whatever comes, let it come
what stays, let it stay
Oh for fucks sake. Once again, Adam showed a shocking lack of understanding of the situation at hand. Perhaps the man had a death wish. If Loren had thought the dark-haired man would listen, the summoner would’ve ordered his companion to head back through the portal to check on Wessex and Jigano and let them know the portal worked and that Loren was handling things. However, Adam hadn’t listened when the summoner said stay put before, so he doubted the dark-haired man would listen now.Summoning was out, which was annoying. Loren wasn’t prepared to disobey yet, and he figured using his water magic was out as well. So instead he went with healing: just because it normally glowed a sky-blue didn’t mean it had to. An invisible wave passed through him, chasing away the worst effects of the cold, and he sent an invisible bolt at Adam to do the same. Hopefully.
Then the leader of the troops spoke to him with some familiarity again and Loren’s brow furrowed. Again, his subconscious was jumping up and down at him, but his conscious thoughts believed his eyes and not his ears and his instincts. For now. ”You seem to have foreknowledge of my arrival. I apologize that it took longer than you expected. There were complications.” That was an understatement.
Name day? Grew up side by side? No. It couldn’t be. Neron hadn’t made it to Caido. Hadn’t come with the rest of the family when they arrived in this strange, terrible, and beautiful world. Didn't have this face. Had Loren's face. ”I don’t know who told you of my twin. Or of me.” After all, they’d been identical twins, and the man before the summoner was a stranger.
Then, of course, Adam had to jump in before Loren could respond to the stranger’s claims. ”I, however, am here to make a diplomatic statement.” He shot the dark-haired man a look that hopefully communicated ‘please let me handle this.’ Probably wouldn’t register in Adam’s thick skull. If they got through this, the summoner was going to have a chat with the dark-haired man (and maybe Peter) about Adam's decision-making capabilities, or rather, lack thereof.
For now, Loren called upon every ounce of command he could muster, which was a lot. He had a lot of role models to draw from: Zariah, Cyton, Wessex, all strong people. Of course, the summoner was strong as well, stronger than he’d ever been. Time for Loren to show that. He could do this. Had the right to do this. Should do this.
That certainty practically rang from his voice and his posture. ”I am the Captain of the Hollowed Grounds, so yes, I speak with authority on behalf of our people.” Flimsy at best—and unconfirmed by Wessex and officially by Deimos, though the summoner was pretty sure he could convince the General to make it permanent—but attitude was everything, and Loren spoke as if he actually had that title. Which he did. And he slipped into that role. As he'd slipped into many roles before, it came to him easily.
Luckily, he had the knowledge of what Halo needed to bolster him. And thankfully the soliders lowered their weapons. ”I arrive empty-handed, yes. But right behind me, through this portal, is a bounty we can share. Food, for you, should you wish to take it. Grains from our fields, fruits from our orchards, game from our forests. And wood from those forests for your fires. Along with the insights and knowledge from people from worlds other than this one.” He gestured at the strange contraptions on Adam’s hips; the summoner had no idea what they did, but they sure looked impressive. ”Items you can only dream of.” Staring the other man directly in the eye, the summoner didn’t back down. Instead, he drew himself up to his full height. ”All we ask is that you open our borders to us, and sit down to talk with us about an equitable exchange of goods.”
what goes, let go
LOREN
