Chương 5: Reyna Vargriev(2)

I talked until Sylvie finally dozed off with half a cup of hot cocoa still clutched in her hands. Not the truth, 'course. Never the truth. As far as my little sister knew, I was on a survival simulation retreat for work. Right, in her eyes I wasn't Barghest. I was Reyna, the brave and valiant Canary. Thankfully, the injuries had indeed turned to scars by the time I got out of the shower, so I hadn't had to explain much.

I would, however, have to fix the mirror sometime tonight before she woke up and saw the destruction in the morning.

"Heh." I grabbed the cup, and gently pulled it away from her. Her hand stretched out as if to pull it back. Instead, I handed her the black wolf plushie. She hugged it, but still looked unsatisfied. Well… maybe a bit more time with her wouldn't hurt. I shuffled back to my room, and slid into the place to look for my laptop. I found it just underneath my signed poster of Guardian Thornton. My ear twitched toward something that wasn't even there, and I stopped in the middle of the room.

All around me, from Guardian posters plastered across the walls, eyes stared down at me in condemnation. My bed, covered in soft plushies, was much the same. My mood plummeted, and the small smile that Sylvie had given me fell off my face. I pulled a black wolf plushie off my bed to my chest, and squeezed my eyes shut. They always knew just how to dig.

"Inhibitor… I'll get one tomorrow."" If they don't stab you in the back. Wouldn't be the first time they left you to fester.

"The whisper echoed back." Or maybe they'll sit back and watch a problem take care of itself."

"They won't, they won't." I curled tighter around the black wolf, and hugged it even tighter to my chest.

"I'm useful. They'll give me one, right? They have to." It didn't matter. They could leash me all they wanted. My sister was safe, and that was all that counted at the end of the day. As long as she was safe I—could I really do anything? The comfort I got from the stuffed animals slowly faded away, and a creeping dread seeped in.

"Reyna?" Sylvie called sleepily from the living room. A shiver went down my spine, and I tossed the stuffed animal aside for my laptop. I darted back out to the couch, and slid down next to her.

"Right here."

"Don' weave me." She drowsily grabbed my tail, and pulled it tightly against her chest. Her head dropped onto it, pinning the tail beneath her. Her every breath sent a shiver down the sensitive limb. Eventually, her breathing evened out and she fell back asleep. The tip of my tail twitched around cheerfully, and I pulled a blanket up around us. I leaned down, and pressed a gentle kiss against her forehead.

"Sleep well, Sylvie." Once I was sure she was totally out, I opened up my laptop and started to type up my report for Hades. Although the syndicate was a criminal organization, it was still an organization. Where there was order, there was inevitably paperwork. — — — The tram rumbled against the tracks underneath me, and I rubbed at my heavy eyes. I didn't end up getting much sleep last night. First it was the report, and then the quiet chatter at the back of my mind. Instead, I stayed up and worked on other stuff.

The main one was the coordinates that Checkpoint Alpha-Omega gave me. They actually weren't too far from Silverport. It was in a mostly unexplored section of the Mire beyond the fringes of the UCS. If I got a car, I might be able to make it out there and check it out. Was it a trap, though? It'd be right up that bastard's alley to give me coordinates to a literal death trap. Was it even worth risking—yes. Without a doubt yes. I was holding on, but how much longer till they were just a week off with an inhibitor?

I didn't want to harm Sylvie once I lost my mind. Anything but that.

'Course, that wasn't considering how I'd get out of the city. What would I do? Ask Hades to let me out of the city so I could find something to free me of their grasp? That would end abysmally. No, I needed my own way out. I had a few ideas, but it was nothing I could act on. I had more pressing issues, anyway. My hallucinations had spread to visual. Just this morning, while helping Sylvie get ready for school, I was attacked by a mutant wolf. I needed the inhibitor, and I needed it now.

Thankfully, before I could start to pursue other less than legal avenues to get my hands on one, someone from the Hades Syndicate finally messaged me back. I had a meeting at the Ghostfire Club in about an hour. Before then—"Are you even listening to me, Reyna?" Sylvie pouted, and dropped her hands onto her hips. I glanced up from where I'd idly been brushing her tail out.

"Sorry, what?"

"That's it!" She whipped her tail out of my lap, and hugged it to her own chest protectively.

"I'm revoking your tail privileges!" The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"My, my, what ever will I do?" I sighed dramatically, and slid the brush back into her backpack. We were on the way to First Silver High, the most prestigious high-school in Silverport. Working for Harbor had its perks.

"You two are so cute." An elderly couple sitting across from us smiled. The woman clutched at her chest with both her hands.

"Sisters?"

"Yes, ma'am," I mumbled, and sat back in my seat. Although my gaze was downcast, I scanned them carefully for any signs that they were more than just a random encounter.

"I'm the older sister," Sylvie puffed out her chest and proudly proclaimed.

"Taking my younger sis to school. You know how it is."

"Good, good, the streets aren't safe these days." The older man bought her lie without even a hint of suspicion.

"And here I thought all you youngsters only knew how to goof around." I bit my cheek, and shot a glare at the cheeky girl sitting beside me. Her ears twitched around in excitement as if to say checkmate!

"Oh, yes sir. She's so brave and cool… her cooking skills, though…" Sylvie bolted upright like she'd been struck by lightning.

"Hey! No personal attacks."

"I wouldn't dream of it." I flopped my tail into her lap, and played along with her. My usual calm, kind expression dipped into a pout like I was on the verge of tears and my ears drooped tragically.

"Big sis, won't you brush my tail? Look, it's all sad and droopy compared to yours."

"Ah ha…" She dropped her hand onto the black streaked silver tail. She shivered. The expectant gazes of the older couple certainly didn't help.

"I—""Now arriving! Now arriving!" The tram lurched heavily underneath us.

"We're here!" Sylvie jumped to her feet, and snatched the bag up.

"C'mon, sis. Can't be late for school. Oh, and it was nice talking to you!"

"Heh." A small laugh escaped me, and I stood up. I bowed my head to the couple.

"Thank you." They just smiled back. The woman gave me a thumbs up, and the older man softly muttered, "your little sister is quite something."

"Don't I know it." I waved, and raced after Sylvie out into the tram station. Her pure silver tail bobbed just in front of me, arousing my chase instincts. Sylvie glanced back, and instead of stopping broke out into a full blown sprint.

"You'll never catch me!" Oh, we'll see. I darted after her. The two of us sprinted down the sidewalk, dancing between the crowds on the way to her school. Several times I could've sped up to grab her by the tail. That'd ruin the fun though, so I pulled back just enough. Each time, she barely escaped me while giggling. In no time, we arrived at the front gates into First Silver High. She stopped just in front of the gate, and dropped her hands onto her knees as she panted.

"H-how, haah, are you not even winded, haah." I slowly to a stop just beside her, and shrugged.

"Training. We need to work on your endurance."

"You're just a freak." She panted roughly, and stood up straight. Her shoulders slumped backwards as she tried to catch her breath. Just a freak… I tried not to let the words sting, and instead glanced past her towards the prestigious school and the kids flooding into it.

"Knock 'em dead."

"Sylvie!" A green haired girl called from just inside of the gate, and waved at us. Around her stood a large group of friends. Phew. I was worried she would be bullied like I was for being different. Of course my adorable sister would've made a pack of friends.

"Yeah, yeah." She finally managed to get her breathing under control, and spread her arms just in front of me. She grinned, and cutely exposed her sharp canines.

"Hug? I won't take no for an answer this time." My smile slipped back into neutral. Even still, the tip of my tail traitorously twitched with happiness.

"Here in front of everyone? Won't they make fun of you?"

"If they dare, I'll knock their teeth out in combat training." She took a step toward me.

"C'mon, sis! You going to make me stand like this forever?" Right, 'course she'd be the bully. I shook my head with a laugh and stepped forward. Warmth wrapped around me, and she squeezed her arms tightly. The incessant whispers seemed to fade for the first time all morning, and silence filled my ears. I dropped my head onto her shoulder and breathed in deeply, catching her scent as I returned the back-breaking hug. It was so, so incredibly warm.

"Love you."

"Love you too." She slowly let go of me, almost as if trying not to scare a skittish animal away.

"See you back home?"

"Yeah… might be late tonight." I checked the time. I needed to get going to make it to the Ghostfire Club in time.

"Mmm." She dipped her head, and walked through the gate. She turned around just after, and waved at me with her tail cheerfully sashaying back and forth.

"I'll make dinner tonight, so you better be on time! See you, Reyna!" I watched her for a moment longer, and then stalked down the sidewalk with my hands shoved in my pockets. I walked several blocks, and tried to enjoy the morning. There was only a faint mist in the air today, which was nice considering the last couple days had apparently been heavy rain.

"Extra, extra! Guardian Beacon slays tier-five calamity! Saves west Silverport!" A bulky man in a newspaper stall called out onto the street. Most people were too busy on their phones to even notice, let alone care. Beacon was a jackass. I likely would've been just another passerby had my eyes not caught on a sub-header below the Guardian's accomplishments. Canary Ruth dies in action. Her sacrifice will not be forgotten. I stopped at the stall, and grabbed one of the newspapers.

The man shuffled over to me, and leaned down heavily on the counter.

"Five credits." My eyes raced across the newspaper, and I tapped my phone against his device. Five credits were steep, but I couldn't just walk away from this. Unfortunately, the article spent the entire time talking about Beacon, and only mentioned her death in the sub header.

"Hey, what's this about Ruth?" I lifted and pointed at the newspaper. The salesmen leaned forward, and his eyes danced across the newspaper.

"I dunno much myself. Heard she was corrupted. Don't worry, though. Beacon escaped and managed to kill the bastard responsible."

"She died. How can you just glaze over that?!" I snapped at the man. Who the fuck cared about Beacon?

"Hey, what's your problem, lady? She's just a Canary. She did her job, and the Guardian got out to save the day." The man waved a newspaper like it was obvious.

"All that matters." I bit back a snarl, and clutched the paper tightly in my hands. Just a Canary. Like she wasn't even a person. Like she wasn't someone I knew. She'd barely been on the job for three months. Oh Pyre… I promised I'd help her train when I got back. I…

"Yeah… yeah, you're right." My ears flattened, and I tossed the newspaper back onto the stand. I felt sick in my gut, though obediently backed away and merged back into the crowd. I'm sorry, Ruth. I couldn't afford to make a scene and be late. Not when Hades dangled an inhibitor in front of my face.