World Eater: The Hunt

Chapter Four

~This was supposed to be part of chapter three but I cut it in half because it was a lengthy chapter for this site.~

I returned to my empty table with a heavy sigh. Amid the creeping silence, the anticipation rising in the room was almost tangible. No longer were the students barking and yelling, but instead they spoke in hushed tones. It made thinking a lot easier.

"What a surprise, you're just sitting here doing nothing," Diana greeted me disapprovingly. She eyed my bruised cheek and added, "And you look like a bruised plum. Did you fall on your face?" I ignored her remark.

"This is Kaya. I found her for you," she informed me as she and the other girl sat down on the bench across from me.

"It's good to meet you, Kaya,"

"Hi."

I glanced at Diana who shrugged at me. Kaya's acknowledgement was like a whisper. I gave her a reassuring smile but she just avoided my gaze with her brown eyes. She wiped her bangs out of her eyes which was almost as black as Diana's soul.

"So...are you new here?" I asked her. I heard Diana snort at my stupid attempt at sparking a conversation.

"No. I've been here for four years." Kaya stared at the white table cloth and not once did she look up at me. It gave me time to take in her appearance more without looking like a creep. Although I would never tell Diana, she was right about learning more about my teammates if we were going to work and basically live together. I could tell that Kaya wouldn't be much of an issue, but the mere thought of her killing anything or even fighting was baffling to me.

The weather outside was hot, yet Kaya wore a black, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of loose tan cargo pants. Just looking at her made me sweat in my red golf shirt and black shorts.

"Are you excited to join us on the Hunt?" I asked Kaya. I was determined to get more than ten words out of her. Or at least eye contact. I loathed the thought of us working together with a lack of communication.

"What Alexander really means is... how are you a hunter?" Diana was clearly a stranger to sensitivity.

"Tactfully put," I muttered in response. Predictably, no words came out of our warmly-dressed comrade's mouth. I couldn't tell if it was because she was shy or that she assumed she was better than us. Both could become a problem in the long run.

"Five minutes left and we're still missing two," Diana informed us with a scowl. She looked at me accusingly as if Merc and Samson's lack of absence was entirely my fault. I would have to get used to her disapproving stares if I were to maintain my sanity.

After informing her that I spoke with Olivia, Diana huffed at me to abruptly end the conversation.

"Don't talk about that mind reader; you'll only get what she wants you to hear. That, or just cryptic nonsense. You're better off asking a horse for answers."

Feeling a heated argument coming, I was all too thankful when Mercury showed up at our table with another unfamiliar student. As if a habit, I stood up to greet the newcomer whom I assumed was none other than Samson, the mage.

And he was not all who I had in mind. In an instant, his hand was firmly grasping mine. He said, "Hello! It is nice to meet you, friend." His enthusiasm lifted up my spirits and I genuinely returned the compliment.

"Likewise! You must be Samson," I replied, vigorously shaking his hand.

"No shit," Diana remarked. She raised an eyebrow at the tome-wielder, unmistakably curious.

Mages, or tome-wielders, were generally known to be bitter, hostile men and women. There were only a few left due to the outcome of the Mage War that broke out centuries ago. The remaining survivors fled to different parts of the world, and those who showed their faces in public were typically passive aggressive. Samson, however, was bursting with sunshine and joy. He had dark skin, the color of caramel, and light brown eyes with flecks of black. I knew this because his face was only a mere inch away from mine.