It made her hard to read and led some to believe she was incapable of emotion.
That wasn't the case. Elena's aunt felt deeply. Sometimes too much so. She was just better at hiding her feelings.
As a result, Elena had gotten good at reading the micro expressions of others.
It was why she noticed the faint flex of Fyr's forearms. The way the muscles in his back and shoulders tightened before he forced them to relax.
"What would you know about that?" he asked.
Elena lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. "Just a little."
Fyr stopped to face her. "You pulled your last blow."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Is this a game to you?"
Elena scowled. "Of course not."
What kind of person would dare play with life-and-death stakes?
Fyr resumed walking. "You certainly act like it."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Fyr said dismissively. "You're right, new girl. Your presence here threatens our survival. For you to live, one of us must die. Stop trying to be friends with us. If you want to survive, you'll have to do it on your own."
Fyr didn't say anything else after that, ignoring every attempt by Elena to strike up a conversation. Even when they reached the crèche, he remained stubbornly silent, disappearing into his room and leaving her standing alone in the common area.
"He has a point," Uncle Jin said softly. "These children don't have the luxury of caring about others when they can barely keep themselves alive."
"You're not like that. Aunt Kira isn't either."
"Your aunt's a strange bird. No one else in the universe would have come back for me in the circumstances she did. They would have taken the escape the forty three offered. It's why I'd die for her. Why she'd die for me too. But you can't judge others by those standards."
Elena glanced at Fyr's room.
The conversation she'd overheard made her think Fyr wasn't so simple. He was protective of his companions. If he wasn't, he wouldn't care about Elena's presence.
Like Uncle Jin said, caring was a luxury. For Fyr to go to such lengths, it pointed to a strength similar to her auntie’s.
Maybe that was why she didn't hate him the way she should.
With a heavy heart, Elena headed for her quarters.
Pulling open the door, she froze.
"Hello, child," Elise said calmly from her seat on Elena's cot. "I think you have some explaining to do."
Kira - Rothchild
Kira rolled onto her back, burrowing deeper into the covers as she fought the tug of sleep. Not quite willing to start her day, she cracked her eyelids, coming a little more awake as she spotted Graydon's fully dressed form leaning over her.
"What time is it?" she asked around a yawn.
She stretched, her joints popping as she blinked the drowsiness out of her eyes.
It felt early. Much too early to be up and about.
"The sun is up," Graydon said, glancing out the light filtering window.
That explained it. When they'd arrived, it had been nighttime. Their circadian rhythms hadn't had time to adjust to the planet's rhythm yet.
Day was when she'd been getting her rest.
"What are you doing up? Come back to bed." Kira tugged on his arm, trying to draw him back under the sheets with her.
"I can't do that," he said.
The eyes that had just drifted closed, opened as she gave him a grumpy frown. "Why not?"
He smiled, smoothing a hand over her head. "I think there's something we need to do."
Kira's sleepiness vanished.
"Did Diesel put you up to this?"
Graydon's silence was as good as an answer.
She flopped onto her back, putting one arm behind her head as she glared at the ceiling. The bed dipped under Graydon's weight as he sat beside her.
"Fine," Kira huffed before he could say anything. "I'll go."
Graydon patted her knee. "I knew you'd agree. I'll let you get dressed."
She rolled her head to look at him. "Must be nice to have a suit of armor you can don instantly."
"You could always get one of your own."
"Is that a clever way to convince me to become your oshota?"
Graydon looked as if he was considering it. "I wouldn't mind you serving me."
Kira glared. "Who says I'd be the one serving?"
She was just as likely to become the master as the shield.
Finn had told her that to gain her own synth armor, she would first need to journey to a lu-ong hunting ground. There, she'd have to obtain a single scale from a lu-ong's chest. The endeavor could take years and often resulted in many failed attempts before a person met success.
Only the most skilled Tuann were chosen for the journey. It was the second to last step needed to be considered an oshota. The last one being finding a sword to serve.
Graydon leaned down to touch his lips to Kira’s. "Even better."
"You'd have to listen to Finn as my First."
His thumb touched the base of her throat. "I'm sure he and I could come to an acceptable arrangement. Raider, on the other hand—"
"What does he have to do with it? He's not an oshota."
"Isn't he, though?"
"He's human."
Graydon made a throaty sound that showed he didn't entirely agree.
"What do you know?" Kira asked sharply.
His smile was brief. "Your Raider is an oshota even if he doesn't carry the name. It wouldn't surprise me to learn Wren and Harlow have been grooming him for that role in future."
"Why would they do that?" Kira asked in confusion.
Graydon's gaze was soft. "They see his potential. Just like I do."
Kira was quiet. Wren she could understand. Raider's acceptance in Tuann society would only help Elena. Not hinder. Harlow, on the other hand. His motivations were more difficult to read.
A knock at the door had Graydon rising. "I'll take care of that."
Kira nodded as Graydon went to the door. She stayed where she was until he stepped outside, the door closing after him cutting off the rumble of voices.
"Guess I should get moving too," Kira said.
Running had never been in her nature, but this was one time she wouldn't have minded making an exception.
The cold felt like a slap in the face compared to the warmth of Kira's bed as she tucked her cloak more securely around her.
She never thought she'd say it, but she missed Ta Sa'Riel. It was infinitely better than this frozen ball of ice.
With a sense of resignation, Kira trudged across the hard packed snow toward where Diesel and Graydon were deep in conversation.
At her approach, Diesel glanced over in amusement. "You look miserable. I forgot how much you hate the cold."
"I don't hate it. I just prefer not to be out in it if I don't have to."
"It might help if you were dressed appropriately," he said, taking in the thin clothes she wore and the cloak that didn't look like it was doing much to ward off the cold.
"I'm fine."
The balial material her clothes were crafted from made sure of that.