Chapter 710 - Book 6, Chapter 102 - Working Together (1/2)

Book 6, “You have to get smashed to have a good time drinking. It ain’t a party ‘till you can’t walk straight!” Dawn threw back her glass and downed its contents. It was somewhere between drinking and a shower, because a fair bit of the booze trickled from her mouth and down her face. Red had already crept into her cheeks. Cloudhawk, meanwhile, looked stone sober. “But YOU… you can drink all you want and never get drunk. What a shame.”

It was true. Cloudhawk’s constitution prevented him from getting drunk. He didn’t mind though. Taking a small swallow he replied, “Well, since I can’t get drunk I might as well drink slow and enjoy it, right? It has its own pleasures.”

“Heh, as far as I’m concerned whether you’re binging or taking sips, the pleasure in drinking it not the alcohol. It’s the company! The worst booze can taste better than the rarest wines with the right drinking buddy. Drinking alone, the best beer tastes like water. Am I right or am I right?”

“It looks like someone’s taken on the old drunk’s mantle.”

“Meh… now you got me thinking about the old man. He’s not around to drink with me anymore, so you’re my only drinking buddy.” She trained her eyes on him. “Listen, you have to promise me this. Whatever happens you can’t die in front of me alright? Who else would I go drinking with? Life would be so fucking boring!”

“You think maybe you could think about happier things? Sounds like you expect me to die.”

“Heh heh, then it’s a deal! Drink up!” Dawn held up her glass, newly refilled, and drained it dry.

The two sat alone in an expanse of emptiness, one of the sections in Cloudhawk’s subspace reality. After several bottles they’d had their fill and Cloudhawk left back to Greenland to hear the latest reports. Dawn went back to training. She didn’t know how much time they had left to prepare, so it was a race against time to see how strong she could get.

She was joined after a little while by another, familiar face. Tall, cold and imperial she was dressed from head to toe in white. A crystal sword was strapped to her back. Her hair had been combed and framed glittering eyes – one silver, one black [1]. When she recognized who it was, Dawn’s eyes tightened at the corners as though spotting an old foe.

“What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.”

This took Dawn by surprise. Strange that Selene would come to her after waking, instead of looking for Cloudhawk. Why?

She couldn’t think of a time when the two weren’t at each others’ throats. Dawn could rattle off a list of reasons why she didn’t like Selene, with jealousy near the top. Ever since they were small, Selene had stolen the show form Dawn time and again. All that was in the past so it was no big deal, but what bothered her the most was what they fought over. Cloudhawk! She found herself grinding her teeth.

“Hmph, out with it then. I’m busy in case you haven’t noticed. I don’t have time to waste shooting shit with you.”

Selene Cloude didn’t look much different from any time before. She still seemed distant and a little imperious, though perhaps the lines between her eyebrows were a little deeper. “You hate me because of Cloudhawk, don’t you.”

“Well that’s a bullshit rhetorical question.” Her temper flared. “You met him before I did right? Am I just supposed to let you have him because you saw him first?”

Selene kept her tone measured. “It has nothing to do with that.”

“Bah! Look, I’m not inferior to you – either in skill or in looks. Cloudhawk and I are an obvious fit. You wanna throw down and prove this once and for all?!” Dawn leaned on her typical forthright character. “I’m telling you now I’m not giving up. Cloudhawk is the only one I’m interested in and one day we’ll be together. You wait and see!”

“Oh,” was Selene’s only answer.

OH?! That single syllable enraged Dawn! She was already feeling a little on the back foot and now this bitch was mocking her?! Who the fuck cares why she was here now after the mess she’d made! If Cloudhawk hadn’t been there to wipe her pampered ass who knew what would have happened!

Cloudhawk had risked his life for her. The Green Alliance had fought countless battles, because of her. Now she was awake and standing here like it was nothing. And for what! Dawn was barely holding it together.

But what Selene said next took all the wind out of her sails. All her anger turned to shock. “Suit yourself. If you think you have what it takes, then we can share him.”

WHAT?! SHARE him?! What does that even mean? Dawn wiggled a finger in her ear. She must have heard wrong.

Selene Cloude was known for being unapproachable and aloof. Saying something like that seemed completely out of character. Neither Selene, nor Dawn, or any self-respecting woman would seetle for this!

Share? He wasn’t a piece of cake! What, were they supposed to go along just because she said so?

“Y-you… really?” She was so stunned she could hardly form words. After a moment she regained her composure. “Don’t think I’m about to fall for your bullshit!”

“Let’s get to the point.” Selene’s face was calm. She spoke her mind as though she didn’t seem very interested in their predicament. “As I understand it, a lot of what turned Greenland and the Green Alliance into what it is today is because of your work. I want you to teach me.”

“Why…?”

“I’m a part of this Alliance now. You and I may have our problems, but I still trust you more than the others. I hope we can work together to help Cloudhawk manage the Alliance. So I can be of use.”