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Story: Bonding Beasts

“With a female claiming to be a mender.”

“When he lost his and still hasn’t forgotten her.”

“The Ancients take their obsessions seriously,” Svend deadpans.

“This will go badly.” That’s all I can think of to say.

“Yes, I agree. I need to know what to look for now. If sheisa mender, she will need to be warned. If she isn’t, we can scare her off.”

My gut churns with dread. The cycle is repeating again, and I have to stop it. Where would I be best used?

“I’m on my way,” I stand and begin packing away the Human contraptions to stuff into my pack.

“No, Aodhan, not yet – “

I hang up on my old friend and silence the ringing as it begins again.

The Disputed territory is too far away for a drive. I’ll have to take a plane or port. If I port, my fastest means, there will be an Other record of my travels. With a plane, I can travel as my Human identity. So, airplane it is.

“I will see you further South or not at all,” I tell the spear as I sling the bag over my shoulder. “I think you know which I would prefer.”

16.Whatta Man

I wake with a gasp, sitting up abruptly. I know I had a nightmare, but it’s just out of reach, exactly where I want it to stay. I catch my breath and take stock of my body to see how much damage I have left to heal.

The bruising is now fading into the disgusting yellow and green phase. My bones feel fine now that they’ve rearranged themselves, and the muscles straining to hold them in place are now relaxed.

My spark isn’t fluttering anymore, but it is still resting. It rouses with gentle prodding and smacks me away like a grumpy teen who doesn’t want to go to school.

Sans the bruises, I’m feeling pretty good right now. I'm a little tired, but that’s to be expected after that much damage and my nightmares.

I stretch my arms above my head and feel each vertebra give a pleasant hum at the feeling. My left arm is still painful, but it’s manageable now.

My hands flop to the blanket I’m currently tangled in, and I glance around. I’m in Ben’s room, snuggled into his nest. I feel a little bad about the amount of sweat coating my body and making his clothes cling to me. I grimace as I pull the shirt away. It’s practically soaked through. Laundry day it is.

Ben moves in my peripherals, and I look towards him, barely able to see above the mound of pillows I’m surrounded by. He’s wearing the same clothes as last night and has dark circles under his eyes.

Did he not sleep at all? From his position, it looks like he was watching the door and the room simultaneously. Guarding me while I was weak.

His eyes flick past me, and I turn to see what he’s glaring at.

Mitri has pulled a chair into the room since everything here is floor-level and cushy. I’m not surprised he brought something to sit on. I can’t picture him sitting on the ground and ruining his suit with wrinkles. He watches me without glancing at Ben. Ben, on the other hand, seems tense and ready to spring.

I take a deep breath of vetiver and clove, then almost choke at my own stench. How can Ben stand to be around me right now?

“Shower then laundry. Sound good?” I ask Ben as I crawl out of the seemingly millions of cushions and blankets. Once I’ve gained my feet I head into the bathroom. Just before I close the door I hear Ben’s ‘hmm’ of acceptance to my decree. He never takes his eyes off Mitri.

I can’t think of a thing to say to comfort him about the immortal’s presence. It’s not like he would leave even if I asked. Mitri do what Mitri do.

I shed the dirty clothes and step into the shower, getting that first blast of shiver-inducing cold out of the way for the water to warm up. Then I just stand there and think.

A lot of info got dropped last night, and I’m not sure if I absorbed everything that was going on around me. Halfway through the arguing, the pain started to become too much to hold back, and I lost focus despite Peacemaker trying to keep me abreast of things. I’ll have to ask him to give me the abridged version later.

The TGT agents aren’t really working for the Delegates. They’re spying, but why?

Obviously because they suck but is there something they’re already trying to stop?

Humans and Delegates teaming up together. Scientists experimenting on how to kill Others efficiently. Going back to the ‘old days’ to make Humans food. More territories are being affected than ours.