B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

39. Going Back On One's Word

"Grace, thank you for coming."

I greeted the ape king and sat down at the prepared table. After a quick; and hopefully subtle, glance around, I looked Bard in the eyes and waited.

"I'm glad to see your health has recovered fully."

I noticed a tenseness about him; his smile seemed forced. "Yes. Thanks to my mates' care and your hospitality." I've learned that heaping praise on beastmen had a positive effect no matter who it was. Now was no different.

Bard naturally enjoyed the recognition, and his smile turned more natural. He nodded in approval towards Winston and Shuu who stood proudly behind Grace.

"Now, I'm sorry to call on you abruptly, but we have something to discuss..."

I resolved myself and got down to business.

We had a fairly lengthy discussion that involved a lot of prodding from the ape king. He was most focused on Mitchell's intentions, but the topic of emeralds and health came up. The ape king thought he was pretty smooth, but his greed seemed obvious to me. Sadly, I had no emeralds, let alone any to spare.

He turned the topic back to Mitchell and the dangers he could pose and I got the picture clearly. The ape king wanted Mitchell gone and he ideally wanted me to deal with him. I gave him the answer he wanted, at least, part of it.

"He will not be staying, but I do not know when he's leaving."

Bard would not feel comfortable until the tetra-marked scorpion left the city, but he had no intention of forcing the issue right now. He would only do so if Grace's words proved untrue or if the scorpion caused chaos.

"I will trust your word." He didn't have a lot of choices unless he could convince the tiger king or leopard king to fight the scorpion. He wasn't willing to lose the wolf king over it.

It seems we are off the hook for now. "I hope to live up to it."

Truth be told, Grace was an enigma to Bard. Her demeanor, poise, and intelligence were remarkable. Then there were her actions that did not always seem to match what he knew of her. Was Grace someone who put on a front like he did? If so, which Grace was the real one?

Bard bid Grace farewell as he contemplated the implications of his own presumptions. If Grace was that capable, he would need to be more wary of her. His instincts and experience told him not to underestimate her.

"Grant."

"Yes, ape king."

"Have your wolves keep an eye on Grace and report to me if any movements."

Grant did not question the ape king. "I will."

The ape king stared out the window, his gaze following Grace's form. He truly hoped this unusual and pleasant female never became his enemy.

...

Mitchell and Harvey were both waiting for us back home. I was happy to break the silence I've been holding onto since we left the ape castle. "Hey..."

"Hey..." parroted Mitchell.

More mimicking...wonderful. "I think we have some things to talk about." Or a lot actually. I did a lot of thinking. Because I can never seem to help myself.

"More things, you mean? We seem to be talking a lot," he said casually with a hint of sass.

He wasn't wrong. "Yes. To start, let's talk about moving."

Winston startled more than Mitchell, but he was equally surprised. Shuu and Harvey remained collected as we already had this discussion with Muir.

"I thought you wanted to come here?" Mitchell asked, his confusion evident.