Chapter 84 - Elara Sees It
Athena didn't realize how long she had been moving through the courtyard until her legs began to ache.
She had shifted crates. Redirected supplies. Sent wolves to rest. Reminded others to drink water. Checked bandages. Reorganized a stack of shields that didn't need reorganizing.
She hadn't meant to take over anything.
She just... couldn't stop caring.
Elara watched her from the edge of the courtyard for several minutes before finally walking over.
"You don't realize you're doing it, do you?" she asked gently.
Athena looked up, slightly startled.
"Doing what?"
Elara tilted her head toward the wolves moving around them.
"Leading."
Athena blinked.
"I'm not leading," she said quickly. "I'm just helping."
Elara smiled softly.
"That's exactly why you are."
Athena's brow furrowed.
"I don't want to be bossy," she admitted. "I hate that. I don't want people to feel like I'm telling them what to do."
Her eyes dropped to her hands.
"I just want everyone to be okay."
Elara stepped closer.
"That's the difference," she said.
Athena looked up.
"Bossy people give orders to feel important," Elara continued. "You speak because you care."
Athena's chest tightened.
She glanced across the courtyard as a wolf adjusted his patrol route after she had mentioned the blind spot near the gate.
"I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do," she whispered.
"I know," Elara said.
"They feel safe when you speak."
Athena's breath caught.
Safe.
That word settled deep inside her.
She had never been the one people felt safe around.
She had always been the one trying to feel safe.
Her mind wrestled with it.
She didn't want to overstep.
Didn't want to be something she wasn't.
But she couldn't ignore the way her chest tightened every time she saw someone limping or struggling or rushing too hard.
She just wanted to fix it.
Help it.
Make it better.
"This isn't coincidence, is it?" she asked quietly.
Elara shook her head.
"No. It isn't."