#catsquad

“They are not!” Ta’rhiki tightens his hands around his jamadhars.

Van Baelsar ignores him. “Accept but this—”

“Besides,” Sonjha says with a frown, “some of the eikons are nice too.” He’s a summoner, so he’s biased, but Majha can’t say he doesn’t have a point. It’s not as if any of them have met the Warden herself, or ever will, but Majha likes to think that if they did she’d protect them as fiercely as Ifrit and Titan and Garuda have fought for their children.

“Accept but this,” van Baelsar says again, a little louder, “and you will—”

“The only thing I’ll accept is your unconditional surrender,” Majha says.

Even through the armor she can practically see smoke coming out of his ears. “Accept but this and you will see that Eorzea’s faith is bleeding the land dry.”

“Nah,” Chaanqa says. She casts Unmend again; again it sizzles and spatters off his shield. If Garlemald actually felt inclined to give these to common soldiers, for combat, instead of this one pompous windbag, for gratifying his ego, they’d be a lot more of a threat, though Majha supposes it might not let anything out either.

She wishes it didn’t let sound out.

“Nor is this unknown to your masters!” van Baelsar shouts, frazzled. “Which prompts the question—”

“I really don’t think it does,” Majha says.

Ta’rhiki is practically vibrating. “We don’t have masters, and our friends wouldn’t lie to us!”

The shield generator is inside the shield. Majha looks up, thoughtfully, at the ceiling.

“Your masters lack—wait.”

They are all treated to the sight of a Garlean legatus replaying his last few words in his head. “Which prompts the—argh. Damn it.”

The shield comes down in a sizzle of sparks, and this time Chaanqa’s Unmend hits him square in the chest. He lunges at her with a snarl, even as Ta’rhiki and Ifrit-egi both charge in.