Grimoires and Gunsmoke

Coleman couldn’t help but heave a frustrated sigh as he watched the half of his team that made it into town literally inhale their morning meal as if it were their last. The simple yet hearty spread of Eggs, porridge, and assorted meats seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye as the entry half of the team lounged in Elijah’s and Bennett’s room.

Rifles, helmets, water bottles, and other equipment were scattered around the room while enjoying a brief reprieve moment. However, Coleman’s mood was much more sour as he glanced around the room, watching everyone laugh and eat.

Here they were, bunched up in one location in an establishment with an owner who he didn’t trust. The only thing stopping this ‘Tavern’s’ Madam from turning on them was a bit of money and her good word.

“This is getting out of control…” Coleman muttered as he glanced at Elijah, sitting by the fireplace with his fairy. The little demon gingerly and meticulously rolled her massive egg in the fire while flames licked her body as if they didn’t matter.

Another sigh left Coleman’s mouth as he glared at his medic. He wanted to rip into Elijah and tear him a new one for just wandering about without telling anyone, but Coleman’s hands were tied in the matter.

On the one hand, the results this borderline renegade was bringing in were impossible to ignore. His ability to blend in and subvert whatever environment he was in was unparalleled and was a skill that any alphabet agency spook would go to war to obtain. But on the other hand… Keeping this monster on a leash proved harder and harder with each consecutive success.

Elijah was getting bolder, and Coleman’s ability to reign in this menace, or even justify reigning him in, was becoming much more difficult with each passing day.

In hindsight, Elijah's little venture was a superb move executed flawlessly. The insane little prick brought home a veritable treasure trove of actionable intelligence, half of which was cross-referenced by their local asset, Azeline, and it drove Coleman mad.

Heaving another sigh, Coleman turned to Kwon, who was sitting beside him, and spoke in a mentally exhausted voice. "Kwon, can we manage to get a relay up somewhere? I need to do a sitrep and dump all this on command."

A hum left Kwon’s mouth as he frowned. It would be complicated to get something up when they didn’t have a good handle on their environment. "Getting one up is going to be tricky…." His voice was thoughtful, already running through potential locations in his mind. “We’d have to put it somewhere where no one would notice or ask questions.”

Silence reigned as the two considered the challenges of setting up a covert relay in this unfamiliar environment. Kwon continued to poke at his plate before scooping something that resembled a small sausage with his MRE spoon. "You know," he said slowly before making a weird face when he took a bite of the sausage-like meat, "given the size of that thing, it might not be the wisest move to try and shove it on some roof somewhere." Kwon chewed thoughtfully, swallowing before continuing. "There’s no way we could hide that thing, and that's not even counting on getting it into town in the first place."

Coleman rubbed his face as a difficult expression clouded his features. He mulled over their options, trying to find a way to get the critical intel back to command without compromising their position.

"I guess…" he muttered, more to himself than to Kwon, "The only thing we can do is contact the QRF or the Aussies and have them run the information back to the SIGINTers."

But even as the words left his mouth, Coleman's mind was already racing ahead, considering the ramifications of such a move. Joint command was already directing more teams and resources to their area to support their new mission, especially after learning that Coleman and his team had turned a village into a clandestine forward operating base.

This was especially the case when Coleman had made the call that he and his team would make a move on the town. The fact that the SASR had been tasked as support spoke volumes about the importance of command weight in the operation. And with this new update… A significant increase in both assets and scrutiny would come their way, and Coleman couldn't help but wonder if he should be selective about the information he shared.

His gaze drifted back to Elijah, and a pang of frustration shot through him. The man was slowly starting to take over the operation, and the fact that Elijah had managed to secure one of the gate guards as an inside man was… significant. It was the kind of intelligence that could make or break their mission.

In Coleman’s mind, reporting it put yet another feather on the camel’s back. To him, it felt like rewarding bad behavior and encouraging the qualities that made Elijah so problematic. For a moment, the team leader entertained omitting this tidbit of detail from his report. It would be easy enough to leave out any mention of Elijah's little side venture.

But almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Coleman dismissed it. Leaving out such critical intel was beyond stupid. It was a dereliction of duty that could get him kicked out of the Army and thrown in the brig.

Coleman closed his eyes and sucked in deeply. He couldn't let his personal feelings about Elijah cloud his judgment and interfere with the mission. No matter how much it irked him or how much it felt like everyone was dancing to Elijah's tune, he had to report the facts.

All of them.

After releasing his breath, Coleman turned back to Kwon with renewed determination. Even though it seemed like his medic was taking over this entire operation, he would have to roll with it. "Alright," he clapped his hands together after making his decision. "We'll have to run it. Contact the Aussies and have them relay everything we've returned to the village."

Popping another sausage into his mouth, Kwon nodded along. "Roger that," he replied with a full mouth. "I'll make the call as soon as we set up those low-frequency nodes. This'll be a good opportunity to get that ball rolling and set them up around the town."

"Nodes?" Coleman raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "What are you talking about?"

Kwon chuckled as he shook his head. "Remember the new tech the SIGINT guys gave us before we left?" he explained. "Supposedly, we’re supposed to hide these things all over the place, and they'll create a mesh network for comms."

“Ohh, right.” Coleman smacked his head as the briefing came back to him. So much had happened in such little time that he had nearly forgotten. "To be honest, I don't really understand all that nerd shit. But if they say it's gonna be useful, then who am I to argue with the crypto-spooks?."

A cackle left Kwon's voice as he looked across the room at one of his subordinates. “It’s alright; our comms guy had to explain it to me simply.” He replied after shoving some bread in his mouth. “I’ll have him figuring this shit out instead. He’ll get set it up, so all we have to do is hide ‘em."

As Kwon stood up to talk to their communications sergeant, Coleman's gaze drifted back to Elijah. The medic was lounging by the fire, laughing and joking with the rest of the team as he shoved sausages into his mouth. For a moment, Coleman just watched him while a strange mix of emotions swirling in his gut. Frustration, yes. Irritation, definitely. But beneath it all, a grudging sense of respect.

But while he watched, Coleman couldn't help but mutter under his breath, "You're in the wrong profession, my friend."

To his surprise, Elijah's head snapped around, his eyebrows raised in confusion. "I'm the wrong what?" he asked, his mouth still half-full of sausage.

Surprise flashed across Coleman’s face. Between all the chatter from the team and the ambient sounds of a lively tavern below them, there should have been no way for Elijah to hear him, especially when the man in question sat halfway across the room in front of a crackling fire.

"Nothing," Coleman blurted out as he quickly recomposed himself. "I’m just reminding myself never to let you touch a cat girl under any goddamn circumstance."

A confused look spread across Elijah’s face as he looked at the people around him, wondering what he did to deserve being scolded this time. "What? What the hell?" he asked, clearly taken aback by the scolding as he lifted his arms up in a bewildered shrug. “What the hell did I do this time!?”

In an attempt to cover his slip, Coleman grabbed a nearby cushion and threw it at Elijah. “Exist!” He yelled, causing Elijah to flinch and duck. “Why can’t you be normal, you freak!?”

But before Coleman could get another word in, Elijah's hand shot out, grabbing a sausage from his plate. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the greasy projectile hurtling across the room, straight at Coleman's head.

Reflexively, Coleman threw his arms up to deflect the meaty missile, but unfortunately, he was a moment too late. A wet smack resounded as the sausage bounced off his face, causing him to roll back and leaving a grease smear across his forehead.

"Fuck you!" Elijah yelled back just before he caught a loaf of bread in the face.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Yana could not help but scowl at the escalating bickering between those idiots while she nurtured her new minion nestled within the crackling flames. The noise seemed to go up an octave, causing the little goddess’s face to scrunch in a mix of curiosity and annoyance as she watched the two mortals hurl insults at each other.

For a brief moment, she wanted to zap the two quiet, but she couldn’t help but be somewhat swayed by her Apostle’s influence. Through the link she shared with Elijah, Yana could feel the swirling emotions beneath the surface of their seemingly heated exchange. Despite the hurled sausages and indignant yells, there was no genuine anger or ill will. It was a strange dynamic, one that Yana found perplexing.

Even when she watched her apostle prattle on, his words seemed to be punctuated by vitriol. Still, Yana could only detect a vibrant tapestry of positive and negative emotions flowing through their bond. It was like a raging waterfall of rainbows, each hue representing a different facet of Elijah's being.

Yana predated the concept of mortal existence and had bonded with apostles beyond counting. But never had she experienced a connection like this. Was this a particular trait of these ‘humans’, or were the muted emotions a trait of the Fae? Regardless, her last few disciples – damn their souls for their treachery – had been like monochromatic echoes in comparison. Their emotions were muted, their essence a pale shadow of the vibrant life that now pulsed through her link with Elijah.

For a moment, Yana scowled after recalling such a slap in the face. It was like a small simmering agitation that bubbled up from the depths of her immortal being. Damn, their treacherous and wretched souls. If it weren't for the laws she had laid out herself, which governed the very fabric of this reality, she would have broken their insignificant prison and destroyed their very essence. She would unmake them, slowly and deliberately, until their agonized echoes reverberated through the cosmos long after this plane had crumbled to dust.

But even as the vengeful fantasies played out in her mind, Yana knew she could never act upon them. Her responsibility, her sacred duty, was to maintain the balance. She had to uphold the rules and systems she had put in place, no matter how much it galled her to let such disdainful garbage go unpunished for their impudence.

She was a goddess, a weaver of magic, and a shaper of worlds. No matter how satisfying, Petty vengeance was not worth disregarding the very order she had laid.

And so, with a harrumph, the little goddess returned to the egg nestled within the crackling flames. Her tiny hands moved with deliberate grace as she focused the remnants of her power on the unborn being within. This was no simple binding, unlike the ones she had used to tether her lesser servants to her will. No, this being servitude would be bound in a far more profound and significant way.

With each pass of her hands, Yana infused the egg with a portion of her own essence, a primordial power that predated the very fabric of this reality. This exhausting process drained her reserves even as it invigorated the nascent life within the obsidian shell.

Yana couldn't help but curse under her breath as she worked. A ritual that was to be as benign as thinking now made her brow furrow in concentration. All of this is due to a single miscalculation to the origin of a specific being… A slight glare was snapped towards the individual in question, who seemed to look at her in bewilderment after sensing her displeasure.

How foolish of her… Binding an entire world and granting them power their reality wasn’t structured for. Now, she had the ungrateful task of presiding over this new reality and effectively doubling her world load. The burden of managing this newly created system was not one she asked for, but it was a responsibility thrust upon her by her capricious whims.

And yet, even as she grumbled and complained, Yana knew she could not neglect this duty. She had bound herself to this world and had claimed it as her own. And with that claim came obligations, sacred oaths that she could not - would not - break.

“SHUT UP YOU IDIOTS!” She finally snapped, barking at Elijah, who was yapping incessantly with that other mortal Ben–something.

Another harrumph left her mouth as the two humans shirked away and took their chatter outside. But now that she was taking notice, Yana looked around and saw that she was the only one left in the room, allowing her to focus entirely on her task. Turning her attention back to the egg, Yana continued to pour her pitiful amount of essence into it while feeling the profound changes taking place within. The once simple vessel, previously bound by the corrupted magic of those upstart betrayers, was now brimming with raw, unrestrained power - a power that was bound to none but that singular life.

But as her mind turned to the origins of the being in front of her, Yana couldn't help but sneer as she thought of her sister, Tiamat. That scornful layabout who fancied herself a goddess. “Mother of the elements…” Yana scoffed as she continued to shape the life in the egg. “Bah! Mother of Layabouts!”

Sure, her sister Taimat had power—the power to create life and shape flesh and bone to her whims, but Tiamat lacked the wisdom or even work ethic to bother guiding her creations in the first place. She was content to let them run wild and sow chaos without a thought for the consequences.

As a yawn left Yana’s mouth, she released her hold on the egg and zipped around in the flames to inspect her handiwork. The flames were getting a little weak, but she deemed the work she had done was sufficient for now.

Making a mental note to get her apostle to add a few new logs, Yana stretched her arms out and stretched her nonexistent muscles. She had seen her human do it countless times, and Yana always felt a slight fleeting pang of euphoria whenever he did it. The action slowly started to become a small habit, just like many other weird eccentricities the man had.

With a shake of her leg, Yana rattled the soot and ash from her material body before her eyes scanned the room while floating in a lazy manner. She couldn’t help but note the mess of partially eaten food strewn about and the absence of any other occupants. It appeared that the idiot and his gaggle of idiots had left her without a single errant thought of saying a word. A click from Yana’s tongue rang out as she turned her gaze towards the floorboard where her bound mortal lingered and immediately made a beeline straight for him.

The fairy flickered in and out of material existence, phasing through the walls as if they were nothing more than an illusion until she materialized right next to Elijah, perching herself on his shoulder. The man seemed to be sweet-talking that one woman with the floppy ears, trying to simultaneously seduce and indirectly pry whatever bits of information he could.

Another yawn left Yana’s mouth before her radiant violet eyes met Mara’s, who seemed in awe at the little fairy's sudden appearance. The tiny goddess raised a questioning eyebrow as she sat leisurely on Elijah's shoulder while one of her legs lifted before thumping on top of the other in a casual manner.

“Hahhh? What are you looking at?” Yana tiredly growled in an abrasive manner as she held Mara's gaze with a bored expression. She acted as if she had always been there, and Mara had failed to notice her presence until now because for as far as Yana was concerned… She had.

The establishment’s Madam's brows furrowed slightly as she averted her gaze back to Elijah, who just shrugged as if to say nothing could be done about it. Mara suddenly felt that the diminutive pixie threw off her composure, and any attempt to recover seemed to make her even more flustered. Mara had not encountered a lot of pixies, but she had never seen one that just… appeared out of nowhere before.

Yana, for her part, seemed entirely unconcerned with Mara's scrutiny as she yawned once more. Her tiny mouth opened wide, displaying razor-sharp teeth and exceptionally long canines. Don't mind me," she said, waving a dismissive hand. "Continue with your copulation ritual or… whatever it is you things do."

A tinge of red flashed across Mara's face at Yana's blunt remark. Despite her profession and the fact that she had worked as a courtesan for many years, the Madam was caught off guard by the fairy's brazen comment. She struggled to maintain her composure, her usual air of confident sensuality faltering under Yana's piercing gaze.

Elijah, sensing Mara's discomfort, shot Yana a warning look. "Yana..." he said, his tone low and threatening, "shut up before I take away your beef jerky."

The fairy rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue again, seemingly unimpressed by Elijah's threat, but still complied, deciding it was best to let mortals deal with mortal affairs. With a huff, she leaned back, using her arms as support while she lounged on the man's shoulder.

"Sorry about that," Elijah said, turning his attention back to Mara with an apologetic smile. She's not exactly known for her tact."

Mara nodded, trying to regain her footing in the conversation. “Ah, it’s quite alright!” She replied as the Madam straightened herself out. “I take no offense.” Mara smiled sweetly. She was used to dealing with all sorts of characters in her line of work, but the dynamic between Elijah and his… tiny companion was unlike anything she had encountered before.

Sensing an opportunity to steer the discussion back to more productive matters, Elijah leaned casually against the door frame of her office as he locked eyes with hers. "As I was saying," he continued in a lighthearted and charismatic tone, "I was wondering if you could introduce me to some of the more... reasonable bosses of these gangs that control the inner districts of town."