Phoenix

Chapter 7

They went through Tunnel 2 as Kris turned to Lena,

"Its good to see you Leanny, how you been?" Lena laughed, her gills, the gossamer sheen of her skin, and the webs on her feet and hands now gone.

"I've been well, how's junior year?" Kris grinned,

"Lots of parties, but school is a bitch. Like yesterday, Amy was telling me that if I keep skipping class they're going to expel me," she looked at Lena, who had her eyes' wide,

"Seriously?" Kris continued,

"Thats what I said, but ya' know, whatever. No more skipping school for me for awhile, and I'm like fuck, I have to stay in god damn school all day, it sucks." Lena doubled over and replied sarcastically,

"I know, its such a burden to stay in school with a bunch of humans and actually learn something." Kris gaped mockingly, fighting a smile and gently hit her on the shoulder,

"You could be a little sympathetic!" Lena grinned,

"Whatever, ya' know." She rolled her eyes' at Lena and stuck her tongue out mockingly,

"And you enjoyed school?" 

"No! But at least I learned something, unlike someone I know," Kris was laughing,

"Shut up! I learned..... stuff." Lena snorted with crossed arms, her eyebrow raised,

"Sure, stuff, like how to down a beer in 10 seconds?" Kris replied fighting a smile

"I hate you!" They continued walking, when Lena asked more serious,

"How's Jael?" They exchanged a look, she took the look Kris gave her as an answer, "That bad?" Kris gave her another look and replied,

"I never knew tweens were such drama queens, and so frickin' sassy!" Lena scoffed,

"And you weren't? Really how is she?" Kris calmed, and toned the sarcasm down,

"She's good and told me to say hi to you. She may be sassy but she's god damn brilliant, she's in 9th grade and already taking all honors, and acing them, and I feel like shit next to her." She gave Kris a glare,

"You would be too if you tried instead of 'living life'. You know most of the material, and you pick up fast, you could be just as good if you tried." Kris let out an embittered laugh as they turned the corner,

"What use is it when I'll be dead within a year?" Lena didn't reply and they continued in silence till they reached Cutter's office. Before she went into the office, Lena stopped her and said, her luminous blue eyes' filled with concern,

"You are not going to die Kris, but if you keep tempting Fate just because you think you live only to suffer, you're going to be miserable, and it will be no one's fault but your own." With that she walked off, and called over her shoulder, "And say hi to Jael for me." Kris nodded and walked into the room. 

Cutter looked up and smiled warmly at the sight of her. He got up and enveloped her in a hug. He smelled of cinnamon cookies, as she hugged him back, engulfed in his large arms. Cutter's real name was Tom Dawning, he had been a street fighter though, and after amassing a fearsome reputation by age 16, he started to cut deals with his opponents before the match, and convince them to lose convincingly, and he wouldn't kill them, he ran in the dog fight league, it was kill or be killed. Of course when you had had Tom's fearsome reputation, you were allowed to spare the occasional life, and it gained him more publicity as a merciful yet feared fighter, hence how he picked up the nickname Cutter. He was a older large man with shaggy dirty blonde hair, a scarred face, and hazel eyes' that had Fires in them. His mother had been Kris's brother in law's little sister, and was banished for having an affair with a human and refusing to renounce the human, from that union came Cutter. His mother had only been 122 when she died, killed by Nixes, and his father had provided a safe haven for Phoenix ever since, then passed it onto Cutter when he died when Cutter was 25.