A Very Strange Girl

Kaas knelt in the shadow of a tree and watched as the girl and Brinn talked in the light of a lamp. He had to keep his distance lest they detect his and Alén’s presence. They were covered in Ludd’s invisible blood and masking their aura, but he would not underestimate the girl again. Even still, he remained within earshot of their conversation.

He watched the two with a scowl, arms folded. That Brinn had always been an odd one. But talking to a human as if she was equal? Accepting gifts? It was the height of unprecedented. Most un-Ahngreel. He was tempted to march over there and set things straight, but Brinn’s reputation preceded him.

While he was known as a meddler, Brinn also had another name: Brinn the Life Sapper. It was said that those who challenged him would be slowly drained of their energy over the course of battle. He was a protégé of combat. The Hidaar was wise to set him on the girl. And with Oriander keeping watch over her as well, there was no chance of challenging her without their interference. But Kaas’s opportunity would come. The girl would have to be alone at some point. They just had to be patient.

Kaas retreated back into the shadows. “Come, Alén. It’s time we return to the others,” he whispered.

There was no response.

“Alén?” He returned to where he’d been standing and placed a hand where her head had been. His fingers only met air. Where did she go? Kaas felt around him blindly, hoping to brush up against her invisible form. He was tempted to call out her name, but the closer he was to the girl and Brinn, the higher the risk of the young Ahngreel hearing them or sensing their presence.

To his relief, his hand came to rest upon her bandaged one. His fingers closed around hers and began to drag her away. But Alén yanked her hand away.

“…Wait.” Her voice was as soft as ever, but there was a hardness in her tone that made Kaas stare at her in shock. He sidled around her to get a better look at her the eye not covered by her invisible bangs, which was fixed on the pair standing under the lamp light. Kaas followed her gaze, and his ears were pricked to catch their conversation:

“What’s so great about that family stuff, anyway?” said Brinn.

The girl’s reply about the wonders of family was shocked yet stern. Typical arrogant human. Kaas may have been dismissive, but the way Alén’s eye stared at them, one would think she was almost enraptured. Kaas grabbed her once more—this time on her wrist—his grip doubled, telling her without words that she was to stop this disobedience or else. He would drag her across the ground, kicking and screaming if he had to. And when they were discovered, she would know who was to blame.

Thankfully, she stood. Her eye remained on Brinn and the girl as she began to back away per his guidance. Her disappointment was almost palpable. Kaas could see her pout and puffed cheeks in his mind’s eye.

She’d be angry with him for a while, a notion that caused his chest to ache for some reason. But he ignored it as they left the park. Better her resentment than being discovered.

When they had gotten far enough away, Kaas slackened his grip so that Alén could jerk her arm from it.

“Alén, what was that just now? Why did you ignore my orders?”

He felt her brush past him as she stomped away. Kaas was incensed.

“Get back here, Alén. We’re not finished!”

Alén’s eye came into view as she rounded on him.

“…!”

“Don’t you take that tone with me, girl!” No words were needed to understand what she was thinking: You wanted to retreat, and now you want me to come back?! “I’m not the one who nearly compromised the mission.”

“…!”

“Yes, you were! You know perfectly well what that Brinn is capable of.” He and Alén were the same age and had experienced the same harrowing trials growing up. “What was so important that you had to eavesdrop that close?”

“…Father.”

A chill spasmed down his spine. “What did you say?”

“…That word. What…does it mean?”

Kaas sighed in relief. “It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a word humans use to create the illusion of bonds.”

“’…The man who helped create you’… That sounds like it means something.” For the first time in a long time, Kaas had no idea what Alén was thinking. Her eye was filled with an emotion that he could not identify. Of all the nonsense that the girl had spewed, why had Alén chosen to fixate on that word? Though he called it nonsense, that word made his skin crawl.

“Humans are helpless creatures as infants. If no one took care of them, they would die within hours. So, they manufactured a unit to cope with their weakness. That’s all it is.”

“…Then what are we?”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re…working together…as a unit. You…and Tykus…have taught us so much. You were there for us when we needed you.” Her voice was quivering. Kaas had not heard her speak this much aloud in years. “’…Parents, brothers and sisters,’ people who teach and take care of you. Isn’t that—?”

“No.” A sudden rage flared within Kaas as he walked up to her so that he was only inches away from her eye. “Do not conflate what we are with foolish human notions…I raised you to fight the Hidaar. I taught you strategies to make you better in combat. I took you in because you are useful to me. You are a soldier. That is all. And the moment you stop being, that is the moment you are no longer useful.” He jabbed a finger into her flesh. Though it was much more forceful than he intended, his hand came back with his fingertip dyed scarlet. “And it’s not just you. Tykus, Ludd, Aaska and Naaro—all of you—Your purpose is to ensure that I become Hidaar. I thought I made that clear from the start. Did I not?”

Alén was still at first, then she nodded.

“I want to hear you say it.”

A moment of hesitation. Then, “…Y-you were very clear…sir.” Alén’s eye seemed to quiver as she cast it downward. Kaas turned his back to her.

“Good. Now, purge the girl’s words from your mind. They are poison.” He began his walk back to the canal. He did not look back, but he knew Alén was behind him as he could feel waves of sadness and frustration licking at his back like flames.

They did not affect him at first. Yet as his rage began to dissipate, Kaas felt a new emotion take its place: Fear. Had he gone too far? Was she no longer loyal to him? No, it was more than that. He had made her sad. An idea that made him want to fall to his knees and weep. But he did not. He would not.

As much as Alén might wish it, they were not human. They did not abide by human sensibilities. The sooner she understood that the happier she would be. They were tools to be used and thrown away when broken. He had given them purpose; they should be content with that.

That girl… It was her fault Alén was in conflict. She had infected her mind with notions of love and bonds. For that matter, she must have infected his mind as well. Why else would he share in his soldier’s despair?

Neither spoke again until they had returned to the canal. The other four were lounging about on the grass. One of the twins had their shoes off, resting their feet in the flowing waters. Tykus stood as he sensed their presence.

“Welcome back.” He said. “How’d everything go?”

As an answer, Alén knocked into Kaas’s shoulder as she ran past him. Kaas had to fight hard the instinct to grab her; to stop her from leaving him. Tykus blinked in surprise and followed her with his eyes as she ran toward their bridge. He looked back at Kaas. In fact, all the others were watching him wide-eyed.

Tykus blinked again. “That bad, huh?”

“She just needed a reminder,” said Kaas as he walked down the slope and knelt at the canal’s edge. “About her role in this unit...I mean, this team.” He dipped his hands into the water and pressed it into his face. Its icy wetness cascaded down his torso, taking the invisible blood, along with his guilt, with it. All were silent as he did this several more times until he felt adequately visible, then he stood.

“I do not want you to get comfortable. We are not here for leisure. We seek the Hidaar’s title, along with revenge. Purge any other thought from your mind. That girl is our target, whether to use to bargain with him or simply kill her. That is all we are here to do. Humans are primitive, sentimental nobodies. Do not waste your thoughts or emotions on them.”

Naaro began to rise with Aaska about to follow; their eyes were on the bridge to which Alén had run off. Naaro’s eyes especially were filled with concern. But Kaas was not willing to let them go.

“Stay where you are! I’m not finished.”

The twins froze. Aaska eyed Naaro, who was looking at Kaas with sudden anger.

Kaas tensed his shoulders as he stared Naaro down. But the Ahngreel wouldn’t back down and kept glaring. He chose to ignore this and continued with a toss of his braid.

“I fear that some among us have begun to think otherwise. Emotional bonds are what makes us weak.”

“How dare you say that!” Naaro’s eyes narrowed. Aaska almost quivered with fear as his other half put hands on hips. “It seems to me that you need to—” Naaro’s speech drifted off as usual, waiting for Aaska to drift in, but there was only silence.

All looked to Aaska in surprise, including Naaro, who looked almost offended. Aaska held up his hands defensively. “—you need to…er….” After a few vain attempts at umming his way to an end to Naaro’s sentence, Aaska shook his head. “I got nothing.”

Naaro gasped. “Aaska…?”

There was only one other time since recruiting them that Kaas had witnessed the twins out of sync. That time involved a disagreement over joining the team in the first place. Aaska was all for it, but Naaro remained staunchly adamant about their independence.

“He’s just gonna make us fight each other by the end, just like every Ahngreel ever!”

Kaas shook his head and placed a hand on the six-year-old’s tiny shoulder. Then he placed the other on Aaska’s and pushed the two together so their cheeks squashed. “Though you are two in body, you are also one in soul. Your Talent proves as such. One cannot function without the other. If others deny that, they cannot see the true strength within you.”

Naaro still would not budge as white eyes remained skeptical, “The Equituum can only have four Ahngreel. What happens when you add a fifth.”

Kaas smiled, “What do you mean? I’m only recruiting my second member.”

The two’s eyes went wide. “You mean…?”

“That’s right. You are my second. And I speak to you both as one. And there will only be one because that is what you are, no matter how many more I recruit.”

“I…” Naaro’s lips quivered as they tried to form words. Aaska put a stop to this by grabbing the other’s hand.

Kaas marveled as the two stared into each other’s eyes and seemed to have a silent conversation. Naaro then smiled and nodded.

They turned together to face Kaas. “Okay, you win—” “—we’ll fight by your side. As long as you keep your promise.”

The twins were barely tall enough to reach Kaas’s knee, but they both took a leg and hugged as tight as they could. He could feel the dampness of their tears stain his pants. He would not normally allow an Ahngreel to cry, but if letting them do so would build loyalty, so be it. At least for a little while.

After a few moments, Kaas’s tolerance for physical contact depleted. He tried to shake them off, but they held on, exchanging mischievous grins.

Kaas looked to Tykus, who was leaning against a wall with folded arms, for help, but he only shrugged. His eyes returned to the twins, who had linked arms to inhibit his ability to walk. It seemed these two were going to be more trouble than he thought.

Which had been proven true over the years. But Aaska and Naaro were invaluable members of the team, even if their antics got on his nerve from time to time. Their constant wise-cracking was a bright spot on an otherwise dreary day. The sight of them glaring at each other made his heart ache for those times.

He mentally shook himself. No, they were valuable because their Talent was essential to the team. He supposed they needed a reminder as well. “I will not have you speak to me that way, Naaro! I was willing to let you join my ranks in whatever manner I had to, do not mistake that for affection. Aaska appears to understand; why can’t you? I thought you were ‘one.’”

The hurt on Naaro’s face was enough to bring tears to Aaska’s eyes. He tried to grab his twin’s shoulder, but Naaro slapped it away, bringing out more tears.

What’s this? An Ahngreel crying? Insolence! It seemed these two needed more than just words to set them straight. Kaas stepped forward, fists curled. But just then, Alén appeared behind Naaro. She was visible once more and glaring at Kaas.

Kaas met her eyes with surprise. But none seemed more surprised than Naaro as Alén then wrapped an arm around the twin’s shoulder. Naaro tried to pull out of the other’s grip. But the veins in Alén’s shoulders popped as she maintained her hold.

Then the two proceeded to walk toward Kaas—though it was closer to Alén dragging Naaro by the torso. Naaro looked back to Aaska for help. He tried to follow behind, only to be stopped by a firm hand from Alén. She shook her head. Aaska looked ready to fight back, but at another glance from Naaro, he relaxed with a perplexed expression on his face.

Kaas shared his sentiment. What was this? Alén targeting a single twin? And rejecting the other? Was she planning to form an alliance beneath his nose?

He watched Alén continue to lead Naaro past Kaas. She gave him one last look of contempt.

“‘Who taught you…how to talk to girls…?’”

Then the two were walking toward the bridge before Kaas could speak.

Not that he would have. Alén’s quoting of the girl Noel had robbed him of speech. All he could do was watch as they disappeared from sight, jaw slack. Talk to girls? What did that have to do with anything?

He had always thought of the twins as a single entity. They worked hard to maintain the exact same appearance under Kaas’s orders that he had almost forgotten that Naaro was indeed female.

But why would that factor into anything? She was so similar to Aaska in appearance, speech, and mannerisms that they were interchangeable. And what few differences they had, such as the placement of his mark on their face or the way they parted their hair, they swapped at a whim. Unlike other Ahngreel, they were not individuals.

What gender they were factored little in their role on the team. Why should it matter now?

He looked questioningly at the others, who mirrored his confusion. Then he looked back at the bridge where the girls had disappeared. Unbelievable. The human world was already infecting the minds of his soldiers.

Things were worse than he thought. Naaro and Alén might be planning something already. Not to mention that he had just been undermined by Alén.

He rounded on the boys. “Anyone else have an issue about how I run things?”

They all shook their heads, though their eyes might have said otherwise. It was hard to tell.