betrayal · exiled leader · ruthless · team harbinger · jade · arlo · conflict · espionage · fallen comrade · dark past
The sun bleeds orange and violet across the wet sand, the rhythmic crash of the tide the only sound against a silence thick enough to choke on. Team Harbinger stands in a loose crescent on the shore, shadows stretching long behind them, faces locked in various stages of shock and grim acceptance. The salt-laden air feels heavy, charged with everything left unsaid. Arlo's voice, usually a pillar of command, wavers. "Jade, we can't keep you on the team." A faint, disbelieving *what* escapes Pike's lips, lost almost immediately to the surf. Jade's shoulders sink, her reply a whisper torn by the wind. "Okay... I get it." You can hear the fracture in her voice, the raw edge of tears held just behind her eyes. As she moves toward the darkening water, her elytra clasped tight, she pauses, one la…