Her boots were soft on the hangar floor, but Mia Monroe’s presence was anything but, Tess could have felt her coming a mile off. There was an edge to her, honed over decades of fighting, to Mia, this was just another day, for Tess, this was everything she had tried to steer clear of.
She looked up from the floor she’d been staring at, meeting sapphire eyes identical to her own, save for the faint orange ring that came to life when her mother was preparing to give everything of herself to the fight. The sight didn’t bring her any sort of comfort, so she looked away. Her mother sighed, settling onto the crate beside her.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Yeah, I do.”
A nod followed, understanding, followed by a heavy silence that pressed between them, a thousand things left unsaid.
“They tried to have me killed.”
“I know.”
“If I let that go unanswered...”
“I know.”
Mia’s hand twitched as if she wanted to take Tess’s as if contact might bridge the chasm between mother and daughter. “Trust your instincts, don’t hesitate. Don’t let your anger-”
“-cloud my judgement. Yeah, Buir I remember.” A small smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “I remember every lesson, and every bruise and broken bone you delivered them with.”
Mia snorted. The silence folded neatly between them again as they sat watching the flurry of activity across the hangar, warriors clasping arms one more time before breaking away to their respective missions, the laughter and song that had echoed in Sundari’s feasting halls the night before was gone, here the quiet before battle pressed in from every angle.
“I know I wasn’t the softest mother, or the most present-”
“You did your best. I never faulted you for that.” Tess straightened, turning to look at her mother “You don’t need to ask for forgiveness.” Mia met her gaze, swallowing whatever emotion brimmed beneath the surface and nodded, pushing herself to her feet. Tess followed, drawing a deep breath and exhaling with a sigh.
Mia closed the gap between them, her hand wrapping around the back of her neck as she brought their foreheads together in a rare display of affection. Tess felt the lump rise in her throat as she closed her eyes.
“Give them hell, ad’ika.”
Then she was gone, walking away across the hangar and leaving an emptiness where she’d been moments before. Tess drew a shaky breath, letting the emotion sit for a moment before letting it go.
“K'oyacyi, Buir.” she whispered.
