The Silver Seer

Chapter 16: After the Flames

Reko stares at the charred body of a soldier before it is picked up by a peer and carried over to a makeshift structure where the deceased are currently being kept. The ground below his feet is black and covered in ash, though the sky above him is gray with either smoke or clouds from the snowfall- based on the sweet smell in the air, it's most likely the former.

The officer shakes his head and continues forward, looking for one person in particular. He spots them right outside their office, on their hands and knees, scrubbing the ash from the white marble steps.

"Liam." Reko stops at the bottom of the stairs and catches the twin's attention.

He lets out a sigh, pushes himself into a standing position, and sets the sponge he was using into a metal bucket a few feet from where he was crouched. "Lieutenant Erkki. Good afternoon."

Reko knows a smile would accompany the greeting, but the teenager can see dark circles under Liam's eyes and his ungloved hands are a color between red and pink. His blue uniform is burnt and torn in many places, and the boy cannot even begin to imagine what he had to endure trying to extinguish the fire that lit up the dark sky only several hours earlier.

"Are you alright? Why don't you rest for a while?" Though Reko knows Felix will undoubtedly punish Liam severely, he figures the officer will be able to work on cleaning up the aftermath far more efficiently well-rested than if he is to continue in the state he's in.

But he shakes his head and turns towards the bucket. "I'm fine. I just need to keep myself busy."

The mechanical soldier knows exactly what he's talking about. In the months following Forchheim, it seemed to Reko like Felix never slept, the reason being that the nightmares of what happened would keep him up anyway, and finding something to do would stop his mind from thinking back to the event. That's what he told Reko when the boy asked about it.

Sometimes Reko would take a walk around the base if he awoke from a nightmare of his life in Finland after his parents were killed or the orphanage burned down. The silence of the night, save for the occasional footsteps from other soldiers or the chirping of crickets and hooting of owls always soothed him, and soon he would just wake up and stare straight ahead of him, finding no need to expend more energy walking outside.

But seeing how tired and miserable Liam looks, Reko can't let him keep working. So, he ascends the steps, grabs the man by his right arm, and drags him over to the dorm nearest to the office, most likely where Liam sleeps. Sure enough, based on the pictures Reko can see on a dresser of Liam and Leon together once inside the rather cozy room, it is the more sensible twin's dorm, and Reko points to the bed after closing the door, releasing Liam's arm.

"Sleep. You need it. You'll work better after waking up." Reko pulls out a chair from against the wall facing the front of the bed and sits down, training his eyes on Liam. He has no intention of leaving anytime soon, and he crosses his arms over his chest and his left leg over his right to convey such to the young man.

Liam looks at Reko, then his bed, and lays on top of the covers, staring up at what the boy can only assume to be the wood plank ceiling. "You know General Adelric best- what will his punishment for me be?" The officer's voice conveys both exhaustion and fear at the punishment to come.

Yet Reko does not know his captain that well. He knows his acts of kindness and respect, to both the living and the dead. He knows of his nightmares each night and the pain he endures each day, and the smile he gives all his officers as a reassuring lie, telling them he is alright- just a little tired or stressed- something he claims is normal for him.

"I don't know. I think it will depend on the severity of the damage. But I talked to Leon, and he said no structures were damaged to the point of being deemed inoperable. That's good, right?" Reko tries his best to uplift the older officer, yet all receives is a whine.