Every year, hundreds die within the walls of Basgiath War College. It's no surprise that many are those who choose the Riders Quadrant. Dragons do not tolerate much, but neither do the ruthless gryphons on the outside of the wards.
At least...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
・・・ ・・・ ・・・
My fingers press into my temples as the Infantry Asshole raises his voice yet again. He's been arguing with Rhiannon and Tomas for the entire two hours we've been walking. "That map doesn't resemble any I've ever seen of Shedrick, which means we could be headed the opposite direction we should be. None of these landmarks match!" he argues. "And I think you're wrong," Rhiannon counters. "Why the fuck did we start walking before confirming where we're going?" I question the group. "Tell me about it," Violet huffs from beside me.
Suddenly, she drops. I grab her on instinct, gritting my teeth with a hiss of a breath as my skin lights up yet again when I pull her against my side. She gets her footing soon enough, us both stopped so she can. "Are your knees wrapped?" I ask quietly. I glance toward infantry but over their shouting, it doesn't like any heard me. "Yeah," she answers with a nod. "Didn't do the ankles, though. I wasn't exactly expecting a hike." "I know," I hum. We both look up as one of the healers stops and turns over his shoulder. "I have cloth if you need to wrap something," Dyre, offers as he rounds out by us. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you."
Calvin—Infantry Asshole—states his quarter-hourly reminder of his rank. This time, however, he's bitching about respect, which Ridoc rightfully laughs at. I take the small moment of Rhiannon's free attention to bounce forward, tapping her on the shoulder. She follows me a few steps away from the group, pausing when I do. "Are you okay?" she asks first. I nod quickly, but I glance away when I realize maybe I'm not, so instead, I shrug. "This is the drug," I whisper to her.
Her eyes widen and her brows raise before pulling in. "What drug?" "You remember when we spoke in your room?" I murmur to her. "A few weeks ago. And I told you about Colonel Aetos, that he..." My voice wavers and I pinch my lips together. Thankfully, I don't need to finish the sentence. "And it was this... thing?" I nod quickly. "I woke up and couldn't reach anyone. Fior, Xaden, not even Tairn. I didn't really realize it at the time, I thought I was just a bit delirious. I'm sorry I didn't warn you guys."
"When did it wear off?" she asks. To that I sigh. Immediatley, her shoulders droop. "Aetos gave me some water right before he let me go. I think it might've contained an antidote because I felt fine within a few minutes. I'm worried that it doesn't wear off." She drags in a breath before nodding. "Or at least not for a ridiculously long time if they gave it to us before such a long exercise," she picks up, finishing my thought exactly. "Right. Don't be sorry, you had no way of knowing. For the sake of morale, let's not mention that theory to anyone." "I agree."
We jog just a bit to catch up to the group. Rhiannon settles at the helm, just a step ahead of Infantry Asshole, taking the map back from Sawyer's hands as I move to his side. "You want my respect?" Ridoc questions the guy, evidentally still having that particular argument. "Earn it. Cross the Parapet, climb the Gauntlet, survive Threshing. Then we'll be on equal footing." "You think we don't go through shit in the Infantry Quadrant just like you?" someone from behind challenges.
