Chapter Seventeen - Admirer

2 Seleszeni 10.076 Z.C., Evening

Lilla trudged to the initiate barracks, weary head sagging, watching her dusty boots. If an instructing sergeant caught her walking like this, she’d be doing squats and pushups until reveille. But right now she didn't care.

Knowing Mav left on a secret mission for the Izzet made her long and uneventful patrol even more miserable. She provided valuable intel to Mav, Rafiel, and Bron when they stopped by Sunhome earlier, asking about directions to the usual Slizt Clan haunts, and she regretted helping them all day. I should have stalled and told them tomorrow instead, then I could’ve switched patrols with Nadine and gone too.

Still sulking when she arrived in the barracks, Lilla dumped her heavy Legion field pack in her locker. Her feet hurt, and her legs ached from weeks of penalty squats. Couldn’t the sergeants just dock them points or something? Her shoulders were sore too, from carrying the squad’s extra equipment all day. The patrol leader claimed her scrawny arms needed more meat, but she knew they just didn't want to carry the gear themselves. And her eyes, wilted after days of insufficient sleep, now felt dried into raisins after a long scouring by clouds of street dust.

Ugh, curse you Rugilar, you cow. Making me join the Legion... she thought with burning resentment, glancing around the barracks. Most initiates used any spare time in the evening to rest and relax, but some worked out even more. She imagined Mav doing one-handed push-ups with a cheering Splatz on his back when he returned from his stupid secret mission, and rolled her eyes. Blockheads, all of them. How did he even find time to get away, between all the training and his precious scout work?

Another initiate, sprawled on their bed nearby, wrote a letter, presumably to friends or family. With a pang, Lilla recalled the hazy memories of her dead parents, before they were crushed in that fateful Gruul raid. Boulder Tooth’s maniacal laughter echoed in her mind as she pushed away the vision of her mother’s crumpled body. She focused on the letter in the initiate’s hands, shaking herself back into the present.

The letter reminded her, she needed to check for any messages. Of course she expected to receive a secret missive from Boulder Tooth, but she hoped Vlodim might write too. She last saw the kind old centaur who raised her as an orphan just before she left to join the Legion, and let herself dream of him showing up to her graduation, or at least writing her a congratulatory letter. She scowled as she turned on her heel, marching out of the barracks.

Navigating this now-familiar corner of Sunhome, Lilla strode through the granite halls with more determination, saluting passing officers as necessary. She found several older human women working in the mailroom, organizing messages and filing reports, she assumed. One smiled when she saw Lilla stride into the otherwise-deserted area.

"Good evening, initiate," she chirped, "how can we help you?"

Lilla leaned against the large counter, still tired.

"Any messages for me? I'm Lilla Arven."

The woman beamed as her coworker looked up from a stack of paperwork. She shook her head a bit, but smiled in a way the young vedalken couldn’t quite interpret.

"You're Lilla Arven? Well, I can see why he was so taken with you, your hair is beautiful," the first woman remarked, both of them studying Lilla like street gawkers. Self-conscious under the unexpected scrutiny, Lilla toyed with the end of her long white braid, brushing out grit and oil from a long day’s patrol. She didn't feel beautiful, but she didn't detect any lies or ill-intent from the women either. She waited for them to go on.

"You do have a message. In fact..." the woman leaned forward over the counter, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, "you have an admirer."

The other woman winked at Lilla as she retrieved a large, beautiful arrangement of blue flowers from a shelf hidden under the counter. Lilla's eyes widened. Bouquets of Selesnyan lilies like these would cost her a week’s pay, once she became a soldier anyways.

"He's so dreamy too, you're a lucky woman!"

"And he's an officer!” the other one offered, breaking her silence. “Handsome, soft-spoken - it's not everyday you meet an officer and a gentleman."

"And look at these flowers, he clearly has good taste and stability. And easy on the eyes? Oh what I wouldn't give to be a few years younger, I might try and steal him from you!" she tittered with a wink.

Is she joking? Lilla remembered what Nadine said about staying away from Mav. So stupid, why fight over one of those smelly blockheads? She’d sooner snuggle a boar.

As the office-hens clucked on with each other, Lilla examined the lilies. She couldn’t find a note. Maybe it fell off?

"Did this handsome officer leave a card or anything?" she interrupted. She liked the attention, but not feeling like the subject of this pair’s inside joke.

"Oh, of course! How silly of me," the second woman exclaimed, retrieving a couple of cards from a shelf behind her. She turned back to Lilla and handed her the top card. The two women watched Lilla expectantly as she took the card and examined the envelope. High-quality paper, addressed to her with neat handwriting.

Unable to ignore the peer pressure and wistful looks her seniors gave the card, she opened it right there. The card was plain folded paper, but the same high-quality stationary as the envelope. She read the short message inside to herself.

Lilla,

You may not remember me. We only met once, but I’ve thought about you ever since. I even see your face in my dreams. When I saw you in this morning’s Beacon, I knew the angels delivered me a chance to find you. I would enjoy meeting again, perhaps over dinner?

Sincerely,

Ouain Airicson

Sergeant Second Class

Lilla frowned. O-what? I don’t remember anyone named Ouain. She glanced up from the card to find the women watching her like hungry dogs. She waited, savoring the sense of power she derived from their bated breath.

“Well?” one of them finally asked. Lilla smiled.

“He said he fell in love at first sight, and wants to meet for dinner.”

They erupted into vicarious sighs. Lilla eyed the other envelope in the woman’s hand.

“What’s that?” Lilla accused.

“Oh, here,” she mumbled, holding the card out for Lilla who snatched and sized it up. Sealed with an ornate Azorius signet ring, the quality of the paper surpassed even Ouain’s note. Slitting it open, Lilla withdrew a fancy invitation letter, addressed from Senator Orric’s office. It informed her of a celebration on 5 Seleszeni, to celebrate her and the other heroes who saved the senator’s life during the Guildpact Day Parade.

“What’s in that one?” the woman asked, and Lilla teased with a nonchalant shrug.

“Just an invitation to a party in my honor. I saved a senator’s life during the parade, you know. Took down some Rakdos, suffered a grievous injury. The medics say the blow would have killed a lesser soldier ... but it’s not worth celebrating, I’m just proud to serve,” she humble-bragged.

Listening to Nadine spout off provided Lilla with all the pro-Legion rhetoric she needed to blend in, and it still surprised her how much these chumps ate the stuff up. Sure enough, the women’s eyes widened, impressed by her modest valor. Satisfied, Lilla scooped up her cards and flowers, walking back to the barracks.

This Ouain character seemed suspicious - she didn’t know where they met or what he wanted. Probably up to no good, and cryptic to boot. She didn’t plan on responding to him without more information about his intentions. I have secrets to keep, after all.

As for the hero party, she liked the sound of that. The invitation indicated she needed to respond to the senator as soon as possible to confirm her attendance, and she could bring a guest. Eyeing the voluptuous bouquet of flowers in her arms, Lilla decided to give them to Nadine and ask her to come along to the party. She didn’t know anyone in the city she would rather take, and a hero could not arrive alone.

5 Seleszeni 10.076 Z.C., Morning

“Lilla, have I told you you’re like the best friend ever?” Nadine repeated for at least the tenth time. “Let’s hurry up and get to my place so we can get ready! I’m so excited for this party.”

Lilla considered the rising sun and shook her head. They requested the day off so they could attend the party, and their sergeant approved the request. But she needed to run some other errands first. She glanced over at Nadine, and rolled her eyes at her friend’s sulking pout.

“The party doesn’t start until 1500 hours, we have plenty of time to get ready. I need to take care of some things first. Meet you at your house at 1000?”

Nadine agreed, and they parted ways. Lilla returned to the barracks, to be sure Nadine wouldn’t follow her. Then she left Sunhome, slipping out the east entrance. Turning off the main road, she employed every tactic she knew to spot and lose a tail: first circling through unfamiliar streets, drawing up her hood and disguising herself every few blocks, and doubling-back on her route after passing the pre-arranged meeting place early.

Before long, she spotted her goblin contact, a young female anarch named Foot. Boulder Tooth’s distant cousin, the clan leader trusted her as an informant and runner. From what Lilla knew, Foot lived in the city for years. She didn’t even look Gruul. Lilla couldn’t see any tattoos on her leathery green skin, and her pointed ears remained unpierced.

Lilla brushed past the goblin, who sat on a bench in a crowded courtyard. She let the report she prepared earlier slip from her fingers, fluttering out of her cloak to the ground. Foot saw it, and jumped down to grab the paper before the wind could whisk it away.

“Hey, lady,” Foot called out for the benefit of any onlookers. Lilla ignored her, and walked on. Behind her, Foot shrugged and tucked the report into a pocket, scampering away in the opposite direction.

Lilla smiled as the thrill of the intrigue flooded her system. All too easy. Soon, Boulder Tooth and Rugilar would hear about her successful initiation into the Legion, including her saving Senator Orric’s life. Betrayal would taste even sweeter, knowing they suspected nothing as she fed them small Boros secrets.

Winding through side streets, up and down between different levels of the city, she dismissed her illusory appearance and headed to Precinct Six to meet Nadine.

Lilla found Stoutheart Forge with no difficulties, located just off Tin Street, tucked into a row of similar family forges. A bulky, middle-aged human working with a hammer and anvil glanced up when she stopped in front of the shop, wiping sweat from his forehead. Ignoring the pungent stink of the forge district, Lilla smiled and waved. Nadine’s father, from whom she inherited her nose, motioned around the side of the shop with his hammer.

“You Lilla? Kids are inside; around the corner, up the stairs,” he grumbled before turning back to his work. Lilla thanked him and walked around the side of the shop, finding and climbing the stairs. She rapped on the door, and heard numerous voices clamoring inside the dwelling.

In no time at all Nadine opened the door. The house bubbled with unfettered energy, packed with her family members’ brown curls and spirited eyes. An embarrassed Nadine ushered Lilla through the apartment into a small room.

“I have a big family, like goblin-sized,” Nadine apologized. Lilla took in the small bedroom. It looked like an Izzet chaos-bomb had gone off; clothes and shoes scattered across every surface. She counted two bunk beds, for a probable total of four girls. No wonder Nadine felt comfortable in the barracks - she had more room there!

Looking back, Lilla saw Nadine already opened the closet and now ogled Lilla’s figure. She felt very vulnerable all of a sudden, and counted breaths to keep from blushing.

“I don’t think my shoes will fit you, so you’ll need to stick with your boots. Otherwise we’re about the same size I think.”

Lilla watched Nadine rummage through a collection of red and black lace dresses in her closet.

“Rakdos fan?” she jabbed with a smile, and Nadine huffed.

“It’s not my fault I look good in red and black,” she defended without looking back. She paused before digging through a pile of discarded clothes on the floor, then seethed with a venomous sigh. Leaping up, she bolted to the door and threw it open, before screaming, “Sofia, you little cockroach! What did you do with that silver slip from Angelica’s?”

“I didn’t touch it!” came an unconvincing shout from outside. “Where did my diamond studs go? I haven’t seen those since you left home!” No different than the clan, Lilla thought to herself. She wondered if arguments here also devolved into bloodsport.

“That’s enough!” came a mature, self-assured roar. Lilla knew a mom when she heard one. “Your father and I paid for all that stuff, and we’ll pitch it in the forge if you keep fighting over it!”

“Ughhh!” Nadine groused, slamming the door with angry force. Calm again, as if nothing happened, she waded through the mess back to the closet and pulled out several dresses, layering them over other clothes already on the bed.

“I think those will suit you best, pick one!”

Lilla looked at the dresses with growing discomfort. The short hems revealed more skin than she liked to - her Gruul tattoo would be no secret to the other partygoers. She held up an unadorned black dress with the longest skirt and looked in the mirror. Nadine peered over her shoulder and nodded with confidence.

“Perfect, you’re all set! Now, which of these do you think Mav will like best?” she asked, holding up a pair of dresses. Without pause Lilla pointed to the more modest option and Nadine’s eyes narrowed.

“Interesting,” Nadine muttered, considering something.

Lilla shrugged. She didn’t plan to tell Nadine about Mav turning down the invitation to tonight’s party. If Nadine found out too soon, she’d refuse to go unless Lilla talked Mav into going; based on Mav’s expression when she mentioned the party, he wouldn’t budge. Nadine would be mad when she found out later, but Lilla would find a way to distract her.

She and Nadine changed, and Nadine unpiled clothes from a small chair near the mirror, gesturing like an instructing sergeant for Lilla to sit. She did so, and Nadine unbraided her hair, testing different hairstyles. Zoning out, Lilla scanned the posters, clippings and holos covering the walls, most featuring cute boys and a few with emaciated girls sporting painted faces and exquisite outfits.

Lilla stifled a gag, then spotted a familiar face. An old Boros recruitment poster hanging over the messiest bed featured a picture of Mav, standing proud in a sharp officer’s uniform. His hair looked funny, with an odd texture. Batting Nadine’s hands away from her head, she stood up and squinted. Someone painted a new hairstyle over the original picture.

She cleared her throat and shot Nadine a curious glance. Nadine, who turned bright red, said nothing. Lilla waited, knowing her friend would crack under the weight of silence. Finally, Nadine cleared her throat.

“D-Doesn’t he look just like his father?” she stuttered, still embarrassed.

Lilla looked back at the poster, noticing the blocky, flaming text underneath Viktorr’s torso: THE FIREBIRD. This version of Mav did appear a little older. Otherwise their resemblance was uncanny. They could be clones.

“What kind of hairstyle do you think will look good?” Lilla asked, impelled to change the subject.

“I was thinking we could pin it up like this,” Nadine demonstrated, “and keep a few of these long strands out and curl them. I have some diamond pins that will look great, and earrings to match. They’re not real of course, but they sparkle.”

Lilla smiled. “Sounds great.”