I hope you enjoy this chapter, I am going to try and update every week. (if I can) Most chapters should be around 3,000 words, sometimes more but probably never less so I hope that is okay. Enjoy, review, and all that jazz.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Night World series
"Wait...so...you're saying that Jade made this?" Ash asked skeptically as the group sat around the dinner table. The group had actually grown since Hugh and Ash had arrived that morning. Mark and Mary-Lynette had showed in mid-afternoon, though only Mary-Lynette had appeared in anticipation of seeing her Ash. Mark didn't seem to care much for Ash Redfern, not that Kestrel could blame him. Ash was a cocky smart mouth who only seemed to want to make out with Mary-Lynette. Luckily for all of them, Mary-Lynette wasn't the type to willingly make out in front of everyone, though she and Ash had disappeared into a room alone for over an hour just a little while after Mare had made her way into the farmhouse.
Now the group all sat around a table together, getting ready to eat the spaghetti that Jade had managed to put together for everyone. Jade had decided soon after she'd met Mark that she would learn to cook for her soulmate. So far, this had proved to be a challenge for Kestrel's younger sister. Though Jade apparently thought herself a cook right off of master chef, despite how burnt or under cooked her food often came out. Mark did nothing to help this, as when Jade gave him something to eat, he would scarf it down, and even ask for seconds. Kestrel could only assume this was because he didn't want to hurt Jade's feelings. He always was careful about that. Kestrel, being the good citizen that she was, had attempted to tell Jade just how awful her food really was, but she insisted that as long as Mark enjoyed it that was what mattered. On the bright side of that, Kestrel would now get to sit back and watch Mary-Lynette attempt to finish the repulsive half burnt and half under cooked spaghetti, as well as Hugh.
"It tastes fine." Hugh replied to Ash, though he didn't even look up from the plate that he was attempting to consume while beside him Kestrel was attempting not to laugh at the face he was making while looking at the food. Ash then not so subtly pushed his plate of food away from himself, refusing to eat it. Not that it really mattered, vampires didn't need to eat, but Lamia's at least were able to enjoy human food if they felt like it. The meal was what one could expect for the most part. Jade and Mark were busy whispering and giggling to one another on their side of the table, while Ash waited on Mary-Lynette to finish off her food so that he could get her alone again. Rowan sat politely, trying not to disturb anyone until she realized no one was making conversation with their new visitor. Hugh.
"So Hugh, Ash tells us you showed him around Circle Daybreak, how long have you been working with them?" Rowan asked as she set aside her own plate of untouched food that she was simply too nice to say anything about. Kestrel on the other hand rolled her eyes at her sister's question.
"That's what you ask him? I'd start with why the hell is he here?!" Kestrel demanded, now turning in her seat to look fully at Hugh expectantly while she waited for an answer. Hugh on the other hand did not seem to be in any rush to give into Kestrel's demands, and so took to finishing chewing his food at the same pace he had been before. Once he'd swallowed he took his time wiping his mouth and taking a sip of his drink before answering. Hugh might not have done this to anyone else, however with Kestrel he could practically feel the annoyance radiating off of her, and something about that was thrilling. Like walking on a train track knowing the train was coming, and just hoping you could jump off before you got hit.
"I was working with Circle Daybreak a year before Ash joined." Hugh replied to Rowan's question first. She had asked first. "And I am actually here to stay. For a little while at least...I can't explain the full details to you. But at least one of the reasons why I'm here is to get the three of you to agree to join Circle Daybreak...we could use all the hands we can get." He said finally, which was the truth. With the last wild power still being searched for, the circle Midnighters had become increasingly desperate. They had sent out more attacks on those form Circle Daybreak then they ever had before since Circle Daybreak began to regroup. And while Circle Daybreak had three of the wild powers, Circle Midnight had strength in numbers. "Which is why I'm here." Hugh continued. "Ash brought me along with him since he was coming back anyway and then suggested I stay here until I can work out somewhere else to stay. "
"Wait, so you're staying, permanently?" Kestrel asked, her nose twitching up as if she'd just smelt something awful. Hugh wasn't offended by this though. It stung a little that Kestrel thought so lowly of him after only just meeting him, but he'd met both men and women who looked down on humans. It seemed as though had it not been for Rowan, Jade, and Ash, Kestrel would probably have taken to human hunting rather then the deer that Ash claimed she took instead.
"Kestrel." Rowan said, her tone warning. She then turned her head in the direction of Hugh and smiled. "Stay as long as you like. It should be refreshing to have a new face in the house." She said politely, unlike Kestrel, Rowan actually enjoyed company.
"I might just take you up on that." Hugh replied kindly. His grey eyes rested on Rowan for perhaps longer then was needed. He couldn't help it. Rowan was just so calm, friendly, and even warm. Rare qualities in a vampire to find together. For the briefest moment, Hugh fund himself wondering why it couldn't have been Rowan he was destined for. The thought was gone as soon as it had come though. He could answer that himself. Rowan didn't need him. Rowan already had everything Hugh could teach her. She needed someone who could help her be more. Kestrel on the other hand seemed to be Hugh's complete opposite with her more cheeky and even dangerous personality. And if he could teach her, then surely she would be teaching him a lot. What exactly she could show him, he didn't know. But it seemed to be a common theme among soulmates to instill in each other some value they didn't have before. Mare had shown Ash to be kind, while Ash had shown Mare to be fierce. Jade had taught Mark to be gentle, and in turn Mark had taught Jade to be protective. Even Jez and Morgead, who were so alike, had learned from each other.
"Kestrel, can you do the dishes tonight?" Rowan then asked after a moment of silence. Kestrel let out a loud groan. "Why can't Ja-" She tried to say but Rowan rose a hand to wave off the statement before it was finished. "Jade made dinner." Rowan said before getting up. "Well it's actually getting late, I think I'll just go read or something." Rowan said glancing at the clock on the wall. Kestrel then grinned when Rowan mentioned it getting late and stood to do as told. She was put in a good mood from being reminded. They hadn't hunted yet. And Kestrel actually preferred to hunt at night. It was more of a challenge as animals tended to hide at night, as well as real predators coming out to hunt the hidden animals like Kestrel herself. She had to rely on her instincts, and had to watch out for such other predators. It was like coming home when she went hunting in the night.
While Kestrel was practically grinning from ear to ear as she did the dishes though, Jade especially was thoroughly upset. They went through this all the time. Mark had to go home for the night, and wouldn't be back until the morning. Kestrel didn't feel bad for Mark leaving though. Jade and Mark saw each other every day. It was sickening really. You'd think they'd want a break at some point, but since meeting the two of them had practically been joined by the hips. "Here, let me help." Hugh said while everyone else went to the front room to say their good-byes to the Carter's.
"I know how to do dishes. I don't need your help." Kestrel said, the annoyance clear in her voice as she didn't even look up from the sink she was filling with water.
"Come on, it'll help pass the time working with someone else." Hugh insisted, now standing almost right behind Kestrel. Kestrel was silent for a moment. She didn't like taking help with things. But she supposed it was only dishes so it would be to much of a hassle to fight Hugh on it. Kestrel opened up a drawer and took out a dry rag then handed ...well...shoved it towards Hugh. "you dry."
Despite Kestrel's obvious hostility towards Hugh, he was determined to find out more about her, and perhaps even get on her good side. Though as far as he could tell, no one was on Kestrel's good side. From what he could tell about her, she seemed to care for her sisters at least, but that didn't mean she even liked them. It was intriguing to Hugh honestly. Hugh had met plenty of vampires working for Circle Daybreak, and plenty that seemed to naturally wake up on the same side of the bed. But at the same time for the most part, they all had at least one person they could be friendly with. For Morgead it was Jez, for James it was his soulmate Poppy, and so on and so forth. However it seemed as though Kestrel had yet to find that person she could show a softer side to. Hugh now wanted to be that person. Hugh had always had a thing for helping those who needed the help. In fact Jez had once confided in him that he'd practically rebuilt her from the ground up. Of course Hugh informed her that her heart was always there, he just showed her how to use it.
With Kestrel though, it was perfectly clear she had a heart. One could easily see that while she was a bit pessimistic and had a rough edge, she at least truly loved her sisters, even if she didn't really play nice with them. Kestrel didn't seem like she would ever need help with anything now that Hugh thought about it. And that only made him even more curious about her. Hugh took the dish rag and waited for the first dish to be handed to him. "Do you want to play a game?" Hugh asked after a moment of daunting silence.
Kestrel looked up with Hugh with a strange sort of smile, as if it was supposed to be sweet, but also not at the same time. "Of course! I would love to. Might I suggest candy land? Maybe afterwards we can cuddle up on the sofa and braid each other's hair! Oh hold on I'll get the popcorn!" Kestrel exclaimed with mock excitement before her features hardened again. Okay, so she was a little sarcastic. No problem. Hugh could deal with sarcasm. Kestrel was now narrowing her amber eyes at him, which made Hugh only just realize he'd been smirking at her. He then only continued smirking and now shook his head and chuckled slightly as he took one of the clean dishes to dry it.
"Glad you're on board. Unfortunately I don't think my hair will be much fun to braid, it's not as long as yours. However I'm all for cuddling on the couch." Hugh played along and for the briefest of moments he spotted the corners of Kestrel's mouth beginning to go up. Sadly he was now staring and they dropped just as quickly. She was stubborn. "How about this. We'll play a guessing game. I'll guess something about you, and if I'm right, nothing happens, but if I'm wrong, you get to splash me with the dish water. And after I take my turn, you guess something about me, and if you're wrong, I get to splash you with the dish water. Sound fair?" Hugh asked. He could tell Kestrel was mulling it the end, it seemed that the idea of getting to splash Hugh with dirty water was too good of a chance to miss because she finally answered with "Deal."
"Okay, I'll start us off. Your favorite color is grey." Hugh guess only to see Kestrel get a smirk. "Wrong!" She said quickly and splashed Hugh with the water. She splashed him enough that now some of the front of his shirt was sticking to his chest. Immediately he began to wonder if this was a good idea at all, but that was answered the moment he heard Kestrel begin to crack up. She was actually laughing now. The first time since he'd arrived. That made it worth it in itself. Though he had a feeling that Kestrel wouldn't be playing it entirely fair throughout the game.
"My guess. You hate being here just as much as I hate you being here." Kestrel said seriously. She really did know how to get right to the point.
"Wrong. I'm actually glad to be here. More so since it's my turn to splash you with water." Hugh said, trying to keep the mood light though Kestrel let out an exasperated sigh. Hugh stuck his hand in the sing and splashed it up at Kestrel, trying to coat the front of her shirt with as much water as she'd gotten on his. Of course this ended up being a double edged sword, as he hadn't taken into account Kestrel's different anatomy, and so once her shirt had gotten wet it clung to her in an extremely flattering way. Hugh ended up attempting to look anywhere but at her chest.
Kestrel didn't exactly seem to be as good a sport as Hugh was, as without even giving Hugh a chance to make his next guess, she splashed him with more water, this time right in the face. Hugh narrowed his eyes at Kestrel. Game on. He reached down into the sink and splashed back at Kestrel this time with more water then she'd originally splashed him with. Neither of them seemed to be too focused from then on over the mess they were making all over the kitchen. In fact their antics escalated as Hugh attempted to make a run for it only to be followed by Kestrel who now had a cup of water in hand to dump over Hugh's head. Hugh managed to sense how close she was and quickly turned in an attempt to take the cup from her, but he ended up slipping on the now soaked kitchen floor. He fell forward and crashed against Kestrel who then also slipped. The two of them crashed against the ground, Hugh on top of Kestrel. "Are you okay?!" Hugh asked quickly, holding himself over Kestrel as Kestrel attempted to catch her breath from having the wind knocked out of her.
It took a moment before Kestrel gave any sort of reply, but when she did it didn't come in the form of words. Kestrel began to laugh. She was laughing so hard that for a moment she made no noise at all. Once she did begin to laugh, it also made Hugh laugh. Not at her, but with Kestrel. He lowered himself onto Kestrel more while he attempted to get hold of his laughter and buried his face in his hair while Kestrel leaned up slightly to laugh into Hugh's chest. Hugh closed his eyes for a moment, attempting to savor his first friendly interaction with Kestrel when he heard a gasp from behind the two.
Simultaneously Hugh and Kestrel attempted to break apart, only to slip and fall back once more. Hugh then managed to at least crane his neck around to see who was in the door way. Ash. Well this would be marched himself over to Hugh and Kestrel after seeming to get over the shock of seeing Hugh stuck between his sister's legs, both of them wet and on the floor. "What's going on?! I'd expect this from Jade and Mark...but...DUDE!" Ash exclaimed as he grabbed Hugh by the shoulders and pulled him off of Kestrel.
"Well, that's all for tonight folks, tip your waitress!" Kestrel said nervously as she stood up quickly and practically ran out of the room. Way to sacrifice your soulmate. Hugh thought then shook his head and looked back to Ash who still appeared to be trying to work out what in the world he'd just witnessed. "Can we step outside? I think you ought to hear me out before you kick my ass." Hugh said then limped over to the back door. He opened it up and walked out to wait for Ash on the back deck.