Following Tabernath was as pleasant an experience as I could have asked for. Not only was he kind, but his soldiers were too. They were all extremely disciplined, so much so that they could march in unison with nothing to go off of but the unified sound of their steps. As far as what he actually did, it was mostly just approving documents, listening to reports, and overseeing training. He also walked me through how things might feel were we at war though. By the end of the day, it almost felt like I knew everything I needed to.
The next day I spent with Al, and he seemed to do things very similarly, although he was a bit more lax, especially when not drilling. I thought for sure things would be awkward when I was shadowing Elianara, but he kept things professional. His group was much rowdier than the others, but when fighting and sparring each other that showed a different kind of strength in its own right.
The commander after that I was unfamiliar with, but she was a girl, and she was on the smaller side too, in more ways than one. It made her surprisingly easy to talk to comparatively. She seemed to put a lot of effort into looking tough though. I didn't tell her that of course... Her name was Phily… I mean even her name was cute. And what's perhaps more impressive, she was born a commoner. Tough, sure… But not more like a bulletproof kitten, than a hearty elephant.
'Let's see, they said my brother was the sixth right? So if Airsidh is the last commander, and he's still in training, then do I meet with Tabernath tomorrow?'
"Good work today. Oh, tomorrow you'll be with your brother right? Tell him I said hi."
'They know each other?' "Do you like him or something?"
She flinched, her neck cracking at the sudden jerk. "N-no… We're just old friends… Or we were… I guess we haven't really seen each other in a long time now…"
'Oh… My…Gosh…' "He is single though, you know..."
Her face turned slightly red. "Haha… You're being awfully forward. Besides, I'm a commoner you know? And, well… He has some stuff he needs to sort out before he worries about stuff like that… Though… I guess… Maybe by now he has…"
She kept going between a little flustered and wistfully longing. It was kind of cute, and honestly, the only time I had seen her lower her guard. "Why are you being so pushy about it anyway… Are you in love or something?"
'I wasn't being pushy…' My face suddenly heated up just at the word alone. 'Love… Me and… A guy…' Despite feeling a little flushed, no one in particular came to mind. There were lots of guys I liked. Bear, Finlo, Kal to an extent, and even Zu. Although… They all only saw me as a little girl, and even if they didn't I couldn't say I had stronger feelings for one in particular.
She suddenly snickered. "Maybe I shouldn't have asked."
"N-no… It's fine…" I said softly "To answer your question though. If one of my brothers gets married, then I won't be as pressured to have kids, so it would be convenient. If I'm pushy that's probably why."
She chuckled again. "Or you'd just end up getting pressured more into getting married like your big brother did… That's… What happened to me…"
"Oh…" 'Maybe I didn't think this through… Although, she at least seems like a nice girl now that we aren't around her troops… And being a commoner means she would be less set in noble customs too… A rare find.'
I sighed, waving as I started walking away. "Oh well… Oh, and don't worry about the commoner thing, you're a commander, which means you're a noble now. Even if you weren't no one in my family cares about that stuff. Our father wasn't born a noble either you know."
She timidly waved back, as if she had never done it before and I was on my way. 'Let's see… Am I mischievous enough to play matchmaker when neither of them wants me to? Philly… I wonder how they know each other. I should have asked. Well, I'll just ask Air tomorrow. I bet he saved her from a monster or something, how romantic would that be.'
The rest of the day I felt a slight dizziness, and my chest felt lighter and a bit tingly, making me really want to try and get them together even more. Although, I decided I would wait… But, that didn't mean I couldn't make them a little more aware of each other's existence by asking them about each other in the meantime. 'Little Rune, and Mo, and Isy, and now I'm thinking about a sister-in-law, it feels like my family is getting so much bigger.'
"Hm… Siya, You're squeezing really tight…" Rune grumbled, lying in bed next to me as we tried to fall asleep. 'I'm a bit too excited about this… I mean, they just were kind of friends right?' "Sorry…"
She shook her head. "No, it's fine. I like it."
I chuckled, wrapping her up and squeezing her as tight as I could until I felt her back crack, "Like this?" I said nervously, checking on her, but when I let go she was already asleep. 'That's… Not normal.'
Sleeping soundly, she slowly wrapped around me, clingy tight as ever, and even holding on with her tail. 'Although I do admit… Being close to someone… Is a whole lot better than being alone… No matter how clingy they are.' "Goodnight Rune," I whispered, closing my eyes.
When I woke up she was straddled over the top of me, gripping my shirt, tail wagging like crazy. "Siya, Siya Siya Siya Siya."
"You seem excited…" I groaned.
"Looky! I've been training too, and I made breakfast."
I slowly lifted my head as she let go of my shirt and sat straight up, patiently waiting for my response. "I smell meat." Without even realizing it I was already drooling, and my teeth were aching again.
She jumped off and hurried over to the small table. "Meat is the best, so of course, meat should be the first thing you eat every day."
"I guess that makes sense…" I slowly got up and took a bite. My teeth immediately felt better, so much so I didn't even want to chew, just sit there with my teeth sunk into the steak, tasting it. After a while, my drool started spilling out of my mouth though… So I started eating normally. "It's a little tough, but it's good. Thank's"
Her tail started wagging again as she looked down, blushing without a word.
'So cute…'
After the way the day started, it felt like nothing could ruin it. I was practically skipping on my way to the war room where I always started my day. I made it there first like always, and had fun playing around with different scenarios on the battle table. Then heavy footsteps came down the hall.
'Airsidh? No… Around the same size, but he doesn't walk that heavy… So who then?'
The door opened and my heart stopped. 'Bhaltair…'
"Hey, Siya."