Author's Note: Hope you are all having a wonderful week! This weeks character profile on tumblr will be about Qamar. Follow me at swarthy-warthog for more character bios, and extra details regarding this fic as well as future projects of mine. You are all wonderful! Please like, follow and review! Stay safe out there.
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The sound of a hundred mingled voices echoed through the large, bright space. Wynter gnawed at the piece of deer jerky she had slid into her bag on her way out of the den earlier in the morning. The city of Seabrook had an active civic community, so each and every council meeting was well-attended. There were several adult wolves scattered amongst the large gathering, in a sea of humans and zombies. And, front and center, was Wynter's group.
Eliza and Willa were holding hands as they spoke animatedly about a history lesson from earlier in the week. Wyatt and a very human-looking Mayar were also holding hands, Wyatt patiently explaining different features of the room and the people in it as Mayar asked questions. Mayar had put away the umbrella (apparently humans were superstitious that it was bad luck to have an umbrella open indoors), but was still wearing her large sunglasses. Wynter smiled softly as she looked at her friends and their mates, still absent-mindedly chewing on her jerky.
She was happy for them. But maybe a little jealous, too.
Wynter wasn't much of a romantic; she was interested in her friends and her pack, and keeping them all happy and safe. Like most of the wolves her age, her parents had died waiting for the moonstone to be found. So she would gladly do whatever was necessary to keep all of the ones she loved safe. Even attend a stupid city council meeting to spy on a crazed, evil alien. As for romance... Well, maybe someday.
She glanced down at the empty chair labeled "Moon," wondering if he would flake on the meeting now that he had gotten his butt kicked by a teenage girl. Wynter snickered, swallowing the last of the jerky. Beside her, a light-haired figure in a Seabrook Power coverall sat down roughly next to her.
"Hello, wolf." Said the Lunite who Wynter recognized as Qamar.
"Hello, alien." She quipped back as she took in his apparel. "New job?"
Her goal had been to annoy him, but to her surprise, he actually stifled a laugh.
"Yes," he said, "working for the city of Seabrook; my dream career."
Qamar then nudged her jovially.
"And I'm hardly an alien, Wynter; my people have been here for centuries. I was born on this planet, you know."
"What's got you in such a good mood?" Wynter couldn't help but ask. "Last night, it seemed like you couldn't wait to get away from us."
"I know." He replied, looking only slightly chagrined. "And I give my sincerest apologies for my attitude yesterday. I am worried about what will happen to my people, once the humans realize we are here. They don't exactly have the best history when it comes to accepting new beings."
Wynter had to agree. She remembered how it had been, those first few days in Seabrook High. Though admittedly, the humans and zombies weren't exactly prejudiced against the wolves. They were just plain terrified. It had taken her some months of practice to work on her manners. Like not eating Bree's homework every day, for example. Or stealing Mighty Shrimp swag from the Aceys.
Qamar was squinting continuously, clearly uncomfortable in the brightly lit room.
Wynter reached into her bag, retrieving a mighty shrimps hoodie and a pair of aviator sunglasses. It was possible that she had stolen both items from the Aceys' bags in the cheer squad's office.
"Here," Wynter said. "You look like you're having a staring contest with the sun."
Grinning, he quickly took the pilfered items, sliding the hoodie over his head and placing the sunglasses over his eyes.
"Thanks," he said, shoulders sagging slightly in relief. "I don't know how you guys handle—"
Suddenly, Qamar's head jerked to the side, as though listening to a sound that Wynter couldn't hear.
"Come on." He said, gently but urgently grasping her wrist to pull her along with him. "Charon is close by."
Moving at a speed that made her yip in surprise, they quickly left the bleachers, sprinting out of the main room and towards a door labeled "Administration." across the large lobby. Wynter noticed Qamar pulling the hood further over his head as the sunbeams cascaded through the floor to ceiling windows. Reaching a bench situated outside of the Administration office, he quickly signaled her to remain silent with a raised finger to his lips.
Wynter nodded, trying to focus in on the muted conversation on the other side of the wall. It sounded like someone was talking on the phone.
"— At the cove. The permit for the fireworks has to be ready before Monday. Yes, absolutely."
There was a sound of papers being shuffled around of a desk.
Glancing to her side, she could see that Qamar had produced a small notepad from his pocket, and was drawing something, though his eyes never even glanced at the paper.
"Oh yes, it's going to be awe-inspiring. I've even secured the cheer team to do their routine earlier in the afternoon. Then the Seabrook Historical Society will be putting on their revised version of how Seabrook was discovered..."
That should be interesting. And probably still historically inaccurate, since Wynter was fairly certain that they would not be including the Lunites in the Seabrook origin story.
Feeling a tug at her shoulder, she looked back to Qamar, who had put his notepad away and was gesturing with a nod of his head that it was time to go. She nodded, quickly standing and striding rapidly away from the office and towards the main meeting room. Sharply turning the corner that lead back to the seating area. Qamar was following along absentmindedly, patting the pocket that held the drawing.
As they sat, Wynter noticed that Willa, Wyatt, Eliza and Mayar were looking at them expectantly. It seemed that Mayar had been speaking with Qamar during the entire interlude, because they were clearly conversing now, facial expressions shifting as they would in a spoken conversation. Mayar had reached out, and was lightly grasping her friend's hand as he relayed information to her.
"Did you hear anything?" Wynter asked him, feeling hopeful.
He smiled triumphantly.
"In fact, I think I did. But we'll discuss it later. I don't want the information in all of your heads with him so near."
That was sensible, she supposed.
Wynter noticed passingly that Zed, Addison, Bree, Bonzo and Bucky had all joined them. Zed looked decidedly nervous. Then, a loud tapping sound echoed through the room. Looking back across the empty space to where the council was sitting, she saw that Addison's mom had a small gavel in hand, calling the room to attention.
"Ahem," Mayor Missy politely cleared her throat. "This council meeting is now in session."
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Addison watched as her mom spoke, feeling the familiar sense of frustration settling on her shoulders. While a lot had changed in her mother's attitude towards zombies and wolves in the past year, it was still a knee-jerk reaction to feel irritable whenever her mom spoke publicly. Addison was always waiting for her to say something prejudiced, though it rarely ever happened anymore. Her parents really were growing, and she was proud of them for it. She caught her dad's eye as he stood in the corner of the room, watching the foyer. He winked at her, causing her to grin and roll her eyes.
She was across the room, but could still sense his paternal love and sense of pride towards her. But there was also something else, like worry? Trepidation? Addison wondered what he was concerned about.
Zed was sitting beside her, looking and feeling tense as he glared down at Charon, who had taken a seat in the chair labeled "Mr. Moon." Charon, however, was apparently immersed in listening to Missy, who was currently discussing the new rulings involving zombie dress code. He had a small bruise visible on his chin. His eyebrows were dipped inwards, in silent disapproval at the Mayor's words, as Zed continued to stare him down. Addison could feel the tamped down anger and a fierce protectiveness coursing out of him. He really couldn't stand Charon, mainly thanks to the events of last night. It seemed as though Zed was far more angry about Addison being attacked than he was about Charon's actions against him.
There was a sudden outburst of applause, Willa, Eliza, and a few other monsters actually cheering out loud. During the last meeting, the law regarding Zombie uniforms had been relaxed. Zombies could now wear regular clothing, so long as the colors of the garments were government approved. This meeting marked the implementation of the new law going into effect. It wasn't perfect, but it was something. She and Zed joined in with the applause, momentarily distracted from their mission in order to celebrate another win for diversity.
After a moment, the applause ebbed, and another council member began discussing new developments regarding the rebuilding of the unification Gate and Zombietown.
Daughters.
Addison and Mayar's heads both snapped forward. Addison was unnerved to see Charon staring directly at the two of them.
Daughters, why are you spying on your father? You must realize I would never let you have the information you want.
You aren't my father. Addison replied viciously, glaring at him from her seat a few rows above his eye level. My father is Dale Wells.
She could feel his mild amusement at her reply, which both unnerved and angered her.
Reaching to her sister, they both took each other's hands, gripping tightly despite the sharp stings of Addison's still sore hands. In her periphery, she could see and feel that Zed had taken notice of their silent exchange with Charon.
Charon glanced over to Chief Dale, who was looking out of the window as he leaned against the thick pane of glass. For a moment, Addison assumed that he would make some kind of cruel, painful remark about her dad. But instead, a wry half-grin crossed his face.
Leave me alone, stupid girls, and let me do my work. This is my last warning. The grin faded to nothing. If you continue to pry, it will not be tolerated. I do not wish to kill you, but I will do what must be done to complete my mission.
Abruptly, Charon stood up from his chair, a charming and warm-looking smile now sliding onto his face.
"Hello everyone. Just a quick reminder to all of you that the Shore Day Festival will be this Friday. There will be fun games, delicious food, and even a performance from Seabrook High's talented cheer squad!"
There was an enthusiastic spattering of applause from the crowd. "And, once the sun sets, there will be an amazing fireworks display, courtesy of the City of Seabrook, which I'm sure we will all remember for years to come!"
Another small scattered round of applause as Charon chuckled. "On behalf of this fine city, we all hope to see you there. Of course, all citizens are welcome at this event, including our wonderful zombie and werewolf neighbors."
Charon flashed the charming, dazzling smile again before once again taking his seat with a friendly wave of his hand.
In Addison's head, she suddenly saw a vision of a moonstone, suspended by thick ropes and swaying in a dark room. It was only the tiniest of flashes, tucked back into his head almost as soon as it seeped out. She pretended not to have noticed, and glanced around as she realized that the meeting had ended while she was considering what she had just seen. People around her and her group were standing, making small talk and shaking hands. When she glanced back to Charon's seat, he was gone.
Darn it.
Addison looked to Mayar. Did you see that?
Yes, Mayar replied. But it was too fast. I couldn't tell where it was, other than in some kind of dark room.
Qamar leaned across from Wynter and waved a tiny notebook towards them to grab their attention.
Did it look like this? He asked.
As he held up the notebook, Addison could see that he had drawn an exact replica of the vision she had just caught from Charon's brain. A moonstone, suspended by ropes in a darkened room. The parts of the room she could see from the stone's glow looked decrepit and covered in cobwebs. Around them, her group of friends studied the small drawing. Despite not hearing the first half of the conversation, the non-Lunites in the group seemed to have quickly caught up to the topic at hand.
"It almost looks like the old power plant." Eliza observed, her large eyes looking unsure. "But that can't be, obviously."
Addison and the others were all quiet for a moment as they pondered this new puzzle, while other attendees of the meeting scattered around them and moved to exit the building.
Suddenly, Willa spoke up.
"Well, we know it's not the power plant, but..." She looked pensive as she considered her words. "Are there any other old, abandoned buildings in the area? If we could figure that out, we'd at least have a place to start looking."
Eliza shot her girlfriend and the rest of the group a wry smile as she gingerly tapped her laptop, the corner of it sticking out of her bag. "I don't know, but I bet I can find out."
Addison smiled, feeling slightly elated at she squeezed the hands of both her sister and Zed.
Finally, they had a lead.
Things were looking up.