Blackbird

†Chapter Twelve†

I stayed close to Skye as she walked around the market, inspecting different meats, fruits, and vegetables before placing them in her large basket. Revenport was even louder during the daylight hours and we were walking around right in the middle of it. I could feel a headache forming in the back of my skull after only half an hour of being surrounded by noisy humans with no respect for personal space. I needed to distract myself before I bit someone. 

I stepped closer to her. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Sure," she replied, inspecting a basket of apples. 

I chewed on my lip for a moment. "Why is Naomi so quiet?" I asked slowly. "I know it's none of my business, but she just... she seems sad."

She glanced over at me. "You noticed that, huh?" 

I nodded slowly. I felt bad for asking her about it; Naomi's troubles didn't concern me and I knew I shouldn't pry, but I couldn't stifle my curiosity. 

After picking out a few apples and paying the man who was selling them, she walked slowly in no particular direction, letting out a long sigh. "Naomi is a very complicated girl; her family exiled her when she was thirteen for a terribly unfair reason and she was forced to survive on her own for six years. From what she has shared with me, those six years were filled with many terrible things that isn't fair of me to tell you without her consent. Then the attacks started happening and any place she might have found refuge had been destroyed. It was your Axel who found her in this very city, begging for scraps and spare change. She was so skinny when she came to us, and very skittish. Poor thing nearly jumped out of her own skin whenever someone tried to touch her," Skye explained, a sad expression on her face. "Axel was the only one who could coax her out of her shell. He told her every day that she was safe, that nothing could hurt her. He brought her food to the room we gave her until she finally gathered the courage to join us at the table." 

An unexpected ping of jealously stung my heart as if it were poked with needles. I knew I was being silly about him simply helping someone who'd suffered six years of cruelty, but my mind was swarming with ridiculous images of them being together. I tried to remember the night we had together, him telling me he loved me, and how his arms felt when they were wrapped around me. No matter how much I focused on all those things, the images still stuck to the back of mind, leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

Skye must have noticed the look on my face that I struggled to hide. "Yes, Naomi grew attached to Axel, but you shouldn't worry. You know, when we met Axel, he had sadness, hatred, and anger in his eyes. I knew from the moment I saw him that he had been through awful things; when he smiled, it was empty. He didn't even make an effort to make it appear genuine. Now when he smiles, it reaches his eyes and I know for a fact that it's because of you, Blackbird. I've never seen him look at anything the way he looks at you," she said reassuringly, making a point to meet my eyes like she was solidifying her words. "And you're welcome to stay here with us, if you'd like. We've got plenty of room and plenty of food." 

I smiled for a moment. "I would really enjoy that," I replied softly. "But there are demons that I have to take care of first." 

"After the evils this world brought upon us, I'm sure we all have our demons. Just remember that wherever those demons may take you, our door is always open to you," she said, smiling. Her words vaguely soothed the worries that stirred in the pit of my stomach, replacing them with a sense of relief at knowing I had a place I could return to. A home, a family, a pack, happiness... but there was still a large, black cloud that loomed over us.

The chaos of the city around us slowly faded as I felt my thoughts begin to consume my mind. Aside from the incredulous thoughts of Axel and Naomi, I was worried about what the night would hold. I watched Skye continue to pick out food, wondering if she was worried as well. She looked calm and collected on the outside, but I had a feeling it was simply a cover. After all, the rebels did rely mostly on her to be strong and she did a wonderful job at appearing to have all of it under control. However, her blue eyes seemed distant as they moved over the different meats we had stopped to inspect. Was she thinking about the same things that swirled through my mind? Would this contact in the castle truly be trustworthy? Did the contact really want to help us, or expose us? I wished that I had answers to my questions that would put me at ease, but I had seen too many horrors to trust humans.