Passenger

Chapter 14

Welp. We're screwed.

Krys' eyes widened in surprise, and I cursed silently as Sarah stared down at the Avian with a grin. The only advantage I could see in this situation was that Sarah had some sort of box on her shoulder that was keeping her from using both hands.

I could only watch as Sarah eyed Krys meanacingly. "well, Avian. What's it going to be?" she questioned, resting her free hand on one of her axes. "we can do this the easy way. Or, if you want, we can –"

"Captain Aniseta!" suddenly Petre's voice cut Sarah off from behind us. Krys and I both turned to see the doctor approach, glaring sternly at Sarah. "are you already trying to intimidate my assistant?"

Assistant? I blinked in surprise as Sarah frowned. "this kid's your assistant?" she questioned, shooting Krys another glare as she gestured to him.

"of course he is! Naturally you wouldn't bother to pay attention, of course." Petre sighed and waved a hand. "it doesn't matter. I suppose you brought the materials I requested?"

In response, Sarah patted the box on her shoulder. "got it all right here." She replied, though she didn't take her eyes off Krys. "thought I'd deliver it myself to say hi, see how you were doing. This kid is really your assistant?"

Petre shot Sarah a glare. "I would remind you not to judge someone based on age or appearance, Sarah." He told her sternly. "this is Krys, my new assistant. Please refrain from trying to bully him while you are in my home, if you don't mind."

His look was full of judgement, and forced Sarah to take her eyes off Krys. I grinned at Petre and nodded. "oh, you're good." I remarked appreciatively. Lab assistants could be just about anyone the Royal Scientist wanted them to be, and even though Sarah was the Royal Guard captain, she didn't have the authority to dispute it. For now, Krys was protected.

That didn't mean Sarah wasn't going to be stubborn about it. "mind if I come in?" she asked, giving Krys one more sidelong look. "this box is pretty heavy, and both of you look like twigs. That, and I wanted to talk to you anyways."

"if you must." Petre waved a hand and turned away. Sarah stepped after him, bumping shoulders with Krys and staring at him for another moment, before turning to follow the doctor. Hesitantly, Krys followed quietly after the two.

I floated down next to him. "it's alright, Krys, just play it cool." I told him. "Sarah won't do anything while Petre's vouching for you. The most dangerous thing you're gonna get is that death stare."

Nodding, Krys relaxed somewhat, though not entirely. I couldn't exactly blame him for being anxious – I mean, this was the same gal who nearly took his head off barely a week ago. I wasn't keen on having a repeat of that chase either.

All I could do was watch as Sarah set the box down on one of Petre's multiple tables, pulling out bags and vials. "herbs, chemicals, weird animal pieces, and a week's supply of bacon." She announced, glancing over at Petre with a grin. "took the chance to throw in one of your food requests, huh?"

"of course not. It's solely for research purposes." Petre raised an eyebrow at Sarah, then gestured to Krys. "Krys, please take these things and store them in my cupboard."

He gave Krys a pointed look. I leaned over his shoulder. "I saw his cupboard earlier. Follow me."

The Avian nodded to Petre, then collected an armload of the ingredients and hustled over to the cupboard. I pointed him in the right direction, and as soon as he had found it, I quickly floated back over to eavesdrop on Sarah and Petre.

Sure enough, they were already bickering. "- don't tell me you didn't realize he was an Avian, Ryan." The captain hissed. "if I noticed, you definitely did."