The Fell War - Chapter 11 (Patreon)

She brought down her tray of empty plates not long after, having sent off the letter with a messenger bird the moment she’d finished it. She found Abital and Canus sitting awake in the lounge, despite the late hour having chased the others off to bed. Upon seeing them, a question came to mind.

“Is it really alright for the two of you to be interfering so much in the world?” she asked, setting her dishes in the sink to wash later. “You’ve not given any indication that you aren’t going to be fighting with us. And Canus has already done so much by letting the players hide in one of his dungeons. Is it really okay?”

Abital gazed into the fire contemplatively. When he spoke, it was soft, but purposeful. “Even if Orli and Koseret were against it, there is little they could do. There is no one god that is more powerful than the others. While Orli sees herself as a leader, we do not bow to her demands nor her whims. Even if she asked, we could easily ignore her. We were created opposites, and equals. Death and Life. The Wilds and the Wonderlanders. There is no one to tell us that we cannot, so we will.”

“I doubt Koseret would try to stop us anyway,” Canus mused. “She weeps for you Fell just as much as she weeps for the Wonderlanders. The destruction of Heart hurt her, snowbird. She has not stopped weeping since the first wall crumbled against the Granato army. If she knew you, she would fight alongside you as well.”

“Would Orli try?” she asked, settling on the couch beside Abital, curling tiredly into his side. Finger combed through her hair in long, soothing strokes.

“Perhaps,” Abital admitted as he played with her hair. “She prefers not to take sides in conflicts between Fell and Wonderlanders. She worries it would cut into her number of worshipers.”

“I thought only the Wonderlanders worshiped you,” Alfre admitted.

Abital shrugged. “Some of your clerics do as well, it is how they get their power. Otherwise, I’m sure Orli would side with the Wonderlanders each time.”

“If she tried to stop us,” Alfre said slowly, “could we defeat her?”

“You Fell are stronger than you realize,” Canus said. “I’m sure if you all turned on her, she would fall easily. But you won’t have to. If she tries anything, gloomy and I will do something about it.”

Alfre smiled, feeling herself grow sleepy with each pass of Abital’s fingers through her hair. “You two are too kind to me.”

“I have heard it is customary to be kind to those you love,” Abital said, surprisingly candid.

“Oh, so Spica was right,” Alfre murmured.

“About what?” Canus asked, morphing into wolf form and jumping onto the couch to lie across the sleepy girl’s lap.

Alfre blinked slowly, only barely keeping her eyes open. “She said you loved me. Both of you, and Wally, too.”

There was a pregnant pause before Canus spoke up again. “Aye, she’s not wrong.”

“And what do you think of that, Alfre?” Abital asked cautiously.

“Idunno,” she admitted. “But, I think I might love you, too.”

Canus lifted his head, his words hopefully when he spoke. “Love who, snowbird?”

“All of you,” Alfre whispered. “Is that bad?”

Canus and Abital exchanged looks over her. Canus grinned a wolfish grin, letting out a soft bark of a laugh. “Nah, I don’t think so, snowbird.”

“I think I would be happy to receive any affection from you,” Abital confessed quietly. “Even if it meant sharing you.”

“Mmm, good,” Alfre hummed. “I’d hate to lose any of you.”

Canus chuckled once more, laying his head back down in Alfre’s laugh. “Just go to sleep, snowbird. And hope you remember this in the morning.”