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Wraythe
After she heard about Ghale's rant, Nari was determined to get back to grappling the next day. She'd faced down Oryll, and it seemed the other priests were making it clear she was no longer doing this on her own, so neither Talin nor I could talk her out of it. Sure, Talin was technically healed, but he wasn't back to one hundred percent yet. Nari? She could barely dress herself.
Her ribs hurt. They were healing fast - most likely thanks to Zeal - but that wasn't the same as being completely healed already. Today, she was dressed like a guardian, wearing one of Ela's old shirts from primary, a pair of her own leather pants, and the lowest set of heeled boots that I'd seen on her in a while. These were red, and I could remember when she'd been given them. Well broken-in and slightly faded around the edges, they'd be perfect, but not quite as good as staying home.
I waited for her and Talin to leave, then walked with them. Usually I tried to give them a bit of time alone, but not today. Not with him being weak and her being a target. I just couldn't. Since I didn't need to worry about Ela, it felt like all of my protective urges had shifted to Nari. I worried about her. Granted, she'd just been hurt, so that made sense, but this felt like more.
It felt like what Talin kept talking about, the way he felt her in his spine. I didn't have that with Ela. Not the same way, at least. I knew my ward so well that I didn't have to read his mind, or emotions, or whatever this was. But Nari? She wasn't the destroyer. She was the one everyone else wanted to tear down, and Ineededto keep her safe.
As we walked, Talin explained to her that she should take it slow, be careful, and Ghale would understand. She had been told to rest by the healers. Even if Ghale didn't like it, he'd have to respect that.
"And then he'll rant about how my Paths conflict, I can't do it all, and I'm tired of it," Nari shot back.
"So what are you going to do?" Talin demanded. "Break your rib again? Take even longer to heal? Ask Zeal to do it for you? Because I have a feeling that if he could, he would've already. I think he used all he had on me!"
Her feet stumbled to a halt. "No, I'm going to be better," she said. "Talin, last weekend proves why I need to learn this. Don't you see? I have to be able to protect myself, even if I'm hurt. Especially then, because you can't do it all. You aren't supposed to be my babysitter. You're my guardian." Then she turned to me almost like she was asking for support.
I just pointed at Talin. "I'm on his side in this. Seeing the two of you like that? Scared the shit out of me, Nari. He was bleeding and you were clearly hurt, but I couldn't tell why."
Her head dropped and her shoulders slumped. "Ok. I'll be careful."
But that didn't last long. The moment we walked into the class, Ghale spotted her. "Nariana, decided to join us again?"
"I was told that being injured isn't a good excuse," she replied.
"I warned you that first day," Ghale said, "that you can't do both. You need to pick."
Nari just huffed out a breath. "You told me to learn, so I learned. You told me I had to hold my own against you, and I did until you dislocated my shoulder. I still came back. I get that your boyfriend hates me, Priest Ghale, but I'm so tired of this game. I can't quit, don't you get that?"
"And a priest died this weekend," he growled, storming over to her. "Don't you getthat?We do things a certain way in this temple so we all know our roles. We haven't had a problem until you showed up claiming to be something new. New is a distraction. New gets good men killed."
I shoved between them and pressed the man back. "That's enough," I warned. "I was there. You were not. I saw Talin bleeding out. I saw Nari bound, unable to help her own guardian. My mentor would never let his desire work a session like that without help, but we weren't allowed to team up, were we?"
"No, that wasn't the lesson," Ghale admitted.
"Any time my ward is going to be incapacitated with multiple people in the room, I will have a second guardian. I don't care if it makes me look bad. I don't give a shit if people laugh about it. Myonlyresponsibility is the one my god gave me to my ward. That means protecting him at all costs. If the classes had been staggered, I would've been there with Talin. I would've been able to stop that before anyone died. Maybe think about your own fault in this, Priest Ghale, because you should've advised Oryll to have a third and unrelated guardian in the room when someone was bound and gagged."
"Go warm up," Ghale ordered me.
I just huffed at that. "Teach us or don't, but if you think my partner's desire is going to be your punching bag, think again."
"All of you!" Ghale snapped. "Stretch it out. Warm up."
Nari clasped Talin's arm, but her eyes were on me. "I'm fine. I promise."
Then she turned for the side where Grath was waiting for her. Talin pulled in a deep breath, then let it fall out. Pressing a hand to his back, I guided him forward. He usually stretched out with Lurel. We'd tried to keep some space between us, but I had a feeling there was no point anymore. Talin was my partner, the guardian to my ward's lover. We would be working together, that was no secret, so ignoring it was definitely pointless. More after my little speech.
"Hey, Wraythe," Lurel greeted me. "You doing ok?"
"He's worried about her," Talin teased.
"Fuck off," I grumbled at him. "She's still hurting, even if she won't admit it."
Lurel turned to where Nari was stretching with Grath. The man had her arm, easing it higher until she made him stop. Then he held it there. It wasn't close to what she was used to, but I got the impression he was actually preventing her from doing too much.
"What was he like in school?" I asked.
"Grath?" Lurel said, glancing over to see if she was right. "He could've been popular, but he was completely devoted to the girl that's now his desire. Val's sweet but a little shy. Grath is handsome, charming, and confident. I never saw him with anyone but his girl, and he never seemed to mind."
