Who: Edmund Pevensie & Reyna Ramirez-Arellano When:March 24, immediately following the radio broadcast with Jadis Where: Hallways of Mt. Weather What: After Edmund presents Jadis with the charges, Reyna has some words for him.. if she could get them out. And she loans him something. Status: Complete Rating: PG for adorable awkwardness
Reyna had, of course, been listening to the radio broadcast with Jadis. The witch sounded too much like enemies she'd faced in her own world, and she wouldn't trust her, but she hadn't been prepared for Edmund's actions. She should have been, she supposed, after all, they were alike in some ways. Which is why she was on a mission to find him. She caught up with him in the hallway, grabbing him by the arm.
"Edmund," she said as she turned to face him, voice full of emotion. He was an idiot. And yet she would probably do the same thing in his position. There was so much she could say to him, but she just bit her lip, braid draped over her shoulder, dressed in her armor & Athena's cloak. It was easier and more comfortable in it than out of it.
Edmund was on edge. Addressing the Witch face to face had been even more of a shock to his system than simply hearing her voice over the intercom. He’d delivered the accusations calmly, but the feeling of being an ill and terrified nine year old lingered. The hand on his arm had him reaching for where his sword ought to be, although he dropped it when he recognized Reyna.
He’d anticipated a reaction to his actions during the broadcast. The old saying, It is easier to beg forgiveness than to obtain permission, was a truth he’d exploited more than once, but it implied an inevitable reckoning, and Edmund made a point of not shirking responsibility for his choices anymore.
“Reyna,” he said, drawing on the same determination that had gotten him through his interruption of the interview. That was all he said, although his expression made it clear that he knew why she was upset.
She didn't let go. It was stupid, but she needed to hold on to him, keep him close. She was being irrational about him, she knew that, but when he'd interrupted Jadis, it had taken every ounce of discipline to not rush in there and attack her. Maybe Piper was right. But they had bigger things to worry about. Like Jadis.
She smacked him on the arm. "That was stupid. And idiotic. She could have killed you. And brave, but… Edmund." Apparently she couldn't talk. Unless it was a speech about war or government and then she'd have no problem, but talking to her friend after she'd spent the entire time while he was on the radio with a lump in her throat… it was asking too much.
The slap wasn't hard. They'd exchanged harder blows training, but Edmund grimaced all the same. It was easier to respond to than so much personal concern from someone wasn't family. Jacob's worry had the effect of making him similarly - if not quite equally - awkward.
"She could have," he conceded. It had been very easy to imagine the hum of knife against stone underlying her words. "But it would have ruined the image she sought to portray. As it is, she can claim she was calm - relatively calm - when faced with deliberate provocation and spurious charges." It was meant to be sarcastic, but came out laced with far more weariness than he'd intended. This could work. Susan had rightly judged pride to be Jadis’s weak point. It needed to work. They really had no other option.
He was older than her by a few years and yet Reyna found herself wanting to protect him, or at the least, be there fighting by his side. His grimace brought her back to the present and out of the emotions that she didn't much care for.
"Sorry," she said, face equally apologetic as her hand squeezed his. "It was a brilliant tactical move. Idiotic, perhaps, but brilliant as well. I.."
It seemed words were failing her all around. She bit her lip. "What do you need? Sparring? Puppy snuggles? Cocoa? Whiskey?"
"Most of the credit for that goes to Susan," Edmund said truthfully. "If I hadn't, she would have." That was enough reason there to take on the task. "Fortunately, I'm more skilled at being irritating."
I need her out of my head. That was a vain hope, at least for the time being. "I'd like to spar for a bit. I'm not ready to look at all the reactions." He wouldn't make that admission to most people, but Reyna was not most people.
Reyna could understand that. She would do anything to protect Nico or Hylla. Even if it meant taking on Gaea or Orion alone. Or worse, to face her father again. "You don't need to look at them at all," Reyna reassured him. She knew how idiotic people could be on the network at times.
"Sparring works," she said with a soft smile. That was something she could manage to do anytime, day or night. She sucked on her lower lip. "There's something I want to give you though."
“Eventually, I'll need to know what people are saying,” he contradicted. “I’ll need to know if she’s convinced anyone.” Hopefully, not. They’d laid foundations enough that hopefully anyone in Mount Weather would be suspicious of her claims, but Edmund couldn't help remembering how eager everyone had been to take advantage of the magically appearing coffee shop despite repeated warnings against strange food or drink. If the Witch had been responsible, she would have suborned half the mountain in a day. The promise of a way home with all her persuasive lies behind it would surely tempt someone. Or, he thought, the promise of ridding the Skaikru of the encroaching Podkru…
Edmund raised his free hand to rub his eyes and belatedly returned Reyna’s squeeze with the other. The point was not to think about all that for awhile. He started to return her smile, but at her last words, his forehead wrinkled with confusion. “To give me?” he repeated.
He was right, of course. A good commander needed to know. This wasn't just about if people said things about him, this was about the future of Mount Weather and how difficult their fight would be.
"Well, to loan you," Reyna said, sucking on her lower lip. Words weren't particularly sufficient so she uncoupled the purple cloak from her shoulders, which even in this light, glimmered with flecks of gold. "It's infused with Athena's aegis. It can withstand explosions, arrows from the gods, just about anything. I know you're going to be at the center of whatever comes and I might not be able to be there by your side. It'll protect you if I can't."
She managed a half smile. "Besides, I'm sure the King of Narnia needs a royal cloak to battle Jadis."
"That's-" Speechlessness was apparently catching. Even as a loan, such an offer was priceless. There was a richness, not only to the color and cloth of the cloak, but to the air around it. Even if it had not been Reyna speaking, Edmund would have believed everything she said about it. "It was given to you," he managed to protest. "You'll be fighting as well." He had no doubt but that there would be a battle.
"Probably," she admitted before giving him her praetor look, which didn't usually leave much room to say no. "But I'm probably not the one Jadis is going to go after. You have a history with her." And this way it was like she could protect him no matter where she was on the battlefield. She fastened it around his shoulders. "You can give it back to me after this is over, but if you're going to be doing brave and stupid things, well, it'll help."
He could have argued more, even against that look. Edmund was very good at arguing. Pushing her hands away would have been ungentlemanly, however, and he'd had too much chivalry drummed into him to quite manage that. Instead, he allowed her to finish fastening the cloak, trying to ignore the surge of gratitude and affection that he felt as she did so. He caught her hands as she finished, and said quietly, "Thank you. "
She smiled, her dark eyes full of stories she hadn't yet had the chance to tell him. There would be time enough for that after the battle, for there was a feeling in her that a battle was unavoidable at this point. She knew the anticipation before a battle, the restlessness, the maelstrom of emotions, all of it was familiar territory. Despite Piper's advice, she wouldn't add to it. Not at this time. Instead, she squeezed his hands in response, refusing to tell him to Be careful. Not here. Not now. Instead, she raised an eyebrow.
"Sparring, right?" She said as she started to walk towards the gym, tugging him by the hand. "Think you can beat me tonight?"
Edmund smiled, the tension transforming. "Watch me." He stopped, remembering where he’d been headed. “I don’t have my sword. It would have been too provocative.” That was the legal reason, a nod to approaching under what was essentially a state of truce. Considering the Witch’s words about Susan and Aslan, though, not to mention that stomach-turning cape she flaunted, it was just as well he hadn’t been armed. Provocation went both ways.
Reyna nodded. "That was probably for the best, but we can stop by your room before we hit the gym." Now that Edmund had his sword, Reyna wanted to make sure he had as much time as possible to practice with it. Especially with the white witch about.
“I can reassure my roommates that I haven't been turned to stone while I’m there,” Edmund said wryly. It was half a terrible joke, but only half of one
Retrieving his sword did not take long. He hadn’t accumulated a great deal in - six weeks? Was that all? - and he made a point of keeping it where he could grab it quickly. He wasn’t entirely sure how Jacob managed to find anything in the mess on the other side of the room, but it seemed to work for him.
The room was otherwise empty, so he jotted a note declaring his continued existence and left it in the common area. “Ready.”
Reyna nodded, an appreciative look on her face as she watched him. The cloak suited him. She had the passing thought that if he were at Camp Jupiter, she'd probably put his name in for praetor. Because she could lead with him.
"Good. Because I'm not going to go easy on you," Reyna said as they headed towards the gym.