Disorienting Days

They found Adantia in the middle of a feast, or perhaps more accurately a binge. She had more empty plates in front of her than most could **** down, and still had enough food in front of her to last John a full day, maybe two.

"Guess you really did miss fresh food, huh?" John asked, smirking a little as he sat down across from her.

"Duh. Do you realize how long it took me to get a hot meal after Paix fell? Weeks! It took me a full day just to get out of the rubble and find my way to something I could be sure was a house. Then I had to figure out how to work a stove without being able to see it. Seems pretty simple, right? Yeah, not so much. We take our eyes way more for granted than you’d think. If the ovens weren’t all enchanted for safety, I'd probably have burned the whole place down. Ironic, huh?"

"Wait, were those first days really that hard for you to move around?"

"You have to realize that back then, I hadn't begun to even experiment with Geomancy – and my aura sensing was always a second thought. You heard what Lord Brighton said about my abilities, right?”

“He said that you were one of the most powerful Enchanters in the Abyss,” John recalled.

“He was being careful with his words. Of all the Enchanters in the Abyss, I’m maybe in the top five for actual skill with enchanting – or I was, at the time Paix fell. Of all the Enchanters in the Abyss, I was undoubtedly the most powerful. I spent most of my time learning to use that and my Ferromancy abilities because they were useful in and out of combat. I wanted to be strong enough to protect my home, but I also wanted to be useful to it in times of peace. When I said my mana was etched into every piece of Paix, I was exaggerating – but not by much!”

“Yeah, you said that was part of the reason you could control those cables so well, and at such distances,” John recalled. “So you never really worked on aura sensing, or Geomancy?”

“I mean, I messed around with elemental magic a bit. I think that’s like the first thing every newbie mage does – you find out that magic is real, and you get that itch to start throwing fireballs. But the more I stayed in the Abyss, the more I figured out what I was and wasn’t good at. Aura sensing was one of those things I had more talent in than most, but I never needed it before. Paix had so many mages with so many different specialties, I could always find someone to fill in if we needed a tracker or a lookout. So when I lost all that, it took a while for me to adapt to having to take care of it all myself. It took years for me to be able to move and fight the way I can now, years of constant practice. Hell, took me almost a month to be able to walk around the house without bumping into things.”

John repressed the slight urge to smile at the image of a woman as powerful as Adantia constantly bumping her knees on the coffee table. “I suppose we all adapt to our situations, in one way or another.”

“When life puts pressure on you, you have to learn to bend, to adapt to it. If you can’t adapt, you break to release the pressure. Even if you survive the breaking, how many times can you be shattered into pieces before there’s nothing left of what you used to be?”

Even in the warmth of the kitchens, a chill seemed to run through the room. Adantia’s eyes became distant, and when they returned, she was all too quick to take a large sip of her glass – a glass filled with what, John didn’t know, but whatever it was, it smelled so strongly of **** that he could catch whiffs of it wafting across the table.

“But hey, we’re still kicking, so there’s that. You want some of this?” Adantia asked, holding the glass toward John.

“Ahhh… what the hell. Sophia, how about you?” John asked, accepting the glass and tilting it toward the armored harpy beside him. Sophia leaned in and sniffed the drink lightly; her face didn’t move, but her eyes glistened with interest.

“I should not,” Sophia said after a long pause. “We are still out in the open, it would be best for me to remain alert.”

John had a witty retort almost half-formed when he realized what Sophia had just said. Here, in the halls of the Order, surrounded by Knights and with a newly recruited ally more powerful than even John had understood… Sophia considered them to be in real and present danger. John wanted to laugh, wanted to dismiss her concerns. But how could he?

Even now, even after almost a full month spent in the old world, John admitted that her fears struck a nerve. He still found himself looking over his shoulder in ways he never used to, even after learning about the Abyss. Though he wasn’t always conscious of it, he knew that there was a knot of stress within him, most of which was unrelated to the dangerous mission they’d just returned from. Being in the old world made him stressed, being away from his new world made him anxious, and the constant awareness he **** upon himself here mentally exhausted him… only outweighed by the terror that letting himself relax caused.

That was something John could not help himself. What Adantia had said about magic improving the body, but being stuck with a mundane mind… it was as true an evaluation of himself as he’d ever heard. But just because he couldn’t help himself didn’t mean he couldn’t try to prevent Sophia from sharing that burden.

“Sophia, you are a gift and a treasure,” John began, smiling at her and then the glass in turn. “You are so infallibly loyal and faithful that I sometimes think of you more as a part of me than another person – you are always with me, always in step, and follow my words as if they were gospel. You have told me before that your wings are mine… truthfully, that is how I feel as well. You are my wings, Sophia. Always at my back, always ready to carry me across what I cannot overcome myself, and as beautiful as you are powerful.”

“F-Father…” Sophia actually stammered, her mouth hanging open a moment as she took in John’s words. Whether John’s praise had been particularly meaningful to her or if she simply hadn’t expected it at that moment, it seemed to have shocked her all the same.

“But just this once, if you are my wings, let me be your shield. You can relax, Sophia. I will always protect you with my life, but even more than that… let me take care of you. Enjoy yourself.”

John held the cup out to her once again, and though her limbs hesitated and jittered awkwardly, Sophia took the cup all the same.

“Very well… thank you, Father,” Sophia said, raising the glass to her lips. John had intended to share it with her, but whether from nerves or desire, Sophia tipped the glass to her lips – then tipped it further… and then all the way, her throat bulging slightly as she gulped the last of the contents in one fell swoop.

John was about to comment on it when he heard a whistling sound from the other side of the table. John turned to see a barely restrained look of amusement dancing across Adantia’s face as she visibly fought back a giggle.

“Damn, she’s pretty tough after all, isn’t she? That stuff is enchanted, you know,” Adantia said, letting the smile break fully across her face.

“...Enchanted?” John said hesitantly.

“Yeah. You know mundane **** can’t affect mages much, right? Mana makes us just as resilient to it as any poison or trauma. I enchanted that glass to be strong enough to give me a proper buzz… Her? Well, if she’s as strong as you are, you’re in for a fun afternoon.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?!” John exclaimed, turning to Sophia. She seemed fine for now… but there was something of an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.

“Well, I was gonna make a comment about how sappy you were being, but I decided to be nice. Now, I’m so glad that I did. Watching that kick in is going to be fun.”

John fought the urge to look back at Sophia again, instead choosing to stare at Adantia with mild annoyance. Adantia just laughed and lightly pounded her fist on the table at his look, before composing herself once again.

“Come on, let’s go check in on our hosts,” Adantia finally said, pushing her chair away from the table. “They’re probably done with discussions for now, and if they aren’t, too damn bad.”

Adantia pushed away from the table and was halfway to the door before John could even stand. On her way out, Adantia stopped by Sophia’s side and eyed her up, an action that surprised John. A soft smile came to Adantia’s face, barely an upturn at the corner of her lips.

“John’s lucky to have someone like you at his side. Make sure you remember he’s just as responsible for you as you are for him.”

Sophia didn’t say anything, but the slightest nod of her head was enough of a response for Adantia to continue along to the door. John’s brows narrowed in curiosity, but he remained silent as he strode to Sophia’s side. He had to reach up to lock elbows with the far taller Harpy, but he felt a comfort and warmth that was worth the slight reach as they walked toward Lord Brighton’s study once more.

“So, how was the glass, anyway?” John asked, unsure what else to discuss in the silence.

“It was… good. Very good. A pleasant burn, a fire that matches the one within. The one I feel for you, Father. Every day of my life, every time my eyes-”

Sophia cut herself off, and John quirked an eyebrow at her. A colorful blush was already touching Sophia’s cheeks and her steps, although steady, were slightly off kilter from her usual perfection. If this much had already started to affect her…