Chapter 48: Crimes
Sahari politely declined another offer to have a cup poured for her, as well as the few offers to join others in their beds for the moon. She answered the odd question regarding her Grand Hunter from those who were curious, though most were more worried about the ironwood weapons they had on their persons. It seemed that the smooth curves and sharp edges being mixed with their uniform surface drew the attention of the crafters, while the implications of them having ranged weaponry at all was of more concern to the hunters. Their armour garnered a fair amount of its own attention, but some polite requests for others to save such queries for another time had gotten her point across.
Mi’low was busying herself with Huntress Serba, the two discussing the possibility of trade between the two packs. Sahari had tried to follow along, but she had grown weary and disinterested in the subtleties of the conversations around her.
She looked to the table where she had left Joseph and Tel to their own devices, the two standing and walking away towards a nearby outhouse. She was going to accompany them, if only so as to escape the banal words of curiosity and probing for the developments of her pack, when another Head requested her attention to clarify about the nature of their offerings.
Yet another deflection was provided to the fact that her Grand Hunter was the one who created all their technological oddities, and as such, was the foremost authority of such. No, she did not know the specifics. No, she was on duty and would not like to join them for the moon. Yes, he is an alien. Yes, he is open to bedding Lilhuns. No, he is not interesting in bedding random Lilhuns. Yes, she was sure.
She walked away when they implied he may be but a beast, lest her patience wear thin.
Joseph’s mood upon entering the settlement was of a cool determination, mixed with some pensive excitement when dealing with Tel. The female had been getting more and more attached to the male as their time together grew, going so far as to openly continue contact between them during their short escort to the village, though if either was aware of the looks it garnered, they didn’t show it.
It was possible that Joseph didn’t even notice he was doing it, merely seeking the touch of someone close while he was missing his mate, but something told her that there was more going on in the recesses of his mind.
Sahari herself was curious about the direction and nature of their relationship beyond the physical interest of the two. The bond carried too many conflicting emotions for her to be able to guess where exactly it would end up. Joy, guilt, hesitation, impatience, and many more that seemed to make little sense to her. The irritation and trepidation when a male’s gaze wandered the cook was swiftly squashed with compunction as Joseph noticed how it was effecting him.
The ex-Grand Huntress rounded the corner, seeking out her pack for company that did not grate, when she noticed the lead hunter making his advances on Tel across the way. The cook denied at first, a disinterested dismissal of the idea was given, yet the male did not cease his insistence. He initiated contact, resting a paw upon her form for the brief instant he could before Tel directly removed it. He became more aggressive, insisting upon it as recompense for assaulting him earlier in the sun.
Sahari was about to step in before Tel killed him when her claws extended painfully, her vision narrowed, and her heart threatened to explode in her chest as it drowned her system in adrenaline. She didn’t need to wonder what had happened.
Joseph had noticed.
She didn’t have time to even so much as step forward before the Human charged the male into the wall and, in one swift movement, dug a loaded crossbow into the throat while yelling a promised threat.
Just as sudden as its onset, the rage tempered to a manageable level, enough so that she could resist the urge to draw her own weapon and join in the display. Joseph quickly took the male to his knees and whispered into his ear, the bolt threatening to draw blood before being fired from the pressure applied to the male’s temple. He kicked off the chest of the male as he grabbed Tel’s paw and stormed off, his blood-lust ebbing with the distance.
Sahari looked around as her senses became less diluted. Surprise was the prominent response, understanding followed shortly after. They had held a silent curiosity as to why the Human was chosen as a Grand Hunter when he was but a mere craftsman in their eyes, but it made sense to them now. He forged his weapons, donned armour of his own design, and bore a rage to bring them to bear against any whom trespassed against him. He was far from the most physically imposing, but he was no mere weak being.
Sahari was swiftly inundated with questions and speculations by those who grew even more curious about the weapon on her back, a flood of curiosity that was difficult to politely decline, and thus, had taken quite a while to dismiss.
Once everyone had received their non-answers, partly owing to Sahari’s lack of understanding of the weapon besides how to use it, she was left alone again, far more exhausted than she would have expected from such a simple task as talking.
She looked around to find her pack, seeing Mi’low in the process of successfully finding a bed to warm, the actress being escorted away by a Head of the settlement while her guard seemed content to have a few drinks with some of the servants. Joseph and Tel were nowhere to be seen, but it wasn’t very difficult to guess where they had gone. Seeing that everyone else was either in the process of retiring for the moon or trying to, she decided that it was probably time for her to join her Grand Hunter in escaping what noise was left.
Giving her thanks for the feast and entertainment, she left the centre before she could be bothered further, double checking that her gear was where it was supposed to be.
The building they were given to spend the moon was rather large for the size of their group, designed for many times their own number, and as such, was rather easy to spot despite the path there being somewhat difficult to navigate at portions. It was a nice accommodation, though she missed what Joseph had prepared for them back at their den.
Was it just because the design of everything felt somehow lesser than their own? Or was it this lingering feeling of something missing?
Her mind drew back to the conversation she had with the Human. Had she considered loving another?
Sahari shook her head, there was nothing to consider. She was but a tool to be guided by her Grand Hunter for the prosperity of the pack. She had been blessed enough to regain a bond, it would be too much to think about such things.
Yet her paws continued to feel for the fur of another, a soft gold came to mind. A comforting warmth within her arms that sought her from a deeply seated affection. A fearful female that knew of her in facets that many others would never see and would still follow her words with faith. Perhaps...
“It isn’t going to go up in flames if you stare at it, as interesting as that would be.”
Sahari glanced up to see Tel leaning out of a window, herself having arrived and been lost in thought before entering. The cook held a cup of the alcohol and was drinking it rather liberally.
“I would not see our place of rest turn to ash if i could help it, Tel.”
The female leaned forward, resting her chest on the bottom of the window frame. Her drink was unceremoniously poured down her gullet. “I would have thought differently with the intensity of your gaze. Have the celebrations completed?”
Sahari entered the building, casually taking a seat at the large table. Tel remained behind her, looking out the window for nothing in particular. “It seems they have just begun for our High Huntress, but yes.”
Tel scoffed. “It doesn’t surprise me.”
A familiar sensation poured through her, her stomach warming slightly. She took a few hesitant sniffs of the air, only to have it intensify. “I take it you have been torturing our Human again.” She breathed in to sigh deeply when another scent made itself known. Sahari’s eyes widened. “You-”
“Shh.” Tel had closed the gap between them in the time it took for her to notice, placing a claw to her lips. Sahari smelled the same scent radiating off the female as well.
She pushed off the silencing appendage. “Does he know?”
Tel turned away, pouring another cup from a small container on the table she likely stole from a servant at some point and taking a deep drink before laying both down. “Need he?”
Sahari stood rapidly, pushing and pinning the female to the wall. Tel simply smiled softly despite the arm across her clavicle. “I would believe he should have a say in it, yes.”
Tel hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t think your thoughts on it matter.”
“He must know.” She released Tel from the wall and turned to storm away, being stopped when Tel forcefully kicked her knees and pressed on her ankle to immobilize her.
“No, he doesn’t.” The female applied further pressure to ensure she couldn’t get up from her own power. A claw rested against her throat.
“He will find out eventually. If not from how others will treat him, then from how the pack will react.”
Tel giggled. “I will deal with the pack when the moment arrives, but you will not tell him.”
“And why would i not?”
She pulled Sahari’s chin upwards, coldly glaring down into her eyes. “You owe me.”
Sahari snarled. “I owe you nothing.”
“I thought showing you which pirate group doomed your mate and even giving you directions to their base would be sufficient.” Tel spoke as if she was merely discussing the weather, her expression bored yet intense as she leaned in to whisper. “As i said, Sahari. You owe me. He hears nothing of this until it is time.”
Sahari stared in shock at the female, her eyes searching for a hint of a lie. Finding none, she scowled and averted her gaze in shame of her predicament. “I pray that you know what you’re doing.”
Tel released her, casually filling her cup again as the ex-Grand Huntress got to her feet. “I do.”
Sahari stared for a long moment. “What are you hiding? Who is Trill? What are they to you?”
Tel’s tail twitched, she downed her drink in one go and walked towards a room. “Get some rest. We have a long sun ahead of us.” She disappeared behind the pelt in the doorway, glimpses of discarded clothing and an increase in the scent proving the room to be where their Grand Hunter was resting.
Sahari watched the doorway as the pelt swayed to its resting position, silently cursing herself for her own petty honour.
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The sun was bright, the air was tepid yet brisk, and he had a headache. Yep. Hangover.
Not the worst he had ever had, though. Based on how sore and stiff he was, he’d say he would have expected to have drank enough to get pretty loose but still far from overdoing anything. Some water and a painkiller would solve most of the issues. Time would ease the rest.
He tried to roll off his side when he noticed the warmth of someone in his arms. A soft smile broached his face as he realized how normal it had become for this to happen. Even more so that not knowing who they were was just as expected nowadays. He didn’t want to aggravate his headache by opening his eyes, the light was in his face as far as he could tell, so he did the only other thing he knew to do to find out who was there. He played with their fur.
Short, springy, and somewhat coarse. Ah.
The memories of last night filtered through him as he awoke slowly, swiftly followed by the slight thankfulness that he was able to pull the plug before he had gone too far. A part of him was disappointed, but he didn’t listen to that part. That part makes bad decisions. Such as holding a loaded crossbow to the temple of someone who didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer when simply absconding with Tel would have sufficed.
Drunk decisions versus sober.
The warmth in his arms stirred, Tel wiggling her hips into him as her tail wrapped around his waist. He drew a deep breath and tried to ignore where exactly everything was aligned. He tapped her stomach to disturb her. “I need to pee.”
She giggled, repeating the motions that were giving him issues. “I’d say you need something else.”
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He didn’t relent. “Let me up.”
She pouted vocally, lifting herself so that he could retrieve his limbs. He rolled to his back, working his way into sitting after a moment of regret. With slowly opened eyes, he scanned the room.
Sahari wasn’t in the pile, so he figured she had awoken a while ago. There was pieces of his armour and his shirt scattered around the room, but a quick double checking of his pants confirmed that he had indeed denied the advances.
A feeling of guilt overcame him as he got to his feet and dressed. He somewhat stumbled out of the building and made his way to the outhouses as he replayed the events of last night.
Tel getting not-so-subtly hit on, him losing his shit as the booze did its work on him, him running of with her, then she...
God, he hated how little he resisted.
He rolled his shoulders as he took care of business, feeling the stiffness in one that didn’t match what he should be feeling. He inspected the offending shoulder, noticing several punctures that had since scabbed over. Right, bite. Not the first person he had been with who used their teeth, though they usually don’t break the skin so effortlessly. At least the cuts were clean. Things aren’t pretty when human teeth start doing this kind of thing.
He stepped back into the sunlight, squinting as people were going about their day around the settlement. He thought for a moment, wondering why he didn’t feel anxious about being alone when his ‘guards’ insisted he always be with someone.
“I believe you are experiences the ‘hangover’ you mentioned?” Sahari called from behind him, causing him to jump slightly.
He gathered his wits as he tried to calm his heart. “Jesus, Sahari. Warn me or something.” He took a deep breath. “Yes, I’m a little hungover. Nothing awful though. Some water would be nice.”
Sahari handed him her water-skin, him accepting and taking a few mouthfuls before returning it with a nod of thanks. “They are preparing to leave soon.”
They started back to the building. “How soon is ‘soon’?”
She thought for a moment. “About an hour, if i were to estimate.”
He nodded, stretching out his back as they walked. The passive activity around them seeming somewhat calming despite the fact they he didn’t recognize any of the people. “Enough time to drag Tel out of bed and get something quick to eat.”
He pushed aside the pelt acting as the door for the building, Sahari entering behind him. “About last moon...” She was cut off from her statement by a new presence in the dining room.
Tel wandered into the main area, her gear all equipped during their short absence. Joseph turned his eyes away as the fresh memories surfaced. “I’ll need to apologize for causing a scene, huh.”
The grey-furred female pulled a chair across from him as he sat down and dug out some jerky from his bag, the cook resting an elbow to prop her head up. “Actually, i wouldn’t be surprised if he was executed rather than you needing to apologize for anything.”
Joseph dropped the bundle that held his prize, blinking rapidly before his face distorted into a frown. “What?”
“He was told by his Paw to avoid an incident. I would think that inciting your ire would count.” She replied flatly, completely disinterested in the morbid outcome.
“I mean, yeah that whole... thing wasn’t exactly great, but i don’t think he should be killed for it.”
Sahari sat next to him, though she was staring at Tel a bit more than he would have expected given the topic. “As we have stated before; It would be inadvisable to encourage war between the packs. Were word of transgression against a Grand Hunter come about from a High Hunter, or worse, a Head of a High Hunter, then they may be released from the protection of their own Grand Hunter and left to fend for themselves. Assuming they are not stripped of their rights and taken as a whole in servitude.”
“So it’s better for them to just kill off the issue as an apology.” Tel concluded for her, dragging the bundle of jerky across the table and popping a piece in her mouth. “It looks better that way.”
Joseph leaned back in his chair while he waited for the Lilhuns to finish taking their portion of meat. “Fantastic.”
Sahari offered him a gentle paw on his shoulder, the fresh wounds stinging under the pressure. “It is also possible they may wish to request your input on the punishment, assuming they acknowledge it openly.”
He rubbed his eyes in mild frustration. “I think being reminded what ‘no’ means was enough.”
A knocking at the doorway drew the groups attention, the servant from the night before exchanged a few lines with his pack until she bowed and returned to whatever she was doing before.
“They are leaving in a moment and have come to inform us.” Sahari summarized for him. He pushed off the table to get to his feet, throwing his bag over his shoulder as he checked that he had everything.
“Then i guess we get going. Any idea how long we’ll be on the road?”
“We should arrive before the moon.”
He nodded, waiting for the others to finish their checks before moving out of the building.
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“That should be fine.” Pan responded to the query from the doorway as Violet was practising on a tablet. The Paw braced the leather for stitching while she spoke.
“Joe said it’s about ten hours out, right?” Harrow continued, watching the Atmo scribble away.
Pan thought for a moment. “That is assuming you take frequent breaks, though if you are to bring back anything as large as i suspect, it may take longer. Whom will you be taking?”
“I wanted to take Jax and Nalah, since they’re the strongest here, but i wouldn’t want to leave you by yourself.”
She chuckled softly as she fed through the thread. “You need not worry for myself. We will be fine for a sun.”
“Well,” Harrow leaned against the doorway and rested a fist to her lips as she thought. “We would need Mama to help us make a wagon that we could pull through the forest. I don’t think Jax would be wanted to lug an entire engine over his back.”
Pan set aside the piece she was working on, thankful for the distraction from her thoughts. “Then we should request it so that you have what you need.” She got up from her seat and inspected the writing that Violet was trying to emulate, the Lilhun alphabet was sloppily scratched into the surface of a sheet of ironwood, though quite a bit of it was nearly legible. She gave Violet a kiss on her head before letting her know they would be back shortly.
“She should be out back with Atrox, i think.” Harrow pushed herself off the door with her shoulder, falling in behind Pan as the two exited through the facilities wing door to the garden.
Sure enough, Atrox and Mama were in the process of blackening some bone plates and a moss-wolf skull, as well as some interestingly shaped Ironwood, though Pan couldn’t understand why they would be doing such. A few attempts at asking had resulted in an answer that vaguely translated to ‘it is for beauty’. She would have been more disconcerted by the whole thing, but Mama seemed rather excited to work on the project and had become quite taken by the artist, so she decided to let sleeping beasts lie.
“Mama!” Harrow waved a paw widely over her head to get the attention of the Atmo, the latter offering some clicks of apologies to her company before walking to meet the two half way. “We need a wagon big enough to bring an engine from the shuttle.”
Mama raised a joint to her mandibles and tilted her head. A visual indication that she was missing something and required clarification.
“The pod.” Pan supplied, knowing Joseph called it that. It cleared up any confusion, Mama nodding while still thinking. She walked a small distance away and carved a line in the ground in the shape of a box.
“I think a little bit bigger, if it would be possible.” Harrow tapped a claw to her chin as she noticed the line was suggested dimensions. “We’d want it wide enough to bring the engine and maybe the recycler as well, assuming we need it.”
Mama adjusted the lines to a wider shape, but kept the same length.
“That should be fine. The blueprints suggest it should be about that big, but that’s assuming the electrolysis system is hard-wired to the hydrogen burner and not merely connected via tubing.”
Pan flicked an ear. “I didn’t know you knew so much about engines.”
Harrow waved a paw while pacing the lines. “They had me learn a bit of everything until they got annoyed with me taking everything apart. Got stuck doing logistics then. I could probably rebuild one of our frigate boosters if i had enough time.”
She chuckled into her wrist in mimicry of Mama. “Yes, i suppose that would be difficult to do. I fear that i am but a humble seamstress through and through.”
“Hey,” The orange-furred female pointed a claw with a grin. “That’s important too. Can you imagine how much complaining Joe would do if he had to be naked all the time because his clothes wore out?”
Pan smiled bitterly as she was reminded why she had been skipping rest to bury herself in work. Harrow’s expression sunk as she noticed her faux pas.
“I’m sure he’s fine.” She insisted, walking up to place a reassuring paw on Pan’s back. “They should be at their destination soon. Then, it’s straight back here. Maybe they’ll bring back a souvenir?”
The Paw nodded softly, thankful for how helpful Harrow has been for her mental health. Joseph being gone for so long has been numbing her back to how she was before, the missing connection wearing on her psyche. The nightmares where he never returned. Were it not for the technological and speculative conversations that she couldn’t quite follow from the female, she felt she would have long since succumb to the emptiness.
The only saving grace besides that was Violet.
The Atmo had insisted on learning to write their script so that they might communicate more easily. Even going so far as to gesture a request for English script to be provided so that she may write her thoughts to Joseph, though the lack of a native speaker to provide it had proven to be detrimental. Violet had spent quite a bit of time already in front of the documents that Robert had sent and copied much of the contents to the best of her ability, though no one could verify the accuracy of the rearranged words.
It seemed that she missed her adoptive father as much as Pan did.
Her chest warmed as she remembered sending him off with far more confidence than she felt, if only to impart some ease onto his nerves. Sahari would ensure he remain safe, but Tel would hopefully ensure he remains sound, though that was only assuming the female was of the same character as she had assumed of her.
The emotions Joseph felt towards her were a different cut from those he showed Pan, leaning towards a possessive desire that was coloured with affection, rather than a strong love that bore protection. It was a fine line that Tel walked within Joseph’s heart, and one that would prove to be interesting regardless of which side she occupied. If any side was chosen at all.
“He’ll come back with something cool, I’m sure.” Harrow reaffirmed more softly, a claw tracing the choker on her neck.
Pan returned a small smile, happy that someone else was feeling his absence. “We should begin gathering materials for Mama to work with, no?”
That snapped Harrow out of her thoughts. “Yeah, let’s get started!”
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His feet hurt. Not because of the long hours walking again, but because of how much he had to adjust his footing to accommodate the terrain.
Sure, the wagons they were bringing with the group needed something to be somewhat flat, and luckily they had traversed the path enough to have long since figure out a route to use, but it still included many areas of well-hidden roots and ditches he had to climb around and over.
If it wasn’t for Alon being dragged along with shackles and cuffs, he would have claimed to be possibly the most miserable of the group.
The lead hunter, after having Joseph insist that he didn’t need to die for being a prick, was then demoted to the lowest cast and would be brought before the High Hunter for judgment and subdued with the restraints to designate such. It felt a bit off for Joseph, but he supposed it was better than a public beheading. Since they were going to meet up with the guy in charge there anyway, it seemed like a good excuse to bring the guy along. Something that Tel took an unreasonable amount of amusement in.
“What if i poke him with my quills?” She suggested, spinning said quill between her claws in an impressive display of dexterity.
“No. Dude’s already chained up, though that makes me wonder why they had this stuff ready to go.” Joseph responded tiredly. His hangover was mostly gone now that he had time to get some water in him and something light to eat.
“Perhaps we should trade for some?”
He shot her a curious glance. “Why?”
Tel shrugged, leaning towards him to whisper into his ear. “I thought you might enjoy it.”
Several thoughts crossed his mind, each of them banished as suddenly as they arrived. “Anyway,” He deflected the conversation as quickly as he could as he turned to Sahari. “How much longer do you think?”
The black-furred Lilhun repeated the question to one of the trade group, receiving an answer that seemed to be somewhat unexpected. “We are almost there.”
He perked up at the news. “That’s good. I want to go home already.”
“We still have a long way back.” Tel pointed out with her paws resting behind her head, mildly disinterested since her flirting had been disarmed.
“Don’t remind me.”
“Not looking forward to spending so many moons with us?” She grinned.
“God, what have i done to deserve these women?” He looked to the sky for an answer, only to be nudged by Sahari as Mi’low spoke to him.
“She is informing you to act your station while we are there.” Sahari translated.
He raised a brow. “Like, act like i own the place?”
Mi’low flicked an ear and stared at him in disappointment. “You are to act like a Grand Hunter.”
“What do i act like now?” An annoyance slipped into his voice.
“Like a servant.” Was the flat response, though Sahari seemed irritated that she was expected to pass along the insult.
He stepped over a small gap that threatened to twist his ankle, ignoring the chuckling from Tel. “I’ll be myself. Plain and simple.”
Mi’low made another comment, but the lack of translation and sharp glare from Sahari probably meant it wasn’t something he wanted to hear anyway. The actress had a standard for certain things that he really didn’t care about. He would tell people what needed to be done, sure, but he wasn’t about to go around acting like the grand poo-bah just because of it.
They crossed a small river, the wagons just barely high enough to avoid being submerged as the rest of them hopped across a few rocks to remain dry. A large settlement came into view, almost twice the size of the one they had left earlier in the day.
He took a deep breath and prepared himself for whatever the hell was about to happen, though he was sure it wouldn’t be as simple as a signature and a boring office.
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There were many Lilhuns going about their tasks, some of which were in charge of accepting the tithes and handling their prisoner. Tel would have preferred the male rendered lesser, but her Human had insisted him whole so as to receive a more ‘fitting’ punishment, such as labour.
That was fine. Her Sheath drew his Blade, nothing else would.
After having the wagons brought into the settlement proper, several servants were delegated to escorting the pack around while they awaited the local Grand Hunter to finish with his business. They were shown around the more publicly accessible areas, such as the small market they had since arranged due to the population being almost three times the size of the previous settlement. Some hunters were offering their meat for processed pelts, tools, or assistance with cleaning the animals they had brought back.
Tel’s tail twitched as she maintained a placid facade. They were being watched.
Joseph scratched at his neck, his slightly concerned expression conveying that he had noticed it before even she, and Sahari had also shifted to a more alert state, her paw absently prepared to bear her weapon should it be required. Tel slipped loose the ratchet that kept her lines taut so as to deploy her daggers quickly.
“Anyone else smelling something familiar?” The Human commented, as if he didn’t expect an answer.
Sahari answered anyway. “To which are you referring?”
“It smells like Tel.” The reply came absently before he realized what he said, drawing his lips thin as if it was something he wasn’t supposed to say. Tel’s ear flicked in curiosity, though she maintained her controlled exterior.
“And how do i smell?” She cursed the timing of the easily abused comment.
The male rubbed his neck with his paw. “You smell like peppermint.”
She raised a brow, unfamiliar with the word nor the scent it implied. “Which is?”
He raised a finger before aborting the action. “Remember when we were hunted by those badger things? That blue plant you used to mask our scents?”
She nodded, not sure where he was going with this.
“That smells like peppermint. I figured you use it a lot, so you smell like it. It’s nice.” He finished somewhat sheepishly, looking towards the ground.
She blinked. That plant covered scents, sure, but it didn’t have a scent of its own. “That is a scentless plant.”
He shot her a confused expression until his face lit up in understanding, though it maintained a bit of the former. “Oh! Can you guys not smell mint?”
Tel narrowed her eyes. “You mean to tell me you can smell something from that?”
Joseph opened his mouth to respond before shutting it in resignation, nodding softly. “Yeah, it’s part of the reason i know you’re around half the time.”
She huffed. “I suppose i should find something to replace it with.”
“Aw, come on!” The male pleaded. “It smells nice. I got used to it. If you started smelling like something else by now I’d miss it.” He wore a displeased expression as he complained, drawing a short giggle from her as she broke character to cup his chin with her paw.
“For you, my Human, i suppose i could ignore what you have told me.”
She enjoyed the heat behind his eyes and the lingering gaze that shifted to her lips, herself fighting the urge to drag him into one of the buildings to have her way with him. Her eyelids lowered as she pulled him in, him not resisting though the slight touch. She knew her regard was one of desire, as was her right.
“Well if it isn’t the illustrious Phantom!” A male voice cracked her mood like a lightning bolt as Joseph used the timing of the address to abashedly separate.
“A friend of yours, Tel?” Sahari questioned as a male Lilhun and four others broke through the crowd to approach them. The black-furred female held a firm paw to her weapon now, knowing that only those who knew of her work would call her as such.
“And may i have the honour of knowing who greets me?” Tel hastily adopted her placid persona, taking a protective step between Joseph and the unknown male.
The newcomer smiled brightly, malice tinting the hint of teeth behind his predatory grin. “I am High Hunter Kahn. I have been chosen as your mate by Grand Hunter Trill.” He bowed deeply without an ounce of actual respect, his eyes shooting daggers at her Human. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, my Blade. Though i question why that thing bears your mark.”
His entourage all bore their weapons at the signal, flanking them in a loose semi-circle as the deep red-furred male stood to his full height, the figure matching Jax’s.
Kahn laughed, confidence in spades as he approached with two short swords drawn. “I suppose we best reconcile this mistake, no? Verse one and all that.”
Tel unsheathed her daggers.