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?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5saoyKLUiH
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCIND4zexhu
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtS4aMvnZQJ
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCPUD55QOA
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.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPelbtMrraQ
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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV3Ro5e6k1a
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIMkIYdjtHj
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5H4DiSHGzt
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2YDMtaVT6
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6j9CIY2iNG
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp0wnIksWJS
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd9o3lrjCtb
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNseb5DYBQA
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROBXSxlxp9
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnS1u7uL08E
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt9rzvYLHrF
“Oh yeah? Why?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiEfQ52BSo
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8UoEJXmzB
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpaUZqtdROq
“Sh-shut up!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6N3P4DE5FP
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeyyaV5qc02
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbZEhmihZNf
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnX1pA28mxb
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ34J8HPznN
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYovIcdaHsp
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNEcDLwMVBs
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVtwjrQLMd4
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!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu6kcGjzeeR
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU7gVna4hqQ
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZCmB7JuHn
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8jVsNXOOjW
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHxsVJjWJfh
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZGCIGE8aQ
“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!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5TFDcIvHbQ
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1arDm6irxy
“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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntMWAsP4dP
“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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiSuWbxcTEU
~/~1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdDW3NGm1fx
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?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PWOYMQR8p
“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!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFi58qCsut
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpRsSSUJdqh
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkI9y4hdPOp
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HQ1q4tETT
“You have no proof!” I protest.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCwm4dcack0
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvT1uDsvzD
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCiFdsS5zp5
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbbkdOL9gha
“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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5OyUSPMOIm
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDHLg5Xv9Ua
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡluTHFcq1Sx
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEiw8iuKgwM
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIoArK8WqG
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzViP7xorK8
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLUSfUpI50q
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2lo4HBe0vf
“Likewise,” I stammer.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Ja8caKso3
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMybyfPIMMy
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD5RjomlbBw
“See anything about me?” they tease.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO1jannlacR
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFeyrqXLwr1
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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7WhviamHd
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjHKl5Y8zt4
“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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgMZqI1zZdu
“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?”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7Dmbd1qAy
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡubTlXjvW9p
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQn7Gab89L
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.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrx5PUArHF
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTORc7bOUIr
“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.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwBLgSAp9qc
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKt03zsCH8
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4BjGoSZ6RO
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJURBbTIUL3
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9jOSJyJbFE
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.1196Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadLs8oafte
Penana
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