4Hiya everyone, Somas35 here, and welcome back to Still Alive! Yea this one was another long wait but i had a hard time finding what to write. In other words writers block. But anyways its here finally, Hopefully you enjoy.
(Chapter 9)
Once I had recovered enough to think the first thing I did was stand up. When I did this I noticed everyone tense up. It was hard to spot though. In fact if my eyes were the same as they had been back home I probably wouldn't have noticed.
Raven quickly drew her sword and prepared to dash forward, her eyes narrowed and seemed to harden with concentration. Not unlike how the bots would get when they were in a fight with a Deception.
It was more then a little unnerving...
Only before she could act summer stepped in front of her, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"Woah hey! let's just tone it down a bit ok guys?" She said and held her hands up in a calming fashion. Neither Qrow, nor Raven would have any of it though.
"You do realize that this is the guy we told you about right? The guy who was talking with the drug dealer? Who ran off when I confronted them?" Qrow drawled and moved to walk past her. Only for Summer to step in front of him.
"So? He hasn't done anything wrong the whole time he's been here! In fact he's been nothing but kind! Unlike a certain teammate I know!" Summer retorted, obviously referring to Qrow. Said teen just folded his arms and glared at her, looking very unimpressed.
"So? He could be lying, Did ya ever think about that?! No of course you didn't. Cause your always busy being an 'optimist' who's too naive to know better then to trust some guy she just met!"
"At least I CAN trust people! And besides, I haven't exactly known you for very long either! And I gave you a shot didn't I? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Summer put her hands on her hips and stomped her foot.
"He is a risk to everyone here. I do not like taking risks." Raven said flatly.
"If you dont take risks every once in a while you might miss something you would never get otherwise. And this isnt exactly that big a risk considering this place is filled with people trained to fight!'
"It only takes one to start a fire Summer..."
Qrow quietly glared at Summer for a moment. When Summer didnt move he rolled his eyes in frustration.
"Ya know what? Fine! I don't care who you spend your time with, just don't get me involved!" Qrow threw his arms up and walked away, Raven followed behind, glaring at me the whole way.
That girl reminded me WAY too much of Arcee on a bad day...
Once they left the room fell into an awkward silence. I felt bad for causing this, but i suppose if im going to be living here for a while this was bound to happen.
Summer tapped her fingers together, trying to find the right words. Tai just looked from us to the entryway the Branwens had left from repeatedly. As if trying to figure out what just went down. The chefs, seeing that no fighting would be breaking out, returned to their work without so much as a word.
"Hehe...I'm...really sorry about that Jack, I didn't expect them to react THAT badly, you really are a good guy. I just wish I could have handled that a bit better." Summer finally spoke. And with a sigh she sat back down.
"I already knew what happened, they told me as soon as they got back. So when I saw you here I just...wanted to see for myself." She explained. Then turned to Tai.
"So...what do you think? I'm I just being naive or...?" She left the rest unsaid.
Tai looked down thoughfully. When he looked up again he had a look of conviction.
"I don't know. All I know is you are the most honest person I've ever met. So if you think he's alright...well who am I to disagree?" He smiled. Summer mirrored the gesture and launched at him with a big hug.
"Aww thanks Tai! Your awesome!" To his credit Tai was hiding his discomfort very well, while subtlety untangling himself from her embrace.
"Geez girl! You gotta stop with these hugs or I'm gonna suffocate before I graduate!" Tai joked, which prompted a (justified) smack on the head from Summer.
"That was terrible..."
She deadpaned while Tai sputtered in shock.
"Wha!...but...that one was pretty good!" He cried.
By this point I had just sat down and waited for whenever they would notice me again. No need to interrupt, after all I had plenty of time to kill. Though that didn't last much longer before Summer dragged Taiyang and I off to their dorm to hang out and forget about the argument for a while. It was a bit awkward at first with the weight of what happened in the back of our minds but as we talked it slowly faded away.
Finally Tai brought out some sort of popular board game they played often called Politics and War. Apparently it was a classic that would soon be getting a remastered version just called Remnant. (gotta keep up with the times I suppose). It was also VERY complex. With different rules involving everything from trading to troop drafting. It took a long time to pick up. And they didn't hold back, absolutely destroying me and knocking me out before I was even an hour in (these games could sometimes last an entire day from what I was told).
After that I just watched the other two go at it the rest of the game, trying all sorts of crazy strategies in an attempt to sneak past the other's defences, while avoiding being overrun by Grimm. By the end it was Tai who came out on top by sacrificing an entire state to get to Summers capital.
"No way! I was totally kicking your butt!" Summer cried as Tai sweeped her pieces off the board triumphantly.
"And that's just what I wanted you to think. Great game Sum!" He held out his hand to shake.
Only to be met with a pillow to the face.
"I'll get you next time, just you wait!" She yelled.
I couldn't help but laugh.
"That was pretty cool how you did that Tai, though I don't understand how you kept your armies supplied the whole time while your army was cut off." I said as I examined the board. Tai preceded to point to the island state Summer had taken close to Taiyang's chosen capital.
"Well. When Summer took Patch she thought she would cripple my forced by taking the place with most of my military installations, factories and the like. While they would have been helpfull in taking Vale, I didn't need them cause she put all her focus in offence, hoping to take me out before I could build up any further, instead of making proper defences for Vale and her other core cities. Those factories were of better use keeping her forces at bay while the rest of my troops snuck around here." He pointed to a valley west of Vale.
"And to answer your question my troops were lightly equipped, no siege equipment at all, meaning the only thing theyes would need was the basic, and I could take Vale before Summer's forces could catch up." He finished.
"Wow, that's pretty impressive Tai." I replied, not expecting such a detailed explanation.
"Tai's been playing this game for years so I'm not suprised at all. It will only make it all the sweeter when I get my revenge!" Summer replied with an almost devious tone in her voice.
"Yea sure, try all you like but with tactics like that you have a looooong way to go." Tai laughed and stood up.
By the time It was all said and done it was getting late and the Branwen siblings would probably be back any minute so I decided to head back to my own dorm. Summer was visibly annoyed by this but I didn't want to get between them more then I already had. From what she had said they already were having problems.
And here I was making things worse...
I had fun with Summer and Tai, but at what cost? I had told myself I wasn't going to get attached to anyone but if I kept this up...
And not only that but if I became Summer's friend she would probably be hurt as well when I leave. Tai only seemed to trust me because he trusted Summer. So what are my...wait...
Is it possible that I'm already too far in?
When I reached my room I was feeling beyond guilty. If I was right then no matter what I did someone would get hurt. Which meant that I needed to do something fast, before things got worse...Geez, Optimus would have never gotten himself into this situation...
But if he did what would he do?
Hmm...