Wolf Heart

Chapter 29

Planet: Eteran

First Insurgency War

AVA

It was the day before the game, and James' behaviour worsened, with Jon acting as a mediator between her brother and Rayan.

On the off chance he doesn't become a pro Starcross player, he should consider becoming a councillor.

Rayan and James had another verbal debate on the pitch, with Jon standing between them while they went back and forth. Several times he sent a pleading look her way, but she no longer found the energy to intervene in their fights. Every time I try, they rush off and won't let me help.

Yvonne plopped herself into the seat next to her while she stewed in frustration. "Alright," she said while the boys returned to practice. "I've got a list of everyone going to the campout this quad. Take a look."

Most of the Third Quad classes signed up to go, including most of her classmates. It took several hours to convince James to sign up, but all her twin needed was two winning reasons. One, time to avoid Dad. Two, to take a break from his late night studying and opportunities to take pictures with his new picture and a distinct silence for his writing.

Rayan had signed up from the tight scrawl of his signature, with Meryn's right below him in block letters.

"I'll be bringing the food to the campout," Yvonne said as Ava handed her the datapad. "Lavamallows. Katie will bring some firestar packs. I've also written down some ghost stories from the library, but I'll leave the actual storytelling to James." Ybonne turned to the pitch, where Jon kept James and Rayan a distance from each other. "Jon's sure been working them like scout engines."

"I think he has to," Ava mumbled. "He has mutiny in his ranks."

"James and Ray?" Yvonne questioned. "They're going through their 'smash our heads together because why not' phase, but ever since Rayan came to Eastpoint, James has been different. I don't know how to describe it."

"Yeah..." Ava struggled to find the right words. "It's a positive influence.

"I still won't forgive him for calling my sweater dumb." Yvonne pouted.

"Yiv, it was spring." Ava laughed. "You didn't need a sweater."

"That's no excuse. You don't call a girl's favourite sweater 'dumb'. You should know better than that." Yvonne sighed. "As long as he learned his lesson then I can't hold it against him. James especially used to be in his own little world and rarely spoke unless spoken to. Rayan also went from a turtle hiding in a shell to a lot more..." She waved her manicured fingers in the air.

"Outgoing... usually?"

Yvonne nodded while James blocked a frontliner from advancing into their home field. "Happy-go-lucky," Yvonne commented. "Until we got all these safety rules and curfew with all these soldiers hounding Eastpoint."

"I think there's some home issues happening too," Ava explained, but perked herself up when the boys left the field. Rayan headed to the bleachers, but she frowned when James grabbed his things and walked off alone in a huff.

"Hey!" Ava called Rayan. "Where's James going?"

"He just said he wanted to take a walk," he replied. "He's... He's in a mood."

"Explains the friction." Yvonne put one leg over the other. "James is an absolute thornbush when he's in a mood. If you step in his general direction you're going to get poked and bleed everywhere."