The girl felt so very dumb, just standing there with a blade in her hand, clutched so tight it made her knucklebones stand out even on her already pale skin. A quick look revealed that he hadn't come alone, but in the company of a young Drykas woman. Suddenly the more intuitive part of her caught a glimpse of things to come, and and if possible it made Akela even more nervous.
The key to understanding Akela was her need for simplicity. She just didn't like complication in her life, and if presented with it her first instinct would be to either remove it or bypass its source. She may be able to handle it, but she didn't want to have to. She wasn't made to worry about more than one thing at a time. That stuff was for Kavala, who was complicated enough to serve two or three people. With Kavala, there were needs that covered other needs and dressed up yet different needs that were mostly of her own making. With Akela, hardly anything was a big deal. Lose your Strider? No big deal. Sex slave to a Zith settlement? No big deal. She could get over those things quickly enough. But the twisted game of things left unsaid, expectations broken, and hearts growing farther apart, it was all uncomfortable to her. Unnecessarily complicated.
"Oh," she murmured, staring into her own reflection in the blade and finally sheathing the weapon in its scabbard. She wanted to say something about kicking his ass like the good old times but the words just didn't come out. They would've been insincere, which she didn't want to be, not to Vanator. The truth had the potential to do more harm than any lie, though.
"it just needs to be oiled a lot or it'll lose its edge," she fidgeted, just to fill the silence with words.
"It's been a long time, brother." She nodded, and was about to add some more meaningless things, when Kavala stepped into the conversation. And it was then that Akela felt a cold shiver down her spine.
This wasn't her sister. While Akela had only ever heard of them in the occasional campfire story, she had no doubt that Kavala was sounding like those golems made by wizards. A mechanism grafted onto an expressionless face. This was very, very bad. Kavala was still healing, and Van's visit could help her recovery, but also set her back by months or years, or even compromise her stability forever. Akela wished she could do something about this, but it was entirely outside her control. Fights, whether physical or verbal, were the simplest interaction there could be between two people, so she liked them best. She was just ill-equipped for dynamics of family attrition. Sometimes she hated being the older sister, as it placed a burden of expectations on her that she wasn't ready to meet. She was supposed to protect the part of Kavala that had survived her past. And she couldn't begin to figure out how.
"That sounds like a good idea," she agreed with her sister's judgment. Whatever happened, it was best to keep the staff out of it. Akela wasn't even sure if it was a good thing to flaunt their heritage in front of Riverfall. In her mind it was a matter of time before the Akalak and the Drykas set their sights on each other over this pocket of Cyphrus. Ironically, the girl had no idea what side she'd be on if that were to happen.
"I see you've brought company, brother." She just couldn't bear this pantomime any longer. It was like the elephant in the living room everyone pretended not to see. The very fact he'd gone ahead to test the waters alone meant that he expected to find them rough.
Fact was, Akela plainly didn't care who Vanator took to his bedroll. It was his life, it wouldn't be overly long, might as well spend it with whoever he liked - nor could she ever judge another on the basis of their bedfellows. She hadn't been close to Tamar, she hadn't sulked upon her death, and all the talk about Akela not being there to protect her from the attack had jaded the girl's memories of Vanator's first wife. That said, Kavala did care, a lot. Her sister had shared the tale of a Drykas woman called Kashik visiting her earlier that year. She couldn't have known if this was the same person, but Kavala's reaction was a heavy hint in that direction. Akela anticipated a tough session of damage containment coming up. And there was no telling where her Ranuri would drive her if Kavala's wishes got out of hand in the middle of this.
It would be fine, she thought. As long as nobody brought up the curse. Don't bring up the curse. Don't bring up the curse. Don't let your temper flare. Don't talk too much. And don't bring up the curse.