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?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ql7xicL7n
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JcaCWuJRn
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrqyM8gSC7G
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMhfDQdLO10
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.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEasHxmVDnx
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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeNWNxFzgf
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZstPixqtOl
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07pBVMyC6P
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEkxoVr33d
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1EGwmfWcOV
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8h1Yxn5ZR
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcuuUTcVi2l
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHDdJwK5guh
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6cgp7y004P
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikr8yDeWK4
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiVEDer85r
“Oh yeah? Why?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZEyBWYg4tn
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1grto5SeVv
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjjuP7yd0M
“Sh-shut up!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZkide8DB3
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7U3WjjLYKJ
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFERGFZCZ7U
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRK0c2qAckZ
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukFjPBoCU8
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrxiO92bzDX
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZKtdKNpXip
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUzr6A26Pbf
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!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzNDvo7kbK
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tyYJ3t2IS
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGmqXWKXXn2
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt05OCwUlxy
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzLfQwpW2u
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3gokjvVrzZ
“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!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAWRdEadh2c
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYa5IZOAa6
“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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmT6SixPw9H
“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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr9jU2QiHQS
~/~1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwCfLKAJmG4
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?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gQVHuHwlz
“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!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT829w5FeTC
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPxn5YlL4E
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVpybMo9RgD
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGl5ni8cLd
“You have no proof!” I protest.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkWay2pBzq
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc5vnepm44f
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3ZC4MMI2S
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAlaoPN2e2r
“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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDHzpPVTyl
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRQmdT35fuZ
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsr58CYMUXS
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtIOOI2mlX7
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCq53d8q06i
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIqL0BpVq8
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqQR4cElbui
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9jAb3yA74
“Likewise,” I stammer.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjZvsrfN68d
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoF2IrxvKv
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwgdMkRDSDu
“See anything about me?” they tease.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8EConxGA0m
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz8hAMyVCvA
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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHAw6H2FLoJ
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSocTm2JQb
“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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP9lNaQTzRq
“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?”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgXsKaore8N
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFyTgnn7i5
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCFpcCWATvW
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.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrzyqL3Dc6j
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zK602EvJ2
“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.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXvaU4F21l5
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5JWGffnoO
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc1rGRKpMa0
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz9RtOKLqJP
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDa9ePeD5rX
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.1076Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2vAK2N0vCW
Penana
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