“Hey Bevin, have you seen Reagan? I haven’t gotten to talk to her since the meeting when she got back.” 

“Oh yeah she was helping me with something earlier, I think she said she was going to the sparring pit to cool off.” She hadn’t seen Reagan in a while and she wanted to talk to her, she had seemed a little on edge at the meeting. She was about to start walking to the sparring pit but Bevin caught her arm. “I think she needs some space.” she furrowed her brows, 

“Is she mad at me?” Bevin sighed, he was a lot better at noticing people’s emotions than she was.

“Just give her some time alright?” He walked away and she wondered how much time it would take.

That night after dinner Elexis was in the council tent pacing back and forth. She needed to get work done, she needed to go to Ominae and Rudien and try to decide on a plan of Action regarding Ana. But she couldn’t stop thinking about Reagan. She was well on her way to warring through the wooden floor of the tent when Vasa opened the flap to her tent.

“I don’t know if you're aware, but Reagan’s been in the sparring pit for a few hours now, and well…” Vasa pulled a bruised Geriant from where he must have been waiting outside the tent flaps. Geriant was a younger recruit, Seventeen or so, he’d joined about a year ago, and though he was definitely no match for her, Reagan should know better than to actually hurt her sparring opponents. Whether she wanted to give Reagan time or not didn’t matter, she had to go confront whatever was going on.

“Alright, bring me to her.”

“How about you guys wait out here?” If Reagan got aggressive she didn’t want anyone else getting in the crossfire. She walked around the sparring pit, keeping out of sight so as not to distract Reagan. She was watching from behind one of the larger weapons racks. 

Reagan had always been more graceful than the others in her fighting style. When Elexis watched her move all she could think of was how perfect every motion was, every strike and dodge. She could see the parts of Reagan’s fighting style that had been influenced by Aleki and the methods that he had learned growing up in the Southern Islands. Reagan had been crushed when Aleki died, and Brana hadn’t been the same since. 

There was another thing that made Reagan’s movements so different, so fluid, but Elexis couldn’t quite put her finger on it. 

Reagan ducked a blow from her opponent, dancing back and seamlessly sweeping her leg out to knock them off balance but they jumped out of the way. Reagan took the moment off balance and pounced, fainting right and punching left, landing the blow right on her opponent's nose. 

Elexis cringed as she heard a small crunch and saw that the bindings on Reagan’s hands were now stained with blood. 

Had she broken their nose? She should step in before Reagan hurt them.

But right as she was about to step forwards Reagan dropped to the ground and knocked their feet out from under them leaving them sprawled on their back and-

The person Reagan was fighting was Bevin. Reagan was about to proclaim victory when Elexis stepped out from her hiding place and jumped over the barrier into the sparring ring.

Reagan stopped dead and for a moment she just blinked at her before she turned around and started to unwrap the bindings on her hands.

“No. You are going to stay here, we need to have a talk.” she paused helping Bevin to his feet and asked under her breath, “Are you alright?” He seemed to nodd and she helped him to the edge of the sparring ring where she called out for Vasa and Geriant and they came over to help. “Take him to the med tent, and have them look at Geriant while you're there.” Vasa simply nodded, glancing at Reagan once before helping Bevin start walking to the med tent, Geriant scurrying ahead, seeming too afraid to look back at Reagan. 

Elexis turned around and found Reagan standing on the opposite side of the training ring, facing away from her, the half removed hand wraps dangling.

“Reagan-”

“I don’t want to talk okay, I came here to spar so-”

“Well then I’ll spar with you.” it was a stupid idea, she could spar in what she was wearing but it wouldn’t be ideal. She walked over to the equipment and started wrapping her knuckles with the cloth.

“No.” Reagan said with an irritated flatness that only made Elexis more determined. She finished up the bindings on her hands and kicked off her boots to the side of the sparring ring before moving to the center.

“You said you wanted to spar, so,” the challenge was clear, if Reagan said no then she would be admitting that there was something else she was avoiding Elexis for. 

Reagan looked pissed, well aware of what Elexis was doing but she moved to the center and faced Elexis getting into a fighting stance. 

They circled each other at the center of the ring for a few moments before Reagan lunged at her, aiming her blow for her ribs. She dropped down dodging the assault, dancing back. If it had been another opponent she would have used that moment off balance to her advantage but with Reagan, well Reagan had never been off balance. She faced Reagan who had turned on a dime, not even out of breath.

“You know there's nothing wrong with talking things out-” she started but Reagan cut her off,

“You said we were just going to spar.” As she said it she swung herself around in a high kick that, had Elexis not spotted it and danced back again, would have hit her right in the jaw. Reagan certainly wasn’t holding back.

“We are aren’t we?” she said, jumping out of the way of another swing. They were slowly creeping their way to the side of the ring, if she didn’t do something she’d be trapped up against the pit wall. She was going to have to change her strategy. “Why won’t you just tell me what's going on?” She dropped low, ducking another swing from Reagan and swung her leg out but Reagan danced back and out of the way. Elexis used the moment to roll to the side and stand up facing Reagan closer to the middle of the ring. It was time to go on the offensive.

Reagan just answered her question with another attack but Elexis' side stepped and whirling to deal a blow to Reagan’s back that had her heaving for breath. “Why are you beating up half the camp?” No response, Reagan just looked at her before aiming a kick for her side but Elexis caught her foot, using it to spin Reagan around and knock her on the floor. “Why did you break Bevin’s nose?” She had Reagan pinned down but Reagan twisted her legs around and kicked Elexis’ out from under her before grabbing her and rolling on top of her until Elexis was pinned. To Elexis’ surprise Reagan breathed,

“Why did you send Connal away!” Elexis furrowed her brow, was this about Connal? Elexis tried to twist her leg and knock Reagan off balance like Reagan had done but she had shifted her position so her other leg was blocking it. Reagan grinned when she noticed but Elexis grinned back at her and kicked out the leg from the other side at the same time she shoved up with her arms. Instead of rolling back on top of Reagan she rolled the opposite way standing to face Reagan again.

“What does any of this have to do with Connel? Are you mad that I sent him to the Southern Islands instead of you?” Reagan gave an exasperated sound before huffing,

“It has nothing to do with Connel and it has nothing to do with you so stay out of it!” Reagan fainted right and swung left but Elexis’d had enough, she blocked the blow and grabbed Reagan’s arm, bracing against the dirt floor as she halted Reagan mid swing.

“Is it about Lythian or Ana?” 

“No I don’t give a damn about your sisters!” but Elexis had seen the slight narrowing of Reagan's eyes at Ana’s name.

“Why do you hate Ana so much?” Reagan twisted around forcing Elexis to let go of her arm.

“She’s killed countless rebels, friends, how can you not hate her?”

“Because the king made her do those things, because I chose to look past the things she did to survive.” Elexis swings but Reagan side steps coming up behind Elexis as her momentum has her off balance and sweeping out her legs. But Elexis manages a little jump and rolls as she hits the floor coming back up to face Reagan again.

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous Lexi.” and the way Reagan says it makes it sounds like she’s pleading for her to understand. But Ana is her sister she would never hurt her and Elexis finds herself charging at Reagan 

“She’s on our side Reagan, she isn’t trying to hurt us anymore!” Reagan dodges again and as Elexis swings for her head she drops down rolling on the ground to come up standing behind her.

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t a threat to you!” and that irritation is back in her voice as she says it 

“I'm fine. I can take care of myself, you don’t need to worry about me.” and just as she heard the coldness in her voice she saw Reagan's face go from frustrated exasperation to hurt and angry because she heard it too. She wanted to go walk over to Reagan to take it all back to hold her so tight, she wanted to do anything that would make that look on Reagan’s face go away. But she couldn’t seem to move.They stood there for a moment and when Reagan spoke her voice was quiet, full of barely restrained rage and pain. 

“Really? You don’t seem alright. You haven’t washed or slept in days. I asked Bevin and he said you've been working non stop since we got the news about Ana.” It was true, she hadn’t been able to sleep, her dreams haunted by that look on Ana’s face when she had shattered that part of her sister. But why did Reagan, the girl who didn’t give a shit about anyone or their feelings, care? “You’re running yourself into the ground-”

“Why do you even care, Reagan?” She blurts because she doesn’t know why Reagan is so pissed off about something so trivial as her not sleeping well.

“Because I love you!” Reagan screams, the world outside this sparring pit disappears, Reagan takes a few heavy breaths before she says, quieter now, “because I love you, and I can’t stand watching you tear yourself apart. Because I love you and I’m afraid.” she pauses, “I’m afraid of losing you.” 

Elexis is silent, what does she say, Reagan never says things like this, not to Elexis, not to anyone that she’s heard of. Elexis took a step towards Reagan and Reagan doesn't move; she just stares at the sky in exasperated surprise. They never say these things, her and Reagan, they never say these things not to each other or anyone else, but in her heart Elexis had known. Elexis had always known. From the moment she had met Reagan and seen how confident and carefree she was and her heart had ached at the sight. She had always known and yet she was surprised to hear it. She took another step towards Reagan, barely lifting up her feet as her movement kicked up the sandy dirt of the sparring pit. She had never let herself think about it, she had never let herself think about having someone like Reagan, she was barely letting herself think about it now. She took another step towards Reagan than another. The fact that Reagan was saying this right now, the fact that Reagan was saying this at all- Elexis walked over and grabbed Reagan and held her tight as she kissed her. They were both sweaty and disgusting but it didn't matter and she felt Reagan’s knees buckle and they fell to the floor of the sparring pit. She didn’t care if the others saw. At that moment she didn’t care about anything but the girl in her arms.