Chương 98: Squirt's mixed greens

Roughly thirty minutes later, Squirt had organized the greenlings into skill groups she was rotating through as she interviewed them. Many she recognized, though she pretended she didn't. It hurt less. She sensed them before she saw them coming through the door behind her, both Cirn and Jul as terrible at hiding their auras as ever. Her irritation leaving her on edge, Squirt glanced over her shoulder to glare at them— Only to see they had a greenling with them and carried a basket of food. Mild panic hit.

Squirt turned to the nearest greenling.

"Are there any others not accounted for in here?" He shrank under her glare.

"J-just Berry and Puds went out." Squirt ran a hand through her hair, cursing quietly to herself. She should have asked. Damnit, she should have fucking guessed that they'd send more than one out for food. Either way, she was not cut out for this leadership business. The sooner she could dump it on someone else, the better. Turning back to Jul and Cirn, she noted how they both let out visible sighs of relief. Jul spoke gently to the greenling accompanying them before following her lead, carrying the food.

The pair began to offer the food they brought to the rest, starting with the elders and children. Skewers and freshly baked bread and roasted vegetables wrapped in leaves. Not quite enough to give everyone a hearty meal, but more than enough to provide at least something for everyone. The stews would take at least another hour, so this would tide everyone over well. That Squirt was grateful for the contribution by the hopeless fata pair made her deeply uncomfortable.

While Jul followed the greenling, his face friendly and voice gentle as he approached the rest, Lady Cirn awkwardly stood by the door, hesitating, her eyes on the fire fata before she drifted closer to Squirt. Those around Squirt immediately dropped their eyes, shrinking back. Squirt could understand their fear towards the ice woman when the first time they'd met, Cirn had nearly decapitated her. The bitch was crazy.

Then again, Cirn was probably at least part Valkyrie based on the way she tended to fall into battle frenzies. Though to her credit, she'd been careful to never lose herself to a battle frenzy during training with Squirt again. Which was good, because Squirt liked her head attached to her body. She supposed she should be glad for the bare minimum amount of effort from a titled fey. Still, falling into a frenzy during training was… not at all important in this moment.

She wiped her hand down her face, sighing and dropping her head down briefly. Gods, she was tired. Gathering herself, she reached into her pouch and pulled out a wakeberry, popping it into her mouth and chewing. Standing awkwardly behind Squirt, Lady Cirn murmured, "Is there… can I… help?" Squirt cast the woman an appraising glance over her shoulder.

"Maybe."

"Maybe?" She scowled, biting her thumb in thought. Trust the ice woman or no? Squirt's eyes strayed over to the greenling with Jul, recognizing her face. So she'd been named Berry. Apt. Of all the greenlings here, she had actual worth with the one magic she could do. Greenlings were named by the council when they came of age at 25. Traditionally names came from descriptions of the greenling's character mixed with what they could conjure. Squirt was small and could conjure only a squirt of water.

Puds—Puddle—could conjure a small puddle. Leaf could conjure a leaf, but only leaves that were smaller than his hand that he was intimately familiar with. Berry was one of the rare ones. She could conjure only one type of berry once a day. They didn't know what it was called, only that it had the ability to heal. Squirt only knew because a few months before the Sia-bitch, Leaf had gotten stabbed. The berry didn't cure him, but it did prevent Leaf from bleeding out. Squirt turned back to Cirn, sizing her up.

Of all the greenlings here, Berry would be particularly important to the group. And Squirt couldn't tell anyone why. She had trusted Lord Everwinter with some of her secrets. This? This would've been a step too far to trust any of them. In greenling, she asked the group she was with, "Who here knows Berry's powerset?" They glanced at each other before turning back towards her.

"Greenlings don't—""They shouldn't, but some do. No one tells any of the big fey about it, got it?" They nodded.

"Good." Hopping off the wagon she had set herself up on, Squirt told the others, "Stay here." Glancing up at Cirn, she said, "You too." The woman nodded stalwartly. Trotting over to the greenling with Jul, Berry turned to face her. Squirt noted the flecks of purple in her otherwise green eyes, the only visible sign of the magic she had. Squirt eyed Jul once within speaking distance. Then gestured at the rest of the greenlings.

"If you wouldn't mind…"

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She noticed that he stole glances at Cirn as he turned around and continued down the line of greenlings. It was difficult to not gag on the performative charity, particularly when performative or not, it was still helpful. Annoyingly. Deciding it was none of her damn business if it helped more than it hurt, Squirt spoke to Berry in greenling, her voice a bare whisper.

"Don't tell any of the bigs about your power." Berry's eyes flickered to Jul before returning to Squirt. Her brows pinched, then softened with recognition.

"You're… Squirt?"

"Yep."

"I thought—""That I was dead, I know. I'm not, clearly." She glanced at Jul wandering away, keeping her voice whisper quiet.

"The fey here are friendlier to us than the Capital. No matter how friendly you get, don't share your power with them." Berry's anger was not a quick blaze. Instead, it smoldered. Though she did not glare openly, the way her eyes shifted just slightly turned the bland expression into one that was cutting. Almost cruel. Squirt's limbs stiffened, automatically reading for a fight. Another greenling, one Squirt had already interviewed by the name of Buttercup, approached, gently touching Berry's shoulder.

Then one more appeared on Berry's other, an older man called Drizzle. Berry's expression remained frosty, but not as hostile as before, Buttercup and Drizzle's hands remaining on her shoulders in solidarity and comfort. Squirt could see how Berry leaned into their clearly familiar and familial touch. That damn chasm. She hadn't missed the casual touch of her people in decades. She'd gotten over missing it a long fucking time ago, learned to stand on her own two feet without the support of anyone but herself.

There was no need for her to want something she hadn't missed. And yet. Berry's expression finished calming.

"I assume you are Athereon, who we've come to seek shelter with?"

"I am." Berry lowered her eyes, inclining her head.

"Your advice is appreciated, Athereon." Squirt stared at Berry's inclined head, realizing she'd just been treated like she was any other outsider. No argument. No fuss. Just automatic deference no matter how angry her comment had made Berry. Shifting uncomfortably, Squirt glanced away, gathering her thoughts as her own reflexive anger cooled. Of course Berry was angry. She'd been close to her own naming ceremony last time Squirt had seen her over sixty years ago.

Squirt had waltzed over and told her the most obvious bit of advice in the world. The entire group was here because they had chosen to stick with Puds and avoid the bigger, more powerful fey, even at risk of death. Carefully weighing her next words, Squirt spoke again, the scathing tone cut to the minimum as best she could.

"This place is… different than the Capital. The fey here are weirdly…" she scrunched up her face, looking for the right word before landing ultimately on, "kind, I guess. It's disarming."

"As you say, Athereon." Perfect deference. Squirt would have rather had an argument. Shaking it off, she moved on.

"It's a different kind of guard to keep up here. That's all I meant to say." Berry exhaled sharply before shifting in her stance. Her shoulders relaxed, her head lifted, feet square. Buttercup leaned into her, hugging Berry from behind. After another deep breath Berry murmured, "It is as you say, Athereon." Squirt's eyes lingered on Buttercup's arms around Berry's shoulders. Logistics were better use of her time than longing.

Pointing at Cirn with a subtle hand gesture, Squirt said bluntly, "That one is an idiot, but generally… fine." She decided not to mention the whole violent episode of their introduction.

"I need to find placements for you all. She's stupid enough to fool and distract when needed. She won't notice anything." Berry didn't respond verbally, but her eyes met Squirt's instead of giving her pure deference. There was calculation there, followed by understanding.

"I'd like to place you with her." Berry nodded. Though her expression and words remained unchanged, her eyes remained fixed on Squirt's. Squirt's shoulders relaxed slightly. Deference from her own people was a bit much. She'd been so used to idiots, it was good to see that Berry could read between the lines of the task she was granted. Stick to Cirn's side. Cirn would be too stupid to notice if Berry used her powers for another greenling or had to disappear to do so and wouldn't notice any patterns of behavior.

Especially since she was so clearly hung up on Jul, anyway, Squirt doubted the woman would notice the earth shift beneath her feet. Squirt turned to leave before turning back.

"If you have to leave her side, let her know. She'll let you go." Berry blinked a few times. Both Buttercup and Drizzle shared confused glances with Drizzle shrugging subtly. Squirt's eyes flickered between them before clarifying, "Like I said, weirdly kind, these fey. She'd think you were kidnapped and go after you like a big dumb idiot playing hero." All three of the greenlings stared at her in disbelief before Buttercup said quietly, "I… um, that is… they might for the great Athereon but—""Just trust me.

Or don't, and deal with the rampage yourself." After another slow exchange of silent glances between the three, Berry nodded once at Squirt, murmuring, "As you wish," while keeping her eyes up on Squirt's face. Turning on her heel, Squirt was about to head back to the cart she had been using as her base of operations when the doors to the carriage storage from the stable burst open in dramatic fashion.

"Pricklebear!" Oh good, another headache.

"Huh. That's a lotta greenies." Squirt turned to see the redcap standing between the wide-open doors. The greenlings all froze where they were, many already pulling back to the corners and hiding spots they'd been chatting by. Meanwhile, Squirt was distracted noting how particularly energetic Qzi seemed. His skin had a shockingly healthy glow to its paleness in the light. There was a vibrancy to him he'd lacked even that morning. Even his cheeks seemed perfectly rosy in complexion. Gods damned it, who had he eaten?

Muttering to herself, she trotted over. As soon as Qzi spotted her, he broke out in a bright grin, dropped to his knees, and pulled off his cap. The red of his hat was a particularly rich hue that drew Squirt's eye to his suspiciously naked chest. The night wasn't that warm. Her eyes remained on his visible skin for a fraction of a second longer than she would ever admit because no, she was not considering the gods damned redcap —"Will you help guard them?" Qzi beamed.

"His lordship said that any order of yours was something I could follow." Stunned silence. If… if that meant what she thought it meant… That meant this would even follow under his official duties. Squirt breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Then I order you to guard the ones who remain behind during the day." Qzi blinked repeatedly, then scanned around. His usual slightly manic expression was exchanged for a more calculating one as he slowly nodded.

"Your gang just got a lot bigger, huh?"

"Temporarily, anyway." Zhadin melted out of the redcap's shadow into their fey form before dropping into their own, entirely too visible kneel.

"Do you have orders for me?" Squirt stared at them. There was no way Lord Everwinter granted her that kind of power. They tilted their head, slowly widening their smile and eyes in equal measure. Surely the lord wasn't that reckless. Their smile eased slightly. It hit Squirt. Lord Everwinter wouldn't have released them from any orders yet. Technically, they were still under the same orders as they were when traveling. And Zhadin intended to use that ruling indefinitely.

Knowing the lord, he wasn't likely to rescind the order anytime soon. Incredulous, she whispered, "Your stalking has bargain weight?" Their grin widened again.

"I ensured it." Shaking her head, she shooed them away.

"Right now, you're a distraction." An appreciated one, but a distraction all the same.

"Go and guard the courtyard and stable."

"Qzi will guard the courtyard. I will guard you." Squirt opened her mouth to argue before thinking better of it.

"Fine." Turning on her heel, she returned to the cart she had commandeered to interview the groups and memorize everyone's skills. Lady Cirn had remained stalwartly in place, though she had turned slightly towards the entrance, clearly clocking the redcap and keeping him in her sight. But she did not turn all the way towards the door. Squirt's eyes flickered calculatingly. Jul was conveniently in her field of vision from this angle.

Shaking her head, Squirt reminded herself once again that it was none of her gods damned business. Climbing back into the wagon, she gestured towards Berry and told Cirn blandly, "You'll take that one on as a servant. Bring her to the mid-morning training and keep her safe. Otherwise, just let her be your servant and ignore her in public. That's how you can help." Cirn relaxed minutely, clearly glad to have orders to follow.

"Understood." With one less problem to deal with, Squirt turned back to the group she'd been in the middle of interviewing.

"Who here knows how to fletch arrows?"