Wolf Eyes

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Quatre, Vingte, and the Maguanac Corps arrived around noon. D'arcy ran up, smiling. Quatre, Vingte! Good to see you. She proceeded to name each of the Maguanac Corps, and welcomed them all. Soon, everyone was smiling, sitting, chatting, and drinking either tea, coffee, or fruit juices. Quatre found himself talking with D'arcy.

The corps seems to be a little down. Is anything wrong?

Some of them got badly wounded in the last fight. I'm especially worried about Rashid. He never really recovered from that old wound, and he's only doing himself damage by following me here.

It shows their devotion to you. And that means that you're a good guy to know. People don't stick around nasty people long.

Quatre sighed.

What's wrong with Rashid?

His ribs won't heal.

I see. Well, he may end up with a brace, but I'll see what I can do for him. Oh, look. He's over there by himself. I think I'll go talk to him. She drifted away. Quatre sighed again. He had some paperwork to be going over. He put down his glass.

He turned to see a girl sitting on the wall, staring at him. She was dressed all in black, in shorts and tee-shirt. Her hair, which was golden-brown, hung in bangs which prevented him from seeing her eyes. She was tense. Then she brushed her hair out of her eyes, and Quatre found himself staring into greeny-gold eyes that showed no sign of having seen him. It was as if he was invisible to her. The girl stared right through him, but the set of her shoulders, the way she was tense all overhe could sense that she was angry. Quatre wanted to ask her why, but those wolf-eyes made him more shy than ever. He managed a small Um, hi. The girl growled in the back of her throat, and went right on staring through him. He shrugged to himself, and walked away. He could feel her eyes boring through his back until he went around the corner.

~~~

D'arcy walked up to Rashid. Hi. Mind if I sit here for a while? She sat down and got right to the point. Quatre tells me he's worried about you.

He need not be. I'm fine.

He says that your ribs won't heal. I've had to deal with broken bones myself, and ribs are among the worst. Not as bad as hands and feet, but they're pretty bad. Now, they say that you would do anything for Quatre.

And so I would.

Will you let me see your ribs, then? It's what he would want.

Rashid sighed. Very well.

~~~

After a brief examination, D'arcy said, There's a small piece of shrapnel preventing the bone from closing completely. I can dig it out, or you can get a brace. Which would you rather?

Go ahead and take it out.

She gave him a bit of anesthetic and made a small slice in his back. In went the probe and out came the piece of shrapnel. A few stitches, a band-aid, and it was all over. There we go. That's it. They went back to the party.

~~~

Quatre looked around for D'arcy and saw her talking to another girl. He started to hail her, but something about that other girl tugged at his memory. That hairthe ponytailthose clothes Then she brushed the hair from her eyes, and he was sure. He would have bet his life on the fact that her eyes were greeny-gold, wolf-like. He walked hesitantly towards them, until he could hear them talking.

Can you believe it? the girl was saying. He actually came here after what he did!

Shh. I invited him. Besides, I'm sure he had no idea that what he was doing was wrong. I'm sure it was just a mission.

Was it just a mission' that killed your mother?

D'arcy's voice turned hard. No. That pilot acted on his own. What's more, he had just come from blowing up a bunch of other people—that on his own too. OZ had found out what he'd been doing, and they didn't try to stop him. Following orders is one thing, but letting someone murder hundreds of innocents is just plain wrong!

Sorry, D'arcy. I didn't mean to hit a raw spot.

That's all right. I seem to have hit yours too.

The talk turned to other things. Quatre stopped feeling so much like an intruder and was able to regain his confidence. He fought down a wave of shyness, and ran forward.

he called. There you are! I've been looking for you! Quatre halted in front of her, and smiled at her.

Quatre! I've been looking for you myself. Rashid is going to do just fine.

Thank you.

You're welcome. This is my friend, Akilah. Her hand tightened on Akilah's arm, and she hissed, Kilah, calm down. You can't kill someone until you know they actually did it!