Red as the Dawn

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

 (/Cal/)

It was nice being in a compound that was ten times bigger than the previous one. It meant less bottle neck hallways where I was more likely to get killed by a group of soldiers that didn't like the way I had walked by them at breakfast, or even better, a smaller chance of running into Kilorn who had been stationed at the compound almost permanently. He still seemed to have a nasty habit of running into me though, and every time he did, he would whisper something under his breath to his comrade who would in turn glare at me too and sneer. In every instance, I kept walking, but as the weeks went by, the fragile patients I had managed to cultivate had started to fray. One of the best benefits we had ben granted though, was the space Farley has allocated as Mare's and my own, for training purposes, she had muttered off handedly as she showed us the massive hanger sized room.

Having the room meant actual space to train the New Bloods that had been entered into the Guard, it meant finally having enough space to stretch out and spar without having to worry about someone cracking their head against a boiler or water heater. At the moment, that was all Mare wanted to do, spar, fight, and test her limits, she didn't have much competition though. Maggie wasn't exactly in any shape to fight, and I had a feeling she would never be much of a fighter, Chelsea could barely keep her ability under control, which normally meant that objects warped into other things when she was near them, or she'd wake up in the morning with bright green hair, and Torin, he could hardly maintain a candle flame without breaking into a sweat, and he refused my help pointedly, muttered obscenities under his breath as he walked away. At the moment, I was disposed as well, with a seriously separated shoulder that had become like dead weight after a week.

So, we had resulted to just plain old sparing with no weapons, or with poles that Mare and I had pared down when both of us couldn't sleep. We had come to a common, silent agreement when those nights happened: we wouldn't talk about what was bothering us, we would just sit in silence, brooding together while we did some mindless task. It was nice though, having her there, either sitting next to me or across from me. Her presence was a soothing balm, and I wished that I could think of the words to thank her for understanding.

In front of me, Chelsea flipped Mare over her arm and slammed her face first into the mat. I winced as Mare let out a cry of pain, and tried to twist out from underneath Chelsea, who had dropped immediately to straddle Mare's back and pin her to the floor. The two of them squirmed on the floor for a few more seconds before Mare slammed her free hand on the mat and let out a loud curse word. Chelsea leaped off of her, smiling broadly as she clasped her hands together to contain herself, but already her hair had an orange tinge. Mare rolled over slowly and yanking her loose hairs out of her face she hissed, "again."

Sighing, I stood up and held my hand out to Chelsea to stop her. Mare propped herself up on her elbows and glaring at me spit, "I'm fine, let's do it again."

"You're going to get hurt, and we can't afford that, take a short break." I argued softly, trying to calm her down, but Mare was easily irritated lately, most likely because of her lack of sleep, and this training session was the tipping point it seemed. She leaped up to her feet and stepping up so that she was toe to toe with me, she hissed, "oh come off it, I can do this!"

"I'm not letting you get injured," I was trying to sooth her, but she was a lit fuse, and I was doing what I did best, add fire to the mix. She seemed to puff up to two times her size after my comment, and I heard the distinct crackle of electricity as she spit, "Since when do you care?"

My fist clenched as my stomach dropped, like I had taken a wrong step and started falling down a set of stairs. She couldn't have meant that, she knew that I was sticking around to train her, and to help the Guard, didn't that translate somewhere in her mind to caring? Apparently not, and for a moment, my blood boiled at the thought. What else did she want, an embroidered sign saying that I cared?