#RIP Reynolt lol

[thereluctantinquisitor]

"I didn't lie about anything. I swear I didn't" for Darren?

“I didn’t lie about anything. I swear I didn’t!” Darren’s voice trembled as he spoke, and for a moment Hanin found it impossible to put aside just how young he was. How inexperienced.

“I understand you want to protect he others,” Hanin continued slowly, hands clasped behind his back as he paced the room, “but this is serious. Commander Rutherford wants answers, and so do I.”

“W-Why from me?” The boy was rubbing his hands nervously along the tops of his thighs, the chair squeaking slightly with the force of the motion. “I wasn’t at the fight. I didn’t see anything.”

“You and I both know the others talk. And we both know you would have heard that discussion.” Hanin paused and turned to face Darren head-on, bringing the full force of his disappointment to bear. “I need you to tell me the truth.”

Darren’s mouth opened and closed, the aborted beginnings to several sentences struggling and failing to find purchase on his lips. “I don’t… they just… it wasn’t… they didn’t mean…”

A tight sigh from Hanin cut the boy off. Being a Captain wasn’t what he had expected. The petty squabbles between squads was one thing, but his own lying to him? He had to draw the line. “I need to know what happened. I can’t help any of you if I don’t. You and I both know the others won’t say a word even if it means making their own lives easier.” Hanin leaned against the hearth with a heavy elbow, fingertips rubbing his eyes. “Be strong for them. Don’t leave me in the dark.”

When Hanin glanced at the boy from behind his hand he witnessed the sagging of his shoulders, the descent of his gaze to the floor. Part of Hanin hated himself for putting so much pressure on the weakest link, but sometimes it just had to be done. At the end of the day, Darren’s conscience would get the better of him. That much, Hanin knew.

“It was Captain Reynolt, sir.”

That caught Hanin’s attention. His brow snapped into a frown. “I was told it was a disagreement between your squads.” No one had even mentioned Reynolt.

Throat bobbing, Darren shook his head, eyes still downcast. “I… no. I mean, it was, but Reynolt started it.” He pulled in a short, shaky breath. “The others said no one would take our word over his. They said to just… keep quiet. Hope it all goes away. I-I said I would, but…”

In that moment, Hanin was glad the boy wasn’t able to look at him. He might mistake the cold fury on his face as being directed at the Dawn Squad. By his sides, his nails bit crescents into his palms. “What did Reynolt do. Tell me.”

Whatever self-consciousness had kept Darren from speaking earlier cracked and shattered like glass beneath the weight of Hanin’s demand. “W-We were coming out of the Herald’s Rest, and he was outside, and…”

Hanin could barely hear over the thrumming in his ears. The heady pounding in his veins. “And what?”

Darren’s lower lip trembled. “H-He was drunk, I think. Started saying horrible things. It’s stuff we usually ignore. We’re used to it. But then… he started following us and Lyrene told him to leave and…” He shifted in his chair, a faint flush crawling up his neck, as though the memory triggered something shameful and humiliating. This time, Hanin just waited until he had collected himself enough to continue. “He said some really… awful things to her. About her. About… being an elf. And um… what her place was.”

Hanin could practically feel Reynolt’s windpipe crushing against his palm. “And what was that, exactly?”

Darren winced, cheeks reddening. “Um…. under him. But not because he was a Captain and she wasn’t. It was, um… m-more like…”

It took all of Hanin’s will to unclench his jaw to spare Darren the need to explain. “I know what men like him mean. What happened after that?”

“Cyrus punched him. Right in the face.” That information, surprisingly, came with much more ease. In fact, Darren sounded almost approving. Good. “We knew we were in trouble. People have been kicked out for just talking about assaulting an officer.” He looked up suddenly, for the first time since beginning his recount, blue eyes wide and panicked. “We were scared, sir. We didn’t want to lose him. It wasn’t fair! Ralon said he would’ve done it if Cyrus hadn’t. The stuff Captain Reynolt was saying… it was so rotten and crude and… we know he shouldn’t be talking to recruits like that. But Cyrus has been in so much trouble and we were afraid he might be…”

Hanin raised a staying hand, forehead creased in worried contemplation. This was serious, and it explained Reynolt’s squad’s retaliation the following day. Clearly the coward was too embarrassed to deal with the issue head-on, so he sent his recruits to pick a fight. Goad a reaction. Create a new precedent for Hanin’s squad to face punishment. 

And he knew exactly what would work.

“No one is going anywhere.” Hanin was surprised by his own resolve, despite knowing the decision was not ultimately his. All he knew was that he wouldn’t allow it to be made. Whatever it took. “I will deal with it. If another Captain is involved, it is my fight, not yours.”

Darren must have picked up on his certainty, because he relaxed almost immediately, a breath of relief practically pouring out of his chest. But the relief quickly morphed back into uncertainty. “Lyrene didn’t want this to get you in trouble, sir. She… said she was used to being treated that way. That it didn’t bother her. But it did. We all saw her face.” He sniffed slightly. “She’s just… always so fun and happy… I hated that someone tried to take that away.”

Hanin’s head was pounding. Creators, he could kill the man. Eventually, he nodded stiffly, levering himself off the wall. He crossed the space, resting a firm hand on Darren’s shoulder. “I don’t expect any of you to go up against a ranked officer. For the reasons you have already said. It is why you need to come to me if anything like this happens. Understood?” Darren sniffled and nodded. Hanin gazed down at him for a moment, then added, “Thank you, Darren. For telling me the truth. I know it was hard, but you have done the right thing by your squad.”

Darren gave another faint nod, seeming almost exhausted by the emotional ordeal. When he spoke his voice was barely audible. “Sir… what happens now?”

Hanin gave his shoulder a light, reassuring squeeze, then headed for the door, expression growing colder with each step. He would do right by them. All of them.

“Now it’s my turn.”