Light in Dark Places

Chapter Thirty-Four

"Do you want to go to a very fancy dinner with me?" Joan asks at the start of the day.

"Not...particularly. No," Benedict replies.

"It's a welcome dinner for Mathiessen."

"Even more decidedly not," Benedict says.

"If I begged you, would you come?"

"Please don't," Benedict says, alarmed at the thought.

"But please?" Joan asks, commencing her begging. "Mathiessen apparently really wants me there, and I don't want to go alone. The only people I would know are the Kings and they have Kingly things to do."

The more Joan talks the more it only solidifies that Benedict really doesn't want to go to this dinner. But the bell rings, meaning it's time to get to class, so at least Benedict doesn't have to try and withhold against Joan's begging anymore.

*

Downing starts class by immediately moving everyone to the training yard. A short, dark-skinned woman stands next to him, dressed all in the dark red uniform of the SDF. Jude sees her and groans and she flashes a grin at him. "Today we're having a very special session on Ash compatibility," Downing says. He has that same faint smile that he always seems to have. "So, for a moment, let us return to elementary school for a refresher. Why is Desert Ash typically thought to be the strongest Ash?"

"Because we are badass motherfuckers in the desert," a boy covered in fur shouts, to the amusement of the classmates.

"Very well put, Mr. Ochoa, thank you. We get our Ash from the land, and the land in the desert is very strong." Downing surveys his class with those strange amber eyes of his and when he speaks, it's like he's telling a fairy tale. "Everyone in every other place thinks of the desert as a barren wasteland—harsh and destructive, a place where nothing could live. But that is not true, especially not in Arisanna. The land is harsh, so the life here has adapted to survive. The plants that grow here have adapted to require very little water and live very long lives. The animals that make this place their home are suited to thrive in some of the harshest living conditions on this planet. There is so much life here, and the life that is here survives.

"And instead of being the kind of cutthroat, every-organism-for-themselves mentality that people associate with survival, the life of the desert thrives because no single organism is on its own. Our ecosystem thrives by working together, and this is true for Ash talents.

"Private Ojukwu, Mr. Ojukwu, can you please step forward for the class demonstration?"

"Ugh, I should have known," Jude says, moving to the front. Benedict startles slightly at the fact that they both have the same last name. His first thought would be that they didn't look anything alike, but then realizes that Jude looks like a cactus, it's a bit of an unfair comparison to make. But it's just that she's so short and Jude is so tall and it looks almost comical to have the two of them stand next to each other.

"Ah, that's my baby brother," the woman says, grinning.

"Tisha, you'll embarrass me in front of my classmates," Jude deadpans. He clearly isn't worried about being embarrassed, not in the way Benedict would be if he was suddenly called to the front of the class to give an impromptu demonstration.

"Latisha and Jude Ojukwu, as is common with siblings, both have compatible Ash talents," Downing explains motioning to the two of them. "And their Ash talents are a perfect example of the way a perfectly functioning ecosystem can manifest in our abilities."

"Hear that, bro? We're a perfectly functioning ecosystem."

"My dreams have all come true," Jude says.