He was so quiet, so quiet and small as he sat opposite her in the car, his eyes fixed to the floor, distant and hazy, a wince springing to his face at any sound, and Phoenix wanted to shout, she wanted to scream, she wanted to find Master Lestor and make him pay.
"Look up, Leo," she said, her voice soft but somehow cracking, and he did, only for a second, his eyes darting her face and then flicking to their Master before going back to the floor. "Look up, Leo," she snapped.
"Master Lestor-," he whispered, but then she was kneeling in front of him, resting her forehead on his and pulling at his shirt to keep him there.
"Lestor's not here, Leo, whatever he did to you, it's over, whatever he taught you, you put it behind you, hmm? Only the strong get to eat."
"I'll be stronger, Phoenix," he whispered.
"You need to be, you have a new Master and he's good. You do what he says, you focus on your training and you get stronger, you understand?" she said, and she watched those eyes dart, flicking to Master Gabriel's face and then back to her. They went so wide then and he shook his head so slightly it was almost like a twitch. "You're safe, Leo," she whispered, and his fingers reached, touching the side of her temple, asking her in a way he thought that no one else would understand and she clicked her tongue, watching his shoulders drop, only a little, only enough to let her know that he understood too.
It took him a while, his eyes half-closing, his face scrunching up in a wince, his voice just barely above a whisper when he asked, "My parents?"
"Still free," she nodded, and she watched him melt, sitting back in his seat like a great weight had been lifted from him as his eyes closed, his face growing slack and easy.
He looked so much like the boy she remembered then, and all she could do was put her head on his knee and bite back her tears. He was quiet and stiff the next morning in the canteen, his eyes fixed on the table in front of him, his shoulders rising and rising as the yard grew louder and louder. Phoenix saw what she must have once looked like to the others, how broken and small she must have seemed too, but he wasn't broken, he wasn't weak and he wasn't alone.
"Look up, Leo," she said. "Take a look around the place."
"No exits…" he whispered.
"That's not what I meant."
"Why does he keep watching me?" he asked, and Phoenix turned then, catching Belfire's eye from across the table, hearing him laugh and sigh through his nose.
"He means well," she said.
"I'm Belfire," he said, a smile springing to his lips. "And this is Boris. You'll get to meet the others from our corridor later, but I think you'll like them."
"You don't know what I like," Leo said, and Phoenix almost laughed. She watched Belfire's shoulders drop, watched him tilt his head to the side as he stared at Leo, but then he laughed, a laugh that was light, a laugh that was warm.
"Fair enough," he said. "You'll just have to tell me then."
"I don't-," Leo started.
"Belfire and I are Favourites," Phoenix cut in. "You can come to us if you need anything."
Leo turned, his face so pale, his eyes so wide and bright before they closed and he went stiff. "Favourites…" he whispered.
"Stop it," Phoenix snapped. "Look at me, I'm fine, you'll be fine too and he's not going to take you as a Favourite."
"You don't know that," Leo said, his eyes flicking open and shining so bright.
"I do," she said. "Why would I lie, Leo? Why-?"
"Just give him time, Phe," Belfire said, and she glared at him a moment, her face scrunching up in a tight scowl, her eyes narrowing into slits, but then she looked away, shaking her head and sighing.
"You can trust us, we'll protect you," she said.
"Of course, we will," Belfire smiled, and then a ball came flying, high up in the air towards Leo, and the boy reached for it, catching it so quickly, his forehead lining in a crease. "Keep that," Belfire said. "We'll need it later."
Leo was still holding it when the time came, when the crossbows were brought out for Phoenix's lesson and she saw him staring at that weapon in her lap, his eyes big and wide and hungry.
"Go with Belfire," she said, something like a laugh hidden in her voice. "You can try these tomorrow."
Leo looked at her, his face so stiff almost like he couldn't believe what he was seeing, almost like he was still unsure, but then he left and she watched him walk across the sand and stand so stiffly with the others. She almost thought about going and getting him back and saving him from all those new faces, but then she saw Belfire reach up and grab his shoulder, his smile giving her hot shivers from all the way across the yard. Leo would be safe with him, that much she knew, that much she was certain of, and she had other things to worry about. Her eyes kept flicking back to that doorway to the corridors, hoping without hope that she would see her, but Lyca hadn't come out of her room all day and no one had dared to knock. Phoenix had so much to say to her, so much she needed to, and she was starting to think that she wouldn't get the chance to when she heard that crunch of sand beside her.
She couldn't say anything then, not when she saw that emptiness in Lyca's eyes or that stiffness in her face, but Phoenix pressed her fingers to the sensors by the trigger, turning her crossbow on and handing it to Lyca. Lyca stared at it a moment, a long and heavy moment, but then she took it, shooting at the target, the echo of her bolts hitting almost like the sound of a heartbeat. She stood there when her clip was empty, her weapon still raised, her eyes seemingly staring straight through the wall.
"Thank you," Phoenix said, her voice soft and low, but Lyca didn't turn to look at her as she nodded, a nod that was slow and short.
"Did you-?" she started, but that was all she seemed able to get out.
Phoenix shook her head, feeling that heaviness in her heart and that wince spring to her face and Lyca looked away. Some of this would've been made right if Phoenix could at least tell her that she'd seen Iris or at least had a new clue, but what could she say now, so she shook her head again, her eyes dropping to the sand, her face so tight and stiff, but then they were both staring, Lyca's hand whipping up to grab at Phoenix's shoulder. All because Leo was laughing, running and playing with that ball with a bright grin on his face.