The Snake Warriors

Chapter Nine

"Hey, I couldn't find Lotus. Do you guys think something bad could have happe-" Foxtail stops when he notices her sitting in the clearing. It's been two hours since she got back, and he was searching that entire time? He truly cares for her. The way I care for Cace. I don't care what Lyndis says. Searching for him is worth it. I just wish-

"Oh. Look what the fox dragged in," Lotus sits up and crosses her arms. Foxtail rolls his eyes.

"Ha-ha. Lotus, can we get to the point?"

"Of course. What's the point?"

"I'm sorry, okay? You know I say things without thinking, and..." Foxtail trails off. He looks down at the ground.

"I know, Foxy. I know." Lotus smiles at him. He looks back up at her with a "Really?" look. But there's something off about Lotus's smile. This is kind of awkward.

"I'll try to be more careful with my words, I swear," Foxtail says.

"So you finally learned from my example? Oh Foxy, I'm touched'!" Lotus puts her hands on her chest. She's faking happy to make him feel better about himself, isn't she? Looks like it worked, because he already seems less angry with himself. And now Lotus seems less upset as well. So making everything else makes her feel better about herself? Maybe. She feels guilty about something, judging by that conversation she had with Foxtail earlier. I don't want to ask about that, considering Lotus's reaction to me asking if she was okay. But why? Well, whatever it is, she obviously doesn't want to deal with it. So maybe in times of crisis, her grieving process is, in fact, helping others feel better about it. Well, grieving processes aside, currently we are in the middle of an awkward silence.

"Moving on... Sorcha, there's something I want to talk to you about... in private... so we need to go somewhere private... because... it's private... and this is painful to listen to, isn't it?" Lotus finally finishes. I nod in agreement. Lotus smiles awkwardly and walks over to me. I stand up. Lotus quickly looks over her shoulder.

"I take it I can trust you guys to manage things at camp for the five to ten minutes I'll be gone."

"I hope when you say that, you mean you trust me to keep those two in line and run the camp?" Spring says.

"Hey! Well... I guess that's fair," Foxtail goes from angry to guilty rather quickly.

"I at least think Foxtail, you just act," Zadimus rolls his eyes. They're gonna get wrapped up in this soon. Lotus looks back at me, and motions with her head towards the forest. I nod and she starts walking. I follow her.

"We'll see how that well that serves you on the battlefield," Foxtail says. I can hear Spring start to giggle. I take it the two boys bicker all the time.

"I don't think I'll be fighting. I'm smart enough to make you do it instead."

"I'll give you that one, Zadimus, but who does that make look better, me or y-" I can no longer make out what they're saying, by they're definitely starting to argue, and now I hear Spring trying to rein them in. And now I can't hear them at all.

"Okay, now that they've been sufficiently distracted, there's something I need to ask you, and I know it's unfair to even be saying this, but..." Lotus pauses to chuckle dryly, "you're our only hope. You might not even have the Counter-Curse, but that doesn't matter. Like it or not, the Red Lich is spreading his reach. We just can't see it yet. But if we can break the curse, and reclaim Mallor, we strike at the heart of his empire. We hit him where it hurts!" Lotus moves her hands emphatically, which is odd because her hands have been still this entire time. "Once again, this is really unfair of me to ask, but would you do it? Would you, Sorcha Vedaldi of Hazelhill, daughter of Ciara Vedaldi and Connaire Sharp, volunteer to quite possibly be the hero of the entire universe?

"Would you abandon your own quest to find your lost friend for the moment, risking life and limb for strangers you don't even know? Not just for members of the Remnants, but for all the people who are in danger, all the people who've died, and all the people who've given up hope of ever going home? Like I said, it's a lot to ask and pretty unfair, but that's the thing about being the hero. It's pretty terrible, but it's what we have to do. Sorcha, I know you have what it takes. That's why you went looking for your friend, right? You actually care about the people around yo- I'm rambling, aren't I?"

I nod.

"Figures."

"Lotus?"

"Yes?"

"I accept, but there's something you should know."

"What is it?"

"To me, Cace is more than just a friend. Or at least, I want him to be."

"I see. We'll have to save the universe as quickly as possible."

"Isn't that the point? So it isn't too late to do anything?"

Lotus laughs at this. "Yeah,  I guess it is."

We stand in silence. This seems to happen a lot.

"We should probably head back to camp," I say. "We'll need to pack supplies, won't we?" 

"Not quite yet. There's something I need to show you before we head anywhere. Follow me," Lotus turns and begins walking. She does that a lot, doesn't she? I sigh and begin following her. I need to take care of this rather quickly. I will find you Cace. It's just going to take longer than I thought it would.