On top of that, Nalrond still felt guilty and ashad at the thought he had left Lith and Solus alone in their hour of need due to his weakness. Being outdone by Dawn made things much, much worse.
"Fine." Nalrond hissed, his face pale. "When do you leave?"
"Whenever I want to and not a second earlier." Dawn crossed her arms on her chest and was about to say more when she felt soone tapping on her shoulder.
She turned around, expecting to find Lith, Solus, or Baba Yaga, facing a bouquet of mixed flowers instead.
"For you." Zepho Acala said. "Don’t worry, I’ve already asked Lith for permission to pick a few flowers from the garden. He won’t ask us to pay-"
The words died in his throat as he looked over Dawn’s shoulder and saw Friya and Nalrond. Acala was as tall as her and was so focused on surprising her that he had ignored her surroundings.
"You!" Nalrond’s body tensed twice as hard at the sight of the traitorous Ranger. "You? And her? How can there be two of you?"
The Agni felt his breakfast resurfacing along with his trauma. The forr turned his skin green while the latter turned it white.
"We had already reached this point before our separation." Acala’s green eyes blinked nervously as he stuttered every word. "After we decided to get back together, we-"
"Hush, dear." Dawn put a finger on his lips while giving him a dazzling smile. "Answer him if you want to, not because you have to. They have no right to interrogate you, and you have no obligation to answer."
The physical contact broke the pang of guilt and sha Acala experienced, grounding him in the present.
"Thanks, babe, but I want to answer him. I owe Nalrond that much." He replied.
"You owe more than that!" The Agni snarled, shapeshifting into his hybrid form. "You owe my entire village."
"He owes you nothing!" Dawn’s eyes burst with white light. "Because if you want to play this ga, then you owe four hundred years of imprisonnt and torture. You owe everything your people stole from ."
Nalrond took a step back, his self-righteous fury recoiling as if he had been slapped.
"That’s different!" Friya stepped in to defend him in his mont of vulnerability. "You are a monster and had been imprisoned for a reason."
"The only difference is that you don’t like ." Dawn snarled. "I’m no monster. Sinmara defeated and gave to the Rezars to be contained, not exploited. I didn’t kill the Rezars for sport or fun.
"I did it because they gave plenty of reasons to. If you think I deserved what happened to because of my cris, then the Rezars deserved what I did to them because of their cris. Either you admit this or you are a filthy hypocrite!"
"Please, calm down." Acala stepped forward to stop the Horseman. "We are guests and should avoid inconveniencing our host. As I was saying, Nalrond, after Dawn and I reunited, our bond beca even stronger than before.
"We both have a body now, and she can move around without as long as she doesn’t get too far." He slightly opened his shirt, revealing the bright white crystal on his chest.
"So that’s your punishnt?" Nalrond spat on the floor. "Power, a companion to replace the one you killed, and even youth?"
The Zepho Acala the Agni rembered had grey streaks in his light brown hair and beard. Now the grey was gone, and his hair had turned to a shade so light that it looked red under the sunlight.
"I didn’t get any younger." Acala shook his head. "The grey was due to stress and my unresolved feelings. I simply got better."
"Still too much, if you ask ." The Agni growled.
"Since you like questions, what are you doing here?" Dawn glared at the couple. "Your girl is pretty rich, Agni. Don’t you have a mansion or sothing?"
"My mother is an honored guest here, and so are we." Friya glared back. "We can stay for as long as we like."
"And so can we." Dawn replied. "Solus and I aren’t so different, and our families are friends."
"Your families?" Nalrond echoed in disbelief.
It pained him to admit that with her inner light and golden eyes, the Horseman had a striking resemblance to Solus’ energy body. The similarities between them didn’t stop there, and the longer Nalrond thought about it, the more unsettling eting Dawn’s gaze beca.
"Yes, my mother and my little sister, Kelia." Dawn nodded. "They have been here for longer than you, since no Ernas lived at the Mansion back when Ripha returned from the dead.
"You ca last, so you have to adapt to those who were already here, like we did for Garrik and Ryla, not the other way around."
"We have to do no such thing, and don’t you dare compare yourself with Morok’s family!" Friya snarled, her violet aura erupting from her body as thick green scales covered her skin.
"A violet core?" Dawn laughed snidely. "How cute. If you think you can threaten just because you’ve beco the Harbinger of a Lesser Divine Beast, think again."
White pristine crystals sprouted from the Horseman’s body, forming a protective armor. They started from her abdon and spread to her chest and shoulder first before moving to her limbs.
"I’ve killed so many Divine Beasts in my life that a Harbinger isn’t even worth nt-"
"What do you think you are doing, guys?" Solus said with a soft, warm voice and a friendly smile that didn’t extend to her eyes.
"Solus, how could-" Solus squeezed Friya’s shoulder with such strength that Friya gritted her teeth.
"You’re done talking, Friya." Solus giggled as if her friend had just told her a funny joke. "Now you listen. Just nod with your head, okay?"
Friya complied.
"This is a park, not an arena." Solus’ conciliatory tone didn’t match with the grip Dawn felt on her own arm. "People co here to relax and enjoy the scenery, not to see you argue."
Solus nodded at Aran, Leria, and Kelia, who were standing near the babies’ stroller and staring at the quarrelling couples.
"I know you don’t like each other, and I won’t ask you to beco friends, but let be crystal clear." Her eyes narrowed, and with it ca the pressure of the entire array field of the Mansion and the tower.
"Raise your voice, throw a fit, do anything that can destroy this precious mont of peace and scare Valeron again, and I’ll beat you so hard and for so long that ln and the Gernoff will send gift baskets. Do you understand?"
More nodding ensued.
"Good." Solus hugged them in turns and forced them to return the embrace. "Now turn around, smile and wave at the children, and pretend everything is fine."
Solus’ arms were a steel vise, squeezing the air out of the lungs of her guests until they did as she ordered.
"Be nice to each other and don’t make co back." Solus smiled as she waved them goodbye. "Because I really don’t want to spoil this day with bloodshed."
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