The Keefe Sencen Protection Program ✧ kotlc¹ [DISCONTINUED]

24 alina's tribunal

"No choice but to bring in the second and third defense," Gethen said, sounding exasperated. He was surrounded by thoroughly wounded and even dead Neverseen on cots. Vespera was tearing her hair out somewhere, or maybe shouting at Gisela.

"Hey, an attack on a Tribunal to ambush the Black Swan with probably a hundred mutants on the loose, and the majority of the first defense out of commission? Sounds ideal to me!" Ruy said sarcastically, wincing as Kazimir Corentin jabbed a needle through a gaping wound in his torso. "Dammit, Kaz, did you actually go to school for healing or did you just pick up a first aid kit one day and call yourself qualified?"

Kaz flashed an entirely innocent smile, but he was more aggressive than necessary as he sewed up the injury, making Ruy draw in a sharp breath through gritted teeth.

The door slammed open and everyone awake turned. Nightshade stumbled through, registering the sight of the wounded men with only a confused and dazed expression. Useless drunk bastard.

"Someone called...?"

"Who have we got, Shade?" Gethen sighed, glancing up from where he was sitting beside a barely-breathing Trix. Managing the second defense was a distraction he desperately needed from all this... destruction. He had to keep reminding himself this was what he'd bargained for. This is war. War is messy. Still, the mutants becoming real players... that had never been predicted, by anyone.

"Tons. Tons tons tons—here, I brought Halley's kid. She has the schedule memorized."

Following behind him was a cloaked figure, who he waved forward. She hesitated but dropped her hood. Teenage girl, definitely younger than his sister, with black hair that spilled over her shoulders and fell in front of her face, which seemed intentional as it effectively concealed the brief glimpse of the scarring on her face that Gethen had caught momentarily. Everyone shuddered as her mental voice echoed in their heads, her expression remaining static.

Lavaeya Ember. Charmed to meet you.

"You and I," Gethen said, grimacing in pain as he rose, limping slightly, "are going to meet with Gisela and talk strategy."

Sounds like a plan.

He crouched down by Ruy, who had sat up and was in visible pain but didn't complain. "Tomorrow is a big day. I need you to take care of one thing for me."

"Sure, brother."

"A lot of Black Swan are going to die," he said quietly.

Ruy's lips quirked upward. "And there's one you intend not to."

"You got it." He patted Ruy on the back. "Kill my sister and I kill you, yeah?"

Ruy looked a little queasy. "Yeah."

Gethen strolled to the door, assessed the room full of long faces and bloody bodies. There would be victory for the Neverseen. They had fought and triumphed and killed and lost. So much more blood would be spilled. But one day, the elven world would change. One day, they would all be free. He could be with the woman he loved. Families would be reunited. The Council would fall. This war-ridden patch of history would pass. He only hoped he lived long enough to see through to the other side.

"Miss Ember?" he said cordially but with authority, and he and Halley's daughter headed down the corridor, towards tomorrow's battle and a new beginning.

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Avilyn cursed as the crisp paper slid across the soft skin between her index and middle fingers, leaving a thin line of red. She transferred the document to the other hand and shook the first, trying to ignore the stinging. Most of the file so far had been dull—things such as Gethen's grades when he attended Foxfire, notes from old teachers and employers, among other boring, mundane facts. And in her distraction, she nearly missed something; his medical records. Normally these wouldn't have been of importance, but due to Cloud's medical history, nothing was certain.