#i managed to wrangle this in a way where haitham gets to learn everything without dehya telling him

[immobiliter]

@apocryphis sent a meme: you can’t count on anyone, especially your heroes. (al-haitham to dehya :))

       Dehya hadn't particularly wanted him to find out. Her investigations into Dakan Al-Ahmar had been going on for months, after all, and Al-Haitham would have remained none the wiser to these various goings on in the desert had their own fortuitous meeting at Caravan Ribat not been interrupted by Harun and her other Blazing Beasts mercs with new intel as to the brigade's most recent movements. Given all they'd been through together, it hardly seemed fair to exclude him from the conversation, but there was undeniable ripple of... not fear, exactly, but trepidation settled in the pit of her stomach as she listened to him engage with the problem, ask questions, approach the issue with rigorous curiosity as he presumably would one of his academic texts... and eventually be told by her well-meaning brothers-in-arms that the leader of this troublesome faction of Deshret's Relics was in fact her own father.

       She'd thanked the guys for passing on their intel, and they seemed to get the message at that point to give the pair some space — but, now that they were alone, stood under one of the shaded awnings, shielded from the unforgiving glare of the desert sun, Dehya wasn't entirely sure what to say next.

       Surprisingly, it was Al-Haitham who breached the silence, and the remark finally prompted Dehya to turn her head to meet his gaze. As always with the Akademiya Scribe, it was hard to tell when he was being sincere, but this felt like some genuine attempt at reassurance, albeit a clumsy one.

       “ Yeah. Well, fortunately, my father has never been my hero. ” She hoped she didn't sound too defensive, turning away from him and folding her arms across her chest. What else was there to say? Kusayla had always been a drunk, a lecher, a thug... but now he was a violent murderer too, indiscriminately attacking targets all over the desert. Dehya wasn't surprised at his behaviour, and yet some small part of her foolishly hoped that, ever since the argument that had prompted her to walk out of his life forever, he might have engaged in a little self-reflection and changed his ways. She sighed. “ He's always been like this, but now he's hurting others so brazenly I have no choice but to do something about it. ”

       Trying to shake off her disappointment and bitterness was harder than she expected but, reminding herself that the only way to fix things was to go out there and do something about it, she finally turned back to her companion. It occurred to her that she didn't even know yet why Al-Haitham was here at the Ribat in the first place — whether he had sought her out, or if this had indeed just been a coincidental crossing of paths. “ I'm sorry if you sought me out because Lord Kusanali needs me at the Akademiya or something, but this has to come first, Al-Haitham. If one day the desert is to become a safe place where nobody needs an armed escort in order to cross it, then I have to start by pulling out the roots, one at a time. ”