Amity and Enmity

Chapter 19

Day: 1009

Days Left: 4471

Lives Saved: 5

Lili wrapped up another training session with Corinna, the young woman becoming more confident in her abilities and reaching higher with her mask's powers, marking up to a metre on the tree.

Ever since the failed negotiations, the thought of a possible attack by the other group occupied Lili's mind the most. Though they barely had a motive to do so, as their leader said, they had nothing they would want; the fear lay ever-present. So, Lili trained Corinna even harder than usual to ensure that she could protect herself.

"Maybe the others should also be training," Lili sighed as she began to pack up her belongings. "We need to prepare for an attack." She saw Corinna's disagreeable expression, and Lili corrected herself, "we should prepare for them to attack us. The chances are low, but they may feel their status will be threatened the longer we stay."

Lili expected Corinna to dismiss the idea, her fundamental belief in the best of everyone; instead, Corinna wrote on her whiteboard, 'you enjoy teaching?'

Lili paused, then replied, "it is necessary for the group to survive."

Corinna wiped away the question mark and motioned to her writing.

"I..." Lili glanced at the ground. "I guess I do like seeing someone making good progress."

'Me too,' Corinna wrote with a smile. 'Seeing completed project'.

"I don't think anyone is ever 'completed' in their learning."

Corinna nodded.

Lili smirked. "Yes, I suppose you were constantly improving your construction projects despite everyone else saying they were already perfect."

Corinna gave a guilty grin. 'You seemed happiest when teaching,' she wrote.

'Happiest?' Lili considered the word in her mind. Was she really? The more she thought about it, the more Lili struggled to find any other memory of when she would classify herself as 'happy'. But back when she was teaching everyone how to fight, holding three lessons a week and all of the little competitions... yes, she supposed that that would be a moment she would define as being 'happy'. She enjoyed those lessons; she... missed them and these training sessions with Corinna revitalised that. Lately, she had been noticing her own change in mood, almost excited to wake up every day, to return after scouting, knowing that there was another lesson.

"Yeah..." Lili finally replied. "I think I was." She hesitated. "It's the same for you, isn't it, Miss Warren? You appeared happy when you had a project to work on." Lili omitted the part about Harmony, who obviously played a significant role in Corinna's happiest.

Corinna nodded, looking away for a moment before returning Lili's gaze with a smile.

Though Corinna had not wholly given up on her construction projects, they were small and insignificant compared to what she used to plan; no longer did she possess such ambitions of building an entire village from scratch and instead took her time to experiment with twigs and then constantly redrafting blueprints for a wagon but never starting it.

Lili wondered how she could help rekindle Corinna's love for construction, just as Corinna helped with her teaching. They were both workaholics, needing busy work to keep their minds stable, unable to relax unless everything was done, but lately, both of them had been drifting away from this, losing their sense of purpose; Lili, with her lack of bodyguard duties and Corinna with no current projects.

"Do you think I should teach the others again?" asked Lili.

'We should not fear attack,' Corinna wrote. 'But if you find it fun yes'.