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?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0n9kOlKtpo
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQcEYDpITt
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCs76SNXdog
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnAl1ca0CCe
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.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0XwWV12s21
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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs3zyFdrPIP
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2sWmoz4oLb
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡANDI4GVp9e
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Hsk5ahS1o
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡprxlVNM4gd
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgjYMqS4fTc
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf7j8NneEdM
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi2wkeITxto
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK8ceCV8UXO
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFM4tbT5d0o
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnPt0qbl2Im
“Oh yeah? Why?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8poJoPTPYb
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOHVLwZTf4
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE45oVccnNN
“Sh-shut up!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvotfjZwxnm
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8mxNJfusxi
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvHtTRQXVIJ
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgnOA2yWXc
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPrVedN3un4
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKqzd5elEJR
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ797j3JN4c9
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWlKm0nG9ow
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!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡadNvmiVagq
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4qtlL1ieTi
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKYpW49rywl
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTPT22RdgJu
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlvqhPum6O
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSuZRU9w0D
“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!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpNfTn72NLL
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg2Ey1yL9Rv
“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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAUj1Ju7jij
“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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjq8BaDmf52
~/~1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8MJhou6HvP
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?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmtVuY8ineA
“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!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcxqfi6MBuY
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsr3KUhNs7b
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkFSlp6DaeS
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrENJ5jqvMT
“You have no proof!” I protest.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZmvZzj9o6D
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJSg7zZNQj
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFdMxS8V19r
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZv7vY0uywQ
“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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJxodahp3SA
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyYPmy5leQ
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFhQA64SpT
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8I69Xd9DVM
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtBdruzKBVr
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKibyk2URf
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBTri4mpbbr
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0ghwWgAAm
“Likewise,” I stammer.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD63qgW89T
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCJ1szHOUW
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhnSdw73QfJ
“See anything about me?” they tease.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY5A5c8xCg9
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfn69Ul4ncQ
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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAPqALh1xgk
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gksm1uruQ
“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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaAtyDznpxt
“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?”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr4WxXWxPBN
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzCEwGZKdbm
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwfBorE40c
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.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Jb3gYu5BJ
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXRt3gjD8Z
“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.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNYHfnBWvV
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbW9yoNt5Ai
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvu1xqTnwCH
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnxzfeb9Eb
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3HJWodjET
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.1138Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN7X5kLfXBD
Penana
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