"Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team." - Patrick Lencioni
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The morning sun beams down onto the pair, warming their skin as Alia describes the beginning of Bertraim's father's reign. Against the trunk of a large tree rests Valen with his legs crossed at the ankles, a journal and pen in hand. Alia sits across from him, picking at blades of grass.
They're away from the central area of Veuross. Not quite near the forestry border and various residential areas, but instead at an open field with scattered trees and children who play in their primal form.
A calming place.
It feels like an hour has passed since they arrived, with Alia reciting information from the top of her head, her voice mingling with excited barks and singing birds. Valen's journaling doesn't bother her this time. If anything, Alia feels like the destruction of her lists allowed her to relax, her words feeling as natural as a friendly conversation. To discuss topics she likes, move onto tangents when remembering something important, input personal opinions and not have to rely on using interactive teaching methods are small things which made the morning much easier to bear.
In other words, Alia hopes for all of their future sessions to be like this.
A slight breeze brushes against her face, tightening the streaks of dried tears. How humiliating. She wipes the skin clean. Never again does she want to show such vulnerability, such weakness to the man who sits less than a metre away from her. Or anyone for that matter.
Heat blooms across the left side of her face, trailing from her cheek down to her throat. He's looking at me, she realises. Why is he looking at me? Her fingertips hover over the fading bruise on her neck and then, hesitantly, she meets his gaze.
It's as if he can see the worry in her eyes, the doubt, the fear, and it makes Alia realise how terrible she is at hiding her emotions. "What?" she whispers.
Valen leans his head back against the tree, journal tucked away in his pocket. "Why did you kill the Beta?"
She can't make herself look away from him, even when her thoughts become ablaze with questions. "I thought he was the King," she answers. Shouldn't he know this? Shouldn't he know why she's in this Pack- about why she had to move here?
"Then why the boy?" He asks. "Why did you want him dead?" The gentleness of his voice is startling. It's as if he's asking Alia about her favourite hobbies and not about why she killed a man.
Flashes of her slain parents invade her mind and she screws her eyes shut. "He's a cruel man—"
"That's not what I asked."
Swallowing, Alia opens her eyes and looks back at Valen. After a deep breath, she whispers, "he murdered my parents." Then she shakes her head, voice rising. "I thought you already knew this. I thought Gamma informed you of my circumstances."
"He did," he reveals. "But I wanted to hear it from you."
Only now does Alia pick up on his suspicion. Her eyebrows furrow, clear insult flashing across her face. "Did you think I would lie?"
Valen looks at the playing children. "It was a possibility."
Moving her hand away from her neck, Alia roughly tugs blades of grass out of the ground. "I have no reason to lie to you." Jaw clenched, Alia suddenly wishes to leave. She's not in the mood to teach anymore.
No response comes from Valen and Alia doesn't remove her eyes from the grass in between her fingers. Without realising it, she mutters, "what would I even gain?"
Crossing his arms, Valen narrows his eyes at the girl. "I seem to have upset you."
"Upset me?" Alia stops pulling out grass and looks at him. "No, Valen. You've only just insulted me."
"I meant no disrespect."
Alia clenches her jaw again and turns her head, frustrated. "How can I prove myself to you? How can I prove myself to be trustworthy?"
It takes a moment for Valen to process her words, and when he does his eyes flash with an unknown emotion. Then he smirks, and it causes Alia's chest to tighten.
Gods, he's painfully handsome.
Then he's on his feet. "Come with me."
Alia is alert when she stands. She has to race forward to keep up with his long strides, anticipation causing her heart to thump with newfound energy. Wherever he's taking her, whatever she has to do, Alia doesn't care. Just the thought of another adventure with the male has her filled with excitement.
The insult was forgiven the moment his lips quirked up. She can't help it. Valen's already got her wrapped around his finger and he doesn't even know it.
It takes a while for them to reach their destination, with Valen not offering the slightest inclination as to where they were headed. They walk through forestry, finally reaching an opening where a cliff lies, the drop hundreds of metres below. A gentle river grazes past the rocks at the bottom. Alia tries to look over the edge, but her chest lurches at the height difference. Her vision sways as she pulls herself away from the edge.
Valen watches her, hands behind his back. The wind blows against him, moving strands of his hair to fall onto his forehead. Alia pulls her eyes away from him, remembering that he can easily read her.
"What is this place?" She asks, reaching up to run her fingertips across the clawed trunk of a nearby tree. "Why did you bring me here?"
What he says has Alia whirling to him, eyes filled with panic.
"I want you to jump."
When Alia faces him, his face is blank, motives completely hidden. "What do you mean jump?!"
"I want you," he looks to the cliff, "to jump off," then back at Alia, "the cliff."
Panic. Pure panic.
Alia begins to hyperventilate as she paces along the tree line, hands finding themselves on top of her head. She's shaking, trembling.
Heights, she hisses, eyes watering. Fucking heights.
"You can't be serious," she pleads, practically breathless. "Please tell me you're not serious."
"No harm will come to you," he reassures her. "You will survive."
Alia's fingertips dig into her hair and her chin quivers. "I-I won't!"
Mind too muddled with the possibility of her death, Alia doesn't notice Valen's approach. "Look at me," he orders, voice firm. When she turns, Alia almost falls back at his proximity. His chest is barely a breath away and it has Alia's neck turning red. Heat climbs up to her cheeks as she looks up at him. Slowly, her hands move back to her sides.
"Trust me." Valen stares into her jade irises covered in unshed tears. "And I will trust you."
Slowly, Alia nods. If this is what it takes to gain his trust, she'll do it. Fuck it. She's going to jump off a cliff.
Taking a deep breath, Alia steps back and jumps onto her toes to shake off her nerves. "You've got this," she tells herself. "You've fucking got this."
With a final wipe at her eyes, Alia sucks in a breath and leaps off of the edge.
It feels as if her stomach has lodged itself into her throat. At the loss of gravitational stability, Alia finds herself feeling sick. Absolutely fucking sick. Her throat constricts and she wants to scream her lungs out. But before she can screech into the high heavens, her forearm is grabbed and her body slams into the cliff side. Rocks scratch against her skin for a split second before she's dangling inches away from the rock face, air completely knocked out of her. A tight, almost crushing grip is around her left forearm and it makes her realise her situation. She screams. And then she screams again.
When she looks up, she sees Valen looking back down at her, his hand the only thing preventing her death. She can't even take a moment to take in the fact that he's touching her skin, or the fact that he's looking down at her with a small smile, clearly amused.
She wants to yell at him. But her words come out as a whimper. "Please don't drop me."
His smile falters and he suddenly looks serious. Focused. "I won't," he says softly. "You have my word."
Alia doesn't want to look down, so she keeps her eyes on Valen as he pulls her up over the cliff's edge with only his right hand. When her head rises above the ledge, she uses her other hand to drag herself onto her stomach. Eventually, her entire body is on the ground and she rolls onto her back, mentally exhausted. Valen is kneeling next to her, her forearm released.
Minutes pass with Valen remaining silent and Alia's rough breathing filling the afternoon air. Eventually, Valen stands and crosses his arms, choosing to momentarily look down at Alia who has her hands covering her face. She's muttering to herself.
"Most don't jump," Valen tells her, now looking over the edge at the river below. "But you did."
Sitting up, Alia tries to settle her breathing. "How does jumping off a cliff make me trustworthy?" Her mind is racing and her body is still shaking. She should have asked that before she jumped.
Valen kicks a stone off of the edge and his eyes follow it down. "You submitted your body to me," he explains. "You knew that there was a possibility of death, but you still took me at my word." He looks down at her, irises glittering underneath the afternoon sun. "The only way I can protect you is if you listen to me, even when your body is telling you to run the other way."
Biting her lip, Alia tries to prevent herself from blushing. 'You submitted your body to me'. How could he say that to her with a straight face?
It makes sense. His reasoning is completely rational and she hates it. When they're in battle, it would be more efficient for Valen not to worry about straying wolves who refuse to listen to his orders. They'll be safe because he can keep them safe. It's admirable. Very admirable.
Suddenly, Alia remembers Valen's hand touching her skin. In seconds, she's on her feet and looking up at him in concern. Her body still shakes as her heart rate is through the roof, but her mind has calmed down enough to entertain a few questions. Why didn't he react the way he did at the training centre? Why didn't the touch affect him?
Valen's brows furrow and he crosses his arms, a question in his gaze.
"You touched my skin. How- why did you touch my skin? Are you alright?"
Valen looks at the girl as if she's grown two heads. Shaking his head, he raises an eyebrow and voices his disbelief. "You just jumped off of a cliff and you're asking me if I'm okay?"
Pursing her lips, Alia realises how odd she looks. But she nods anyway. She doesn't want to be the cause of his discomfort.
"Yes, Alia." Alia's heart jolts at the sound of her name on his tongue. "I'm okay."
"Okay," she breathes, eyes not leaving his. Valen's eyes narrow and Alia wonders if she imagined it. It seemed to be more of an eye twitch because the movement was so infinitesimal.
"You are awfully interested in my well-being," he observes, turning to the trees. "I would hope for your sake that it's not a ruse to win my favour."
Before Alia can interject, Valen begins to walk into the tree line. "Come now, I have somewhere to be."
Refusing to let the man entertain such thoughts any longer, Alia runs forward to stand in front of him, halting him in his step. His hands are in his pockets and he looks down at her with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something you require?"
Face stern, Alia looks him straight in the eyes. "I'm not trying to deceive you. I care about your well-being whether you like it or not."
Valen's gaze turns assessing, almost sceptical. It's as if he's trying to decode a hidden meaning within her words.
"If I have to spend every moment of every day trying to convince you that a stranger can care about you. Then so be it."
The muscle at Valen's jaw ticks and Alia's eyes flash down to the movement. "Very well, Alia Cain." When Alia moves to his side, he speaks again. "But be warned, deceive me and I will kill you."
She can only smile. "I'll hand you the blade myself."