Chapter 82 – Familiar Faces

I crouched down in front of a cage. It was one of four all stacked neatly together. All around me, QRF stood on guard with rifles ready to open fire at the slightest hint that something went wrong.

I carefully pulled a tarp up off the cage, revealing a hunched form in the middle of the cage. Light spilled across its body, and the beast twitched in response. Golden runes along the bars of the cage flashed, and it went still once more. Its eyes, though, locked onto me with a kind of feral hatred I’d expect from a Calamity. Or they should’ve? It glanced at me and then roved past to growl at the other QRF instead. 

I always did have a way with dogs, even if they were monstrosities. They could probably sense that I wasn’t much different from them. I just had a much longer leash. There was something to be said about kindred spirits… though I’d never admit that I actually felt a little kindred with a Calamity. That was a good way to get shot.

Anyway, CE-4813, Redcap. It was a dog-like monster with pure white skin. Deadly looking claws tipped each of the monster’s paws. Its real standout feature, though, was its purely red head. The head of the creature looked like it had its skin peeled off to show the muscle and veins underneath. Its neck was even covered up with flaps of skin like a curled up flower.

They weren’t especially dangerous, as could probably be guessed by their designation in the high 4000s. I could easily take on a small pack of them as long as there weren’t any high-tier variants mixed in. They were a pack type calamity, so the PDF didn’t have too hard of a time capturing four of them for us. Likewise, they weren’t too dangerous by themselves. I was more worried about one of students shooting themselves then being seriously injured by a Redcap.

”Everything you hoped they’d be, Reyna?” Quinn called from behind me. I turned around, and my ears instantly flattened as I recognized the duo behind her.

“S-something like that.” I tried to fix up my expression, and forced my stupid tail to sway back and further like I was excited.

“Eee! Reyna!” Tessa charged past the duo, and pulled me into a big hug. My tail drooped, and the tip dragged against the ground. “I haven’t seen you in so long! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were avoiding us!”

”H-heh, th-that’s crazy.” She got it in one? I carefully tried to hug her back. Before I could even get close to wrapping my arms around her, she popped away and peeked under the tarp like a hyperactive puppy.

”GRROOOK!” The Redcap barked and snapped at her. I wasn’t an issue, but it instantly turned aggressive when she got close.

”Sorry about her.” Bryce stayed back by Quinn with his hand stuffed in his pocket. He lifted the coffee cup held by his other in greeting. ”She’s had too many of those cotton candy energy drinks Quinn gave us lately.”

”Hey! Why are you saying that like I’m a disobedient pet?!” Tessa dropped her hands onto her hips, and glared up at the Guardian like he was the problem. I pulled her toward me slightly so the Redcap wouldn’t bite her in the ass.

”Aw, you two never change.” Quinn grasped at her heart, and tripped backward slightly. She fell against the doorframe of the supply shack without a care for the QRF around or her image.

“Try saying that after you deal with it everyday.” Although Bryce’s words were bitter, he had a small smile on his face that he quickly covered with a sip of his coffee.

“Eh, you might be right.” Quinn side-eyed me before flashing a thumbs up. “Reyna’s got the emo wolf-girl vibe down to a T, though, and I wouldn’t change her for anything in the world.”

”I’m not emo,” I muttered. My eyes dropped to Bryce’s wrist where I’d injured him. It was hidden in his pocket. I hadn’t seen him since that night, partly thanks to avoiding the duo and partly thanks to circumstances. Barghest and Thornton were bitter rivals. How was I supposed to pretend nothing happened?

My Guardian just looked at me for a moment. “Reyna, your favorite fashion accessory is a choker, and I’m pretty sure you’d wear all black clothes if Harbor’s jacket wasn’t white.”

”Black hides blood better.” It was just practical. There was nothing more morale shattering than seeing the ones bringing hope, Guardians and their Canaries, covered in blood. “What, uh, what are you two doing here?”

”Point proven,” Quinn quietly coughed to the side, but I ignored her.

”Other than seeing our bestest friends ever?” Tessa looped her arm in mine, leaving no doubt who she was referring to. I scratched at my wrist. Please stop talking. I already feel bad enough. “Harbor sent us back up for the practicals. You know how it is.”

”Something wrong, Reyna?” Bryce finally pulled his hand out of his pocket, and brushed back a strand of hair that dangled low over his eye. A scar marked his wrist from where my axe cut deep through his armor. My eyes locked onto it, and remained glued. 

“Your wrist… what happened?” One of my ears curled back and the other perked up in expectation of his answer. 

“This idiot.” Tessa released me, and hopped over to her Guardian. “Instead of leaving on the bandages and medicine like the doctor said, he let it scar.”

“We got in a fight with an Anarch about… two months ago?” He shrugged like he couldn’t care less. “Nothing compared to what you went through. We visited you in the hospital after you got back. I’m glad to see you’re back up and moving. ”

”T-thanks for visiting me.” My head dropped, and I stared blankly at the floor. Every moment I looked at him reminded me of back then.

I could still feel my axe cutting deep into his wrist. My fingers twitched, and scratched even rougher at my wrist. The scent of blood clung to my nose, and the image was burned into my eyes like an eternal reminder of what I’d done. Of how far I almost fell. Hurting one of my friends just because Hades said too—no, I was different now after the Mire. That wouldn’t happen again… would it?

“Ahem…” Quinn moved over to me, stepping in between me and them. Her shadow dropped over my face and shrouded me slightly. “You okay, Reyna?”

”Yeah. Yeah! I’m fine.” I tried to force some cheer into my voice, and shook out my head. “Just a bit tired.”

”Up too late worrying about the freshmen again? They’ll do fine.” Quinn nudged my shoulder with her own. “And if they don’t, that’s why we’re here. Better they mess up while we can bail them out than later in the field.”

”I know…” I was also worried about the students, ‘course. And my sister. They’d do fine, though. They got an extra week to prepare, and the Redcaps would be easy enough to deal with as long as they paid attention during Calamity Studies. 

I even spent the last couple hours making false tracks throughout the entire amusement park to hint at what Calamity it was before they met it. As long as they paid used what they’d been taught, they’d be totally okay. They had to be okay. I wasn’t sure if my heart could take it if one of the freshmen died or got seriously injured on my watch.

“Let’s go walk the perimeter one more time, yeah?” Quinn dragged me away from the cages by my hand. She stopped at the door to look back at Bryce and Tessa. “Feel free to take a walk around. We’ve got about an hour till the students get here… um, stay out of the Arcade? Other than that, Everdyne Industries set up a hospitality tent at the entrance.”

”Oh? You finally started talking to your dad again?” Bryce’s eyes darted between me and her. He silently sipped at his coffee.

Quinn’s expression broke into a helpless frown. “What? Is my family drama  just an open book these days? How does everyone know about that?”

“Gossip, mostly.” Tessa reached up and poked Bryce’s cheek, making his serious expression collapse in a moment. “Although he may look like a serious sal, he’s quite the gossip.”

”… she’s lying.” Bryce said in a way that was definitely convincing. He sipped at his coffee as if that’d make us believe him. “You two were going on a perimeter check?”

”Right.” Quinn popped open the door and held it for me. 

I pulled up my hood over my hat, and followed her out into the light rain drizzling over Silverport. The rain didn’t bother to touch me thanks to Quinn, but it was still a little cold out. We moved out through the mud, and approached the fence. The storage shed she got someone to build was close to the entry of the place. Quinn had spent a surprising amount of money here. It should’ve taken way longer, but she just threw more money at it. Rich people really were built different.

The two of us walked in silence while we checked out the fence surrounding the place. The shed wasn’t the only thing new here. She completely replaced the fence with a heavy duty one topped with enchanted barbed wire. Even a touch of the barbs would feel like a cattle prod at full force. Every five or so fence poles was one glowing with golden pyric runes.

”How’d you get so many radiant ones made so quickly?” It’s only been two weeks since I woke up. She might’ve had a month more than that to prepare, but the amusement park seemed kinda last minute. It took a long time for the church to make even just one radiant item, let alone so many.

“Bought them.” Quinn shrugged, and stuffed her hands into her pockets. “The PDF commander was going to test them on the Mire outposts for future external research labs. They wound up being more expensive and less effective than a normal Radiant Pylon.”

“Wow… were they really more expensive?” My ears twitched. Pylons were crazy when it came to price. Basically, if you weren’t a city state, they were almost impossible to get. Almost. Hades’ drug lab out in the Mire had one that kept it mostly free of coreless Calamities. 

“Not as cost effective, at least. To make or to field. They did make it easier to set up a modular barrier though” She stopped by a fence pole engraved with pyric runes, and brushed a hand along the softly glowing surface. “Should keep our Calamities in the amusement park.”

I nodded my head, and we continued to walk the perimeter to check for gaps. It was pretty pointless, to be honest. There was a soothing peace in the habit, though. Probably ‘cause one of those prideful better off doing it myself type deals.  

There were QRF set up at watch posts around the fence in case something actually went wrong. Usually, Harbor just used abandoned places for these practicals. The QRF were always the perimeter. They’d be able to take it easy this time around and use this as a paid rest at the very least. The biggest concern was a civilian approaching, but one touch of that barbed wire and that wouldn’t be an issue.

“Hey, listen, there’s gonna be some media guys that show up.” Quinn went quiet for a few moments as if letting me process. “You okay with doing an interview?”

”Do I have to?” I instantly asked back. I slowed down and rubbed at the crook of my elbow. My head tilted down ever so slightly. “I-I can if you—“

”I don’t care.” Quinn cut me off. “They’re here to report on the new Awoken more than anything. Some of them just reached out to me to talk to you, which was why I asked.”

”Why?” Back when we went through school, there was never a media presence. For the most part, the academy didn’t want to show a bunch of newbloods that might die. It was the same reason most Guardians didn’t have live coverage while they were in the field. 

“It’s a new program from President Kimble, so who really knows.” Quinn dredged up a ball of water. It shifted shape in front of her, and formed a microphone. “Probably has to do with public sentiment. All the major academies are doing the same.”

”… it might be a good thing.” Now that I thought about it, having media coverage would make Sylvie stronger, wouldn’t it? I wasn’t totally sure how Last Light worked, but if she could draw on the hope of everyone that believed in her, then being in the media’s eye would be really good. It might offer her some protection from underworld groups too.

”I was thinking so too. The media is part of the reason I got my dad to sponsor a hospitality tent over there.” She flicked the mic into the air, and the water drops merged into the rain. “So?”

”I… can I think about it?” My ears pulled back weakly. I wasn’t sure how I felt about jumping in front of the media. I wasn’t ever trained for it. All my studies were in how to kill and hurt things. “What would I even say?”

”Just be yourself. Everybody’ll love you the way we do.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop just next to her. “If you don’t want to, though, you don’t have to.”

“You sound just like my sister,” I muttered sourly.

“Great minds think alike and all that.” Quinn chuckled softly, though gave me time to to think it through.

Heh, just be myself? Why did they make it sound so freaking easy? I didn't know who I was, let alone how to be her. I pulled awkwardly at my choker. Did they really want to see the blood-thirsty monster that’d rip anyone to shreds just to keep her sister alive? Or did they want to see the soft Silver Wolf who carted a plushie around? Or even the serious Canary with a dead tone and even deader eyes?

“I… I’ll let you know after the practical.” When in doubt, boot it down the line.

“Sure.” She patted my shoulder, and picked up the pace to complete our loop of the perimeter. “C’mon. The students will be arriving soon, so let’s finish up our walk.”

”Heh, right.” I shook my head. For now, I needed to focus on the practicals. Everything else will fall into place. Hopefully.