Chapter Thirty-Nine
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"I don't know what happened. My memory still has blank spots from her attack." Harmony answered as they collected all the loot. Theories ranged from frightening in that she might have such a suicidal skill in her chest to something extraordinarily protective. Maybe [Eternal Fable's Heart] was so advanced that the mimic couldn't copy it properly, or it knew the mimic wasn't the actual person to whom it belonged. Either way, that could hamper future progression.
"It would be best if we hop along and don't linger." Loap insisted.
The rewards were substantial; each mimic provided twelve-piece meal bars and an extra-large pitcher of water. It didn't seem to be worth the potential danger they represented. If that wickedly gruesome version of her hadn't gotten arrogant and experimental, it could have blown them apart like a broom smacking a pile of dust. The insights its unabashed use of her skills brought were as disturbing as they were valuable. The seventy-two meals they represented would feed the pets that needed it and stretch the camp stew for three days. Then they'd need to find a better solution.
"Got the last one." Tyler declared. "Let's get out of here."
The mood to hunt down any of the small mimics that might have re-infested the wall of spider corpses wasn't there. Jessica burned a path through for them to return through it. The crunch of leaves and light grunts as they labored through re-applied webbing was the only thing breaking the silence for the first half of the journey back.
"Do any of you want to talk about what happened back there before we get back to camp and everyone sees your tension?" Jessica demanded.
Easy for the spirit to say, since she was dead and nothing was revealed during that battle about her. Harmony let [Poise and Bearing] settle into her until she was the picture of being at ease. "What tension?"
"You don't need to demonstrate you're as good an actress as your mother." Tyler critiqued.
Oof. That stung. "We all deserve our private thoughts left unaired. If you're all worried about any violent desires revealed about me. I want to assure you that I'm handling them and am aware that it is a side effect of my recent evolution." Mostly.
"What! I'm more worried about you throwing your life away. Or where you picked up the idea that Maxwell hates you?" Tyler confronted her.
"It was the quickest and most efficient way to…"
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"That excuse is a shield that wouldn't stop a blow. There were other ways to get the explosives to the mimics and have Jessica detonate them. You'd eagerly sacrifice your life before trusting me. I know I haven't been perfect, but you can't do everything yourself. Everyone needs help to progress. Yet, here you are trying to do it all on your own, like you have something to prove. Is that why you're convincing yourself that Maxwell hates you?"
"He was forced to obey me. I'm more than a little to blame for him getting rotting screwed for his evolution. Of course, he hates me. He pretty much told me so."
Tyler shook his head. "My cousin and I don't usually get along. He always knows exactly where to prod my tender spots. But we have had a few conversations about his situation. He's struggling, admittedly, but not over the fact that he is tied to you, only his relationship to the pressures and expectations assaulting him. If you think you heard that he hates you, then you heard wrong." Tyler added his own bit of authority to that, cementing his certainty.
Tyler hadn't been there to witness the anger and flashing eyes. That keeping him at a distance had been the right thing because she could understand how it felt to realize you've been manipulated. Adric would know what to do. Hopefully, he would be back soon.
"Maybe I misheard." [Recall] plated back the interaction with near-perfect clarity, capturing Maxwell's anger, pain, and frustration. Unhealthy as he looked, maybe something deeper was wrong? "Next competition, if we're both around, check him out for me."
"If that is what it takes to prove you can rely on me. I'll do it." Tyler answered a little less stressed.
"Are neither of you going to ask about me?" Loap inquired softly.
Tyler looked a bit taken aback by the question.
"Your secrets are yours. You don't need to share them." Harmony answered. She'd managed to remove her duplicate before they'd done damage.
"It hasn't even been a month since we've been bonded. You can take your time, and let me know if or when any of it is important. It feels wrong to use the fact that you're my pet against you." Tyler answered.
"Oh. I thought you'd be hopping mad." Loap murmured. "Nothing I'm shy about will affect the Games. Primal keeper, the history of my fluffel is yours after the competition. It might be too distracting if I were to tell you now."
"Bah!" Tyler threw up his hands, "Now you're making me curious. Don't mention it and I'll do my best not to ask." Tyler insisted.
Harmony stifled a giggle at that. Jessica's insistence that they talk had bled out most of the tension. Now they could return to their tribe's grounds without any awkwardness and at least partially victorious.
Stepping out of the spider-infested woods, Gareth stood waiting nearby with a somber look on his face. "The numbers aren't looking good. You'll need to vote me off tonight."
Gareth's request hit like a punch to her gut. She'd leaned on the bookie to handle the contribution system point values. The man and Adric were pillars that helped keep the red tribe functioning. Costing them the last competition wasn't the end of the world?
"What? Why?" Harmony asked.
"I miscalculated. Voting me out is the only way to save you." Gareth stated. "Here." He handed her a stack of contribution slips. "I'd hoped to have more time, but I'm calculating the value of my sacrifice to cover the missing amount. I'll be redeeming this in for that position in your house, Lady White."
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