GRAVESKIES

Chapter 18

As she became an unfortunate constant in Ryu's life, coexisting with Fern was not an easy task. Only Sawyer, Willow and Faust Kran knew about her condition. Storyteller had insisted they all keep this secret until she had clear, tangible proof of Fern's worth in battle. Ryujin felt caged. She continued to train Fern, always scheming, always analyzing, in the hope of pinching an idea between her fingers, of drawing out even a kindling of warfare potential.

Though, she had a hunch that the things she often analyzed wouldn't be so useful in battle.

Training always left her unexplainably frustrated. When Fern would drop the wooden practice bar and collapse under the exertion, Ryu would step on her stomach. "You're a fucking goddess," she would say, looking down without leaning over. She'd bounce the bar on her gasping torso, snuffing out her breath. "Is this all you have to show for it?" Fern put up a fight in an enticingly different way than she was used to receiving. Where Willow would quit or apologize, Fern grit her teeth and charged through the pain, sweat dripping down her tall forehead.

Ryu wished their interactions didn't extend beyond training hours.

Fern was messy except for her socks and boots, which she meticulously cared for since she'd realized the importance of having comfortably covered feet. She always hungered and always ran hot. She refused to sleep on a blanket because she wanted to be closer to the earth. She craved for young, dripping fistfuls of raspberries, or red flesh, and when she got it, she sunk her teeth into it, tearing wretchedly, letting blood run free down her throat. She talked about birds, or the trees' shifting shadows, but the actual spirits in the sky left her unimpressed. Sometimes she brought Ryu special leaves and rocks she'd found on her guarded walks, because her palace had never allowed her to see such things up close. Ryu kept them, because she could be up to something nefarious, and they might contain clues. In daylight, Fern's oddities unnerved her incessantly, so Ryujin spent her time with Willow. She noticed for the first time that her friend talked to all the superior officers about infrastructure plans, supplies and rank organization much more than she'd ever tried to.

On the first night, Ryujin attempted to share her space with Fern, but she failed to fall asleep. She could feel every chilling, black-blue meter between them run itself over and over her skin. Ryu was the first human to ever lay this close to a goddess. She hated her. She wildly, savagely wondered what would happen if she tried to kill her.

Ryu decided to sleep in Willow's tent.

She remembered how she used to regard Willow like a painting, not like a pillar to be torn down.

"Each God has something they're known for, right?" Ryujin had asked once, begrudgingly. "Like how Nyrin's the God of gifts. What's your trademark?"

Fern had laughed. "That's not how Gods work at all!" Then she paused. "I don't know who I'd be. The greatest thing I've ever done is fall."

One morning, a kid who had visited to deliver news to his dad asked Ryu to fly him up. He visibly admired her, the runt, all glittery eyes and twiddling thumbs. She'd responded like she always did, something of a "fuck off, you useless insect" or "cut it before I make you wish your mother had aborted you". Minutes later, while conversing with a Colonel, she'd seen Fern carry the kid on her shoulders, legs struggling to keep up. He spread his arms like a bird. They both laughed. Ryu gaped in offence. Was she mocking her?

Fern caught her eye and smiled. Holy shit.

Ryu trudged off to the Commander's tent, where the strategy councils were held. She'd made plans for today. She was to eavesdrop. The Supreme Commander had been crafting battle plans for days and not a single word had leaked amongst the soldiers in thirteen days. Tireless and turbulent, Dianne had shut herself in the ashen orange strategy pavilion. Her rare sightings were accompanied by eyebags and unkempt hair. Sketches in her hands. Maps pinned over the tent walls. She shipped off packages and ordered expeditious missions. Ryu had an inkling of what she might've been doing, not even Kran would share any clues. So she pursued confirmation independently.