Chapter 10: Bloom

With half a day of his vacation remaining, David makes the most of his time with Olive. Meanwhile, an organization within Taplica is becoming uneasy.

V stood behind Lammie, watching the man feverishly type into a computer program. Lines of code ran across the screen, the backlight of the monitor lighting much of the small, dark, room. Lammie tied his long blonde hair back then quickly returned to typing the code into the program. After a few more minutes, he hit the Enter key and the wireframe of a high-tech shotgun assembled itself within the program.

“So that’s what it’ll look like,” V stated as he leaned on the desk. “Impressive.”

“Yup,” Lammie replied as he cracked his knuckles. “I combined the weapon data you swiped during your reconnaissance mission with our own. What you’re looking at is the first of many possible hybrid weapons we can make.”

“Whatever gets the job done. How long do you think it’d take to build this?”

“Only a few days, actually. We’re laying low for the next while by the Commander’s orders. Something to do with regrouping and planning so we’ll have loads of time to finish this.”

              V crossed his arms and shook his head, his helmet reflecting the light from the computer screen.

“I don’t understand why we can’t just strike now when they don’t expect it. From what Verners told me the other day, the Palace should be unprotected. They sent a squadron of heli-carriers to the south. We should have an advantage in numbers right now. They’re vulnerable so let’s make our move.”

“There is a possibility that we outnumber them now,” a female said as the automated door behind V opened. The woman was wearing purple armour that covered her body. Malleable, dark-purple metal lined the armour along the joints, allowing her to move them with ease. The shoulders were rounded and her large boots created a small thudding sound with each step. A black headset sat on her head, a large headphone covering her right ear. "However, we’re unprepared to make any move. It’s been that way since our failed riot attempt.”

“Commander Eber,” V said as he and Lammie saluted their higher-up. “With all due respect, we can’t sit around while we have an opportunity to end Dyterag’s reign. The Palace’s defenses are low. They’ve moved a lot of their men in heli-carriers - “

“Verners told me about that, yes,” Eber crossed her arms. “They do have less of an army now. But, we still don’t have an attack plan. Without one, we’ll all die this time.”

“Just send me then,” V placed his right hand over his heart, his gauntlet clanking against his armour. “I’ll do as much damage as I can so you’ll know what you’re up against during the next assault.”

“V,” Eber raised her voice. “You’re being irrational. You’re one of our greatest assets and we can’t afford to lose you. Stop getting worked up in your hero complex and consider the rest of the squad before you do something. We’re the Resistance, not the Taplican Regime. Our numbers are very limited, you know that better than anyone.”

“She’s right, V,” Lammie said as he sat back down in front of the computer, moving the wireframe on screen to get different angles. V clenched his hands into fists and grunted.

“Speaking of,” Eber continued. “We’re having a meeting in the Conference Room if the two of you are so inclined to join us. We’ll be doing some planning for the next attack.” The commander then walked out of the room. As soon as the door shut, V slammed his left fist against the wall. His gauntlet bent slightly at the tip upon the impact, making Lammie jump in his seat. V breathed heavily from under his helmet, his green eyes fixated on the wall.

“You should go to the meeting,” V said after taking a few deep breathes. “I’ll start working on the weapon.”

“Suit yourself,” Lammie shrugged, walking towards the door. “I’ll let you know what happens.”

              V nodded as the door shut behind Lammie. He then sat at the computer and began fiddling with the model, examining where to begin. Eber’s word echoed in his head, becoming more frustrated as he thought about them. He tapped his fingers against the desk as he stared blankly at the monitor, sighing.

“Better get to work,” he said as he zoomed in onto the weapon’s barrel.

Nova was laying on the floor for a full position before she had any motivation to move. Sighing, she picked herself up from the ground and readjusted her cloak. She went into the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror. She wiped her face of tears and picked the wood chips out of her hair. After sheathing Madeline and putting her necklace on, Nova walked out of the room and walked towards the lobby. She went down the stairs and straight out the front doors to walk around town. She believed that she just needed some fresh air to feel better. She made her way to the shoreline and walked along the damp sand as the sun began to set slowly. She looked down at her boots, too focused on her thoughts to pay attention to anything else. She passed many people and pieces of driftwood along the way, including a pair of blue sneakers that belonged to a woman sitting on a nearby log.

“I know we’re supposed to spend the day away from each other,” the woman said, directing her voice to Nova. “But you can at least say ‘hello’.”

              Nova turned around and saw Carthy seated on a large piece of driftwood, shifting her bare feet deeper into the sand. Nova was surprised and shyly waved as she sat next to her friend.

“So what have you been up to on your day off, sunshine?” Carthy leaned back as she stretched her back.

“Oh,” Nova looked out towards the ocean. The sun’s light was almost blinding as it reflected off the water. “I spent some time at the inn because of the whole room arrest thing, you know.”

“Exciting.” Carthy snickered. “Did you do anything exceptional? Maybe a bit of redecorating or moving around some furniture?”

“Nope, nothing like that,” Nova looked down to her boots, worried of what Carthy would think once she got back to the room. “What about you?”

“Just some walking around, checked a few shops, then came here. I did find this interesting diner that only serves seafood. Maybe we should go there while Mr. Tall, Dark, and Stupid tries to woo the bakery brat tonight.”

“Ha ha, very funny,” a male chattered from the left. The two women looked over and saw David approaching them. He was carrying a collection of tulips and lavender. “At least you think I’m tall.”

“Probably not where it counts.”

              Nova and David looked at Carthy, confused. Carthy cleared her throat awkwardly, changing the subject.

“Why are you even here?”

“I just finished exploring town and thought I’d come by here before I go see Olive in a bit.”

“And the flowers?”

“For Olive.”

“Do you have any idea how cliché that is?”

“I think it’s a chivalrous gesture. Girls go crazy for that kind of stuff…right?”

“You would be correct,” a voice interrupted Carthy before she could reply. The trio looked over to see a man in a tan trench coat and hat standing by them. Each of his arms cradled a bouquet of flowers. One was of roses and lavender, while the other was made of daisies exclusively. David frowned as he saw the man. “Women, along with flowers, are like the sun: bright and lovely to look at.”

              The man walked over to Nova, handing her the bouquet of roses and lavender. A wide grin stretching across her face. The smell of the lavender cheered her up quickly. The man tipped his hat towards her and handed Carthy the daisies. She was reluctant to accept the offer but she caved in, feeling that it’d only discourage David. She was curious, however, as to how the man knew daisies were her favourite flowers.

“Your significant other is sure to enjoy those flowers, boy.”

“What makes you say that?” David became uneasy as he talked to the man. Something about him just felt off.

“Everything is predictable,” the man said calmly. “There is a formula for everything, even if we do not necessarily see it. Once you know them, you can predict anything you desire to know.”

              Nova leaned towards Carthy as the man smiled devilishly at the group. Carthy glared up at him, putting her bouquet down to reach for her weapons. She began to unsheathe Burst as the man stepped back.

“There is no need for violence,” the man told her. “I just wanted to do a good deed for some strangers today.”

“Well, you did your good deed,” Carthy replied. “So now you can leave. That way, we don’t have to be violent.”

“As you wish,” the man snickered as he turned around. “You always were a brash one, after all.” He was chuckling as he walked away, causing Carthy to become agitated.

“Am I the only one that got bad vibes from that creep?” Carthy looked behind her to the others.

“I got them too,” David said. “He was here yesterday and talked to me. He’s really weird.”

“You’re just on a roll with getting bad vibes from people,” Nova giggled as she looked at Carthy. “First Olive and now that man. I think it was very nice of him to give us flowers. Don't you?”

“It was certainly unexpected, but it doesn’t mean I think any better of him.” Carthy looked out to the ocean, noticing the position of the sun. “Hey, what time were you meeting your gal pal again?”

“The 19:00 position,” David replied. “How come?”

“You better start running if you don’t want to be late.”

              David was confused until he looked at the sun. It was dipping over the horizon, almost at the 19:00 position. David’s eyes widened as he shifted his weight towards the bakery.

“Oh man,” he said quickly. “I need to get going. I-I’ll see you later!”

“Good luck,” Carthy said to him.

“Have fun,” Nova exclaimed, waving to David as he started running.

Adrenaline rushed through David as he picked up his pace. His mind was racing just as fast, wondering how his time with Olive would go. In what felt like no time, he was in front of the bakery, late by just a couple of minutes. He looked at himself in the reflection of the store to make sure he looked nice for Olive. That’s when he noticed his weapons hanging from his waist. He was already late and it’d take too long to go to the inn and put them in his room. Even if he did go, he remembered that he didn’t have a key to get in. He thought quickly, looking into the alleyway beside the bakery and saw a trash can against the wall. Impulsively, he opened the lid and carefully placed his weapons at the bottom, covering them with bags of garbage. For good luck, he kept his fingers crossed throughout the entire process. He took a deep breath and walked to the entrance, knocking on the front window.

David heard footsteps coming from inside as Olive came out of the back. She smiled wide upon seeing David, waving at him. She was wearing a white skirt and black leggings rather than her flour-covered jeans. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, though her bangs still hung over her green eyes. This accented her blue top, the collar slightly lower than her work uniform. She unlocked the front door and opened it slightly.

“It’s impolite to make a lady wait, you know,” Olive said.

“Oh,” David blushed and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. His right hand was behind his back, hiding the flowers. “I-I’m sorry, I was just - “

“I’m joking,” Olive giggled. “I’m just glad you’re here. Come on in.”

              David smiled as he walked into the bakery, the familiar scents of all the different pastries welcoming him. He pulled the flowers out from behind his back and handed them to Olive.

“These are for you,” David said softly. “I know that the idea of flowers is dumb or whatever but I thought it’d be a nice thing to do.”

“Of course it’s a nice thing to do! I love them, thank you,” Olive eagerly said, bringing David in for a hug. Surprised, David smiled and went along with it, holding Olive close to him. After a few moments of silence, Olive pulled away and smelled her flowers. “Let’s put these in a vase, shall we?” She walked into the back and came back moments later with a vase full of water. She placed the flowers into it and put it on the counter next to the cash register. “How does that look?”

“I like it,” David grinned.

“Come on,” Olive said as she went around the counter and grabbed both of David’s hands. “I have a surprise for you in the back. Close your eyes and no peeking.”

              David did what Olive asked, feeling her guide him in many directions as he kept his eyes shut. His heart was pounding against his chest as Olive’s grip on his hands got tighter, her fingers interlocking with his. They stopped and Olive’s grip released, much to David’s disappointment.

“You can open your eyes now,” she said.

              David opened his eyes to see Olive in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her. Beside her was a small table with a large bar of chocolate, a box of graham crackers, and a bag of marshmallows on its surface. To his left was a stove and against the back wall were two beds. A door was on the right side near the back as well, which David assumed was a bathroom. There were two chairs at the table. The one closest to Olive was pulled out slightly. Behind him was a large freezer, which made a constant, soft hum.

“There’s a lot more room in here than I thought,” David chuckled. “What’s the surprise?”

“We’re going to make something together,” Olive smiled as she grabbed the bag of marshmallows and held them in front of her. “Can you guess what it is?”

              David scratched his chin as he looked at the ingredients on the table. He recognized most of them but he couldn’t figure out what could be made with them. It didn’t help that he didn’t know what Olive was holding.

“I honestly don’t know,” David said. “What’s that you’re holding, anyways?”

“You mean you’ve never heard of marshmallows?” Olive sounded shocked.

“What are those?”

“They’re a Taplican delicacy. We always make sure to get some whenever we visit the city. We go every month when we ship our inventory there.”

“And ‘we’ means you and your parents.”

“Yeah…my mom and I.”

“What about your dad?”

              Olive went silent and lowered the marshmallows. She looked down at the bag and sighed. David felt a heat rush through his body, embarrassed for asking such a question. Olive shook her head and looked up at David, a weak 

smile on her face.

“Let’s not talk about that right now. What we should be talking about is how you’ve gone your whole life without eating s’mores.”

“S’mores? How do you make those?” David looked confused.

“I’ll show you,” Olive said as she opened a drawer and pulled out two skewers. Along with the bag of marshmallows, she put the skewers down on the table next to the bar of chocolate. She ripped the bag open and grabbed two marshmallows. She put one in her mouth and handed the other David. “First, you’ve got to try a marshmallow, to make sure they’re good.” She spoke through a full mouth.

              David squeezed the marshmallow between his index finger and his thumb. The marshmallow was very soft, his digits effortlessly sinking into the gooey mess. He rolled it for a bit in his hand before putting it in his mouth. He chewed slowly, unsure of what it would taste like. He wasn’t disappointed. His body relaxed as he embraced the sweet taste of the treat. Olive giggled as she watched David eat.

“This is incredible,” David said after swallowing the marshmallow. “Definitely better than berries, that’s for sure.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Olive replied. “Just wait until you make a s’more. Here, take this skewer and marshmallow.” She handed David the necessary materials. She then carefully slid a marshmallow onto the metal rod in her hand. 

“You’re going to put that onto your skewer, like this.”

“Why’s that?” David wasn’t sure what the point was, since he could just eat the marshmallows straight from the bag.

“So we can roast them. It makes them warm inside.”

              David looked around the room for a fireplace. He became very puzzled once he couldn’t find one.

“Without a fire?”

“We don’t need one,” Olive shrugged as she walked over to the stove and turned on an element.  She turned to David and smiled, hovering her marshmallow over the stove. “We’ve got one of these.”

“So that’s like a fire then…”

“On a much smaller and safer scale, yeah.” Olive was shifting her weight from side to side as she waited for the element to heat up. “We used to do this all the time when I was a kid. One time, I scrapped my knee at the park and I couldn’t stop crying. My dad…he brought me back here and fixed me up. After that, he got all the ingredients and we made s’mores together.”

“That sounds like a great time,” David spoke softly as he approached the element and put his marshmallow over it.

“Yeah, he always knew how to cheer me up. I just wish…I wish he still could.” Tears started to well up in Olive’s eyes and David felt his heart sink. He put an arm around her, rubbing her right arm gently. Olive sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be acting like this tonight.”

“No, it’s fine,” David calmly said, keeping his arm around Olive. “You can talk about it if you want. I don’t mind. Plus, it’s probably going to be a while until the marshmallows are done, right?”

              Olive laughed slightly, nuzzling her body closer to David’s.

“Yeah…you’re right.”

“So,” David’s face went red as Olive nestled her head against his chest. “What was your dad like?”

“He was a really kind person. He always made sure everyone who came into the store left with a smile on their face. Whenever he wasn’t baking, he was out around Sanjo giving out last day’s pastries to the townspeople, always heating them up just a little so they were warm for whoever took them.”

“Wow, he sounds like a great guy. Makes me wish I could meet him.”

“He was and I know he’d like you. He really loved my mom and I a lot, too. He always tried his best to make us happy, even if we were being difficult. There was just something in the way he acted that made us feel better, even if we didn’t want to…” Olive smiled as she sniffed again, wiping her eyes once more. “But then it all changed so suddenly...the mayor came to the store and asked to talk to my mom and I was asked to wait in the back. I didn’t hear their conversation but when I heard my mom start sobbing, I knew...I knew it w-wasn’t good ne-news…”

              Olive started to cry as she buried her face in David’s chest. She dropped her skewer, the metal clanking against the tile floor as the marshmallow absorbed most of the impact. She hugged David tightly, pulling him down as she dropped to her knees. David held Olive close, her wails muffled by his jacket.

“How could they do something like that?” Olive said between stuttered gasps for air. “He never did anything to deserve it…why did they have to kill him? Why, David?”

              David was silent as he rubbed Olive’s back. He had no idea how to respond.

“Those b******s took him from us…from all of us! How could they do that?”

“What happened, Olive?” David spoke quietly and calmly, trying to settle Olive down.

“My dad…he was out giving out bagels t-to everyone and then a group of…a group of Mercenaries demanded he give them the whole b-b-batch. He refused and only gave each of them one…one bagel. They weren’t ha-happ-happy and demanded again for all of them. Why couldn’t he have just done what they asked?!”

              Olive’s sobbing got louder. She wrapped her arms around David’s neck as she cried on his left shoulder. David stayed quiet. He didn’t want to disrupt her.

“I was twelve when it happened…and five years later, I still miss him more than…more than anything!”

“I know,” David finally said, hugging Olive tightly. “I can’t imagine how hard it must be for you…”

“It is…” Olive’s crying started to settle. “…it really is.”

              As Olive calmed down, David felt his gut twist. He never thought that Mercenaries killed her father out of cold blood. Then again, he didn’t know Mercenaries did such things in the first place. He found it ironic that he was disgusted by the actions Olive told him about, yet he was on a mission to accomplish a similar task. He closed his eyes, trying to push these thoughts back. He felt guilt tugging at his heart. His grip around Olive tightened as he bit his tongue, stopping him from letting the truth slip.

“I’m so sorry,” David told her. “I didn’t know that’s why you don’t like Mercenaries.”

“It’s okay,” Olive weakly said. “I’ve never told anyone this before. Just please don’t become a Mercenary, okay? And help your friends get out of that lifestyle. No one else needs to suffer…so they see what the consequences are.”

              David gulped and nodded.

“I’ll do my best,” David whispered.

              David felt Olive shift in his arms until her lips met with his right cheek. She stayed there for a few moments, pressing them against his skin. David’s face heated up, his body shaking slightly. As she pulled away, David wished he could have stopped time to savour the feeling longer.

“Thank you, David,” Olive said, her head resting on his right shoulder. “Thank you for listening and being here. It really means a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” David replied. He could feel guilt pull at his heart again. He pulled away from Olive’s embrace and held his hand out to help her up. “How about we try making those s’mores again? I’d love for an expert like you to show me the ropes.”

              Olive smiled and took David’s hand as he hoisted her up. They each grabbed their skewers, replaced the dirty marshmallows with fresh ones, and hovered them over the red hot stove element. Despite feeling a bit gloomy, Olive was able to laugh when David burned his marshmallow and it slid off the skewer in a mess of melted sugar onto the floor. He bent down and picked it up as best as he could, as some of it stuck to the tile. He blew on it then put it in his mouth. Olive laughed, pushing David lightly.

“You really take the term ‘floors clean enough to eat off of’ literally, don’t you?” She moved over to the table and opened the box of graham crackers. Her marshmallow was crisped to a golden brown.

“Nova always tells me to never waste food,” David licked his fingers clean, grinning.

              Olive shook her head and giggled, holding a graham cracker out towards David. He lowered himself to be level with her hand and took a bite of the cracker. As David chewed, Olive moved closer to him, resting her head against his chest once again. David smiled as he swallowed, wrapping his arm around Olive’s shoulders. As Olive demonstrated how to finish preparing a s’more, Nova started peering into the shop from the front window, grinning from ear to ear as she watched. Carthy was standing beside her with her hands on her hips. A slight smirk was forming from the right side of her mouth.

“That’s so cute,” Nova gushed, her face pressed against the glass. “I’m so glad that David’s happy.”

“Yeah,” Carthy replied. “He does look pretty happy, but we should let them have their alone time.”

              Carthy put a hand on Nova’s right shoulder and pulled her away from the glass. Nova tried to stay in place but the sudden movement caught her off guard. The two women walked through the streets in silence. As Nova stared at her bouquet, a loud growling sound came from Carthy’s stomach. She winced as she placed her right hand over her belly. Nova looked over, her head tilted slightly to the left.

“That’s the last time I have seafood,” Carthy murmured.

“I guess it wasn’t just the atmosphere that you didn’t like about that diner, huh?”

“Everything about that place sucked. From the outside, it looked like a good place for decent food. But what do we get? A diner where we freeze our asses off as we wait an eternity for service, it reeked of all sorts of gross crap all throughout the place, and the uncleaned raw fish they served was undercooked. They managed to undercook raw fish! How do you even do that? ”

              Another growl rang out and Carthy groaned as she hunched over. Nova put a hand on Carthy’s back as the sick woman coughed up some of her supper onto the streets. The people walking behind them crossed the road, their faces twisted in disgust as they passed the scene. Carthy vomited for ten seconds before collecting herself again, coughing as she used her left sleeve to wipe her mouth. She stood up straight and looked back at Nova as drops of rain came down from the clouded sky. Carthy’s palm struck her forehead.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said angrily as she stormed off. “This is ridiculous…”

“Where are you going?” Nova called out as she started walking faster to catch up.

“I’m going back to the inn where I can puke up my insides in peace. I need to do that, get out of this rain, and then sleep.”

              Nova began to feel panicked. With the state that the room was in, she couldn’t let Carthy see it. She needed to clean up and hide the damages.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Nova ran to Carthy and walked beside her. “Maybe you just need to walk around for a bit and get some fresh air.”

“Oh no, not in this weather. You can if you want, maybe you’ll find some puddles to splash around in.”

“Or, we could switch places. I could go to the inn and make the room more comfortable for when you get back. Warm up the bed or something for you.”

“Or, I go to the inn and you stop spitting out these dumb ideas. I’ll warm up my own bed, thank you very much.”

              Carthy scoffed and continued walking, quickly approaching the inn. Nova’s mind was racing to come up with a sound argument but nothing she came up with would work. She saw an opportunity once Carthy took the key to the room out of her pocket and twirled the keychain around her index finger. Nova watched it spin until Carthy flung it into the air, her arm extended up to catch it as it fell. Nova leapt into the air, caught the key, and started running towards the inn. She sped up as rapid footsteps closed in on her. She burst through the doors and went towards the stairs, kicking off the wall of the first landing to get farther ahead. As she got to the third floor, a hand suddenly grabbed the collar of Nova’s cloak and lifted her an inch off of the ground. She was slowly spun around to look into Carty’s eye. Furious, she held out her left hand towards Nova. Her hair was matted down from the rain, her clothing soaked.

“The key,” Carthy said between breaths. “Hand it over, sunshine.”

              Nova was hesitant but anxiously placed the key into Carthy’s hand. Her heart thudded against her chest as Carthy rolled her eye and dropped the girl on the ground. Nova watched Carthy walk to the end of the hall and unlock the door. She stepped into the room and the door creaked shut. Nova held her breath, waiting for something to happen. She sat still in the hall for a minute before letting out a sigh of relief. As she picked herself up, the door to the room flung open.

“No-va!” Carthy was shouting from inside the room. Nova could feel the anger from many feet away.

“Y-yeah?” Nova sheepishly replied.

“Get in here…now!”

              Ashamed and worried, Nova walked towards Carthy, dragging her feet across the carpet of the hallway. When she entered the room, she saw that the ironing board was lying on her bed. There were many wood chips scattered around the room with most being near the desk, where well-defined lines were carved onto its surface. A mangled sheet of paper sat in pieces on the desk next to Carthy’s bouquet. Carthy was impatiently tapping her foot, staring at the dent in the wall near Nova’s bed. She looked at Nova as she walked in, motioning her head towards the door. Nova closed it slowly and put her flowers on her bed.

“So,” Carthy started talking, clearly agitated. “Do you want to start by explaining why there’s a huge dent in the wall?”

“Um,” Nova tapped her index fingers together. “Well…th-that was…always there?”

“Really? Because I don’t seem to recall that being there this morning.”

“Maybe you just didn’t see it…”

              Carthy exhaled heavily, her arms crossed. She walked towards the desk, standing next to it as she traced one of the carved lines with her right index finger. Dust collected on her glove.

“I guess the desk was always like this too?”

“Yes…?”

              Carthy's face twisted. She slammed her right hand on the desk, forcefully shoving the pen, notepad, and bouquet off of its surface. The objects were flung towards Nova, who raised her arms to defend herself from the barrage.

“I was kidding when I asked you if you redecorated the room! Turns out that’s exactly what you did!”

“I’m sorry, I was - “

“You were what, trying to make my day worse? Well, good job, because it worked. First I had to deal with David’s lovey-dovey bullshit, then that creep by the ocean, then had the worst food I’ve ever eaten for dinner and to top it all off, I come back to the room to find out you spent your afternoon trashing the damn place!”

              Nova stepped back as Carthy took a step towards her with her fists clenched.

“You don’t understand, please just listen to me!”

“Just shut up.”

              Nova’s teeth grinded together, her face becoming hot.

“You know,” Carthy continued. “Ever since you two came into my life, it’s been nothing but constant misery. I should have known something was wrong as soon as that cyborg freak attacked us. But no, I stuck around, I didn’t want to go back on my word. I really should have, and do you know why? Because I can’t seem to go a day without some ridiculous bullshit happening to me! I was perfectly happy in Noam, where nothing crazy or wild happened. And it’s funny how I was attacked by the Taplicans on the same day you showed up. Doesn’t that seem a bit suspicious to you?”

              Nova’s head was down as she began sniffling. Her hands were now in fists by her side. Her breathing was stuttering as Carthy looked at the girl.

“Are you crying?”

              Nova looked up, her eyes watering. She shook her head as a tear slid down her cheek. It felt warm against her skin.

“No…” Nova whispered, trying to restrain herself.

“If you’re going to cry, do it. Do it, f*****g cry. You deserve to after the s**t you pulled today.” Carthy turned her back and wiped the rest of the wood chips from the top of the desk. “Now I’ve got clean up your mess, even though I’m sick from dinner. Thanks a lot…f*****g moron.”

“You don’t understand, okay?!” Nova shouted at Carthy, leaning her shaking body forward. Carthy turned around to see Nova’s red face as the girl held back her tears. “You don’t understand the things I’ve been through. You don’t know what David’s been through either. You don’t know anything about us other than we’re Mercenaries! You never ask us anything because all you do is push us away day in and day out. We’ve been nothing but nice and compassionate towards you. Why can’t you try and do the same?” Nova’s voice started to get quieter as she leaned away. “I really thought you cared that night by the fire, you know. I guess I was wrong…I was wrong to hope that you’d change and let us into your life.”

              Nova left the room, slamming the door shut. Carthy stood silently, staring at her feet. She sighed as she moved the ironing board back into the closet. Her stomach felt as though it tied itself into a knot. She blamed the bad fish for this at first until she felt the sensation get worse as she gave what Nova said to her more thought. The words echoed in her head as she returned to her position under the desk, picking up the wood chips that had fallen there. She made a large pile after a few minutes and reached for the waste bin. As she placed her pile into the bin, she noticed two sheets of paper at the bottom. She recognized her face on both and took the paper out of the trash. She examined the drawings, taking note of the details.

              They were identical drawings of herself, David, and Nova standing in a line. David had his arm around Nova’s shoulders as he smiled towards whoever was holding the drawing. Nova was in the middle, with her right hand in David’s hair and her left around Carthy, who was looking towards Nova and smirking. Carthy smiled weakly upon seeing this. Out of the three of them, the drawing of her received the most detail. Despite the drawing being rough, Carthy knew that a lot of care was put into the sketch of her. She sighed as she leaned against the foot of her bed, putting the pictures in her pocket. She started to calm down more as she thought about everything Nova told her. She groaned as she got up, her stomach beginning to feel tighter. This time, she figured, it was the fish. She opened the door and poked her head into the hallway.

“Hey, Nova,” Carthy called out, looking down the hall.

“What do you want?”

              Carthy looked over and saw Nova sitting against the wall near the door, her knees against her chest, holding her necklace in her hand.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Carthy turned the lock on the door to leave it ajar. She stepped into the hall and stood in front of Nova.

“Did you come up with more insults to say to me? Go ahead, let’s hear ‘em.” Nova sounded defeated, her voice having no emotion to it.

“No, I didn’t. I came out here…” Carthy took a deep breath. “I came out here…to apologize.”

              Nova stayed silent, fiddling with her necklace. Carthy leaned against the wall and slid down so she was sitting next to Nova. The young girl continued to focus on her accessory.

“Look, I-I shouldn’t have said what I did back there,” Carthy spoke, her voice a little shaky. “It’s just that I’m not used to this whole thing, you know? You and David, you’ve known each other for years, and here I come with no experience as a Mercenary or friend.”

“Yeah,” Nova quietly said.

“I want to be more open with you two, I really do. But…” Carthy stared at her shoes. “I can’t just change who I am. I wish I could for you and David but this is who I am. I like my space, I’m rude, and I don’t work all too well with other people.”

“Were you like that in the family photo you brought with you?” Carthy looked over at Nova, shocked. “I know you don’t want me looking through your stuff but I found it when I got bored today. I didn’t mean to be nosy, I just - “

“No, it’s fine,” Carthy interrupted, rubbing her knee. “You were going to find it eventually. And, to answer your question, no I wasn’t.”

              Nova stopped fixating herself on the necklace and turned her focus on Carthy, looking into her eye. She waited for her to continue. Carthy sighed.

“I was actually pretty happy when that picture was taken. It was just my family and I having a picnic in Arriott Park. To my three-year-old self, that’s all I knew. I didn’t know about pain or abandonment that day.”

“When did you learn about those things?” Nova was still quiet, her head on her knees.

“It was…a couple of weeks after that. My mother worked as a nurse at the Gyeodob Hospital, in the poorer sector of Taplica. My brother and I would always wait for her on the stairs to surprise her when she came home. I remember our nanny getting annoyed with us for that, since she couldn’t vacuum the stairs with us sitting on them. She even threatened to suck us up through the hose one time.”

Carthy started to chuckle. Nova smiled.

“But, my mother was always so happy to see us. We were the sunshine in her day, she’d tell us. Then one time, my brother and I were waiting for her to come home from work. We waited and waited for her to come through the door…but she never did. I waited on those stairs for many positions, not moving when our nanny wanted to suck me up. I didn’t even move for dinner. When the door did open, it was my uncle telling my father to turn on the news. The top story was that a woman was shot dead in the downtown sector. Witnesses were able to describe the man and I’ll never forget the sketch the police made of him; his soulless green eyes, his putrid curly hair, that disgusting scar along his chin. The police were also able to identify the victim as the young kind nurse who worked at Gyeodob Hospital…my mother…”

              Carthy sighed. Nova moved her knees down and turned her body towards Carthy.

“I’m so sorry,” Nova whispered. “That must have been awful.”

“It was,” Carthy replied. “I remember the last thing she said to me before she went to work that day. She told me ‘Be good while I’m gone, my sunshine. Keep the house bright and happy until I come back.’ Twenty-one years later, it still feels like it happened yesterday.”

“She raised a great person for the time she had with you. I’m glad you at least had a mom like that.”

“You make it sound like you didn’t have a mother of your own when you say it like that.”

“I didn’t...”

              Nova began to play with her necklace again. She stared at it as she continued talking.

“I never knew my mom. I never knew my dad, either.”

“Who raised you then? Your grandparents?”

“Yeah, that’s it. My grandparents were the ones who raised me.”

“Aren’t they worried sick about you by now? Maybe we should drop by for a visit on our way to Taplica.”

“We don’t have to. They’ve been dead for six years.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s okay. They gave me this to remember them by,” Nova held up her necklace for Carthy to see. “I’ve been wearing it ever since they passed. It keeps me going whenever I’m on a mission. It reminds me why I’m a Mercenary and motivates me to push myself even harder.”

“Good for you, putting a positive spin on the situation. I wish I had your optimism.”

              The two women sat on the floor for a while, waving at the other guests as they entered and left their own rooms. When their backs were turned, Carthy would make a different face at the guests. After laughing at the first few, Nova began making her own faces, turning it into a contest of who could make the silliest expression. Carthy was the eventual winner, who rolled her eye into the back of her head, opening and closing her mouth while bringing her chin in, causing her neck to have many wrinkles for brief moments. Nova burst into laughter, unable to make a better face. Cathy joined the laughter as well, realizing how bizarre she must have looked. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out Nova’s drawings.

“I actually really like these,” Carthy said, pointing to the papers in her hand. “How about we make a better version of this…together?”

              Nova smiled and nodded.

“I’d like that.”

              The pair got up and went into their room, leaving the door unlocked for David when he came back. Nova sat at the desk, away from the carvings, after grabbing the pen from the floor. Carthy placed the notepad in front of her and leaned in next to Nova, watching and making suggestions. One drawing turned into two, then three, until they had finished six drawings and started their seventh at the 23:00 position. They would’ve had eight done, had Carthy’s dinner not come up for an encore as they worked on their fourth drawing. They had lost track of so much time, that they were surprised when David, soaked to the bone, closed the door and flopped onto his bed with a wide smile stretched across his face. They turned their focus onto their love-struck friend.

“So,” Nova was wiggling in her chair. “How’d it go?”

“It was amazing,” David laughed. “We made these things called ‘s’mores’ and they were so good! Like, I’ve never eaten anything so sweet in my whole life! Then we walked around the square and she showed me all these great look-outs spots. And, I’m apparently a great kisser, according to Olive.”

“Ooh,” Nova gawked. Carthy raised her eyebrow and nodded, giving David a thumbs-up.

“What were you working on?”

“We’re just doodling,” Carthy told David, smirking. “You can join us if you want and we can work on a picture as a team.”

“Sure,” David continued to smile as he removed his coat and hung it in the closet. He grabbed a towel from the bathroom to dry his hair as he stood behind Nova, watching her draw stick figures that stood close together. The three of them spent the next two positions filling in the details and debating ideas until the final product was done. It sat on the desk as the team of misfits turned off the lights and went to sleep. Peeking through the curtains, the moonlight shone upon the series of drawings they had completed that evening. They made a ring out of the papers, with their last drawing in the center. There were doodles of the Outer Brim birds, an Esrai Forest squirrel, and the inn itself at sunset. Their final drawing, surrounded by all the others, was of the three of them sharing an embrace in the sunshine.

Author's Note

This chapter is the mayor of Dialogue Town so please don't hesitate to let me know what you think of it. I want these characters to feel as real as possible.