and I shared a toast as well, before taking a drink, and as I leaned in to kiss her, more cheers broke out around us.

"Not everyone is gonna be pleased to see that," she warned, and I shrugged.

"Maybe I want them to," I said, and she eyed me.

For a second, she seemed about to say something, but instead she took another drink.

"Alva. Please tell me the Kobalt know what music is!" she said, as I helped her down from the cart, and Alva smiled.

"Yes, Frei-Camryn. Though, we are not suitably equipped..."

"Of course," Cameron said, waving a hand.

She took another swig of her drink, coughing and spilling a little as she did, I shot her a worried look.

"Might wanna pace yourself. We have no idea how strong this stuff is."

"Oh, it sucks," she said, grinning a little, and I nodded.

"Maybe you should have gone with the rum, then," I said, as I took another tentative sip of my drink.

"You know... that's the second time I've seen you shy away from your drink. Do you turn into a monster or something when you're drunk?"

I shrugged.

"I like being in control of my senses," I explained, and she laughed.

"Control freak!" Blair cut in. "I keep tellin ya'; cutting loose ain't half as bad as you think it is. You need to embrace what you are!"

Casey eyed me at that, but I laughed away the suggestion.

"Well, have fun 'cutting loose'," I said, shooing Blair away.

"Oh, I think I'm with Blair on this one," Cameron said. "I'm kinda interested in seeing what Nathan Van Dyke looks like when he's stone drunk."

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm almost the exact same person I am sober," I replied.

"Bor~ing," Cameron teased, and I shrugged.

"Can't argue there."

"Don't you wanna know what drunk Cameron is like, though?" she asked, batting her eyes suggestively at me, and I smiled.

"I want to know what all of your 'Camerons' are like," I replied.

Cameron giggled a little, and Casey let out a sigh, massaging her temples as she moved away from us a bit, but as I followed her out of the corner of my eye, I also caught sight on Nolan shooting a disapproving glare in our direction.

"You're hardly even drinking. I'm beginning to suspect you have intentions," she teased, and I frowned.

"Fine, you got me," I said, as brought the bottle of rum to my lips and took a tentative sip, and Cameron shook her head at me.

"It's like you're trying not to get drunk," she said, and I sighed. "You know. I think Blair might be right. You're afraid of being out of control."

"Ding ding ding!" Blair cut in. "Hit the nail on the head!"

"I think he knows damn well when to give control up though," Molly added suggestively, and Cameron put her hand over her mouth, in a mock expression of shock.

"But is it really giving up control if he only gives us control when he stands to benefit from it?" Francesca suddenly asked, and I raised an eyebrow at her unexpected contribution.

Et tu, Brute? I thought, and she shrugged, shooting me a little smile.

"Oh, my love!" Cameron cut in. "Have you- have you been with other women? Oh, the betrayal!" she wailed, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

"He has," Nolan suddenly cut in, glaring at me before turning to Cameron. "And you're just- fine with this?"

Cameron scowled, shooting him a dirty look, before a playful smile crept onto her lips.

"You know... I usually like getting drunk to some good music, but if we can't get that, maybe we can still have some fun. What do you ladies think of making this a girl's night?" Cameron asked.

"Oh, I am so in," Blair said.

"Count me down," Molly said, a little suggestively, and I shook my head, smiling.

"Are you putting us guys out of the courtyard?" I asked, and Cameron nodded.

"Go... man the perimeter, or something," she chided, waving us off.

"Alright, have fun then," I said, chuckling as I turned to leave.

Jordan moved to join me, but Nolan turned and headed into the fort instead.

"Hey, you're a girl too, Leanna," Cameron said, as Leanna automatically moved to follow Jordan.

She looked confused for a moment.

"What? What's going on?"

I chuckled, as she'd probably spaced out completely, but Cameron quickly ushered her over to their side of the fire.

"Alcohol doesn't make her condition worse, does it?" Jordan asked as we walked away, and I shook my head.

"If anything, it helps. Alcohol is a depressant; helps dull the senses. Makes it harder to hallucinate, and keeps some of the anxieties in check."

"Oh. Does that mean we could potentially use it to help treat her?" Jordan asked, and I shook my head.

"The benefits are short term and temporary, and dependency can become its own problem. Not to mention, the hallucinations actually get worse during withdrawal, and the benefits dwindle away as the body adjusts to the effects."

Jordan frowned.

"You know, Nymphadora actually mentioned some leaves which have similar effects. Depressants, I mean."

"Oh? Eltari-strand marijuana?" I asked, and Jordan laughed.

"Probably. She'd think smoking anything is crazy though. Fire really freaks her out."

"I can imagine," I said. "How are things going with Leanna, though? I notice she's really taken to you."

"Yeah, she has. She was really... really lonely, I think. Just having someone listen and help her work out what's in her mind, and what she's afraid of; it means the world to her."

"You think she had that problem on earth too?" I asked, and Jordan nodded.

"Definitely."

As we spoke, we approached Raul on the outer perimeter.

Alva was nowhere in sight, so I took a quick look around as we closed in on him.

"What's the matter? Did Alva finally come to her senses and realize you're no good?" I teased, and Raul sighed.

"She's checking on the wounded in the main hall," Raul said. "What happened to the party?"

"The girls banished us," I answered, and Raul chuckled.

"About time," he said, but a serious look suddenly crossed his face. "Hey, uh... do you think they'll invite Alva over there?"

I eyed him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll come right back to you when she'd done with her rounds," I began, but he shook his head.

"No, that's not what I mean. I, uh- I think she wants to get to know them better, but... it's difficult. She's still getting a little trouble with speaking English all the time."

"Oh. I see."

"I think Leanna is kind of the same thing," Jordan said. "She wants to talk to the girls, but she still thinks most of them hate her. Except Cameron, I guess."

Raul eyed Jordan at this.

"You and that girl... Leanna, I mean. You're a thing?" Raul asked.

"Uh, no," Jordan answered.

He eyed me for a moment, and I nodded.

If you're comfortable, I thought, and Jordan nodded.

"No. Nolan and I were... but that might be over, I think."

"N-Nolan?"

Raul raised an eyebrow, but he quickly shook the expression away.

"S-sorry," he quickly said. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Jordan replied, taking a deep breath in.

"Have you two talked about it?" I asked, and Jordan shook his head.

"He's impossible to talk to right now. It turns into an argument before we even get to anything that's actually going on," he said.

"Fuck. If that doesn't describe every relationship I've ever had on earth," Raul said, and I chuckled at the response.

"Were things ever this bad back on earth for the two of you?" I asked Jordan, and he shrugged.

"We fought. Not like this, but... I guess no one was taking Cameron away from him back then," Jordan said.

"Wait, you all knew each other on earth?" Raul asked.

"They did. Cameron, Nolan and Jordan. I think Molly and Evie too," I said, and Raul shook his head.

"Well, fuck. I knew no-one," he said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Me either," I said. "Unless Julie counts."

Raul shook his head.

"It's better this way, though. I wouldn't want anyone I cared about to end up here," he said.

"Do you ever wonder, though? Why us?" Jordan asked.

"Well, according to Casey, the company chose people who wouldn't be missed. Or whose families wanted them gone," I said.

"Loner immigrant. That checks out," Raul said, but Jordan shook his head.

"I only had my sister," Jordan said. "But Nolan... his family was close. Pretty well-off people too..."

"But they didn't know about you two, right?" I asked, and Jordan shook his head.

"No. They weren't the type of people who would accept that. That's why he had Cameron pretend to be his girlfriend."

Raul scoffed.

"He what? Wait, he had her pretend while-?"

"I know, I know. Just don't joke about it please. I'm not ready to deal with that yet," Jordan said, but Raul shook his head.