From The Ashes.

Chapter 25.

"Did you really eat all the carrots?"

"You didn't ask for any!" Caerun and Dot were bickering back and forth as we cleaned up the table and set it against the wall so it wasn't taking up space on his floor.

"To be fair, I think Cody ate three quarters of them." Zak smiled when Dot puffed her cheeks out in indignation.

"Well, I can hardly yell at him for eating, can I?" She whined and we laughed. Hana moved to pick up some of the dishes sitting on the floor by the door when Caerun put his hand hand on her shoulder.

"Leave that. You and I need to get to the tecmati field, you have a fight to prepare for." He said and Hanas eyes lit up like someone had switched on a light bulb. I looked at Zak who seemed concerned.

"The champion fight is today." He said to me before turning to the others. "Go get ready. As stupid as this is it might bring something good." Then, he paused and shot a look at Hana. "And don't listen to them. You're my champion for a reason. Remember that." She nodded and her and Caerun disappeared, leaving us to take the crockery back to the kitchen. Cody grabbed handfuls of cutlery and lead the way as though he was the head of the hard. Or, pack.

"Tera, would you like me to take Cody when you go to watch Hana?" I paused at the top of the second floor staircase to stare at Dot like she'd lost her mind.

"Hana's your best friend! Why wouldn't you want to watch her fight?" I exclaimed and Dot looked a little uncomfortable, turning the end of her blonde ponytail around her finger until it began to turn red.

"I love Hana, I really do, and I'm proud of her for the amount of work she put in to become Ossians champion but... I'm a healer. I want to help people, not hurt them. And seeing people beat each other up like it's some kind of game." She hesitated. "It's not something I enjoy." Zak and I looked at each other, unsure what to say as Cody pressed his face to my thigh, looking at Dot like he didn't quite understand. The silence dragged for several beats too long when Dot suddenly perked up again.

I felt bad that she felt the need to defuse the situation but I wasn't sure what to say. Did I agree with her and seem hypocritical because I did want to see the fight? Or, did I disagree and make her feel bad for not watching her best friend do the thing she'd worked hard for? Was there a third option? Before I could find it, Dot spoke again.

"Anyway, I wasn't sure Cody would enjoy being amongst so many people and so much violence." I blinked and looked down at the boy leaning on my leg, staring up at me with those brilliant eyes. Guilt ate at me. How had I forgotten to think about him? I'd gotten so used to him being with me that I'd started to forget his needs. Dot had realised that it was a bad situation for him before that idea had even occurred to me. How could I be so stupid?

"I'll stay with you, than." I announced, resting a hand balancing plates on his head, precariously. The thought of leaving him made my anxiety spike, he was my kid, he was relying on me to look after him. I couldn't leave him with Dot just because I wanted to see Hana fight. It didn't even seem like an option to me. At least, not until Zak cleared his throat behind me.

"Hana says she knows Dot won't come so she's expecting Tera to hard enough for the both of you." Dot and I looked at each other, absolutely speechless. It had seemed so simple before but now... did we both disappoint her? Every cell in my body was telling me that leaving Cody with Dot betrayed his trust. But, obviously, Hana considered the absence of both Dot and I to be a betrayal of hers. I was paralysed. I didn't know what to do. It seemed no matter what I chose, someone would get hurt and that was the very last thing I wanted to do.

I must have looked like a fish, opening and closing my mouth several times before the pressure on my leg suddenly lifted and I looked up to find Cody had made his way over to Dots side, his lips pressed together in determination. I carefully kneeled down so I was eye height with him.