Gonna live this life as the Heroine Villianess

🌊 Chapter 5- Relentless Waves 🌊

She had been right. Which meant she had chosen her previous actions correctly, it seemed. Ajax had taken her as a close friend, along with Scaramouche (The purple haired boy he was fighting earlier; she found they had a dispute over his height) and Signora. (A cold, platinum haired girl who enjoyed watching the two suffer) Both of which didn't use their real names to introduce themselves, seemingly wary of a newcomer. Wren couldn't blame them. After all, in this scenario, they didn't know who to trust.

"Angel!" Wren turned around, painting a smile on her face as Ajax ran towards her. It had been a day since the previous encounters, and he had deemed her the name "Angel" after their meeting. Wren had refused to giver him her name, as "It's just more fun this way!" It was best to entertain him, and gain his trust before his fall into the abyss. Her eyes flickered down to the hydro vision on his hip. She had always thought he had earned it during his battles in the domain, but it turned out that wasn't the case.

The night before as the children lay asleep in the separate rooms (Wren had decided to room with Ajax, has her only options had been him, Scaramouche, and Signora, who ended up bunking together in the end) she had stayed awake, pondering how exactly she was to "conquer" Ajax. What did that even mean? All things aside, Wren had decided it was best to become his closest companion first. Past being "comrades", but as someone he would rely on with all of his heart, someone he would devote himself to. Like his loyalty to his tsarita, later on. Someone he would die for. Yes, that was probably it- but how could she do that?

Ajax, someone who couldn't really understand the sentiments of emotions and preferred to talk with his fists, would be hard to break through. Someone like him, Wren would have to give the benefit of "trust". Starting today, she would become his "angel", the perfect picture of innocence who he would work himself to death to protect. It was vital, that she became his salvation. To the point of obsession. That was the only way Wren could fully "conquer" him.

~🌊~

Today was their first training session. The Fatui was gracious enough to offer them some sort of training before they were thrust headfirst into the arena, which she appreciated. At least she would go in having some knowledge of how to fight. Then again, Wren had the epitome of a killing machine on her side. She would have no problems surviving, at least for now. She winced as one of the trainers slapped her back and scolded her for slouching before heading off to the next child, who had trouble lifting a heavy, rusted claymore. As she adjusted her hold on the sword, she saw Ajax glaring at the man with literal murder in his eyes. If looks could kill, the man would be dead ten times over. But Wren gave him a reassuring look, and waved to him with her sword hand, the blade swishing dangerously through the air. The girl beside her gave her a weird look and stepped away cautiously. 

She turned and brought the sword down hard on the wooden practice dummy in front of her, the sword getting stuck in the splintered wood halfway through it's chest. Wren frowned, and tugged on it with both hands, but it refused to budge. Across the room, Ajax laughed at her struggling, and Wren pulled even harder. Was she really that weak in his eyes? She would show him. She would take this sword and swing it until she could chop every dummy in the room into tiny pieces. That would show him. The sword slid free, but the force of pulling it out sent her tumbling to the floor.

Wren winced as she rubbed her back. The fall had left her reeling and she couldn't help but feel slightly dazed as she wobbled to her feet. Ajax was at her side in an instant. "Are... you alright?" He looked at her worriedly, giving her a once over and checking for any cuts or bruises. One day and she had already made a lot of progress. "I'm okay!" Wren gave him a thumbs up and hefted the sword over her shoulder, then continued her assault on the dummy. The trainer was absent at lunch that day, and there was blood soaking Ajax's shoes when he returned that night. Wren couldn't bring herself to ask him why.

~🌊~

11 months later

"Why do you hide it?" Wren turned towards him, her eyes wide. They were sitting outside on the snow, having wrapped up warmly in thick clothing that the Fatui had given them. (They were quite nice, actually-, and it was a surprise they were even allowed out of their rooms. It was an advantage to be so cute, she guessed.) As she watched, Ajax pulled off his scarf and wrapped yet another layer around her. He snickered, saying she looked like a snowman. Wren hit him in the back of the head in response, and he laughed. 

"Hide what?" She asked. She kicked her feet against the ground, the snow thumping quietly beneath her. "Your powers," He answered. "Wouldn't it be better to let everyone know what you're capable of? They'll be more scared of you, that way, right?" Wren didn't respond at first, picking up a handful of snow in her glove and forming a snowball in her fist. She had thought about it at first, after the scene Ajax had caused at their first meeting. But a reign of fear usually didn't last long. Yes, it asserted your dominance over your subordinates, but tyrants always had more enemies then allies; after all, the friend of a killer was just another killer. Wren couldn't afford to have too many foes at this time, she was much too weak, and the week's earlier events had proven that. She would at least have to wait until she got older to reveal the full extent of her powers.

"I... don't like it." Wren replied quietly. "I don't like how it hurts people, I mean." She pulled the curtain of her hair away from her face and turned to look at him. "I don't want to become someone people remember as a bad person." Ajax frowned. "But..." She rolled his eyes and huffed, propping her hands on her hips. "What I mean, silly, is that I'm gonna help people with it," She said. "Well... with what I can do right now, at least." Wren hadn't revealed just how strong she was yet. With Ajax, she needed to maintain her sweet and childish character. She reached up and patted him on his head, earning a confused look from the older boy. "You're a good person too, Ajax!"

He stared at her for a moment, eyes wide with surprise. Slowly, he leaned into her palm, his eyes closing in contentment. She giggled, her mind drawing up images of petting fluffy red tailed foxes. "...Did you hear?" Ajax opened one eye. "What?" Wren winced and looked away. "...Well... the first fight..." Just like that, Ajax shuttered down. "It's next month, isn't it." She nodded. The first battle would commemorate the day they were brought here, and would have twenty children from each regiment, the largest battle of them all; two hundred children in total. Only half would survive. Ajax clenched his fists, but kept quiet. "...I don't think I'm ready," Wren admitted. He snapped his head towards her, about to retort, but she interrupted him. "It's not that I can't fight, it's that I don't want to hurt anyone." 

...It was true. Her first kill was a year ago in the auction house, and ever since then, she had decided that she did not want to kill innocents. She had no problem driving that iron bar into someone as vile as the auctioneer, but children who had done nothing wrong but step into a death game unprepared- she had many problems with that. No, she would shed no blood. "I'm not going to hurt anyone, Ajax. And that includes you." Ajax stood up from the ground. "You know you can't do that, you'll have to fight, or-" He clenched his jaw and look away.

Wren got up from her knees, brushing the snow off her pants. "I know," Wren replied. "But I'd rather it be me than you." Ajax glared at her. "It's not me I'm worried about, its-" She crossed her arms. "Hey, it's not like I'm gonna try to die, okay? I'm just going to hide. If it's one thing I'm good at, it's running." Ajax couldn't seem to argue, but grit his teeth. She could see the uneasiness in his eyes, even as he tried to hide it. A boy who wore his heart on his sleeve, at least for now, was easy to read. She was depending on this- any moment now.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I'll be fine," She said. Wren wasn't sure who she was assuring, herself, Ajax, or even the air. But in the end, Ajax, her friend for a single year, reached forward and grabbed her hand with both his hands. He stared at her determinedly. "Maybe you won't fight," He answered. "But I will. For both of us." With that, he pulled them back towards the main building, saying he didn't want her to catch a cold. But even after they had discarded their coats and collapsed on their beds, Wren was still shaking- not from the cold, but with victory.