Chapter 329 - 271 - Painful Choice
As it turned out, being the only guild in the entire network with a Natural as a member came with certain responsibilities. Granted, they could make whatever ridiculous demands they wanted, but in exchange they were in the delicate position of almost being a liaison for Riterra on the Natural Council.
"Me, Emily, Colette, and Miro are going to Nabhon for this mission," Shouri began. "Solana and Vince will stay here. Holly can manage the construction workers and Solana and Lee can make sure the building is up to snuff," Shouri said to the gathered group of PTRS members.
Colette didn't look too pleased about having to go with. She opened her mouth to voice her concerns, however, she was beaten to the punch.
"Shouri!" Vince called out. "I want to go with," he demanded.
"V-vince," Shouri was taken aback. "You don't have to push yourself, especially--"
"After I got my ass beat?" challenged the boy.
The room went silent, all eyes on the guild's youngest. Shouri opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words. He regretted not having Resonators in this meeting, as he could have used Taika's stubborn rhythm.
"No, we're just worried and you deserve a break after Jenteri," Emily spoke up when she saw her fellow lead did not.
"What if I don't want that? Let me go. Colette's practically begging not to go," the boy motioned to the girl by his side.
"I just have a lot of schoolwork is all!" Colette yelped, suddenly put on the spot.
Shouri grunted. He wanted Colette on the mission as having Nina's firepower would have been very useful. Then again, having her stay at the guildhall to keep Holly and Solana safe was another play.
Either way, it was a coin flip, and he wasn't sure what to do.
"If I may interject," Elijah spoke up. "You have one person who wants to go, and another who does not. It seems pretty clear to me you should send the person who is willing to throw themselves into the mission with great zeal over the one who is worried about matters back home."
Shouri shot a small glare at the Klein heir. The petty side of the guildmaster wanted to snip at him for quitting.
Buuuuut--
Elijah did raise a good point. With a resigned sigh, he faced Vince. "Are you sure?" asked Shouri.
Vince nodded, determination in his eyes.
A small sigh escaped the guildmaster's lips. When did Vince get so stubborn? It had to be Mila. That girl was nothing but trouble. Shouri allowed himself a small smirk. "Alright, alright. Vince you're with us, Colette keep an eye on things here and don't flunk your classes."
"Yes!"
"On the road again?" Rebecca questioned as they packed for their next destination.
"Yeah, we're going to some mountainous region in south eastern Nabhon," Shouri explained. He sat on the bed as a brief reprieve before they got moving again. It was going to be a long night when they got going again.
"Oh, the Nahotri region," Pacifica poked her head up from the side of the bed. "It's surrounded on three sides by different parts of the Trimare Seas."
Rebecca furrowed her brow. Geography wasn't exactly her strong suit, so she had a hard time visualizing where exactly they were headed, but something didn't add up. "Wait a minute, three sides? I thought the Trimare seas were between Kalanichi and Unis-Résonne," she pointed out. "There's the North, South, and West Trimares, right?"
"There's a fourth Trimare sea," Shouri began to pull up a map on his tuner as a visual aid. "The Perdita." He flashed Rebecca her own tuner with the map pulled up.
The fire fox threw down what she was packing and stepped over. She steadied her Maestro's hand and took in the map. It was zoomed in on the aforementioned Nahotri region of Nabhon. Lots of mountains dotted the area, as promised, but Rebecca sought the water features.
Plenty of rivers snaked through the various lands of Nabhon. She eventually spotted it, A sea surrounded on three sides by land. There was a small outlet which led to the greater world oceans, but the connection was undeniable--it was no fresh water lake, it was a true sea.
What really stood out was how the land curled around the lost sea, like it separated from its other three brethren to the west of it.
"Why is it even named like the other Trimares if it's not even connected?" wondered the fox.
"What does Cunei whisper to you when I say 'Perdita'?" quizzed Pacifica.
"Lost," Rebecca answered.
"There you go!"
While Rebecca mulled that over, Shouri elaborated. "It's said that the Perdita used to be connected to the rest of the Trimare seas, but as plates shifted and the like, they were split. Or so geologists say."
Rebecca nodded--she also was no geology major, so she accepted the explanations of her two beloveds.
"I am worried about this mission though," Shouri looked back to his tuner.
Pacifica plopped down onto the bed next to her Maestro and looked over his shoulder. "It's pretty intense," she admitted.
(NSNN) – At least 227 people have died since flash floods ravaged swathes of South Nabhon over the weekend, officials said Thursday.
Flooding and landslides, triggered by torrential monsoon rains, have swept across the Nahotri region leaving devastation in its wake.
The northern cities of Diyah and Mash were hit particularly hard. The death toll has risen to 67 in Diyah and 10 in Mash, with more than 5.1 million people affected in total, according to the cities' disaster management authorities.
"We're not going to those cities," Pacifica realized.
"No, this is Riterran news, not Natural news," Shouri gripped the tuner tightly. "You ever hear of the concept of a 'country'?" asked the Maestro.
"Isn't that like where we live?" Pacifica asked. "Like in the middle of nowhere kind of thing?" she clarified.
Shouri shook his head. "No, before the great war about three or four hundred years ago, the world was divided into arbitrary divisions known as countries. It's kind of a lot to get into, but in short, this is what that system feels like--we don't know what happens to Naturals, because it's like they're in another country, another world almost. We're separated by culture and language," he explained.
Rebecca stopped packing and stared. Shouri's itchy curiosity rushed through her, yet, she needed to focus. They all needed to focus, but it was difficult. Three pairs of eyes turned to the bathroom, where Taika locked herself ever since she was given the details of their new mission.
Shouri didn't understand the slew of Naturalian that flew from Taika's mouth. She spoke way too fast for him to even start catching words. Rebecca and Pacifica did their best to try and calm her, but even Rebecca flinched at the language Taika used.
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Apparently, it was something neither girl blessed by Cunei dared to repeat--which told him plenty. He only hoped Miro didn't hear--he, too, possessed the Canid Sense trait, which cursed him with the same level of hearing that Taika, Rebecca and the other canines of PTRS possessed.
Pacifica knew this would be tough. Taika held up their Maestro, she had to go with. Even if Taika was in the bathroom stacking panic attacks like a deck of cards.
Rebecca was thankful that neither Pacifica nor Shouri possessed Canid Sense. Being forced to listen to her gut-wrenching sobs broke the Fire element's heart.
Flickers of intention carried on rhythm and Shouri knew it. None of them could hide from him, especially while he held their tuners. He stared at Taika's black tuner in particular.
She would try and go. Her stupid stubbornness wouldn't let him go without her. Truthfully, he didn't want to go without her either, but--
He stood. Pacifica and Rebecca could only watch, powerless as their Maestro walked to the bathroom and knocked on the door.
Taika remained silent in her self-made prison, but Shouri granted her the mercy of a reprieve.
"You're staying here."
SLAM
"COSA?!" Taika screeched as the door flung open. "Ma non puoi!" yelled the fox. Every small trinket that lived in the bathroom floated around the fox. Every bottle, every toothbrush, even the bar of soap they kept by the sink for washing their hands hovered by Taika's will.
Shouri remained steadfast. "I can," he replied with an eerie calm.
"No! Non puoi!" Taika repeated. She fired off her gathered bathroom implements.
The Maestro made no effort to dodge, he just closed his eyes and allowed all the objects to strike him.
When she was out of things to throw at him, he opened his eyes. They glowed with a calm, logical yellow. "Case and point. You're in no fit state."
"Non dirmi cosa sono!" she denied his claim with a screech.
"You're proving my point," he said.
"Ma cosa dici?!" It wasn't that she didn't understand--something in her brain refused.
Finally, Shouri's neutral expression descended into a stubborn glare of his own. "You're in no fit state to go on a rescue mission. We're going to save people's lives. I can't risk you causing problems because you can't separate yourself from your past," he stated. Perhaps with a bit more venom than he intended.
Pacifica flinched--she felt Taika's heart break.
Rebecca couldn't look, whipping her head away.
It hurt Shouri to even have to say that, he felt like he wanted to vomit, but he pressed on. "When we get back, we're addressing whatever your hang up with Naturals is. I can't in good consciousness bring you with us when we're going to be surrounded by Naturals and trying to save their lives," he laid out his thoughts. He tried his best not to raise his voice. He was failing.
Taika opened her mouth to try to defend herself, but Shouri refused to let her continue.
"If I told you to save a Natural, what would you do?"
Now he let her speak. She hesitated. "I would--" The words refused to come out.
"You're staying here," he stated once more. "You can't change my mind."
The bathroom door slammed shut, and a guttural cry of anguish followed the sounds of rage expressed through telekinesis.
Shouri allowed Taika's tuner fall from his hand and clatter to the ground. Neither Pacifica nor Rebecca dared move as he made his way to the door, each step shaky, as if he would collapse any second. He made it to the door, and gripped the knob. For a long moment he remained frozen in place, his head hung, a lethal mix of emotions crushing his spirit. With one motion he threw open the door and left their room.
The two Resonators who remained finally looked to one another, they were both stuck, but--
"I get Sho, you stay with Taika?" Rebecca suggested.
"Uhh, yeah, sure," Pacifica mumbled.
Rebecca rushed out into the night to find her Maestro not too far away. He sat on his knees in the grass.
The fox slowly approached.
"Careful," he coughed, his voice hoarse. "I don't know where I threw up," he admitted.
She didn't care. That wasn't true. She cared too much. That's why she was out there.
Rebecca dropped to her knees behind him. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed rhythmically. She sought that feeling she experienced when fighting Briar. That connection to him. Pacifica wasn't in her way now, so she forced the key into the way of Shouri's soul. She turned the metaphorical lock and barged right in. It wasn't the cleanest way to do this, and maybe she broke a boundary she wasn't meant to.
She didn't care. That wasn't true. She cared too much. That's why she did this.
"Why?" he whispered.
"I dunno," she replied.
"I just thought you could use someone to hold all this weight," they spoke together.