Alana looked at Raina and curled up the corner of her lip Only you would dare depict me like this
Well you so rarely try to be anything but a spear Raina said as she rolled her eyes She picked up a lacy pillow and flung it at Alana Are our breakfasts the only time you relax Both you and Donnyton would do well to remember you arenÆt just a fighter
Shaking her head Alana looked at the next picture This one gave her pause for a long time
It was a picture of just a silhouette glancing back over his shoulder toward the viewer In the background to the figureÆs left was a giant tree that was so large it couldnÆt be contained by the thin paper To the manÆs right was a twisted monster with hideous claws Of the silhouette no details were provided he was simply done in shadow All of the detail was given to the two images in the background
For all that it was immediately clear who the figure was It was a man who cast a very long shadow
Alana released a breath Have you shown this to Mrs Hamilton
Raina shook her head No but IÆd heard she was scrambling to find anyone who could capture the feeling of RandidlyÆs two images I sorta did it on a whim When IÆm feeling well enough IÆll visit and give the sketch to her
Sighing Alana put the sketch into her interspatial ring Æwhen you are well enoughÆ huh Maybe itÆs just better that I give it to her before I leave today
Laughing Raina didnÆt bother to argue Both knew that RainaÆs avoidance of Mrs Hamilton wasnÆt something that could be overcome by mere whims Only at official Donnyton events would the two cross paths Feeling rather helpless in the face of RainaÆs straightforward dislike of Mrs Hamilton Alana continued to look at the other sketches
The third picture showed dozens of bodies reaching toward the sky and waving their fists in their fervor The energy captured in the sketch was palpable As Alana looked at it she felt the familiar tingle of pride as she remembered all of that hope and belief flowing through her body to fight against Randidly That same feeling she spent at least an hour every night trying to capture since then
Focus DonÆt let it distract you It will solve itself
It has to
And the last picture
A Valkyrie and a monster crossed spears in a vast and war torn battlefield It was a moment frozen in time from her memory somehow made perfectly manifest on the page And it felt so incredibly distant
AlanaÆs breath hitched in her throat The sour abscess of panic became just a small amount more swollen giving her internal organs less and less room to breathe
You donÆt have to hide it you know Raina said softly We all know or we can guess You were the one closest to Randidly So the fact that he abandoned Donnyton it hurt didnÆt it ThereÆs no shame in that
Alana kept her mouth shut Her current emotions werenÆt about that at all It had hurt sure But right now it was hard to feel any pain If she felt pain wouldnÆt that make finding her image easier She wished for pain The finally she could just force the image out and be done with all of this disgusting self pity
If her mouth opened right now nothing would come out Her tongue would just sit there This wasnÆt about Randidly It was just the constant irritation that she was missing something to do with images
After coughing and licking her lips Alana refocused on the sketches and said you are getting much better Your lines are smooth and flowing Honestly this is good enough to be featured in an old Earth art museum
Raina watched Alana who kept her gaze fixed on the sketches Then her expression softened and she said nothing about the abrupt change in topic Instead Raina laughed softly and said Thanks but I know IÆm not that good There are several people in Franksburg who can produce even better artwork than me Singing is still where I do my best work
You definitely are a phenomenal singer Alana said easing quickly into the task of talking about someone else But IÆm not kidding Although you might not guess it my undergraduate degree was in art history I was going to finish my Doctoral thesis if not for the System arriving So when I say you are good you are good
Raina blinked Alaina weÆve probably had breakfast together for the last six months Ever since we discovered we were neighbors
Alana nodded slowly wondering where this was going
and in that entire time you have never talked about your past This calls for a celebration You majored in art history Why Was it due to a dare oo was it about chasing a boy Raina laughed
With a grimace Alana realized she had somehow walked right around toward talking about herself again But she supposed this wasnÆt a very dangerous subject Yes the grand spear of Donnyton an art history major No dares no boys Ha ThatÆs a pretty accurate description of my childhood I grew up in a very strict household Both my parents worked for the military My father for the marines my mom at the pentagon Pretty typical conservative family So when I was finally independent
Alana shrugged What had she thought It was just my way of rebelling I guess I wanted to be more than the same tired justfications of my parents Social issues they didnÆt come up very often in our houseÆs political discussion And the more I saw of the world the more questions I had that neither of my parents were willing to answer
Raina blinked and studied Alana for a split second It was clear from the softening around her eyes that she was about to shift the tenor of the discussion For which Alana was very grateful So the reason you are so good at training was that because of your family
To that Alana laughed Unfortunately so yes Until I was 18 I ran four miles every morning with my father In all weather conditions no matter what else was going on in my life I could always count on him softly knocking on my door at 5 30
After I moved out we became more distant I volunteered got more involved with groups on campus registered as a Democrat Alana looked toward the window By the time the System arrived we were barely on speaking terms And my mother got transferred away from D C so although I looked I didnÆt find any trace of them when Zone 1 arrived It sucks but sometimes you just need to accept that relationships change And not always for the better
Then Alana shook her head Ah sorry I have no idea why I said that
Raina reached up and gently touched AlanaÆs shoulder without saying anything Unsure of what to do Alana shook her head and offered the three remaining drawings back to Raina She took the first two but pressed the final picture of the final clash against Randidly into AlanaÆs hand Keep it
IÆm not this valkyrie you drew Alana said stiffly
The smile Raina flashed in return was radiant and kind Of course you are not You are Alana But Alana you are also the only one of us who could ever fight him like that That hasnÆt changed You are really really strong
Am I Alana wondered The rest of their goodbyes faded to a soft buzzing and as Alana rested her chin against RainaÆs shoulder during their hug her eyes were clouded
Am I
Chapter 971
As it had been the past four days Donnyton was eerily silent Perhaps double as many people were active as there had been previously although it was only a few minutes past dawn but they all moved with frowns and a cloak of purpose Perhaps some would write it off as a function of the early hour but Alana knew that the day would drag on and the silence would remain
Seriously if the challenge bothered you so much just say something about it Alana thought grumpily Much better than reflecting on her own feelings she could direct her ire outward and feel more like herself
Had it been the Alana of a week ago she would have been delighted in the increased focus It would have been the perfect opportunity to push the Squaders harder in their training With this united grim purpose the efficacy of AlanaÆs guidance would have doubled
But now that she had tried and failed for several nights in a row to conjure her own image