Chapter Text
Amethyst eyes locked on emerald.
Only the sound of the main menu on the tv screen broke the silence. Her tail curled around thigh as she was first to break our staring contest.
“Well…I guess.” Her clawed fingers fall to the hem of her hoodie as she grabs fistfuls of fabric for dear life. “I can’t hide it anymore.”
Thoughts of this situation never even crossed my mind because I was so sure I’d never have a girlfriend to worry about it! Awkward silence makes her growl in frustration, glare narrowing.
“Anon, do I have to ask?” she presses, the anxiousness starting to melt into clear aggravation.
“I…”
…
Jan. 6th 201M2020
Trish
“YO TRISH! STOP HOGGIN’ THE SHITTER”
“RILEY, I SWEAR TO GOD, CRAM IT!”
If I had to count the times I had thought of fratricide because of the little shit I call my brother, I’dve lost count by now. Small cloth in hand, I put the finishing touches on my nose horn, letting the polish make my prominent centerpiece shine in the low light of the cramped bathroom. Placing the cloth into the drawer under the sink, I take a look at the dirty mirror I’ll have to wipe down when I get back from school.
Purple diamonds blink back at me, just above the smirk I gave myself as I marvel at how good I look. Sure I’m short, but everything else is just perfect, from my toned legs to the wonderful gift my mother gave me that was covered by my yellow hoodie. Heh, at least something is big on me~
“TRIGGA, I’LL POP YOU!”
I let out a loud groan, adjusting said hoodie, and stalked over to the door. I wrenched it open and shot a glare at my shorter abomination of a brother. A pursed lipped scowl and raised eyebrow greet me as this nuisance to my morning routine regards me with abject annoyance. His lanky arms were crossed over his usual white tank top that fell over his dirty jeans that were very much not around his waist.
Feh, feeling’s mutual you little gangbanger. Letting my lips curl into a syrupy sweet smile that would put a peach pain to shame, I speak through gritted teeth.
“All yours, you little shit.”
Without waiting for a response, I pushed past him and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen. The hallway gives way to an open planned but slightly cramped living room. The stained carpet is covered mostly by our large red couch facing the far wall where our larger tv is hung. The tinny laughter can be clearly heard coming from my youngest siblings, Talea and Trevor, who are busily bouncing on the cushions, watching the funny blue and orange dog sisters on the tv screen acting like little grannies. A small bit inside me can’t help but chuckle at the cartoon. The feeling faded as I rounded to the kitchen table where Chondra was busily typing on her phone, the perpetually neutral face of my oldest little sister. Curly hair covers half of her face, visible eye remains glued to the small screen. She sat on the longer side of the table closest to the kitchen, two chairs to her left. Three matching chairs mirrored on the other side, while two chairs stood at either end of the worn, lacquered wooden surface.
“Morning.” I say in a murmured tone. All I got was a grunt as she replied. I walked past into the kitchen proper. While not a big space, the appliances we have are at least serviceable and ordered on the long counter that runs the right side of the hallway-like room, to the left that faces the table sat a bar counter that had bar chairs that were stacked with clothes waiting to be folded and some odd toys and ends, essentially a communal dropping zone for everyone’s crap.
Reaching into a cabinet next to the stove, I pulled out the big warped wok from underneath smaller pans and place it on a cold burner. Humming a few bars of ‘Carfenated Ooze Choked my Dog to Death’, I open the fridge and grab the carton of Easy Eggs and butter, placing them next to the stove. Twisting the knob to flick the igniter under the wok, I snatched up the long tipped lighter from the other side of the stove and flick it to life. One puff of flame later and the burner was lit, noticeable as it licked the bottom of the pan with heat.
Sliced bit of stick butter into the pan, and I move back to another cabinet, grabbing the loaf of wheat bread and opening it, withdrawing several slices of the-
“Ugh…” I groan as the teal colored slices of bread let me know we need a whole replacement. Guess toast is out of the question today. Tossing the molded loaf into the trash, I open the fridge again to pull out the veggie bacon and bring it over to the chopping board. Flipping a knife from the magnetic strip on the wall, I dice up the fake meat and dump it into the wok, making the butter sizzle as a ‘meaty’ aroma starts to fill the room.
“OOOOH bacon!” The tiny squeal from the twin tyrants makes me groan as their attention for the cartoon dogs moves to a more interesting thing. Feet clopping against the carpet made their approach apparent as Trevor and Talea poke their heads around the bar counter. I flick an eye towards them, their identical irises twinkling with glee.
“Pfft, you little monsters, go sit back down! I’ll bring ya breakfast when it's done!” I watch as they both shoot me cute little hurumph faces. Trevor dips away, but Talea stands up straight and looks at me with a complicated look. Her fingers grip the front of her red and yellow strapped dress as she rolls on her heels. Rolling my eyes, I give her a smirk and cock my head back, beckoning her.
“You want to help again?” I ask. Talea’s tail starts to wag back and forth like a puppy as she bounds over to my side.
“Thanks Pattycake!”
I flinch slightly at the name, but catch myself before Tals notices. “Okay, I need ya to grab the coffee grounds and set up Mom’s coffee, okay?”
The small tricera nods quickly, scampering past me as I unscrew the top of the liquid egg carton and pour a liberal amount into the wok with the sizzling bacon bits. Plastic spoon in hand, I start to stir the egg mixture, scrambling the contents when the scraping noise of the small step stool that Talea was using to reach the cabinet with the coffee. Small hands grasp the glass container and place it near the coffee maker not too far away.
“Just two scoops, remember?”
“Yup! Got it”
Her grip is a little too loose for my liking, but she does well with the spoon inside the container as she scoops out some of the fragrant brown grounds. Talea uses her free claw to open the top of the machine and.
“Wait!” I warn just before Talea dumps the grounds in. The young girl looks at me with a wounded expression. I just tut as I nod over to the coffee filters next to the maker. Talea’s eyes widen as I just chuckle.
“Goofy goober, where would you be without big sis?” I reach a free hand to ruffle her hair. Talea does her best to dodge me, putting her scoop back into the container as she grabs the filter and places it into the top.
“I ‘membered!” Talea whines, making me chuckle and raise a brow.
“Uh huh, I believe you.” I say in a not so certain tone, making the girl puff out her cheeks.
“Meanie!” She retorts, but then giggles as she returns to work. After a few minutes, the entire area is filled with the tantalizing smell of scrambled eggs and vegan bacon and the warm scent of fresh brewed coffee. To finish off the eggs, I sprinkle a bit of cheddar cheese and mix it in, making the eggs look gooey.
Turning the stove off and moving the pan to a cooler burner, I reach up to another cabinet and pull out the package of paper plates. Fine china we don’t have, but hey, helps cut down on the dirty dishes needed to be cleaned. I turned to Talea, who had been sitting on the stool, watching me cook.
“Wanna help me dish out the grub?” I ask with a smirk. Talea jumps up to her feet and nods so quickly, I was sure her head was going to fall off her neck. My smirk broadens into a full smile as I hand her the plates. She accepts the plates and separates them as I ladle out the scrambled eggs onto each plate. Ruffling a protesting Talea’s hair once again, I turn to look over the counter bar.
“Chondra, get off your phone and help us carry these to the table!”
The teen groans, her head leaning back against the top of her chair. “Triiiiiiish, why I gotta…”
“Not another whine, Cho, on your feet! Or do you want Riley to come help and have him eat yours?” My warning seems to summon my threat, Riley walking down the hallway. Weirdly enough, no guff from him as he just ignores us and sits in his usual spot at the table. Chondra’s visible eye narrows towards her brother, who finally looks back at her with a scowl.
“Tsk.” Chondra rolls her eye, pushing back her chair and sulks into the kitchen. Snatching up a couple plates and bringing them over to the table, she shoves one in front of Riley and sits across from him with no more words.
I can’t help but sigh. They really need to sort out whatever shit they have going on since Riley got into Volcano High. My thoughts are interrupted by Talea tugging at my hoodie.
“Sis, we gonna bring these to the table?” She asks. I gave her a slight nod and grabbed three plates, while Talea grabbed two. Placing one at each chair, I turn to Trevor, who was enamored in the tv again.
“Oi, Trev, move your butt! Where’s Tana?”
The boy scampered over, hopping into the chair next to Riley. “Dunno, I think she’s still getting ready in her room for school!"
Without another word, Talea slides into her chair next to Chondra and starts digging into her food, following suit with the rest of our siblings. Satisfied with everyone tucking in, I go in search of our missing sister. Walking past the shared bedroom of Trevor and Riley, I can hear movement coming from the girl’s room. The door cracked open, I peek into the room to see Tana digging through the chest in front of the bunk-bed against the wall. Getting a better view of the room, I spy Chondra’s twin bed still not made, her lime green sheets and red comforter tossed into a pile on the end of her bed. Sucking air through my teeth, I decide to focus on the 9 year old triplet now spelunking into her toy chest. Leaning against the door frame, I clear my throat.
“Hey Tana, you know what time it is?”
Tana squeaks at my disruption, scrambling around so she can peek over the lip of the container. She looks so much like Talea it’s almost impossible to tell them apart, except for her lack of freckles around her snout.
“Trish! I can’t find Barnaby! I can’t go to school without him!”
I swear, my eyes are going to roll out of my skull before I even set foot out of the house.
“Listen, I’ll help you find him if we have time after breakfast. Come on!” I tap my claw on the door frame, a bit more impatiently than I meant. Tana puffs out her cheeks and scowls.
“No! I need him now!”
Ugh, this is going to take a bit.
“Fine, where did you have him last?”
Tana’s head tilts to the side as she thinks for a second. “Well, Barnaby went to bed with me last night…”
“So did you check your bed?” I ask, nodding to the top bunk. The small girl narrowed her eyes at me and let out an annoyed puff of air.
“Of course I did! You think I’m a dummy!?”
Her indignant whine makes me grit my teeth slightly, but I keep my aggravation in check. “I was just asking, don’t get your horn twisted.”
Walking into the room, I realize the area is covered in coloring pages and crumpled up sheets of construction paper. Tutting slightly, I walk around the mess and grab onto the ladder to climb up to Tana’s bed. Much like Chondra’s bed, the blankets are crumpled together. Heck, the bottom sheet is even popped off one corner of the mattress. My annoyance is building, but I do my best to measure my breathing as I grab at the blanket ball.
“Trish! I told you I checked there!” Tana’s voice comes from below me as I unfurl the blanket, causing a plastic action figure to fall from its comforter prison. Taking a better look, it is indeed Barnaby, Tana’s hand-me-down doll from Riley. It’s dressed up in army fatigues, Barnaby’s old G.I. Dino past a mere memory. Now his plastic clothes have been colored yellow and pink in crayon, his head completely missing. I can’t help but feel a little smug as I brandish Barnaby through one of the rungs of the bunkbed ladder.
“Oh, you looked really hard.”
Another eep from Tana, and I feel the figure wretched from my grip.
“OH THANK YOU TRISH!” she trills as she hugs the doll to her face. My eyes flutter upward, smirk back on my face as I scale back down.
“When you get home from school, you are gonna make your bed and clean up this room. Now scooch to breakfast!”
Tana ends her revelry enough to pout for a second. “Fiiiiiiiiiine.” Compliance given, she starts to walk towards the exit. She halts for a second however, then turns to sprint towards me. I only have a second to raise my arms as she wraps her arms around my waist and squeezes tight.
“Thanks sis~!”
Smirk melting into a soft smile, I give her a hug back. “No problem Tana, now move! The bus will be here soon!”
Giggling a little, Tana lets me go and scampers out of the room, leaving me alone for the first time in a bit. A long sigh escapes me, my feet carrying me back to the hallway. Once out of the room, I turn to look towards the dining room, hearing a heated argument between Riley and Chondra that’s mixed with Tana chattering to Trevor and Talea. I’ll deal with that in a minute, one last person to rouse. I turn the opposite way of the ruckus, walking to the door at the end of the hall. I elect to stop right before it, raising my fist to knock on the wood.
“Hey Mom! Breakfast is ready, coffee too!”
Silence is my answer, then a murmur from behind the door.
“Tr…five more…zzzzzz”
I can feel my heart tug slightly, but I’ve since grown used to this. My teeth chatter slightly in anger, my fist pressing into the door. Then, nothing. My fist falls to my side as I continue to stare at the barrier.
“Fine, make sure you have that coffee before it’s cold.”
Silence.
I turn to walk down the hall towards the rest of the family. I’ve done all I can here.
“I swear to God Riley, leave my friends alone. Be a creep somewhere else!” Chondra seethes as she stabs her fork into her eggs.
Riley leans back in his chair, a smirk on his lips. “You jus jealous your girls find me irresistible." Our sister’s eye flutters upward as she grips her fork tightly.
“Screw you, you little troll!”
“Bring it cyclops!” Riley counters, giving her a single finger salute.
“BAD FINGER RILEY!” Talea squeals, her own anger surprising her older brother.
“Yeah! Mrs. Fang says if you shoot the bird, you’ll kill it!” Trevor squeaks next to him. Riley grumbles, his arms crossed against his chest.
“Whatever, I’m not stopping when the shawties keep comin’ back!”
“ALRIGHT! EVERYONE CHILL THE HELL OUT!”
All movement stops as five pairs of eyes turn to me. I can feel the snarl start to rip from my throat as I rounded on Riley. “If you don’t stop antagonizing Cho, I’m making sure you're grounded from the XRox for at least a week!”
Riley’s eyes widen as his own mouth twists into a grimace. “Heyo! Trish, stop bein’ such a cop!”
I retort with a stink eye, raising my brow.
“Bring it, Low Rider, I know how to shut off the internet and I’m not afraid to use it!”
His teeth gritted, he decides to just shovel food into his maw instead of talking back. His grumbles aren’t hard to hear though.
‘Motha fuckin pig snitch’
“Mm hmm, that’s what I thought.” Turning to Chondra, I see the uncharacteristic smirk on her lips that quickly disappears when she notices my gaze. “And Cho, don’t be so easy to fall for his shit. You know better!”
“I’m sorry what? What did I do?!” Chondra sputtered.
“Just stow it for now! If he keeps bothering your friends.” I turned to look back at Riley, who was side-eying me, “I’ll even make sure to talk to Fang’s brother about not letting you into the track team.”
Now that got his attention. His hostile glare aimed directly at me, but I shut it down with an extended claw, wagging it in the air. Another set of unintelligible grumbles come from him as he finishes his breakfast and launches out of his chair, sweeping past me and towards his room. The telltale slam of the door makes me chuckle as I sit down to eat.
“Don’t you, like, hate that guy's guts?” Chondra asks, finishing off her food as well. I look at her with one eye, and smirk.
“Little shit don’t need to know that.” I snicker, Cho smirking back.
“Bad words Trish!” Trevor pipes in, making me roll my eyes at the 10 year old.
“My bad little man, I’ll put a dollar in the jar.”
With that, we all finish off our food, the younger siblings grabbing their bags and making sure their things are stowed. Almost on cue, a horn honks outside of the apartment door. I clap my hands and look at the triplets. Talea and Tana in matching dresses, and Trevor in his jeans and white t-shirt. Looking good so fa-
“Trevor, you got some ketchup on your shirt!” I run to the kitchen to get some paper towels and wet them under the sink, then squirt a small amount of dish soap on it and rush back to the boy. He fidgets a bit as I grab his shirt up and do my best to wipe off and clean the stain on his front.
“Trish, we gonna be late!” He whines, but I just rub more vigorously into the fabric. Another honk sounds as Trevor gets more fidgety.
“Sit still for one more sec.” I grunt. Another prolonged honk makes me jump, letting Trevor free as he and his sisters run towards the door.
“Careful you three!”
Words fall on deaf ears as the door swings open and my youngest siblings pile out into the small courtyard outside. I run towards the open door to see Tana and Talea giggling like madgirls and Trevor yelling out to wait up. A small yellow bus sits at the curb, the words ‘CALDERA ELEMENTARY’ on the side. The side door revealing the larger stego driver scowling out at the children running towards her vehicle.
“HAVE A GOOD DAY YOU LITTLE MONSTERS!” I strangle out, waving at them frantically. They turn for a second and wave back, their call outs mixing into goodbyes as they pile into the bus. The door slides closed, and it trundles off down the road. Heaving a sigh of relief, I pull my phone out to check the group chat. No messages this morning, but that’s fine, Reed isn’t usually late.
“Yo, Trish! When’s your carfehead boyfriend getting here?”
I can feel my claws digging into the wood of the wall, my head turning to see Riley with his backpack slung on his back, Chondra having her messenger bag on her shoulder as well.
“For the last time, Reed is not my boyfriend. He has a boyfriend.”
Riley just snickers. “Fool I know, just like seeing your face when you prove you got no game!”
As I am about to really consider fratricide, another more raucous honk shakes murder from my mind. I point dangerously at my brother, his smug smile flashing his teeth.
“You keep this shit up, you are walking to school from now on!”
Without another threat, I turn and open the door to see the most beat-up van anyone has ever seen. The large slide door is slightly dented, the decal of our band “VVurm Drama” stands out in deep black font. A blue raptor sticks his head out of the passenger door window, his brown mop of hair shifting slightly as he waves at me.
“Hey Trish!” he yells out as I turn to make sure my siblings are following. Riley was just snickering more, and Chondra again glued to her phone. Shaking my head, I walk out towards the van, giving the raptor a small smirk.
“Hey Al, bumming a ride from Reed today?”
The boy chuckles a bit, leaning back in his seat. “Yeah, I had to take my own car to the shop, so I have to put up with Reed’s unhinged driving.”
A low chuckle from further in the van makes my smile grow a bit more as a salmon colored snout leans over to stop right next to Alvin's. The light purple diamonds of his eyes that are slightly tinged with red on the edges seem to soften as Reed smiles that goofy grin of his.
“Yo T! Glad to see ya. What’s it been, two weeks?” His drawl is smooth, but his mirth isn’t hidden. I roll my eyes, but can’t help but giggle at my friend.
“We just saw each other not even a week ago, New Years. Remember?”
Reed's brows knit as he tried to concentrate on his memory, Alvin just punches his snout and groans.
“Oh yeah. Killer! You and your sibs ready?” he croons. I lean back so he can see my eldest siblings waiting, Riley impatiently tapping his foot and indifference from a screen locked Chondra. Reed nods approvingly.
“Groovy, just careful in the back. The speakers and my kit are back there!”
Right. The concert tonight. Fang has my bass so hopefully they don’t forget it. I texted them last night so I don’t have anything to worry about. We are gonna nail it today, I’m sure of it! Shaking my head slightly, I reach to pull the door lever and pull it back in its track, revealing the surprisingly cramp back of the usually spacious van. Three bucket seats were at least uncovered, while the other three seats were laden with wires and some drum set pieces. I turn and nod for them to climb inside.
“Ugh…it reeks in here.” Riley wrinkles his snout. I can hear Reed chuckle softly, while my own frustration rises.
“Shut it Riley.” Chondra says in a bored tone, making my negative feelings start to ease.
Ahh at least they cancel each other out as I sit closer behind Reed. The door closed and seatbelts clicked, Reed shifted into drive and drove off down the road. I lean up closer to the back of Reed’s seat and can’t contain my glee.
“You ready for after school?”
Reed holds back a laugh, but looks back at me through the rear view mirror.
“You know it T! We are gonna knock their socks off.”
The squeaking from the passenger seat made me look towards Alvin who was sporting a complicated face.
“S’matter Al?” I ask, slightly concerned. The blueberry colored raptor seems to jump in his seat as he looks back at me with one blue eye.
“O-oh. I'm fine! Just got a chill is all.”
His answer makes me narrow my eyes. He does seem to be shivering slightly, but something just didn’t sit right with me.
“You’re coming to the show right?” I ask, eyes narrowing slightly. Alvin looks back at me, giving me a thumbs up.
“Of course Trish, wouldn’t miss it for the world!” His excitement banishes the shaking, his eyes brightening up. Hmm, alright Alvin, you pass this one. I shoot him a smirk as Reed turns onto the main road and merges into traffic.
“Good. We are gonna show them why we rock!” I can’t help but feel giddy about later, my tail thumping slightly on my lap.
“Waste of an afternoon if you ask me.” Riley’s voice hits me like a slap, making me shoot a venomous glare at him.
“You just don’t have any taste.” I seethe out as my brother just rolls his eyes and turns to look out the back door window.
“Easy T, nothing wrong with an opinion” Reed lets out, his lavender iris peeking back through the mirror again. “He’s your brother, they’re supposed to be like that.”
“Tsk” is all I could mutter as I turn so Riley is no longer in my peripheral vision. The rest of the ride I sat in silence as Reed and Alvin jabbered on about the importance of legalizing ‘medicinal’ carfe. Alvin did his best to try and dissuade his boyfriend, but Reed seems stuck on it. I don’t really have much to add, given I’m not really big on the stuff, but it was kinda entertaining trying to pull Fang back into their window after they had a strange trip.
Yeah, gotta make sure they stay away from shit like that.
In almost no time, Reed finally pulls into the parking lot of the large three story building that we call school. Pulling into the spot next to…great, that junker of a car Fang rides in, and Riley jumps from his seat as soon as the wheels stop. With a quick tug, the boy throws open the door and jumps out.
“Smell ya’ll later hoes!”
Gritting my teeth, I watch my pain in the ass run towards the entrance, cackling on his way. I can’t help but mutter as Chondra follows suit, never looking away from her phone.
“Have a good day sis.” She mutters as she also walks off. Sitting back I heave a sigh. Finally alone from my family. I can worry about myself for now, and the biggest concert of my life is coming soon. An unwanted thought comes to mind. Are we actually good enough for this? We haven’t had a good showing since we started…
No! I give my cheeks a few slaps. We are doing something unique. Even if those idiots in school don’t understand. Fang, Reed, and I are going to make it big! Then we'll get signed onto a label and that's when the money will flow.
Maybe we can finally afford to get Chondra that phone she's been asking for. Riley could always use more pants. Fuckit, an actual game console from the current generation. Talea could get that new camera she's shown me in that magazine. Tana a proper doll set. Trevor all the mint chocolate chip ice cream he can eat.
A house that is decent instead of that shithole we live in.
Enough money so Mom could-
“Hey, Trish?”
I look over and see Reed and Alvin looking back at me. It took me a second to realize that my vision was a little blurry. Tears started to roll down my cheeks unbidden.
“Oh.” Is all I could say as I hurry to use my sleeve to wipe my eyes. “ Sorry, just…was thinking about things. No worries.” I gave them as big a smile as I could muster. All they do is look at each other, then back to me.
“You need to talk or something T?” Reed asks, his tone actually serious for once. I answer by getting out of the van.
“Nope! No worries boys, now get this gear inside and we can rock later!” I throw up some rocker horns with my hand and make my way towards the stairs.
As usual, those who get here early tend to wait outside of the steps until the doors open. Several different cliques and groups mill about on and to the side of the long staircase. I spied the detective club nerds Adachi and Yu arguing about the price of cabbages at the local grocer. As I climb the steps, I see Riley hanging with his little crew, a tall blue archaeopteryx and a brown sinosauropteryx. As Riley finishes yapping about something I can’t hear, his friends raise their arms and let out a long whooping sound that just grates on my nerves.
Finally, I look at the top of the stairs and can’t help but smile as I see my best friend leaning against the stone railing of the stairs next to the doors. The pale blue ptero wore a great looking black halter top that fell short of their navel, torn jeans and combat boots that completed the scene person look. They were busily typing on their phone, their mint colored snoot tugged back in a grimace, their orange eyes glaring at the screen. I quicken my pace as I climb the stairs, starting to raise my hand and wave at Fang, my tail swaying back and forth as I walk.
“Yo Fang!”
The ptero looked up, their grimace changing to a soft smirk as I finally got up to their step. I hurriedly pulled out my phone as I flicked it to life. Before they could say anything, I raised it up so they could see my screen.
“Fang! I just found this awesome picture of a velvet worm I’ve been trying to get a hold of! Look at the mucus trail!”
Fang just chuckles as they raise their hands up. “Whoah, Trish, nice to see you too. Gonna talk about your bugs first thing huh?”
I feel like I just got slapped in the face at the abhorrent answer my bestie just uttered. I shake my fist slightly as my cheeks puff out indignantly.
“For your information, it’s not a bug, it’s an onychophora!"
The ptero rolls their eyes. “Is there a difference?”
Before I could ream them for their inaccurate statement, a couple more steps behind us made me turn to see an aquilops and stego approaching us.
“¡Buenos dias chicas!” The herculean aquilops greets us as she stops right next to me. Wearing her regular black floral dress, she just seems like a beam of sunshine if not for the fact that I know she didn’t just-
“Morning! It’s nice to see the two of you so early!” The green stego nerd joined in, her thagomizer tail lazing around behind her. Fang just nods their way, but then returns to their phone. I can’t help but tilt my head in confusion.
“Everything okay?” My question seems to shake them from their morose, orange irises trained on me.
“My FWR of a brother just let me know he got us an audience.”
Ahh, great. Naser just had to get his snoot shoved where it wasn’t asked.
“You think he’s trying to sabotage us?” I ask, my own face twisting into a grimace. Fang just shrugs, but puffed out a ‘tsk’.
“We’ll have to see, I guess. Goddam idiot needs to stay away from us for once.”
I nod sagely, family really can be a pain.
“I dunno, I don’t think Naser is trying to sabotage you.” Stella pipes up, but my glare seems to shut up any more response from her.
“Stella, every time he tries to ‘help’, he screws it up. Never once has he done something right.”
The stegosaurus’ tail curls around her ankle as she seems to decide against speaking her mind. Good, keep your thoughts on those silly cards of yours.
“What are we talking about?” Four heads turn to see Reed and Alvin finally join in on our extended group, Reed looking his usual chill self. I roll my eyes.
“Naser is ‘helping’ again.” I huff. Reed furrows his brow, then just shrugs.
“Ehh, maybe it'll be different this time.” The salmon raptor says, his lazy posture making him seem like he really wasn’t bothered by the clear issue at hand.
“Fang, talk some sense in Re-”
I fall short when I see Fang’s attention was focused at the bottom of the stairs. Looking down, I’m shocked to see what they are looking at.
Bald. Skin, plain ass green jacket over a boring white t-shirt. His face had no real discernible features that stood out. Might as well just be blank given how unimpressive he looks. No, the most impressive thing is that he's definitely a human.
However…those eyes caught my attention. Deep green, almost emerald in color. His eyes seemed to be trained on Fang, a strange disgusted look on his face. Oh, he’s going to get an earful if he keeps looking at them like that.
Then, he looks at me.
Amethyst locks on emerald.
And for some reason, I can’t help but feel a knot form in my stomach.