She listens and considers it for a few moments. "I haven't heard from some of the forward team in a while. They might still be underground. If they are see if you can find them. I don't like being out of contact with them for this long."
Blair looked to both ends of the burrow, gifted with decent dark vision. It was a fraction of a second that he had turned to face behind them when he let out a blood-chilling scream.
Sunlight retreated over the mountain range in the distance; the dying light of another exhausting day was a familiar sight for a weary mustelid dragging his weight towards his temporary quarters. The steps leading to the barracks were sunken in; between the inclement weather and additional housed troops over the previous few weeks, the infrastructure of the Jaw varied between sound and shaky.
The demeanor of most individuals assigned to these barracks were surprisingly light - the direction of Lila's rigorous, if not potentially authoritarian, training had resulted in positive attitudes towards the preparedness of the Rebellion for their imminent movement against High Central.
A goal long fought for was a few short sleeps away.
Blair wasted no time in shedding his additional layers the moment he haphazardly pulled himself across the threshold of his room; in passing a group of Rebellion soldiers, he could hear the last remnants of their conversation as his door began it's slow, creaky close.
"...numbers, at least that's the projection."
"Then we're fine, right? The Commander would have the most up-to-date information. I trust the brass would let us know if we were up against something..."
Click.
The voices were almost completely shut out, with only a faint murmur to be heard on Blair's side of the door. Hanging his coat on the hook to his right, the ferret wiped his paws on his shirt before the silhouette of a taller half-breed caught his eye.
"Gods above-" Blair yelped at a pitch that shocked even himself, flustered with his face growing red in embarrassment. "Excuse me, I believe ye' have te' wrong-"
The figure stepped forward, towering above the hob and eclipsing the sinking sun outside the window. With the light obstructed, the soft smile of a familiar face came into focus.
"Wrong room?" Ellis crossed his arms, leaning against the wall adjacent to the door and tapping a paw on his forearm. "So sorry, stranger. I'll let myself out."
"No, just- ugh." The ferret pulled at the sides of his face, eyes tightly shut as he fought to take in the scene in front of him. "I'm sorry, its been... a long day. What- what are ye' doin' 'ere?"
"Did you think I was going home?" The fox half-breed's expression sunk into a mixture of disappointment and confusion; the reaction exhibited by the ferret wasn't what he had expected. "Blair, there is so much to be done. The Rebellion... it needs everyone it can get."
Despite his history, Blair managed to read Ellis' face quick enough to pivot. He quickly slipped by the canidae and dropped his bag onto the cot across the room.
"I s'ppose that's fair enough. So you'll be..." Blair didn't turn to look at the fox as he spoke. "...you'll be stayin' 'ere then?"
"If you'll have me." The tension was impossible to miss; Ellis took a few steps closer to the ferret, but kept a safe distance. "Last thing I would want to do is impose, but I also don't think it's good for you to be alone right now."
"Oh, please don't play savior right now." Blair's voice was a quick bite of aggression. "I told ye' that we'll figure it out when all this is over. Don't have time te' be mopin' about."
"So you're fine, then?"
"I'm so fine, it's disgustin'." The mustelid sat on a chair next to the cot, struggling to remove his boots with the tension in his back and shoulders fighting him. "Might as well lead the charge m'self at this point."
Ellis found space at the edge of the cot to sit, visibly frustrated with furrowed brow. Blair had the capacity to be such a caring, conversational partner... when he wasn't mirroring the behaviors of a toddler.
"Then it's alright if we talk about him?"
Blair froze, suspending his right boot in his hands. Within a moment, he sighed, placing it gently on the ground next to him.
"Ellis, don't do this."
"But you're fine, right? I thought you were so fine."
"I'm not jokin' wit' ye'. Please, Ellis."
"If you can't talk about Sylar, I-"
The fox couldn't react quickly enough. Blair had leapt from the chair, tackling him backwards and pinning him to the noticeably shaky cot. Ellis held the paws that gripped at the base of his neck, careful not to exert too much strength against his partner.
"Do NOT say his name!" The ferret's eyes darted back and forth between Ellis' with an enraged fury. "Do not..."
"Blair." The fox dared not move; rather, he began to loosen his grip on Blair's paws, feeling the ferret do the same. Despite the adrenaline coursing through him, Ellis maintained a steady tone. "Breathe."
Visibly shaking, the mustelid watched as a set of tears dropped down to copper fur below. His throat was as tight as it had ever been, and he could barely muster a soft whine. Blair leaned back, bracing his weight on Ellis' legs. The fox took this opportunity to push himself upright, meeting his partner's face.
"Don't talk." Ellis gently ran a claw on each paw under Blair's eyes, wiping away the remaining tears. "I'm... sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."
The silence that hung in the air felt like an eternity. Ellis knew that the hawk was a sore subject, but this was his first inclination that things were far worse than the ferret had let on. Without words, the fox pulled his weight back and sat upright on the cot with his back against the wall, pulling Blair beside him in the same position.
"I'm here if you need to talk about it. I'm also here if you just want to exist." Ellis took Blair's trembling hands into his own. "At your own pace, of course. Everything can wait until tomorrow."
Blair's attention was directed towards the now-dark window; lip quivering almost imperceptibly.
"I'm sorry too. Ye' didn't deserve that." The ferret looked over and up to Ellis, gracing him with the most genuine smile he could in the moment. "There's a lotta' baggage there. I just... need time."
"You can have all the time you need." Ellis pulled Blair's head to rest on his shoulder. "I can tell you're tired."
"Hardly." Blair's eyes caught an off-white mass atop an end table on the other side of the room. Littered around it were small shavings of what appeared to be the same material, along with a tool clearly used to carve it. "What do ye' have goin' on 'ere?"
"Oh, the skull helmets!" The excitement in Ellis' voice was a refreshing shift in the room's atmosphere. The fox squeezed his partner's paw before scurrying over to the table and grabbing the helm. "I had been talking with the Commander - in discussing my qualifications, I had mentioned the carvings I took on the road with me as a merchant, and she had asked if this were something I could do with bone."
Ellis playfully bounced back onto the cot, returning to his spot next to Blair and pushing the skull into the ferret's hands.
"What do you think? Good enough for the Rebellion?"
"This is incredible, Ellis." Blair rotated the bone carving, inspecting each fine detail of it as his vision came back into focus. "Yer a right talented fox. I've always said it."
"We'll see how you feel about that when I'm done. I have to make hundreds of these... with help, of course." Ellis dusted off a few stray shavings from the top of the helm. "Time is a luxury we don't have right now, so I'll see about getting as many of these out the door as I can."
"But Ellis, yer gonna miss training!" Blair yawned as the sarcasm dripped from his tongue. "How are ye' gonna stand a chance against High Central if ye' don't piss 'round with a... 'alf-baked..."
The ferret's head lurched forward before rolling onto Ellis' chest. Blair's breathing had slowed significantly, and slumber would not be far away. The fox shifted his weight to allow Blair to lean further into him, running a paw through the ferret's hair.
