Once again, he sighed. "And having any of us get distracted by our attraction to her is a bad idea."
That made me stop in my tracks. "What? So now you think she's going to turn on us or something?"
"No," he said, dragging out the word. "I think she's overwhelmed. I think she's terrified of men. I think putting our dicks above her fear is a shitty thing to do. I think that girl needs a few people on her side who aren't trying to get in her pants, okay?"
"And you think that's what I'm doing?" I asked.
He rocked his head from side to side. "Not intentionally..."
"No." I groaned. "Ry, I like her because I've gotten to know her. I like her because she's smart, driven, and this completely amazing person who somehow survived things I can't imagine. I like that girl for who she is, not because I want to fuck her."
"Least there's that," he said.
"But yes, I want to impress her," I went on. "I want her to think that maybe men can be appealing. That still doesn't mean I want to fuck her. What I want is for her to relax. I want her to laugh with me like she did when she played in the rain. I want her to understand how to have a normal relationship, and you know what? That means slow. Very slow."
"And now I'm rooting for you," he teased.
Which made me chuckle. "Give Zasen a little credit. He's a brute at times, but he's not wrong. I think he's willing to be the bad guy if it gives her the chance to learn. Sure, he's trusting his reputation to get him out of too much shit with her, but it's working."
"And when she smiles back?" Rymar asked. "What are the pair of you going to do then?"
"What will you do?" I countered.
"Be. Her. Friend." He overly enunciated every word. "See, before Ayla can become anyone's girlfriend, lover, wife - or anything else - she needs to become Ayla."
"Yeah," I agreed.
"And that's not going to be easy for her," he went on. "Just look at this shit! She's supposed to hide away? Hell, she saw two men kissing and was shocked because it was loving. Not men. Not in public. What surprised her was they looked as if they wanted to kiss! She is having to rip apart everything the Moles have taught her, but you know what? She's doing it. Over and over and over again, she is doing it."
"And she wants to come out a warrior," I finished for him.
But that made his head twitch. "Huh?"
"Ayla," I clarified. "What she wants is to be a warrior. She wants to be able to defend herself and protect others. She wants to be like Zasen, Ry. That girl was raised on stories of hellfire and brimstone. She only knows of a vengeful god, so she's working hard to become something close."
"Shit..." Rymar breathed. "No, I think you're right. I also think she's doing it because her friends can't. She talks about them still, you know. Meri and Callah. She once told me she wants to save them."
"And Zasen told her he wanted to help, but here's the problem." So I told him about the repercussions of us stopping the Moles the next time they showed up.
Because if they didn't have food, it sounded like the women - mainly the girls - would go hungry first. If the men failed at their hunting, they would definitely lash out at their wives to make themselves feel stronger, better, or more manly. Whatever crap they'd tell themselves.
And Ayla's friends would be right in the middle of it.
"Shit," Rymar muttered when I was done. "And we can't get in there. We can't get those girls out. So what are we going to do?!"
"I don't know," I told him. "I just know this is a big deal for Ayla. From the sounds of it, those two girls are the only 'family' she's ever had. I can't help but think her friendship with them is what gave her the spine to push back. To get herself kicked out."
"Okay," Rymar said. "So, sounds like we need to stop thinking about defeating all Moles and start thinking about the women as something different. Not Moles, I mean."
"And how's that going to help?" I asked.
He turned down a side aisle, still leading me towards the candy seller. "I don't know, but if nothing else, it will change opinions about Ayla."
Which was where we had to start. As much as I hated it, I couldn't stop her friends from dying. She also might never know. From the sounds of it, what happened inside the compound stayed there, and no women ever came out - except Ayla.
But Reekay, the tailless man who owned the Sweet Shoppe, noticed us heading towards him. "Morning, Deputy Mayor. Kanik. What can I get for you two today?"
"Chocolate," Rymar said. "I have a woman in serious need of it."
"You?" The man laughed. "I guess this one is special, hm?"
"Our little refugee," I told him. "So, yeah. We happen to think so."
His hands paused. "The Mole girl?"
"The same," Rymar said. "She's just starting to realize we won't abuse her like the Moles did."
"Heard she killed some," Reekay said as he began to make up a box of sweets.
"A few," I agreed. "She didn't understand why they were here. When she found out, it sounds like she was pissed."
He added a few more pieces. "Well, for those of us on the south side, you make sure she knows we appreciate it." He folded up the little box and set it to the side. "My wife said she was protecting Saveah's boy?"
"She was," Rymar agreed. "And she helped sew up the injured afterwards. Sounds like she's almost as good at it as Zasen."
"So a healer too!" He nodded. "How does she like the food up here?"
"She loves it," I said. "She also refused to eat meat unless she was beaten. Before she got out, I mean."
