The sounds of the entire Nexus coming alive for the morning broke out around Will, who opened his eyes and stared up at his blank ceiling. Truthfully, he’d been awake for the past hour or so, following a fresh attempt from Noratuk to attack him while he slept. He was proud of how he’d been able to block that hit completely, for the first time since the training had begun. He did feel sorry for the sleep he could have gotten if it hadn’t been for the interruption, though.
Someone hammered on his closed door. “Get a move on, Will! We’re going into town!”
“What?” he blurted out, jumping off his bed and onto his feet. Of course, there was no reply to his question. Curious, he quickly tugged on a new shirt to cover his chest, then hurried over to the door. He nearly ran into Charlisa as she was passing his room outside. She was wearing her black hair in a simple ponytail today, and she looked nearly as tired as Will felt. After a quick greeting kiss, they made their way to the cafeteria together.
“Is this for training, or just a break from what we’ve been doing the past month?” He asked her. “Did Edward say?”
“Oh right, you wouldn’t know,” she said. As it was Will’s turn to cook breakfast, he made a sharp turn towards the kitchen door, Charlisa at his heels. “Every month, Dad gives us a full day in town.”
“You mean we can’t just go out whenever we want?”
“Well, we can,” she agreed, with a slight nod of the head. “But nobody does. It’s… not in our nature.”
“How do you mean?” Will asked, even as he pulled out a large pan and a whisk. “The first time I met Richard, he was at least two miles away.”
“And if you recall, he was in a bad mood,” Charlisa guessed. When Will nodded with a roll of his eyes, she grinned. “You’ll see today. You’ll be apart from Dad for a bit, and you’ll know what I mean. We can’t stray too far before we start feeling nauseous.”
“Huh.” It was all Will could think to say as he went to the fridge for eggs. Once he’d set the giant box of five dozen eggs on the counter beside a large mixing bowl, he turned to Charlisa. “Do you feel the same effects as everyone else?”
“Because I’m his daughter you mean?”
Will didn’t reply at first, not sure what to say. To give himself time, he opened the box of eggs. In a flurry, he cracked eighteen, breaking each egg with one hand before dumping the yolks into the bowl. It was a skill he’d taught himself after watching several cooking shows, and he always enjoyed showing that particular talent off. He dumped some milk in after the eggs and whisked it all together into a pale yellow liquid, then turned to Charlisa.
“Yes,” he said. “I assumed that you have different… conditions to your power than the rest of us.”
“It’s not a matter of obedience,” She laughed. “It’s just hardwired into us.”
“Will frowned thoughtfully. “And nobody has thought to investigate it?”
Charlisa merely shook her head as he carried the bowl of mixed eggs over to the stove, watching him as he mixed in some salt and pepper, then dumped it all into the pan. The mixture sizzled as he slowly rotated the pan, his face lined with a thoughtful frown. Maybe it was some kind of pack tactic, he thought. Animals in the wild stuck together for protection, didn’t they? A pack of wolves stuck to their alpha, not only to fight for him but to protect him, did they not?
He left the eggs to cook and returned to the fridge, pulling out a package of ground beef. With the usual appetite of the Nexus in mind, he split the package open completely, unloading all ten pounds of red meat onto the counter with a dull thump. After pounding it into a more manageable shape and size, he began scattering seasonings over it, folding the meat until he was satisfied. Charlisa made a face of distaste at the lump of pink meat as he brought it over to the stoves.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be much tastier when I’m done,” he said with a quiet laugh. “I keep forgetting you don’t like the way food looks before you cook it.”
She gave a shrug. “I’m just not that fond of meat. I like it when you make it, but looking at it now, it’s gross.”
Will smirked at that. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard someone say that about his cooking. He’d once convinced a vegan to try the caribou burger he’d made, and he’d had something to brag about for weeks. He grabbed chunks of the raw meat and dropped them into a pan with his hands, turning just in time to give the eggs a quick stir. They were getting chunky, which was a good sign, he thought. All that was left was the salsa. He pulled several peppers and tomatoes from the fridge’s vegetable drawer and selected his favorite knife. He’d carried his own knives with him when he’d left home, and the other Nexians knew by now not to touch them.
Charlisa watched in fascination as he chopped the tomatoes into small cubes with a few quick movements, then gave the peppers the same efficient treatment. “You’re so fast. I could never match you.”
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“It’s just practice,” he muttered, his usual reply when he was too focused to answer someone. “You could pick it up if you put in the time.”
A small ding alerted him to the fact that the tortillas were finished in the microwave. As he passed the stove again on his way to get them, he dumped the cooked meat into the egg mixture, which had just finished, and poured a healthy amount of cheese over both. By the time he’d set the large tortillas out on the counter, the cheese had melted, and he started dumping portions onto plates and rolling them up tight. Charlisa snagged one without a word, biting into it and letting out a sigh of satisfaction. Will grinned at her, then piled up all the finished burritos onto one plate.
“Get ‘em while they’re hot,” he said, stepping out of the kitchen holding the platter. The dozen or so Nexians were already waiting and ready, and leaned forward to snatch one as soon as he’d put them down. “I’ll make some more if you want another one.”
There was no comment in reply to this, though a few did offer him a thankful nod. He expected nothing else and returned to the kitchen to make the second batch. It didn’t take him long, and soon he, Charlisa, and James were sitting off to the side, enjoying their simple breakfast. Will had made himself a cup of coffee, which nobody else seemed to like, and was holding his second mug in his hands as Edward and Noratuk entered the dining hall. In reply to Noratuk’s questioning glance, Will gestured the two to the leftover food. They each gave him a quiet word of thanks and snagged one of the still warm burritos.
“We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” Edward told the room, speaking around a full mouth. “Don’t be late, or you’ll be walking to town.”
There was a quiet round of laughter at this, and a few of the others got up to prepare. The rest, however, sat around talking amongst themselves. Edward came to sit at Will’s table, smiling faintly at his daughter. Noratuk sat beside him. “Good morning dear. James, Will.”
They returned the greeting, then Will leaned forward. “Charlisa just told me about what happens if we get too far away from you. What causes that?”
He phrased it like he was asking Edward directly, but he looked at Noratuk. She rolled her eyes. “It’s part of the Nexus bond. If you’re not next to your Alpha to protect him, you don’t feel right.”
Will hummed thoughtfully as they finished their breakfast, sipping idly at his coffee. He’d never been further than half a mile from his Alpha, he thought, so he didn’t know what Charlisa meant by feeling nauseous. Edward had been in attendance for the graduation ceremony, so even that one non-Nexus event didn’t count. He hope it wasn’t too debilitating a sickness, because he already knew how he’d spend his day. He wanted to visit his father and make sure he was doing alright, and maybe, if he had time, visit his old friend Ben.
“Do we have to wear our furs today?” Will asked. He’d already noticed that a few Nexians were returning, wearing theirs. He caught Edward nodding in confirmation, and offered a noncommittal, “I see.”
“It’s traditional,” Edward explained. “You have to be easily identified when you leave the hill. It wouldn’t do for you to be mistaken for a normal person when you leave.”
“What difference does it make, though?” Will asked. “No disrespect meant, of course.”
“This will be your first outing,” Noratuk said. She sounded uncharacteristically patient. “You don’t know the danger of being on your own without your furs.”
“How so?”
“You know that quite a lot of people don’t like the Nexuses, right?”
Will nodded, and she continued. “Well, there are quite a few people who would take the chance to kill us while we’re away from the hill. It’s illegal, of course, and we are allowed to defend ourselves, with lethal force even.”
“So,” he began, but she cut him off with one hand.
“Stop interrupting me,” she said shortly, shaking her head. “If you’re wearing your furs, you’re immediately recognizable as one of us. That way, when you get attacked, you can order police to help you.”
“We can order the police?” Will asked, his eyes wide. He’d never known that the Fire Nexus had such authority. “That doesn’t seem right, somehow.”
“Only when it comes to your safety,” Charlisa said. “If you’re under attack, they have to help you.”
“But more importantly,” Noratuk said, raising her voice slightly to be heard over the talking group. “There’s a certain respect towards the Nexus as well. Other people will get out of your way, or else they’ll help you find something.”
“Oh,” Will said, finally understanding. “I guess that makes sense.”
Edward regarded him coolly. “We’re quite experienced at this, you know.”
“That’s true,” Will agreed with a laugh. He drained the last of his coffee and got up from the table. “Well, I’ll go change then. See you guys at the bus.”
Charlisa gave him a small wave as he left, and when he glanced back at her, he saw that she was talking quietly with her father. She seemed to sense him looking, and smiled widely. He returned the smile, then returned to his room. This would be only the second time that he’d worn his furs after getting them, he realized. Sure, the tunic and breeches were comfortable, but the black furs were heavy on his shoulder. And, he thought morosely, the day was likely to be a warm one.
As he reached the outdoor meeting point, he saw that he was quite right. Even this early, he could already feel the sun beaming down on him as he exited the dorms and made his way to the bus. Charlisa and James were standing side-by-side as he reached them, Charlisa looking stunning as always in her furs. She smiled up at him and lightly bumped into him with her arm. He smiled nervously back at her, adjusting the heavy half-cape on his back. James grinned widely.
“Man, you look uncomfortable,” he said. He almost managed to hide his enjoyment of Will’s discomfort. Almost.
“Yeah, well you’re probably used to this,” Will said sourly. “The closest I’ve ever gotten was wearing robes.”
James shrugged. “I was born in Bethel, but I didn’t wear fur unless it was really cold. Still, you get used to it after a while.”
“And the feeling like I don’t belong?” Will asked, knowing the answer. “When do I get used to that?”