"THIS IS SOUSLAAAAAAAANNNNNNND! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"SOUS, SHUT UP!" Tany yelled over her shoulder.
Oflen was still smoking from the fight, broken walls, lingering spells fizzing in the mud, and the faint stench of roasted Apex armor the humans wore, but Sous acted like she had just entered a blank canvas specifically designed for her creative genius.
And that creative genius apparently consisted of flags.
Sousland flags.
Sousland flags with her face on them.
Specifically: a chibi version of her face, giving a cheesy thumbs-up.
Tany stood behind her, arms crossed so tightly it could've been a spell of suppression. "Sous."
Sous didn't even look back. She was too busy slamming a brightly colored flag into the ground with a vigor that suggested patriotism, caffeine, and a startling lack of self-control. "Yes?"
"Why," Tany began slowly, "are you putting thirty-eight flags in the same courtyard?"
Sous stepped back, hands on her hips, admiring her work. "Because it's an important courtyard."
"No, it's not. It's literally an alley between two ruined houses."
"Exactly." Sous tapped the top of one flag like she was pointing out excellent craftsmanship. "Which means it has potential."
Tany inhaled deeply through her nose. "We have liberated one, one ghetto. Just one. There are hundreds more. Hundreds, Sous. We do not have time for… this."
"This," Sous repeated, sweeping her arms out dramatically, "is the spirit of Sousland's arrival!"
Tany stared at the chibi-faced flag nearest her. "This is propaganda drawn by a toddler."
"I think it's cute," Sous said proudly.
"That's the problem!"
Sous ignored her and marched toward the next patch of rubble, fishing a flag from the bundle strapped to her back. There were so many stuffed in there the bundle looked like a porcupine with delusions of grandeur.
"Tany," Sous continued, "you just don't understand culture."
"I don't think culture involves planting your face everywhere like some kind of invasive species."
Tany pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're an Alpha. Not a deity." When Tany created these flags, she thought it was going to serve a purpose. No. Sous was just being stupid.
Sous stuck the next flag into the ground anyway. "Boom!" She yelled.
Tany muttered something that sounded vaguely like a spell and vaguely like "I cannot believe I'm in love with this idiot," but she refused to make it audible.
Sous, unfazed, continued lining the broken street with flag after flag after flag. They fluttered dramatically in the breeze, forming a very bright, very egotistical border.
She stepped back, admiring them with hands on hips. "Beautiful. Majestic. Inspirational."
Tany's eye twitched. "It looks like a deranged parade."
Sous gasped. "Thank you!"
"That was not a compliment."
"Still taking it as one."
Tany threw up her hands. "We do not need this many flags here. Why use them all in one place? We have more ghettos to liberate!"
Sous responded instantly: "Because I like this neighborhood."
"This neighborhood is on fire."
"Yes, but artistically."
Tany glared so hard a nearby piece of debris slid slightly out of sheer intimidation.
Sous dug another flag out. Tany held up a hand.
"No. No more."
"But-"
"No."
"This one has sparkles."
"Sous."
"And it glows in the dark!"
"That is not convincing me."
"Tany," Sous said gravely, "think of how the citizens will feel when they return to this place and see the symbol of hope shining heroically."
Tany jabbed a finger at the flag. "Sous, the vampires are not coming back here."
Sous paused, staring at the tiny, adorable caricature of herself. "Someonr will occupy this land."
"Oh my gods."
Sous planted the flag anyway.
Tany made a frustrated noise, which was rare because she usually expressed anger with calm words and politely threatening magical pressure. But right now? Right now she sounded like a kettle ready to blow.
Sous grinned. "Someone's paying attention."
"Do not flirt with me right now. I am too irritated to be seduced."
Sous froze mid-flag-swing. "Wait. Is this one of those moments where you pretend not to care but secretly find my chaos charming?"
"No."
Tany avoided eye contact.
"Yes," Sous whispered, smug.
"No," Tany said louder.
"Then why are you blushing?"
"I'm not."
"You are."
"It's dust from the explosion!"
"You're pink."
"IT'S MAGIC FEEDBACK!"
Sous planted another flag. Tany shook visibly. Sous shrugged. "I want them to feel my presence."
"They already do."
"I want them to feel it even when I'm gone."
Tany's expression softened. Only a little. "You're trying to give them comfort."
Sous smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."
Tany groaned, but it was affectionate this time. "You are impossible."
Sous leaned in. "But lovable."
"Annoyingly so."
"I'll take that."
Tany looked at the sea of flags again, then sighed. "Fine. Leave them. But can we please go liberate the next ghetto? Before you run out of forests to deforest?"
Sous lit up. "Yes! But..."
"No more flags here."
"Okay."
"And no more flags in the next ghetto."
"…Define 'no more.'"
"SOUS."
Sous laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders. "I'll limit it to… maybe ten."
"TWO."
"Seven?"
"ONE."
Sous pouted. "Five."
"One."
"Three."
"One."
Sous crossed her arms. "Two."
"One."
Sous grumbled. "Fine. One."
Tany nodded. "Good."
Sous whispered under her breath, "But it will be a very big one."
Tany snapped her head toward her. "What was that?"
"NOTHING."
They began walking toward the northern exit. Behind them, the liberated ghetto now shimmered in the wind with dozens of bright Sousland flags, all cheerily waving with tiny chibi Sous expressions.
Surviving humans looked at the flags. They shrugged, this was it. They had to come to the fact they were no longer working here and they were to report back to Apex.
One quiet voice finally said:
"…better than Apex banners."
And another whispered:
"She looks… so tiny on them."
Sous grinned triumphantly; Tany groaned again. Sous took her hand. "Let's think back to when we were together back at Hacate. Remember when we had sex everywhere?" Tany pushed Sous away from her, shaking her head, yet laughing. They walked on to thr next ghetto, to the next battle and fight.
And Oflen's newly decorated courtyard fluttered proudly behind them, glowing with the unmistakable energy of Sous' chaotic brand of liberation.