Songbird: What it Means to be the Hero

{-Rennyn-}

He couldn’t sleep. His mind was stuck between what the goddesses had said about snags and rivers and smoothness… and that grin, and those words, until every memory of being called “Songbird” warped to be his voice, low and threatening and mocking.

Rennyn just convinced himself that he was imagining it—that the only connection between the two, the only reason it mattered, was all in his head. It had to be. All of this was just some dumb thing his mind decided to hang on to. Kaylin never seemed bothered by the events of their past lives; if it was really anything worth mentioning, she’d be experiencing something, too. So it was just something he made up, something he’d get over eventually.

And he forced himself to believe that the nightmares, the fast, panicked breaths and racing heartbeat, the faces of enemies and friends alike flashing in and out among strangers… they were all just in his head. Maybe it was a “snag,” but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t real. So if he ignored it long enough, kept shoving the thoughts of the past away, pushed through whatever else he faced… it would go away.

Right?

The first thing he did was decide that he needed some fresh air. Knowing he couldn’t just open the window, he quietly made his way to the door and put on the coat Kaylin had made him. He opened the door, hating how it creaked, and gave one last look to make sure he hadn’t woken the other two. Seldir was definitely still asleep, snoring loud enough that the girls in the other room could probably hear it; Noa, on the other hand, made no noise or movement, aside from the gentle rise and fall of his chest under all those borrowed blankets.

Somewhat assured, Rennyn closed the door again and made his way downstairs.

No one else was down there, aside from the person who watched over the counter during the night. He mumbled something to them about coming back in a couple of minutes, then went out the door.

A part of him hoped that, with the coat protecting him from a surprising amount of the cold, he’d be able to feel that sense of comfort again—the safety of home. But it didn’t work, not when he knew full well that he was what would make the difference between whether or not there was even a home to go back to.

He started on a walk around the area, trying to look as unassuming as possible. He didn’t want to cause any trouble.

Everything was going pretty well, actually, before he thought he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure exiting one of the stores.

“Allyna?”

The figure stopped immediately, practically confirming her identity. Rennyn was able to get closer in those few moments, finally confirming his suspicions… even if she never turned to face him.

“It has to be pretty late, what are you doing out..?” he asked. His mind immediately ran to everything Dhymos did in the dark, how he used it to his advantage—but Rennyn beat it back down before he pointed it out to her. She wouldn’t want to hear it, and dwelling on those kinds of thoughts was why he was out here in the first place.

Still, even as he walked around to face her, she kept her eyes on something else. “I remembered I needed to grab a few things, and this is the only area where stuff is open this late. I plan to leave first thing tomorrow morning to try to help you get more information on whatever Dhymos is doing, so I couldn’t just wait until then.”

Then, undoubtedly recognizing that he was going to ask more questions, she changed the subject. “What are you doing out here? I’m pretty sure heroes need a good night’s sleep to do whatever the hell you’re doing.”

“I needed some fresh air.” He shook his head. “Look, you really shouldn’t be out this late—”

“You’re right back to this, huh? I’m guessing you weren’t listening at all, then? I can take care of myself. I don’t need you constantly checking in on me or, worse, pity me. Just leave me alone.”

She backed away and, after a moment, he decided not to follow her. He had to let her go, if she wanted to.

But, surprisingly, that wasn’t the last thing she said. “Hey, have you… heard anything from King Merith yet?”

“No. Why..?”

She still didn’t look at him, even as she kept walking away. “I think you should head to the castle and pay him a visit anyway. There’s someone important there you’re going to need to help.”

“How do you know? Who is it?”

“You’ll figure both of that out for yourself later. I’m not going to be able to tell you anything more helpful, though, unless you let me go. We’ll see each other soon, but let’s just do what we can until then, alright?” A chill wind picked up then and, finally, she glanced over her shoulder and added, “Until next time, Songbird.”

…

“Did you sleep at all?” Kaylin frowned when she saw him, coming with breakfast for all of them. “You know, you’re not going to get any better if you don’t try to get some rest.”

“I feel fine already,” Rennyn mumbled. “But that’s not important right now.”

“I’d really like to know why you think that.”

“Last night, I couldn’t sleep, so I went out to get some fresh air. I saw Allyna while I was out there. She told me we should go visit King Merith—I think something else is going on there that we’re going to want to know.”

“And how do you want us to go about getting him to talk to us?”

“I don’t know. I just know that we have to try. The request from Queen Vaeri has to have gotten to him by now. Even someone like King Merith is going to have to listen to her—she might not have the power of Empress Shaerra, but if Queen Vaeri asks for something and says it’s urgent, she means it.”

Of course, Kaylin had to ask one final question. “Did she happen to mention anything specific about it?”

“She’s my sister,” Rennyn pointed out. “She doesn’t have any reason to lie to us about stuff like that. You’re the problem there, by insisting that something’s wrong with her.”

“We both know how Dhymos likes to use emotions. She’s off on her own, after storming out of here because of an argument about not being worthy enough to you. That’s a perfect opportunity for him to get her to do something we’re all going to regret.”

“Allyna’s smarter than that.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“And neither does she. So let’s just trust her, and you trust me, alright? If it doesn’t lead to anything, then oh well. But if she was right—if something’s happening—then we can’t just let it happen. We’re going to be paying King Merith a visit, whether you like it or not.”