#hey folks expect defiler to be finished this year on tumblr as well btw!

[electrospherevaults]

Spare a Little Innocence

Excerpt from Maiden, sequel to Defiler.

[The Maidens of Wrethella have been fighting in another bloodied conflict in another corner of the galaxy. After the end of a prolonged siege that saw them lose a close comrade, the squad of Lady Analussa takes the time to lick their wounds. The two armies that fought against one another are doing the same.]

“That guy doesn’t look too good,” Analussa commented.

“HEY YOU!” Zenella shouted at the soldier, but he did not respond. He just remained sat by a steel crate that had remained intact, rubble at his feet, helmet on his laps, rifle laying against him and eyes that stared mindlessly down its barrel.

They long had forgotten how to blink.

“Shellshock,” Belissi commented. “Analussa, should we go-”

Tosanovva brushed against Belissi, prompting her to stop talking. She continued walking past her, her scoped rifle left behind, passed along to Jenivirre alongside her lit cig. Belissi, much like the rest of them, quieted down and observed.

Tosanovva sat by the soldier. She unwrapped a candy bar she had on her – a bit of chocolate and fruits and berries, all mushed together to such an extent you only got hints of flavour from a bit of everything with each bite. The exception was the oats. And there were a lot of oats. Nobody liked the oats, so she had found herself a small pocket of heaven she knew she could tap into that nobody else would bat an eye for. She extended this heaven of hers to him, taking his hand and opening it. He put the bar down on his palm.

“Eat.”

The soldier, a slight panic in his eyes, complied. He unwrapped the candy and brought his food to his face. He took the first bite.

“You need the respite, soldier.”

The soldier nodded again and again in a hurry, almost mechanically, by sheer brute force of discipline instilled into him. There was no room for doubt and hesitation in war after all – any seconds wasted and a bullet will remind you why. Tosanovva stayed by his side with each tiny bite, the mist from the rubble clearing with each gentle gust of wind that swept. The gunfire had long died down. Only the eerie peace of the aftermath remained by their sides.

“Dankebo,” the soldier mustered eventually once he was halfway through.

Tosanovva turned to look at him. “You’re from the north, aren’t you?”

The soldier nodded. “I am a Rotringer, ja.”

“Shouldn’t you be with the republicans instead of the centrals?

The soldier grasped onto his bar tighter. He almost smashed it. He took the bite, chomping down a larger chunk this time. His long stare returned, losing itself amidst a thousand yards up north from here. “My brother is.” He tried to bring his feet back to the ground, taking another tiny bite, letting the merciful mix of chocolate, berries and oats wash over him. “I hope I didn’t kill him today.”

He let the words hang out in the air, an air poisoned with smog and fire and rotting carcasses. Even if he did, there was no way one could tell. It was not the stench that got you, it was the way your nostrils accommodated the slaughter, and the realization of its normalization that did. On your first day of combat, the adrenaline does not let you recognize the mauled and the broken that fell besides you. On the second day, their bodies flood you with their miasma. On the third month, their memories do not register anymore.

“And if I did,” he finally said again, the bar depleted in his hands, “I hope it was a clean kill. I hope I did not make him suffer.”

“War rarely is a clean affair.” The soldier turned to look at the Maiden besides him. Her face did not look much younger than his – and she already bore more scars and stitches. Tosanovva pulled out two more of her candy bars from her pouch. She offered another to the soldier. He hesitated at first, but he ultimately grabbed it.

“If you do not mind, Maiden,” he asked a bit later, “what happened to your face?”

“Oh, this?” Tosanovva chuckled as she pointed to the stitch on her left cheek. “That’s my girlfriend’s handiwork. Cutest solarian nurse in the galaxy!”

The soldier smiled. “She must be very lucky indeed!”

“Oh you would be mistaken – I am the one in luck. Without her, this whole jaw would be gone.”

“Oh,” the soldier responded. He unwrapped the second bar quietly. He cut it in half, and shared it with her. She held it in her hands, and put on a bitter smile.

“War is rarely clean. Yet, we forge on, counting our blessings.” Tosanovva got up again. “Find some rest, find some friends. Your brother is in Wrethella’s hands now, soldier. So are you.”

The soldier nodded. He smiled again. Tosanovva returned the smile and turned to walk away.

“Thank you for the candy, Maiden!”

Tosanovva turned her head slightly, still smiling, and gave a welcoming nod. She then walked back over to her squad.

Whatever remained of it.

“Is your new boyfriend going to be alright?” Belissi asked, a playful smirk on her face. Tosanovva did not return the gesture.

“I killed his brother,” she answered coldly.

The squad stood still.

Smiles and teases and laughter died down. Belissi stepped back. “How can you be sure?” Yevletti asked instead.

“I saw him in my scopes. Same birthmark under the right eye. Squished lips. Long neck.” She extended her hand, and Jenivirre passed her the lit cig she was already smoking. She tried to bring it close to her lips, but she let it hang by her throat. Any closer, and her carotid would have gotten burnt. “That’s where I got him.”

Tosanovva put the cig on and puffed, letting a long billow of smoke come out of her lungs. She opened her eyes and tried to look for the sun. Only traces pierced through.

“Ouch.” Jenivirre commented as Tosanovva handed the cig back to her, exchanging it for the rifle she entrusted her with. “Nasty way to go.”

“Did you tell him?” Analussa queried, checking her equipment one final time. Tosanovva shook her head. “Good.”

“Why is this good? He is instilled with false hope now,” Zenella shot back.

“We were innocents once too, Lady Zenella,” Tosanovva responded, putting the rifle on her back. “It is good to spare ourselves a little innocence wherever we can.”

Zenella opened her mouth, and then closed it back. She traced her fingers against the metal mask that covered half her face. “You are right,” she said.

#my writing #original fiction #writing #writers on tumblr #defiler #maiden #hey folks expect defiler to be finished this year on tumblr as well btw!