“That’s untrueandunnecessary,” Draven states and cracks his knuckles. “Reina, how was she for you?”
“Strange, but not too much of a cunt. She honestly came across more sheltered than anything,” Reina explains, staring down at her short, sharpened nails. If it weren’t for playing cello, I think she’d have long nails like claws. “Like she hasn’t seen much of Hel.”
“I think she’s only really seen The Cathedral, which should show her a lot of life. Drunk people, drugs, partying, sex, but not everything. It doesn’t show you love, and it definitely doesn’t show you history or art,” Gemma says, her brown eyes wandering like she’s peeking into glimpses of the past.
For a long while, Gemma couldn’t remember anything. Now, it brings me joy to see her lost in thought, especially with all the new memories we’ve formed together. She deserves happiness.
“I think Tempest did fine at dinner. We—” Draven points to Gemma and himself “—were on opposite ends of the table, but we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.”
“Other than Absinthe over-explaining how we all feel about her,” Reina says before giving Absinthe a pointed glare.
The jester raises up her hands. “Hey, I was just telling it like it is.”
“Not helping.” Reina’s tone is sharp and irritable, and I hope she and Khalid aren’t fighting.
“Dinner was fine. She kind of stared at me a lot.” I look down at the floor.
“Well, you are engaged. That feels… maybe the most normal of her behaviors,” Gemma suggests and I shake my head.
“No, I mean before she looked at me like a predator, but last night it was like she was prey or I don’t know… in a trance?” I sigh, taking in a deep breath. “We mostly argue, but occasionally we’ll share a nice little moment.”
“Hopefully not too nice. Remember this is all just for show,” Gemma says, her tone soft, and I nod.
“Trust me, I’m not falling in love with someone as bitchy as her.”
Tempest walks into the conference room, and I hope she didn’t hear me. I try not to stare too hard at her, but I’m finding it difficult. Her presence consumes me, and I can’t quite put my finger on why. I don’t like her, but I find myself intrigued by her actions, and the way she carries herself.
“I wouldn’t overthink it. Now, let’s get down to business,” Draven says, his voice like a gavel on a podium, his word final. He cocks his head, gesturing to his wife. “Gemma.”
Gemma smiles politely. “I want you two to go on a hunt together.”
“What?” I ask, confusion etching its way into my features. I would’ve appreciated the heads-up from my friends.
Tempest looks just as thrown by the suggestion. “Do we not have any meat here?”
“No, we do.” Draven crosses his arms.
“Hear me out. Hunting together will serve two purposes. First, it’ll help me with step two of our campaign. We need extra meat for a food distribution event we’ll be running in a couple of days,” she begins. “And second, it will show you two how lupion and felion can work together, even on shared grounds.”
“You want us to hunt together to prove we can do it without killing one another?” Tempest asks.
Gemma scratches the back of her neck. “Essentially, yes. Bring the meat to Absinthe afterward, and she’ll take it to the local butcher to have it processed. We’re going to give it away to lupion in need.”
I nod. “Understood.”
“Let’s go tonight at dusk,” Tempest says, and I nod.
Rather than huntingwhere there might be other felion and lupion, Tempest and I hunt in the forest west of the carnival. The forest beyond the river is small, but it’s enough for us to find fish and small game.
“I hate to admit this out loud, but I wasn’t aware there were lupion in need,” I say to Tempest as we head towards the river. The felion don’t have formal leaders, so we have no one to guarantee our needs are met. Basic necessities on Haeresis are supplied by the government. A simple apartment, and baseline foods like bread, pasta, and milk. These things work well for those who eat like that, but for predators like the lupion and felion, we need meat. “I figured your pack took careof you.”
The twin moons illuminate the water, creating a dark, twinkling effect.
“Well yeah, but there are packless lupion,” she explains.
“How did they become packless?” I ask as we step onto a small bridge, crossing over the river.
“Some of them were born that way, others came here seeking refuge from other continents, forced to leave their back.”
