by S. E. Weir
Bit off someone else’s head…as a wolf would…
Phina snorted softly at her musings as she returned the tablet, then stepped back and nodded. He had been silently watching and likely assessing her. Maxim nodded back. Perhaps he realized she felt overwhelmed and needed some space. “Any preference on what time to meet?”
She thought for a moment, then told him the truth. “I usually train in the mornings before breakfast and school, then in the afternoons when school gets out. I’ve kept that up since graduating.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You train?”
Phina raised her eyebrows. “Yes, Man of Few Words. Train. You don’t know much about me, so no quips.” Never mind that it was agility and climbing she trained herself in more than fighting.
He shrugged, his expression displaying interest but also watchfulness. “I don’t need to know much about you personally to begin training you. It’s part of the process. Better to find out where your skills are at directly and figure out where to go from there than to assume I know what you need.”
She sighed. “Fine, but I need to get back and change. If you still want to talk, you can walk with me, I guess. Otherwise, let me know when to meet you.”
When she turned to walk away, he fell into step next to her, so she supposed that was her answer.
They left the quieter back hallways where Maxim had found her wandering and entered the busy corridors that led toward where Alina lived. It was quite a hike since Phina had been distracted and hadn’t cared how far out into the station she wandered. She usually avoided the trams so as not to get lazy or to cool down or keep her muscles toned. She didn’t hear a peep of complaint from him as she did that now, and she grudgingly wondered about him.
“This is not where the records say you live,” he finally remarked as they drew closer to Alina’s house.
“No, it’s my friend’s house. I left my stuff here this morning.”
He nodded, amusing Phina with his lack of verbosity. She tended to be quiet and was used to being around Alina, who could talk your ear off if she felt like it. Maxim didn’t seem to care that they weren’t conversing about the training she needed, the very reason he had supposedly come with her. Odd man. Was he just respecting her need for space?
Leaving the collection of humans and aliens behind when they reached the hall leading to Alina’s apartment, Phina began to wonder in what state she would find her friend. Alina had seemed anxious that morning when Phina left to follow John Grimes after being caught in the training room. And even if she had thought of it, Phina hadn’t been able to send Alina a message to let her know she was all right because her tablet was on her friend’s bed. Fudging crackers. Alina would be pissed. She walked a little faster, not surprised to find Maxim’s pace matching hers.
She hesitated for a moment before ringing the bell. The tone had barely died before the door opened and Alina threw herself into Phina’s arms, sobbing her heart out. Startled, Phina reflexively hugged her friend back.
“I’ve…been…waiting…hours!” she finally got out through her tears and ragged breathing. Alina managed to get her crying under control and pulled back, wiping her face with her sleeve, then punched Phina in the arm.
“Ow!” Phina frowned at her friend as she rubbed the rapidly bruising area. Alina was definitely mad, according to the evidence she’d left on Phina’s body. The harder Alina punched, the more upset she was—which was, of course, Phina’s fault.
“Why did you take so long?” Alina glared at her, eyes sparking with fury.
Phina sighed. “I’m sorry. They were talking to me for a long time, and then I just wandered around, trying to process things in my head. I should have tried to let you know. I’m a horrible friend.”
“Yes, you should have.” Alina’s tone was biting, but Phina knew her well enough to tell that she was softening. They had been friends almost since they were babies. Alina knew her thoughts only wandered when she felt overwhelmed.
Phina glanced over to see Maxim standing a few feet away, dressed in workout clothes only slightly less form-fitting than she wore. Though he looked concerned, he had a small smile on his face as he watched Alina.
Her friend followed Phina’s glance to Maxim, and she barely avoided squawking in dismay. Alina grabbed Phina’s arm and pulled her into the house as Phina looked back and gestured for Maxim to follow. He did and stood next to the door as Alina shut it, then continued to pull Phina down the hall to her room while she yelled behind them, “Be right back!”
Used to this treatment in a general sense, though not to this degree, Phina knew Alina would be on overload herself. She just kept quiet, letting the girl draw her into the room and shut the door gently behind them. Her friend left her hand in place for a moment as she visibly took a breath to calm down.
Turning to Phina, Alina grabbed her shoulders and looked her in the eye with a funny light Phina had never seen before. “Why is Maxim standing in my living room?”
Phina tried to shrug as Alina’s fingers dug in; she felt really uncomfortable. “He walked here with me.”
“No. Why. Is. Maxim. Nikolayevich. Standing. In. My. Living. Room!” With every word, Alina shook Phina just a little harder until the pain was too bad and she pulled away.
“Ouch! Geez, Alina!” She rubbed the marks and soreness out of her shoulders as she darted confused looks at her best friend. The past day must have been too much for her, and she was going crazy. She’d never seen Alina like this before. She looked up from her shoulder to see Alina staring at the door with a strange mix of emotions on her face. Concern welled up within Phina.
“Alina?”
Her best friend seemed dazed as she stood unmoving, staring at the door. “I can’t believe he’s here. Do you know how often I’ve imagined meeting him? He’s one of the hottest guys on the station. I just can’t believe he’s out there in my own living room.”
Phina gently touched her friend’s arm, startling Alina into motion as she looked down at Phina’s hand in dawning horror. “I can’t believe I was wearing this ratty thing and Maxim saw me!” Alina shrieked and pulled away, tearing the worn sweatshirt off as she ran toward her closet, stumbling over the heels that had been left on the floor. The blonde tore the door open and dove in. Phina just stood with a bemused look on her face.
Apparently, Alina had finally realized a handsome man stood in her living room while she still wore the ratty but comfortable sweats she couldn’t ever seem to get rid of. Phina’s smile faded at the thought. Alina only wore her sweats when she hung out at home and worried about something, working herself into a state. No wonder she had been so upset when Phina rang the doorbell.
Rather than watch the stream of color flying out of the closet as Alina muttered and mumbled to herself and tried to decide what to wear, Phina turned her attention to changing into her own clothes. After she finished and slid her tablet into her pocket, she felt better. She pushed her feet into her boots with a satisfied sigh.
She still wore the black jeans and green shirt from yesterday since she hadn’t yet been home to get new ones. But still, slipping on her black jacket and wearing her own clothes made her feel much more the thing. She wasn’t used to showing as much of her body as the workout clothes revealed since she usually trained in her bodysuit, which, though tight, fully covered everything. Her own clothes were much more to her liking.
Alina finally emerged from her closet dressed in small black shorts, a tight black crop top that sparkled when she moved, and tall black boots that zipped up. Over her outfit, she wore a red satin jacket with a bolero-style top, but the hemline extended down below the shorts. As her friend turned to put makeup on, Phina noticed that from the back, Alina’s outfit looked like a minidress.
Less than a minute later, the young woman turned to her, biting her newly reddened lips. She had sprayed on some perfume as well, which joined the floral and fruity scents that already permeated the room.
“What’s wrong?” Phina crossed
to her and gently held her hands. “You’re never like this. Is it Maxim? I’ll kick him out if he makes you feel uncomfortable.”
Alina looked up in shock. “No, you can’t!” She shook her head, then tried to relax and smile. “No, Phina, I’m all right. I just wasn’t expecting to see Maxim Nikolayevich standing outside my door.” She narrowed her eyes and glared. “With my best friend of all people, who never cares about guys or how hot they are.”
Phina shrugged. “I don’t.”
Alina protested, and Phina shrugged again. “I see it, but I don’t really care how hot they are. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Tell me you guys aren’t together!” She clutched Phina’s hands. “You’re not interested in him, right?”
Phina looked at her with concerned amusement. “No. Not together, and not interested. I don’t even know if I like him yet.”
Relieved, Alina pointed her finger from her newly heeled height, all of five inches taller—which told Phina how badly Alina wanted to make a good impression on the tall Wechselbalg—and spoke firmly. “You are going to like him. He’s not just a hot guy, he’s kind and caring and takes care of his friends and the Guardians. I’ve been following news of him for years. He actually reminds me of you in some ways.” She narrowed her eyes to show Phina she was serious. “Speaking of which, you are going to tell me why he’s here with you. Best friends don’t keep these secrets from each other.”
Phina stared at Alina for a moment, then blandly spoke. “Sure, but can I tell you later? He’s been waiting for, like, ten minutes already.”
Alina’s eyes widened and she squeaked in alarm, threw the door open, and quickly strode out to the living room. Phina followed her and saw Maxim’s eyes grow larger before he got control of himself. Phina grinned. Alina always made an impression.
Chapter Three
QBBS Meredith Reynolds, Waters Residence
Phina opened her eyes on her first day as a legal adult. Legal. Adult. She would no longer be restricted by law or aunt decree in travel, education, or occupation. She could finally make her own decisions. It felt amazing. Fantastically amazing.
Since her birthday was now here, Phina would also tell her aunt she planned to join the Diplomatic Corps. Phina just hoped Faith was in a good mood. Sniffing the air, she thought there was a good chance. Pancakes for breakfast never happened when her aunt was moody, depressed, or pissed off.
Anxious to move on with her plans for the day, Phina showered and quickly dressed. Thinking about spending time with Alina later that day reminded her of the amusing twenty minutes she had witnessed yesterday. Alina hadn’t been shy; she’d tried to discover everything she could about Maxim. The trainer had been drawn out of his stoic shell despite himself and seemed to really appreciate Alina.
He had left after finally making solid plans for training, and Phina expressed her surprise that Alina hadn’t even tried to flirt. The girl’s answer had shocked her. “Phina, when it’s someone you want to have something real with, and fate steps in with the opportunity to find out if it could happen, you don’t mess it up by being fake.” Phina had just stared at Alina, wondering what had happened to her friend. Alina hadn’t been this serious about a guy she barely knew in…well, ever.
She shook her head, still not sure what to think. She finished getting ready for the day and went to find breakfast. Her Aunt Faith stood in front of the stove wearing her simple but classic separates, fishing the last of the pancakes off the griddle. “Just a minute, sweetie.” The kitchen’s dimensions were small but still large enough to take a few steps while preparing meals.
Her aunt deftly placed butter between two pancakes and drenched the whole thing in fruit syrup. Aunt Faith sometimes complained about the lack of real syrup, but since maple syrup trees were scarce in space and her aunt refused to use artificial substitutes, creativity was required. After sliding the plate onto Phina’s side of the table with a cup of her favorite juice, Aunt Faith finally looked up, her dark hair framing her brown eyes, and smiled as she gave Phina a hug. “Happy Birthday!”
Phina relaxed a little as she returned the hug. Apparently this really would be a good day. “Thank you, Aunt Faith.”
Her aunt stepped back and winked. “You’re welcome, kiddo. It’s not every day that you turn eighteen and begin your adult life.” She turned back to the stove to put together her own plate.
Phina cleared her throat as she sat down. “About that...” She took a drink of the juice to help loosen her throat and got distracted by the delicious fruity taste. She put her cup down to see her aunt sitting across from her, smiling at her niece's enjoyment of her favorite things. Anxious to get it over with, Phina finally blurted, “I’m going to join the Diplomatic Corps and attend the Diplomatic Institute.”
“The Diplomatic Institute?” Her aunt hesitated but continued to smile as she cut a piece off her pancake and dipped it in the syrup. “Really? Are you sure you’re up for it, sweetie?”
Phina frowned. “What do you mean?”
Her aunt waved her fork. “Well, you did fail the Academy exams. Are you sure this Diplomatic Institute won’t be too much for you? Too stressful, maybe?”
Her mouth tightening, Phina stiffened in her seat. “Of course not!”
Aunt Faith delicately rolled the pancake around in her mouth before swallowing and eying Phina doubtfully. “Hmmm. If you say so, then suppose I must believe you.”
Phina’s face burned with suppressed emotion, though she responded calmly. “I can handle it, Aunt Faith. I’m not in the least concerned. Besides, isn’t it my life to worry about?”
“Oh, of course. I just wonder, you know, since you did have trouble before. I promised my brother I would look out for you, and I always do my best for you.”
Phina wanted to snort at that, but she kept it inside. “Well, trust me, I’m not worried at all.”
“Then I won’t say anything further.”
“Really?” Phina couldn’t believe her ears. Aunt Faith usually drove her point home in multiple ways.
Her aunt raised her eyebrows. “Yes, really. Why not? It could be a great idea.”
Phina finally let out the breath and tension she had been holding and smiled. A good day for certain. “Thanks, Aunt Faith.”
After finishing breakfast and cleaning up, Phina left for Alina’s quarters, but not before eliciting a reminder from her aunt to be back for dinner to celebrate. “Of course, Aunt Faith! I’m bringing Alina, too.”
Ignoring her aunt’s comments about Alina being a nice girl aside from the way she dressed and her poor excuse for parents, Phina grabbed the bag she had packed earlier and left. Of course, with her aunt, there would be a comment of some kind, but if it had to be something, that one wasn’t too bad.
Halfway to Alina’s quarters, she was startled by a voice on her communicator. “Hi, Phina!”
She grinned. “ADAM!”
A Yollin clicked his mandibles in irritation next to her. She didn’t need to pay attention to know a few choice words were being said. She shrugged and apologized in Yollin, hoping he could see it was genuine. After a skeptical survey of her face, he quickly moved ahead through the crowd.
“We are using your communicator. There is no need to speak out loud when you can subvocalize.”
She shook her head at the slight buzzing sound from her communicator but made the correction. “Oops! Sorry, I forgot. What have you been up to?”
She could hear his amusement. “A little of this, a little of that.”
“That tells me absolutely nothing, you know.”
“I know. What have you been doing?”
“Don’t you know?” She teased the AI. “You do have eyes everywhere.”
“Just because I can watch everything doesn’t mean I do it every moment. I try to give people their privacy when I am able to do so.”
“That’s very considerate of you, ADAM, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Phina. Are you goi
ng to tell me what has happened, or was that a deflection and you didn’t want me to ask again?”
“No, it’s fine. Are you aware of the rest of Anna Elizabeth’s conversation with me?”
“Yes. I’m aware of all the interactions you had outside of the residences. I deemed those inside more private and didn’t want to intrude.”
“Do you have that policy for everyone?”
ADAM hesitated so briefly she barely noticed. “It depends on the situation. But I try to do be mindful of privacy for those who are my friends.”
Phina grinned, not caring that the humans and aliens around her in the corridors could watch her smile for no reason they could see. “Are we friends, ADAM?”
“I think I would like to be, Phina.”
“Settled, then.”
Phina spent some time telling ADAM about Alina’s reactions two days before, going into more detail after he asked questions. She approached Alina’s residence as she finished relaying her morning so far with her aunt.
“Interesting.”
“Right? I was completely surprised.”
“Did you expect her to be mad?”
Phina hesitated as she approached Alina’s door. “I hoped she wouldn’t be, but yes, ADAM, I expected her to blow up.”
Alina had the door open with a huge smile almost before she finished talking. “Happy birthday, birthday girl!”
>>I’ll talk to you later, Phina.<<
“Stay if you like, ADAM. I’ll let you know if it’s a problem.”
Phina went into the house with her friend and talked through the same events for Alina, with even more dramatic results.
Alina stared at her in shock. “This is your aunt, right?”
“Yeah, I know! I expected her to get super angry and protest more.”
Alina shook her head in disbelief. “I mean, I know you joining the Diplomatic Corps is a surprise. I was surprised, and I’m your best friend!” She narrowed her eyes playfully at Phina. “But your aunt never just…agrees without more of a fight!”
