July 2023 ver.
“Hey, part-timer!” The young man looked her way. Devin and Avery waved. He lifted a hand, but didn’t really wave it before retaking his shovel to the soil. Devin snorted in humor, “He really looks ready to keel over out there, doesn’t he?”
Her brother murmured agreement, “Mm. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to make you do this job?” She eyed her junior maliciously for a second. Admittedly, he wasn’t wrong. Then again their task had been taxing too just significantly shorter.
They had stopped at another settlement and asked around for odd jobs. Her and Avery went to help someone reorganize and clean their storehouse. A lot of lifting, sweeping, and a little scrubbing. Meanwhile, some farmer had injured themselves and Rowan was filling in for early harvest.
“How much does he have left?”
Devin climbed onto the bottom rung of the fence separating them to get a better idea of how large the field was, “Half?” She cupped her hands to yell, “Do you want some help?”
Rowan paused to call back, “The pay will be the same! Up to you!”
She met Avery’s gaze, and he met hers. He was biting a cheek, “I don’t really want to, but…” They both sighed.
She muttered, “let’s go,” and they climbed the fence.
Devin held a hand out to Rowan, “If I’m helping, I get the tools.” He seemed ready to argue with her. She gave him pure exasperation, “C’mon, you know I’ll get more done with it than you will. Especially how you are right now.” It was surrendered with disgruntled mumbling. The brawler dug right in, only to cut the plant in half. She squeaked in surprise.
“Hey! Don’t be so aggressive.” Rowan scolded her instantly. “They can’t fight back.” She blushed and tried again much more tenderly. The boys worked on pulling the next few down by hand.
They completed a row and her cousin dropped on his butt. He sat and watched them work for a minute. The girl cast him a cutting stare, “When we said help, we didn’t mean take over for you. Plus you’re going to get your clothes dirty.”
“I’m already dirty.”
“Dirtier, then.” Devin rolled her eyes.
“Eh, what’s it matter? And I’m only taking five.” Classic apologetic smirk. Fine. He had been out here in the heat of the day.
The mage tipped his head back. A twirl of a finger saw to a downpour of water on his face. Whatever caught in his mouth he swallowed. Then he proceeded to shake his hair out like a dog. A sigh. “This really isn’t what I had in mind for a job. I was hoping for a hunt.”
“A hunt?” Both siblings repeated it as a question.
Rowan nodded, “Though maybe it’d be more accurate to call it a kill or capture job.”
She stopped what she was doing, mouth hanging open, “Eh!? Like people? Like mercenary work?”
His face remained emotionless, “That falls under the same category, but no. And yes? It is mercenary work, but I don’t take jobs involving people. You really have no idea why or for what purpose they want the person brought in or killed. They can say whatever they like, but I’m not going to take a stranger’s word against another stranger. I stick with problematic animals or… other problematic entities. Poltergeist type things like the banshee we’re on our way to see. Or ‘monsters’,” his fingers raised to give the word quotes, “like Rallen’s lost basilisk. Not that animals can’t be minding their own business. Anywaaaaay,” he dragged the word to segue to what he really wanted to say on the topic, “Mercenary jobs pay out big. Will cover a month or two of expenses big.”
The younger hands had fallen still. Both calculated how far today’s pay would get them. It was better than where they were, but not nearly a month. “So, how do we net ourselves a job like that?”
His mouth twisted and he lifted a hand, “Same way we got these ones, really. We’ll have to keep asking around. Sometimes they’ll be posted somewhere. Outside town halls or temples or schools, for instance, but they don’t seem to have a wall for those here.”
‘Well that sucks.’ Devin sighed and went back to their back breaking harvest. Their cousin rejoined them. They slogged their way through together for a while. Avery and Rowan were stuck shuffling in a crouch like crabs from plant to plant.
Eventually the fledgling scholar needed a break and stretched his legs, “Will we be moving on tomorrow then?”
“Hm?” The mage looked up, “Oh, uh, actually I want to stick around here for a couple days.”
“Huh? Really?” Avery was scratching an ear, “Why? Do you really think we’ll be able to find more jobs here?”
For some reason Rowan hesitated to answer, but eventually came out with, “Maybe not. I still want to try. Another day or two won’t change much.”
“Shouldn’t we kinda be in a hurry though?” She asked.
The reply was a wave off of the hand, “As we are, we can’t travel fast enough for it to matter in the end. If we were to rush enough to actually make a difference, traveling day and night, then we’d be too exhausted to do anything. We get there when we get there. No matter how awful the situation is, so try not to worry about it, yeah?”
“Okay…” The word didn’t really want to leave either of them. Neither believed that they should stay either way.
Rowan gave Avery an idle point, only done with one topic, “We’re getting pretty close to done. Even if we’re not staying at what passes for an inn here, why don’t you head over and ask if we could pay to use the bath?”
A tilt of the head, “The bath?” That thought settled in, “I do feel pretty gross.” He grinned at Rowan, “I can only imagine how you feel.”
“Disgusting is the answer. Then in about ten or twenty minutes,” that index finger swayed over to her, “Devin can head over for her turn. I’ll finish up here and take mine. Oh!” He was pointing at Avery again, “Don’t forget to haggle that we can change the water ourselves before and after.”
Her brother nodded. This was a mission of utmost importance he was embarking on, “Haggle! Got it!” Then he gave Rowan a meek smile, “You know I’m not good at haggling, right?”
A shrug, “Do your best.” They both bid Avery temporary farewell. Devin refocused until she noticed that Rowan was still staring after the teen. Her cousin then crab scuttled over to her at an astonishing speed. He whispered even though their third member was beyond out of earshot, “Now that he’s gone, I need you to help me with excuses to stick around this village for two more days.”
She lifted an eyebrow, “Uh, why?”
“I’ve been trying to actually track the days since you’re both with me this time. It’s the 27th.”
It took a second then Devin went wide-eyed, “I completely forgot it was the month of when we left. But how am I supposed to help you?”
He didn’t have a clear cut answer, “Just side with me if he brings up leaving again. Then he’s out voted.”
“You know he’ll still ask why.” She gave him a catty tone to point out the obvious. In other words she was going to have to cook up a cover for him on the spot. “Did you get him something? Sh-should I get him something?”
Her cousin started his neck rubbing right on cue, “I’m planning to pay for a big meal to celebrate. Kind of thinking a traditional gift won’t be worth the trouble. Both finding one here and keeping in mind we’ll have to carry whatever it is with us until we visit home. Or at least Pheebs’.”
She sighed, “Good points. The thought that counts, right? Food is always good anyway.” He, of course, agreed since it was his idea.
Her thoughts quickly drifted. They were really shooting up like weeds, weren’t they? Devin hacked through a few of the unwanted plants and launched the tattered remains with the shovel while she was at it. It was going to be the anniversary of everything before they knew it. The time when Rowan usually came home to display he was alive. Eleven years in a few measly months.
They were reaching the end of the job. Devin struck her tool down at her side. But they weren’t there yet. The action drew her cousin’s attention.
“Is something wrong? You seem… distracted.”
Her brother wasn’t here, she faced her elder, “Rowan, why did you lie to us?”
“Uh, I thought I just expl-”
She didn’t let him finish side-stepping, “Not that. Before. With the elves. You know something we don’t. What is it? Why were they blaming us?” The girl thought better. “No, not us. Why were they blaming you?”
The mage carried on with what he was doing.
“You’re just not going to answer?”
“That’s not… It’s not easy to say, okay? They were blaming me because it was their fault. All of it was my parents’ fault.” He shrugged. “I know it, the elves know it, gramps knows it too.” It took several tries to accept the statements and the hollow way he said them.
About as many attempts as it took her to find a reply that didn’t die on her tongue, “So Avery and I are the only ones who didn’t know? Why didn’t either of you say anything?” Her grip tightened on the wood in it. “And that doesn’t even make sense. How was it their fault? I get that your dad was our best fighter and your mom had her barrier magic. But that doesn’t make them responsible for it. They were attacked along with everyone else.”
He tossed her a frown, “It just was, okay? And gramps didn’t want that on your shoulders. You were too young to have that hanging over you.”
Devin threw the shovel down to cross her arms and glare, “Yeah, well, we grew up. We grew up and you left.” A mitt lifted, “Now I’m realizing that I didn’t even know half the reasons why you left. Neither of you ever thought to clue us in even after all these years? This sort of thing isn’t yours to bare on your own.”
She could tell she was rattling him especially when he asked rather quietly, “Devin, I know I lied, but why are you getting so angry? It doesn’t have much to do with you.”
“Because someone needs to be angry! And for the record, it doesn’t have anything to do with either of us!” It was good they were out in a field as the apparent feline yelled louder and louder. “The way those elves treated you was bullshit! I know part of you knows that. You’re not your parents. Your very presence doesn’t cause fucking calamity, okay!? You used to know how to get angry, to be angry, to stay angry. What the hell happened?”
Her cousin had no comment.
“Whatever. Until you remember how, I guess I’ll be doing it for you.” Devin turned her back to him, but she shook her head one last time before leaving. “Rowan, you can’t just cut yourself off. You have to let things out or you’re going to explode.”
x x x
The brawler slid into warm, clean water. She exhaled the stress of the last few days at once. She sunk in until the breath from her nose rippled the water. With magic casters was definitely the way to travel.
At least she thought all of her stress had been drained away. Why did Rowan have to be so stupid?
x x x
Her brother was heartbroken, “How could you tell he was lying?”
Her tail curled around her mid-section where she sat on the ground across from him, “I’m not really sure. I don’t think he specifically wanted to lie to us, so he sounded off to me. I don’t know how to explain it better than that.”
Avery picked at the dirt, “Why does everyone think I’m so weak?”
She recoiled at the question as it came from nowhere to her.
“Everyone treats me like I’m made out of glass!” His hand had latched onto his ankle to squeeze it. “I hate it! I’m not a little kid who doesn’t understand where his parents went anymore.” He had to shake himself out. “Thanks for telling me, unlike Rowan and grandpa.”
Devin nodded, “Yeah, well, I know you’re not glass, Avery. For whatever that’s worth.”
He brightened slightly with a half-hearted smile, “So why are we really sticking around here?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
‘Shit.’ That was a white lie so they could surprise him. But she didn’t want to end all that with any kind of lie. “Look, I could tell you, but maybe just trust me if I say you don’t want to know?” It’d make tomorrow better if he didn’t.
“Hmm.” While not very content with it, the boy was going to let it slide. Until he thought he figured it out, “I noticed he was hanging around a woman this morning. We’re not staying here just so he can try to… you know…?”
Devin was momentarily thrown then she rolled with laughter, “No, no.” Then she thought on it a second and frowned, “Actually, it’s possible he’s trying to do that too, but that’s not the main reason. Just trust me on this one, okay?”
“Fine.” It was whined. He started to wobble. Eventually he tipped over completely, sprawling flat upon his back. “Do you think we’ll actually find more work?”
“I honestly have no idea.” While it was a charade to an extent, their cousin was pursuing leads for more work while they were here. No one in town had more for them, but it had come to light that a few individuals lived very close and he could ask if they had anything for them to do. They were stuck waiting for news at their chosen camping grounds also right outside of civilization to save money.
Her head lifted as she saw movement, Rowan raised a hand to greet them, “Good news, bad news, and great news.” He was already grinning ear to ear. “Good news is they did have a job for me,” that hand changed to only two upheld fingers. She saw there was a coin pressed between them as he stopped, “Bad news is it was to take a letter to the post so they only paid a copper.” It was rolled to his palm, “But! I noticed something walking around all the woodland here. Tracks. Big ones.” Rowan added the sad pay to his funds, “I think they’re from a dire boar.”
“Also known as a really big boar?” Devin asked to clarify. She’d never come into contact with a dire animal before.
“Massive.” He second-guessed his use of the word, “That might be overselling it. Twice as big as a regular one is still plenty big though.”
Avery squirmed some more, “Wait, I’m confused, does someone want it killed or something? Are they problematic like you were saying yesterday with hunting jobs?”
The mage hooked a thumb at himself, “This guy right here wants it killed.” This only perplexed his companions further. Thankfully, they didn’t have to seek elaboration, “Boars are good game in general since they’re basically mountains of meat. Not the highest quality of meat, but certainly edible. It’s pretty easy to find someone who will buy it if you can prepare it right and keep it fresh. Which Avery and I can do in a snap with a bit of ice work.” Yeah. Magic casters definitely came with the best perks. “Dire boars are twice the meat, but they also have the thickest hides you can find on an animal. That takes them from a good payout to a great one.”
She was getting it, “Okay, we track it, kill it, and then harvest the whole thing? That doesn’t sound too hard.” The brawler was already standing up and stretching her shoulders.
Her brother didn’t look so eager, eyes flitting between them from the ground, “Isn’t hunting dire animals really dangerous though?”
“Boars are dangerous. They can do a lot of damage with their tusks. Especially bites. Dire animals are bigger and stronger on top of that,” Rowan offered up that cocky grin of his, “but this will be easy breezy for us. The struggle will be keeping the muscle damage to a minimum.”
He was still hesitant, but stood, “I thought they were smarter too? Like considerably smarter.”
Their cousin chuckled, “Uh, no. That’s all hearsay.” The party leader set off in a brand new direction. “I think if we go this way we’ll be able to cut directly to where I saw the trail.”
Avery was still on about his question, “Why does everyone think they’re smarter then?”
“That’s actually interesting and complicated and includes some things you should know before we fight one. They are technically smarter, but only because they’re older. Dire animals are regular animals that can use magic and managed to stumble across that ability without accidentally killing themselves in the process. They start using it to deter predators, win territory, or capture better prey then before you know it they’re outlasting their peers by years. But, understanding an action increases your odds of success isn’t the same as being able to apply it correctly in complex situations.” He was already crouching at the side of some hoof prints. The mage gestured a hush to lower the volume from here.
The little scholar tailed Rowan closely to whisper more, “So this boar will know how to use magic?”
“Yes, but only the one element. The one it’s most closely attuned to. For boars that’s earth. Most animals with hooves are attuned to earth, actually.”
She could see the fascination glimmering in Avery’s eyes from feet away, “Are they good at it?”
The mage snorted, “No. Let’s say a dire animal can make rain. While you or I could easily tweak that to be hail, they don’t even realize that’s an option. Since they’re not as smart as us you’ll always be able to tell when they’re casting too. They’ll do the exact same pose and make the exact same noise. Every time. Because that’s the only way it knows how.”
“Urk,” Devin stopped to cover her nose and point, “Hey, poindexters, I think I smell something from that direction.”
Her brother sniffed, “Blech, definitely.”
The three changed trajectory and Devin was the next to speak again, “Aw, sick.”
Rowan crouched in close and the thought of it made her want to hurl, but he spoke on unbothered, “Hm. Not very fresh. We might be out here a while.”
Devin navigated upwind of the feces, “Is there anything else we need to know while we have time?”
“Not particularly,” he appeared to be actively thinking on the question, “but we should make a plan for when we find it.”
Avery exclaimed, “Oh! I know! Why don’t you put it to sleep?”
The mage wasn’t confident, “I can try, but we need to have a back up for if that doesn’t work.”
“Why wouldn’t it work?”
“Short answer: adrenaline. The second it knows we’re close it’ll go into fight or flight and that’ll make it really hard to land any mentally debilitating magic.”
The solution was plain as day to her brother, “So then we ambush it?”
Rowan shook his head, “Animals tend to be more aware of their surroundings than people. That’s easier said than done. Plus if we mess up and it flees we’re going to be out here for days searching for it again.”
Avery made another attempt, “Illusion magic so it can’t detect us?”
“Eeeh, I’m not good enough at that to trick a boar. My auditory skills leave something to be desired. I can’t do scent at all either, kind of a dedicated illusionists only thing. Both of which it’d pick up on long before it saw us. The only part I can do well.”
The boy huffed, “So what do we do then?” He wasn’t having much fun with all of his suggestions being shot down.
“We can’t have it running off so we’re going to need to surround it as quickly as possible. Or I could try trapping it with some magic, but it’ll sense a shift in the environment coming if I try to box it in too tight. Between raw strength and tusks ice walls are out. It probably won’t be able to magically recall earth walls, but it could still possibly bust through… I think we’ll have to do both. Get ourselves in an earth ring with it.”
“B-but if it can bust through a rock wall then what can it do to us?” Avery was squeaking again.
“Well, break all your ribs and puncture some organs with them,” he stated it bluntly, “but if it comes down to someone getting hit I can do barrier magic. But don’t be reckless. I can cast it near instantaneously thanks to my mom, but I don’t have the capacity she did with them. Barriers are massive energy saps and with the amount of focus required it’ll be hard to do much else with one up. The faster I have to be then the weaker the spell will be too. That means I won’t know how many hits it’ll take before it shatters and it’ll recoil. And that’s nothing to laugh at. The force of it can throw you pretty hard. If that happens, shield your head so it doesn’t hit whatever you get thrown into.”
Devin dryly commented, “…that doesn’t sound like much of a barrier.”
“Trust me, nine times out of ten, it’s better than the hit you’d take otherwise and it takes some work to whittle it to that point.”
“So we’re enclosed with this giant boar and then what do we do?” Avery prompted for more.
“Keep it in the ring until I can immobilize to take effect. We want to injure it as little as possible. At least its body anyway so I’ll be looking to get a clean blow on its head. Which, I can cast pretty swiftly, guys, but I’m one person. I can’t do a full ring in one shot. I’ll rapid fire all these spells the best I can, but be on your toes. Both of you will need to help keep it occupied until the paralysis sets. I’m going to recommend wind or water magic, Avery. They both have the drive to keep it from charging or to throw it off course.”
“O-okay.”
Devin sighed, “Now we just have to find it. Maybe… I could sniff it out?” The girl raised her nose as they followed Rowan along. Eventually something came to her. They yielded the front to her and continued their slow going through the undergrowth. Their keen leader sped them up when he could, noting signs of its traversal from the mid position.
It was getting late. Almost time to call it quits whenher ears perked at the sound of snorting. She froze, staring ahead to try to pick out the form of the boar beyond all the flora. Those ears flicked forward to indicate to her party that their target was straight ahead. She was bordering on going entirely by sound. There was no way Rowan would be able to tell exactly where it was from here.
“We need to rush it.” The boar’s head turned their direction. “It’s already suspicious.” Devin launched herself without confirmation from her family. They had a plan; they simply needed to stick to it.
She had the speed, so before the boar turned to flee, the brawler sprinted past. It didn’t seem to know how to interpret that choice. Until she spun around a few yards out. Avery and Rowan were skidding to a halt to complete their triangle.
Double the size was right. This thing was tallerthan her on all fours. It glanced about in a panic, taking a moment to focus on each of them. A slab of earth solidifiedin the direction it faced. Again and again more slabs materialized into existence to block the spaces between them. They’d be locked in with it soon. A rattling screech came from the animal as a threat to stay back. To let it go. Her jaw clenched, ‘Sorry. This is the end for you.’
Its focus snapped to Avery even as a wall formed behind him. Not good. He was the weak link and it was smart enough to see it. His hair and fur slowly puffed up.
“Avery! I don’t have time!” Rowan hollered. The boar charged. Her heart pounded as Avery didn’t move at all. He couldn’t cast without incantation. Movement. Words. Anything!
A soft snap tickled her ear. The rampaging beast rammed head first into a translucent sheet of blue magic that suddenly cut it off from its target. Rowan fell to a knee on the opposite side of their enclosure. His hands were up, already shaking from the impact of the boar against his magic. A crack formed in the barrier.
Without thinking, she slid one foot in the other. Magic flooded her legs and she abandoned her post, sprinting toward her brother, “Avery! Cast, damn it!”
“I-I-.” He took a step back, but quickly found the bounds of their cage. The barrier was going to recoil and he was too close to the damn wall!
“Avery!”
Devin slammed shoulder first into the side of the boar’s head. Its second charge went careening into the stone wall a few feet to Avery’s left, narrowly missing the barrier. The structure caved immediately. She winced. It was like she’d rammed into the wall herself.
The animal’s balance had been so thrown that it collapsed under the weight of the rock dropping onto its head. It scrabbled backwards out of the mess when it found it couldn’t push through as is.
Rowan had fallen to his hands and knees briefly, but was staggering back to his feet. Her brother had the sense to run to hide behind him.
The brawler grasped her shoulder, “Son of a bitch!” The pain reverberated through her. The fingers of that hand flexed. A low growl rose in her throat. Far more animalistic and vicious than she thought herself capable. There was something about the way that it hurt.
She felt alive.
Devin hurled herself onto the animal. It twisted left then right trying to snap at her on its back. She dug in like a tick behind its head. It wouldn’t be able to reach her.
“D-Devin, that’s not the plan! What are you doing!?" It was equally impossible for Rowan to get a clean strike with her there.
Her legs clamped on as best they could to hold her in place. She wrapped one fist around the other and threw both over her head. The boar was going to buck her. The brawler’s hands hammered the center of its skull. The creature faltered and stumbled to a side. For a second it seemed like it was going to recover and she raised her attack. Suddenly its limbs buckled and it dropped to the ground as Rowan's spell gripped it.
That fact didn’t matter anymore.
Her fists slammed down again. A sickening crack came to her ears. It shrieked and she smiled. She struck it again and that shrieking stopped. Then the half-emeran sat. She panted and the boys stared in amazement from afar. The girl slithered off to rejoin them.
Her cousin’s hand went to his neck, “I keep underestimating you.”
Devin snorted at him, “To be fair, I didn’t know I had that in me.” Her eyes slid over to the other feline, “Are you okay?”
“I am. I’m-. I’m sorry.” He slouched. “I froze.” His elders each patted a shoulder.
“No one is hurt. That’s what’s important.” Devin rolled her arm, “Well, I guess I hurt my shoulder with that stunt.”
Rowan slid in with a pointer finger lifted, “But that’ll heal up in a snap with or without a little magic.”
Avery seemed surprised they weren’t upset with him, but soon brightened, “Thanks, guys.”
A roar shook them to the core.
“Devin! Watch out!” Avery crashed into her and sent them both scraping through the dirt. Her face went blank at the sight of a spike of earth jutting out where she had been standing moments ago. Landing had knocked the wind from her, but not enough to jar her senses from what was happening.
Rowan was rushing past them and another ear-splitting roar was cut short. His own skewer of rock pierced through the dire boar’s skull. She must have only briefly knocked it unconscious. This time it was dead. No question.
The siblings recollected themselves from the ground, “Thanks, Avery. That was-.”
“Almost really bad!” Rowan exclaimed the rest of the thought for her. “But hey, you didn’t freeze that time.”
Her brother blinked, “Oh. Y-yeah! I guess I didn’t.” His tail swished at the realization. Too bad she had to be nearlymaimed for him to act.
“Everyone is still okay, right?” Their cousin was placing a hand to his constructs to correct the landscape with the release of one spell at a time. Dissipating spells with semi-permanence like his earth walls meant some of the energy channeled into them could be reclaimed. Of course, one could never get back more than half no matter how fresh the spell.
“Right!” They chimed, still dusting off.
Rowan gazed at their kill with a smug smirk once he was done with clean up, “Gee, I can’t wait to pig out.” The mage snickered to himself and they sighed. Devin and Avery strolled over, still a little frazzled.
The three stared for a good minute. This boar was massive.
“Um,” the youngest broke the silence first, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of this until just now, but how exactly are we supposed to transport this thing… anywhere?”
“Uh?” Their cousin put hands to his hips, “Huh. That. That is a problem.” Then a set of digits took up his chin. His head tipped one way then the other. Avery scratched at his ear again.
Before she knew it, both sets of eyes were on her. Devin flinched, “What?” Did they really think? She wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or pissed. “You’re kidding, right? I guess I appreciate your faith in me, but there’s no fucking way I can carry that thing by myself!”
“No one said by yourself, and it was a mere passing curiosity!” Rowan returned to the matter at hand, “We’ll start parting it out and go from there. One, no one will want the whole thing completely intact. Two, we’ll be using ice magic to drain the blood out of it which will help with weight. Three, thinking about it is legitimately making me hungry so I want to start in on our take. Don’t worry though, I won’t hog it all.” His elbow jabbed her ribs. Devin slapped her hand to the center of her face.
x x x
It was a late morning. Avery glanced between the two guiding him forward on either side, “Is it okay for us to be walking in here? Isn’t this someone’s house?”
Their cousin chuckled, “It’s perfectly fine. I made a deal with the owner.”
“A deal? Why-?” They were in the door now. A spread fit for a low-ranking noble graced the table inside. Devin took a deep breath.
Her and Rowan bellowed, “Happy fifteenth birthday!” The teen’s jaw dropped. They delightedly jostled the boy between them. A woman was in here as well, presumably the homeowner, who wished him a timid happy birthday.
The mage went on to explain, “I asked around who was the best cook in town and everyone said,” he gestured to the young woman, “Amy!”
She blushed, “Nice to meet you both.”
Avery cracked his own smile as they came in to sit, “So you weren’t hanging around to try to sleep with her?” Amy turned a deeper shade of red.
“What?” The young man scowled, “No! Of course that’s not the reason. It’s not a good idea to sleep around too much, you know?” He lifted his mitts and wiggled his fingers, “Much safer to stick to hand stuff.” Devin impulsively smacked the back of his head. “Ow.”
“We don’t need to hear that!” she chided him like a child.
His arm raised as a shield, “That is critical information to know as an adult!” Rowan looked to the other adult in the room, “Right, Amy!?”
“Pl-please don’t talk to me anymore. I will get my husband if I have to.”
His response was to stagger as if he’d been struck again.
Her brother laughed and tookthe first huge bite of the evening. Then he mumbled through it, “So, you guys know my birthday was yesterday, right?”