Boundaries

Conor: meddling queries

We heard the elevator door chime, and we all craned our necks to see who was coming. Tish wrinkled her nose.
"Sasha," she said.
Sure enough, Sasha walked through the door, taking in the scattered Chinese food, the array of deflating balloons, and the three of us. She wrinkled her nose as if the food disgusted her.
"We have a cafeteria, you know," she told Tish.
"Didn't want to be poisoned today," Tish replied sweetly. "I'm thinking next week is better for my schedule. Why are you here?"
"I was about to ask the same question," Sasha replied.
I realized that Tish had probably given an alternate story to her time with my pack. She had maintained that the hunters couldn't know that she liked us, but here she was, eating and laughing with us like we were friends. I didn't say anything, unsure if my inability to lie would get us into trouble.
"I got all this Chinese food and knew that if I didn't drag Conor to meals, then he hadn't eaten."
"They do feed them down here," Sasha said, almost like a question. She turned to me.
"Ralph is eating less because they want him to lose weight," I said. "They feed me the same, but my metabolism is higher."
"He's lost ten pounds easy since the farm," Tish agreed. "Maybe more. I beat the snot out of him in the training room. It should have been competitive."
"Ah," she said. "Fine. I'll talk to the staff as well, unless Tish, you want to drag Conor around with you."
Tish shrugged. "I'm either with Conor or with Grant. Hunters aren't really up to sparring. Or even polite conversation. I don't mind having someone else in the cafeteria with me; it's awkward by myself."
"Didn't he turn you?" Sasha questioned. "I thought you would hate him more."
Ralph snorted. "She did. For the first couple of weeks, Tish snarled at everyone."
"That's because Conor was an asshole," Tish pointed out. "But then Mel kicked him down to the shop, and I started talking with her, learning about the pack, learning about Conor." Tish rolled her shoulder. "It was an accident. I wish I were still human, but Conor wouldn't have bitten me if I hadn't been an idiot."
"How progressive of you," Sasha remarked, a touch sarcastically.
"Sorry, I was an asshole," I smiled. "You did try to stab me with a pair of scissors at one point. You weren't exactly at your friendliest either."
"Whatever, Conor," Tish shot back, though with a grin on her face.
Sasha rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is I wanted more information about Conor's fights with vampires. Tish said Stefa rigged the fights?"
I didn't know why such a thing had come up in conversation, but I nodded. "Candace wanted me dead, is what Stefa told me. I was taking time and recourses away from other research, and she didn't want to deal with me. The only fight I won in my own right was the one with a werewolf just before leaving the facility."
"Still impressive," Stefa mused. "I have to wonder how no one caught on. Or why the vampires would agree to it. presumably Stefa couldn't persuade them all."
"The vampires were fed more when they were fighting me," I offered. "It meant they weren't being used in other research. I didn't like the fighting, but I preferred it to being tested to exhaustion every day. Being dosed with silver every day. I'm sure the vampires felt the same, though they may have enjoyed the fighting, I don't know."
"So I know what happened in New Mexico," Sasha said, seemingly having switched subjects. "I know what Grant's done. But tell me, Conor. How much of that mess was Stefa's fault? You told Victor and Peter that it was all her. That was the first anyone's said that."
"Stefa stole Grant's supply of my blood," I said. "She fed him human blood that morning. I don't know if she persuaded him, or whom she personally killed. They locked me in the doctor's office. I didn't see any of that. They were all dead by the time I got out maybe twenty minutes later. I blame Stefa because Grant wouldn't have turned so abruptly without her. And he didn't have control over himself when he turned."
"You know full well that she responsible for the murder of a dozen hunters and you're still with her?" Sasha questioned.
"And she wouldn't have done that if the hunters hadn't antagonized her into nearly killing me," I countered. "Trying to explain vampire morality doesn't make sense to anyone but them. I had thought that she had begun to change. She had taken back the Midwest with minimal bloodletting. We were happy and fine in Chicago."
"Then why is she starting wars across the country? Why is she taking territory that isn't hers?"
"I don't know why you think I know the inner workings of Stefa's mind," I questioned. "I truly don't understand her reasoning. We shouldn't have gone to the council meeting. Stefa was...foolish for thinking it would end well."
"I don't suppose you remember where this council meeting was?" Sasha questioned.
I shook my head. "I slept most of the way there. And I was staring down Jackson on my way back."
"You've met Jackson?" Tish questioned. "I've seen pictures. Is he as young as he looks?"
"I guess? I don't really know what that means. He's not any older than Stefa. He's her ex-boyfriend."
"That explains a lot," Sasha and Tish said at the same time. Tish snorted.
"You know, Conor. Any time you want to wander down and discuss vampire politics, I'm sure the hunters would put up with you for that conversation."
"I don't really know that much," I pointed out.
"You've been to a vampire council meeting. You know more than you realize," Sasha replied. "Anyone who gets close enough gets killed. And the vampires we capture don't talk."
"Because their leaders hold grudges that last for decades," I replied. "On the off chance they get free, they'd last minutes out there."
"See? You know more than we do," she responded. "So..."
"You'd know more if you made an effort," I cut in. "If the hunters were not just out to kill and hunt, as their name suggests. If you wanted to understand and find some sort of peace. And yes, most vampires have killed. Most werewolves have killed. But I've learned enough history to know that humans turn a blind eye towards the killing when it suits them. I don't really want to tell you things that you'll twist around."
I stabbed my now cold noodles and dumped a huge forkful into my mouth. Sasha stared at me with cold, calculating eyes. She reminded me of Helen, the vampire from the council and I wondered if she would take measures so that I would tell them more about what I knew. I probably shouldn't have said so much, divulging time with Stefa. But I was a little upset at Stefa for vanishing, and perhaps the hunters were the only way I'd see her again.
"What are you?" she asked.
"You know what I am," I replied after I swallowed. I ignored the alarm on Ralph and Tish's faces.
"No, no. I know that you're a werewolf. But you're not like Tish. You're not like Ralph. You're not like any werewolf we've come into contact with. Your blood has strange properties, strange antibodies. You can't possibly be human. You weren't born a werewolf. So what are you?"
"Why would I tell you anything about myself?" I scoffed. "Nothing I say is going to make you hate us less. I'm a werewolf, part of Ralph's pack. I'm not your problem. Pass the rice?"
Tish passed me the next carton. I frowned at one of the pieces and looked at Ralph.
"It's shrimp," Ralph said. "I don't know if you've had it before."
I picked it up with my fingers and sniffed. It was odd; I wasn't sure I'd like it. Regardless, I put it in my mouth, making a face as I did so.
"Don't like it?" Ralph laughed.
I shook my head and swallowed. "No. That was weird. I didn't like that at all."
"Sasha, do you have something else, or are you just going to stand there awkwardly?" Tish asked the woman. "Go away. Go bother someone else. Go fix that stimulator, so it stops shocking your son."
"Grant," Sasha hissed and turned on her heel. Tish made a sound like a purring cat.
"I got her now," she crowed. "Seriously, now I just need everyone to only refer to Grant as Sasha's son. Hopefully, she'll either get the memo, or she'll get out of the way."
"Knowing Sasha? We're more likely to pay for it," Ralph replied. "I'm worried she's becoming obsessed with Conor. I'm worried she'll keep prying."
"There's nothing we can do about it now," I sighed.

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My hands are doing better, but I have a rib displaced and a rash all over my arms. Apparently I am allergic to my sunscreen. So that's a treat. Thanks for reading!