The Hunter's Pack

The Coffee

My eyes stared back into two somber pools of blue. Looking carefully, they were very different from each other: small, darker ridges formed together in unpredictable lines, all leading to a dark pupil. If you look even deeper, some traces of a buried mourning could be seen...but all of that quickly disappeared, shrouded by a thick blanket of annoyance.

"Jeez, can they not play that trash? So loudly too." Grayson complained, throwing a dirty look at what looked like a group of teens, carrying a portable speaker with dub step music blasting out of it. 

"Someone's trash is someone else's treasure." I replied monotonously, fiddling my fingers as I waited for our simple orders of coffee to come. I had never tried coffee before, so I was a bit excited. Grayson and I have been trekking through forests and going from town to town for around 3 days now. After we booked an inn (as Grayson is filthy rich and not even hesitant to use that money), we looked around the town to find any other wolves around. I'm still very suspicious of Grayson, but after spending two sleepless nights in a row watching him sleeping (instead of attacking me, like I thought he would) I've reached my limit and really need to rest. Well, I'll come up with something in the hotel...

"Yes, but no one likes obnoxious people." The blonde man continued with a slight scowl, drawing circles around the dark knots in the wooden table. The corner of my mouth raised half a centimeter and I glanced at the group of teens ordering what they wanted from the pretty cashier. 

"Everyone is still a child." 

He stayed quiet, perhaps lost in his thoughts again. Grayson cleared his throat and spoke again after a moment. 

"So, do you know where we are going?" 

"North." 

"I love your specific answers. They give me all the details I want to know." He said with a small eye roll. 

I hummed in response and acted distracted. I didn't particularly want him to know where exactly we were heading to meet Tarragon. Fooled by my act (or perhaps sensing my unwillingness to cooperate) Grayson heaved a sigh and changed the topic. 

"So, did you get in touch with your pack?" 

I cringed a bit, once again reminded of what had happened. 

"Of course not. I would not want them to be accused of anything, so rather than sneaking around it would be much easier to just cut ties." 

"Sounds rough. Although this is probably all your karma coming back at you for killing so many people and packs. Oh, and, let's not forget the King and Queen. I'm here to make sure your story checks out, after all." He gave me a cold smirk, with icy blue eyes trying to peek into my mind as a dainty waitress came and brought us our orders. I picked up the burning hot coffee, taking a sip of the unfamiliar drink. 

"Bitter."

~*~

The weather was cold enough to see my breath and I playful exhaled a little more to see the opaque clouds. We were walking at a slightly fast pace back to the inn, her behind me to make sure I wasn't going to stab her in the back or something. Well, it certainly wouldn't be easy, but I think that if I put my mind to it, I can do it. She did kill the King and Queen, so I'll have to do it eventually. As a matter of fact, the only reason I'm even giving her a chance to prove her unreasonable story is because of my stupid wolf. 

"She's not lying." A deep voice responded to my thoughts at the core of my mind, a hint of annoyance coating the words. 

"We'll see." I responded inwardly. Her footsteps stopped suddenly and I turned my head to look. My heart may have beat just a little faster for a few seconds when I saw her serenely looking up into the dark night sky, as if looking for stars peeking through the dark clouds.

"Hey, it's cold. What are you waiting for?" I asked gruffly with a tinge of anger. I didn't want to admit it, but I was angry at myself and the useless bond that made even me like the murderer that killed people close to me. She didn't answer my question; instead, she followed up with a rather random question of her own.

"Do emotions exist?" Her breath fanned out and disappeared into the cold night air. My anger was momentarily gone, quickly replaced by confusion. 

"What?" 

"It's easy to define it at a chemical level, but at what point does an emotion become real? My opinion is that they don't exist." She turned and looked at me, seemingly staring into my soul with her vibrant gray eyes. I thought about my reply before answering.

"Well...Why would people interact without emotions? Compassion, in the sense of caring for other that aren't family, doesn't really make sense logically - it uses resources that could be used on oneself." 

"That's true. But honeybees bring back honey for the rest of the hive because in the end, it will benefit them. In the same way, I believe people formed societies and, consequently, learned things such as compassion. We all act through the veil of our experiences...if one either knew nothing or knew everything, they would truly be free of the fabricated sensations we call emotions." 

I just stood watching her carefully. At this point she was almost having a conversation with herself, her eyes slowly moving from star to star as she continued to ponder her question. A bit suddenly, she turned towards me and briskly walked towards me. I was too entranced with the former moment that I couldn't even react, but turns out there was no need. She simply walked past me, continuing on to the hotel, whispering a few more words. 

"But then again, maybe not."

~*~

I will try to update at least once a month. Sorry! 

A bit of a filler chapter, but I feel as though even these are necessary to better explain the characters' personalities, yes? 

Again, thank you for reading!