#feversong

Jason Momoa as Jericho Barrons

Joe Manganiello as Ryodan

Alexander Skarsgard as Lor

Idris Elba as Kasteo

Henry Cavill as Fade

“What were you even thinking?!” The voice belonged to Haley. Somehow he managed to convey his outrage, frustration and panic all in one line. Sharing the same delicate nose, the same fine lines, the same blond hair, and even the skinny build, Tesni always thought the two of them should have been more alike. They weren’t.

Their voices echoed hollowly throughout the room. Located in Eversong, the small home was nestled among the trees. The quiet noise of the outdoors was having a hard time competing with the shouting match, despite the open window. With the nearest neighbors out of sight, and consequently out of mind, there was little else sound.

It had only been a week since Aechon’s funeral, and only a few days after the interview that had decided Tesni’s future. She had chosen to say something now, on this day, simply because she had found Haley alone.

Since returning, Iril and Haley had been almost inseparable. The next few hours represented her best chance to deliver the news before having to deal with Iril. In her attempt to break the information gently, she had jumped from topic to topic, inserting little hints here and there. Things had been going well enough, until she turned the talk to talk of the future…and the fact that she had joined the Sunguard. Haley hadn’t taken it well. Clearly.

It was Tesni’s turn to get angry. “What was I thinking? How does that matter? It is my choice; the least you could do is respect my decision!” The shorter of the two by only a few inches, it wasn’t hard for her to stare her brother in the eyes. She could make out her own bristly form in the green reflection.

While his tone was all angry, those eyes showed far more concern. In some ways, Tesni didn’t recognize the person he was now. He’d changed, and it had nothing to do with the new scars marking his face. Haley seemed older, more serious. He’d aged.

It showed in his straight-backed posture, the tightness in his jaw, the bags under his eyes. He wasn’t the same brother she’d used to chase around, the same one who’d cared for her cuts and scrapes, made jokes when she was upset to cheer her up. This Halaetheas had replaced her Haley.

“Respect? How can I respect that? You are going to get yourself killed!”

There. There it was. The cause for the concern. Tesni could understand it, in light of recent events, but she would not allow it.

“I may not be as good as you, or even Iril, but I am not fragile. I can take care of myself,” she said. The venom fueling her speech had nothing to do with the current conversation. As the youngest, she was used to the worry from her brothers. Younger than Aechon by a considerable amount, she was the kid sister. Smaller, thinner, she was the delicate one. Tesni was tired of it.

“This has nothing to do with me, or Iril, or anyone else for that matter. It is simple. You know nothing about how anything works. Tesni, you can’t even fight!”

Haley didn’t look smug, even though he had touched on the biggest snag in her plans. It was something that she was even concerned with, but for different reasons.

Her brother paused in his tirade as he waited to see if she would finally concede. The silence that stretched into the room after his words was punctuated only with his heavy breathing.

Tesni looked down.

Aechon had managed to teach her the very basics of sword fighting. Beyond that, she had minimal knowledge of hand-to-hand combat. Tesni had never been in a real fight and had no skills in healing or strategy. The most she could pride herself on was the ability to learn quick and, above all, to follow directions. Tesni wasn’t worried about having to learn, she was worried she wouldn’t be good enough when she did. That worry would never be enough to stop her, though.

“Anything is a bit of an exaggeration…” Tesni started.

Haley knotted his fingers into his hair, not daring to speak for a moment. After he took a few, not so calming breaths, he continued. “Please…Help me understand what was going through your head, because this is a whole new level of stupid, even for you.”

Maybe it was how he said it. Maybe it was that he rarely made those kinds of comments. Regardless, the low, quiet words stung. How could he say that? She stepped back, watching him in a stunned sort of way. Tesni didn’t have a response. Haley, on the other hand, seemed to be getting momentum.

“You decided to make a life-changing decision without any forethought and thought what? That it would work out? That you would save hundreds of lives and be a great hero or something equally ridiculous? Things never work that way. War does not work that way. It took me years of training, years of practice, to get where I am today.”

He gestured towards his face, at the scars that carved their way down the side of his face. “I got these as a keepsake. Even I was not prepared for what we found. We all had the same training; no one was going in with anything less than that. Despite that, we lost many lives…” Haley trailed off towards the end. It was clear he was thinking of one in particular.

Within seconds, he had shrugged off whatever it was. “You…no training, no real combat skills. Tesni, you would not have made it. You will not make it. Are you in that much of a hurry to die?”

“I know what I am getting myself into…” Tesni started again. She was still speaking softly, uncertain of even what to say. She found herself interrupted once more by her much louder brother. He was really starting to get on her nerves.

“The first time you go out, Iril and I will have to say goodbye to another sibling. Those are in rather short supply these days if you have not noticed.”

Her growing irritation came out in one single snapped sentence. A sentence that hallmarked on all of Haley’s worry and her own sadness. “I have no plans to be as reckless as Aechon!”

That put an end to it. The final words rang slightly, even in her own ears. They faded away, leaving the two staring at each other in some kind of surprise.

Tesni was instantly regretful of the comment. “I shouldn’t have said that…” It felt wrong to talk about him that way. Mentioning his faults felt wrong. She really shouldn’t have said it. Why did she say it? Tesni didn’t feel any better with Haley staying so quiet.  

She glanced at the open window, finding some comfort in the familiar view. Without them yelling, the softer sounds drifted inside. Birdsong, the wind, the distant babble of a creek. The silence between Haley and Tesni was tangible, awkward. She had never been good with silences.

The awkward silence might have persisted, if not for Haley. “You are a lot like him…almost too much like him. I’m afraid the recklessness is a given.” He didn’t sound angry anymore. Just sad, resigned, done.

Aechon had always been the most rash of the three brothers. The jumping without looking attitude was something he had shared with his sister as well. That same personality quirk was what had gotten him killed at the end of it all.

Tesni looked away. Was that a good thing? A bad thing? She sighed. “I guess it is.”

More of a pause, another break in the communication. Then, almost tentatively… “Why?”

She knew what he was asking. At least it was a question she could answer. “My place is on a battlefield, fighting for the Sin’dorei. I cannot sit idly by while everything we are is threatened. It is not who I am, it is not who the three of you raised me to be. I am not doing it for Aechon; I am doing it for me.”  

Tesni cocked her head to the side as she teased more thoughts into a coherent string of words. “I am tired of trying to be something I am not. I will never be content playing a simple part and I am done trying to convince myself I could. It has to be this.”

Her words elicited a sigh from his brother. He shook his head, a tired look on his face. “Are you serious about this? Is there anything I can say to change your mind?” Haley asked.

He’d given in. He wasn’t convinced, but it would have to be enough for now. Tesni shook her head, more in response to the second question than the first. “There is nothing. I am set on this.”

More silence.

“Have you told Iril yet?”

“If I had met you first,” I said. 

“You might have loved me,” he finished for me. ”And if you loved me.” he said, and stopped. 

“You might have changed.”