Pynk [ONC 2020 Shortlist]

Chapter Ten - Card

"You vanished again!" Kyra yelled as soon as Felicity rounded the corner into the street. She charged over, smacking her hard in the side.

"Ow!" Felicity complained, jumping back. Her friend tilted her head, the slightest annoyance sparkling in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I needed to... take care of something."

"And what something would that be?" Mak asked, appearing over Kyra's shoulder. He peered at her with narrowed eyes, his expression analytical. Thankfully, she had an answer at the ready - something she'd formulated on the way here, and was quite excited to carry out.

"It's a surprise," she replied simply.

Kyra's worry transformed into curiosity in an instant as she bounced on her paws, excitedly unleashing a barrage of questions. After every one, Felicity shook her head or offered a vague answer, smirking the whole time. She hoped it was a convincing act. Not that her words were technically lies - she had prepared a surprise on the way back from Rowtag's mansion. It just wasn't the reason she'd left.

Eventually, Kyra got bored of the ambiguous nature of Felicity's secret and dragged her over to join the Earthwylves again. They all cast her a suspicious glance, but when Kyra announced, "She says it's a surprise but she won't tell me what," their interest seemed to lessen. Just another silly Glitterwylf game.

Only Mak's gaze remained on her as they resumed their discussion - something to do with a wolf they all knew. She quickly tuned out. It wouldn't do her any good to hear about the past they'd all shared together. But she at least expected Mak to join in.

Yet he didn't. For the entire duration of the conversation, he stared at her, trying to make eye contact. She made sure not to comply. The last thing she needed was another whispered pep talk with Mak.

And that was how it was for the entirety of the afternoon. The talk drifted from topic to topic, with the occasional game, and everything stayed lighthearted. At some points, Felicity even felt brave enough to comment on their words, but then she would fade into the background and merely watch them again. Every so often, Kyra would drop a question, when she thought her guard was down, but Felicity never gave it away. But all the while, Mak's penetrating glances followed her, no matter how many times she tried to evade them.

But he didn't come over. He moved towards her a couple of times, but never fully approached. So she was able to keep pretending.

When Kyra announced that she was tired, and going to head back for an early night, Felicity took the opportunity to leave alongside her. They walked back to the Fog District together, Kyra trying to relax her with easy conversation before slipping in another interrogation about the surprise. With a chuckle, Felicity said, "If I tell you, it won't be a surprise." That seemed to satisfy her, at least for the time being.

As they reached their twin houses, Kyra turned to Felicity, her expression saddening. "Whatever you're doing, I hope it doesn't mean you leave me again."

Felicity frowned. "I'm sure you can go a few hours without me. We only met each other about a week ago! And you've got loads of friends!" She flicked her tail in the direction they'd come from, back towards the Leaf District.

Shaking her head, Kyra sighed. "But it's different with you. I feel like I can really talk to you about things. I mean, I can talk to Mak, but... he's always with the others. And he lives so far away," she added wistfully, gazing up at the sky.

Shifting her paws, Felicity glanced down at the ground. If only she could talk to Kyra about her own problems. But not even she would understand what lurked deep inside her.

She shook out her fur. Dwelling on herself changed nothing. Tonight, she'd promised herself that she would think about Kyra.

"Why don't you move in with him?" she suggested, nudging her friend. She stared back, eyes wide and fearful.