Chương 155: Day One Hundred and Fifty Four

Dear Diary, On the one hand, the waiting is killing me. On the other hand, the longer this goes on, the better the odds that both sides will come to their senses. Right? Dammit, I can't even fool myself with that particular bullshit. So, Weird dream continues to be weird. The itching has stopped moving, as has that one rogue tadpole. I woke to the sounds of Isnomi growling at something. When I pried my eyes open and looked around the room, she hung from the front of the armoire, yanking at the ropes.

I'd tied the armoire shut the previous night, just to make it seem a little more like my Ms. Everything-Just-So was still home. I heaved myself out of bed, walked over to her, and lifted her away from the armoire with one hand around her waist. She growled at me until I said, "Do you want me to show you how to undo that, or not?"

"Anhama sef do id!"

"Yeah, you weren't making much progress, were you?" She folded her arms and stuck out her lip in a pout.

"I need to get my clothes out of there too, and if you keep doing what you were doing, you'll make it impossible to untie." She just harumphed. I lifted her up onto my shoulders, then went down to one knee so she could see what I was doing without bending over uncomfortably.

"You watching, Menace?"

"Yef." Working slowly and carefully, both to let her see and to avoid tangling things, I worked the square knot out of the rope.

"Did you see that?"

"Yef!"

"Okay, from now on, since you've been dressing yourself, I'll tie it in a bow knot, because that's easier to undo, but I expect you to work on tying it back up, okay?"

"Yef!" I tied the ropes back together in a bow knot, got a flash of inspiration, and said, "can you say anything but 'yes'?"

"Yef?" I giggled, pulled one of the strings of the bow knot to show her how to undo it, and then laughed along with her. I even flopped her down on the padded floor and blew raspberries on her tummy until she started hiccupping. I opened the door for her, and she pulled out her own little uniform before I got to business getting my own on. Behind us I heard Marie doing the same with her maid's uniform. Once we'd all gotten dressed, I gave them each a hug and kiss before they left for the day.

I smiled a little at myself as I collected my big fuzzy coat and hat. I'd never really been all touchy-feely and affectionate back in Camden, but something here just drew it out of me. Well, someones, really. I tried not to think about how any one of those hugs and kisses could be the last one ever. With that little bit of melancholy accompanying me, I made my way to the Dining Hall.

The rest of the ROTC crew seemed disappointed that Isnomi hadn't come along today, but to be honest she'd been so eager to hop on Marie's cart and get moving I couldn't resist letting her head out. Also, I hadn't thought about it. Sue me. I tore into the food like I'd never had this 'sustenance' thing before, because not only did I need the calories to keep warm, I needed them to keep up with Lancaster's training.

I gotta say, the little shit might be six kinds of bigoted asshole, but he not only knows how to wield a sword, he's not half bad at teaching me how, either. Brutal, but not bad. So as soon as breakfast ended, I headed toward the wall. I hadn't seen Lancaster at breakfast, but I hadn't really looked, either, at least until the end of the meal. I didn't see him, so I kind of assumed he'd left early. I jogged through the city, eyes open for patches of ice.

Honestly, if there were any, they'd been covered by another layer of snow last night. Hopefully covered deep enough that I'd just crunch on snow instead of falling on my ass. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Again. I detoured to go past Drivers' before the wall, figuring Lancaster might have stopped by there. No such luck, although when I asked if he'd been through, they said no, so I picked up two breakfast sandwiches and stuffed them into the inside pocket of my coat.

I figured if there was any chance of burying the hatchet with him, I'd have to take the initiative. I mean, he'd been training me when he didn't really have to, so I guess there might be some chance he can learn better than being a complete bigoted jackass. I got to the wall only to find the bigoted jackass nowhere in sight. With the light coat of snow over everything, I could see all the way to the far end of our section. No Lancaster, no suspicious snow covered lumps, nothing.

I got a little worried, so I co-located back to the Academy, right in front of the Headmaster's office. I'd have tried for the Men's House Father, but I didn't want to find out just now that co-location interacted violently with Filtration Wards, if it did. So I knocked on Headmaster Miles' door.

"Come." I opened his door to find him going through some monumental stacks of paperwork.

"Good Morning, Headmaster. I got to the wall and Cadet Lancaster isn't there. I haven't seen him all morning." The Headmaster frowned, then shuffled some papers around until he found the one he was looking for. His frown twisted a little, and he sighed.

"I'm afraid you'll be covering that section by yourself today, Cadet Diaz."

"Everything okay?"

"Lancaster is in the Infirmary."

"Oh, shit! Everything okay?" The Headmaster shook his head, but chuckled as he did.

"If everything was okay, he'd hardly be in the Infirmary, would he? Still, it appears to be nothing but some kind of winter illness. Serious enough that Doctor DeLeon has him under observation and is keeping him inside, but he assures me that Cadet Lancaster should make a complete recovery in short order. He should be back with you by Wotansday." I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding.

"That's good to hear." He raised an eyebrow, "it would be better to hear that at least one of you was on the wall watching for any marauding New Amsterdam units threatening Camden Yards." I smiled, "would I leave the wall unguarded just to check up on Lancaster, sir?" He rolled his eyes.

"I don't even want to know, do I?" I laughed, and remembered something before I stepped away.

"Can you see he gets this, sir?" I held out the still slightly steaming package from Drivers'.

"I'll have it delivered to him."

"Thanks, Headmaster. Gotta get back to the wall!" I stepped through his doorway, translocating back to myself on the wall as I did. I spent the day using Air Shields to clear the snow off the top of the wall. With a deep, flat, unbroken expanse of snow between the wall and the tree line in the distance, I figured I'd notice any unfriendly armies headed our way. I mean, yeah, sappers might be able to tunnel under it, but the snow and cold had to work against them there, right?

Not to mention the local water table, which was maybe eighteen inches below the topsoil. Around noon, I poked Saffron. Hey, Kitten? You okay? Her reply came back immediately. Other than being dog tired and bored out of my skull, yes. That reminds me of that old saying again. Which one? War is ninety nine percent soul crushing boredom, punctuated by one percent unholy screaming terror. That got a mental chuckle out of her, followed by a curious hum. Okay, Kitten. Spill it. Spill what?

Whatever you just thought about. To the best of my knowledge, there is no Deity of War amongst the Mor. That... that is kinda weird. You sure that's not my Domain? I'm taking to the whole fighting thing pretty well, y'know. Another mental smile, followed by, oh, no, my beloved Goof. Your domain is not War. War would never be as beautiful as you. If my cheeks hadn't already been a little flushed from the cold, that would have lit them up for sure. I love you too, Kitten. Love you as well, Goof.

Gotta get back to work. With that she was gone again. I kept up my snowblower act, then just walked laps along the top of the wall, stopping whenever the whim took me, staring out into the woods, trying to see anything out of the ordinary. Who was I kidding? I'm no woodswoman. I can tell a tree from grass, and that's about it. Still, I can mostly tell a tree from a person, and I didn't see any people. When the shadows started to lengthen, I remembered something. Hey, Boss? Yes, Tabitha?

Is there an easy way to switch outfits when I co-locate? You mean easier than the way I've redressed you in the past? I facepalmed, then instantly regretted it as the snow stuck to my sleeve went in my mouth. Thanks, Boss. You're the best. I know. See you tomorrow morning. Sleep well, Tabitha. With that I decided I was way too tired to trudge all the way back to the Academy, so I translocated back to my room, hung up my coat, and trudged down for a quick dinner before bed.

Marie delivered Isnomi to me at the Dining Hall, gave me a quick peck and said, "Work," then wandered off to do nighttime Marie things. Isnomi and I assaulted dinner, then returned to our cell, stripped down, and snuggled under the blankets for warmth. Y'know, if somebody described my current life to me six months ago, and told me I'd kill or die to keep it? I wouldn't have believed any of it. Maybe I've grown and matured as a person? Nah.