Focal Point
The Countess D
Once in the city, the crowds parted, giving their group a wide breadth as Rafe hurried through the streets. They walked until they found an abandoned district, its doors and windows boarded, and disappeared into an alley. Rafe and Cheza looked cautiously at the windows above them, the former sniffing carefully for any trace of a nearby human. When he found none, he waved his hand, summoning a group of young adults in place of the wolves that trailed after them.
Before they could say a word, Rafe was thrown to the ground, the nearby trash cans sent spinning. With the wind knocked out of him, he wheezed and peered up at Atra as she dug her heel more securely into his chest.
"You could have warned me about that performance," she hissed.
Rafe let out a choked laugh beneath her. "Would a warning have gotten me this view?"
Her cheeks pinked. Atra gave him another half-hearted kick, listening with satisfaction as his breath rushed out of him a second time, before distancing herself from him and leaning against the wall across the way. Rafe sat up a moment later with a boyish grin, absentmindedly rubbing the sore spot she'd left behind.
"Could you at least wait until we're gone before you start flirting?" With no small amount of sympathy, Kuri glanced to Kiba. "I'd rather fight my way through another forest fire than watch this."
Kiba stared at the two of them, his jaw clenched as Rafe's grin settled into a smug smile. "What was that down there? You almost got us arrested."
"That was me getting you into the city. And if we're being honest, you were the one who almost got us arrested." He deflected their accusing glares with a shrug. "It got the job done didn't it?"
"I thought it was kind of brilliant," Hige said, wincing as Kiba turned on him. "We got in, right?"
"And that Noblewoman thing," Toboe said, not bothering to hide his awe, "How'd you know it'd work?"
Rafe brightened at their praise. He pointed to his breastbone. "Their vests had a crest on them. And the armor was high quality, so I figured the Nobles must fund them." Seeing more questions written across their faces, he added, "The Noblewoman thing was a guess. Call it a calculated risk."
The brains, Kuri once called him. Tsume studied Rafe. He hadn't made his mind up about him, but it was clear that there was some merit to the nickname. "Big gamble to take with the Flower Maiden involved."
"I'm a lucky guy."
Atra scoffed. "You like to think so."
"Sure do." Rafe's expression softened as he turned to her. "So what's next? What's the big fancy business you all have in this place?"
"It doesn't concern you," Kiba spat. Mindful of Atra's eyes on him, he grudgingly added, "If you want something to do, you can find us some food."
Rafe pouted slightly. "Okay, sure. Atra and I can always—"
"Atra will stay to guard Cheza."
Atra turned to Kiba, struggling to hide her surprise. Meanwhile, Rafe's lips pressed into a thin line. "I'm assuming you'll be guarding Cheza, too."
"Again: I don't see how that's any of your concern."
After a moment, Rafe dipped his head in a deliberate nod, eyes lucid as he held Kiba's gaze. Kiba was entertaining the thought of swiping his claws across that smug face when Hige spoke. "I'll come with, Rafe. No reason you should be feeding us all by yourself."
Helplessly, Atra looked across the alley to the others. "Tsume, Kuri—"
"We got it," Tsume assured her, glancing Kuri's way.
"Can I come with you guys?" Toboe asked.
"If you want."
With the groups sorted, Kiba examined the building beside them. It was an old apartment complex, long abandoned. It would be more than enough space for them to sleep comfortably, and the boards on the windows would be easy enough to pull aside. Shelter, at least for tonight, had come easy.
"We'll meet back here tonight." He walked to Atra, gently guiding Cheza beside him. As he passed Rafe, he paused. "Make sure you find us something good."
"Your boy is losing it," Kuri said, lifting her hands and resting them at the back of her head as they ambled down the sidewalk. Tsume looked at her with a frown. She'd picked up some habits from Hige, it seemed. Though she wore them better, he wasn't sure that he liked it. "Kiba's gonna to have to pull it together or else this is going to end in an all-out brawl."
"Too late," Tsume replied. Kiba had done plenty to stake his claim on Atra, whether he knew it or not. Judging by the look on Rafe's face, he certainly did.
"I'm a little confused," Toboe said. "I get that Kiba's jealous but—"
"Do you?" Tsume said blithely.
"Well, yeah. He's been acting like that with Atra since Leon's."
"Since Leon's?" Kuri turned to Toboe, gleefully scandalized.
Toboe made of show of taking an exaggerated breath before continuing, "Anyway, even if he is jealous, it's not like Rafe's really done anything bad. Sure, he teased Kiba a few times, but still, I've never really seen him act this way before."
"Haven't you?" Tsume asked skeptically. "Once Kiba's decided on something, he'll mow down anything in his way to get it. But with women, it's not that easy."
Kuri gave him a sly glance. "Speaking from experience?"
Duly ignoring her, he said, "Kiba's never played this game before. He was struggling to begin with and now Rafe's giving him a fight on top of it." With a soft laugh, Tsume added, "Poor bastard's probably panicking."
"Panicking?" Toboe repeated, struggling to fit the word against what they knew of Kiba.
Kuri sighed and smiled down at him. "You'll understand one day, Toboe."
"I'm not that young, why can't I understand now?"
"Consider yourself lucky." She looked up and scanning the streets. They were relatively empty for such a large city, but in every window Kuri could see humans bustling from room to room, hunched over desks, mumbling apologies as they bumped against each other on the way to their next destination. There was so much activity here that Kuri's skin itched just watching. Tsume led their small group, walking with his eyes fixed ahead. "Where are you taking us, exactly?"
"Station. Bus station. Train station. Whatever comes first." Tsume glanced at Kuri out of the corner of his eye. "If we want to know how close we are to the wetlands, that's our best bet. We'll be able to see their routes."
"Won't that be risky? There will be so many people there." Kuri thought back to the small congregations that gathered at Zali's train station. "Why don't we just ask about it?"
Tsume came to a stop, looking to her in exasperation. "Who would I ask?"
"Anyone?" Kuri said, gesturing to the passersby. "We are in a city. Lots of people. Lots of options."
"Why would I ask?"
"What do you mean why?" She exclaimed, not noticing Toboe walking past. "We're trying to find out how to get somewhere. We should ask for directions."
Tsume's brow twitched. "Or we could be a little more self-reliant."
As Kuri shot Tsume an affronted glare, Toboe called from up ahead. "Guys! Would this help?" He'd come to a stop in front of a wall plastered over with a number of maps, a patchwork of faded land masses and oceans overlaid with crossing lines. Tsume and Kuri exchanged a look before walking up to join him, taking a closer look.
"What is this?" Kuri said, leaning forward to see if she could recognize the features of a yellowed continent. "Why would there be maps on a random street?"
"Not maps. Posters. The real maps are at the museum." Kuri and Toboe looked to Tsume as he tapped a bolded word printed in the corner of one of the sheafs. "An exhibit. That's what it says."
Toboe blinked. "Tsume, I didn't know you could read."
"I picked up a few tricks in the city."
"So do you think they'll have what we're looking for?" Kuri asked.
"Only one way to find out." Tucked beside the black block letters, there was another, more rudimentary map marking the location of the museum. Tsume took note of it, committing the image to memory. He looked to the other wolves and gestured at them to follow as he turned down the sidewalk. "Let's go."
Hige hadn't spent a lot of time with him, but he had to admit—he liked Rafe. He was refreshing. Not as intense as Kiba or ornery as Tsume. Not so naive as Toboe. He had a reckless streak about him, he and Atra so clearly cut from the same cloth, but Hige didn't mind. Everything about this journey was reckless. Why not have some fun along the way? And Rafe, at least, seemed open to fun.
Not long after leaving the pack, he and Rafe followed their noses to a large grocery store at the heart of the city. Rafe stopped him from walking in with a shake of the head, instead gesturing to a building that towered behind the market. They slipped down an alleyway, careful to check for peeping eyes before leaping to its roof.
They settled on the edge of the building, their legs dangling as they kept watch over the store. Rafe pulled a plum snatched from the outdoor displays from under his arm and tossed it to Hige without a word, pulling another from his side.
"Thanks," Hige said with a grin. The plums were larger than in the other cities. He took a luscious bite and hummed with pleasure as he discovered that they were sweeter, too. "Man, this place is good. What are we waiting up here for?"
"Deliveries," Rafe said, talking around a bit of fruit. He chewed and swallowed before pointing to the road behind the store. "Easier to wait for new shipments and sneak in when they open the truck. Atra and I used to run them."
"Smart thinking."
He shrugged. "The things you learn."
Hige took another bite, watching the people below. An old man hobbled out with a bag of groceries under his arm. A woman carried a crying child in through the market's doors, the shrill shrieks hurting his ears even across the distance. He gestured to Rafe with his bitten plum. "You're not really what I expected, you know."
Rafe glanced at him before containing his surprise in a smirk. "What'd you expect?"
"Dunno. Atra always talked about how you were the one who told her about Paradise, so when you showed up we thought you'd go crazy over Cheza or something." Hige paused and took a bite, wondering if he'd said too much. "Maybe I was expecting someone more like Kiba."
As Rafe turned to him, Hige laughed sheepishly. "I guess you don't really know what I mean by that. Ever since you showed up, he's been kind of a dick."
He snorted. "Glad to know it isn't the norm."
"Yeah," Hige chuckled. "Normally he's… very serious. Hyper focused on Paradise all the time. I love the guy, but it gets kind of tiring."
When he next looked at Rafe, he was lost in thought, staring at the road below. Just as Hige considered apologizing, he shook his head with a soft smile. "It just sounds like Kiba is the real deal. If I'm honest with myself, I only ever talked about Paradise because Atra wanted to hear it."
Hige blinked. "Because of Atra?"
"Yeah." Rafe took another bite. Chewed. Swallowed. "Doesn't matter what she says. She loves that old story. Can't pull herself away."
Hige found himself thinking of the look on Atra's face as she followed that owl and her excitement when they found her on the outskirts of the village, still stinking of the fire in Silla's home. True, she'd never been so forthright about it, but if he had to choose someone who came close to matching Kiba's fervor, it might be her.
"Is that why you're really here, then?" Hige asked, looking to him sympathetically. "For Atra?"
Rafe went quiet, averting his gaze. They sat in silence, the two of them devouring what was left of their snack until a truck rumbled into view down below. It slowed with a screech. Before the wheels stopped turning, the human in the passenger seat—a muscled young man with headphones heavy around his neck—opened his door. As the man angled himself out of the door, Rafe looked to Hige with a grin. "Showtime."
Kuri had never seen a museum. She'd heard of them certainly; gotten acquainted with the concept through Atra and Rafe's stories of marble statues and halls that reeked of old oils. But she was unprepared for the real thing. She knew that horrors could be dreamt up by humans with the time, resources, and proclivities. But as Kuri walked through beneath towering columns and across shining tiles, she realized they were capable of crafting beauty, too.
"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Kuri said to Toboe, her whisper echoing across the hall. He nodded, his own eyes wide as they swept across the room.
Predictably, Tsume was less affected by the grandeur. He looked strange enough in this setting, his leather garb clashing against the backdrop of polished stone. It didn't help that he was charging past the pieces on display like a mad bull, his head inclined forward as if he were butting obstacles out of his way.
Kuri and Toboe hurried to catch up with him, the girl shaking her head. "It wouldn't hurt to try to fit in."
"No one cares. And we have a job to do. We're not going to waste time by running around and swooning over paintings."
Kuri and Toboe exchanged a commiserating look before dutifully keeping pace. It didn't take long for her to figure out exactly what urged Tsume forward. As they marched down the halls, the scent of old parchment grew.
Before long, they found a room with entire worlds hung across the walls. Kuri gaped as she took it in. Childishly, she began to wonder if she could find their old mountain on one of these ancient scripts. She stepped towards a map sewn onto a tapestry and marveled at the colors spiraled into a single thread.
From his place beside her, Toboe leaned forward, his nose almost touching the fabric when Tsume's hand fell on his shoulder, abruptly pulling him back. When they glanced up at him in surprise, the corner of his mouth lifted in the hint of a smile.
"Stay focused." He dropped his hand and stalked away, searching.
Kuri stared at Tsume's back before twisting her face into a mockery of his stern expression. "Stay focused," she imitated, grinning as Toboe stifled a laugh.
"I heard that."
She scoffed. "Good."
They joined Tsume as he walked towards a large map displayed at the back of the room, its edges weathered and browned. Kuri was surprised to find familiarity in its lines, as if she'd already seen it once before.
Toboe gasped softly beside her. "Oh. Silla had this."
Tsume nodded. The old man had kept a print of it above his fireplace. It caught his attention then, standing out among the paraphernalia Silla kept otherwise. Kuri turned back to the map and frowned. She looked at the lower left corner, as if there she'd find another copy of the Book of the Moon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" A man approached them from the side, graying hair curled upon his head and a tag pinned to his breast. His voice was so low and hushed Kuri couldn't help but wonder what he must sound like in the morning, caught between dreams. "It's a well-coveted piece. People are drawn to it, if only for its magnificent windrose."
Toboe turned to the docent. "What's a windrose?"
He lifted his hand to the compass at the center of the map. Kuri looked on command, suddenly recognizing its similarity to the small disc Tsume tossed her long ago. The letters. The arrows. But upon those basic components, the artist had layered tangles of sweeping curved lines, crosshatched details, and embellishments shining gold.
"An old name for a compass, called so in reference to how travelers would find their way according to the directions of the winds. It's not often the focal point of a map like this, but that's what makes it beautiful, don't you think?" Kuri and Toboe stared at the design in awe as Tsume looked to the docent suspiciously. Undeterred, he smiled. "It's not often I see people so young taking an interest in such things. Especially in these times."
"We're conducting research," Kuri said, remembering Atra's old excuse. Tsume glanced at her over his shoulder as she continued. "We wanted to know more about the different places near this city. Or, not places, but… I guess, environments? Lands?"
Tsume's face fell as Toboe nodded, urging her on. "Yeah, yeah. Exactly."
The docent hummed and gestured to the walls. "Well, if you're looking for different lands, you've found what you're looking for, haven't you?"
"We're looking for information on the western wetlands, specifically," Tsume said, cutting to the point. He turned back to the windrose at the center of the map, focusing on the western spike. "Can this thing tell us anything about that?"
The docent stared, considering whether to match Tsume's gruff demeanor, before moving to the map's left side. He gestured above the corner that captured Kuri's attention moments ago, his hand hovering above the paper as he traced the edges of the continent. "These are your wetlands."
Tsume frowned. The docent was tracing a coastline, that was true, but his fingers hovered significantly further inland than he'd expected. Toboe noticed this too, wearing a small pout as he leaned closer to confirm. "I don't understand."
"Well, they're wetlands now. Remember: this is an ancient map. Much has changed since it was drawn." His hand withdrew, curling instead against the docent's cheek. "Ages ago, there was a terrible storm. Those lands flooded and the landscape was irrevocably changed. The cities never quite recovered."
Kuri looked to Tsume. He nodded, his thoughts hurtling down the same path. A lack of human cities left ample opportunity for animals to thrive in their place. But the area the docent traced was a large one. It would take them ages to explore all of it in search of this mysterious pack.
"How long would it take for us to get there? To see it for ourselves?"
The docent's mouth twisted at the puzzling question. "Well… A day by bus. Maybe two."
Tsume nodded. Without warning, he turned on his heel, parting from the group with long easy strides. Toboe started, calling after him. "Hey! Wait up!"
Kuri moved to follow them before pausing, looking apologetically to the docent. "Thank you so much," she rushed to say before chasing after the boys, trying and failing to quiet her footsteps on the tile.
"Tsume," she called, struggling to keep up with his urgent pace. Before she knew it, they were trotting out onto the museum's steps with no signs of stopping. "Tsume, will you hold up for a second?"
As if in answer to her, he came to an abrupt stop, his eyes wide as he looked out into the street. "Behind the pillar," he said suddenly, turning to Kuri and Toboe. He grit his teeth at their confused stares. "Get behind the pillars now." He snatched up Toboe's wrist and dragged him back up the stairs, urging Kuri to follow him as he settled behind one of the marble columns flanking the museum entrance.
"What's going on?" Toboe asked.
Tsume jerked his head towards the street. They peered around the pillar as a caravan rumbled into view. A number of armed men dressed in light gray armor trailed the vehicles by foot. Kuri's heart sank as she understood. The troops were here.
Atra watched in rapt fascination as Cheza unscrewed the cap of Nerine's waterskin and poured the last bit of water into a cupped hand. She sighed quietly at the contact, eyes drifting shut as if she were sinking into a hot bath.
"So you don't need to drink it if you don't want to? At all?"
Cheza shook her head with a smile. "No. For this one, even this is enough." After a few moments relishing the water on her skin, her eyes rose to the ceiling in thought. "Atra, how long do you think this one should wait to wash the dust?"
Her hair. Atra placed a hand against her cheek as she considered the road ahead. "I'd say until we leave the city, but it might end up fading on its own by then."
"Does it look strange?"
"It looks beautiful, Cheza," Kiba assured her from across the room.
They'd taken shelter in a corner apartment on an upper floor, sunlight streaming in through thin, broken windows. The space must have been the living room once upon a time, but now it was little more than a container for flaked paint and dust. Kiba watched them from a spot against the wall, arm resting on a raised knee.
Atra sent him a scornful look. "You know, the point of Rafe coming with us to this city was that I'd get to talk to him about what happens next. Alone."
"You've spent plenty of time with him."
"Maybe, but we haven't had time to talk. Not with Kuri and Tsume around."
Kiba's stony stare made it clear that he couldn't care less.
Atra looked to another corner of the room, suddenly restless. It made no sense for her to be here right now, not when she had so many questions for Rafe. She needed know why he was here. The truth about what happened between them all those months ago. Besides all that, she needed to make sense of her own thoughts, and being trapped in a room with Kiba after his recent behavior and that dance wasn't helping anything.
That dance.
Aggravated by the memory, she muttered, "You've been so difficult lately."
Kiba watched as she ran a hand through her hair, a stray lock falling out of place and curling against her shoulder.
Rafe would have reached for her. Easily brushed it aside.
"And why is that, do you think?"
She rolled her eyes. "I don't know. Lack of sleep? Hormones?" Despite himself, he smirked. "I knew you weren't going to be a fan of having a stranger around Cheza—"
"I'm not, no."
"But Rafe isn't—Rafe's not—" Atra faltered. She wasn't entirely sure what Rafe was. She knew who he had been, once, but there were times when she questioned even that.
Bolstered by her uncertainty, Kiba said, "He humiliated you."
"With the guard?" She opened her mouth to reply and promptly closed it again. Finally, she said, "It was just an act."
"Showing him that you could attack on command was an act. The rest was unnecessary, and he loved every second of it." Atra looked to Kiba's perched hand; wondered when it had curled into a fist. "He put you in a position where you couldn't say no."
"Rafe doesn't always think about that kind of stuff, when he's trying to get the job done."
Kiba scowled. "Is that supposed to make it any better?"
"You were unhappy," Cheza interjected, raising her free hand to Atra's shoulder, her touch sending shivers down her spine. "This one sensed your discomfort."
Kiba shot Atra a triumphant look. Even then, she had the nerve to glare at him as she leaned into Cheza's touch.
Cheza was right. The ploy wasn't a new one. Atra was no stranger to playing the good dog on their travels, but this time felt different. If not for the act then for their audience. She didn't want them to see. She didn't want Kiba to see, and based on his reaction, it was for good reason.
And of course Cheza would know that Atra was unsettled. With her uncanny sensitivity for their most fleeting moods, their key to Paradise was a walking lie detector, too. But if that was the case…
Cheza claimed that Kiba cared for her. The declaration sent a jolt through her when she'd first heard it. But then, Kiba cared for everyone in the pack, didn't he? On their way into the city, she tried to convince herself so. Then she'd remember his hand against her cheek, his patience as she breathed in the traces of lunar flowers on his skin, and she'd find herself wondering whether whatever happened after their dance was more than just a passing breeze.
Kiba turned to the window, the light stained burnished gold. "You didn't mention him. When you told me you left your pack."
"We'd just met," Atra said quietly, briefly thinking back to Kiba peering up at her from Silla's floor. "Besides, what difference does it make?"
"The difference—" He stopped short, realizing his reply was louder, more snappish than he intended. Kiba may have lost his pack early, but he wasn't so ignorant of what it meant for two young wolves to set out on their own. He tried to calm himself as he said, "I want to know if Rafe's important to you."
"Of course he's important to me. We grew up together."
Atra blinked at the sound of a low growl. She looked to Kiba, his frustration worn openly now. "That's not really what I mean."
Oh. Oh. "You're asking if I see him as a mate?" And for a long moment, Kiba seemed frozen in time. Finally, his chin dipped in a nod, his expression deathly serious.
A frantic energy bubbled up in her. Atra wanted to dart out of the room, run all the way back to where this all started, and burrow herself back into the snow. She'd rather that than have Kiba of all people asking her this, waiting so patiently and looking at her with anxious interest.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, to clear the air and find some room to breathe, she laughed. "I didn't have many other choices."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"W-well… That… I guess I did. See him that way." As Kiba's expression darkened, she stumbled to add, "It's what everyone expected. It made sense, the two of us."
Kiba fidgeted in his seat. His heart was racing and it felt wrong for him to be so still and even worse for her to be so far.
Did, she'd said.
Did she think herself clever, really, couching her reply in the past tense?
She had choices now, didn't she?
"But did you want it?" He pressed. "To be with him, I mean?"
"Want?" Atra laughed before she could help it. "I wanted to search for Paradise. Leaving with him meant I could."
Kiba's fingers twitched against his knee. Abruptly, he stood and began to pace about the room, muttering, "That's not an answer."
In their time traveling together, Atra had seen a broad spectrum of Kiba's emotions. But she'd never seen him so agitated. Nervous. If she didn't know any better, she would've thought he was—
Helplessly, she glanced at Cheza. But the maiden was turned towards the window, drinking in the scant light with a knowing quirk to her lips.
He cares for her, she'd said.
Before Atra had a chance to rethink it, she walked to Kiba across the cheap floors, all the look of wood with none of the warmth. Her heart began to race, so quick she was sure her voice must have trembled with the force of its beat as she said, "Why does it matter to you, Kiba?"
Kiba heaved a ragged sigh and turned to her. She'd stopped before him, close enough to be within reach, gaze searching. Suddenly, he found himself wishing they were back in the forest. That he had Rafe's blind nerve to claim her waking moments and invite her to sleep at his side. But he'd spent all his gall simply finding an excuse to pull her away with him, to this room, and even then he'd wasted the opportunity. Distanced himself from her, coward that he was. So for now, he settled for what he knew he was capable of. He spoke.
"It matters because," he began, staring at that stupid lock of hair, still out of place, "There were already five others in this pack. And—I'm not interested in sharing more of your time."
"My time?" Atra suppressed a laugh, instead opting to study him carefully, an uncertain warmth lighting in her chest.
Suddenly, she was seized by the urge to be reckless. Brave.
Kiba lifted his eyes to hers, all thought stuttering as she moved forward and tentatively aligned her body to his. At a loss, he found himself reaching, his hands moving of their own accord, fingertips barely brushing against her waist. There was a sharp intake of breath—Atra's—and he froze. Watched as she lifted her hands. Braced himself to be pushed away.
Instead, they floated upward. Kiba's breath hitched as a warm palm settled against the back of his neck. As Atra tipped her head back, searching for her fit against him, his arms slipped more securely around her, holding. At once, they pulled each other closer, their eyes drifting shut as they met in a kiss.
Kiba never understood kisses, human as they were. But there was something to it, he thought. How it narrowed his field of sensation to the places where their bodies touched. The blood humming in his veins. The gentle click of the pieces falling into place.
Then, just as quickly as it had started, it was gone. Atra hastily pulled back, her lips hovering a breath apart from his, too far and petal soft. Kiba's eyes blinked open to look at her, regret rearing up in him at the hint of worry in her gaze.
"You don't have to," he murmured with a sudden throb of shame.
Then, wonderfully, imperceptibly, Atra shook her head. "I want to. It's just…" She angled her head towards Cheza sitting quietly on the floor with a knowing smile. "We're supposed to be guarding Cheza."
Kiba stared. Finally, a soft laugh escaped him, unbidden. He glanced at Cheza as she graciously turned away, light flashing against the water trickling between her fingers. "But we are."
Before Atra could argue, he lifted a hand and pushed it through the silk of her hair, tangling the stray lock between his fingers, and guided her lips back to his.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
I was toying with the idea of not having The Kiss in this book at all and certainly not in this scene, but of course the characters mutinied. As mentioned last week, the next chapter will be a little delayed while I dive into work for Feb.
Take care until then, and happy Valentine's Day. 3
