Guardian: First Post

Returning to the Training Post was odd.

The roosters had woken me with the dawn, and I'd had time to leisurely wash and dress while they continued their racket. I leaned on the rail outside my perch and watched the trainees flit off to class with the same mix of carelessness and seriousness I'd possessed a fortnight past. The rope rail flexed as it always did when my weight shifted. A faint whiff of smoke and roasting meat promised tonight's meal would have barbeque; not an everyday occurrence, but common enough.

My fingers traced the stiff denim gauntlet that encased my left arm and the right gauntlet bit into my forearm. Erebus had said the fabric would get broken in soon enough, and I'd hardly notice them.

That was the other difference — rather than the warm cordiality that Erebus had reciprocated when I'd first met him, or the flashes of hostility he'd displayed when he first met me, he acted like we were fast friends, even giving me a gift. Fingering the knotted-wire charm that hung next to my quartz, I bit my lip and glanced at the dirt trail beneath my perch.

'So why can't you trust him?' Frustration made me want to shred something. When I had tried to get closer to him, he'd pushed me away, and now that I was happy to keep my distance, he wanted to be friends. 'And it's not bad to have friends, right? You just have to shake your feeling that he has something to do with what happened during the storm.'

"Cairn!"

The cheerful voice pulled me from my gloomy thoughts. Lila waved from the path below, smiling up at me. I waved back before swinging onto the ladder and descending.

'This difference, though? You can live with this.' I grinned at Lila, and she smiled back, though sadness still lurked like a shadow in her eyes. I couldn't forget Mergen's words — Lila was mourning — but it seemed like since she'd returned to the Training Post, she'd come out of her shell more and more.

"Are you ready?" she asked, giving me a once over and tugging my collar straight.

"I think so." I wiped sweaty palms on my pants. "You… haven't heard anything, have you?" 'Even if she's not especially fond of Mergen, Erebus might have said something.'

"About the postings?" Lila's lips quirked, and she started walking toward the central block. "No. And if I had, I wouldn't say. It's supposed to be a surprise."

I hurried after her, anxiety winding my breath tight in my throat. The trees were a blur, and I couldn't say who, if anyone, we passed on the way to the ceremony. Climbing the ladder to the main hall's platform drew the world back into focus, though, and when Lila nudged me forward, I stepped to the front to join my classmates on the podium.

As our Guardian class gathered, Alcyone, Fachtna, and I exchanged nervous grins. Fachtna sniffed, jerking his chin up, before turning back to face the side door. I bristled, ready to open my mouth and say the things that would draw him out and most likely start a fight, but I remembered in time that we weren't waiting for a class to start. The eyes of the small audience — those who were close to us, and the teachers who'd worked to make us successful — felt heavy on my shoulders, and I glanced over them, searching.

But my mater and pater, and my little sister Soonie, weren't there. Despite Flits having nearly unfettered access to the Trade Routes, most Guardians received their first Posting without family watching on, and I was no exception in that.

The side door opened, smacking the wall with a thud that jerked my attention away from the audience. Mergen stepped in first, her denims pressed and her grey hair spiked artistically. The Essentia Guardian, Calista, entered next; her flowing white-blonde hair trailed past her waist, nearly matching the washed-out denim dress that cloaked her long limbs. Lastly, the Tellurian Guardian, Hrakning, strode in and shut the door behind him. His dark hair was prosaically medium-length, but his denims were dyed crisp black, with the sleeves torn off to reveal black-scrollwork tattoos emerging from his shirt to trail down his arms and disappear beneath his gauntlets.

'Whoosh.' My heart beat faster, and I focused on Mergen, with her placid face and grandmotherly smile.

Without preamble, Hrakning stepped to the front of the trio. His gaze drilled into each of us in turn before speaking.

"You have each passed the tests to become a Guardian in name. Now, you will have the opportunity to become a Guardian in truth. Don't screw it up."

A giggle slipped out of Alcyone before she stifled it.

"Alcyone, your Post will be Drylight Post." Hrakning tossed her a clear quartz crystal.

It slipped through her fingers, but Alcyone caught it before it fell to the ground.

Hrakning grinned, showing sharp white teeth.

"Fachtna, you're assigned here. You'll be working with Guardian Rilanann in dispatch. Your crystal work had better not disappoint."

Fachtna swallowed hard and nodded as he caught the quartz lobbed at him, and I felt a twinge of sympathy.

"As for you." Hrakning's eyes landed on me, and I abandoned concern for Fachtna, praying to the Rulers for myself.

"Out Post Guardian. For Ismene Home Post," Tellurian drawled, drawing the words out like taffy. "An interesting request, from an interesting Guardian. Best not disappoint."

The crystal's facets cut into my fingers, and I couldn't recall having received it. The breath left my body in a rush, and I gasped to drag more in.

'Ismene. Really?'

My eyes found Mergen again, and her smile was as warm as ever. I searched the small audience again, but Lila was gone as if she'd never been, and I couldn't say when she'd left.

Calista spoke briefly, but my mind was farther away than Lila ever had been.

♫♪♫♪

Morning dawned with the roosters again. My eyes burned as I stared at the thatch above my head — 'for the last time?' I hoped not, but the Posting crystal hadn't said how long I could expect to be at Ismene. 'But then again, would it be bad to be at Ismene for, well, ever?'

My left hand clenched around the smooth quartz crystal Hrakning gave me, but my right hand clutched the chipped and stained quartz I'd fallen asleep with before my exam. The story-quartz, though damaged, held fragments about the original Training Post and bits and snips of the Guild's flight from that place when our enemies destroyed it.

'Well, most of the Guild.' Ismene was the remnants that were left behind. I rolled over, setting the hammock to swaying. 'There's so much potential at Ismene! They produced two of the strongest Guardians in your generation.'

Lila had left Ismene for the Training Post when she was first inducted, rather than completing her initial training first, and Mergen had snatched Erebus straight from Butterfly to be her apprentice. He'd gained his gauntlets almost as fast as his sister.

'That kind of talent isn't restricted to just one family. And if they're a sample of what was allowed to leave, you've no chance of imagining the talent of those who stayed.'

I flopped over again, and this time the hammock twisted and left me sprawled on the ground. My face hit the wood with a hollow thunk.

"Ouch." I rubbed my forehead, then my nose, testing to see if I'd smacked it hard enough to bleed. 'Intact enough.' I rolled over again, staring at the hammock swaying above me.

"That wasn't nice," I told it.

It stilled slowly, uncaring of my opinion, and I sat up, my hair just brushing the underside. Stretching, I yawned and rubbed my eyes.

"Well, I'm definitely not getting any sleep." My pack sat like a stone propped against the wall; an inescapable reminder that today I was leaving the home I'd had for the past five years.

"Breakfast." I clambered out from beneath the hammock and rose to my feet. "Breakfast first."

I threw on the same denims I'd worn to the ceremony yesterday, splashed a bit of cold water on my face in a lackadaisical scrub, and stuffed my feet into my boots. Down the ladder again, I stumbled down the trail to the kitchen. Flits of all ages moved around, murmuring in sleep-dampened voices and helping themselves and each other start the day.

The traditional stew bubbled away, but a heaping pan of scrambled eggs and plates towering with stacks of pancakes kept warm on the hearth. My stomach rumbled, and I gathered a healthy plate with both. I found a small table, well away from the fire, that held butter and a variety of crocks. A quick poke revealed marmalade, some sort of berry preserves, and, in the last crock, my favorite rhubarb jam. Foregoing the butter, I slathered a heaping spoonful between each cake. A tug at my elbow drew my attention downward, and I added a heaping scoop to the plate of one of the instructor's children.

She thanked me with a grin and ran off, eggs bouncing off her plate. Another Flit collected the strayed bits, tossing them to the flock of chickens squawking outside the kitchen.

I waded through the fray to find an empty seat and watched the coordinated chaos with a fond smile. As I shoved the last bite of eggs into my mouth, gauntlet-clad arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me back.

"Hey!" I yelped, choking on the eggs.

"Hey, yourself," Lila giggled.

The sound sent an icy thrill racing up my spine.

"Uh, Lila," I stammered, wiping spilled bits of eggs off my denims and frowning at the dotted stains they left behind. "What happened yesterday? I looked everywhere for you."

"Oh, I got called away on a quick message run." Her smile hardened. "But what about you? You got your post?"

"Yeah, yeah. Ismene." My lips quirked up, and I glanced down when my cheeks heated.

"Ismene?" Lila tipped her head. "An unusual choice for such a promising Guardian."

"Promising?" I set my plate aside and turned to face her. 'Of the two of you, she was the one who showed promise.' "What do you mean?"

"Oh, I just meant…" She looked away, eyes skimming the crowd. Then they froze, focused on something. "Nothing, okay? I didn't mean anything. Listen, I've got another run to make, but I'll catch up with you later."

"Later?" I tried to see what'd caught her attention, but all I saw was shifting Flits. "I'm leaving. Right after breakfast."

"Uh-huh." She patted my shoulder as she moved away. "Maybe I'll see you there. At Ismene."

"But you've never gone back to Ismene. Lila!" I stood up, trying to track her, but she was gone like the first frost at noon. "Bones!"

"Language!" A petite Flit boosted a toddler higher on her hip, but spared a chastising glance for me. "You may be a Guardian, but there's no call for that."

"Sorry, ma'am." I collected my dishes and went to scrub them.