Enoria is preparing for war with Irithara, and the team sans Kaleth are doing the best they can to put a stop to it before it progresses even further.
Their plan? Find Mereria, get her help with killing Relioth, and save Kaleth in the process. They...
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Rayni played with her new sword as she suffered through yet another unending car trip. To make matters worse, Mereria had insisted that Rayni had to travel with her and no amount of arguing made her change her mind, so now they were sitting next to each other in an awkward silence. Or maybe an angry silence. Was there such a thing?
"Okay," Rayni said, unable to take it anymore. "What's the point of this exactly?"
"I told you, I want to keep an eye on you," Mereria replied, sounding just as neutral as ever. There was something else just beneath the surface, though. Rayni tried to look into Mereria's head, but something was blocking her from doing so.
That made Rayni both annoyed again, but also interested. If there was a way to keep her mind safe from nosy telepaths, she should probably learn how to do it.
"And why is that exactly? You think I can't hold my own in a fight?" Rayni grumbled, staring at her faint reflection in the sword if only to have something to look at besides Mereria. The weapon was kind of short, but not short enough for Rayni to call it a dagger.
It was probably really old, but at the same time, the sword was completely spotless as if it had been made yesterday. The unmistakable black color of the blade that turned red where light hit it was enough to convince her it would be effective against an Eternal. Rayni wondered what would happen if she touched it, if she would notice that it was sapping her power, but she wasn't actually going to try.
Besides, she'd been wearing a suppression bracelet for most of her life—or for the part she actually remembered, at least—and those bracelets had to have some othrin in them, so she probably wouldn't even notice anything if she touched the blade.
"I know very well that you are a great fighter," Mereria replied after a moment of silence, smiling at Rayni slightly. "But you just lost a fight, and you were injured during it. You're still not at full power, and I don't want to see you get hurt." Mereria scowled. "Or worse."
"We're going to see the remaining Umbra. How bad can that be?"
"Very," Mereria said ominously and didn't bother continuing. Rayni shook her head in disbelief.
"Care to elaborate?"
Mereria sighed. "Ikara has a different way of doing things than I do. He is much more destructive and doesn't value the lives of mortals in the slightest."
"Oh, and you do?" Rayni asked, making Mereria sigh once more.
"Do you see me killing them?"
"I've known you for a few hours, so I'm not taking your word for it," Rayni replied, putting the sword in its sheath and folding her arms over her chest. Mereria's eyes turned sad, and she quickly turned her head away from Rayni to rather stare out of the window.
Rayni rubbed a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to ruin the mood, especially given how bad it was already, but it was too late now, she supposed. Still, she could at least try to make the situation better by changing the subject.
