Raven Rainwalker

Twenty of them D Class. 

The odds didn’t look in their favor, and while they had escaped easy enough, with only a few bruises on her part from Mister Dan the crippled skeleton man running her over, the danger of what they were going to encounter the following night hung heavy over their heads. 

It was a night that demanded relaxation, mingling around the lamp and watching the shenanigans of the city unfold around them. Letting loose with some drinks and the thick haze of smoke wafting around them. Or simply...writing in a journal. 

To each their own. The contractors of Edict were all left to their devices while they had the chance, whatever they needed to focus them up for the mission to come. 

In the end it was fear that drove her to it. Fear of failure as a mother, fear of not measuring up, fear of being the wrong kind of influence. She’d been the ‘wrong kind of woman’ her own life, why should motherhood be any different? 

The fear still dragged at her now, more than ever, since they had been reunited. She knew, in her heart, their innocence had been stripped away the moment she’d told Nesven about them, panicking in the SI:7 interrogation room when he revealed his true identity. All she could think about was protecting them from the war, ensuring their survival, but in doing so she had exposed them to the very nature of war she’d been so desperate to shelter them from. 

It walked hand in hand with the woman. It always had, and it would mar them. Her mere presence in their life would assure that. 

All in all the days were passing without much tension. The twins had accepted, as far as she could tell, the situation as best as they could. It wasn’t an easy thing to explain to children so young. Ryaden had been angry for a time, and she couldn’t blame him, abandoned as they had been. Anessa had cried and clung to her, and she could only imagine the loneliness they must have felt. As weeks stretched into months and her visits to the SI:7 safe house they’d been moved to on the edge of Redridge and Elwynn became more frequent the hurt and the anger faded. She was blessed with more and more tender moments that made her question why she had ever distanced herself in the first place, and tore at her knowing she’d never be able to leave them. 

Her job was no longer easy for her to accomplish because of it. Before there had been no qualms throwing herself into a situation that could see her six feet under the ground. Ignoring the alarms and flashing lights warning her of the danger of her shredder core melting down took no effort. Staring into the eyes of her enemy as death loomed over her shoulder had left her with a sense of blissful acceptance. 

“Rainwalker, the fuck you doin?” 

She’d just finished sliding her glove over the end of her rifle, the mail reinforced leather fingers curled down except for the middle, which was kept erect by the barrel of her rifle. She held it up, waving it from side to side as she squatted in the grass. “Signaling for a peace summit so we can eat lunch.”