The Humanity's Strongest & The Graceful

Keeping A Promise

Tessa digs in her medical bag for her notebook as she rounds the corner, but she is unaware of someone following her until their hand covers her mouth. Tessa lets out a muffled gasp before she tries to fight back, only to discover the perpetrator pulling her into an abandoned building nearby. While she continues fighting out their hold, she takes in details of her possible attacker. From the strength of their grip on her mouth and the height difference, her attacker is male, but that is all Tessa can figure out until the hint of bourbon on the man's hand hits her senses. It was familiar to her, but she couldn't place how and where she had come in contact with that aroma. Tessa sees Kip growling and ready to jump on top of the perpetrator, only for him to whistle, instilling Kip to sit. Her sky-blue eyes widened that this person knew one of Kip's commands, but how was it possible? Tessa manages to dig her nails into the hand, ready to pry it off her face, yet the owner's voice makes her pause, "Tessie, I need you to trust me." They whisper, and Tessa freezes because only two people have called her 'Tessie,' and it was her mom and....Kenny. Tessa didn't want to believe it was Kenny until the familiar aroma hit her harder, which made her realize that it was him because it was the fancy bourbon he used to drink when she was younger. Tessa slowly looks up to see his signature black hat covering the familiar gray eyes he shares with Levi. It really was Kenny after all these years, but what the hell is happening?

Tessa didn't know what to feel because, at first, she was relieved that the person who grabbed her from behind was a familiar face, yet she was angry. No, she was beyond pissed because Kenny was hiding in the shadows from her and Levi when they could finally get answers on where the hell he's been for the last twenty-two years. Tessa mentally shakes her head because she will get those answers for her and Levi, even if it means fighting the man who taught them everything he knows and rescued her from being killed. She knew she couldn't fight Kenny due to his immense strength, but she had to try. When Tessa digs her nails into Kenny's hand again, she hears him wince, which gives her hope that she will finally pry it off her face, only for Kenny to stop her by using his other hand, "Tessie, listen to me," He orders through a hiss before looking at the door, "Or how about you listen for yourself." He says though it sounds more like a hint. Tessa raises a brow to Kenny, gesturing to the door they entered through, implying he wants her to focus on it and listen to what could be on the other side. Even after all these years, Kenny remembered Tessa's heightened senses, and he wanted to see how far they'd progressed since the last time he saw her as the nine-year-old girl that heard her mother's death to now the thirty-year-old woman, who's now a Captain and Humanity's Graceful.

Kenny watches Tessa close her eyes while facing the door, waiting to see if Tessa will catch on to why Kenny is hiding her. Suddenly Tessa's sky-blue eyes snap open when she hears two sets of feet walking outside the building and the voices that they belonged to. "Teagan, are you sure you saw her round this corner?" It was Alexander. No, it couldn't be him and Tegan. It couldn't be those two. No. Tessa didn't want to believe it, but on the other side of the door were her mother's murderers. Hearing Alexander's voice again and so close by sent shiver's down Tessa's spine and made her blood go cold, fearing they would get revenge by having Tessa and finishing what they started almost twenty-two years ago. How could she have been so stupid as not to remember being aware of her surroundings? Tegan and Alexander would've had her had Kenny not stepped in and hidden her unless Kenny was helping them. He wouldn't do that, would he? Could Tegan and Alexander threaten Kenny in some way as they did with Lovof six years ago? Possibly with hers and Levi's lives?

The unsettling question makes Tessa's breathing quicken, to which Kenny notices and wraps his other arm around her, hugging her to prevent her from falling, "It's okay, Tessa. They're not going to get you." He whispers, but Tessa is still frantic to listen. How was it possible Tegan and Alexander were out and still after her? How long have they been following her since she entered the city? Why were they still out to get her when they were supposed to be in prison for the crimes they had committed? And how did Kenny time finding her since she hasn't been in the city all week, not to mention she hasn't seen him since he brought her to Wall Rose? The questions paused their racing when Tessa heard Teagan speak, "Of course, sir. I know I did because you can't mistake that hound of hers." Tegan answers, which causes Tessa's eyes to widen because Tegan remembers what Kip looks like, which is how they found her so effortlessly. There was the answer to one of the thousand questions, but what about the others?