The band’s been through quite a bit by now. We’ve certainly learned more about each other than when I first started writing all this stuff down. Which is hardly surprising. The revelation of all this divine stuff turned the world upside down and inside out for all of us. And it seems to show in all of us, to some extent. Except for Ken, but that’s undoubtedly because she was raised by her Divine Parents and none of this was really news for her. I doubt she realizes just how lucky she was for that.
Anyway, updated opinions, in no particular order.
I’ll start with Cindy. She doesn’t back down. I’m not even sure she knows how to. She never hesitates to throw herself headlong into whatever conflict presents itself to her, whether it plays to her strengths or not. Her strength of spirit and confidence in herself are nigh unshakable. It took something as extreme as learning that she’d been corrupted by Utgard-Loki from a Demigod prepared to kill her for it to even make her falter.
But by Odin I’ve never seen such recklessness or unrepentant need to prove one’s self. And once she gets an idea into her head she ignores all counsel. Especially, I suspect, if it comes from a man. She’s very nearly gotten herself killed because of it twice now, and Utgard-Loki’s taint marks her still. She tells of lessons of Leonidas, of great heroes and leaders of old. But has she taken anything from them besides tales of glory?
And then there’s her slightly more stable other half, Claire. It’s easy to overlook just how smart she is at times. But she’s just as sharp as Andrew or me. In a different way, too. We tend to be more deliberate, analytical in our approach. She definitely thinks quite a bit more laterally, and can quite easily come up with possibilities that have never occurred to me.
But there’s a reason it’s easy to overlook. Even if she doesn’t do it nearly as much as she used to; she seems fond of presenting a harsh, grating, and gleefully violent front to just about everyone around her. It disappears whenever something demands her attention, thank the gods. But still, it can make having to deal with her a test of patience at times.
Then there’s Lexi. She has a bigger heart, and cares more about others, than anyone else I’ve ever met. It’s all completely genuine, too. Which is fortunate, as she seems to be able to manipulate emotions and attentions at least as well as I can the elements.
But I can’t help but worry about her at times, and not just because of her physical frailty as compared to the rest of us. Probably more than any of us she, she seems to be a bit on the naïve side. And when she sees a problem that relates to her area of expertise she throws herself wholeheartedly into it. I can’t help but think that one of these days she’s going to get herself burned.
Andrew’s the only other guy in the band. He does more than any of us know, and sees more than any of us realize. He may not have Cindy’s might, Lexi’s way with people, or Claire’s inventiveness. But he’s never at a loss, and I’ve never doubted that I could depend on him at any given moment. There are few situations where he would not be my first choice of companion to have alongside me.
I just wish he could let certain secrets lie. I’m a private person, I know, but that’s because I’m still figuring out what I think about most of these things myself. Still, at least when he discovers a secret it still stays one.
And…Ken. She has shown perhaps more dedication to the missions we were assigned as heroes than any of us, and certainly took much of the risk upon herself in Thuringia. You can question the wisdom of her decision, but there’s no contesting that it was a noble and courageous thing to do. She certainly grasps the power of self-sacrifice.
But when you get beyond the missions? Aside from the one notable exception she seems perfectly content to hold herself apart from the group. And even then, despite what she led me to believe she tucked tail at the first sign that things might not be smooth sailing all the way. And I can’t help but suspect that she led me on simply for a brief bit of fun. Manannan Mac Lir said that if we don’t trust each other our enemies will exploit the cracks. But the simple truth? I can trust her to do what she thinks should be done, and little beyond that.
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