Fowlhunter [GL]

They ended up going to a coastal town in Archizoun. Amid salty breeze, flapping tents and sizzling street food, Ennanis trailed after her mentor as the latter browsed through stalls at the local marketplace leisurely.

They passed by a weapons shop. With a polite nod at them, the shopkeeper showcased his wares to the two angels, both of whom didn’t necessarily need new weapons but browsed them with the interest of people who regularly used them and liked inspecting them for fun.

Looking down at her shortsword she had used earlier, Ennanis remarked, “I’m still not used to such short weapons. I like spears more.”

“Spears are great for range, but unwieldy in confined environments like forests,” Amanita said. “You have to learn both close-range and long-range in order to be versatile. That’s why I had you practise with the shortsword.”

“Mmh.” Ennanis made a neutral noise, though her gaze still lingered on the selection of spears the shopkeeper had.

Next they moved on to a medicinal shop. They picked up some balms and salves for Ennanis’ injuries during the earlier scuffle. As they sat on a stone bench and Ennanis spread the balm over her black-and-blue bruises, Amanita asked, “Why didn’t you ask the rest of your platoon for help?”

“I tried asking,” Ennanis replied. “They didn’t want to come with. Said the forest wasn’t under our jurisdiction.”

“Hmm,” Amanita mused. “Oh hey, look at this!” She plucked a container off one of the shelves. Ennanis peered at it, a large fuschia-coloured bottle.

“This is the hair-conditioning oil I use. Soleki-infused honey and agate berry. It’s rare to find this specific formula. It’s a good thing it comes in such a big bottle, lasts me a year.” She cast a meaningful glance at Ennanis’ fight-frazzled hair, adorned by bramble and soil. “If you want to leave your hair long, this would be good for you. It’s what helps me not get my hair snagged on things.”

“I thought it was your amazing-ness that did that.”

Amanita laughed. “That too. People who aren’t me need conditioner to make up the difference.” Saying that, she thrust the bottle into Ennanis’ hands.

“—?”

“Yours now,” Amanita said as she flipped a handful of coins at the vendor. “One must look cool while fighting.”

“Is that also a rule of being a hunter?”

“Nah. Just a rule of being alive.” Amanita's wings ruffled in excitement as she continued rifling through a stack of cosmetics. “Ooh, they have sunsorb too!”

The vendor smiled at them. “Yeah, we get a lot of angels around the area, so we stock plenty of angel cosmetics. That one’s a very popular formula, gentle on the skin and effective. I can pop open a sample tube if you ladies wanna give it a try.”

“I already have sunsorb at home,” Ennanis began to say, but not before Amanita shushed her. “Yes please!”

“Okay, darling, hold out your hands for me and summon a Soleki beam,” the shopkeeper said to Ennanis. “Perfect. Okay, now-” he squeezed a dollop of sun-absorber on her palm. “Rub that all over and wait a minute for it to work. Then try again.”

When Ennanis summoned the second Soleki beam, it bobbed brighter and slightly bigger than the one previously.

The shopkeeper looked impressed. “How old are you, sweetheart?”

“Sixteen.”

His eyes widened. “Your girl’s talented, I’ll give her that. Very fine control for her age.”

Amanita whistled appreciatively. “Your product’s not half bad, either.”

The shopkeeper nodded. “It's a new formula on the market. It has improved absorbance properties and is also slow-release, so it enhances your Soleki over a longer period of time.”

“Wow. You can really find a lot in Archizoun,” Amanita said. “You should get one, Ennanis.”

“It's expensive,” Ennanis said.

“And? Don't you have money?” Ennanis was a Brigadier who went on many undercloud missions, including high-profile ones. Her pockets should’ve been well-lined. However…

Amanita swiped Ennanis’ wallet and pried it open. She stared dumbfounded at the smattering of pennies within.

”I may have spent most of it,” Ennanis admitted.

“On what, girl??!”

“I didn’t spend all of it on nectar,” Ennanis sulked. “Some of it was on salves, new weapons.”

“Just nectar? Are you for real?”

“Fine, some of it was on chocolate too.” Upon seeing the look on Amanita’s face, she continued valiantly defending herself, “It was premium quality chocolate, okay, it’s well worth the price.”

“Okay, but just how much chocolate are you consuming that you’d blow every last cent on it…”

“I already said it wasn’t all the money.”

Amanita merely scoffed, rolling up her white robe sleeves so she could apply the sun-absorber sample on herself. It was just then that the vendor, peering at Amanita with a watchful eye, said, “Ah, madam, I have just the thing for that.”

“Hm?”

The vendor dug around in the back of his trunk and brought out a small blue vial.

“A salve, specially formulated for healing Lunaki poisoning.” He nodded at Amanita’s exposed arms, where indeed, multiple long scabs raked across skin. Wounds that glittered like stars. They were thin and half-healed, but visible if scrutinised. “This potion will speed up healing drastically, leaving no scars.”

The red-haired angel’s smile went rigid. She dropped her sleeves instantly, and the shopkeeper, sensing Amanita’s tension, faltered. But Amanita just lowered her head politely and took the vial from his hand, exchanging it with more cash. “Thanks. I’ll take it too.”

“Let me get you the change-”

“No need, keep it,” Amanita waved and turned around briskly. Walking down the streets, she said loudly, “Boy I could use some fishballs. I know a good stall around here. Hopefully it’s still the same owner that I know-”

But Ennanis was not so easily thrown off. “Amanita, what were those wounds?”

For you see, only a Beast could have used Lunaki, or inflicted Lunaki-poisoned wounds. But they generally conserved Lunaki in the day, barely using it for direct attacks. Of course, they also used it to poison the tips of arrows, but those generally didn’t cause injuries like the ones Amanita sported. As such, it was odd that any one angel would’ve sustained so many Lunaki injuries.

Unless the angel happened to be in a division that required fighting many Beasts at once, at a time when Soleki was scarce and Lunaki plentiful…

“Fishballs first,” Amanita Zoleil sighed.

Sitting on an open patio of the fishball stall, mentor and disciple shared a plate of crispy, deep-fried fishballs. Its oily fragrance mingled with the bittersalt air of the ocean, cresting blue waves visible from the dock. Amanita had even ordered a cup of nectar and a decadent chocolate tiramisu, almost as if to appease her disgruntled disciple, but Ennanis didn’t touch any of the food.

Amanita popped a fishball into her mouth, crunched it, swallowed.

“Your belt is golden, as far as I can see,” Ennanis prompted.

Crunch. “Uh huh.”

“You can’t be… Are you…” Ennanis said, but haltingly, as if she was afraid of the possibility. “Are you in the Graveyard Division?”

Crunch. Crunch. “Would you view me differently if I was?”

Ennanis remained silent as Amanita continued to crunch on the fishballs. Then, finally, “Well, it doesn’t make any sense. You’re a Warden General. You wouldn’t have ended up there because of poor grading. Unless you… you committed an unforgivable crime.”

“…Not necessarily,” Amanita said after a pause. “I’m a volunteer.”

A volunteer. A volunteer to the most dangerous division, a division meant for crooks and slackers, a job meant as a path of execution.

“Don’t look at me like that, Ennanis,” Amanita said, though she was also avoiding her disciple’s gaze. “You know that my specialty is fighting Beasts. I’m more than qualified to assist in the battle.”

“But why would you do that? There’s already plenty of other angels in the Graveyard that fight.”

“And why do you think any of those angels fight, too?”

“Because they have to.”

“No, they don’t have to,” Amanita objected. “The condemned of Casca could’ve easily chosen a quick death. Soleki shot to the wrists, and it’s over. But they didn't. They don’t. Even if they will never see Paradise, even when their efforts go unseen and unrewarded, they fight like hell to protect the kingdom that had discarded them. Isn't it ironic?”

“.......” Ennanis was quiet. “Someone has to do it.”

“Yes. Regrettably. Everyone knows it’s unfair. It should be the strongest of us who do it, not the weakest. But no one wants to do such a terrible job, if they can help it. Going into battle without even the sunlight to guide you. So the strong push the job to those who can’t fight back.” Amanita pushed around the fishballs on her plate with her chopsticks. “As a Warden, I’m tasked with rooting out Beast hideouts in the day. But that’s not enough. I wanted to do real work. Work where my fellow angels needed me.” She sighed, popping another ball in her mouth. “The Marshal wouldn’t even let me volunteer to go down and help them. He said it would be a waste of my talent to send me to my death.”

“So,” Ennanis concluded for her, “you’ve been sneaking down the mountain at night.”

“You fail to understand fully. Things in the Graveyard have been getting worse lately,” Amanita said. “The Beasts have become more organised. Not mindless, as they used to be. They’re beginning to have strategy. Something’s changed. I’m willing to bet it’s because of that new leader they have. At least, now that she’s behind bars, they might slow down, but the damage is hard to reverse.”

Ennanis wasn’t entirely sure what her mentor was talking about. She wasn’t clear on the situation in the Graveyard. It was not well-publicised among angels. People generally avoided talking about greybelts at all.

Amanita was staring ruefully down at the empty plate between them. “We’ve lost so many… had to… replace so many. Greybelts are just people too, you know. Even if the rest of Casca prefers to forget it.”

They were quiet for a moment.

“Ennanis,” Amanita’s eyes met hers. She had a serious look on her face. “You’ve always done splendidly in your studies. I have never had greater pleasure teaching another student. But there is still one major thing you’re lacking in. So for your next assignment, I want you to make friends.”

The sudden change in topic made Ennanis jolt. The pink-haired angel narrowed her eyes. This was clearly a well-trodden path for her.

"I don't need friends, and you can't force me to make them."

“Well, if you don’t complete this assignment, then I have nothing more to teach you.”

Ennamis scowled. Amanita tilted her head.

"Why don't you think you need friends?"

"I get promoted based on skill alone,” the young angel said. “I don't have to rely on sucking up to anyone. During missions, speaking to each other about things unrelated to the task is a distraction and waste of time. Also, before you say it, I do not feel lonely."

"Life isn't just about getting promotions and missions, girl," Amanita sighed. "Why, you're in the springtime of your youth! You should be romping around with your peers, frolicking in the skies and fields, laughing and drinking and cavorting..."

“You know, one of the things I liked about you,” Ennanis interrupted sharply, “was that unlike every other mentor and teacher and nanny, you didn’t force me to socialise when I didn’t want to.”

“Well,” Amanita replied, her gaze drifting to the distant ocean. “I didn’t, because I understand what it’s like to want to be alone. But… I am afraid for you. Afraid for what will happen if I can’t be there for you anymore. If I leave one day, I want there to be other people you can turn to, that you can count on. Call it a… a mentor’s worry.”

Ennanis stilled.

“Besides,” Amanita laughed awkwardly, eager to push past the moment of embarrassingly naked sentiment, “you are currently being known as the Golden Rose, and not for good reasons. People find it hard to have faith in you. It’s why they didn’t listen to you back in the forest just now, and it’s why they will continue to reject you no matter how skilled you become. It is hard for people to have faith in someone who seems to care for no one.

“If you are content to roost on an island, be as a lone bird preening no feathers but your own, then it’s okay to be alone forever. But if you want to be a leader, to raise your voice to the skies and have people listen to you—if you want to help others truly—then you need friends.” She paused. “Furthermore, Ennanis, despite what you claim…you do look lonely.

“Remember what I told you before? You don’t have to live out the meaning of your name.”

Ennanis sat there, between the steaming nectar and cake on the table, the packaged bottle of hair conditioner beside her on the seat, her quiver of arrows and shortsword hanging at her belt.

"I'll make a friend if it gets you off my back," she sniffed.

"There's a good girl," Amanita smiled again. Her blood-red hair tangled in the dark light of the sun, as it set over the ocean waves.

~~~