Avalanche: New Haven

X. Making Our Way

Kai and Luke returned to the hotel to find Aria and Hunter in an empty lobby. Aria stood up when she saw them.
"Did he-" she started.
"Yes," Kai sighed, "Let's hope this works."
"It'd better," Hunter muttered, "Or all this would have been for nothing."
The other three looked pointedly at him.
"Dai's smart, he'll be fine," Luke said, "We should have faith in him."
"Faith? That's a lot to go on faith, dude," Hunter retorted.
"You don't know Dai, not like I do," Kai replied, "You don't know any of us, for that matter. So maybe try keeping quiet."
"Tch. You can't control me," Hunter snapped, "Maybe if you guys would try listening to me, we'd be home-free by now."
"What, like Jace listened to you?" Kai asked.
Hunter frowned, his eyes glaring at the tall boy.

"Why did you even want to come along?" Kai asked, "As I recall, Lena hates your guts and Jace unfriended you."
"I didn't come for Lena, I came for Jace," Hunter replied sharply.
"I know your history with her," Aria added quietly, "You can't really call yourself a noble person."
Hunter scowled, frustration rising.
"If I save Jace, then he'd have to listen to me and we can patch things up, okay?!" Hunter blurted out.
"...Are you serious?" Kai asked, "You abused him, man. He was only friends with you for so long because he felt he didn't have any other choice. He thought whatever you said, goes."
"He can't leave me!" Hunter countered, "If it wasn't for me, he would have-"
"What, so he owes you friendship?" Kai asked.
"No- yes- I-" Hunter stammered.
"It was his choice to not be your friend anymore. He realized friends don't treat friends the way you do," Kai went on, "Just like it will be his choice once he's free. And I have a strong feeling I know what he will choose."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Hunter asked, standing up.
"It means he won't choose you as a friend again," Kai replied darkly, stepping forward.

Luke then got in between them, using his arms to push them back.
"Come on, guys," he said, "I know we're not all friends here but we need to not cause a scene in a hotel lobby."
"Yes," Aria agreed, "Ryū would get angry if we got ourselves kicked out."
Kai sighed and backed off, sitting down on the couch. Hunter did the same in an adjacent arm chair.

"Where is Ryū, anyway?" Kai asked.
"Secreting Gifts upstairs," Aria said, "He said he still has a quota to keep up."
"Ah," Kai responded.
"So," Aria said, "How was lunch with Dai? Or, late lunch, rather."
"It was good," Kai said, "Until..."
"Until what?"
"Until a certain girl showed up," Luke finished.
"Oh?"
"Long story short; that bitch needs arresting before she hurts that boy she's with, I say," Kai huffed.
"That's a little harsh, no?" Luke said.
"No," Kai retorted, "She's a vindictive girl. I wouldn't mind seeing her rot in a jail cell."
"Y'know," Luke said, "I can't help but notice there's no police in this town."
"Don't be dumb, there has to be police," Hunter huffed.
"Then where were they during the street fight earlier?" Luke asked.
"That's a good point," Aria said, "If this town does have police, we should find them!"
"It is curious," Kai said, "Why haven't they taken down the Bàs Fuar, if they're a thing?"
Aria stood up.

"Then let's do some investigating!"

❄️

Dai slowly made his way up the trail on Mt. Ibuki. He was grumbling to himself, quite put off. His black t-shirt was getting sprinkled with snowflakes from the tree branches hanging overhead.

He kept his eyes down on the road, still grumbling to himself.
"Who does she think she is? That guy doesn't know what he's got himself into. Just like she doesn't know what she was saying about Raina. She-"

He stopped when he thought he saw something in the woods lining the sides of the trail.
"...Hello?" he said aloud.
No reply.
After a brief moment, Dai shook his head, squeezing his face.
"Pull it together."
With that, he continued onward, only now an uneasy feeling developed within him.

As he continued the ascent, he thought he heard footsteps behind him. When he stopped, they also stopped.
After taking a brief moment, he quickly looked behind him.
No one was there.
Dai looked forward again, deeply exhaling.
He continued forward, his hands emitting icy vapor in anticipation of anything.

He made it to be about halfway up the mountain, when he suddenly found himself surrounded.
Numerous warriors in dark blue tunics, hoods, and scarves jumped out of the trees and surrounded him, each holding various ice weapons.
Dai jumped slightly, but kept his composure.
He took a deep breath before speaking.

"I know who you are!" he projected in a firm tone, "You are the Bàs Fuar, ice Gifted mercenary guild. I come before you because I wish... to join you."

The warriors looked at each other, perplexed.
One finally stepped forward, and took off her hood. She then pulled her scarf down below her chin.
"You wish to join us?" she asked, a suspicious look on her face.
Dai paused, "I do. It's... all I want."
He then produced an ice teddy bear in his hands, and held it out.
"I am ice Gifted," he said, "So I fulfill that requirement, yes?"
The woman looked him up and down, before donning her hood and scarf once more.

"Try anything, and you're dead," she warned.
"Yes, ma'am," Dai said unsurely.
The warriors, still holding their weapons, formed a tighter circle around Dai, and proceeded to escort him up the mountain. Dai couldn't help but feel worried.

❄️

Lena sat in her cell, hugging her knees and contemplating.
Jace looked at her from his cell across from her.

"So... was it really that bad?" he asked.
"Hm?" Lena asked, breaking out of her trance.
"The interrogation," Jace asserted, "She interrogated me, too. She was more... stern, at first. Then she grew softer."
"It was because you mentioned me," Lena replied.
Jace blinked.
"What?"
"That woman is... er... someone from my past, believe it or not," Lena said.
"What?!" Jace exclaimed, "How??"
"Long story short, she's the reason I came to America," Lena answered, "She texted me from your phone once she realized you knew me, and so... we're here."
"So... is she gonna help us get out?" Jace asked.
"Yes, but not, like, right now," Lena sighed, "She's worked up a good operation here, and she wants to let us go without making it a big breakout. It's gonna be harder now, no doubt, since that's basically what I tried..."
"Oh..." Jace said, "Well... don't feel too bad about it, okay? We have this woman to fall back on, I guess... and I'm sure our friends are gonna try something! They have to!"
Lena didn't reply, she just stared at the floor solemnly.
"Besides," Jace said, "For what it's worth... I really appreciated the gesture."

Lena smiled at that, and Jace smiled back at her.