Bellica Agate
Jourd'Aradia, 31st Primera
When she saw the note in the town hall, her blood ran cold.
Only Damien saw the depth of Agate's distress. That first night, he held her while she cried.
She hadn't cried like that in ages; was surprised her eyes could still do it.
They were out in the desert, ostensibly on their evening constitutional. They walked west, towards the Three Sisters kilometers away, seeking their mother, the ocean. Damien said nothing as they walked, his arm around her shoulders. He waited until they were out of sight of town, out of the glow from the huddled soldiers’ watch-fires, to show her some affection.
She'd forgotten the cold of desert nights. Away from people, away from the protective walls of the town hall, away from the fires -- it was freezing out her
