Master Dren didn't even acknowledge the tension. He just... assigned them joint training for the entire week.
"Partner drills," he announced on Monday morning, his voice flat. "Fireborn and vel'Maredan will work together on integrated combat—magical support with physical offense. All day. Every day. Until you learn to move as one unit instead of three separate people."
Kaela and Lysara exchanged a look. It was cold.
"We already work well together," Lysara said quietly.
"No," Master Dren responded. "You work adequately together. There's a difference. Adequate gets people killed. I want better."
He left us to it. For the first hour, everything was stiff and formal, almost painful to watch. Kaela would execute a perfect lunge, and Lysara would call out, "Barrier on left," like she was reading from a textbook. It was awful. They were moving like two strangers.
By midday, something had to break.
We were drilling a sequence where Kaela had to run an obstacle course while Lysara maintained a continuous magical shield on her. It's a test of focus, for both of them. Kaela, predictably, was moving faster than Lysara anticipated. She was pushing it, probably out of anger.
I saw the shield flicker. Lysara's spell was lagging, creating gaps.
One of the traps—a pressure plate that triggers throwing blades—snapped. The wooden blade, dulled for training, thwacked against Kaela's forearm. It wasn't a real cut, but it left a bright red, bloody line.
Lysara just... stopped. The drill, the spell, everything. She was at Kaela's side in a second, pulling up her sleeve.
"I'm sorry," Lysara said, the words rushing out. "I lost focus. I shouldn't have lost focus. The spell should have held."
"It's fine," Kaela said, but her voice was soft. She was watching Lysara's hands shake as she fumbled with the first aid kit. "It's just a training injury."
"It's not fine." Lysara was already cleaning the wound, her movements precise but trembling. "You could have been seriously hurt. If that had been a real blade—"
"But it wasn't," Kaela said gently. "And I'm okay."
Lysara finished wrapping the wound. She didn't let go of Kaela's arm.
"I was scared," Lysara whispered, her head down. "During the drill. I was scared that I'd drop the spell. That you'd get hurt. And when I got scared, I did exactly what I was afraid of. I dropped the spell."
Kaela sat down on one of the benches. "Fear makes us clumsy."
"Fear makes me useless," Lysara corrected, her voice bitter. "I can sit in the library and analyze data. But when it comes to actual application, when there's real danger... I panic."
"No, you don't," Kaela said. "You were flawless at Millbrook. Your research saved lives."
"I was terrified at Millbrook," Lysara said, finally sitting beside her. "I was just better at hiding it."
They were quiet for a long time. The tension from the fight was just... gone. Replaced by this.
"I said you were scared during our argument," Kaela said finally. "And you were. But I... I didn't admit that I was scared, too. I was scared you didn't trust me. That you didn't think I was capable. That... maybe I really am just a warrior who thinks violence solves everything."
"You're not," Lysara said, instantly. "You're one of the most thoughtful people I know. You just... express it through action. I just... express it through analysis."
"That's... kind of you to say."
"It's not kind. It's true." Lysara turned to face her. "I think... I was projecting. I was scared that I wasn't smart enough, and instead of dealing with that, I... I attacked your approach. As if that would validate mine."
"Your approach is valid," Kaela said. "Mine is, too. We're just... different."
"I know that intellectually," Lysara said. "But understanding something intellectually is... different from accepting it emotionally."
Kaela reached out and took Lysara's hand. The one that had been shaking.
"Then accept it emotionally," Kaela said, her voice soft. "Accept that you're brilliant and scared... just like I'm strong and... and inadequate in my own ways. Accept that we complement each other. Because we're different."
Lysara just looked down at their joined hands. "Is that what we're doing? Complementing each other?"
"I think so," Kaela said. "I think that's what we've always been doing."
They just... talked after that. For hours. Dren checked on us once, saw them sitting on the bench talking, and just... walked away. By evening, something fundamental had changed.
That night on the roof, they found me. And they were holding hands.
It wasn't like our usual "all-three-of-us" hand-holding. This was different. This was... theirs. Deliberate. A statement.
"We're okay," Kaela said, as they settled beside me. "Lysara and I."
"I'm glad."
"More than okay," Lysara added. Her voice was... soft. I'd almost never heard it like that. "We talked. Really talked. I think we... understand each other better now."
Kaela squeezed her hand. "We were both scared. And we were taking it out on each other instead of just... admitting it."
"But now?" I asked.
"Now... we're still scared," Lysara said. "But we're scared together. And that... that feels different."
They were... looking at each other. In a way that was new. It wasn't... romantic, exactly. Not in the way the stories I'd read from my old life described it. It was... more intimate. Deeper.
Lysara was the one who spoke. "I've been thinking... about what it means to care about someone. About the... vulnerability."
"That's very scholarly of you," Kaela teased.
"I'm serious," Lysara insisted, though her voice was still soft. "When I was scared... I... I realized. I don't care about you just as a... a partner. I care about you. The person. And that... that scares me. Because... caring... means you... you have power. You can hurt me."
"We can all hurt each other," I said quietly. "That's the risk."
"I know that now," Lysara said, and she looked right at Kaela. "And I... I choose it. I choose to be close to you. Despite... the risk. Despite... the fear."
Kaela leaned over... and just... rested her forehead against Lysara's. It wasn't a kiss. It was... something else. Something more. A... a promise.
"I choose it, too," Kaela whispered. "Even though it terrifies me."
I should feel left out. The third wheel. The one on the outside.
But I didn't. I just... felt grateful. They... they deserved this. They needed a bond that wasn't just... about me. They needed to be Kaela-and-Lysara, not just 'Ren's team'.
"What about you?" Lysara asked, turning her head just enough to look at me.
"I... I choose to support you," I said. "Both of you. To... to make space for what you're building."
Kaela... she smiled. Her real, fierce smile. And she took my hand with her free one.
So we were all connected. Lysara holding Kaela. Kaela holding me.
"I think," Kaela said softly, "that the three of us are going to be okay."
"I think so, too," Lysara agreed.
I didn't say anything. I just... held their hands.
The shift was... immediate. The next week, the whole scout corps could feel it. The tension was gone. Dren watched us, a rare, faint pride in his eyes.
"You learned something," he grunted after a drill. "Disagreement... doesn't have to mean dissolution. Conflict can strengthen a bond."
Even Elder Stoneheart pulled me aside. "Your trio is stronger now," he observed. "The argument was a... rehearsal. For... larger conflicts. You passed."
That night, on the roof, they thanked me.
"Thank you," Kaela said. "For... not... making it a problem. For... letting us... work through it."
"Thank you for not taking sides," Lysara added. "For... holding space. For us to be... scared. And... wrong."
"That's... that's what we do," I said. "We... show up for the messy parts."
Lysara... she... reached out, and took both our hands.
"I... I think I'm in love with both of you," she whispered.
Kaela's breath just... stopped. "Like... romantically?"
"I... I don't know what to call it," Lysara admitted, her voice trembling just a little. "I just... know. I care about you... in... in ways I've... never... cared about anyone. I... I want to... protect you. I... I want to... build a life... with both of you. Whatever... that... means."
Kaela... she... just pulled Lysara close. "I... I feel the same way."
I looked at them. My friends. My anchors.
And the truth... it just... landed.
"So do I," I whispered.
This... this is what we were. Not... just a team. Not... just friends. Something... more. Something... permanent.
It... it felt... like home.