59 The Summit

[

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!" Fenix screamed, raining blow-onto-blow on Raxas's face, the brown-haired man not even bothering to fight back, as blood gushed from his nose, dripping down his mouth.

"I'm sorry." He croaked silently, as a particularly hard hit sent him sprawling to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"YOU THINK YOUR SORRY MEANS ANYTHING!?" Fenix shrieked, kneeling on Raxas's chest, continuing to beat his face in. "IS YOUR SORRY GOING TO BRING MIARI BACK?"

"No…" Raxas said, his voice cracking, tears starting to mix with the blood. "No, it won't…"

"Hey!" Falo gasped out, clutching his bleeding side as he limped over. "Stop!"

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Fenix snarled, blasting Falo back with a wave of magic, the short man flying backwards. "This is all his fault!"

"It was… Miari's choice!" Falo coughed out, blood leaking out of his chest wound freely. "And besides… we're all going to die here anyways."

.

Fenix took a step back and stood up, taking a deep breath, before wiping his hands on his pants, breathing heavily. Raxas chose to stay down on the ground, utterly defeated, and broken, tears, blood, and saliva splattered on his face, and blood all over his chest.

.

Fenix took a deep, shuddering breath, wincing as he collapsed to the ground, holding his left leg. His glasses fell off in the process, already shattered, but when he picked them up, he chose to complete their destruction, crushing them in his hand after an angry look.

.

"Don't you need those to see?" Falo wheezed.

"No." Fenix said bitterly. "That seer fixed my eyes a long time ago. Ever since then, they've just been glass plates."

"Then why…?"

"For Miari. Because she said they looked good on me." Fenix's voice faltered. "I loved her… I spent all these years… trying to get her to love me back…"

.

Fenix turned his gaze back onto Raxas, his expression growing furious.

"But she loved you." He said bitterly. "Even though you never… That's why she insisted that she come with us. She was chasing you."

"...I'm sorry." Raxas choked out quietly, barely a whisper. "I never realized…"

"Of course you didn't notice." Fenix snarled. "So blessed with power, with magic, but you never thought to think. Ever."

.

"What does it matter?" Falo groaned. "We're all going to bleed out here, anyways."

.

There was only silence, only the sound of the wind blowing through the forest, and the labored breathing of three dying men.

.

"No." Fenix said quietly, as he took out a brilliant red crystal from his pocket. "We're not."

"You got it?" Falo said in surprise. "But we didn't…"

"I kept my eyes on the goal, instead of the glory."

"You can't… use that." Raxas wheezed. "That was for… the client."

"If we die here, then the client isn't getting it anyways." Fenix muttered. "We failed. You're going to have to live with disappointing the girl."

"...Then don't save me." Raxas whispered. "Let me die."

.

Fenix let out a hollow laugh. "Letting you die, to avenge Miari… hah. Who do you think that would help? Do you think you can atone by dying? By taking the easy way out? By doing nothing?"

"Besides…" He muttered. "She wouldn't have wanted this."

.

Raxas was silent as Fenix tossed the stone into the clearing, the gemstone exploding into millions of tiny red particles. As they settled on their wounds, the bleeding stopped, and soon the sounds of labored breathing quieted in the clearing, as red dust rained down on them like snow.

.

Fenix ripped off the ruby tag from his neck, the chain snapping in half as he threw it on the ground. From his pocket, he withdrew a small, gold tag, smeared with blood, contemplating putting it on, but after staring at the thing for a minute, he stashed it back in his coat, carefully.

.

As Fenix began to walk away, Raxas called after him.

"Wait! How should I… how do I make it better?" He asked, weakly. "What would… Miari want me to do…?"

"You don't even know…" Fenix grimaced. "Miari wanted a better world. Where… people didn't have to fight amongst themselves, and pursue their dreams."

.

Fenix's expression softened, and suddenly, he felt guilt, but he didn't let Falo or Raxas see any of it, walking away into the forest.

]

.

Raxas gasped as he jerked awake, papers stuck to his sweaty forehead as he jolted straight in his chair.

.

"You fell asleep at work again." Falo sighed, sitting across from him. "I've had to tell the landlady at your apartment that you aren't dead, since you haven't been there in weeks."

"It's more convenient to sleep here." Raxas muttered, ripping sticky papers from his forehead as he opened a desk drawer, taking out a granola bar and tearing into it with his teeth.

"Did you at least get a good night's sleep?" Falo asked.

"...Yes." Raxas lied.

"Liar." Falo said. "Was it… of that time?"

"No." Raxas lied.

.

Falo stared at Raxas with a look that told the tall man that he didn't believe a single word out of his mouth.

"I think you should get real food today." Falo said quietly, after a short silence. "Today's the summit."

.

Raxas groaned, holding his head.

"Call Aless, Kro and Aisha."

.

.

.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Aisha whispered, as she walked briskly along with Raxas and the other agents. "Just stand there, the entire conference? Why are we even there?"

"We're there symbolically." Aless explained. "As a judge's agents, we are his hands that carry out his will. Correct, sir?"

"...Yes." Raxas said slowly, every step making the sound of heavy, clanking armor. Aless's explanation was a lot better than what he was going to say, which was a firm "I don't know."

.

"Sounds boring." Aisha muttered. Aless shot her a cross look, as Two and Falo nodded their agreement from behind her.

"H-hey…" Two said nervously. "I-I don't know if I should be missing class for this."

"You can go, if you want." Raxas said offhandedly, Two's eyes lighting up in response.

"Alright, sweet!" He said, turning, ready to leave, before a firm grip, and a frightening face forced him back.

"You are not." Aless said coldly. "What kind of message would that send if one of his agents was missing from the summit?"

"...But… I…"

"Don't worry about it." Aless muttered. "It'll be quick, okay?"

.

"Raxas!" A mousy voice said, followed by a thin looking judge, his blue armor very dirty, looking almost gray. "What's up?"

"Tylich." Raxas greeted stiffly. "You are… here."

"Why didn't you talk to me?" He said urgently. "I even sent you one of those… letter things!"

"THere was no location or time." Raxas muttered. "How-"

"Okay okay." Tylich interrupted. "That's not important. What is important is-"

.

"Goodbye, Tylich." Raxas muttered, as he opened the doors to the council chamber, letting the door fall into the thin judge's face.

"Uh, no." Tylich said. "This is actually important-"

.

Tylich grew silent as they entered the summit chamber, already met with four familiar faces, armored in heavy, blue runed armor, the same as Tylich, but with varying helmets, some in the shape of animals, others in aesthetic, ornate designs.

.

"Tylich." A judge greeted, his helmet shaped like the head of a hawk.

"Peh."

.

Raxas walked over to his chair and flopped down ungracefully, the loud noise of clanging and screeching metal accented with the loud sigh he let out after. He immediately threw off his helmet as soon as he sat down, Aless quickly running over to pick it up off the ground.

.

"Sir?" She whispered, concerned.

"I'm just tired." Raxas said, showing off the bags under his eyes. "And the helmet isn't helping. You can use it for a stool or something."

.

Raxas gazed at the rest of the judges at the table, the sight of their heavily armored visages, all staring at him, once frightening him, but he had quickly learned that they were all just all bluster.

.

Until the conversion, of course.

.

"...What are you looking at?" He muttered, his words echoing through the chamber.

"You look… unwell." One of the female judges observed, their helmet shaped like a ram. Their voice rang gentle and melodic, even through the echo of the helmet. "You should get more sleep, James…"

"Hmph." Raxas crossed his arms, closing his eyes. "I intend to."

"You couldn't possibly…" The hawk chuckled.

"Try me."

.

"This is boring." Aisha mumbled, sitting on the floor, ignoring the disdainful looks aimed at her from the other agents. "How long do these take?"

"A few hours." Falo muttered.

"Lame."

.

Aisha crossed her legs and sat down on the floor, leaning her head against her hand, and if all the agents in the room weren't already staring at Raxas's group, they definitely were now.

.

"What are you doing?!" Aless whispered aggressively. "You can't sit!"

"Why not?"

"You…" Aless mouthed silently like a fish. "You just… can't!"

"I'm sitting down." Falo muttered. "I'm not going to stand through the entire summit."

.

Aless just looked around incredulously as everyone around her began to sit down, Falo looking for a pillar to lean his back on. Suddenly, Aless was the odd man out, the only person standing in a group where everyone was sitting. She bit her lip, but eventually she decided to show solidarity with her friends, rather than fear the reaction from her peers.

.

However, she had to admit, as she took a seat next to Aisha, she absolutely hated standing up the entire summit.

.

"Oh…" She fumed, turning to Aisha. "Why are you- Are you asleep!?"

Aless put her hands on Aisha's shoulders, but before she could shake the girl awake, Falo spoke up. "Let the girl sleep, it's not like she's missing anything important."

"But…"

"What, are you afraid of a few stares?" Falo asked sarcastically.

"No, but-"

"Falo really pulls off the 'old man who doesn't care about what people think' like no one else can." Two said jokingly, receiving a glare in response.

"It's about caring about the right people." Falo said. "For example-"

.

"You all are a disgrace." A masked agent said to the group, breaking off from his own group to sneer at them. "The runt and the slut. Two nobodies. A child, and an old man. I guess it makes sense, considering-"

"Don't say those next words." All three awake agents said at once, cold and dangerous.

"Tch."

"You're breaking file." Aless shot. "Go run along, Kris."

"You're a joke." The masked agent muttered under his breath, as he returned to his group of five, standing watch silently.

.

"What a dick." Two muttered at his back. Falo nodded in agreement.

"Who was that guy?" He asked. "What's with the animosity?"

.

Two and Aless shared an uncertain look, a tense silence following.

Aless spoke up. "We're not really… looked on well in the program. I was about to get kicked out, and Kro failed his combat exam."

"Kicked out?" Falo raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"...I slept with my instructor." Aless whispered.

"What?"

"...Nothing."

"She slept with the hand-to-hand instructor." Kro said, uncomfortably loud. Falo's face broke out into a grin, whistling loudly as he held out his hand for Aless to high five.

"Damn!" He laughed. "Good job!"

.

The incredibly loud noise of creaking metal could be heard, as all six judges at the table turned their heads to look at Falo, the middle-aged man shrinking in response, putting his hood on.

.

"What was that about not caring about what people think?"

.

.

Raxas withheld a smile as he made eye contact with Falo from under his hood. He kind of wished he could be there with them, chatting amicably and laughing together.

.

"You've certainly got a… colorful bunch." A female judge spoke, her helmet shaped like the petals of a flower. "Bold, at least."

.

Raxas ignored the judge.

.

"Not even going to talk to us?" The hawk demanded. "What's wrong with you?"

"I don't intend on speaking to hollow puppets." Raxas said quietly, and coldly. "I have already spoken with the man in charge, and I'm not interested."

"We're not puppets!" The hawk said indignantly, slamming his fist on the table. "Simply because we are willing to support our god-"

"He's not my god." Raxas said tiredly. "If you want to prove me wrong, then vote with us."

.

"I-..." The hawk faltered, sitting back into his chair. "I cannot. Because what we do is just!"

"I disagree." Raxas said, locking his eyes onto the hawk. "Perhaps you think it's just, but you are deluded, Idra."

"DELUDED?" Idra exploded. "DELUDED!? Look at who you're sitting with!"

.

Raxas crossed his arms.

.

"How could you ally yourselves with those degenerates!" The hawk exploded. "The corrupt aristocrat! The old man! The rat! You are a good man, Raxas, so why on Earth-"

"I'm not a good man." Raxas muttered. "I'm not a good man. That is why I will not impose my will on others. I am on the side of freedom. You were too. Until you sold your soul."

"What are you talking about?" Idra narrowed his eyes. "I am on the side of freedom."

"When it's convenient for you, of course." Raxas sighed. "When it aligns with the will of "your god." Freedom comes second, for you."

"Prove it!" Idra demanded.

.

Raxas hardened his gaze on the hawk. "Two summits ago. The ban on weapon-magicite. You voted for."

"I did no such thing!" Idra shouted, his voice faltered.

"No, Idra." Havel whispered. "You definitely did."

"You were quite adamant about it." An ox-headed judge said next to him.

"What?" Idra faltered. "I… I don't even remember…"

.

"You do remember." Raxas said, eyebrows narrowing. "If you are for the freedom of the people, then why did you vote for the weapon-magicite ban?"

"Because…" Idra hesitated. "Because… the people…"

"I am…" Idra faltered, stumbling on the armrest of his chair. "I'm… no. I…"

.

The judge toppled over, clutching his head and groaning in agony. The three judges on his flanks stood up, as well as the group of masked agents behind him, but nobody dared move.

"The freedom…" He struggled. "The freedom of the people… is what…"

"I have to save them from themselves…" He gasped out. "I must… that is…"

.

Idra screamed a muted cry of agony, ripping off his helmet with a hand to reveal his black, neatly cut hair, the pupils of his eyes flickering white and black. He threw his helmet to the side violently, the heavy blue object impaling one of his agents in the stomach. The agents around her quickly went to her side, blood gushing out of the wound.

.

"What did you do to him!?" The ram demanded. "What did you do!?"

"He looks like…" Raxas mused. "He's got a migraine."

"A migraine?! Are you insane?"

"Not yet." He muttered.

.

"Bring him to the church!" The ram demanded, pointing at Idra's agents, who were tending to one of their own injured. They looked up at the ram with a worried look.

.

"Er. Nevermind." She turned to her own agents. "You five, go take Idra to the church."

"Yes, Judge Havel, ma'am." They chorused back, taking the armored man into their grasp. They struggled visibly lifting the man, his armor weighing a ton, as they slowly made their way out of the summit chambers, bumping into another heavily armored judge.

.

"Watch where you're going." Vayne said coldly, staring down at Havel's agents, and the groaning Idra. "And he's supposed to have his helmet on."

"But he's injured." One of the agents blurted out, the look on his face turning into one of instant regret.

.

Vayne didn't even bother to say anything, instead unfurling her metal fan. She swung it at the offending agent, and a whirlwind flew through the room, the boy blown over the round table in the center, and hitting the wall on the other side. An audible crack echoed through the room.

.

"Why did you do that!?" Havel cried. "Vayne!"

"He was being rude." Vayne said. "I am teaching him manners."

.

Havel rushed out of her seat to tend to her injured agent, leaving an absence in her throne-like chair. Vayne tutted at her breaking of protocol.

.

"Always such a disobedient girl." She said disdainfully, turning to Raxas, instantly locking onto his uncovered face. "You're supposed to be-"

"I'm aware."

"Hmph." Vayne turned up her nose, taking her seat next to him. "Where's the oaf?"

"Actually, I needed to talk to you two about that-" Tylich said, unusually serious as he held out a paper. Vayne snatched it from his hand.

.

"It's from the church." Vayne observed. "A medical report... I can't read it. Damn priests, never learned how to write-"

"Give it here." Raxas said, interrupting Tylich.

.

He read the thing over, his eyebrows furrowing.

"He's getting his throat fixed?" Raxas asked. "Now? I thought the church wasn't able to fix the damage. And where'd you get this report?"

"I snuck into the church." Tylich muttered quietly, sneaking a glance at the other judges.

"...How did you sneak in?" Raxas asked, narrowing his eyes.

"That doesn't matter." Vayne snapped. "What does matter is…"

.

.

Havel rushed over to her unconscious agent, breathing heavily through her heavy armor, rushing past Raxas' agents. She tried to put her fingers to the boy's neck to feel his pulse, but she couldn't feel any heartbeat through the gloves - groaning in frustration, she attempted to take them off, but she couldn't find any purchase.

.

Havel gave up and threw off her helmet, revealing a cute-looking woman, her short, brown hair framing a round face, button nose, and large, bright blue eyes, with white pupils. She placed her ear to the boy's chest, and sighed visibly with relief at the sound of his heartbeat.

.

A masked agent walked up to her tentatively.

.

"I can take Mar- him for you, if you wish, Judge Havel." He asked tentatively.

"Yes, please." She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "So much fighting…"

.

She leaned back on a pillar, wiping a bead of sweat off her forehead, but she recoiled when she felt the shoulderpads of her armor touching someone.

.

"Oh!" She said in surprise., as Falo rubbed his shoulder absentmindedly. "I'm sorry. You're Falo, right? The ruby adventurer! It's amazing to see one, other than Raxas!"

"Uh, sure." The middle-aged man said. "What's up."

"It's always great to see new faces." Havel smiled, taking a look at Aisha, leaning on Aless. She gasped. "Is that a fey?"

"Oh shit." Falo muttered, reaching over to pull Aisha's hood up-

"She's so adorable!" Havel squealed. "She looks so fluffy! Can I… can I hold her?"

"Um… I don't know."

"It should be fine." Aless said quietly.

.

Havel crawled over excitedly to grasp Aisha in her arms, scowling at the way the heavy armor dulled the sensation, but still able to rub her cheeks on Aisha's head.

.

"She's so adorable and fluffy…" Havel moaned. "What's she doing here?"

"She's one of Raxas's agents." Falo said flatly.

.

Havel's expression showed surprise, as she turned Aisha's sleeping head to look at the girl's face up close.

.

"But she's so young." She said, pinching the sleeping girl's cheeks. Aisha mumbled and stirred in response.

"No, she's just short." Two muttered. "She's in her twenties."

.

"Oh." Havel blushed, laying Aisha away from her. "I-I thought she was… someone's daughter."

.

Falo looked around at the room full of full-blooded humes as Havel scratched her neck cheekily.

.

"You know… I always thought Raxas was the only person who deserved to wear this armor." Havel said sheepishly. "He's a good man."

"Then why would you betray him?" Falo asked, not making eye contact with the female judge.

.

Havel's expression faltered. "I was just… I wanted the fighting to stop."

.

Falo looked around, at the bloodstain where Idra's agent had been stabbed, and at the spot where Havel's agents used to stand, before they had to take Idra and their own to the church.

"Turned out well." He said sarcastically.

Havel's mouth went dry. "I-"

.

"Havel." A stern, quiet voice echoed. "This behavior is unbecoming of a Judge Magister. Please return to your seat."

"B-Bariss…" Havel stuttered. "I'm sorry. Um."

"Just return to your seat."

.

Havel gave an apologetic, guilt-stricken look to Falo before she took her seat at the central table.

.

"Let the 6079th monthly summit begin." Vayne announced. "As they have both been stricken with injury, Gazeth and Idra will not be joining us for this summit. I will begin these proceedings with…"

.

.

.

[

Lorian took a deep, deep breath of Aisha's scent, laying back on the couch with Aisha's back pressed up against her bare navel. The position was new. Aisha facing away from her meant that she had nothing to bury her face into when embarrassed, and oh did Lorian want to find out what she would do.

.

It was easy, really. All she had to do was lean in and whisper into her ears,

"I love you." Lorian smiled mischievously, as she felt Aisha squirm in her arms, trying to get at her face with her hands, but unable to, the struggling limbs pinned down by Lorian's.

"Nnnnnyyyyeeeaaahhh!" Aisha squealed adorably, after a minute of struggling, her cheeks pink. "W-why say that out of the blue!?"

"Because it's true!" Lorian giggled. "And you always react so adorably when I tell you."

"Mistreeeessss…" Aisha whined, blushing profusely. "Nnnnn…This position is… so embawassingg…"

"Aw, okay." Lorian cooed lovingly, releasing Aisha's arms. "It's okay. We can cuddle normally."

.

Aisha flipped around so that her chest was pressed up against Lorian's, burying her face into her favorite spot, but not before giving her mistress a good look at her flushed, affectionate face. Lorian put one hand on Aisha's head, and the other on her back, and squeezed lovingly, relishing the soft feelings that permeated her body.

.

"Aisha…" She murmured, letting out an infatuated breath. "I wanna see your face, kitten."

"W-why my face?" Aisha stammered into her neck. "Why's it…always my face?"

"Because it's beautiful." Lorian smiled affectionately. "And I want to see it."

.

Lorian giggled as she felt Aisha's face heat up in her chest, bypassing the small girl's feeble resistance as she pulled her up so that they could look each other face to face. Lorian smiled, her heart bursting with heat as she saw Aisha's adorable little red orbs, her smooth little cheeks, and her cute nose. She smiled uncontrollably, but raised an eyebrow when Aisha broke eye contact, turning away abashed.

.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. "Why don't you like looking at me?"

"I'm fine looking at you…" Aisha mumbled. "It's just… when you look back at me like that… You're so beautiful, my heart just…"

.

It was Lorian's turn to blush. How cheesy! But also, so earnest, and adorable…

.

"O-oh jeez." Lorian mumbled. "That again? I'm not that beautiful… You're prettier than I am."

"What!?" Aisha said incredulously, staring back at Lorian. "How could you say that!? You're perfect! You've got such nice skin, and nice hair, and beautiful eyes, and soft lips, and…"

.

Both girls blushed, the heat between their chests hot enough to melt steel. Lorian was the first to break their little standstill.

.

"You like my lips?" Lorian said, attempting to act playful, but her voice squeaked a little. Aisha nodded.

.

The tall girl decided to not risk opening her mouth again, instead planting her lips on top of Aisha's, her large, plush ones smothering Aisha's smaller lips, caressing and rubbing up against them like the girls that they were attached to.

.

Aisha moaned involuntarily into the kiss. Her lips were just so sensitive, and they felt so amazing when Lorian used her tongue to give her little teasing licks, sending shocks directly into her brain. She felt hot. Amazingly hot. There was that melty, cuddly, swishy, lovey heat, that Aisha loved and was so familiar with, but there was also another, a passionate, pleasurable, lusty heat, building in her abdomen.

.

Aisha's eyes widened as she realized she was getting aroused. Well, more aroused than usual. From wanting to beg her mistress for sex, to close to releasing, right there and then. It didn't help, the way her mistress was grinding against her, so sensually, with one of her legs in between Aisha's-

.

"MMMPPH!" Aisha's eyes widened, as Lorian rached up a hand to stroke her ears, the sensations bombarding her poor senses, making her eyes roll up into her head. She could felt her brain melting, leaking out of her ears - and she opened her mouth to say something, anything- but was horrified when Lorian's tongue slithered in to meet her own, caressing, enveloping her tongue in a loving, affectionate French kiss.

.

Aisha couldn't formulate words any longer - all she could do was moan into Lorian's mouth, squeezing her mistress for dear life, praying that she would live with all her braincells intact.

.

After a bit of kissing, Lorian decided to pull away, in fear that Aisha would get kissed stupid permanantly. She was a little concerned after Aisha didn't respond after five minutes, but after a while of cuddling, and light kisses, Aisha finally unrolled her eyes, blushing pink as she gazed on her mistress.

.

"Feeling good?" Lorian giggled.

"Mmmm…" Aisha mumbled, looking downwards. "You know… the answer…"

.

Lorian let out a melodic laugh as she took Aisha's head in her hands, nuzzling her face with her own.

"Oh Aisha… I love you." She giggled.

]

.

.

.

Vayne spoke up in a bored voice. "The vote will now commence for-"

"Nay." The Ox and the Flower spoke instantly, followed by Havel's nervous, "Nay."

.

Vayne let out a sigh that she had been holding for two hours, sitting back down in her chair. She took a long breath as a long silence set over the chamber, everybody staring at the woman.

.

"I cede jurisdiction of the proceedings to Raxas." She said, after a long silence.

.

Raxas was silent, his eyes closed and breaths even.

.

"Why do you want to do that?" Tylich asked, his matted, greasy hair stuck to his face by sweat, his helmet taken off a long time ago. "Fuck, it's so hot, what the hell?"

"Because this is just theatrics." Vayne sighed. "At least with Gazeth and Idra, there was a chance a fight would break out."

"You would want a fight to break out?" Havel said in anguish, tilting her head. "Why?"

"Better than this charade." Vayne said haughtily. "A waste of time."

"You would call this a waste of time? Deciding on the lives of everyone out there!?" Havel motioned out into the windowless room.

"Well, thanks to you, we no longer make any laws." Tylich said nastily. "Nothing happens, while everything gets worse. You really are just a two-faced-"

.

"Stop that." Bariss boomed, white showing through the eyes of his helmet. Havel looked down at her lap guiltily.

"Make me." Tylich challenged.

"I'm not Gazeth." Bariss said evenly. "I will not take your childish attempts at riling up a fight."

.

"..."

"..."

"Alune." Tylich said. "Fortune telling is a hoax, and a cheap attempt at swindling people out of money."

"Take that back, you rat!" The flower stood up, only to be forced down into her seat by Bariss.

"Damn." Tylich sighed, rapping his fingers on the table loudly. "Vayne-"

"No."

.

"We have… three hours left." Bariss said. "There are still proposals."

"I tire of talking." Vayne said tiredly. "I say we call a truce, and sit these last hours not having to talk to each other."

"Why can't we leave?" Havel asked.

"We can leave if everyone agrees on it." Tylich said, staring at Raxas's sleeping form. "Even if the bear awoke from his hibernation, stick-in-ass over there wouldn't let us."

"That language is, Tyli… oh whatever." Vayne muttered.

"I'm fine with a truce." The flower said.

"I-I think we should try to get along…" Havel said, her voice faltering. "But if everybody wants to, then… I guess…"

"These terms are acceptable." Bariss said.

"Then let the silence commence." Vayne said, sighing.

.

"Did you bring any cards?" Tylich whispered to Vayne.

"Shut it, Twitch." Vayne shot, palming the deck she had smuggled in.

.

Vayne, the flower, and the ox took off their helmets, sighing in relief as they revealed sweaty heads, the heat in the windowless room all getting to them. The ox, Bariss, was a man with a shaved head, his jawline strong, and the look on his face serious. The flower, Alune, was a older-looking woman with purple hair. Nobody could tell if it was dyed or not.

.

The hours ticked by.