Chapter 13 #3
"Yeah, I know." There weren't fines for being late and the kids wouldn't be kicked out, but she had threatened to make an adult from Creche Thiel come in to volunteer during unstructured play time.
And I assumed, because I was the one who usually took the children to school and had the bonus of being a human with a reputation for being good with kids, I'd be the lucky winner.
Although now that we had more creche-mates, maybe I could foist that off on them.
I liked these three kids. I didn't know how I'd feel about a mob of them. Which other little gremlins had secret shrines to me? I could only hope that was a one-off.
"Our Sashen would like to come visit," Adrathi said confidently, reaching up and taking my hand.
"I do love spending time with you," I deflected.
Talvi came tumbling back out the door, slamming it shut – I winced; Avelthe hated sudden loud noises, and he'd been having headaches lately, not used to all the hustle and bustle of a busy creche – and we headed off to school.
As we walked, Talvi chatted happily to Elethenn about what they'd brought to share with their classmates, and while I had a hard time following their happy monologue in abayan while Adrathi simultaneously peppered me with questions about the botanical gardens, I did see, with a flush of pleasure, that Talvi was proudly gesturing to the story I'd written for the children when I'd been in the Tournament.
Elethenn listened seriously, nodding, and when Talvi reached up to take his hand when we finished trekking down the flights of stairs and reached the concourse, he didn't hesitate to take it in his own.
It was nice, I thought, seeing someone else fall in love with these children. It was particularly nice for someone like Elethenn, who had always struck me as lonely, even when I'd first stopped to chat with him about dumplings.
It was a short walk to school, along a pedestrian boulevard lined with clusters of low bushes and spikes of ornamental grasses.
I listened to Adrathi's happy chatter, letting it wash over me in a comfortable wave.
It was because I was watching Elethenn, Talvi still firmly holding his hand, that I noticed a hitch in his confident gait, a rapid stiffness straightening his shoulders.
His head shifted suddenly, as if looking at something, and I followed his line of sight to a tea shop on the corner of the avenue.
Out front were several abaya, chatting quietly. My stare flicked over them, and I realized, with a hard twist deep in my gut, that I recognized one of them.
I pivoted, pulling Adrathi along and crossing the boulevard to the other side.
Elethenn's head swung around, tracking my movement, and he followed suit, with a quick word to Sadin who happily turned and followed as well.
Without saying anything, we cut down a narrow alley that ran behind an art gallery, arcing around the long way to the school.
"Why are we going this way?" asked Talvi.
I painted on a smile. "I thought I saw a spider down here the last time I came through. You'd better be sure to look carefully!"
At once, the three children fell to whispered enthusiasm, burbling with excitement as their eyes grew extra wide. I cast a quick look behind us as we trekked down the length of the clean alley. No one.
"Sadin," I said once we drew near to the end, which would spill out close to the school, "take our Elethenn's hand."
"But –"
"Take Elethenn's hand," I said, in firm and imperative abayan. At once, Sadin turned and reached for Elethenn, who grasped the child's small hand in his own.
I was prepared, when we stepped out of the alley, to see Crozani of Creche Naival waiting for us – but instead, all I could make out was the school in the distance, with its the soft, organic-looking dome and the array of trees and bushes peeking up from behind the curving sandstone wall.
Other children were galloping toward the school and converging on the grounds, various parents and care-givers talking idly as they nudged their little ones toward the waiting set of adults greeting each child by name.
"Alright," I said, drawing near to Elethenn as I looked carefully over the crowd once more.
"I think we're good." Which was fortunate, because at that moment, a brin child screeched Adrathi's name, and she dropped my hand and sprinted for the grounds just as the gentle chime reminding children it was time to be at school sounded.
I smiled, incredulous and uncertain, as we watched them dash inside the school wall just in time to avoid another late arrival.
Their teacher, Kekobu, waved one talon-tipped wing at me, and I waved back before nodding my head at Elethenn as we stepped aside, the crowd of adults beginning to dissipate.
"Do you know Crozani of Creche Naival?" I asked, stepping in close so we could speak quietly. "She almost followed me here one day."
Elethenn blinked, shaking his head once. "No. But there were some familiar faces from Creche Hanalthi. Ones I would rather not see."
Hanalthi, his former creche, and the creche most heavily invested in security on station. I frowned. "And do you think they saw us?"
"No," Elethenn said. "And – you should not anticipate any problems, Sashen. It would only be… uncomfortable for me."
I didn't really care why he didn't want to see that particular group of abaya.
I knew Elethenn could handle himself; he had shown his competence many times over.
But I really didn't want Crozani to come anywhere near the kids.
Araxis hadn't thought that she posed a real threat: as he'd explained, Creche Naival had to abide by the intermediary decision about the children, and the children had no value to them anyway now that they'd been raised by Creche Thiel.
Whether or not that was true, I hadn't liked Crozani's sharp stare and I'd lived long enough to understand that sometimes people did illogical and vicious things when they were angry and felt wronged.
"However, to be cautious," Elethenn continued, quiet, "if you see the Naival again, tell me." He stopped, then added, "If you are so inclined."
It was a weird way to put that. I frowned, before remembering about sentence structure and what it meant about power dynamics. He had to soften any imperative sentences to assure that he didn't get too sinnenthi all over me.
After all, there was only one sinnenthi I wanted to be all over me. Even if he made me go out with a babysitter.
Regardless, I was ready to get the fuck out of Verdant Ward, where even a walk to an expensive school could turn into a whole political gauntlet of the who's who of Sozamia Station.
I sent Araxis a quick message to let him know who we'd seen and then forcibly turned the Creche Thiel part of my brain off.
I was going down to Radiant Ward again, and I was going to see Tam. That was what I needed to focus on. Well, that, and how badly he was going to kick my ass because I'd been slacking on my training. "I thought I might go for a run on the way there," I said. "Is that okay, or…"
Elethenn didn't particularly look like he was dressed for a run.
Then again, I'd only ever seen him in basically this outfit – a jumpsuit, boots, and sometimes an apron. He assured me it was fine, and seemed happy to trail a few steps behind me. It didn’t take me long to admit, begrudgingly and only to myself, that he was in better shape; he was entirely unwinded, whereas I felt like my ribs might jab through the tender skin of my torso. I had a lot of catching up to do.
By the time we threaded through the various alleyways and nooks and crannies to arrive at the gym, I'd managed to get in a decent run – although that decent run shouldn't have left me so exhausted.
It had been more than a week since I'd been attacked, and it wasn't like they'd hit me in the face or anything, so I didn't know why I wasn't bouncing back more quickly.
I shoved open one of the back doors and ducked inside, Elethenn a silent shadow following after me. It might have been creepy if it weren’t so comforting to have him there. I could admit it was kind of nice to know someone was watching my back.
The halls of the gym were dark and narrow, leading to a series of storage rooms, lockers, showers, and Tam's office.
I nipped around a couple of corners and into the main training area, where Tam was hauling a massive punching bag off its hook and carrying it over one meaty shoulder to its wall-mount.
He didn't look at me when I came in, but I saw his tail twitch.
"Finally decided to show your face," he grunted, heaving the bag up onto its hook and turning to narrow his eyes at me.
"You fucked up my schedule, you little shit.
And the minute you decide you're going to saunter in here again, you expect me to just drop everything I had on the go. I had plans, you know."
I grinned. "What, had some sort of hot date lined up? Come on. You know you'd rather throw me around. It's alright to say you've missed me."
Tam brayed out a laugh, crossing the training room to meet us. His yellow eyes flicked over my shoulder to look at Elethenn. "Brought another abaya?"
"This is Elethenn of Creche Thiel," I offered. "Elethenn, this is Tamcer Temahura."
"Yes, I am aware," Elethenn said, his voice quiet. "Your name carries weight in Radiant Ward."
Tam beamed, and I explained, "Elethenn is keeping me company, and Araxis thought it would be useful for him to sharpen his skills. He saved my ass when I got jumped."