“Right,” said Elara, and Rynna nodded.
“Ok. Bran, you go first from the front. Be a distraction, at least,” Taren instructed. “Rynna, you and I will flank him. Elara, look for an opening and take it if you see it.”
He might’ve been a moody brat most of the time, but he was competent. This would be interesting.
“Who made you the leader?!” The other boy responded.
“For crying out loud, Bran, just go with it,” Rynna scolded, swatting him on the back of the head.
“Fine.” He huffed, glancing at the others. “Ready?”
They nodded, crouching low in preparation to strike. But before anyone could move, the bag of metal balls flew through the air to land helplessly at their feet.
“Well done, Fangs.” Fenn strolled into the center of the clearing, lunch sacks materializing in his hands. “You all pass.”
The three younger Hollow-born blinked, exchanging baffled looks. Elara’s eyes darted from the balls to Fenn, then to her teammates, her mouth slightly agape. Taren frowned like he was trying to piece together what had just happened. Bran, meanwhile, was completely wide-eyed, frozen in place as his brain tried to catch up with what he was hearing.
“WHAT?!?” He exploded, startling a few nearby birds into flight.
Goddamn, is his volume stuck on high?Rynna thought, biting her lip to keep from laughing.
“WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!” Bran’s head whipped between her, Taren, and Elara. “It’s gotta be a trick, right?”
“Idiot,” Taren muttered, snatching one of the lunch sacks from Fenn and sitting down to eat.
“It...was...a test?” Elara said slowly before stepping forward to grab her own lunch. “It was a test,” she repeated, sounding almost like she needed to convince herself.
“A test?” Bran finally echoed, grabbing the last two lunch sacks and handing one to Rynna. “What the hell kind of test was that?”
Bran’s question hung in the air, unanswered as they settled on the ground.
A few minutes later, after they’d settled in with the stuffed dumplings Fenn had brought, he finally explained the real rules and why the test mattered.
“Being a Hollow-born is dangerous. Every day, we put our lives on the line, whether it’s for a paid assignment or in direct service to the Reach. You could die at any moment. That’s the reality of this life.”
He paused, letting the gravity of his words settle over them.
“But what you need to understand,” Fenn continued, “is that when it truly matters, you’re not just fighting for the mission or even the Ember Warden. You’re fighting for the Hollow-born standing beside you, the men and women on either side of you. That’s what truly matters. Your comrades are the most important thing in this life.”
Elara raised her hand hesitantly. “But what about the assignment? Isn’t that the priority?”
Fenn glanced at her, his eyes softening just a little. “Sometimes, yes. Sometimes, an assignment is so important that sacrifices have to be made for it to succeed. But that sacrifice should never be taken lightly or made in haste.”
His gaze swept over them, settling for a moment on each one. “You should always make every effort to protect your teammates. They are your family. If you don’t protect them...then what are you even fighting for?”
When he stopped speaking, the clearing fell into a deep, contemplative silence. Even Bran stayed quiet for once. He didn’t even fidget, his usual boundless energy seemingly replaced by reflection.
It was a miracle, really.
Damn, he’s good. Rynna thought, chewing thoughtfully on the savory meat pocket, enjoying its subtle warmth and hint of pepper, never taking her eyes off the Vessel.What would it be like to actually get to know the man behind the mask?
“Okay,” Fenn said, climbing to his feet. “Meet me at the river tomorrow at dawn. We have our first real assignment.”
As he walked away, the other three immediately broke into excited conversation, rehashing the day’s events and Guide Fenn’s words. Rynna, though, remained quiet, watching them. She felt a low, steady certainty deep in her belly that these three were going to shape their world one day. She could feel it as clearly as the ground beneath her rear. And the Weaving had chosen Guide Fenn to shape and mentor them.
She couldn’t mess that up. Not for a crush. She wouldn’t.
But even as she resolved to settle into her role as Novice, as friend and teammate, Rynna knew with that same certainty in her gut that her story with the Unit Leader was far from over.
