[Amari POV]
Kitsuna had turned the garden table into a planning desk. I was not sure when she had decided the garden was the correct place for squad planning, but she had already dragged one chair sideways, stolen my notebook, and started writing names before I could ask.
That was usually how Kitsuna worked. She did something first and, if you were lucky, explained herself sometime afterward.
I stood beside the table and watched her separate the squad into two groups. Her handwriting was ugly but readable, which somehow made it worse. The letters looked as though they were fighting each other while still managing to form actual words.
On the left side of the page she had Team One: Kitsuna, Rin, Chinada, Apricot, Nekro, Ava, and Sarian.
On the right was Team Two: Brenda, Sirone, Brit, Toma, Mia, and Olivia.
I stared at the second group for a few seconds before looking back at her. "Are we missing someone?"
Kitsuna tapped the page with the back of the pen. "No."
"Team One has seven."
"Because I want both Nekro and Apricot to stay on the same team."
"That makes Team Two smaller, but why do you want both on the same team?"
"Because they still care about each other but can't talk to each other, so this will force them to talk."
I frowned. "And if that causes something?"
"I will be there, so there is no need to worry."
"Fair."
"Team Two has Brenda, and Olivia has her sister Sirone with her. They will survive the emotional damage."
I looked at her, but she looked back as though that was a perfectly normal answer.
"It is not about damage," I said.
"It is always a little about emotional damage."
"Kitsuna."
"What? Count them without me. Six and six."
She was right. Team One without Kitsuna had Rin, Chinada, Apricot, Nekro, Ava, and Sarian, while Team Two had Brenda, Sirone, Brit, Toma, Mia, and Olivia.
"Fine. The numbers work."
"Try not to sound too impressed."
"I will survive."
Kitsuna leaned over the page again and marked Brenda's name. "Brenda leads Team Two if I split them. That part is obvious."
"She is your second-in-command."
"Yes."
"Then why are we writing this down?"
"Because if I say it out loud, Brenda will ask twelve follow-up questions. If I hand her the page, she will ask eight."
"That is still a lot."
"It is an improvement."
I sat down across from her and pulled the notebook closer. "She will also want reasons."
"She can have reasons."
"You can write them down. Uh, never mind. Give me the pen. This must at least be legible."
"I hate giving reasons to people who already know the answer and just want me to say it nicely," Kitsuna moaned, although she still handed me the pen.
"That is most people."
"Exactly."
I looked over the groups again. Team One was messy, with Kitsuna, Rin, Apricot, Nekro, Ava, Chinada, and Sarian. They were fast, disruptive, and probably a nightmare if pointed in the wrong direction.
Team Two was steadier. Brenda, Sirone, Brit, Toma, Mia, and Olivia gave them more control, making them better suited to holding ground and stopping people from running into knives because they got excited.
It made sense, and I hated that it made sense without being neat.
"Why Sarian with you and Toma with Brenda?" I asked.
"Toma is better when someone gives her a clear job and lets her build around it. Brenda does that. Sarian is better when things turn messy and someone needs to kick a problem sideways."
"That is your official reason?" I asked as I sighed and noted it down on the papers.
"No. My official reason will use fewer words and sound less rude."
"Like always. I am writing, so you just give me the reasons and I will make them usable."
Kitsuna smiled without looking up. "Careful. You are starting to sound like me."
"I am not."
"You insulted me while taking notes."
"That is not your whole personality."
"It is a strong part of it."
I wrote a small note under Sarian's name.
Flexible response. Better with moving team.
Kitsuna leaned over far enough to read it upside down and immediately made a face. "Too clean."
"It is a note."
"It sounds like a report."
"It is most likely going to become one."
"That poor paper."
I ignored her and pointed at Chinada's name. "Why Chinada with you and Sirone with Brenda? They usually work better together."
"That is the only part Brenda will really argue about."
"She will be right to argue."
"Yes."
I waited, but Kitsuna apparently thought that was enough of an explanation.
I gave her the look Stacy usually gave people when she wanted them to remember that she had authority and her patience was not endless.
Kitsuna stared at me for a moment. "You learned that from Mother."
"I am her child, and you say that as if you don't know how to do it."
"It is creepy."
"Then answer."
She clicked her tongue. "Chinada gives my team long eyes and quiet killing, while Ava gives us scouting close to the ground. Apricot and Nekro make the enemy hate walking, Rin makes anything in front of us regret standing there, and Sarian keeps the side from turning into a problem."
"And Sirone?"
"Brenda's team needs her more. Brit can keep the front steady, Toma can make cover, Olivia can set annoying things, and Mia can spot traps or marks. If they are holding or protecting something, though, Sirone keeps that team alive longer."
I looked down at the page and had to admit that also made sense.
"You actually thought about this properly."
Kitsuna looked offended. "I do think sometimes."
"Sometimes?"
"You said that like you were surprised."
"I am surprised because you admitted it."
"That is fair."
I added another note explaining that Sirone would stay with Team Two for healing and survivability. Kitsuna looked at the last word and immediately made a face.
"Do not start," I said.
"I said nothing."
"You were going to."
"Yes."
"At least you stopped."
"Barely."
The garden was quiet around us, with the morning sun warming the path and the pond behind Kitsuna making soft noises whenever the fish disturbed the surface. One of them came up near her tails, and my attention drifted toward the three fluffy tails resting behind her.
'I guess with the secret out that she is a nine-tail fox, she is more comfortable letting her tails out,' I thought.
Kitsuna glanced back when one of the fish came closer. "Do not bite me."
"It is a fish."
"Fish are suspicious."
"You are suspicious of everything."
"That is why I am alive."
I could not really argue with that, so I turned my attention back to the notebook. "So Team One moves while Team Two holds?"
"No, each does their own missions."
I stared at her until she sighed.
"If we are on the same mission, then mostly yes. Team One is better for scouting, disruption, and hitting something before it knows we are there. Team Two is better for holding a place, protecting an objective, or making the enemy waste time."
"That sounds like a real answer."
"It hurts to give."
"I appreciate your sacrifice."
"You should."
I wrote the summary beneath the names.
Team One would focus on moving, scouting, disruption, and striking quickly. Team Two would focus on holding positions, protecting objectives, controlling the area, and surviving prolonged pressure.
Kitsuna took the notebook back, read over the page, and gave a small nod. "There. Brenda can complain over that."
"Does that mean it is done?"
"It means it is good enough to start a fight in the meeting room."
I smiled a little. "That is not the same thing."
"It is with Brenda."
"She respects you."
"She also likes being correct."
"So do you."
"I am correct more often."
"That is not helping your case."
Kitsuna closed the notebook and tapped it twice against the table to neaten the papers inside. "I will give this to her after lunch."
"Why after lunch?"
"People argue better when fed."
"That sounds made up, and it sounds like you want to argue with her."
"It is not made up. Hungry people make worse choices."
I raised an eyebrow, and she immediately pointed at me.
"Do not turn that into a life lesson."
"I was not going to."
"You were thinking about it."
"I was thinking that you are strange."
Before Kitsuna could answer, the garden gate opened and the guards near the far path turned immediately. Two house guards stepped through first before moving aside to allow Stacy and Dad through.
That killed the light conversation almost immediately.
Stacy was wearing her working coat rather than court clothes or anything she would wear for a family stroll. The coat had too many pockets, and seeing it usually meant she had either come directly from work or was about to give someone more of it.
Dad had his practical sword on his hip rather than anything ceremonial, which made the situation worse.
Kitsuna looked from them to the guards remaining near the gate. "Well, that ruins lunch."
Stacy's eyes moved to the notebook in Kitsuna's hand. "Planning?"
"Squad split. Brenda can complain later."
Dad glanced toward the table. "Two teams?"
"Kitsuna and Brenda," I explained. "Kitsuna leads one and Brenda leads the other."
Dad nodded. "That makes sense."
Kitsuna looked at him. "Careful. Saying that out loud encourages me."
"It is a risk I am willing to take," Dad said.
Stacy came closer and stopped beside the table. For a moment, she looked at the closed notebook as though she wanted to ask more, but then her attention moved to me and my stomach tightened.
"Amari."
"Yes?"
"We need to speak with both of you."
Kitsuna put the notebook down slowly. "That sounds like work."
"It is."
"Dangerous work?"
"Possibly."
"Political work?"
Stacy gave her a flat look, and Kitsuna groaned.
"I will take walking into danger over politics any day."
Dad's mouth twitched, but Stacy did not sit, so none of us did either. That was how I knew the conversation was not just family talk. It might have started that way, but it was not going to stay there.
Dad looked at me first. "A request came in from the northern border this morning."
"The northern border?"
"Count Leroy Helbram's territory," Stacy said. "The city of Helbram."
I knew the name because everyone knew it.
Helbram was the northern city behind the Wall of the North. It sat where the kingdom narrowed between two mountain ranges, blocking the only realistic way through. The mountains could be crossed by small groups if they were desperate, lucky, and stupid, but not by an army carrying supplies, siege tools, or monsters.
The wall was where the pressure always landed.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Federation activity increased," Stacy said. "Monster attacks against the wall have become more frequent and more organized."
Kitsuna's ears shifted. "Organized monsters. Always a good sign for entertainment."
"Scouts have gone missing beyond the wall," Dad continued. "Leroy sent his own people first, but some did not return. The last reports mention strange movement in the forest and monsters gathering where they should not be."
"That sounds like more than a border problem."
"It most likely is," Stacy said. "That is why someone has to confirm it."
Kitsuna looked at Stacy, then Dad, and finally me before her expression brightened. "Oh, this is going to be fun."
Stacy ignored that. "Leroy Helbram requested support without actually saying the word support."
Kitsuna snorted. "Of course he did."
"He asked for outside confirmation of Federation interference," Dad said. "Which means he wants help, but he also wants enough room to say he handled the matter himself if it stays small."
I glanced down at the closed notebook. The squad split suddenly felt like a much smaller problem that could wait for another day.
"What are his forces like?"
"Strong and loyal to him," Stacy answered. "He has soldiers trained in black operations, but they are his people rather than mine or Dean's."
Kitsuna's expression shifted slightly. "His own Black Ops. That is going to be a pain in the ass."
"Probably."
I looked at Stacy. "Are you sending Kitsuna?"
"I am sending both of you."