[Amari Pov]
That hit harder than I expected, and even Kitsuna went quiet while Dad watched me carefully.
Stacy kept her voice even. "Amari, you will go as Draig's lead investigator. Kitsuna will be your protection and field support."
For a few seconds, I said nothing. Nothing in the garden had changed around us; the pond still moved, the guards remained near the gate, and Kitsuna was still beside the table with one hand near the notebook, but somehow everything felt different.
"My mission?"
"Yes."
"Not yours?"
"No," Stacy answered, while Dad shook his head.
"If either of us goes, the politics become heavier before we even know what is happening," he explained.
Stacy nodded. "If I walk into Helbram, Leroy will treat it as command stepping into his territory. If Dean goes, the northern houses will start guessing at troop movement. If I send a normal squad, Leroy can delay them under local procedure. You are different."
"Because I am less threatening?"
"Because you are Draig, but you are not there to take his wall from him. More importantly, if he tries to ignore you, he has to do it in front of Kitsuna."
Kitsuna smiled, and it was not a particularly friendly smile. "There it is."
I looked at her. "You are not there to start fights."
"I rarely start them. They always come and find me first."
"That is not what I said."
"It is the closest honest answer."
Stacy pointed toward Kitsuna without looking away from me. "She is not in command of the mission."
Kitsuna's smile faded slightly as I looked between them.
"Kitsuna is captain of her squad, but this is not a squad deployment," Stacy continued. "She is there for your safety and as field support. She advises you, but she does not take the mission from you unless you are unable to continue."
Kitsuna crossed her arms. "I dislike how reasonable that sounds."
"Then follow it anyway."
I swallowed and tried not to let the weight of that settle too heavily. I had asked for this kind of responsibility before, more than once, because I hated standing near real decisions while other people handled the dangerous parts.
Now the dangerous part had my name on it.
"What exactly is the objective?" I asked.
Dad answered this time. "Confirm what is happening beyond the Wall of the North, find out whether the missing scouts were killed, captured, or blocked by something new, and determine whether Federation forces are directing the monster attacks. If the threat is beyond Helbram's ability to contain, call for escalation."
Kitsuna looked at Stacy. "Escalation means you."
"Yes."
"Lovely."
I glanced at Kitsuna, but she only shrugged. "What? That is the correct point to stop pretending a count can fix it alone."
Stacy did not argue with her, which told me enough.
"Will we have soldiers with us?" I asked.
"No Draig soldiers."
"None?"
"None."
It was not the answer I wanted, and Dad apparently knew that from my expression because he folded his arms before explaining.
"Leroy will provide local access and support. That is also part of the mission because how much he helps, how much he blocks, and how much he hides will matter."
"So we are walking into his city with no soldiers, no unit, and only Kitsuna as support."
Kitsuna raised one finger. "That sounded rude."
"You are one person."
"A very inconvenient person."
"Still one."
She thought about it before nodding. "Fair."
Stacy's tired eyes softened slightly. "You will not be alone, Amari, but you cannot rely on a squad to make people listen to you. That is part of the point."
I did not like it, although understanding why only made it more annoying.
"What do you expect me to do if Leroy pushes back?"
"Listen first," Stacy said. "Do not fight every insult or answer every challenge. Watch what he avoids saying and what his soldiers do when he gives an order, then decide what matters enough to push."
"That sounds simple when you say it."
"It is not."
"Good. I thought maybe I was just bad at hearing it."
Dad smiled faintly. "No, it is difficult."
Kitsuna leaned against the table. "And if he tries to bury her under politics?"
Stacy looked at her. "You let Amari answer first."
"And second?"
"Depends on what he says."
Kitsuna smiled again. "I can work with that."
"I know. That is why I phrased it carefully."
That almost made me laugh, but instead I looked down at the notebook. The squad split was still there under the cover, and suddenly the thinking behind it seemed useful in a completely different way. Teamwork, roles, weaknesses, and what one side lost whenever the other gained something.
This mission was the same problem, only uglier. Leroy had the wall and the soldiers, while we had authority and Kitsuna, which meant neither side had everything.
"Why leave tonight?" I asked.
Kitsuna looked at me. "We are leaving tonight?"
Stacy reached into her coat and placed a sealed packet on the table with my name written across the front.
"Because the next monster push is expected within two days. If you leave tonight, you will reach Helbram by morning."
Kitsuna stared at the packet. "You already prepared the papers."
"Yes."
"That is rude."
"That is command."
"Same crime, nicer boots."
Dad ignored her. "A cargo plane will take you to the northern relay. You will change at two military stations and arrive after dawn."
I picked up the packet, surprised by how much heavier it seemed than something made of paper had any right to be.
"What is inside?"
"Mission authority, border clearance, a letter for Leroy Helbram, and limited command rights over Draig interests while inside his territory."
"Limited?"
"You are not going there to rule his wall."
"I know."
"I am saying it anyway."
That was fair.
I opened the packet just enough to see the first page, where my name sat beneath the Draig seal.
Mine, not Kitsuna's.
Kitsuna leaned closer, so I moved the packet away before she could get a proper look.
She frowned. "I can read."
"I know."
"Then why move it?"
"You were about to comment."
"I was."
"That is why."
Dad smiled, and even Stacy's mouth twitched for a second before she looked at me properly again.
"This is a real mission, Amari, not a practice assignment, a punishment, or a chance to prove yourself by being reckless. You confirm what is happening, judge the situation, and call for help if needed."
"I understand."
"Do you?"
I looked down at the packet again. There were easier and cleaner answers I could have given her, but none of them would have been completely honest.
"Enough to know I probably do not understand all of it yet."
Stacy nodded once, which told me that was probably the answer she wanted.
Dad stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder. "That is why Kitsuna is going with you."
Kitsuna gave him a wounded look. "I am emotional support now?"
"You are armed emotional damage," Dad joked with a smile.
Kitsuna stared at him, and I did the same while Stacy closed her eyes for a second as though she wanted to be disappointed but could not quite manage it.
Kitsuna eventually pointed at Dad. "That was rude."
"It was accurate."
"I respect that."
The joke helped. It did not remove the pressure completely, but it made carrying it a little easier.
Stacy stepped closer and reached out to straighten the edge of my sleeve. I almost complained, but stopped myself when I noticed how tired she looked, more tired than she normally allowed anyone to see.
This was not just command handing out work. This was Mother sending us north because the situation needed it, and somehow that made it both worse and better.
"Do not try to become someone else for this mission," she said.
I looked at her, waiting.
"Use what you have, learn what you lack, and do not pretend the second part does not exist."
"I will try."
"Do more than try."
There it was, blunt as always, and I smiled a little despite myself. "Yes, Mother."
Kitsuna looked at me. "Very formal."
"Shut up."
"Better."
Stacy turned her attention to Kitsuna. "Keep her safe."
Something in Kitsuna's expression changed as she answered. "I will."
Dad looked at both of us. "Pack light. Field clothes, warm layers, no ceremonial pieces, and no extra attendants."
Kitsuna clicked her tongue. "There goes my plan to bring a parade."
"You would hate a parade."
"I would hate everyone else enjoying it."
"That sounds more right."
Stacy placed one more small crystal on the table. "Emergency contact. Use this if Helbram's channels are compromised."
I picked it up and placed it inside the packet while Kitsuna watched.
"How compromised are we expecting?"
"If we knew that, you would not be going to confirm it," Stacy answered.
"Annoying answer."
The sun had reached its highest point while we talked, leaving most of the garden bright except for the shade beneath the gazebo.
By morning we would be in Helbram dealing with a wall, a proud count, missing scouts, organized monsters, and Federation activity that nobody wanted to name too loudly yet.
I looked down at the packet again, at my own name beneath the seal, until Kitsuna's hand landed on the closed notebook and slid it toward me.
"Give the note to Brenda, then take it with you."
I looked up. "For the mission?"
"For Leroy. If he talks too long, you can hit him with it."
"Kitsuna."
"What? It is thick enough."
Stacy sighed. "Do not hit the count with a notebook."
Kitsuna looked at me. "Fine. Last resort."
"No," Stacy said.
Dad looked like he was fighting a smile and slowly losing.
I picked up the notebook anyway, although it was not for hitting counts.
Probably.
The garden had started as somewhere Kitsuna decided to plan her squad, and now it had become the place where my first real mission had been dropped into my hands. Considering this family, that felt about right.
There had been no ceremony or warning, just a sealed packet, bad news, and Kitsuna already insulting people we had not even met yet.
I tucked the packet under my arm. "Tonight, then."
Stacy nodded. "Tonight."
Kitsuna looked toward the house. "I already hate the wait."
"We have not left yet."
"That is how I know it still has time to get worse."
For once, I did not argue with her. The mission had already started before either of us had even packed.