Private Tales Something Amiss

[Kaska]

Kaska had never really thought of it that way. But if she squinted her eyes and tilted her head just right, she could see how Lia might... find that suffocating.

And she began to wonder if she would too.

"So you left your pedestal and came to mine. And all I want is to take your place at yours," she mused, the irony to it not lost on her. "What a strange pair we make." She abruptly wondered for a moment if their was more tact to their initial pairing than she had given her father credit for.

She frowned, wrapping her arms around her chest.

"Your sister sounds like a right bitch."

 

[Lia]

Lia chuckled slightly, smiling. "Sometimes."

It would have been a lie to say that her and her sister had always gotten along, but she felt no animosity towards her sibling. In fact far from it. She loved her sister dearly.

"But she has her own way." A shrug rolled over her shoulders. "She would do anything for me and I anything for her."

"Been that way since we were kids." It was just that they lead different lives. Lia had wanted to become a Ranger, and her sister something...else.

A princess maybe. Though there were no Kings in Alliria.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska swallowed hard, a slight pang of yearn pinching in her chest. "Sounds nice," she commented, trying not to let the emotions seep into her voice.

She swallowed hard again, saying nothing as a swath of jealousy and anger bit at her insides. Why couldn't her life have been like that? Why did her mom have to die? Why did she have to be left alone to her father. Why did he have to be so fucking robotic. Tears of anger bit at her tear ducks, the urge to lash out at Lia, if just to drag her down with her, filled Kaska.

But she didn't cave to the urge. She knew all too well that if she actually lashed out again, Lia might not chose to come back.

She turned on her side, giving Lia her back in an unsociable mood swing that was left unexplained.

 

[Lia]

Lia patted Kaska on the head. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, though in truth she was not entirely sure that it would come off in that manner.

She wasn't used to this. "Get some rest."

Though the Sergeant was hardly used to...well any of this, she thought she'd been a good friend to Kaska so far. Lia wasn't entirely tone def, and she knew that talking about her family had likely pained the girl some what. A part of her thought she might have done it to entice her towards the choice of going to Alliria.

Kaska would do well there, at least Lia suspected she would, and she wanted the girl to have a life.

A real life.

Without another word the Ranger stood from the deck, heading towards the back of the ship to have a few quick words with the Captain.

 

[Kaska]

The days passed in a surprisingly enjoyable blur. The crew of twelve had little issue sharing close quarters with each other, and even Kaska had found herself smiling and warming up to those around her. With Lia around her, she found herself painfully aware of her mood and the way she addressed the others.

Mostly because the disapproving looks Lia casted her after a particularly viscous comment always sent her for a pause. And as the frequency of those events added up, she began to notice how miserable she was to those around her. By day three, her remarks began to dwindle into rare occurrences, the woman falling into silence instead. By day six, she was found trying to engage more than Lia in real conversation.

She wasn't a changed person. But undeniably, she was a less hostile version of the sassy ranger they all knew.

As dusk began to set on that sixth night, Kaska flopped to a heap on the ships deck, panting after a training season with Lia. "Why. Does it have. To be. So. Heavy." The sword laid abandoned on the deck, Kaska's sword arm simply burning. It would take more than a week to build up the strength, but she was trying her best with what time she had.

Lia had whipped her silly, no doubt. And Kaska had taken it good naturedly enough. She wasn't doing the training to best Lia, she was doing it so she could keep herself alive.

Still. A glint entered her eyes and her legs flashed out, trying to knock Lia's knees out and send her sprawling onto the deck besides her.

 

[Lia]

Lia jumped, hopping over Kaska's legs like a jackrabbit.

A second later her leg darted out and kicked Kaska's shoulder, not hard, but just enough to send a jolt of pain through muscles that she was already well aware were sore and near breaking. "Don't try to abuse your teacher."

She told the girl.

Their journey had been a calm one so far, with most everyone getting along the entire time. In truth she had expected one or two fights, maybe a bit of fighting, but it seemed the Rangers were all aware of just how that would be met by Lia. This was important, and they all seemed to get that.

Of course that didn't help from some things cropping out that she disapproved of. Lia knew there was a bit of gambling going on at night, betting about the lich, and of course cards.

She let it slide, though she didn't like it. Not while on Mission.

"The sword is heavy to give it momentum." She reiterated to Kaska as she glanced her gaze to the South, almost expecting to see something. "Use it."

 

[Kaska]

Kaska howled in pain, clutching her arm and rolling over to avoid further retaliation.

"Oh I'll use it alright. I'll shove it up your ass," she grumbled, though she didn't reach for the weapon again. She grumbled there on the ground for a moment before she grunted and sat up, her hair falling crazily out of her tie and her clothing askew.

"Who touched you as a child?" She asked, sharp and rhetorical and she rubbed at her muscles.

 

[Lia]

Lia was about to answer, when over the crest of a hill she spotted something.

At first it looked like little more than a gray blob, but then suddenly it came into focus. A great stone structure half covered in green leafy vines, the first of the dozen or so Fortresses that she had marked on the map back at Ared'hol. She gasped slightly, then smiled and looked down at Kaska.

Nudging the girl gently, she pointed.

This was only the first, and she doubted they would find the Lich here, but for some reason to her it was good enough proof that her plan had worked.

Or at least that it was going to work.

They had made good time, better than anyone could have thought.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska swatted at the foot, going to glare upwards at- she blinked at Lia's smile, following the woman's gaze. Her eyes widened, the fight dropped.

"Oh wow," she breathed. "That was fast." She stood up, cradling her arm as she moved to press against the railing and squint against the gray. "Captain!" She called out, grabbing his attention. She gestured with her chin. He followed her glance and smiled wide.

"Aye," he acknowledged. He studied it for a moment before before looking back to Lia. "I say we sail into the night to get you close enough to finish the rest to close the rest of the distance on foot. Might seem questionable if we break habit and dock down at noon."

 

[Lia]

Lia nodded in agreement.

It would be best to go under the cover of night anyway. She doubted that they would find anything, their luck was not strong enough for the first fortress to be the one they needed, but she still wanted to set up the pretense with others. Motioning to Kaska she drew back from the railing.

"Get three of the others ready." She told the girl quietly. "I want the rest to stay on the boat and watch for anyone..."

Lia paused for a second. "Watching..."

That hadn't quite been as eloquent as she'd wanted, but language wasn't her strong suit anyway.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska snorted and slipped away, quietly making moves to arrange this in a way that didn't make her intentions obvious to any followers they were unaware of having.

Within an hour the instructions were dolled out and Kaska had Their and two others sitting around her for a game of cards. She winked up at Lia, the trio clearly Kaska's choice of back up. And while they played the game with apparent ease, there was a tension in the woman's shoulders. Her eyes kept scattering to the far away fortress, a cold snap soon to follow in the night.

They wished for a fire, but that was not possible on the boat. By the time they docked it was late and Kaska would have preferred to been still sleeping. She stepped off the boat, wired, and glanced to Lia. One by one they slipped away into the trees, everyone on the boat taking turns to use the bathroom. Only Kaska pushed further in, waiting for their grouping.

 

[Lia]

Lia adjusted the sword on her back and pulled one of the straps on her armor a bit tighter.

The air was calm tonight, pleasant. A breeze pushed off the river and towards the forest, rustling the leaves around them and giving them a nice calming presence. She frowned for a brief moment despite that, looking at Kaska and waiting for the other Rangers to appear.

Once they did she spoke softly. "Keep low to the ground, don't call out."

They were all Rangers, men and women who already knew what she had said, but Lia wanted to make it clear. They were not attacking if they found someone, or something. They were simply scouting.

Everything else could wait.

 

[Anastasia]

Silent acknowledgement swept out between them, the crew starting onwards. They walked for two hours until signs of the fortress began to creep up. Loose paths here, chunks of crumbled outter walls there.

Kaska stopped short and glanced around, gesturing for two to split up with Lia, and one with her. Their, of course.

"Encircle the perimeter and meet in the back?" She whispered.

 

[Lia]

She nodded slowly.

There was no concern on her face, the fortress seemed about as empty as she had expected. There was no fire light in any of the windows, no smoke rising from the courtyard. As far as she could see the entire place was abandoned. Kaska was right though, better to be careful.

"Go." She said quietly, motioning for the other team to move quickly.

Slowly the Ranger drew her crossbow. She knew that her sword likely wouldn't be of much use at first if they ran into anyone, though she doubted they would.

The other two Rangers with her crouched, quickly following as they ascended the hill the Fortress sat on.

 

[Kaska]

They made short time in encircling it all, no sign of life spotted on any of it's large sections. She whistled Lia's bird call to help them cross paths, bringing Their with her as they came face to face again.

"Nothing," she informed Lia quietly. "Back to camp before our absence is noticed?" She glanced around them, on edge regardless of the apparent lack of danger here.

 

[Lia]

Lia was unsurprised when she found absolutely nothing. Her face was about as even as could be, expression dread neutral as she and the others came upon Kaska and her group.

A frown touched her lips for a moment as the girl asked her the question. "Look around first."

They were here, and the trip up the hill had taken them two hours. There was no point in suddenly turning around and walking away without even doing anything. Looking wouldn't hurt anyone, especially since this place seemed to have been abandoned years ago. If not decades.

"See if you find anything." She motioned to the others.

She doubted they would, but there was always a chance.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska snorted but nodded in acknowledgement. She broke apart from the group, slipping forward and towards the fortress. She felt them move at her back, splitting up in different directions as they climbed over the back wall.

She really didn't think she'd find something. However she kept moving forward, slipping into the fortress itself through a broken window on a back porch. She crept through each crumbling room until she saw it.

She whistled, low yet pure for Lia's attention. They knew by now they were alone. She didn't hesitate to turn the whistle shrill and demanding.

Before her, in the back foray, was a pile of old bandages. Covered in black, lich blood. Kaska drew her bow in an instant, knocking it and looking wildly around the room.

 

[Lia]

Lia stepped into the room a second later, her blade already drawn. The runes seemed to give off an odd sort of glow within the moonlight, reflecting more than they should have. It shimmered as she stepped into the room, a torch already in her hand as she squatted down.

The blade stabbed at the pile of bandages. For some reason they began to sizzle as they touched the blade, almost as if the blood were being burned away. She frowned slightly, then let it drop to the floor. "They're a few weeks old."

That much was easy to tell at a glance.

"Probably a stop over point before heading to the other fortress." This place looked as though it had never really been occupied, not recently anyway.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska's eyes widened at the bandages reaction to the sword. She nodded numbly to Lia, not hearing her. She raised the bow back to her chin, pointing it at the bandages at their feet.

"Let me try that." She released a knocked holy arrow, the drawback just enough force to send it embedding lightly into the ground.

The ground exploded on impact, knocking the two girls up and back. Kaska fell to the ground in a daze lump on the other side of the room. Her ears rang viciously. She was briefly aware of crashing into the ceiling before... the explosion...

The explosion?

Where the arrow had struck now had a gaping hole in the floor boards, the arrows, stolen by Kaska from a 'dangerous weapon vault' apparently packing more of a punch than either girl had known.

 

[Lia]

Three Templars were at Lia's side in an instant, all of them had their weapons drawn, all of them had looks of concern and anger on their face. Two more appeared at Kaska's side.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?"​

Thier called as he scrambled over towards Kaska, one of the other men pulling Lia to her feet. The Sergeant wavered slightly, her head buzzing and her ears ringing from the sound of the explosion. For a moment her vision swam, and her eyes began to blink rapidly until things came into view.

"I think..." She trailed off. "I think..."

What the hell had that been. The arrow. "Who the fuck was that priest?"

She asked Kaska, her gaze not angry, but simply filled with astonishment.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska unclenched her fingers, somehow looked in an instinctual death grip around her bow. It clattered to the ground, the girl taking a staggering step back in Thier's arms.

"I-I-" She blinked and shook her head, half gaping at the floor.

"I don't know," she breathed, taken aback by it all.

The room fell silent for a moment as everyone processed, and then it busted into a flurry of moment, the other Rangers taking it upon themselves to take the lead.

"We need to leave now," one told Lia, respectful yet firm as he took her arm and tried to guide her out.

Kaska didn't protest, numbly accepting back her bow and leaning on Thier as her body worked out its aches on its own. "Are you okay?" She called out to Lia, too loudly but unable to notice the volume.

 

[Lia]

Lia was rubbing her ears, one of the Rangers holding her up and carrying the sword that she had dropped in the explosion. Her head was still swimming, but surprisingly the rest of her was still find. "YES!"

She shouted back.

The other two Rangers smirked behind their backs, now more relaxed that it was obvious this was something Kaska had done and not an attack. They glanced at each other, and then quickly began to lead the two women down the hill that they had intiially climbed.

"Those arrows." Her tone was more normal now, regulated a bit better. "Save them."

It seemed obvious but she felt it was worth mentioning.

If they did that every time, it could be very handy indeed.

 

[Kaska]

"Yes ma'am..." Kaska murmured, no resistance to her as they were led away.

Aw fuck, had she just had another Kaska moment? But she had been doing so well!

She returned to the ship moving fine, the abuse both girls suffered leading to colorful bruises, but nothing more. Really, it was a run of the mill encounter for rangers like them. Regardless, Kaska had grown increasingly red in the face on the descent back, dreading the jibs she'd get for nearly blowing herself and their commander up.

It could have happened to anyone!

"I had no way of knowing that would happen," she told Lia as the crew broke through to their encampment and started to disperse. Her body was tense, shoulders squared, the girl in a mood.

 

[Lia]

"Nobody was hurt." Lia said, quickly cutting off Kaska.

If one of the others had been caught in the blast or any of the damage was permanent then the other girl might have cause to blame herself, but right now Lia was just happy that everyone was alive. Plus, it was good to know what those arrows actually did, and it could have been far worse.

"Imagine if you'd been holding the arrow." She said quietly. "You could have been killed."

Her stomach dropped at that thought, at the thought of losing any of them to such a freak accident.

She frowned for a moment, glancing around the camp and letting out a slight sigh. "At least we know what they do now."

Lia sounded calm, though half of that was still the shock settling in on her core.

 

[Kaska]

Kaska stood there, taken aback by Lia's response. After a long moment, the girl accepted it as another strange quirk of Lia and managed to breathe a small sigh of relief. She had been riled up for something a lot worse than Lia's care.

Kaska said nothing, instead pulling Lia into her arms and hugging her. Tightly. Maybe it was stress of the night, or the late hour, or perhaps the week of playing cards had softened her. She wasn't going to think twice on it. Her leathers squeaked against Lia's metals before Kaska pulled back, looking drained.

"I'll be more careful with them," she swore.