Enmity of Atlas

“C’mon! I just sat down!” Jarce cried, slamming down his drink and stomping over to their little group, his buddies jeering behind him. Trenton walked forward to meet the dirty dwarf, separating himself from the rest of the group to ensure Jarce didn’t get the chance to yell at Kiva or Garrote, both of whom were in an emotionally vulnerable state at the moment.

Luckily, Garrote and Kiva stayed put where they were, Karfice stepping forward with Trenton to try and get himself to a bed as soon as feasibly possible. His help really wouldn’t be necessary, but he was at least stable enough to talk, unlike the others. The dwarf stopped in front of them, looking both of them from head to toe, his expression softening to somewhere between awe and weariness. “So, yer’ the kids who’re gonna brave the mines with us?”

“Are you going down as well?” Karfice asked.

“Sure am. Me and my crew are all going with you lot and Andree. So I’m curious what yer’ made of. If we’re going to be putting our lives in yer’ hands, I’d like to know we’re well protected,” Jarce said, leaning around them to look at Garrote smoldering behind them. “Not comfortable to see how many limbs yer’ missing between the lot of yah. You’ve only got so many to lose before you can’t fight.”

“Call it an off day. We’ll be back down to only two cripples tomorrow,” Karfice said, nodding at Trenton and holding up his fingers to signify how impressive the number was.

“That right? You got a healer for that?” Jarce said, grimacing at Trenton’s fleshy mess of a left arm.

“Even better. It just grows back, right as rain no matter how severe the injury after just a short rest,” Karfice said, elbowing Trenton lightly in the side. What was he doing? Karfice wasn’t the type to try to come off as so…jovial. Typically it was 50/50 whether he was even paying attention to the conversation at hand, much less holding one of his own.

“That right?” Jarce asked, eyebrows raised.

“If you’d believe it,” Trenton said.

“And what about you?” Jarse asked, looking at Karfice.

“Oh no, this doesn’t come back. He’s only a temporary cripple, I’m a permanent one,” Karfice said, pointing at the empty space where his left arm should be.

Jarse chuckled, most of the hostility in his expression gone, “Well, just as long as you lads can fight. C’mon, I’ll show yeh’ to yer’ tent,” Jarse said, waving his hands in the air and trudging off further into the camp.

They followed closely behind him, pushing their way through thinning thickets of dwarves, Jarse checking tents as he passed them to find an empty one. But between the mix of soldiers, miners, and miscellaneous workers that happened to be stationed at this campsite, it was pretty packed, so it wasn’t easy making their way through the thin aisles between the tents, let alone actually finding a free one. But after a little while of searching, Jarse called out to them, “Here we go! This one’ll do!”

Trenton shouldered his way through the flap of the open tent, entering into the dark little space, Jarse staying just long enough for everyone to get through before trudging back off to his rounds of drinking. It was big enough for all of them, but not with a lot of free space. They’d have to organize themselves if they were to keep from kicking eachother in the middle of the night. As everyone settled onto the thin fabric covering the ground of the tent, Trenton layed Leo down on a spare bedroll he had, taking care to ensure his comfort before pulling out a couple lights. It wasn’t much, but it was the least he could do with the detour they were now taking. Hopefully Evai could find Wimbleton soon. He was worried that…no, best not to think such things. Stay positive, stay focused. That’s all he could do.

To his side, Karfice flopped onto the ground, not even bothering to pull out a bedroll for himself; Garrote paced around in a small circle, muttering mad ramblings to himself, probably something about his family; and Kiva simply kneeled to the ground, arms hugged tight around herself, little streams of tears falling down her cheeks. Trenton really had left her in the dark the night prior, and he’d meant to make it up to her today, but his morning visitors forced him to make a sudden change of plans. It wasn’t an excuse, and it wasn’t fair to her, but that meant he’d have to work twice as hard now if he wanted to try and bridge the chasm he’d dug.

Garrote glanced up at Kiva, his wrath subsiding to pity for just a moment, “I think I’m going to go take a walk. I’ll be back in a little bit,” Garrote said, staring down Karfice.

“You have fun with that,” Karfice said without looking, slipping both hands behind his head and letting out a big yawn.

“...and I feel scared going alone. C’mon, we’re walking,” Garrote said as he grabbed the hem of Karfice’s many fabrics, dragging him forcefully out of the tent.

“No! Let me sleep! I’m tired!” Karfice struggled against Garrote’s iron grasp, the flap of the tent shutting behind him. That was one way to give them peace.

Trenton walked over to Kiva, wrapping her in his warm embrace and stroking her hair as she began to laugh. It was an odd sound, a stunted, staggered burst of air mixed with the depths of her sorrow, “Could they be any more obvious?” She said, a fresh wave of tears wetting the fabric covering Trenton’s right shoulder.

“No, probably not,” Trenton said, his voice soft. “I’m sorry, Kiva. I had a lot on my mind last night, but I’m here now. And I’m not going anywhere.”

For a second, she seemed alright, but then the dam broke and she started sobbing uncontrollably. She had held herself together this long, but slowly, ever so slowly, she had been breaking down, piece by piece like a great wall fading away over centuries. And now, with no one left, just Trenton giving her his comfort, his mind, she couldn’t hold it any longer, “Y-y-you left, and I d-din’t know what to do. I-I was so scared. I didn’t kn-know what I did wrong.”

“Shhhh, it’s alright. You didn’t do anything wrong. It wasn’t your fault,” Trenton whispered into her ear, doing everything he could to soothe her.

Trenton held her there, talking in a low voice and rocking her gently for however long she needed. After a little while, Kiva pulled away herself, wiping the tears from her eyes and looking at him, “You were trying to say something last night. What was it?”

“I know what I’d meant to say, but it’s not something I can really talk about yet…not until I have the full picture. That’s part of the reason I left so quickly. I couldn’t risk saying any more. The day Aria fell…I…know a bit of what happened. What really happened…but until I know the full story, I can’t say any more. I was a fool to bring it up at all.”

Kiva grabbed Trenton’s face, cupping his cheeks in her hand, “No, you’re not. I want to know. This isn’t a burden you have to carry alone. Whatever it is, I’ll accept it.”

“Thank you, but I can’t. Not yet. I have a feeling if I can get to Era, I’ll have a better idea of…me…us. I’m sorry. I know it’s not the answer you want to hear. But it’s all I can give you, for your own sake,” Trenton said, looking at the ground and shaking his head.

“What do we need him for? I’ve got two eyes right here, and I know a boy in pain when I see one. You’re so tense all the time, like you’re never willing to drop your guard. Trenton, you’re driving yourself to an early grave. You can’t live like this.”

“Maybe, but an early grave is still much later than the alternative. I’ll manage…I always do.”

“You’re not listening to me. Managing isn’t good enough. You’re fighting so hard for what, to lose even more tomorrow? Trenton, if you’re not happy today, then when will you be? When it’s all over? When do you think that’s going to be? Tomorrow? A couple years from now? A couple decades from now? Is that really how you want to live?”

“If it means that you’re all able to be happy, then yes. One for the many. Makes sense to me.”

Kiva sighed, shaking her head, “Fine, if you won’t listen then I’ll just force you to be happy, take you out on a vacation or something one of these days.”

Trenton laughed, a hearty sound which filled the tent, “Sure, just make sure you let the Bloody which days you want off. I’m sure he’ll make time.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Kiva smiled, lightly smacking him across the head.

They continued to chat well into the night, Garrote and Karfice coming back a half hour or so later, both exhausted. They tried to join in on the conversation, but they quickly dozed off, the day’s events finally catching up to them. Trenton turned off the lights he’d pulled out, trying to be mindful of his weary companions.

In time, he and Kiva drifted off to sleep as well, lying together in a tight embrace, not daring to part for even a moment, even as their minds drifted far, far away into the ethereal world. All that was left behind was innate will, actions and emotions stored deep within the recesses of their brains.

Sometime in the night, unbeknownst to the both of them, Trenton’s arm regrew, slowly taking its shape once again just as it had in the past. This time, however, spurred on by Trenton’s unconscious desire to comfort her, as his arm took shape, it slowly wrapped itself around Kiva, completing his loving embrace without either of them ever even knowing.