"Come now, little wolfy. Don't be upset."
A gentle hand ran up Reyna's cheek, gently stopping near her swollen eye.
"This is just part of the lessons."
The hand caressed her bruised eye, causing her to wince. The hand slowly moved back down to her chin and cupped it.
"You are my favorite after all."
Reyna's eyes snapped open as she felt something grab her arm. She quickly looked around the room. It was still dark outside, so she couldn't have been asleep for that long. When her eyes settled on a person, she quickly scrambled back.
Her hand shot to the gun under her pillow, but before she could grab it, the person raised their hands, "Just calm the fuck down."
"Hylla?" Reyna slowly asked. She loosened her grip on the gun. Her heart was beating in her ears, and it felt like she was sweating bullets. "What's wrong?"
"Why don't you tell me?" Hylla returned as she gripped the bed for support. "You were the one tossing and turning for almost an hour."
"I'm sorry," Reyna began. She slowly stood from the bed and placed her hand to her ribs. Reyna had sat up too quickly and jolted her aching body. She moved to Hylla's side and helped her back to the living room. After making sure her sister was comfortable, she collapsed into a sitting position against the couch.
"Nightmare?" Hylla asked.
"Yeah," Reyna muttered. She hung her head.
"About Father?"
"No."
"Then, do... do you want to talk about it?
"No."
Silence filled the room, and Reyna closed her eyes. She didn't think she would be able to sleep now; in fact, her heart still felt ready to launch a violent escape. Her hand rested against her chest as a panic attack threatened to start. But, that was in the past. That dream was in the past.
And she was in the past where she would stay.
"I'm sorry to wake you," Reyna finally said after a few moments. She felt a hand grab her shoulder.
"It looked like a bad nightmare," Hylla remarked.
"Pretty much," Reyna confirmed. They both fell silent again. Reyna didn't bother to move, being exhausted from work. Not so much the actual work part as much as the looking around and waiting part. She expected someone to do something.
Reyna had clearly been off, and she hated that everyone picked up on it. And then asked her about it. Reyna just lied and said that she wasn't able to sleep the night before, which was mostly true. Another night without proper sleep was going to suck.
"Where do you work?" Hylla asked suddenly.
"You didn't see the sign when you were stalking me?" Reyna inquired.
"I never went inside. I'm not that bad at my job that I would let you see me," Hylla defended. Reyna let out a strangled laugh. "But seriously. What do you do? I saw your jacket says security on it."
"I work as security at a bar. It's owned by someone who helped me out a lot these last few months," Reyna explained. "I also did some training as a bartender. Which sucked."
"Having to talk to people?" Hylla assumed. Reyna made a face, and she heard her sister chuckle. Her gaze flickered up, and she could see their reflections on the television. Hylla had a small smile. It was quickly lost. "I was thinking a lot. About what you said earlier."
"Yeah," Reyna muttered. "And?"
"I need time," Hylla confessed. "It's not easy to have your entire life turned upside down, but I guess that is what happened to you, isn't it? When you learned you were a werewolf, I told Father.
"I'm sorry," Hylla continued. "I was doing what I thought was right."
Reyna nodded but remained silent. Hylla forged on, "I really don't know what I'm going to do, Reyna. I still hate you. I hate your kind, but how many of those thoughts are mine? How much of that is what Exterminata and Father drilled into my head since I was a kid?"
"Have you tried going out into the world?" Reyna asked.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Hylla demanded. Reyna placed a hand to her ribs and slowly stood.
"That you need to go out sometime. I know Exterminata has you staying at your place and training when you're off mission. There are no days off, and when you do go out, it's for work. Have you ever just walked down the road and watched everyone interact?" Reyna questioned.
"A centaur helped me get back on my feet. An ogress helped me against you and even helped me save you. We're not these monsters that Exterminata says we are," Reyna explained, gently massaging her side. "Sure, there are different beasts that have committed atrocities, but you can find just as many humans who have done the same."
"Just try giving them a chance," Reyna continued. She walked toward her room and grabbed her phone. Then, she made her way back to her sister. "I know it's going to take time to erase all of that propaganda they fed into your head."
Hylla didn't say a word and stared at the ceiling. Reyna slowly sat down on the couch again, "What do you want to eat?"
"Is that why you ate so fucking much as a kid?" Hylla asked. Reyna rolled her eyes. "How much do you normally spend on food?"
"Not sure. This is the first time I've actually had enough money to keep myself full," Reyna replied. She ignored Hylla's shocked expression. "So, I'd usually sleep hungry. I like to indulge a little now. What do you want?"
"I didn't know."
"How could you, Hylla? You probably thought I was dead," Reyna muttered. "Should I order Chinese again?"
"Could we... maybe get pizza?" Hylla slowly asked. Reyna typed the nearest pizza place into her phone and tossed it to Hylla.
"Order whatever you want," Reyna said as she laid on the ground. "Why did you have to go and break my ribs? It's a bitch to breathe."
Hylla didn't answer. Reyna sighed, "It was a joke."
"I'm sorry," Hylla whispered, and she didn't say anything else. She typed into the phone for a moment before handing it back to Reyna.
"You are not getting just a salad. That's pathetic," Reyna shot down as she ordered three of their largest pizzas. "I hope you like supreme."
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Hylla muttered. "I attacked you. I hurt you. I hunt your kind."
"Because you're my sister, Hylla. I don't know how else to tell you that, okay?" Reyna claimed again as frustration seeped into her tone. "I have been running ever since I was ten, and I just want to make up for the mistakes I made in the past. And, this is the only one I can make up for, Hylla. I regret running from you."
Reyna sighed and felt tears begin leaking into her eyes. She blinked them away. Hylla spoke, "I am sorry that I told Father about you. I just..."
Hylla trailed off and remained silent. Reyna ordered the pizza and some drinks for them. Then, she slowly laid back down. While talking to her sister, her heartbeat had calmed down and was almost normal. She shivered and slowly got up to put on her jacket. Afterward, she laid back in the same spot.
"I am sorry, Reyna. I really am," Hylla whispered. "I just need a lot of time, and I know that it's not fair."
"I needed years to get over you telling Father on me," Reyna muttered. "Still not really over it. But, there's no point to bitch about it. We can't go back and change it."
"We can't," Hylla agreed. "All we can do is move forward."
"Pretty much," Reyna said. She grabbed the remote. "What do you want to watch?"
They settled on some old cartoon. Reyna barely paid attention, drifting in and out of sleep. When there was a knock on the door, she stood to get the food. Then, the two ate in silence. Reyna didn't know if it was a comfortable or awkward silence. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know.
Reyna just focused on eating a whole pizza by herself, and she was happy that Hylla ate a few slices and her salad. As they finished, Reyna cleaned up and put the leftovers away. That was when Hylla finally spoke, "Can I ask you something?"
"About?" Reyna asked as she made it back to the living room.
"The scar on your face," Hylla began. Reyna stiffened. "Is it a mark?"
Reyna couldn't find the words to answer, so she did it with a nod. Hylla frowned, and concern came to her eyes. Reyna looked away. She stuffed her hands into her pocket and slowly sat in her chair. Hylla spoke, "I'm sorry."
Reyna shrugged, "Not your fault."
"If you hadn't run away from home-"
"I don't want to talk about it," Reyna shot down. Not after the nightmare she had. Reyna curled up in the chair and rested her head against it. Her eyes focused on the cartoon, trying to get the terrible memories out of her head. After an hour or so, Reyna slowly fell asleep.