Klef wakes up before I do the next morning, and is taking a shower when I finally come to. I knock on the door and the water turns off. Klef pokes his dripping head out in front of the door. “Yes?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaj94ELJoi
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3z0q3a2cAk
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOp0uIi8iK
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIfLvOgnd4s
Klef closes the door and I’m about to yell at him when the door opens and he walks out in just a towel. I walk into the bathroom, closing the door harder than necessary. I do my business as fast as I can and open the door to the bedroom when I’m decent. Klef walks in, ruffling his hair and feathers. “There a comb in here?” he asks.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMk1JpRwbOy
I toss the brush by the sink toward Klef. “Use a brush, comb might be hard to find when everyone around here is covered in fur.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXOKffAdgUB
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4nWzL9HXUo
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDibK2y0OMj
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpT4QxbhN0K
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpIIlqqmjRV
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnydILqoovH
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP8PMb1KzY
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4C9WbRQdl
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFA2vGgQUSa
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPOGfwcV1uo
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUc2LxiaYpN
“Oh yeah? Why?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAg2oqqu0Z
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzHENbuKYzZ
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaYmaaUEqCz
“Sh-shut up!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpc9negWkRa
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa7lmc3f4NH
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Rs9OQgyls
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQdcfsX8eX
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2dpTQVvdpW
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCcMOHzzLb
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuSwX4uluM1
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCF45RElwY
All 3 of us hit the floor as a flash of light and a loud BANG appear from the main room. Everything in the room is shrouded in dust and smoke. But when it starts to clear, Klef stands up. “Thought I recognized the shape! That was a grenade!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZWgotaLjk
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Fj7pAEtFV
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcNWbE7xGO
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6woAdLmDGw
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZNPuBKck9
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyeSt4CAQYa
“I-I stole one once,” Klef says, scratching the back of his neck. “You both know my job. It took my buyer until I got the grenades he wanted to tell me how dangerous it was to have them loose!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyUsMFxLbOL
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcQdlwpOUvD
“You pull a pin, and then throw it or roll it. When the timer runs out, or if it’s jostled too hard, that happens,” he nods at the flames licking the remains in the bed. “Unfortunately, with more technology being spread, weapons are being made more too.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrmluRngarj
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” I say, standing up. “That had to have come from the doorway. One of the Crusaders is trying to kill us.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pxmBbQz0i
~/~990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOaMmupcSWF
Bunches of Crusaders, attracted by the noise, swarm the bedroom and bathroom after the flames are put out and the rooms are impossible to navigate. I try to find Klef in the chaos after I’ve been furiously questioned, but in all the people it’s impossible to find his wild dark hair. Ama and Dad whisk me out of the room as soon as I’m close to the door and to my relief Klef is waiting outside. I wasn’t comfortable around him at first, but now I find it hard to be away from him. Maybe it’s Stockholm syndrome, maybe it’s just the fact that someone is trying to kill me. But I’m not going to fight it as long as it doesn’t cause trouble. “Hey, pointy ears,” Klef teases. “Meet anyone in there half as great as me? Anyone I need to beat up?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogiHNRGMGi
“Not today, bird brain,” I scoff. “If anyone should be beating up anyone, I should be smacking you around for making that grenade thing public!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVzjSjkcmW
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnMLgyheBJ
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCe6oDmJXvq
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡizyskclyik
“You have no proof!” I protest.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcGtvQj7JA
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfc8lr1SrMN
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPo86n8wJ2
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIYVv56XqGz
“Don’t,” I snap. “We need to know who wants to kill me before I can leave. They could just endanger me somewhere else if they tagged along.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnFcrImpuv
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnWfcdBisY4
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqccwFQy0i
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkBcMB9RF1f
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmTUfDGx9NB
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡze5Yosc4OB
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPFzztItefl
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzyhvxSFZCA
“Likewise,” I stammer.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu0ACJTycPk
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuPY6xIken5
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKoISdEsaXv
“See anything about me?” they tease.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8SgEKI4Cx
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHe0Pt86RR
I laugh, but it’s too high and sounds more like a choke. “Haven’t seen you that I know of,” I supply. “Sight is sort of finicky. Can’t really control it like everyone thinks.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAhkFzFP5l
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZD5W9l5ML1
“Please don’t call me a celebrity,” I ask. “I don’t know you all that well, and it sort of…makes me really uncomfortable.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUGg2qcUV5z
“Oh!” Bobbi exclaims. “Sorry. Want to go somewhere quiet? Away from everyone like me who doesn’t know how to make sure you’re comfortable?”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsx5nBOd95
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzoifg2cVa
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzNNORCHYHy
I run to keep up with their quick pace. Ama follows behind, slower. “Bobbi is who I was going to look for. They’re my partner in crime, I suppose, the way you and Klef are to everyone around here. I couldn’t think of someone I’d rather have my back in a fight more.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡck2EAYLJG4
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKIWziE7pgs
“Oh, Klef!” I exclaim. “I left him at the bedroom we used last night! I’m not sure if I could find my way back, though,” I say, looking back down the hall we were walking through, upset.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpCFhX9NhPK
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzUhooE24Cu
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpVxijn0kB
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMKuQJvJy4
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGK4TeJQKk3
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.990Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZ2RJz3cBz
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