The Elementalist

11. Elementalism, Archery, & Friendship-2

Or so she believed.

Voi looked down with a grimace as she strapped her bracer onto her forearm. “I hated those dresses, you know. Always getting caught on the trees I climbed.”

Secily sighed. “I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand you, Voi, though I suppose that’s true about me and all flimsy fliers.”

“Aeroplane pilots.”

Secily ignored her. “My brother has been asking about flimsies recently, you know, and he’s damn near forty—as if serving aboard a naval destroyer wasn’t terrifying enough.” She pouted.

“Well, I don’t see why he couldn’t start now—piloting, that is.”

Secily gave Voi an incredulous look then lifted her longbow, her quiver and arrows strapped around her waist. “Don’t encourage him, zela. I need to keep my brother in one piece. He’s all I’ve got left of Mej Rahada these days.” She grabbed an arrow from her quiver, nocked it, took in a sharp breath then flexed her bow. “He and his miserable shrew of a—” She released the arrow with a sharp hiss. “Wife.”

How does she always stay so close to the bullseye? Voi wondered. Secily was a very consistent archer, which Voi admired. Voi’s shots tended to hit with wildly unpredictable degrees of success. She’d never felt quite ‘in tune’ with her shots.

Secily lowered her bow. “Why he married a blue-nosed Windi, of all the miserable creatures in the world, I’ll never work out. Mother would have never approved of the marriage.” Her voice grew high-pitched as she mocked, “‘Women were designed to be helpmeets to their men, Sesilenah,’ she always used to say, ‘nahallah and demure,’ but his wife is completely ne’nahallah; there isn’t a modest bone in her body!

“She’s always wearing things she can’t afford, and she’s constantly badmouthing my brother while he’s away. All she ever does is complain about how Kahlil is never home or how he drinks too much when he is home, somehow still managing to bear her unbearable presence. That or she’s whining about the house being a mess before he decides to disappear again because of her nagging—or some other circular housewife grievance.”

Voi hid her amusement, tilting her head down to nock an arrow. My, how her Windi has improved over the years. It always fascinated Voi that such a frank, outspoken woman decided to become a foreign service officer. On a whim, she wondered how Secily and Ms. Furlan would fare in a conversation together, and the thought made her smile.

Secily didn’t notice. “She chose to marry my brother—she insisted—so I think she needs to just shut up and deal with him. Kahlil is but a man, and men do these things. They aren’t domesticated cats, for Zohl’s sake, though even I’ll admit it might make all our lives easier if they were. I’m nearly driven to drink myself just listening to his complaining about her complaining. Neh! Too much complaining!”

Voi shrugged. “All the more reason to encourage him, I’d say.” She joined Secily, raising her bow to draw and anchor. She took her time aiming, focusing her mental energy on the center of the target. “After all, what proper lady fixing to have a family involves herself with a flimsy pilot?” she asked, a hint of mischief in her tone.

Satisfied, she released her arrow.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but Voi immediately felt something akin to a ribbon of air leave her fingertips. The arrow struck the target with a satisfying thunk. She and Secily peered ahead, surprised by what looked to be an exemplary shot—considering Voi’s typically mediocre performance.

Secily raised an eyebrow. “None… that I know of,” she answered belatedly. She walked over to the target board, then looked back at Voi, yelling, “A fluke, surely!”

Voi came over to examine the results; she couldn’t have centered the shot more perfectly. “Well, now!”

Secily grinned. “I dare you to do it again.”

“Alright, I’ll give it a shot.” Voi wrinkled her nose. “Pun intended.”

Secily rolled her eyes.

They retrieved their arrows then went back to their shooting positions. Voi expected Secily to take the first shot, but she nodded for Voi to go first. Nervous, Voi raised her bow and arrow then took a deep, steady breath, focusing just as intently as she had before—perhaps more so, for fear of failing Secily’s challenge. Finally, she released.

Again, she felt the small rush of air leave her fingertips, the wind guiding her shot.

Secily stared at the second bullseye with her mouth open then swung her head around, yelling, “Do it again!”

And so she did. Three times in a row.

Secily marched back to Voi with the arrows she’d plucked from the target board, her eyes narrowing. “Seriously, zela, what have you done with the old Voi?” Before Voi could come up with an answer, Secily frowned, her gaze fixing onto something beyond.

“What?” Voi turned.

“That woman has been watching us ever since you arrived.”

Voi spotted a woman sitting on a bench some distance away. She was smoking from a long cigarette holder and wore circular, red-tinted glasses, her hair tied up with a scarf. Why couldn’t I sense her staring at me? Voi internally cursed herself, turning back to Secily.

“Oh,” said Voi, lackluster. “Her.”

“You know that woman?”

“She looks… familiar.” Voi glanced back warily; the onlooker smiled. “I’ll go see what she wants. Hold these for me, will you?” Voi handed her gear to Secily, who took the items without question, more curious than suspicious.

Voi set off for the observer, who sat with her legs crossed, one leg bouncing as she puffed away in apparent bliss. She exhaled a sweet smoke into the air as Voi paused a few steps in front of the bench, folding her arms. “How come I couldn’t sense you watching me?”

Milia carefully lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head. “Because you’re a novice, that’s why. A green sprig. A smoothie, if you will.” She eyed Voi’s leather coat, which was definitely not smooth-skinned but rather properly wrinkled and weathered by hundreds of hours of flying experience.

“A fledgling. Little. Novice.”

Voi shook her head. “How did you even know to come here?”

“Laura told me. I figured I’d stop by to see how you were recuperating.” Milia leaned around Voi to glance at the practice scene. “Apparently, you’re doing well—very well.”

Voi looked back at Secily, who was watching them with her arms folded and her head tilted to the side, foot tapping impatiently.

“An old friend?” Milia asked coolly.

“You never told me that you’d be barging into my life like this,” said Voi, “making unwelcome appearances whenever you choose.”

“I’m sorry,” said Milia with mock offense. “I wasn’t aware that I was intruding.”

“Oh, please. That’s exactly what you’re doing now: intruding.”

“So it is. And just what are you going to do about it, hmm?”

Voi squeezed her hands into fists at her sides.

Milia motioned casually to their target practice setup with her cigarette holder. “Are you normally that spot-on when shooting?”

Voi dropped her defensive stance, regaining some composure with a huff. “You know, I thought that after my little display in the barn the other day, you might do some recuperating yourself. Mr. Callahan suggested you were a little… shaken by the experience, if I recall.”

The diplomat gave a low, bitter chuckle. “Don’t be ridiculous, Voi. You barely put a scratch on me.” She took a defiant drag on her cigarette.

Voi glared at her, causing the woman to stop smoking. “What do you want?”

“Don’t play the dimwit with me. It didn’t work on Callahan, and it won’t work on me. You know what I want, Voi: I want to get back to your training.”

“Give me more time.”

“Time for what? There’s an enemy lurking just beyond the border of Borellia, plotting Maker knows what, while you piddle around as if—” Milia shook her head, incredulous. “Forget it. I knew I’d be wasting my time on you.” She drew desperately on her cigarette, inhaling the smoke with a shudder then letting it out again. She looked up. “Why are you still standing here?”

Voi frowned.

Milia waved her off. “Go on! Go back to your pathetic life as an emelesiac. Clearly, you’re not cut out to be an elementalist.” She looked into the distant reaches of the park. “I should have known.” Under her breath, she added, “Callahan should have known.”

Oh, this is absurd. Voi glanced back at Secily, who was sitting on the grass picking at the yellow blades from sheer boredom. “Must we do this now?”

“No, after the next war breaks out!”

Voi drew back.

Oblivious, Milia plucked the remainder of her cigarette from its holder then flung the butt to the ground, grinding it with the toe of her pump before standing. “Clearly, you don’t fully understand the circumstances as they are, so allow me to lay them out for you.

“We have little more than ten weeks before Emperor Fyupei and every notable world leader gather at the Du Mon Centre for International Affairs to accept Darmoil back into the League. We know there’s a likelihood that Haran operatives could be hiding in the Fambrachs, and we know how they feel about Darmoil rejoining the League; they despise it, so the sooner we can gather intelligence on that region, the sooner the council can gather whether the induction ceremony is at risk of a security breach—granting us time to take preemptive measures, should a clear and imminent threat present itself.”

“What evidence do you have of this?” asked Voi.

“Evidence?”

Voi nodded.

The diplomat glowered, pointing to herself. “I risked my life to give a known Haran affiliate a second chance, only to have him mysteriously overcome the effects of urche from a prison cell then turn against me, threatening to crush anyone who opposed them. Furthermore, the Darmoilen government has shared intelligence which could potentially link Haran terrorism to suspicious activity near a defunct mine bordering Borellia. That is my evidence.”

“And how did Darmoil come upon this information?”

“An anonymous tip.”

It took Voi a moment to formulate a response. “I see.” Still, she felt there was more to the story and would have liked something more concrete, though she decided not to press for more information… yet.

Milia gave Voi a stern once-over. “Troy will be waiting for you when you return to your senses.” With that, she lowered her sunglasses, marched to a waiting vehicle across the street, then took off.

Damn tyrant, thought Voi. She stalked back over to Secily, who ran to meet her halfway.

“Who was that?”

“A social worker.” Voi felt this wasn’t too far from the truth; diplomats worked towards the betterment of society, after all. “She’s upset because I haven’t been taking my medication like I’m supposed to. She thinks I’m avoiding my doctor.”

They walked back to the oak tree.

“Well,” Secily began after a brief silence, “are you avoiding your doctor, Voi?”

Although Secily knew of Voi’s condition, they’d never really had a reason to discuss it much before. Secily was under the impression that Voi kept her condition under control, and that had been enough. It had never seemed to bother her friend until now.

As if she knew what those pills were really for.

Voi waited until they reached the tree before responding. “You don’t know what it’s like, always having someone breathing down your neck to make sure you don’t transform into a psychotic basket case. It’s… it’s—” She gesticulated wildly. “It’s infuriating, is what it is!”

Secily took a step back. “You don’t say.”

“Sorry.” Voi hung her head. “I shouldn’t be taking out my frustration on you.”

Secily flourished her arms. “Shout away; I’m but an innocent bystander!”

“Honestly, I don’t need your sarcasm right now.” She gathered her gear and belongings.

“Sorry.” Secily trailed from behind. “Look, maybe you should go see your doctor, Voi. Forgive my honesty, but you’ve been acting rather strangely lately—and for no reason that I can make out, anyway.” She shrugged, spreading her hands. “I mean, bed rest? When was the last time you were ill? You are quite possibly the healthiest person I’ve ever known!”

Voi paused in cinching her knapsack shut, looking up at Secily. Then she rose to her feet, shouldering her quiver and arrows. “How could I possibly expect you to understand?”

Secily’s eyes enlarged. “What’s that supposed to mean?” she called as Voi hopped onto her bike and started the ignition.

“Never mind. See you around.” Voi revved the engine then took off for the street and headed home. Realizing she would never truly be understood by non-emelesiacs, let alone her friends, Voi decided it was time she got back to business.