"Do you want me to kill him?" asked Caine, tonelessly.
The little Queen jumped, and the Keeper assistant looked over at him sharply, teeth bared in an aggressive motion. Their dark eyes were viciously locked on his face, and their hands automatically, it seemed, always went to their hip to where their weapon was mounted. Had they been any S class Keeper, Caine confidently would think he could kill them in a heartbeat if the need arrived. But this Keeper, from what little he could gather, had been trained by Stinger, and from watching their practices, had become something much more dangerous.
And Caine had a distinct impression that the Keeper hated him.
"What?" hissed the Keeper in their high voice.
The Queen's brows scrunched together, and she blinked rapidly.
"Kill whom, Mister Wise?" she asked, voice even.
Caine tilted his head.
"The Rat Splice. Mr. Night. You don't like him."
The Queen lifted a brow.
But her scent didn't lie. He had scared her. Caine blinked. The sour scent of fear was vivid, and not something he would expect from an Entitled- What looked at him right then was the look of a scared little girl. Different colored eyes wide, face going pale. Caine felt something in his gut twist, even as he told himself it wasn't the same-
"No, I don't like Mr. Night," she said, voice still even. She hid her shaking hands in her long sleeves, "But his death is not something I want either. So please refrain from killing him."
The Keeper leaned forward, eyes narrowed and teeth still barred.
"Mister Wise," they hissed, "Please refrain from offering such services to Jupiter. She is a child. And she has so much on her shoulders already without you offering death to her guilt-"
"Grey… Grey, it's okay-"
"No, it is not."
The Keeper leaned forward and strood past the little queen. The Queen leaned forward and her fingertips hovered around the hand of the Keeper.
"Grey," she said softly.
The Keeper looked back to the Queen. Saw the fingertips, and gave a stiff nod… And Caine blinked as he realized that the Queen had been asking for permission to touch the Keeper.
"Can we go to the Nest?" she asked.
Why does she need to ask? A question that Caine had found himself asking again and again.
The Keeper trilled. Voice soft and sweet and beautifully intricate, frustration linking into their vocalizations.
"You are dismissed Mister Wise," said the Keeper, softly, black eyes turning to him.
Their face was difficult to read. Their scent was strange and also hard to understand for Caine.
But the look they sent him was cold and angry.
Caine stared after them as they left.