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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbtV7MGYZHq
“I’ve got to pee,” I deadpan.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPHQPuh696
“Nah, I don’t think you would yet…you went before bed, didn’t you?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9xJodJWxO
“Nope,” I say, shaking my head. “Dry off in the bedroom, bird brain.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQkvvlDwVm5
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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcAc1IagvE
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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvja4YY9Oyk
Klef whines. “But brushes are for long hair!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡERjjCoU9Cc
“I use a brush, and my hair is almost as short as yours.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1BXdkF8PF
“But I don’t wanna!” Klef protests.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLToVKkkYx
“Use it or have a nest of birds in your hair.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKdWaFmNgTc
Klef frowns and chews the bottom of his lip. Then he hands the brush back. “‘Kay, I’ll risk it.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3PulJUDxPa
“You are ridiculous,” I scoff, running the brush through my own hair.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRgCNoVQup
“And you love me for it!” he cheered.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmjAk6bxwXS
I look just beyond Klef, to find Dad in the doorway, jaw dropped and looking murderous. “Klef…” I try to warn.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vSlC7BmcQ
“No no, don’t even try to deny it! You know as well as I do that you are smitten!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOXArnI4R0t
“Klef, it’d be best if you shut up, now.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMFeEAsla0
“Oh yeah? Why?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGZIV7wRIEG
“Probably because you didn’t lock the door,” Dad growls.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvo2TINY7IQ
Klef jumps up and runs behind me. I roll my eyes. “Really? Treble, you’re 21.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSQhU39uMlU
“Sh-shut up!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpJxQU2xu8
Dad frowns. “A good boyfriend would stand up for his girl, you know.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeLTSBm8drl
“A good father lets his grown daughter stand up for herself,” I threaten.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyPrcAOqEuv
Dad smiles. “Always nice to see you, Iri.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfD7YhUzE0o
“Why are you here, Dad?” I ask.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9NyAn0KCUs
“I need to get you somewhere safe. Out of the way of a siege or an uprising.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ETNTYCrwY
“Oh, come on, what are the odds of me getting hurt out here?” I scoff.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRtb7G0hKli
Klef tenses behind me and wraps me in his wings. “Get down!” he yells.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡf0IvSYtEKQ
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!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTRrbfOpRPx
“What’s a grenade?” I rasp, even though I dread the answer.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM3fG0fHopa
“It’s a bomb. A small, strong bomb.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKjh3hj91h3
I swallow and cough. “What was it doing in our bedroom?!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡujqCjztp5Q
“I saw someone throw it in! Crap, I thought you were gonna die!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZ9azC7EiK
Dad growls, fur standing on end as he stands up. “And how do you know what that thing was?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQpVCraNTbO
“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!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5Tag3L2Yt
“How dangerous?” Dad asks.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUCxev099wC
“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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrLtWINJMN
“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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzk98Ssj3Js
~/~724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnNj4r2Q3Ie
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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7YQ0f355dG
“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!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6v09lNkTp7
“I didn’t know it was dangerous, all right?!”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnYGOXB1jKW
“Oh, a likely story,” I say sarcastically. “I told you your thieving ways would catch up with you.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzPc2eJ5QTH
“Lighten up Ride!” Klef retorts. “You and I both know you thieve as much as I do nowadays.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkGKUxT0mn
“You have no proof!” I protest.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqX2DUucy4z
“A testament to how good you are,” he points out.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuNahIS4Ypm
I pause. “I am good,” I reason. “Maybe not at thieving, but I am good.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98m84nkoMG
“Oracle,” Ama murmurs. “We need to move you.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCilcu7Nlea
“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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJh0K82TGSC
“Much as I hate to admit it, Iri has a point,” Dad grumbles. “If we move her, she could be in even more danger.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXjhpgOH4Fl
Ama bites her lip. “…Fine. But she’ll need a human I know for protection in addition to myself.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAVcG78aAMV
She walks off and I don’t hesitate to follow. “So…can I ask you a personal question?” I request.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsRZk2A5jzB
“I won’t guarantee an answer, but sure,” Ama says, smiling.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLi0SnIr2V
“You seem so sweet. How are you a necromancer?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFzS5OE01zU
Ama’s smile drops. “You wouldn’t like me angry, let’s put it that way,” she mumbles.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaRUfUs6qrP
Someone laughs walking towards us down the hallway. “You lose it again, Ama?” they chuckle. “Bobbi, they/them. Pleasure to meet you.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoxnpjk4QFl
“Likewise,” I stammer.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwyjEE2tmF0
Bobbi runs a hand through their bright blue hair and fixes me with hazel eyes. “So you’re the Oracle, huh?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXYJsY3G9TQ
I cringe. “Uh…yeah.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQS0WYbAyIF
“See anything about me?” they tease.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmRw0BJ8wyO
“Bobbi!” Ama reprimands.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcocHuVH1P
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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhMtrg0PZ2j
Bobbi nods. “Wasn’t expecting much,” they chuckle. “I’m not a celebrity like you.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHlb9Ugvysq
“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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ32BIGqt06c
“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?”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwqkJ3C14gU
“Is there such a place?” I laugh.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZuhTkRwRMW
Bobbi crooks a finger. “Follow me.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mY1j1daUd
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.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUQ5to8Jnt
“Oh you,” Bobbi laughs, looking back at Ama. “Speaking of, where’s your partner in crime?” they ask me.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTiges96AnM
“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.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7KlmO5lHQ
“He’ll find us,” Bobbi assures. “He’s that kind of guy.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYZ0wiO5koP
“He’s really not the best tracker, especially in a concrete jungle.”724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9hqjJFptkI
“True, but he also won’t stop until he finds you. It’s his way of caring,” Bobbi rebuts.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrKHaYHLPlN
I smile at that. “He’s a big softie,” I sigh, shaking my head.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdL1ulxcQ7Y
“Oh, we’re here,” Bobbi says, gesturing to a nondescript door.724Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKUUktycs39
8964 copyright protection720ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhpQVhFcRR 維尼

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