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?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8cArCgv7yD
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9keAKuj6R
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIVAaLAVRG
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS30EMFuRN
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.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKSMCUULLtp
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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWODhHaNCcX
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVXqIMefl4X
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2qyp5u2nn4
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPSb3epyjW3
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvC6KlD9BoK
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyaOykarAK5
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2GTkyik9aW
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8gbXaFsqpT
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYBFztiayhY
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLw2x3F6dn8
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6QZ5lMqv2B
“Oh yeah? Why?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPhfCkKGisA
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcM7jQzgSf2
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89KLOAe8dX
“Sh-shut up!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqll7IgzRF
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxiyqSIrO6
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTavoneBjdO
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg5gnwfx3nF
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvNAu0kvtns
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOgToQA0e0U
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQRNtcT8tWu
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GS9fSnHup
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!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgGqk7mqWuY
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDx0sVXm1L9
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMs3S7zqmeR
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLFY9wQpAqW
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGiIZHhpEh
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡacj4nSdnpN
“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!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZMJOqnBIin
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCc4CKXDBxA
“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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxJNBGDgV4
“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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFJ20gFI8Dm
~/~1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMf7h7fijP9
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?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCM75X5hvmI
“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!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyI51NHKOZL
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQQgrnVR9H
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxEioG8eh3C
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhJBwoalYt3
“You have no proof!” I protest.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBH4Dmh2F5
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcylkOGwC7q
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ661CuY1tYJ
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHDPZd2h8b
“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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9H3jokvGu
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYtdDXaPncB
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfxK4U9UPMZ
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLKsoFVhRlh
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKvuZABE8d
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYY6BGERXtI
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQJTMMQOf4g
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3G6Twj3Vh
“Likewise,” I stammer.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfeGqBj4Q9
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiEVjotog5
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWk8K9WYJ6
“See anything about me?” they tease.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEIcoD4jqA3
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJaPnxPOrhf
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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6CfdjMNDy
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hoSqkUvlG
“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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyM8SaJ3YiJ
“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?”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7CgYgeC9E
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAbtn3DtX1O
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfeNe9nauwF
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.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzonZXAZOvW
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsGa3CjcXbZ
“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.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVjztNZgw7
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiNE9bCHGD
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUMtKo3CfPq
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9KGPgyLx7
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsWkr1l0yXn
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.1151Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBidEUM87KQ
8964 copyright protection1147ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC4HFT5HgG 維尼

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