Standard Mission: Singing Bones

Vayu was laying in his bed, still half-asleep. It was early morning, and the sun began to just peak over the horizon.

Suddenly his gauntlet began to beep. Another mission. He squeezed his eyes nearly against the sudden light in an attempt to decipher the message.

Mountain town…people disappearing… yadda yadda yadda…

With a yawn he got up. Why did they need to leave so early? Right, the mountains. Probably at least two days worth of travel if they didn’t run into any trouble. He grabbed his bag and his weapons and headed to the drop zone.

The city was still basked into the dawn’s early light and not many people were out and about. It looked peaceful.

At the drop zone, he was expected by the stable foreman who handed him a horse.

“Tarmiel,” he greeted the dark brown horse and began to load his bag.

“Where are the other two?” the stable foreman asked impatiently. Vayu shrugged. “I’m sure Bastion and Cleo will be here soon.” And hopefully they had their wits about them more than he did at this early hour.

Chaldea - Barracks

- Bastion -

Bastion winced as Archangel gave an impatient flap of his wings.

"It was reckless. Irresponsible," he chided. "To leave me behind to engage in such frivolity! What would have happened if the fairies had kept you ensnared for time indeterminate? Or had you killed? What hope would the world have had left?"

"I know," Bastion muttered, slipping on his jacket and fixing his gauntlet in place.

"Asra chose you, Bastion! To risk wasting his gift-"

"I know!" Bastion grit his teeth and threw open his door, holding out his gauntlet toward Archangel. With a sniff, his demon returned to the gauntlet as Bastion strode out from the barracks.

-------------------------

By the time he'd reached the front gate, his temper had cooled. Maybe Archangel was right. Maybe he had been reckless. Selfish, even. Was it wrong for him to be thinking about his own relaxation and enjoyment when he was only living on Asra's good grace?

Bastion sighed as Vayu came into view, hitching up his horse. If only he had someone he could share this with, some kind of mentor or example to look up to...

"Good morning," Bastion told Vayu, preparing a horse of his own. "Men disappearing from a village. You don't think it could be like...?"

He shuddered at the memory of that woman... that demon. Mother Harlot.

- Cleo -

Cleo slowly opened his eyes as his gauntlet output the mission brief. His fingers lazily traced the smooth metal of his katana, which rested across his crossed legs. The sound of footsteps behind him drew his attention, but only briefly.

"Yes, I heard it."

The only response was silence. That was the only response Silky ever gave him though. In fact, she'd seemed even more withdrawn since their "vacation". Cleo felt like a big part of that was his fault, but there wasn't anything he could do to fix it. She needed to figure things out for herself. His job was just to provide her with a safe place to do so.

"We'll be leaving in just a minute." He continued the one-sided conversation as he slowly raised the katana, letting the reflection of the sun dance along the edge. For a moment, he pressed the cold steel to his forehead, and then he sheathed it with a practiced motion.

--------------------------------------

Cleo sauntered into the stable, but paused when he saw Bastion and Vayu. "I guess this means we won't have any feminine company?" He asked as he moved to prepare a horse.

"It kinda feels like they're throwing us to the wolves here." He continued muttering as he pulled a saddle from the wall. "A string of men are disappearing from a mountain village? Hey, I've got an idea! Let's send an entire squad of men to the village. That sounds like an excellent plan."

Silky slapped the back of his head, causing Cleo to drop the saddle on his foot. He withdrew the foot with a curse and shot her a pointed look, but he only response to was to look unimpressed with his antics.

Leaving Chaldea eastwards

As predicted, Bastion and Cleo arrived shortly after. He swung himself in the saddle and watched the other two prepare their horses.

Bastion didn’t need to finish his sentence for Vayu to understand the reference.

He shook his head.

“Of course not, if the Council even suspected that, they wouldn’t send just three people,” he replied to Bastion.

In the next moment a loud thump called his attention. Cleo dropped his saddle. Vayu chuckled.

“I’m sure we can find a pretty lady for you on the way,” he added with a grin. “Surely, every village has their local beauty. And Bastion and I can be excellent wing men.”

Once they were ready, the three of them departed through the gate towards the rising sun. The far away mountain range rising majestically against the bright light.

-------------

“Have you guys been out to the mountains?” he asked on their second day of travel after they’d been riding for a while. The sun was well up, making the travel easy. They were following the well-maintained trade road. Soon they would have to leave the road to venture into the less secured mountain roads.

The Eastern Road

- Bastion -

Bastion nodded at Vayu's words. Of course, that made sense. He should have reasoned that himself, if the memory of that woman didn't get under his skin so.

Still, the Council hadn't exactly known better when they sent them the first time. To send newly minted Vanguards such as themselves, even in large numbers, had been near-suicidal.

At Cleo's arrival, Bastion declined to comment on the other Vanguard's complain about the lack of women. He had a point about sending three men on this mission, though.

Thrown to the wolves... again.

It was just in his mind, he knew. But as the memory surfaced of being ensnared by Mother Harlot, the spear piercing his heart, he winced involuntarily and rubbed at his heart.

"Have you guys been out to the mountains?" Vayu asked.

Recovering, Bastion shook away the memory and focused on Vayu.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "To be honest, I didn't really leave Chaldea before becoming a Vanguard. My father was a Vanguard, and he knew too well the danger outside the walls."

Father... he hadn't been to see him since it had happened. What would he think about his death, about Asra, about the angels now keeping watch over him?

- Cleo -

“Well, I guess there’s a bright side to every situation.” Cleo commented as he strapped down the saddle, which was now properly atop his horse. “Disappearing men means more available women.” Silky rolled her eyes and disappeared into his gauntlet, leaving Cleo to chuckle as he pulled the saddle tight.

“I think one of the best things about beauty is that you can find it anywhere if you look hard enough.” Cleo grinned at Vayu as he mounted his horse. “Of course, there will always be times when you can look, but you can’t touch. So, maybe it’s best that it’s just us guys for a few days.”

They rode in companionable silence for a while before Vayu asked about their experiences in the mountains.

“I’ve been as far as the villages in the foothills.” Cleo responded, looking thoughtful. “But I haven’t ever ventured into the mountains themselves. There isn’t really a good reason for the average person to wander that far away from the city.”

“Why do you ask? Are you just curious, or is there something we should be aware of about the mountains?”

The Eastern Road

“Well, he’s an idiot,” Vayu exclaimed. There was silence for a second and Vayu considered softening his words. Then the moment passed.

“If he was a Vanguard, why didn’t he take you especially outside the walls of Chaldea to make sure you even more prepared? Even without you choosing the path of a Vanguard, he could’ve taught you a lot of things to help you survive.”

He shook his head, lingering on the look on Bastion’s face. Clearly, he had some unresolved issues with his father. Maybe this journey was a good chance to ask him about it.

“You said he was a Vanguard,” he asked after a pause. “What is he doing now?” Hopefully, he wasn’t dead. Then his words had definitely been too harsh.

He turned to Cleo.

“I was just curious,” he said. “As for being aware…” Vayu shrugged, “I guess being extra alert can’t hurt. Outside the villages it’s wild country.”

The Eastern Road

- Bastion -

Bastion grimaced at Vayu's insult and felt his shoulders tense up.

"He taught me plenty," he snapped. What did Vayu know about it?

Unfortunately, Vayu was perceptive enough to pick up on his use of "was" to describe his father's career.

"He was honorably discharged as a Vanguard," Bastion replied, looking away. "He was injured fighting and lost the use of his legs. He focused his attention after that training me to be a Vanguard."

Perhaps sensing his discomfort, he felt Archangel's presence stir within his gauntlet. He held it up and released the demon, who appeared beside his saddle and viewed the other two Vanguards with cold, narrowed eyes.

"Allow me to scout ahead, Bastion," Archangel said.

Bastion nodded, and the demon flapped his wings and took to the air, soaring high out in front of them. He could tell neither of the other two appreciated Archangel's presence, but for the first time, he didn't mind that.

- Cleo -

Cleo regarded Archangel's retreating form with his own cold stare. At least now he had a better understanding of why the demon didn't seem to care for his presence.

Bastion's history wasn't exactly news to him. As one of the oldest members of the group, he'd heard a few things, but until this point, there had been no reliable source to confirm the rumors. Even so, Cleo didn't know enough about the situation to weigh in on it. His own father had split long before the opportunity for parent/child bonding time.

"I might be a fan of wild country." Cleo responded to Vayu as he turned his attention to the scenery around them. While he didn't care much for Archangel, the demon would do what it took to protect Bastion, and for this mission, that meant being useful to Cleo as well. So, there was no reason to concern himself with what lay ahead of them. Instead, Cleo focused on the terrain off to either side. It wasn't too dense yet, but he suspected that might change as they approached the mountains.

The Eastern Road

Vayu grimaced in discomfort when he saw Bastion’s reaction. Clearly Bastion and his father had some issues and he had poked them right with a stick.

He decided to drop the direct topic, especially when Archangel emerged from Bastion’s gauntlet and offered to scout ahead after giving him and Cleo an icy look.

“Look, I didn’t mean to judge him. I guess like all fathers, he may have tried his best with what he knew,” he said. It was as close to an apology as Bastion was going to get.

Smooth, Vayu, real smooth, he could hear Catequil’s voice in his head and ground his teeth to suppress an answer.

They continued their way, exchanging the trade route for a still softly increasing mountain road that was slowly winding up towards the mountains. Trees were beginning to flank them on both sides as they ascended into stepper mountain territory.

The Eastern Road

- Bastion -

Bastion ignored Vayu's rather poor excuse for an apology and nudged his horse forward as they climbed upward, the terrain shifting from the smooth, open plans to rocky and tree-lined paths.

"Did your father try his best with what he knew?" Bastion asked, a touch of frost to his voice.

Archangel returned a moment later, hovering a few feet before them.

"There's a village coming up ahead," he announced.

Bastion nodded and held up his gauntlet. It was probably for the best to arrive as nonthreateningly as possible and keep all demons out of sight. Seeming to understand, Archangel disappeared back into his gauntlet, though not without one final glower in Cleo's direction.

- Cleo -

Cleo couldn’t help but laugh at Vayu’s statement about fathers. Bastion seemed pretty uptight about the subject, which was beginning to make sense, considering the way he’d been raised.

“I’d like to believe that my father’s best might have been better than skipping town and never being heard from again, but then again, I never knew the man.” He didn’t turn to look at the others, instead keeping his eyes on the surrounding terrain. “If I ever meet the guy, I’ll have to ask.”

His voice dropped to a darker tone now. “Right after I beat the life out of him for making my mother cry.”

A moment later, Cleo felt the stare on his back, and he turned to meet Archangel’s glare. Just before the demon vanished, Cleo gave him a wink. Some people never changed. So, you might as well have your fun with them, right?

Mountain village

Vayu held Bastion’s gaze for a moment and then nodded. “He did,” was his simple answer.

Cleo chipped in with a comment about his own father. Vayu sighed and the news from Archangel, that they were finally approaching a village was almost a welcome distraction.

They rode on in silence and Vayu took the time to look at their surroundings. It felt oddly familiar and for the longest time he couldn’t place it until the first signs of the village came into their sights.

Instantly he felt nervous, and he swallowed dryly. This hit him unprepared.

The village was surprisingly open for being in a location so remote. There was a guard house at the entrance and watch towers in regular intervals but no surrounding walls. Already a few houses came into view, most of them with a small vegetable patch in front.

“Eh…,” Vayu said when they approached the village gates. “I can’t be here…. I think I need to go back to Chaldea.” This earned him irritated looks from the other Vanguards. “What are you talking about?”

Vayu sighed and slowly followed the other two through the gate, feeling the pit in his stomach sink. At the same time, it felt terribly familiar even after five years. He couldn’t help but take in the familiar atmosphere.

The guard at the entrance approached them and Bastion introduced them as Vanguards. Apparently, their arrival had been anticipated and another man approached to take care of their horses after they dismounted.

“Thank you for coming. I sent for our Captain,” the guard explained. “He’ll be here soon to explain everything else.”

The Mountain Village

- Bastion -

Bastion frowned, eyes narrowed as he puzzled over Vayu's bizarre reaction. What had gotten into him? Had he been to this place before?

Before he could ask, the village guards intercepted and greeted them. Bastion passed off the reins to his horse as the one man took them away and turned to the other guard, who explained their captain was coming to explain.

Strange. His first assumption was that the village must be small and undermanned to need Chaldea's help, but they seemed to have a decent enough guard force. This demon must be quite problematic.

"We're glad to help," Bastion replied.

- Cleo -

He wasn’t exactly sorry that the previous discussion ended, although Cleo could have done without Archangel’s perpetually irritating presence. At least it seemed like they were finally going to be getting to the action.

Cleo raised an eyebrow at Vayu’s sudden shift in behavior as they approached the gate. “What’s the matter? Did you leave behind a scorned lady-love in this town or something?” He joked with a soft chuckle.

As the guard spoke, Cleo dismounted from his horse, but he remained silent. If Bastion wanted to do the talking, he didn’t have a problem with that.

Mountain Village

Vayu gabe Cleo a dark look when the captain on his horse appeared, accompanied by a few guards.

Spoiler:

Vayu swallowed and made sure to stay in the back. It was no use. The captain on the horse took one look at him and stiffened. He signaled his guards and before he even acknowledged the other Vanguards, he dismounted.

“Arrest him.”

Vayu struggled half-heartedly against the guards holding him, trying to fixate his hands. Even without the use of his hands, they could hardly hold him down.

“Vayu! Snap out of it!” Vayu froze at the sound of a familiar voice. The guards took that chance and chained his hands behind his back and hoisted him up into a standing position. Vayu looked up in surprise. His brother Rohan stood before him, having taken his helmet off.

“You’re... the Captain of the guard?” he choked out.

“Yes, and I’m placing you under arrest for trespassing into this town. Five years ago, you were exiled. We have the order to arrest you upon sight.” The man looked dead serious. There was no hint of compassion or pity.

“But you’re my brother.” Vayu said weakly. He couldn’t believe it. Rohan didn’t reply. He waved his hand and the guards pulled Vayu away.

“What?! Bastion! Talk to them! Tell them I’m with you!” Vayu pleaded to the other Vanguards as the guards dragged him away. “Are you just going to let them arrest me?”

Rohan turned to the other Vanguards, looking sympathetic. “I apologize for that scene. I am Rohan, Captain of the guard and I welcome you to our village. We are grateful that you came. I assume you have some questions,” he added. “Allow me to accompany you to your accommodation.”

Rohan handed his horse to one of the guards and pointed them to a building near the town center.
“This is our guest house, where you are welcome to stay for the duration of your visit,” Rohan said. It was simple and rustic but comfortable enough.

Choice:
a) Let the past be the past
b) Crimes don't expire
c) Everything happens for a reason

The Mountain Village

- Bastion -

B

Bastion blinked in surprise as the captain of the guard approached and dismounted before them. Well, this was unexpected. This man had all the noble bearing of a Vanguard himself, certainly not some quaint villager. Well, if it was true that Vayu came from this village himself, it certainly stood to reason that there would be other capable warriors here. But while Vayu was a bit... rough, this man had a knightly polish to him.

Bastion smiled, ready to greet the captain, when the captain spoke first.

“Arrest him.”

His mouth opened. Arrest...? Who? Why?

Immediately, the guards clapped hands down on Vayu, who struggled until they were able to chain him into submission.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded, but the captain only had eyes for Vayu - his brother.

Brother? Exile? Arrest orders? Bastion goggled at the two, processing this information as his fellow Vanguard was dragged away. It was only when Vayu called his name that he shook off the stupor.

Yes, he had to help Vayu. They were fellow Vanguards after all, but... Could he justify freeing Vayu just because of that? If he’d indeed broken a law, was it his place to supersede that, especially when he didn’t understand the nature of Vayu’s crime?

“Vayu...” He wavered, looking between the two brothers. “We’ll look into it.”

Even to his own ears, it sounded half-hearted, but he couldn’t promise more than that.

The captain, seemingly unfazed by arresting his own brother, apologized for the spectacle and introduced himself. Bastion had to respect that Rohan did not let personal issues interfere with his rules and responsibilities, and it made inquiring into Vayu’s crimes even more uncomfortable a prospect.

“Thank you,” Bastion said, shaking his hand. “We look forward to working with you.”

As they accompanied Rohan to the guest house, Bastion finally cleared his throat.

“I don’t wish to interfere in your duties or justice system,” he began. “But I do have a responsibility to report to Chaldea about why one of their Vanguards has been detained.”

That was diplomatic. Hopefully, Rohan wouldn’t be bothered by it too much.

“Of course, we are here to help with your problem, not cause more,” Bastion went on. “So please tell us the nature of these disappearances that have been troubling you. Any information you can provide will be helpful.”

c) Everything happens for a reason

- Cleo -

Cleo’s lips twitched at the scene in front of him. Maybe his guess about a previous lady-love hadn’t been quite accurate (or maybe it had), but at the very least, it seemed like this wasn’t unfamiliar territory for Vayu. Rather, if the captain of the guard was his brother, that explained Vayu’s strange behavior as they approached the village, especially if he’d suspected that something like this might happen.

We’ll look into it… His eyes widened at Bastion’s seemingly half-hearted response. If not for the fact that Cleo had never known Bastion to play any kind of prank, he would have thought the man must be joking. Clearly, he had no clue when was a good time to listen to authority and when was a good time to exert your own.

“Hold it!” Cleo directed the words towards the men attempting to drag Vayu away, his voice carrying a cold menace that would stop a lesser man in his tracks.

He turned his gaze to the captain of the guard, narrowing his eyes. “I’m going to need more of an explanation than this dipshit.” Cleo gestured to Bastion with his thumb.

“We’re here to do a job, which your village hired us for, and Vayu was selected by our superiors to be a part of the team accomplishing that job. I’m not trying to invalidate whatever issue you have with him, but immediately making an enemy of the team sent to help you with a problem doesn’t seem like the greatest idea, does it? That kinda thing makes it seem like you didn’t really need that help you requested after all, and it could make getting additional help with other problems later more of an issue for this village.” The corner of his mouth rose in a feral grin. “It’s never a good idea to bite the hand that feeds you.”

Mountain Village

Rohan watched the two opposite reactions of the remaining Vanguards. Cleo’s reaction, he had expected. Bastion’s reaction was a little more surprising.

At the wave of his hand the guards continued to lead Vayu away.

“I will try to explain the situation,” he said stiffly and opened the door to the guest house, gesturing for both Cleo and Bastion to get inside.

Inside the house, they were welcomed by another woman who had lit the fire and was stirring a pot.

Spoiler:

“Welcome, Vanguards,” she said with a smile. “My name is Akio. I took the liberty of preparing some dinner for you.” She gestured to the stove, where a pot was simmering on low heat. It smelled oddly familiar, similar to something Vayu would cook up at the Devil’s Cocktail.

“Akio is my sister,” Rohan explained, wondering how he was going to break the news to her. She tilted her head. “I was under the impression that three Vanguards would arrive,” she asked and looked at Rohan. His expression darkened. “There was. One of them was Vayu. I had him arrested.” Apparently, honesty ran in the family.

“What?” Akio looked shocked and then remembered their guests. She forced a smile on her lips.

Once inside, some of the reserved behavior seemed to drop off Rohan and he sighed. “I didn’t have a choice,” he began to explain, trying to decide on where to begin.

“The information I can give you is very sparse, unfortunately,” Rohan admitted. “For weeks we’ve had men disappear from our village. They disappear during the night. We try to post more watchmen, but somehow they never notice anything and there are no clues left.” He rubbed his eyes, looking tired. The expression on his face showed how much pressure was resting on his shoulders.

“If that keeps going…there will not be enough people left to keeps this village safe during the spring invasion, when all the young newly born demons descend from the mountains into the valley,” Rohan said, his expression darkened. “If you don’t help us,” he shrugged. “Then I don’t know...”

Profile Sheet Rohan

Spoiler:

- Cleo -

With another irritated glance towards the retreating soldiers, Cleo stepped into the guest house, where his nose was assaulted by a surprisingly familiar smell. Of course, if this was Vayu's home village, it would make sense that their cooking smelled similar to his, even more so if the woman cooking it was his sister, which seemed to be the case.

"I appreciate your hospitality, miss." Cleo offered her the closest thing to a smile that he could produce in his currently frustrated state. "It's nice to know that at least someone in this village seems to know what that is."

As Vayu's brother began talking about the situation, Cleo actually had to ask himself if the man was truly this dense, or if he'd just disregarded the primary issue at hand. Well, there was more than one way to get information, and women had always been easier for Cleo to talk with anyway...

"So, you're saying that your people are just getting grabbed and dragged off somewhere?" Cleo cut in. "You know, that sounds surprisingly like what happened as soon as my team set foot in this village."

He turned his attention towards Akio. "Miss, are you sure that this lout isn't responsible?" Cleo gestured towards Rohan. "Because, the way I see it, my team is a man down before we even got started, and as far as I can tell, the one to blame is him."

"So, if either of you is open to discussing why in the hell you chose to arrest a Vanguard agent on sight, I might just be a little more open to listening to your village's problems."

The Mountain Village

- Bastion -

Bastion and Cleo followed Rohan into the guest house were a pretty young woman was preparing dinner for them. This was certainly more accommodation than they were used to on most of their missions. Bastion nodded gratefully to the woman, sniffing at the air. Vayu must have learned to cook here, as it had a similar scent to his dishes. That much was confirmed when Rohan introduced Akio to them as Vayu's sister.

She seemed quite shocked by the revelation that Vayu had been arrested but didn't press for more information. Unfortunately, Rohan didn't provide any either. While Bastion didn't want to harp on the matter, it was a bit disconcerting to still be in the dark about Vayu's situation.

Still, they had a mission to focus on. Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of information Rohan could offer them on that either.

"Then we'll just have to keep watch ourselves tonight," Bastion told him. "Our eyes will be harder to fool." Between Archangel's keen vision and his Revelation, he felt confident the demon's methods would be made plain.

Before he could go any further, Cleo passive-aggressively swerved the conversation back to the matter of Vayu before resorting to openly insulting Rohan and refusing to help. What did he think he was doing?

"You'll be open to listening because it's your duty," Bastion snapped. "It's not up to you to decide if a mission is worth doing."

He shot Rohan and Akio an apologetic look before pulling Cleo aside, his expression softening as he sighed.

"Look, I want to find out what's going on and help Vayu, too," he said. "But our role is clear, and we can't allow this problem to interfere with that." He shot a look at the two siblings. "And antagonizing them isn't likely to win us - or Vayu - any favors. So keep your head, and let's approach this diplomatically. It's the Council they'll have to answer to if injustice is at work, not us."

Mountain Village

Akio gave Cleo a calm smile. “Rohan means well,” she said. “His heart is set on protecting our village.”

The two Vanguards, clearly with different opinions about the situation began to argue among themselves. Rohan was glad to see that at least Bastion was to be reasoned with and willing to help. He shot the young man an appreciative look. He wasn’t so sure about Cleo. If Cleo’s thinly veiled threat had affected him, he didn’t let it show.

“I didn’t have a choice,” Rohan interrupted them and defended his actions with a firm voice. “It took me weeks to convince our Council to send for help from the Vanguards. If I let someone, they deem criminal, run around with you all over the village, it would invalidate all my work,” His voice was passionate.

“And because Vayu is also my brother, they would think I let personal feelings interfere with my duty. And if I can’t do my job, they can’t trust my judgement in asking them to call you here. The Council would jump at the excuse to send you back to Chaldea and replace me.” He crossed his arms. “And I can’t allow that. We need your help.”

“For now, Vayu is safe where he is at and you can start doing your job. We can sort the rest out later.” Clearly, he wasn’t about to release Vayu from wherever he was being held.

As Cleo repeated the most pressing question, Rohan exchanged a long look with Akio who had returned to the stove.

“Vayu’s now paying for things that happened roughly five years ago,” Rohan explained. “As punishment his choice was between being exiled from this village and prohibited from ever setting foot in here again. Or spent the rest of his life in prison. So, he knew that if he ever came back, he would be arrested.”

“And he chose to leave.” Rohan’s mouth was a hard line. It was obvious, he didn’t agree with that choice.

“I think if you want to know more, it would be best if Vayu told you himself,” Akio chimed in softly.

- Cleo -

Cleo raised an eyebrow as Bastion pulled him aside. “One-sided diplomacy is just another way of being a punching bag.” He responded, frowning. “I’m not opposed to hearing their side of things, but they’re gonna have to give me more than just ‘because I said so’ here. Also, one of the first things they taught us in training was that we can abandon a mission if we deem it to be a lost cause. Losing a third of our firepower before we even get started definitely makes the situation seem pretty bleak. Wouldn’t you agree? I’m not saying that I don’t want to help them, but they’re not doing a very good job of helping themselves.”

His head swiveled to Rohan when the man finally spoke, revealing some of the situation. “Okay, I can respect a man caught between a rock and a hard place.” He sighed, turning fully back towards Vayu’s siblings. “I want to help you. Really, I do, but you’re not doing a great job of setting up a good work relationship.” Cleo raised an open hand to preemptively silence Bastion, who would most likely try to cut in at some point.

“I just walked onto a job with very little information, in a town that is clearly having some internal political issues, and the ones who hired us immediately cut away a portion of my team, who are the only ones I trust to have my back out here. You’re gonna have to forgive me for being a little less than cooperative.” He took a deep breath and lowered his hand. “I’m not trying to wade into your village’s laws or old incidents, but the issue at hand is that I don’t trust you, and I find it difficult to work for people I don’t trust.”

“For now, I’m willing to try and help you fix your problem, but I do intend to take Vayu with us when we leave. Exile means you don’t want him here, and he didn’t know where we were going when we received the assignment. So, it’s hardly his fault that he’s here in the first place.”

Mountain Village

“I had to act fast to get ahead of the situation,” Rohan simply responded. Clearly, he wasn’t going to apologize for his decision. “We’d be in more trouble if I hadn’t.”

“I understand that you’re upset and I’m sorry I had to diminish your team,” he admitted. “But you’re not the only one who hopes we can find a silver lining for Vayu.”

“For now, I have to explain the situation to our Council,” Rohan said and rose while Akio placed the pot on the table. “I will come back in the morning.”

“I’ll help.”

Rohan, about to leave, turned around when heard Akio’s voice.

“Akio, you have other responsibilities in this village. We can’t lose our next healer in line. Besides you’re not a Vanguard,” Rohan said. “I can’t let you do that.”

Akio’s eyes blitzed and she walked over to Rohan. “You may be my older brother, but I am my own person,” she said. “You had our brother arrested.” And with every word her index finger tapped Rohan in the chest. “So, don’t go around telling me what I can and cannot do. You’re not the only one who cares about the well-being of this village.”

Rohan’s mouth was fixed in a hard line.

“Fine. As long as they agree.”

His eyes turned to Cleo and Bastion.