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?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDhq3R20kB
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNxPwJ28Suz
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPtsUrnMVRY
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Rhq3u38aO
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.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGTbndOHg8H
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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPSwKrdYFZ
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QxLFZE0jZ
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNGlUhr3Num
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGtTyPXhcD
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUulK2JKDp
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfdVgfygTU
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7DBhRdyqo5
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0zmNLue3X
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnaTq7Z4wI
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR2wHygoT0k
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNiPKmM5fBj
“Oh yeah? Why?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUkUJzuqMKu
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsSRt5liGar
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtNh0I2504
“Sh-shut up!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQsEXlEX8lv
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyA7LrCWVTE
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzaazQJSPB9
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTqc2CyHazs
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFB6JKMzvhD
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnDd444x4iD
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoqIr46HCX
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PveYbxy2Y
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!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡarsFwaphS0
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdQU4HE4czS
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMA5pctFlq
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzQZ61RbDU
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7XX8WzFJqg
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkaw7ZThIQA
“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!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEvymg8n8P
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL4uvGuynaF
“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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRhqneYMgOF
“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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡauudKbWSzr
~/~1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT0KwAtIoAi
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?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡddfA5n1iMA
“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!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWLRnRqLho3
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnY7Q8UT03H
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilasVySVyS
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Sx0LWuM5N
“You have no proof!” I protest.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GB33rzbT9
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn0RD8XJghP
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmaFtd6VPK
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5fUsWB2mD
“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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UVtONZv5j
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIAXBOPnr4
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIVQ0yCCLA3
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOdJFRoywA
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡplCP5vsmHt
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzZk43AqA1x
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIIt8VnS28
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhOvtdkwQA
“Likewise,” I stammer.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLSHLhNPC7n
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqju197BNVa
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ1PiFBcUZo
“See anything about me?” they tease.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbj2sPtSTEd
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLXWtl9WmsU
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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX0zGq2iEiT
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZuohX3TmS
“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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Fu6iXNw9z
“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?”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBcEU5biUrQ
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpyjDvS90x6
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7tNiBbacFG
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.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlDlkVbXz4w
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzR78DDrFd
“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.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgAhX2UlH6J
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXiQU1d6o2
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMrkJvvovs
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9IY2cGEYY
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXIyUw9Bb9o
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.1099Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMCartsk2Lr
8964 copyright protection1095ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBrfMXwONc 維尼

3.15.1.45