Forged in War Two: Cindy

Chapter Four: The Voyage

Chapter Four: The Voyage

         Max was seated down in one of the cabins below deck, peering out through the rather large window at the starry sky over endless water. It was nearly dawn. Cindy still snuggled in his arms, his cloak wrapped around her. When Gravin had showed Max down to the cabin, which would've been his cabin, as the captain, if Gravin had to sleep that is, the Reforged had tried to lay the girl down in the bed – he just couldn't think of her as a Warforged – but she in response clung to him, making a little sound of protest that had pulled at Max's heartstrings. So now he sat with her all night, holding her and feeling... right.

         This... feels good. No matter how many laws were broken, what I did was right. Gently Max smoothed her hair. It felt so real, and her skin was soft and warm, not hard and cool like his. She felt just like a normal human girl, in every detail. On impulse Max 'kissed' her forehead, gently pressing his mouth against her. She smiled and cuddled more against him, her breath gently tickling his neck. She breathed, he'd realized as he'd watched her sleep. While most Warforged could take breath, such as to sigh or to play an instrument like Mouse did, they typically didn't choose to breathe. But even in sleep, Cindy did.

         “You are a wonder,” he whispered softly. “If only those Cannith fools could've realized what a treasure they had... but in a way, I'm glad they didn't. Otherwise, I never would've met you.” Cindy stirred, wiggling a little as she stretched and yawned. She looked around after giving her eyes a rub, seeming a bit confused. “Did I wake you?” Cindy looked over at Max, and smiled.

         “Nope, I always get up early.” She blinked. “Did you hold me all night?” Max smiled.

         “I don't have to sleep if I don't want to.”

         “I'm glad you did. I hate it when I wake up alone in my room. It's so dark.” She shivered.

         “Well, even if you had woken up here alone, it wouldn't have been dark.” He stood her up and pointed out the window. “There's several moons out tonight, and one's full, so when they reflect off the water below it lights up the room with a nice glow.”

         “Oooh! It's so pretty, and we're so high up!” Max chuckled, charmed by her innocence.

         “This airship belongs to a friend of mine named Gravin. He's a spellcarved soldier.”

         “Those are Warforged who can't attack a Cannith member, right?”

         “Amongst other things yes. He's taking all of us, you, me, and my friends, someplace safe.” Cindy turned to look at Max.

         “C – Can I ask you something, Max?”

         “Of course.”

         “...If you're a Warforged... why do you look different, and wear clothes like I do?” Again Max chuckled.

         “Because I'm a Reforged.”

         “'Reforged?'”

         “It's a way of living, where a Warforged embraces life and emotion. It was shown to me by Hunter, the First Reforged.” Max pulled out the carving of Hunter and showed it to her. “This was what Hunter looked like.” Cindy smiled.

         “He looks nice. Can I meet him?” Max for a moment had to look away.

         “I'm afraid not.” It seemed Cindy was very perceptive on some things, for abruptly Max found himself the subject of a hug. “Oh!” He was at a loss for a moment.

         “It's okay,” she said, as Max finally hugged her back. “I can meet the rest of your friends, right?”

         “Right. And they want to meet you too.” He put the carving away and stood. “Lets go say hello.” Cindy took his hand again, and they went on deck.

         It was instantly clear Cindy's charm was effective on the rest of the ship's passengers and two-person crew of Gravin and the elf Ridden Favor. Even Viper freely smiled at the sweet girl as they were introduced. Gravin told Max that it would take the entire day and well into the night to reach Xen'drik, the jungle-dominated continent south of Khorvaire, so Max decided that, with the help of his friends, to spend the day teaching Cindy about freedom and choice. They shared stories, and told about themselves. Cindy seemed to delight in hearing about how Mouse and Arcanus used to combine their magic and music to entertain nobles in Aundair, and the time Maul and Whirlwind were cut off from their unit for several days after a bad storm flooded their camp, and had to travel on their own to find their allies. Then, as they moved to other pursuits, Max took Cindy for a little one-on-one talking, letting her ask questions and such. As they did so, she played with a metal buckle she'd found somewhere on the deck. Suddenly, Max saw the buckle soften, meld, and reshape itself into a ball.

         “Scrap!” he gasped, “How'd you do that?”

         “Hmm? Oh, this?” She held up the ball. “I dunno. I just can.” Right before his eyes she shaped the ball into a cube, then a small flower, then back to a ball. “They thought it was the schema, but weren't sure. I can do that with any metal; steel, iron, adamantine, gold, silver....”

         “Amazing!” The implications didn't miss Max. If she could shape even adamantine, then she could repair Warforged with a thought. She was more powerful than even a Syberis-marked Cannith! Cindy, meanwhile, was practically beaming at Max.

         “Y – you really like what I can do?”

         “Of course! It's a wonderful gift to have.” Poor girl looks like she never received praise before. She was so happy, she hugged him again. “Heh, you weren't hugged much before, were you?” She shook her head no against his chest. “Well, I'll give you as many hugs as you want, and you can sleep in my lap every night if you want.” Her grateful eyes were wide and trusting, and a little teary, as she looked up at Max, who felt his heart twist in alarm. “What's wrong? Why are you crying?” He wiped away a tear as it trickled down her cheek, in a way not surprised she was a Warforged who could cry.

         “I'm happy.” She dried her eyes on the back of her hand, and he dabbed her face with the edge of his cloak. “No one's even really cared about me before.”

         “Aw... C'mere, sweetheart.” Max bundled her into his arms and hugged her close, letting her quietly cry against his chest. “Shh shh, it's alright. I care about you, I really do, and I always will, I promise.” He didn't know where the words came from, but the instant he said them he knew they were true. Cindy held onto him tightly, clearly starved for affection. Max just let her hug, rubbing her back and gently shushing her periodically before just resting his head against hers, trying to make her feel safe and...

         Loved. Despite the fact he'd only known this child for a few hours, he knew he loved her, wanted to protect her as if she was his own daughter.

         “Cindy, I promise I'll do my best to protect you and keep you safe, and that you'll never lack caring from me.” She looked up at him, locking their eyes and smiled.

         “I love you, Max.” That did it. Max's heart melted right there and then.

         “I love you too, Cindy. Now, dry those tears, and lets have some fun. It's your first day of freedom, after all.” He, on impulse, wiggled his fingers against her side and tummy. He'd once or twice seen children doing the same to each other – tickling, they'd called it – and as then it resulted in a fir of giggling laughter.

         Cindy wiggled free, darting away to initiate a game of chase. As a Warforged, Max had never really 'played,' but he found as he pursued her that he enjoyed it, a lot. The others joined in, helping or hindering one of the other as they passed.

         And when night fell, Max sat up on deck, Cindy cuddled in his arms, falling asleep while listening to more of their stories.