Of Love and Valor

63: Always Prepared

"Good mor...ning," Anzarij greets me as he climbs the ladder into the Watchtower of the Tiger, his voice catching as he realizes who his partner for the morning watch will be.

"Good morning," I answer smoothly with a small smile. It's probably wasted at this point—neither Anzarij nor Kokudon has warmed up to me much since my apparently fearsome first impression on them—but they're still part of our squadron, so I will continue to try. Even if Kokudon is less than admirable. Although, in fairness, Thariyae is at least as much to blame for the fallout between them on our walking patrol the other day.

Anzarij makes no attempt to reply, which is just as well for me; I would prefer to be left with my thoughts this morning. Yesterday's Viorzhanim shift was incredibly eventful, and afterward....

"Why did you take the scroll?" Zelphinon asked me as we walked away from the Yrivvior's palace while the sun sank towards the western horizon.

We hadn't had a chance to converse without the possibility of others interfering until then.

"I...don't know. It seemed like he was being...sincere, about his reasoning."

"I don't trust him. And he could make both of our lives much more difficult on a whim, particularly if he does not carry out his supposed intention to quell the rumor mill."

"All the more reason we should strive not to offend him, don't you think?"

Our conversation didn't really go anywhere after that. Zelphinon didn't appreciate the reminder that the Yrivvilon isn't just another upstart admirer that he or I can trounce in a duel. I hope that, when I see him for supper this evening, his temper will have cooled a bit.

The rest of the strategy session between the Yrivvior, the Orenfior, Kazmiohn Meskaiavin, the Sozunkarit, and the salori was not without its share of hot tempers, either, but neither Zelphinon nor I, nor any other Viorzhanim, were allowed to interrupt those proceedings. We did, however, get to exchange a few brief pleasantries with Firohn Tanarin, who had been summoned from training the volunteers bound for Kedar-Jashun to offer his insights to the assembled council. Under his guidance, the volunteers were divided into "batches" to be sent to Kedar-Jashun in three waves.

Cezaiya and Jorabij will be part of the first wave, which is set to depart at the next new moon, about half a moon from now.

I haven't had a chance to say anything to either one of them about it. I wonder if Zelphinon's seen Cezaiya, if he's mentioned it.

The way Anzarij keeps looking at me, like he wants to say something but doesn't have the guts to follow through, I might lose my mind before I have a chance to find out. If he's looking for me to start a conversation, he'll have a long wait; counting bricks in the wall has more appeal, and there's no shortage of bricks visible from our vantage point. Still, the feeling of his eyes on me is unsettling, to say the least, and I keep losing count.

With a sigh, I look up and my eyes happen to meet Anzarij's.

"I guess I owe you an apology," he mumbles, almost like he hopes I won't hear him.

"For what?" I ask, genuinely confused.

"Judging you too early."

"You're not the first person to think I'm unfriendly or unapproachable because of my typical facial expression. I'm not offended."

"I mean— Well— That's not— It's just that.... Kokudon told me, about what happened on your patrol a couple mornings ago. I never dreamed, when I first met you and Thariyae, that you'd turn out to be the nicer one."