Collateral Damages
3rd of Searing, Year 122 of the Age of Steel
3rd of Searing, Year 122 of the Age of Steel
A hunting party of five Shadowguards had been missing. They had left for the Northern Wilds two weeks ago and were scheduled to return four days ago. One or two days of delay wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, but considering the conflicts that had been growing between Kalzasi and Zaichaer, it was worrisome. They had been cautioned not to actively engage in fights unless attacked first. Still, that did not mean there hadn’t been skirmishes once in a while. Perhaps a member of the hunting party was injured and they were slowed down - at least that was what everyone was hoping for. The higher-ups had finally decided to send a group of volunteers to search for them.
Reika had jumped at the opportunity when she first heard of it. No one had stopped her or said anything after she signed up. Not that she was complaining. Lately, she had been barred from most missions. While the others were assigned to gather various information about Zaichaer and the war, all she was allowed to do was patrol the edges of Kalzasi. So today when she was gearing up with her peers in the armory and saw one of the ranking officers that would lead the search party bee-lining for her, Reika knew exactly what it would be about.
“Lady Dahshida, I am afraid I cannot let you participate. Your father said-”
Reika cut him off as she tied her hair back, making sure not a single strand escaped. “My father said I am not allowed to be involved in anything that involves engaging or interacting with the Zaichaer military. This is neither of that, sir. We are looking for the missing hunters.” The young woman continued strapping a quiver of arrows on her back. Her entire body had been humming in excitement since last night, at the thought of finally doing something other than walking through the woods. She had been the first to arrive at the armory and by now was already fully clad in her leather armor.
The lines on his forehead deepened in frustration and his answer was terse. “There is a chance that we might encounter them in the Wilds and I’ll have to respectfully ask you to not participate.” She couldn’t count how many times she had been respectfully asked not to participate this past season. The man unfortunately had the bad luck of being the first one she declined.
By now, every pair of eyes in the armory was trained on her, judging her. If she insisted more, she knew it wouldn’t take long for them to start whispering that Senrian’s spoiled daughter was acting up again. In the past, the thought would have upset her, but she was used to it by now. A couple of days ago she already overheard a couple of recruits talking about how she could slack off using the war as an excuse because her father wanted to protect her from the danger. So whether she did as she was told and do nothing or insist to be involved, people were still going to talk.
With that in mind, Reika was ready to argue and make a scene. “So respectfully, you would have me do nothing on the off chance we might-”
“I can take her, Zallis. If anyone asks, she’ll be my full responsibility.” The owner of the husky voice was a familiar face, Yurio Hamada. He walked towards them, already clad in his full gear - bow strapped to his back and Sunreaver on his waist. Reika knew that he would be leading one of the teams and made the conscious decision of not signing up for his. He wasn’t looking at her, but that didn’t stop her from staring at him. There was a new scar on his right cheek, perhaps about a week old, barely visible. It did not make his features any less striking to her.
The man shook his head. “Still a terrible idea.”
“We’ll be wasting time arguing with her.” Yurio gave her an accusatory look. “Besides, we need the numbers. There aren’t exactly a lot of volunteers.” He gestured at the people gathered at the armory. About two dozen members volunteered, most were busy doing their assigned missions and the rest probably didn’t want to risk an encounter with Zaichaerins.
Zallis threw his hands up in defeat. “It’s your head, Yurio.”
Reika could hear him grumbling as he walked away, but she was already turning back to face Yurio. His dark grey eyes were as unreadable as always. He didn’t have to step in, but she was grateful that he did. “Thank you. I owe you one.”
He sighed. “Don’t make me regret it.”
She could swear it sounded like he was already regretting it.