Purpose Kills

Chapter Five

  Desarae woke up with a groan, her head felt like a nail was being driven into it, and her leg ached. She had been changed into another night shift, she presumed by Nikolai. Some people would've probably found that a little discomforting, but she thought it was a sweet gesture. She slowly sat up, rubbing her temples. She glanced at her desk, and was surprised to find that there weren't any pieces of parchment on it for her to fill out. She guessed that that was Lyon, filling them out for her to give her some mercy. She smiled to herself, and slowly stood, leaning on her right leg heavily. She limped over to her armoire, and tugged off her night shift, tossing it on the floor. She pulled out some simple brown pants and a white shirt that resembled a corset. Of course, it was a lot less constricting. It left her arms and shoulders utterly bare, which increased her mobility, which was useful to her. She tugged on the pants (with some difficulty) and pulled the shirt over her head. She tied the laces in the back with little effort. 

   After she finished, a heavy knock came from outside her tent, and she wiped the smile from her face. "Come in!" She called, trying to loosen the bandages that were keeping her leg in an iron grip. Nikolai slipped in, holding a pair of wooden crutches. His brown eyes bored into her as he spotted her picking at the bandages. She immediately stopped, muttering, "mother hen.", and giving him a certain vulgar gesture. He tossed the crutches to her, and she grabbed them out of the air, sticking them beneath her arms. 

  "Well, Des, you might have noticed you have no paperwork to take care of. Don't get too excited, you'll still have to do tomorrow's. Lyon thought he'd offer you some mercy for today, so he won't be accompanying you to training or doing much today himself," He informed her with a bored look, never once breaking eye contact. He had his hands behind his back, his feet spread apart. He looked casual, but he was a coiled snake. Ready to strike at any moment. 

  So she decided to test it. She swung her a crutch at his left side, then swung the other for his neck. His arms lashed out and caught both of them, and he tilted his head to one side. He smirked faintly, a small scar that ran from the top left side of the bow of his lips and dipped downwards stretched with the smirk. "Des, was that really necessary?" He asked in his deep, quiet voice, before releasing her crutches.

  She leaned on them again and shrugged. She merely said, "have to keep you on your toes, don't I?" and grinned, before pushing him aside with a crutch and hobbling out of her tent. 

  She blinked against the harsh, unforgiving sunlight and surveyed the camp. All was well, and she opened the pocket watch that she kept around her neck. It was all silver on the outside, with the depiction of a cold looking dragon staring aimlessly. The inside was a simple dull parchment color, black hands and Roman numerals, and a clear shield of glass over top. It was almost nine in the morning, and she frowned a bit. She should've been awake at dawn, but her head gave another painful throb as a reminder of last night's endeavor. 

  She stalked to the center of camp, and watched as her men slowly poured in around her, forming a semi-circle in front of her and Nikolai. Everyone was there except Lyon, and a small nail of regret scratched along her skin. She stared ahead coldly, assessing everyone over. Finally she cleared her throat, "Today, we're going to be running. But of course, just that would be too easy by itself," she paused, looking everyone over as she began pacing, her hands behind her back. "You will have a two buckets attached to a pole. You will carry it on your shoulders, and find an oasis. Do your best not to die. When you reach the oasis, you will fill the buckets to the brim with water. You will run back," she announced, gesturing to the perfect row of eighteen buckets that had been set up. "You are dismissed." She crosses her arms, and quietly, they complied. They looked around as they picked up their buckets, and she felt a pang of pride- they were looking for signs of an oasis in every aspect of the area. Slowly, they peeled off and began running, and when they all disappeared, she loosed a sigh. 

  "Come on, Nikolai. Let's go see Lyon," she muttered, hobbling towards her second's tent. When she arrived, she rapped a crutch against the wooden pole outside that supported some of the tent. 

  "Come in!" Lyon's voice shouted, and she and Nikolai pushed aside the tent flaps and slipped inside. Lyon was sitting at his desk, a stack of papers that was slowly decreasing as he looked them over and did what needed to be done with them sat in front of him. His sandy hair was mussed, like he'd been running his hands through it. His back remained to them. He was shirtless, once more. He must have not changed since he woke up, doing paperwork didn't require him to look his best. Lyon's tattoo stood out in stark blue against the tan skin of his muscled back. It was a stag, its head raised to the heavens dotted above. She peeled her eyes away from it as he finally turned to them. 

  "To what do I owe the visit, Dee, Nikolai?" He asked, tilting his head to one side. She hobbled over to him and smacked his ankle with a crutch, to which he gave a sharp yelp of "bitch!" and held his ankle with a frown. 

  "Well, I decided that since the poor baby was stuck with all my paperwork, I thought I'd grace him with my presence," Desarae announced, bowing deeply at the waist. She yipped quietly when Lyon grabbed her around the middle and tugged her against him, into his lap almost, frowning and messing up her hair. She swatted at him, and he and Nikolai burst out into laughter. Her small frame was fitted against his, and she slammed her elbow into Lyon's stomach, causing the air to rush from his lungs and leave him choking as she stood. Desarae brushed off her shoulder with a smirk, raising an eyebrow. 

  "I thought you knew better than that, Lyon. And quit your snickering, or you're next, Nikolai," She threatens, her mouth curling into a wide grin. Nikolai held up his hands in a placating manner, taking a step back. He was still chuckling quietly, but she let it pass. Lyon regained his breath, shooting her a vulgar gesture. 

  "How dare you, Dee. I thought you loved me more than that," He huffed, crossing his arms over his broad and sculpted chest. 

  "No, I apologize," She chirped, before taking what remained of the stack of papers on his desk and folding them into her arms. "However, I am nice enough to relieve you of your boring duties. Go on, there's a training contraption by the center of camp. You'll figure it out. You too, Nikolai. You don't get off that easy." She said all this as she was leaving, disregarding the protests coming from the boys. She grinned and slipped out of the tent, making her way back to her own. When she looked over her shoulder, her second and third were grumpily making their way towards the center of the camp. She couldn't hear it, but she was guessing Nikolai was explaining to Lyon what they were supposed to do. Her theory was proven correct when Lyon groaned, looking over his shoulder and glaring at her.