Chương 107: Chapter 105: Legal threats for Squirt

A few days later, Squirt was stunned to walk in on the greenlings genuinely dancing. The pest had raised the volume of his music by small increments, and now, just before half-light, it was loud enough for him to lead the other greenlings through some simple steps and claps. It was magical. The sheer amount of joy he'd brought them in a little more than a week had her insular people quietly giggling and clapping along.

She had to strain her ears to hear the softly crooned lyrics, realizing with a start that it was the same story of the tree following the greenling through the Capital, only the pest had turned it into lyrics with a simple melody. The steps included bending down, whispering, pretending to hide during the verses, then dancing as the "tree" when singing the chorus. As the last of those returned from their daytime duties, Squirt held back by the entrance and watched from the shadows.

Watching the pest light up all their faces with his animated yet quiet rendition of a song written for a greenling story, she briefly forgot about her exhaustion. Her stress. Even the chasm felt like little more than a shadow. Though she didn't hum along like many of the others around the edges, nor nod her head in time with the quiet beat, she did find her lips quirking up in a genuine smile. Hidden in this corner of the room where no one saw her, lurking in the shadows, for this brief window of time she simply…

basked. Something fell against the door, jolting her back to reality. Hearing the commotion, Squirt rushed out the double door entrance. Pressing the door that hadn't been hit, she opened it just far enough for her to squeeze herself through in a single swift move. On the other side, one of the greenlings was leaning back against the other door, terror evident on her face.

On the ground less than ten feet from them, Qzi held a knife to a hostler's throat, the latter sprawled out on the ground while Qzi loomed menacingly. The hostler had his hands up, stammering words about doing his duty and ensuring nothing was stolen, but the words faded from Squirt's mind as she homed in on one tiny detail. Qzi was drooling. It wasn't obvious. There was the gathering drop on his bottom lip as he smiled manically down at the shifter beneath him, his sharp teeth on full display.

Yet, despite the slightly ragged breathing, Qzi's arms trembled. But not in fear. He was fighting it. Her eyes landed on the hat, what she had missed for days coming into focus. After that, she didn't think. The decision was made before the why could be examined. She gripped the arm of her tunic, pulling it up and baring her forearm before holding it in front of his mouth. Both men froze in place. Murmuring softly, she kept her attention on Qzi.

"If you need to hurt someone, hurt me. Bite me. Don't hurt him." Abruptly, Qzi's eyes snapped up, broken out of whatever stupor he'd been in. His grip on the hostler grew lax, almost forgetful.

"I would never, pricklebear. Not like that." His lucidity left Squirt at a loss for words. She'd been half-expecting the bite. Preparing for it, in fact. At the very least for him to visibly struggle against the urge for blood. His dark red eyes remained steadfast.

"Okay… then would you let him up?" He blinked a few times, only now remembering the terrified hostler under him, a blade hovering over the man's neck. Then he pouted.

"He's not off limits. He tried to threaten the greenie by the door. Said to give back what was stolen." Squirt glanced at the cowering greenling. She flinched at Squirt's attention before abruptly shaking her head and passing the subtle hand signal for I don't know, blows taken, and innocent. Zhadin appeared, growing from the redcap's shadow, keeping their true form to lean over them both, their eyes wide and fixed on the hostler's. The hostler pissed himself.

Squirt pretended not to notice as she pulled her arm back from Qzi's face, her eyes as fixed on his as his were on hers. Studying him. Waiting for him to break. Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. He didn't. Unnerved and weirdly touched, she finally broke eye contact when Zhadin said, "Yes, I believe the redcap is telling the truth. The greenling did not steal any of the items she has.

The provisions were granted by the quartermaster, may Darkness smite me if I lie." The hostler nodded emphatically, clearly desperate to get away. Zhadin continued, unbothered.

"They are protected by the lord's will. Should you take issue, please inform the guard and proper investigations will be made. Try this again without going through the proper channels, and I shall feed you to the redcap." Squirt couldn't tell if she was more impressed at the sheer amount of terror Nutso and Darko were managing to instill in the man or horrified at the future ramifications of having threatened someone. But no.

The wording Zhadin had used placed all of the blame directly at Lord Everwinter's feet, invoked a goddess's name, and neatly threatened the man with enough eagerness to make it clear the fell was more than happy to indulge in violence the likes of which he'd never seen. And that they'd be indulging legally. They didn't crush the hostler with their aura. They didn't need to. Their power was etched into every smug inch of their face.

It was the expression of someone who had enough power to crush even regular fey like a bug. They weren't being a bully. They were just telling the truth. The terrifying truth. Zhadin said, "Good. Now scurry back to your cave and make sure to let your fellows know that the green ones are protected by order of Lord Everwinter." The man let out a sob while nodding rapidly. Qzi pouted.

Sighing, he sheathed his knife on the back of his belt and reluctantly got off the man, sitting back on his hands and letting his held loll back. The man scrambled away in an instant, leaving only the sour stench of piss in the air. Squirt wrinkled her nose before fixing Zhadin with a mild glare. Zhadin cocked their head.

"I could have killed them if you prefer. The lord has granted me permission." Squirt's eyes dropped. To be entirely honest, she'd not thought this far ahead. There had never been greenling protectors before. No titled fey had ever claimed them like this. She'd known there would be trouble brewing but hadn't known what she would do when it happened. They cocked their head the other way.

"I would have done the same had you been in the other one's position." Squirt squinted at them.

"Don't lie. We both know you would have eviscerated them if they had beat me." Zhadin's eyes drifted over to the greenling by the door. They blinked as they took in the bruise forming over her eye.

"… ah. Perhaps I should have killed him. The lord did say I was allowed." Squirt snapped, " When?"

"That is unimportant." Bullshit it was unimportant, the shadowfell had not been parted from her side since they were kidnapped. She was pretty sure the freak watched her while she took her morning shits— Her eyes shifted back to Qzi's cap on his head. The paler shade of red. Zhadin always took Qzi hunting. Zhadin hadn't left her side. The only times Qzi wasn't by her side were when he was guarding greenlings. His rat hunting.

"Qzi, you need to go hunting." Qzi muttered something darkly under his breath, his pout deepening. Fury lit Squirt's blood. She glanced back, noting the greenling had escaped back into the carriage storage room before turning on Qzi.

"Don't be fucking stupid. Go hunting before you start hunting the next fey that comes along." Qzi's expression lit up. He leaned forward, grasping her hands.

"Come hunting with me." Squirt stiffened. Not because she disliked the idea, but because her natural inclination was to go. She could. Zhadin could take them to the woods right now. But no. Shaking her head, she said, "There should be a blood vender in town."

"There is?"

"There is."

"Huh." She scratched her hand through her hair awkwardly, kicking herself for not noticing sooner. Though honestly, he was a grown fucking fey and should be more than capable of feeding himself. Still… Damnit. Had she thought ahead about it, she would have kept some feybeast blood on hand and given him that. But she had expected to report in and then disappear with Mole into the forest. Instead, Mole remained in the paddocks with the other resting elk mounts.

He should have been happily munching on grass and enjoying the gift of autumn where the feybeasts were too powerful to give a flying crap about either of them. But nope.

"You sure, pricklebear?"

"Yeah. I should go and report this to his lordship." She rubbed her eyes.

"Then…" Her eyes closed, she wasn't expecting the warmth of arms wrapping around her shoulders in a tight embrace, Qzi's coppery scent engulfing her.

"Then sleep, pricklebear. We can go hunting together tomorrow." Unbidden, one of her hands reached up to touch his back and return the gesture. Her fingers clenched on his shirt, unable to prevent the worry from rising in her chest.

"Don't wait for me."

"… fine. I won't." She pulled back with her upper lip curled in reflexive anger.

"You fucker. You were going to wait for me if I didn't say it, weren't you?" His eyes slid away, his lips pursed in an obvious pout. She shoved his shoulder, the action just a touch playful under the more obvious annoyance.

"Feed, or I'll tell Zhadin you're not allowed to join us for bed." His expression fell as quickly as his jaw.

"You wouldn't."

"I would, too." He jumped to his feet and ran out of the room without a backwards glance. Squirt stared after him, at a loss after the entire interaction. Zhadin stepped out of the shadows into fey form.

"That was the last one." Squirt's eyes narrowed.

"It's not even half-light yet."

"You are tired."

"I need to report to the lord."

"And then sleep after." Shaking her head, she trotted back into the room, muttering, "You're just trying to get me to yourself again." Just as she crossed under a shadow, a tendril stroked her cheek and she heard the whispered, "Yes."

"I knew it," she muttered as she trotted over to check on the injured greenling.