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?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyuHQzhhlXr
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBREuyWkjpg
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIiclPQgTae
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi7NSRNRcJQ
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.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjAalZYmHn
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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxPGRcBlrV0
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Fkmfyp42c
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCDTZehWJE
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr6Af9WbbV3
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9La9lhba9w
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7NlGsSYPk
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkZpl9Q4cH
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGYEIVnb8W
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoAVKdFIlEx
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcqpkFWJKfI
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5Y3OJLtmn
“Oh yeah? Why?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGGq3LmVwdX
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI24emV07gr
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBpF5u1V7j5
“Sh-shut up!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrsLyKvw4s
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEdTZwgQwe8
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNISYwH3EW2
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOP91PthAqp
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqfLgzKNjLs
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWis5d4lc2
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJH6PstBU8
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡORKKRIlY7m
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!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdrVUBtQQd
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgEekdhrKP
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTei7S6Julu
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGnmcOB6Ue
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdqVXvQ2yRa
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpAmqYy4iK8
“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!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9CadFXxon
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJejGenovp
“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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVQAtLzuPnd
“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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgKnW34c7fx
~/~998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKP2ky4hVWX
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?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsb8aDiz6P
“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!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy8Iy3F7pGM
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0Dr0SO26n
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTUxzbDMs6
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkicPf4Cys
“You have no proof!” I protest.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1aanwKFyE
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxELp8EaFEK
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEtRpuaNL2C
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8hzzJeiK2V
“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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ3JQA2Cy4r
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJNZ9TzhrCv
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqKaNNAtJ5
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAkQfBXw9ub
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8YWQtbP2t
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxW9f0kRLSE
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TBQ5ElJME
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbFAfy2KC8
“Likewise,” I stammer.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYhDF2MrMMa
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ710PCyE5D0
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmsYWRRIYt
“See anything about me?” they tease.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4JjkW2YB2j
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAxNP7cM5Uf
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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazf1EWrouy
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mQWRy9zpb
“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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixfROvdkQ5
“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?”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZeVuj8MHp
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzIQkBsSmC
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zYLLYn8R0
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.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZg97R34Rsy
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyN0WvzOfXC
“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.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnaRJs5u6YP
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODG9Jr9OrC
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXl9fp6Rri
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2jpa4fqiF
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgVjjCaZ4fz
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.998Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaMBC9QYpfy
Penana
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