Thank the Eternal Titans JJ wasn’t wearing his religious robes. A priest-in-training charging to a crime scene would have thrown the anxious crowd into greater disarray. But he was done with that life: he’d sealed his fate when he ran from the temple. Now, he was a concerned citizen. 

But one who could help. 

JJ wasn’t the tallest, so he couldn’t see over the crowd’s heads. He was skinny, though, so he wound his way through the throng of people until the scene became visible. 

JJ had heard the blast from several blocks away, so he figured it was either a car-bombing or a street-demolition. A burnt semi was on its back and two cars had suffered various degrees of flame-abuse. To the side, three Peace Keepers talked to two civilians. 

Wait.... A Mark was on the civilian man’s left arm, resembling a small bonfire. The redhead woman next to him was having an animated conversation with the smug-looking Peace Keepers, getting in their faces. 

No. These weren’t any simple civilians. They were fellow Wielders. Ones who promptly turned away from the Peace Keepers and left the scene: the woman in a huff, the man crestfallen. Maybe they were new members of Nourishing Fields and were trying to help. 

Fat lot of good that would do. The first thing the Peace Keepers did when they arrived in Yoularnon was force Nourishing Fields out of their contracts about Serene. 

JJ glared at the Peace Keepers, who returned to the burned semi. They had spent several weeks on this case, supposedly investigating every possible violent action the terrorists did. Yet the bombings kept occurring and they appeared no closer to finding Serene’s hideout than when they’d started. 

Pathetic. 

Evil was running rampant through JJ’s city. And now that he’d let himself loose, no one could stop him from stamping it out. 

Focus. Mav’s sweat dripped up his neck and into his hair. His arms trembled, pleading to cease this training, but Mav held strong. Focus! 

Balance was never one of Mav’s greatest strengths. Perfect balance required an insane amount of focus and skill to maintain his body’s composure. Even in a solid headspace, Mav struggled. 

After talking with his fellow Peace Keepers – ex-fellows – precision was the last thing on Mav’s mind. 

So, of course, he found a chair and performed a handstand on it, which required controlled focus and tight precision to not fall over. 

Maren had sat down on an adjacent chair, a small table between them, and ordered a hot chocolate. Apparently, Mav had chosen a café to vent his frustrations. 

Ignoring the onlookers, Mav continued to hold himself upright, until his shoulders screamed in agony, threatening to drop him on his head. Then, he let himself sit in the chair. 

“I didn’t know what you’d want,” Maren said, passing him a menu. 

“Any iced tea is usually fine,” Mav said, rolling his shoulders. 

Maren smiled, shaking her head slightly. She was wrapped in her thick, red blanket, the only parts of her sticking out were her head and two little hands, wrapped around her mug from which steam wafted. 

“You always keep yourself cold,” Maren said. 

“Builds my body’s resistance,” Mav said. “Makes my fire hotter and more powerful.” 

“I’m aware. So, why haven’t you had me workout while dehydrated?” 

“You ever do it before?” 

“Not exactly.” 

“That’s why. It’s dangerous to start. Obviously, the more you train like that, the slower it’ll take for you to dehydrate in a fight. But you could seriously hurt yourself, or even die, starting out if you’re not careful breaking through your limits.” 

“I’ve done it the last two weeks, with the abomination and the Titans.” 

“Exactly. We were in life-or-death situations. You had to do it, or you and other people would die. Training like that is like putting yourself in that mindset every day. And that’s hard to do. You could either stop too early, afraid of the discomfort, or you’ll go too far.” 

“So why don’t I start slow and you stop me when I get there?” 

“Because...” 

Maren raised an eyebrow. 

“I’m not good at holding back.” Mav looked away. “My cohort forced me to stop at first. And when I wouldn’t, Sergeant Allen laid into me about limits. Which was saying something, given all the insane shit he did to us so we could train already. Anyway, I didn’t take it seriously until I was half-frozen on a snowy mountain. Would’ve died if Koda hadn’t carried me back. I thought Sergeant Allen would chew me out. Instead, he gave me a warm drink and some curry. I listened to his training regimen after that.” 

“Mostly?” Maren asked, eyeing Mav’s hand, which was at the back of his head. 

Mav smirked. “Mostly. You can workout dehydrated, but I’m not sure the best way to get you started. If I was a Wave Leaper, I’d bundle up in black and run in the desert.” 

“We’re going in the exact opposite direction of Mesr, so I don’t think I’m in any danger of emulating that.” 

“Guess so.” Mav eyed the menu, then plopped it on the table. “Speaking of training, sorry if my handstand was embarrassing.” 

“Not at all,” Maren said. “Actually, it was a squandered opportunity on my part. I should’ve marketed our guild. ‘Got any handstand-based issues? Then look no further!’ Really could have sold to a niche market.” 

Mav chuckled. Talking about the training, making light of his handstand, had taken his thoughts away from the Peace Keepers. “Thanks.” 

Maren nodded, then sipped her hot chocolate. “Anything else you’d like to talk about?” 

Mav leaned back, staring at the menu. “I knew I’d be branded a Deserter.” 

Words failed him, but Maren didn’t fill the silence. Mav shook his head; he wasn’t good at holding back. Why would he start now? 

“I’d hoped,” Mav continued, “that if I met any Peace Keepers who knew of me, I could let them know all the good stuff I’ve done with you. All the people I’ve helped. I’d hoped that would make them understand and... forgive me.” 

Mav hunched forward, staring at his feet. He didn’t want to see her judgmental eyes right now. “Koda would call me nave, I know.” 

There was a short silence. “You mean ‘naïve?’” 

Mav looked up, brow furrowed. Maren’s blue eyes didn’t cast judgment. More than anything, she looked sympathetic. 

“Oh yeah. That’s the word.” 

She gave him a little smile. “I guess that’s naïve. But if you’d still been in the Peace Keepers and met a Deserter, you’d have heard them out, right?” 

Mav nodded. 

“I wish everyone were as kind as you, Mav. But that’s not the case.” 

“But there are good people in the Peace Keepers.” 

“How many lost sleep because of what happened in that town in Roateo? How about that other one in Mesr?” 

Mav shuddered. Radun, a small town in Roateo, had gotten in big trouble with the government because an unregistered Wielder lived there. And Initsu, the town in Mesr, had burned to the ground due to faulty intel. 

All those lives, lost for nothing. 

“Most of my cohort,” Mav said. 

“And how many left after that?” Maren asked. 

“They believe in the cause!” 

“Of doing whatever their officers tell them, never questioning the orders regardless of how cruel or idiotic they are?” 

“My closest friends are Peace Keepers!” 

Maren leaned forward, eyes aflame, then stopped. She plopped back, sighing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to speak ill of them. And it’s my fault you didn’t swear your oaths. It’s my fault those Peace Keepers were such dicks to you.” 

Like water to a flame, Mav’s anger was doused. He slumped over. “No, I’m sorry for yelling. The Peace Keepers can do good, but... it’s not enough. Not for me. And it wasn’t your fault. Your offer was tempting, but if Koda hadn’t talked sense into me, I’d be a Peace Keeper by now.” 

“And that’s a... bad thing?” 

“Maybe. I might have found a way to live through it, but I like what we’re doing better. I’m happy to be in your guild, helping people wherever and whenever we can.” 

Maren turned away, smiling, failing to hide her cheeks glowing red. “Well... thanks.” 

“No, thank you. I’m feeling a little better now.” 

“Enough to move on from here?” 

“I thought we still had stuff to do in the city?” 

“No. I mean here. You know? The café.” 

“Oh, yeah! Let’s work on the Serene bombings and–” 

“Hold it,” Maren interrupted. “As big of assholes that they were, the Peace Keepers have full jurisdiction. Even Nourishing Fields can’t take out contracts regarding Serene. And they got here only hours after the first bombing, so Nourishing Fields wouldn’t have had time to get much info about them.” 

Mav grunted. How did she know he was about to suggest stealthily extracting information from them like he’d done with Sacred Skies? 

“How haven’t Nourishing Fields complained about this?” Mav asked. 

“They probably have, inwardly,” Maren said. “But you don’t go against the Peace Keepers.” 

“You did.” 

Maren smirked. “Guess I’m just different.” 

“So, how do we help Yoularnon with this?” 

Maren took a long sip, eyes distant. “We... might not.” 

“But–!” 

“Please don’t fight me on this. The best we can hope for is using the excuse I had in Linick. Take a contract that brings us close to Serene ‘by accident.’ But we don’t even know where they are, so it’ll be difficult to manufacture running into the terrorist cell while on an unrelated job.” 

Mav clenched his knees. “So we can’t help.” 

“It’s not looking likely.” Maren gave him a small smile. “But hey, why don’t we go to the hospital? See Bishop Diego, like we were going to do anyway? If he’s awake, he could give us information on CC Corp’s investigation of the mountain.” 

Mav sighed. He wanted to move. Acting against an oppressive force was more rewarding than talking. But, he had wanted to see how the bishops were fairing, and hearing good news about the mine might ease his spirit. 

Hopefully the news was good. 

“It’s something,” Mav said. “Can we race there?” 

Maren laughed, then finished her drink. “Sure. Why not?”