Chapter 18 (story time in the library)

                                    

                                          
She's wearing pink. She's got pink paint streaked from the inside corners of her eyes, scything down her nose and cheeks. She has a drawn sword in her hand, bare feet dark on the green floor. "Michael," Berrtie says, soft like a warning.
"Um." I pick the blue sheet up. "I haven't taken this yet."
But I think I know my answers; I would rather not have a brutal death, but I'm not exactly scared of one--I almost died not that long ago so I guess I'm sort of aware of what that would look like? And I am the most prepared to fight to live ever. Whether that's "dawn" or "noon" though I'm not sure.
"Please get out of my work area," she says.
	"Course." Kael hops and scoots across the counter, landing beside me, boot thumping, sock silent.
	"Thank you." Berrtie slowly slides her sword back into its scabbard.
	"What is..." Kael waves at her, likely asking about the sword.
	"Sorry, there's been looters the past few days. I'm glad you're still reasonable." She moves around the desks toward us. "When did you get back, Michael?" She points at me. "And who's this?"
	Kael flutters their hands in my general direction. "This is Troy...hello, nice to meet you, this is Berrtie the librarian..."
"Hi." I give a tiny wave. Berrtie's expression gives no indication she's seen.
"We got here yesterday," they say. "Came in with Nomsa."
	"Nomsa? She disappeared five days ago." Her hand rests on the pommel of her pearly sword. "Did she find you? Or tell you..."
	"She was camping in the woods on guard duty. So I guess she found us when we entered the valley."
"And tried to attack you," I mutter. "And we had to find her camp on our own."
Kael ignores me. "She told us about Livia and Madrina, and said she left when things went weird with Calvin and Axak fighting for control."
Berrtie slow exhales. "Calvin was alive when she left?"
"Uh." Kael's gaze darts sporadically around the clearing. "What does that mean?"
Probably not anything good. I half-cover my face with the paper so Berrtie can't see me chewing my lip. 
"That means way more has happened in five days than I thought." Berrtie reaches out, plucking the test from my hand. "You won't be needing this, Troy. Chondra decreed two days ago--maybe yesterday morning?--that she's in control of the Dawn's forces, and we'll be launching an all-able-bodies assault across the plains before the week's up."
My hands fall to my sides.
"What?" Kael says.
	"Is that bad?" I say.
	"We're evacuating?" Nomsa barrels into the clearing with a stack of green books in her arms. "Why?"
***
Berrtie unlocks a swing door in the back of her library counter, holding it open and motioning us into the inner square. Then she puts all the maturity tests away, and the charcoal pencil, and sinks onto her high-backed chair. The rest of us sit on the floor, with Nomsa's gathered books acting as a resting spot for her forearms.
	"Who's Chondra?" Nomsa drums her nails on the hard covers.
	I nod in agreement.
	"Channie," Berrtie says. "She changed her name."
	"Why is everyone changing their names?" Nomsa mutters. Kael squirms.
	"So what about Calvin and Axak?" I ask, arms folded around my knees.