Page 19 of Rising

I pranced over and pulled it out as a wet, slushy sound graced the knife’s exit. “Man, that felt good,” I voiced, suddenly feeling a lot better than when I arrived, as if Jax had sent me a gift for relief himself.

I glanced back at Riley, who hadn’t yet moved, his face even more concerned than when we’d arrived. He knew I was good; I wasUmbra Mortisafter all. Riley also knew I was taking a dance with death by allowing them to get close. A chance I would have never taken if Jax was still around, holding me accountable. You could be good, but Pansies were unpredictable, and even the best had to meet their maker at some point. But Jax was no longer here, he’d been taken from me.

“Race you back,” I called over my shoulder as I took off, Harley racing against me and the wind, smirk now on my face and knife still in hand. Daring something else to come for me.

As expected, Riley was exactly where he would always be, at my side.

* * *

By the timewe arrived back at The Compound, it was time for the first dinner wave. If things hadn’t changed too much in my absence, my friends would just now be sitting down for dinner before any final meetings or training we had to attend for the day. Often keeping our nights open for leisure or making up personal things we couldn’t tend to during the workday.

Collins and Mohammed were completing side work, preparing for shift change in a few. As we passed them, I stopped to give Harley a pat behind her ears and told her to go home. She pranced off towards my quarter, Riley and I working our way towards The Kitchens, moving through The Pits, the Scholar Building and the General Living Quarters. Tigers on the hunt.

The Kitchens themselves were part literal kitchen, part cafeteria style seating. It was the size of a small mall, quartered out to make space for residents as they filtered through on varying work schedules. With nothing but time on our hands during the settlement period, the earth elementals had outdone themselves by putting together yet another beautiful building. It was exceptional.

One of my favorite things about The Compound was how each building had its own unique charm and character, leaving behind a touch of its creators. Though there were a mix of style buildings in such a few square miles, each building complimented its neighbor. Most would say that each section of the compound had its own vibe and neighborhood charm.

Since it was connected to The Gardens, The Kitchens had been made both beautiful and functional. Most of the building was crafted by strong glass that allowed it to be temperature controlled and operated as a greenhouse. Even when there was no cooking happening on the other side of the divider, the place smelled like the herbs that littered the glass ceiling. The huge building had different rooms that presented as if they were different restaurants. Another one of Jax’s brilliant ideas.

He’d proudly worked with Prescott on setting up the Customs & Culture committee. Understood the importance of building a community, of returning to a collective society and not an individualistic one.

The room off to the left was the only part that had a solid roof that was of a near black wood. It was casually decorated with woven furniture that littered the oak floor. It was still early enough that only a few lay sprawled on couch-like booths, awaiting dinner companions.

Straight ahead was a tea room styled corner, floor to ceiling glass with an apple tree allowed to grow from the outside in. White bistro styled furniture across the pink-tiled flooring and banana leaf trees throughout.

The center was my favorite place when I dined alone, the black-and-white checkered tile flooring reminding me of my favorite brunch spot back home. There were bamboo-colored tables and chairs throughout and longer tables to accommodate larger parties in an elevated area near the large window.

Riley and I passed the now silent room to the darker room on the left. Crossing through the entrance area, headed towards room on the right where we knew our friends would be. Soldiers turned away under Riley’s harsh gaze as he walked behind me.

We entered a more intimate area that resembled a Hawaiian bar, lanterns hanging down from the ceiling providing ambience lighting for the now darkening sky. It was reserved for Council members and those who had a certain security clearance within The Compound. Providing us a more secure place to discuss Compound matters away from many ears while having a meal.

Reina stopped talking and Tomoe turned around to see what she was gaping at. She offered me a soft smile and then elbowed Seth, who jumped to attention in my presence.

“Seth,” I muttered, begging him to sit down, knowing full well at mealtimes we were all equals. Merely a family dining together and catching up on one’s days. As we sat, the table remained quiet, no one really knowing what to say. I glanced behind Reina’s shoulder to see Prescott who offered me a reassuring thumbs up as I rolled my eyes and looked away. Taunting him by not allowing him to see the humor that threatened to populate my eyes.

“Let me get you a plate,” Reina offered, breaking the silence with her echoing chipper voice.

“No, it’s okay. I’m not that hungry. I just came to see you guys, see how you were doing.”

I smiled lamely, wanting everyone to know that was all I wanted, to spend time with them. As if on cue, Prescott walked over with a piece of pie and coffee. “Three sugar cubes and a splash of oat milk.” He winked, walking back over with a cocky pep in his step. I wouldn’t put it past him to have had one of his eyes in the city relay back to him that I had left my quarters. Probably been waiting a few hours for my inevitable arrival.

My friends focused on their plates, eating the chili noodles and vegetable stir-fry that was one of tonight’s meal options and we continued the evening in mostly silence. Every now and then someone would toss out a joke and we’d all pretend to laugh. Them for my benefit and me for theirs.

Without it being said, I knew that things were changing. I could feel it in the air, a sense of determination, and hope. The unity of being back around the people that I loved dearly, transforming the room to a place I wanted to be, both metaphorically and literally.

Sure. There were plenty of conversations we needed to have about the future of our people, where to go from here and putting the pieces our lives had been crumbled into back together again, as best as we could with a major piece missing.

But for now, we were a family sharing a meal before getting to the hard talk of what was to come.

“Ready to go?” Seth said, tugging at Tomoe’s arm.

She wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin and smiled brighter than I’d ever seen before. Her happiness comforted me, my cheeks flushed, and I smiled at her knowingly. As if she could hear the thoughts churning in my mind, she tossed the napkin at my face and choked out a weak excuse. “We’re just sparring down at The Pit, don’t lose those curious eyes of yours. I’ve been giving Seth a piece of my Wrath the last few weeks.”

“Sure baby, whatever you have to say to make yourself sleep at night,” Seth joked and I burst out into the first moment of genuine laughter I’d had in months. My friends joined in, happy to hear what they probably feared they never would again. Seth and Tomoe took their exit, and I turned back to Reina, grabbing her hand.

“I missed you,” I said.

“I missed you too, love bug.”

---