Eight Intertwined

162 - Communicate

After the travelers found their way back to Wellspring, they decided to split up to prepare for the black market auction. Therion seemed to believe the auction wouldn't be starting until the next day so the vendors had time to prepare themselves for the upcoming sales now that the lizardmen were out of the picture. As such, they all had the afternoon and evening to prepare for their trip into the black market the following day. 

Olberic wanted to take this time to think. He knew he would have to address the travelers' situation sooner rather than later, but he wasn't quite certain of how he was meant to put it into words. They all needed to talk to one another, but Olberic was hardly a man of speech. He and Erhardt had worked out their long-running issues through clashing swords, and that was a much more comfortable method of communication for Olberic. How could he figure out what to tell his friends when he wasn't one for telling anything?

Olberic ultimately settled on sitting on a bench that overlooked the oasis as he sifted through his thoughts. His reflection stared back at him in the water, and Olberic did his best to avoid meeting his own gaze. It would only unsettle him, he was certain. Olberic was much more comfortable with himself now than he had been a few weeks ago, but that didn't mean he knew what to say where others were concerned. It would have been much easier if they could just understand one anoather through combat, but instead, it seemed like combat only seemed to reveal their issues rather than fix them. That was what Balogar had implied at the very least. 

Tressa's reflection appeared behind Olberic in the water, and he turned around to see her standing behind him, her hands pressed together behind her back. There was a bright smile on her face, and Olberic couldn't help grinning back at her when he saw it. "You look pleased."

"I'm happy you and Erhardt made up," Tressa replied as she took an easy seat beside him. "Now you're comrades-in-arms again!" 

Olberic nodded. He didn't know if he and Erhardt would ever be able to go back to the way they once had been, but they didn't necessarily need to. As long as they worked to make things better, everything would be alright. That was all that seemed to mater. "It was a long road to reach such a point... But fighters are straightforward men, and they understand each other," he told her. "Crossing swords just once can tell me more about another than a thousand words."

"Wow... That sounds incredible!" Tressa deflated in the reflection of the water. "I wish it was that easy to get everyone else to talk to each other." She kicked one foot against the sand, sending a small pebble rolling closer to the water's edge. "It seems like no one wants to be honest about how they're feeling. Balogar was right about us having problems, but how can we fix them when no one knows how to acknowledge it?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Olberic confessed. "I want to be able to help them, but... I fear I don't know how." It would have been so much simpler if they could fight until they understood one another. As it stood, Olberic didn't know how to sift through Primrose's guilt and grief over Simeon. He didn't know how to break through the defenses Alfyn had built after fighting Miguel. He didn't know how to talk to Therion or even to figure out what was wrong with him in the first place. The world felt like it was crumbling... And Olberic wished he knew how to fix it. 

Tressa pressed a smile across her face again. "But we're going to find a way to make it work," she declared. "If you and Erhardt can make up after everything you went through, then I know we'll be able to make everything right with the others too. All we have to do is try." She looked up to Olberic, and he met her gaze. "Are you with me?"

Olberic allowed himself a small smile, and he nodded. "Always."

~~~~~

H'aanit knew many things about the world.