Brant stood atop a high tower on the north side of the temple as noon rolled around. Pacing in slow circles around the walled space, he squinted into the distance all around. Nothing unusual appeared in view, but his vigilance wasn't diminished in the slightest. Thoughts and ideas also brewed in his mind as he attended to his lookout post. His brain felt like agitated waters, stirred against its will by a heating flame. 

He glanced up when the trapdoor in the center of the tower floor swung open, revealing the spiral staircase beneath. Ace stepped out of the entryway, followed closely by Hannah. The grinning brunette bore a tray of grilled cheese sandwiches and applesauce in her hands. 

"Hey." Brant said, greeting them both. "What brings you up here?" 

Hannah's smile widened as she stepped closer, laying the tray down on the wall before him. "I brought ya somethin' to eat." 

Brant returned her pleasantness with a smirk of his own as he took one of the sandwiches from the platter. She nudged an applesauce container his way, which he refused with a shake of his head. 

"I don't like sweet stuff." he muttered. 

Hannah facepalmed dramatically. "Oh yeah! I shoulda remembered dat! What else can I get ya?" 

"No, it's fine. I'm not all that hungry anyway." 

With that, Brant took a bite, smiling slightly at the pleasant taste of grilled bread, salty cheese and a thin slice of ham. Cheese strung between the sandwich and his mouth, and he glanced up quickly to see if Ace was watching. He wasn't. 

"Thanks, Hannah." he mumbled, "I appreciate it." 

Hannah nodded. "No problem. I figured a god don't have time for such things as cookin' a meal." she remarked, a teasing glint in her brown eyes. 

He chuckled. "One would think a god would have all the time in the world." 

Hannah giggled and took another bite of her own sandwich. 

After eating in silence for a couple minutes, Brant glanced up at Ace, who he found to be staring back. He injected a question into his gaze and waited. 

"You've been up here by yourself for four hours." Ace said, "I figured by now, you've got some earth-shattering new idea or something." 

Brant raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about all that, but you are right. I've been thinking over something." 

"I'm listening." 

"Well, the core of it's pretty simple. Alconte is gathering all its armies together, soon to descend upon all its enemies and crush them. And yet, look at us who resist them. We're scattered, disunited and antagonistic." 

Ace nodded, but remained silent. 

"So the way I look at it, if Alconte's gathering her armies, why shouldn't we? If we don't stand together now, we'll never stand again. Alone, we're nothing. The Jasmidianite Insurgence is nothing alone. Odegoan, Commercian, Ferangian, we're all nothing if we stand alone. But together...maybe we'll stand a chance." 

"You're wantin' to put the Alliance back together again." Hannah said. 

Brant's head bobbed up and down in agreement. "Yes. We've had our differences, but we'd be foolish to focus on them now." 

"How would we even go about this?" Ace asked. 

"That's where it gets complicated." Brant replied, "I need to think that through some more." 

"Well, you do that. I'll be waiting to hear what you come up with." 

******************** 

Baird hobbled along through the central courtyard with the assistance of a hefty staff. With the Innutukian men outside doing training exercises, the building felt oddly vacant. Not that he minded, as his focus was on finding Aaron, and their absence had nothing to do with that goal. 

After peeking into the various offshoot chambers lining the walls of the court, he found Aaron reclining at a rusty table in a small room. Keira sat opposite him, an assortment of knives laid out neatly between them. Both glanced up and smiled at Baird as he approached. Aaron leapt up to find him a chair. 

"Hey, dude, what's up?" Aaron asked as he unfolded a chair beside Baird. 

With some effort, Baird squatted down onto the cushion. He winced when the motion pulled at his stitches. "I'm not gonna beat around the bush, Aaron. I'm ready to go home. So's Abby." 

Before Aaron could speak, Keira did. "But we have a nearly inevitable Alcontean attack on the way! So—" 

"That's exactly why I need to leave. I'm not fit to fight, and neither is Khemera. We'd be sitting ducks if things go south." 

Aaron leaned forward. "I thought the old man said he's learned to function with his other senses by now." 

"Yeah, he can spar perfectly fine. But use your head. In the clamor of a battlefield, there's no way he could hear his way around." 

"Fair enough." 

Baird sighed. "So we need to get out while we still can. Do you have anything I could use for that purpose, Aaron?" 

He shook his head. "I don't think so. I guess I could give you a lift, but the Stingray's the only air support we've got." 

Keira cleared her throat. "I might be able to convince the Innutukian general to let you borrow one of his armored cars." 

"What do you mean, 'borrow'?" Baird snorted. "Then I'd have to do what? Keep in contact with him so we can arrange a return one day?" 

"Not only that," Aaron said, "but the roads can't be too safe, because we have no idea when they're coming. If they saw an Innutukian vehicle driving along their roads, they'd seize you just like that." 

Baird nodded and displayed a somber face. "So we're gonna have to stick it out here and hope you guys can hold them off." 

Aaron laid a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We won't let anything happen to you." 

"Thanks." Baird said, meeting his eyes with a smile. "Bash some heads for me." 

"I intend to." he replied with a chuckle. 

******************** 

Brant stretched his back and stepped down a flight of stairs into the empty courtyard. Most of the temple had already descended into darkness, an uneventful day having already come and gone. By now, 10 o'clock p.m. had just hit, so most had already retired for the evening. 

Despite the deep shadows all about, Brant's gaze pierced through the the black veil, taking what little light remained and amplifying it by several magnitudes. He spotted a pair of Kemarians, a man and a woman, who sat beside one another against a wall and whispered. Brant averted his eyes, quickly concluding they were simply a couple desiring some private alone time. 

He ducked through a doorway leading to an even darker corridor. The only light in sight was a dim ray emanating from a partially-open door at the end of the hall. Brant hurried his steps to investigate. 

Brant rounded the corner and stepped into the room with quiet footsteps. A smile crept to his lips at the sight of Hannah inside. A warm light flowed from an antique overhead lamp, illuminating a small desk and causing her chocolate brown hair to glisten. On the tabletop lay a monstrous map sprawled across the entire surface, crumpled slightly at the bottom by Hannah's crossed arms, where her head rested. With closed eyes and an open mouth, she snored softly. 

Brant studied the paper in greater detail and smirked. It was a topographical map of Klovania. Hannah loved maps, and he had been telling her about his homeland earlier, so he now chuckled quietly at the correlation. 

Noting the unnatural curvature of Hannah's spine and neck to maintain the sleeping position, Brant made a sympathetic wince. With a sigh, he stepped up to her chair. Slipping one arm in the crook between her calves and thighs and the other under her neck, he lifted the brunette. 

He took care not to bump her head as he bore her through the doorway and down the hallway. Then he found his way to the stairs, ascended them, and entered another corridor. When he came to the door of the room where Hannah had been sleeping with Wendy and a pair of Kemarian women, he stopped. 

After slowly and carefully shifting Hannah in his arms so her head draped over his shoulder and only one of his muscular arms was required to support her weight, he reached out the other hand and grasped the doorknob. He twisted it open as gently as he could. 

Brant swept a glance across the room and let out a breath in relief. He hadn't startled any of the three sleeping women. Not yet, at least. 

After shifting Hannah in his arms again, Brant lowered her down onto her violet sleeping bag. He silently thanked her for having left it open, making his current task all the easier. He laid her down and found the zipper before realizing her shoes were still on. 

With nimble fingers, Brant unzipped and untied Hannah's black combat boots. He tugged them off as gently as he could. Ignoring the sweaty odor wafting up from her feet, he slipped the socks off and laid her legs down before draping half of the sleeping bag over her body. Finally, he zipped it up. 

Before leaving, Brant crawled over to her head and planted a kiss on her forehead. Only then did she stir, so he paused. 

In the darkness, he saw her brown eyes open and glance about in unseeing confusion. "What's goin' on?" she muttered. 

Brant put a finger to his lips before realizing she couldn't see the gesture. "Shh, it's just me. Brant." 

She smiled slightly. "Did I...fall asleep in there?" 

"I'm afraid you did. I figured you'd appreciate the warmth when you woke up." 

"I reckon I woke up sooner than ya planned, then." she remarked with a soft giggle. 

"Much sooner." he said pleasantly, "Well, I'll get out of your hair. Sleep tight...darling." 

Hannah pecked Brant's cheek. "Good night, darlin'." 

Brant tiptoed his way out. He slid the door shut with a minimal thump, and he allowed the door's latch engage so slowly it was entirely inaudible. Then he glanced up, and his shoulders jumped. A shadowy figure stood at the end of the hallway. Aaron. 

"You're up late." Brant remarked in a voice low in both volume and pitch. 

"So're you." Aaron retorted, crossing his arms. By the way his eyes darted restlessly about, Brant could tell the darkness still blinded him. 

"So," Brant said, "I'm assuming there's a reason you're standing there?" 

"Yeah, I'd like to know, what's up with you and Hannah? Are you two...snogging?" 

Brant tilted his head. "Excuse me?" 

"Like...kissing and stuff. What's up with you two lately?" 

"We are." 

Aaron narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't like that. Not one bit." 

"No offense, but isn't that a bit irrelevant?" 

"Not really!" he exclaimed, his volume too loud for the late hour. "She's my sister at this point, and her giving herself up to a selfish brute...I can't just stand by and watch it happen." 

Now Brant narrowed his eyes as well. "And what exactly do you plan to do about it?" 

The only sounds between the two men were the puffs of breathing. Aaron's proved louder as he stumbled over words, or more accurately, thoughts. 

"You're only being petty at this point, Aaron. I've done my part to repair what I've broken, and I've apologized for what I can't. But yet you still seem to be holding onto some remnant of bitterness." 

Aaron sneered. "I'm not being bitter!" he snapped, "I'm only trying to hold onto what I've got, and not lose it again! Maybe it's the abandoned orphan boy with a little sister to look after in me, but I don't intend to repeat my past mistakes." 

"And what past mistakes are you referring to?" Brant asked, burying his frustration with great effort. 

"It was my laxness that let that wretch Urban take advantage of my sister and use her for his pleasure. I didn't keep a good enough eye on her. And here I am in the same boat." 

"Except Hannah's not your sister." 

Aaron growled. "Don't you dare say that." 

Brant shrugged, even knowing Aaron couldn't see that. "And not only that, you're forgetting that both ladies in question have complete control over what they do with their lives, their hearts, and themselves in general. You don't own them just because of your brotherhood." 

"Sure. But you can't seem to get it through your thick head. They're both my sisters. They also both lost their fathers. So I have to be a brother, yes. But in some ways, I've gotta fill those shoes too. And it's a big burden." 

"Sometimes, it's best to let fathers go entirely." Brant remarked bitterly as memories of his own flooded into his mind. 

"I don't even wanna know what you mean by that. All I know is, you need to leave her alone." 

"I'm not inclined—" 

"You're gonna get her hurt, Brant!" Aaron barked, on the verge of tears. "And you think more apologies are gonna magically wash your sins away?" 

"That's not what I've been saying!" Brant growled, his anger rising to meet Aaron's. "I already told you, I'm doing everything I can to make things right. But I can't just go back in time and undo your suffering. So all I can do is apologize for that and do better in the future. But your pride prevents you from forgiving. You'd much rather stew in your anger than face reality like a real man and realize I wasn't the only one who failed that day. We all did!" 

Aaron swung a punch blindly into the darkness. Brant snatched him by his shoulder and pinned him against the wall. 

"You take all that back!" Aaron spat. 

Brant shook his head. "I'm not taking anything back. Not my apologies from before, and certainly not what I've said just now. Now, go to bed, Aaron, and think it over. That's an order." 

Aaron's face hardened into visible protestation, but Brant had already spun on his heel and marched off.

******************* 

A/N: Does anyone else sense pieces moving into place? Brant's got a new plan to bring the insurgences together, Baird wants to leave but can only do so when it becomes safer, and in what's probably one of my favorite scenes so far, Aaron and Brant butt heads again. One thing's for sure, the tension's getting so tight, something's gotta snap at some point. The question is, who or what's gonna be the thing to snap? 🤔 

All good questions that will be answered in due time. But in the meantime, don't forget to vote and comment, please and thank you! Am I smooth? Not really. Are you gonna do it regardless? We'll see. 😂 

Anyway, maybe this is a rather specific question, but here we go: What pair of characters have the most gripping dynamic to you so far? And can you think of another piece of fiction that has a pair with similar dynamic? 

And as for a random question, look at the nearest picture, photograph, painting, whatever. Would you like to go there or see that person right now? 

(I'm trying, lol, I'm trying. Anyhow, my nearest picture would be my calendar photo, which has an image of a gravel path winding through a beautiful forest not unlike some of the parks where I live. And yes, I'd definitely want to go there! It reminds me of how long it's been since I've done something like that. 😆) 

Well, that's all I've got for you today. I hope you enjoyed, and equally hope you have an amazing week ahead! I'll see you in Saturday's update. 😁