Hunt

Chapter 36: In Memoriam

For the first time in what feels like a long time I wake up feeling rested. My alarm isn't as oppressive this morning as I begin my daily morning routine. My bout of nausea I had last night a distant memory as I sit up, the morning sun just beginning to shine through my window. Today felt like it would be a good day.

"G'morning Julie." I say as I intercept her in the kitchen. She hardly acknowledges my existence as she stares with dead eyes into the bowl of cereal she had half made. It looks like she didn't get nearly as much sleep as I had gotten.

"Mornin' Kyle." She lazily replies, half acknowledging my existence.

"What do you say about working on some self protection today? Reserve the book work for later." I propose. After our encounter on the mountain yesterday I felt it would be in our best interest to get Julie in a better position to defend herself. Or at all. Before to know how to throw a punch before we dive into the lore of the creatures we could face.

She blinks a couple times and leans back in her chair, stretching. "Yeah sure." she says with seemingly little enthusiasm.

Sitting across from her I try to get a read on her expression, "Everything good? You don't seem very enthusiastic. This is what you wanted right?" Maybe our encounter last night had spooked her more than I thought. I try not to smile. Maybe she was losing steam like I had intended originally.

She shakes her head quickly, perking up immediately, like I had just dumped a bucket of water on her. "No, no it's not that! I'm just tired is all! And really sore..."

"Good!" I say in response. Trying my hardest to not sound disappointed. "Then we'll do some defensive combat after school. Maybe you'll get a good punch in on me." I try to sound a lot cockier than I feel, it's been a long while since I've fought a human in hand to hand. Lately it's been a lot of close fights against beasts with guns and knives, which takes a whole different set of skills...

Piling into my car we begin the drive to school. The remnants of our hike yesterday hits my nose as we're backing out of the driveway. An almost sweet earthy smell that meant there was mud and plant debris somewhere it shouldn't be. I would need to clean, but that would have to be a job reserved for later.

"I- I talked to Reyna last night." I say hesitantly, breaking the silence in the car.

Julie furrows her brow. "What? Why? How?"

I unconsciously begin tapping the steering wheel. A rhythmic tapping resembling the Morse code for SOS. "She reached out to me first, apologized for everything. She said she wants my help."

"Help with what?" Julie asks, still skeptical.

I answer with a shrug, "Well. You know what's going on. That her pack... well, her family really... Is going through a bit of a civil war."

"So why would you want to get involved in it?" She asks. "You said yourself that you were fine with them weakening each other first before getting your hands dirty."

I stop tapping the wheel, "Because this other group that split from the main faction wants to start hurting people, to grow and expand the way werewolves typically do. Having put some more thought into it, I don't think I can afford to take that chance should they not be able to deal with it themselves."

Julie goes silent. I can see her staring at clenched fists before she eventually responds. "Were they the ones that were after me? When you saved me."

I nod.

"Okay. So this involves me too. I want to help." Julie turns toward me, that fiery determination gleaming in her eyes.

"Whoa, pump the breaks there." I interject quickly, "You are nowhere near ready for something of this caliber. Maybe if your training goes well we can see about you helping out on the back end." I couldn't have her in the field on this. Who knows when this powder keg would inevitably ignite. It could be tomorrow, and the last thing I want is for Julie to be right in the center of it when it pops off.