Team 22 returned to the main camp just before the last rays of the sun were swallowed by the encroaching darkness. Cassian, the team leader, headed straight to report on the day's activities, as he had done every evening for the past week. He wasn't alone—several other team leaders were present as well, gathered for their nightly debriefing.
Over the past few days, Cassian had gotten to know a few of them, having crossed paths in the forest while fighting off threats. Most of the team leaders were First-Circle warriors, though there were a few exceptions—mages of Emberling rank who stood out amid the crowd.
All of them were older than Cassian and had come from universities rather than the city's forces. They'd been assigned here by their institutions to gain some practical experience. Most were decent people who just minded their own business.
Still, a few seemed to have an issue—mainly with Cassian. For some reason, they shot him glares like arrows as he entered the tent to give his report.
"What's their problem?" Lumine asked, having accompanied him today since Cassandra was handling their team's briefing.
"No clue," Cassian replied with a shrug, brushing off the hostility and ignoring them.
Lumine, however, didn't look away. As she kept glaring, one of the other team leaders sneered at her with a smug, disgusted expression. A vein twitched on her forehead. Seething with anger, she hissed through gritted teeth, "Well, why don't we ask them, then?"
Cassian turned toward her, surprised to see her fuming as she started marching toward the group of armored elites. Before she could get too far, he grabbed her arm and gently pulled her back into the tent, saying, "Let's not…"
"They're just a bunch of perfumed assholes. Don't waste your energy on them," he added, steering the still-angry Lumine toward Cassandra's bench, where she was currently briefing another team leader.
"But he cursed at us," Lumine said in a frustrated tone, clearly baffled by Cassian's calm reaction.
It wasn't that Cassian was used to insults—though growing up in the slums, he'd been called far worse. It was just that he already had plenty on his plate, and picking petty fights would only complicate things. Besides, he was likely wealthier than all of them combined, being the owner of a war armor and tens of thousands of gold. In a way, that technically made him noble, and his Ven Dyke surname added even more weight to it.
"I'll deal with them later. Let's brief Captain Cassandra first," Cassian said calmly. Since everyone fighting the monsters now had to follow the army's rank system, he had been assigned the rank of sergeant. Though he didn't mind being called by name, the higher-ups were strict about rank formalities, so he made sure to stick to the rules.
"Captain," Cassian and Lumine said in unison, giving a sharp, practiced salute as they stood at Cassandra's desk.
The captain looked up from her paperwork, her expression a mix of mild annoyance and exhaustion. She'd been writing reports nonstop, judging by the towering stack of completed documents on the corner of her desk. Her irritation was obvious as she scrawled something across another page before setting it aside with a sigh.
"At ease," she said, waving a hand. "Anything to report from Team 22?"
Cassian relaxed his stance. "No, ma'am. Not a single monster crossed into our patrol area today."
To his surprise, Cassandra's lips twitched into a small, tired smile. He had a feeling he knew why. Sure enough, she scribbled another quick note and added it to the pile with a dry smirk. Cassian imagined it said something along the lines of, 'Nothing of significance occurred in the sector guarded by Team 22.'
"Glad to hear it," she said, stretching her neck with a soft crack. "A quiet day means one less mess for me to write a report about."
Finally, Lumine turned to her sister, who gave a weary smile and asked, "How you doing, sis?"
"Fine," Cassandra replied with a tired sigh, rubbing her temples. "But honestly rather be out there fighting monsters than stuck in here doing all this paperwork."
Lumine didn't seem too worried despite how miserable her sister looked. If anything, she seemed relieved that Cassandra was safely away from the dangerous creatures prowling the forest. But she kept that thought to herself.
Cassian, however, chuckled and leaned forward. "About that, same with us." he said with a grin, "my team's been feeling a little… unenthused these last few days." His grin widened into a cheap, playful smile. "So, I was thinking, maybe you could assign us to a livelier part of the forest? You know, just to keep morale up."
Cassandra's eyes sharpened, narrowing dangerously as she fixed Cassian with a hard, angry glare. "You think this is a joke, Cassian?" she said, her tone carrying a warning edge.
Before Cassian could respond, Cassandra noticed Lumine beside him, giving her a pleading, almost puppy-eyed look. Seeing her sister like that made Cassandra sigh in exasperation. Finally, she relented.
"Fine," she muttered, rubbing her forehead. "I'll see what I can do. But I'm not putting you on the third defensive line if that's what you're angling for. Got it?"
Both Cassian and Lumine nodded eagerly, bright smiles lighting up their faces like children who had just gotten away with something. Cassandra sighed again, this time with a weary, indulgent smile, as if saying, Fine, have your way.
"You may go now," she added, waving them off. Then, turning to Lumine, she said, "Let's have dinner together tonight, okay?"
Lumine's eyes brightened with excitement. "Really?"
"Yeah," Cassandra confirmed, then turned to Cassian. "You should come along too. It'll be nice to eat without monsters or paperwork looming over us for once."
As they left the tent, Lumine was smiling brightly, clearly excited about having dinner with her sister. Cassian had noticed how much she seemed to enjoy spending time with Cassandra, and his curiosity got the better of him.
"You seem excited," he remarked, raising an eyebrow.
Lumine nodded enthusiastically, her eyes shining. "Of course! Why wouldn't I be? I don't get to spend much time with her anymore. Ever since she joined the law enforcement department, she's always busy. So, I enjoy every little moment I get with her."