When Ama and Bobbi get tired of doing whatever they chose to do while Klef and I were sitting on the floor reading, they inform us we should probably head out to the meeting rooms to talk about precautions after the morning’s…event. Klef winds up dragging me by the arm down the halls Ama and Bobbi are leading us through. “Treble, slow down,” I warn, alarm bells ringing in my head.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfGKtiCDf3E
Klef stops abruptly and I crash into him, sending us sprawling on the floor. Did I do something wrong? I backtrack over the past day and can’t find anything other than our normal banter. Did I strike a nerve? Or is it the fact that everything has been normal that bugs Klef? Is he expecting something by now that’s not a kiss? “Treble, did I do something?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx41z9tTTki
“What? C’mon, Ride, ‘course you didn’t do anything wrong! I want to make sure you’re all right, is all.” Klef grunts and stands up, dusting himself off.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8L1Sa1OxxM
I stand up too, but my shoulders are more drawn inward, and my hands won’t stop twitching and wanting to move, reaching for a bow and arrow I left behind because I thought this trip would be short and peaceful. “Well, yeah. But you usually aren’t this worked up about it.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyubseP0Gt
Klef takes a deep breath. Oh boy, here it comes. “Ride, have you ever dreamed…about us?” he asks. “I don’t mean just a regular dream, either. And us as a thing, not as you and me, partners in crime.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZcGAKkfDNw
I pause. “Uh…yeah, sort of. I mean the whole partners in crime thing is there, but…there’s other things too. Romantic things, domestic things, little glimpses into a possible future.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJAPG1SVk0
“But are there…kids?” Klef asks.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI6eOG0J7X1
I want to say yes, to lie, to have an excuse for what I said. But the truth is I have none. “…No. No kids. Not where I can see to, anyway.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykSVgR0Gyj
“So…when you say kids…you mean…?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTzAyVkq8mR
“I mean I can see us adopting as a couple, but not in the real way Sight lets me. Just as a stupid fantasy,” I admit, blushing. “I-I know we haven’t been together that long, but…”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2rzpb6oLqK
Klef grins, which doesn’t help my anxiety. “You like me.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ITcnG9yXl
“Oh, shut up!” I snap.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbCSzxY7Hh
Klef shakes his head and laughs. “Iridescence,” he whispers. “I’ve loved you for a long, long time. Nothing you can say would weird me out. And kids? Kids sound good to me, too.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3cTuRlZOpG
Bobbi giggles from 20 feet in front of us. “You lovebirds done whispering over there?” they ask.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2xgS3v7xK
Ama ribs them. “Careful, or I’ll send a fluffle of bunnies at you!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkcNEYJVnDn
Bobbi grins innocently and jogs to a stone door down the hall and opens it up with a flourish. I blink. It blended in so well with the walls I couldn’t see it until it was opened. A perfect secret room in a not-so-secret base. When we go in, I see Dad, Hibiscus A, and Flo, but no Rythe. “Rythe isn’t here?” I ask.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtcI5wQhp3H
“Well, someone has to distract the others,” Flo says with a shrug. “And that’s actually one of Rythe’s specialties.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTwFFQ3Dcm
“Who knew they had them?” Dad gripes.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOZY52aCQ6
“You may be the Alpha, sir, but that doesn’t mean I’ll drop Rythe to join you.” Flo crosses her arms. “They’re nice, sir, and I love them.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡClWnmsWq7q
“Something about them makes my fur stand on end,” Dad dismisses. “But if you say so…”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2xHkjW9ndn
“I definitely say so,” Flo says with a smile.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zk23uzxjW
“Then I’ll allow him a backseat pass,” Dad sighs. “But that doesn’t mean that I’ll like it.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiILYXESPLu
“So,” Bobbi says, walking further in the room and looking around the dimly lit space. “Who forgot to turn on the overhead light again? Come on, guys, it’s not like anyone will see this room is occupied out in the hall if we turn it on, the creepy going-against-the-law look is just overkill in a situation this serious.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVv5Kql135
I burst out laughing as they go to the wall and flip a light switch. They grin as they return to the table everyone is huddled around and sit in a chair, propping their feet up on it. “Glad I could shed some light on the situation,” Bobbi laughs, looking up at me. “They’re always this dramatic, I’m afraid.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskXevVMLHV
“Oh, believe me, I’m used to it,” I say. “I deal with my dear boyfriend Klef all day, every day.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tD1BTH5p7
“Hey!” Klef exclaims. “That’s just rude!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo02bOeVnCN
I shrug. “Haters gonna hate, my dear boyfriend. Just let me be mean once in a while, since I do the same to you, sound good?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVzd6mlsAaN
“No! And when am I rude?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gw22U8fAR
“Just about every time that you talk with your mouth full,” I quip. “Can we move on? There’s someone out there who wants to kill us, you know.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3xTzJUUD8
Klef rolls his eyes and playfully nudges me. “Okay. Do we know anything about who was trying to kill us? Are there any witnesses? Anything unusual?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHZjIzZKwmK
Dad shakes his head. “Nothing, unfortunately. The hallway was conveniently deserted at the time of the attack. We don’t know who did this, or why. Though this isn’t the first time unusual occurrences have popped up around the base.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUE6Fnd2gLU
“Unusual how?” I ask.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQH7assZvMq
Hibiscus A clears their throat. “Well, several times over the years we have had reports of stolen items from several different reverse engineering rooms. It’s never things that are finished, though. It’s always the half-baked ideas and things that don’t seem to go with anything else that gets stolen, along with any notes on what the piece appeared to do, or what it could be attached to. We have no idea who’s behind it. The running theory was that it was some kids who wanted to be like their parents and grabbed the notes and pieces and simply forgot to put it back, or chose not to. But there were never any witnesses to that either, so I’m thinking that these two things are connected somehow.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQwgrfWMWsS
“Yeah, it’s a bit of an out-there theory, though,” Flo points out. “Just because no one thought twice about someone picking up a piece of tech doesn’t mean they wouldn’t look twice at someone stealing a weapon. Someone had to notice that grenade went missing, wouldn’t they?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhIErblACL
Hibiscus shrugs. “What if they simply weren’t around? We all know there are people in the Crusaders who are good at crowd management. That’s why they’re here, we recruited them to distract the masses during huge heists. We could have several rats scurrying around right under our noses, and no one would be the wiser!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmARQauKWFQ
“I know, I just don’t like the thought of one of our own going against the cause,” Flo says, wringing her hands.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxJ5NomuDYO
“I don’t either,” Ama interjects. “But Hibiscus is right, we have to entertain the possibility.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZLf832vlw
Flo pulls a face and nods. “I know. Believe me, I know.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPnAJACeCCF
Dad claps his hands together and everyone’s attention snaps back to him. “Look, we have cameras around the weapons areas. We have to. If we’re lucky, the perp set off the tripwire and we’ll have a picture of who walked through there to get weapons this morning. If we’re not, well, we’re still at square 2, where at least we know someone is trying to attack us, right? That’s better than square 1. We’re not oblivious anymore.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG1zf5QAgYV
I nod. “Dad has a point. We’re better than we were, at least. And everyone in this room can be trusted, at any rate, so Klef and I aren’t flying blind like we’ve had to do in the past.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsepfaSwh5W
Klef shudders. “Oh, I remember those times. Those were not fun. We nearly got beheaded on one of those trips!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsjL8nWVguZ
Dad growls. “You nearly what?!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtwCpXAaHr
Klef pales. “Uh, nothing, sir. It’s nothing!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZLOryHNSZ
I sigh at their antics. “Will you two ever behave around each other? This is just ridiculous.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjlp3qPBwQk
Dad shrugs but Klef, at least, looks sheepish. “Sorry, Ride. Your dad scares me.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡslQI69uAwg
“So I gathered,” I say with a grin. “It’s actually pretty funny, considering he’s a big softie.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebi0GMZdgs
“No I’m not!” Dad protests. “Stop telling people I am a softie! I am death wrapped in a fur coat!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRhJts54fg
I giggle. “Sure, Dad. Sure. No one doubts that.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡziwrUDDwgM
“I do,” Flo says quietly with a grin.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡveCzpMtNBK
“Eh, I’ve seen him try to intimidate people,” Ama adds, looking around. “I’m not that impressed, to be honest.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7MtFiHiYZ
“You guys are the worst,” Dad gripes.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Uv45er8no
I grin. “Isn’t that what family and friends are for, though? I always assumed the point of it was to take someone down a peg or two if needed. Also, less often but no less important: bringing someone a peg up if that’s what needs to happen.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFA1cD4VkxU
“Mm,” Klef hums. “I remember doing that with you, Iri. When you were letting the town's girls get to you.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3xkUChG11
“You obviously didn’t bring her up enough if she’s settling for you, though,” Dad quips.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVsBnFPW0Oz
Klef grins. “Well, I couldn’t let her realize she’s far too good for me if I wanted her to be with me, right?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW860vAxnkp
I sigh. No matter what I do, if those two are in a room together than they will make life difficult for one another. “So, Hibiscus. If we have no suspects, what’s the course of action for security?” I ask.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoKCcUl4go
“That’s up to you,” Hibiscus says. “We could keep you safe around the base, with a stricter protection detail, or you could move somewhere safe, once we’ve established you can’t be taken out by whoever’s travelling with you and where you’re travelling, or we could act like nothing’s happened, and hope we get lucky, find your attacker before they find you… Honestly, Oracle, it’s all up to you.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrQQagJNmSQ
I sigh. “I don’t want to run, much as everyone would love me to do so. After 5 years, if I don’t have more information on my dreams, I’m never going to get it. The most I can do now is fight, like everyone else. And while my fighting is good, I doubt it’s nearly as good as anyone around here who has been doing it if not most of their life, then most of their Deuxlife. My expertise is exhausted. There’s no real point in protecting me any more than there is protecting anyone else. It’s important, yes, but it’s not the end- all be- all of existence, as horrible as that sounds to an outsider.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8K2ZJ2YX1D
Hibiscus nods. “Well, then, my dear, if escape is not an option, and protection is a waste of resources, what do you propose?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXpCvE1alk
“Nothing much,” I say with a shrug. “Just that if this person is so keen on using weapons against me and Klef when we’re presumably alone, just letting us sit in the library and read, and let whoever is asking know that we’re sitting in the library and reading, could be of great use to us.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3TQyuQrN2Z
Dad’s eyes widen. “What?! Iri, no. You can’t use yourself as bait!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvIxPpOlffW
Klef looks over at me, and lightly touches my arm to capture my attention. “I’ll do it, but only if you’re sure.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdr5cq6no2
“Of course I’m sure,” I say. “I wouldn’t offer the option up if I wasn’t. I wandered a forest with you 5 years ago because I was sure it was a good idea, even if I didn’t remember who you were. I only do things when I’m sure or when I can’t afford to not be.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVBCeFDyJF
Klef looks uncertain, but nods. “If you’re confident, then I’m going to be there with you, no matter what.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSuvnMDnkAc
“No!” Dad barks. “I will not allow it!”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqKSQDEepqI
“You don’t have a choice, Dad. It’s our lives, and our decision,” I state. “The only choice you have is whether you will support it or not.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ63XE3Telis
Dad growls, and runs a hand down his face. “I can’t support you. Not this time. I’m sorry. But if you’re going to risk your second life when you’ve already pushed your luck once before and nearly died for it, there’s nothing I can do for you. Come talk to me when this is over.” He walks around the table and out the door, closing it behind him with a firm tug.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN27QbMJcQU
I follow him out with my eyes. Klef’s touch on my arm increases in pressure to a light squeeze. “Hey,” he whispers. “This is your choice, not his. You can talk to him when this is all over.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdpq1cyVgJV
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Yeah, because we’re going to make it out alive, aren’t we?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ13m41WZ6Fw
“You know it, Ride,” Klef says with that small, genuine smile of his that he only brings out when he’s really proud of someone.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TbdbPnf9K
I turn to everyone left in the room. “All right. Where are good places that Klef and I can look alone but you guys can hide for backup?”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTaMnfaSI3G
Everyone looks at each other, before all saying at once, “The courtyard.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbDGD0LT9v
“Well. That’s settled. Where’s the courtyard, then?” Klef asks.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pb5xpgh4s
“I’ll show you the way, while everyone else can get weapons if they wind up needing them,” Ama offers. “My magic can do most of my fighting for me, if needed.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkoKAmJc8UV
I nod. “Lead the way,” I say, gesturing to the door.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZ66b9avm0
Ama grins and nods. “Yes, ma’am,” she says with a little salute.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ2Udbwvt20
Klef snickers and I whack him on the arm as the 3 of us leave the room. He responds by snatching my arm and kissing my knuckles. “You are awful,” I laugh.822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWU5iVImEs
“Yeah,” Klef says with a shrug. “Awfully fond of you.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhj3ooLHoGB
I groan. “Get some better pickup lines, Treble, and we’ll talk about flirting openly.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe3es19SYnE
Klef laughs, and we continue down the seemingly never-ending maze of hallways and rooms until there’s one slightly normal-looking hallway, not made of stone or concrete, but brick. And in the middle of this brick hallway there is one single, solitary door, with glass windows showing just a glimpse of the open expanse outside. Ama opens the door. “Welcome to the courtyard,” she says. “Also known as the place where new dragons come to learn to fly. Make yourselves comfortable, you might be here awhile.”822Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXl9wVq8Vu
Penana
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