Book 3: Chapter 23 - A Dead World and a Few Good Jokes

Fear itself is not the only thing you need to worry about in the mist.

But it will make every other danger far deadlier.

If you are too afraid to raid a nest, my advice is that you don’t.

Leave. Desert the lancers. Find a quiet settlement and change your name.

Just do not enter a nest while terrified.
Because I promise you. It will get you killed.
—Virgil Clay, Lecture

Both teams walked through glittering orange toward murky mauve, the train far behind them and only danger ahead. They held a loose formation, but they had to travel too far for anyone to keep to a strict position. Something about the sun shining through the crystal made it feel warmer than it was outside, although the climate was actually cooler than back in Prism. The group had been quiet for the past thirty minutes, no one quite certain how to lift the hopeless pall which had descended over nearly everyone. Each step taken by half the party was nearly against their will, and the other half was hardly enthusiastic.

Thankfully, they’d brought a plucky young fox who was allergic to silence.

“Well, we didn't get porters assigned, but these freaky little crystal robots are doing a good job. Gotta look at the bright side,” Kiera said. Both teams of student lancers hiked through the mist, nothing but crystal and compasses to guide them. The nest they were headed to did exist in the ruins of the old world. But the quickest route to it was apparently through largely empty land. Violet wondered why any old world cities would lack a functional rail system. That seemed like an incredibly stupid choice. And not just because it was inconvenient for her now. 

“They aren't robots; they are homunculi,” Lisa corrected. The creatures in question were created using her talents, and she spoke with the bored timbre of a woman used to repeating a phrase. Her “Artificer” calling was a unique one, so she was constantly forced to explain her creations. The added irritation in her voice could be attributed to either the situation or her familiarity with the person she was correcting. Kiera had been in class with Lisa for three months, and this was far from the first time she'd seen the talent.

“Sorry, sorry,” Kiera apologized. “My brain chemistry has been irreversibly altered by Full Metal Alchemist, so that word always feels wrong when I reach for it.”

“Why do people always tell me that?” Lisa groaned.

“It's an important show,” Violet answered. “And we won't apologize for that.”

“I'll forgive you anyway, if you tell me how you advance so quickly,” Lisa suggested. There was mild levity in her voice, but it didn't reach the hungry eyes that landed on Violet.

The reaper offered an exaggerated shrug and a smile in response. “God loves me,” she offered.

“That’s true,” Guy chimed in. “I asked her. She said she loves Violet more than any of us.”

“See?” Violet answered, gesturing toward Guy. “I can't help it.”

“I'd appreciate a real answer, if you have one,” Lisa insisted. “Some of my homunculi are stuck in red, and I need to figure out a faster way to cultivate their abilities.”

“They have their own categories?” Aubrey asked. “That sounds inconvenient.”

“Incredibly, although it has its advantages,” Lisa agreed. “They also get their own talents, after all.”

“Oh, that sounds helpful,” Violet said. “I could use abilities like that in a lot of ways.”

“I'm sorry. I'm glad all of you are having a nice time, but the chatter makes me nervous,” Angelo called back, looking over his shoulder from the front of the group. “Can we try and travel in silence for a while?”

Violet eyed him, then Guy. For once, her team's Tank didn't seem like the most cowardly of the group. Guy was unbothered, while Angelo was overly cautious about everything. The seraphim didn't seem like the type to freeze in combat, though. So Violet assumed it was something else entirely.

A fear of leadership, maybe. It was easier for some people to risk themselves than their subordinates. The stress of death was easily overshadowed by the responsibility of a friend's life. Meanwhile, Guy clearly trusted his team implicitly. 

It was an interesting contrast.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Violet answered. 

Angelo paused, then turned to look at her. Terry, the other student walking at the front, froze with him. Terry didn't turn around, however. He simply watched forward, completely silent as he'd been for most of the trip. At least when he wasn't sneaking a glance at Violet. Everyone recognized the halt and responded accordingly. Guy leaned against the nearest crystal, and Lisa sat down so one of her constructs could rub her shoulders. The angel in the group looked worried as he questioned the reaper. “What do you mean? There are hedron out here, Violet.”

“I don't think there are,” she challenged. “This is a pretty desolate desert, and hedron are all carnivores. There could be some bobcats around the area, or other similar hedron. But there isn't a lot of prey nearby. The heavy crystal deposits make it a hostile environment for anything alive, too. And, most importantly, the crystal is all orange. And my perception is well within average for a mid-range yellow. I'll hear anything in the area long before it hears us.”

“Unless it's yellow,” Angelo replied.

“I suppose. But if it is, we’re all making enough noise just by walking that we’ll draw its attention regardless. Staying completely silent for the next few days just isn’t plausible. Especially since we are statistically unlikely to run into anything serious until we’re closer,” Violet assured him.

“Isn’t it better if we are safe than sorry?” Angelo pointed out.

“Not if it hurts morale and team cohesion, no,” Violet countered. She gestured at the ruined landscape around her. Orange crystal practically caked the broken earth, with only sand connecting each cluster. Angelo had some sort of talent to clear the miasma, so the mauve mist seemed to exist everywhere but the area surrounding the students. “Walking through all of this is going to feel a lot more draining and hopeless if we do it in silence. And when hedron do attack, which they will eventually, people are going to panic. I’ve seen how that goes down, and I’ve seen it kill better lancers than us.”

Aubrey flinched at that, but only Violet’s team noticed. Angelo looked conflicted, and it was the previously silent Masaki who backed Violet up. 

“I think she’s right, Ange. We all appreciate you protecting us from the mist, but we’re going to choke on silence instead at this rate,” he complained.

Angelo frowned, his wings folding against his back as he crossed his arms. “You’re just working up the courage to ask Kiera about her ears and tail again, aren’t you?” he accused.

“No,” Masaki denied. “I want to ask about her full fox form this time!”

“Just ask, dude, I’m not shy,” Kiera cut in.

“You were literally hiding your ears and tail when we met,” Violet contradicted. 

“Yeah, that was an idea I got from... someone who is no longer in my life,” Kiera replied. “I’m a changed fox now.”

“All that being the case,” Angelo interrupted, “I’m not sure if camaraderie is really worth risking our lives. Can we at least keep it down?”

Violet gave him a pitying smile, then left her position in the formation to approach him. “I genuinely understand. You’re worried about leading your first mission. It’s scary. But I’m here, too. And I promise you, being too strict is just as dangerous as not being strict enough. At least right now. When we get closer to the nest, that might change. But for the time being? We gotta breathe before the danger gets here,” she lectured.

Angelo looked her in the eyes for a moment, then let his own wander to everyone else in the group. Kiera, Guy, and even Aubrey were very obviously on Violet’s side. Which wasn’t surprising, since they were her team. But Masaki, Lisa, and even Terry seemed to agree. It became obvious that, right or wrong, nearly everyone wanted to follow Violet's advice. Which would make it difficult for Angelo to insist on anything else. Even if he turned out to be the smarter of the two, forcing the issue would lose him everyone’s support regardless.

He let out a heavy sigh. “Well. I suppose defending the pylons turned out to be easier than expected. You did everything I asked, and we weren’t attacked once. I guess it won’t hurt to take your advice this time,” he finally agreed. “I’ll try and loosen up a little.”

“Why is that, actually?” Terry asked. It was the first time the generally reserved man had spoken all day, as far as Violet remembered. Even when one of the conductors was seeing them off. The boy had two habits of note. Holding his tongue to a fault, and staring at Violet from across the room. “Statistically speaking, trains are attacked by at least a few hedron almost ninety-nine times out of a hundred when recharging. It’s strange we didn’t run into a single monster all week.”

Violet knew someone was going to ask eventually, but most people didn’t want to jinx their good luck. The truth was simple. She didn’t want Angelo’s team advancing from real-world combat. Not before she fulfilled her obligations to Cyan. It would’ve been easiest for her if they remained as weak as possible. Which was precisely why she’d ordered them to stay back as soon as they entered her perception. She’d do the same now, in fact. All the way until the yellow nest, when she could handily sic as many as she wanted on her targets. 

“I intimidated them with my smoldering intensity,” Guy answered. Violet was thankful for the blond idiot for once. She’d been planning to redirect the conversation herself, but her friends’ buffoonery could always be relied on to do that job for her.

“Is that why you were making that face?” Kiera asked. “Dude, I thought you somehow needed to take a shit every time we plugged the train in.”

Violet bit back a laugh. Not because it would have been inappropriate in response to the joke. More because Kiera was fumbling again. Violet would need to offer flirting lessons sometime. She was almost certain telling a man he was chronically holding a dump back wasn’t an effective tactic. Almost. If the boy in question had been anyone but Guy, that would’ve been 100 percent.

“Well, why do you think I was smoldering so intensely? Do you think I do that when it’s not an emergency?” Guy asked.

“Oh my God, what fireteam did I end up on?” Aubrey complained. 

“You’re all insane,” Angelo noted. 

“Interesting, though,” Masaki said.

“I second the interesting part,” Lisa agreed.

“Well, thank God for that,” Aubrey groaned. “When I die because Guy can never find a bathroom with appropriate timing, I’ll be happy to know that the story is interesting.”

“That won’t happen,” Violet promised.

“Yeah, there are no toilets out here,” Kiera said.

“Guy only needs to find an interesting cluster of crystal,” Violet clarified.

“And there are tons of those,” Kiera finished with a nod.

“Aw,” Guy said, wiping a nonexistent tear from one eye. “You girls are the best team members a Guy could ever ask for. I truly feel seen right now.”

“We’re all going to die,” Aubrey sighed.

“So your theory is that this bullshit will keep us alive longer, not distract us and get us all killed?” Angelo asked.

Violet actually did hear a few hedron approaching as he asked. Jackrabbits or something, she thought. But she sent a mental order to leave the group alone. She smiled at Angelo as she did, displaying no indicators that her focus was split.

“Bullcrap,” she corrected.

“I’m sorry?” Angelo asked.

“Profanity is the resource of a small mind,” Violet explained. “A leader shouldn’t be swearing.”

Angelo’s face was filthy with bafflement as he looked back at her. “Kiera swears every other word?” he asked.

“It’s different when I do it,” Kiera insisted. Violet held up a finger and pointed at her friend by way of confirmation. She had stopped correcting Kiera ever since the fox had become an accomplice. Allowing the special privilege of swearing had been surprisingly effective at cementing Kiera’s loyalty. Violet would even swear back at the fox sometimes to display how open and relaxed she was around her confidante. 

Angelo rolled his eyes. “Fine. Your theory is that this bullcrap will keep us alive longer?” he amended.

“Yes, exactly,” Violet confirmed. She wasn’t even lying. Guy was a perfect example of the problem she was dealing with. The boy dealt with fear and panic with jokes and revelry. He did it to a more extreme degree than most, but everyone present would benefit from the same habit. The more silent the group was, the more terrified everyone would become. And that would only get worse as time went on. Anticipation of the yellow nest could get people killed. To include people Violet didn’t actually want to die.

That, and this trip would be incredibly boring if everyone was too afraid to speak the entire time. They were still a two-day walk from their destination, and that would drive Violet to madness. She considered letting the hedron attack just to break up the monotony. 

“Tell you what,” Terry said, drawing Angelo’s attention. “I’ll make a deal with Violet. Will that make you feel better? Her perception is already high enough for yellow, but I can push her into green.” Violet wasn't surprised that Terry knew her attribute priorities. He seemed uniquely interested in her, and not in a romantic, sexual, or even suspicious way. 

“That actually would make me feel better,” Angelo immediately agreed, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. 

Violet lifted an eyebrow curiously. She’d seen Terry’s “Negotiator” calling at work before, but had never experienced it directly. It made her a bit nervous to consider, especially considering  the special  attention he gave her. But she was also curious about what she could do with it. Terry had the potential to make a useful tool—if she found a way to keep him in a box. 

“What do you say, Violet? 10 percent of my perception for 10 percent of your strength? Lisa has our gear handled. Just hand off your glaive to one of them, and you can do without the extra strength. Then you can use Tools of the Trade if you need a weapon,” Terry suggested.

“The school-issued glaive is yellow, and I can only make orange weapons,” Violet dismissed. “I’d rather hold on to it. It’s not that heavy, though. Really. A red could carry it. How about fifty strength for fifty perception?”

“Sounds like a deal,” Terry agreed. He turned to look at Angelo. “That should keep us more than safe. She’ll hear anything below green well before it hears us. Work for you?”

“I appreciate this,” Angelo agreed. 

Terry approached Violet and held a hand out. She smirked, then shook his hand. 

His talent was amazing, and her perception jumped by leaps and bounds even as strength drained out of her. It was a temporary effect, but she liked the feeling. She could get used to it.

“Damn, that feels incredible,” Violet murmured. 

“Just don’t get weak in the knees,” Terry replied with a wink. 

Violet caught the double meaning, but just rolled her eyes. The calling was cool, but he stood less than no chance with her. He was simply too impressed with himself. “I wouldn’t worry about that,” she laughed. “Come on. We should start moving again. I want to see if we can find some kind of cave in the crystal before dark. I don’t want to camp in the open and get rained on.”

And with that, both teams were on the move again. They were walking toward what many of them feared would be the death of them. Violet was certain two of them were correct. But a weight had been lifted, and levity was replacing fear with every step.