Lith knew she was right and that if Commander Berion decided to assign him a partner to compensate for his unreliability, not only his current mission, but also the entirety of his remaining stay in the corps would become a nightmare.
The undead crisis had put everyone on their toes and one of the reasons was that usually an operative missing a call now meant that they had been killed or captured.
Every person that disappeared in the wilds was assumed dead or in the process of being turned into an undead since it wouldn't make their communication rune vanish. Both the Kingdom and the undead Courts were recruiting the best elements they could find to fight the ongoing war.
Things were becoming so dire that both the Mage Association and the army had enforced a buddy system, to protect their best operatives from being "recruited" by the other side.
Rangers were one of the few remaining exceptions and while Lith's blunder would've had no consequences in the past, now was likely to make his commanding officer prone to apply the buddy system to him as well.
Which meant no more tower Warping around, no more alone time with Solus, no more any of the comforts that his tower offered to him, and being forced to hide most of his talents.
Being their conversation recorded, Kamila expressed only part of her outrage. She lectured Lith only about the importance to respect the protocols, like any competent handler would do when dealing with an irresponsible Ranger. The girlfriend's fury had to wait.
"I'm really sorry, it won't happen again." Lith tapped his lips twice with his forefinger, a secret code between them that meant there were things he couldn't say on the army amulet.
He gave Kamila a full report, explaining his theories and showing the results of his work. Or better, the results of the Sentries' work
"I didn't stay idle. I scouted the area in search of clues and even though I found nothing, in the case of a chase, my marks will not be the only ones familiar with the territory."
A 3D hologram of the area appeared between Lith's palms. Red lines marked all the possible escape routes by land from all the known attack sites.
"Did you find any trace of Ranger Acala? His handler has reported his disappearance for almost a full day now." Kamila asked.
'Damn my rotten luck. That's why the high command is so jumpy. They must have thought that our disappearances were connected. Thank heavens Kamila watched my back.' Lith thought.
"None. Do you want me to look out for him?"
"Yes. A rescue team would take too long to get there. Tracing the vampire activity takes priority. Finding your fellow Ranger is a secondary objective. If you miss any more calls, we'll assume something has happened to you as well. Lieutenant Yehval out."
The conversation ended abruptly, only to resume a second later on his civilian amulet.
"Well, what do you have to tell me?" Despite the fact that Kamila's voice was a thin whisper, it still managed to sound angry. She was walking double-time toward the bathroom, the only place where she could have a bit of privacy.
"I'm really sorry for making you worry for nothing, Kami. It's just that giving reports is akin to torture to me. Seeing you, listening to your voice, and yet being unable to really be with you." Lith tried to touch her hologram, but his fingers passed through it.
"That's what happens when someone in your line of job chooses to date someone." She sighed, massaging her temples.
"Do you think it's any different for me? I'm the one who is forced to look at the damn amulet at fixed intervals, hoping to hear from you one more time and that our previous conversation wasn't also the last.
"I'm the one who has to deal with her own work and your shenanigans. Maybe you can afford to lose yourself in your job, in your experiments, in whatever you do while you're alone out there, but I can't.
"It's me who your family calls to make sure you are alright. As your handler, it's my duty to worry about you, but as your girlfriend, every time you miss a report's deadline, I start imagining terrible things that make me want to cry.
"There's nothing more that I'd want than having you here. These months have been hard on the both of us, yet I soldiered on and tried not to add my burden to your own. I don't want your apologies, I don't even care about your goddamn missions, I just want to know that you're alive."
Her eyes became watery, yet she didn't cry nor her voice cracked. Her strength only made Lith feel more like a jerk than he already did. He was actually having an easy time thanks to his mage tower and he didn't worry about his family or Kamila because he knew they were well protected.
He remained silent, not wanting to sound like a broken record with his apologies. Lith couldn't even ask Kamila if she wanted to take a break from their relationship. He was the one traveling alone, so it would sound like asking her permission to sleep around.
"Do you want me to tell something to your mother the next time I hear from her?" Kamila was the one breaking the silence.
"Yes. Tell her that I'm still an egotistical jerk that doesn't deserve his girlfriend. Also, tell her that, once I'm back, I'll make up to everyone, especially to said girlfriend."
"I'll make sure to relay the message." Kamila giggled. "I miss you."
"I miss you more." Lith closed the communication before it became too painful and returned to his tower. He shared everything with Solus and was scolded again for it.
"Don't think I haven't noticed that with the excuse of not revealing your position you are calling home way less frequently than usual." Solus said. "They must be worried sick."
"Well, they could call me. Also, I already have so little free time that when I get a break I'm always itching for my research."
"How could your family call when they believe that you're working day and night? Also, whenever you get a break, you shove the civilian amulet in the pocket dimension to not be disturbed!"
Solus left him off the hook only because the disappearance of Ranger Acala made the situation even more dangerous. The members of the corps were only the cream of the crop, so even an average Ranger was an excellent fighter and a great mage.
Lith ate his meal and continued training until sundown. The Sentries had yet to find anything relevant, so he called them back to patrol the area nearby the Kusha route in search for enemy movements.
He timely performed his evening report and asked for updates.
"These guys seem more like ghosts than vampires. I got nothing so far. Can you forward me all the information about the caravans currently in the area? I plan on following them and catch the bandits unprepared." Lith said.
"Done and done. Beware that if Ranger Acala has been really caught, the operation might be compromised. Maybe the vampires are not showing up because they are busy interrogating him or because they learned about your arrival. I'm also sending you Acala's last known location."
The Ranger's amulet was still unavailable, yet his rune proved that he was alive.
