A Genetic Defect
Chapter 6
By deadkitty1
"Caine! You made it! Come in, come in. I'll get you a drink."
The shy new tracker nods obediently as he's lead inside into a crowd of his co-workers by Stinger to get him a drink. Everyone else passes him a greeting as he returns each one cordially. There's another knock on the door as Stinger excuses himself to welcome another guest in. Caine steadily stands by the corner as he observes the others socialize and enjoy the refreshments. Occasionally, a teammate or two would engage him in a conversation, where he would have no choice but to talk. It never lasted long though. They either sense his awkwardness or get pulled away by something interesting. He couldn't be friends with them so easily considering he just got transferred to the new team after his teacher passed away. Many of the others have already seen him in action and heard about his skills, but he didn't know a thing about them. He's used to it. He's never been on a team as long as the previous one, so getting to know people doesn't seem to be worth the effort when he knows he'll be transferred in a few remaining years.
After several running missions with his new team, they managed to capture a notorious thief in a far sector of the galaxy thanks to his nose, so they threw a party to celebrate. He's never been good at crowds. Everyone acts differently. There aren't any commands being issued or loud obnoxious taunting, only laughter and cheerful conversations. He didn't know how to adjust.
As the party commences and a few begin dancing, Caine weighs his chances on escaping through the back door. He'll probably never hear the end of it from Stinger about how he left the hive without getting down with it but just because bees are inanely talented to dance, doesn't mean wolves are too. He quickly trails the walls, ignoring the chants and loud music from his team. There shines a light from a crack in the door and he decides to enter. A girl looks up at him in shock with food smooshed beneath her hands.
"What are you doing here?" she scorns him as he enters.
"Oh! Uh... I was just looking for the exit. Excuse me," he apologizes and moves back to the door.
"Hold on a minute. Since you're here, can you hand me a few bottles from that cabinet to the right? The second one," she points out.
Caine reaches for some bottles as he pours the ingredients into the bowl she's mixing.
"Good. Now see those over there? That couple of vegetables? Peel them," she commands.
"M-me?"
"Yeah you. Who else would I be talking to?!"
He goes up to wash his hands as he takes one vegetable after another. How did he roped into being the kitchen aid? Well, at least he won't be forced into a round of break dancing with those lunatics. They can literally punch someone's eye out with those dangerous moves they pull.
As he continues to work, he secretly looks over at the girl working on each dish with a delicate hand. He couldn't figure out who she is. She's not part of the team. He knows that for certain.
"You finished?" she snaps. She doesn't have a lot of patience from the looks of it either.
"No. I've got five left," he replies then tries to peel them faster to her orders.
She lends a hand and peels the vegetables faster than him. "Thanks, Caine. You're a big help."
He looks up in shock, "You know my name?"
"Yeah. Dad talks about you a lot since you're the new guy. You're a great addition to the family," she answers while pouring the peels in a stew and the vegetables in a different concoction. "He understands it'll take a while for you to warm up to us, but it will happen in due time."
The Lycanton once again races his mind for the identity of the girl. Her scent seems familiar when finally a note hits his nose perfectly.
"You're Stinger's daughter!"
"The one and only. Can you believe he only told me about this party last minute? The only thing out there right now is drinks! The rest of those people are probably starving and fight about the lack of food. It's frustrating! He always leaves things like this for the last minute. Like that mission where you guys went to. Dad didn't even tell me he was gonna be gone for an entire month! What am I? A mind reader? I wasn't spliced like that!" she rages as her knife skills stab each vegetables with no mercy.
"He did give you a call. Most of us didn't expect the mission to go on for that long, so it wasn't your father's fault," he defends as she flashes him a strict look.
"Oh, that's just one time. Wait until I give you a list of all the other times he's left and I had to look out for the house. It's too many to count."
Caine watches her smash a pot in the water as she rinses it with added zeal. It seems she's been fuming silently throughout the entire party. Stinger is gonna be the one in the hot seat once she gets a hold of him. She looks like the silent type that carries a knife with her to sleep.
The wolf-splice gently takes the scrub away from the lady as he offers to clean up the mess. After seeing her frustration, he calmly gives her some words.
"Don't be so hard on your dad. He's only doing his best to earn money for you."
"I know... I know."
They stew in silence to let their thoughts run by. Caine always imagined Stinger's daughter as a sickly kid stuck to a bed. He's sure the medicine she's taking helps, but not enough for her to enjoy life like a normal person. As much as her father works to make her life easier, Caine's sure she would rather be with her father more than to see him leave her to go to work on endless shifts that usually require days upon weeks of absence. As several dishes are cooked, the girl begins to arrange them nicely to feed the troops.
"Thanks for your help, but I can handle the rest. You should be out there enjoying the party with the others, not keeping me company," she comments as she nods towards the door.
"I don't mind. I don't like crowds," he said and smiles, "and it's nice to learn how to cook. I don't get to eat this good at home."
"Well then, you should come over for dinner more often," she suggests strongly, looking him in the eye.
The Lycanton laughs as he shakes his head. "No. I don't want to be a bother."
"You couldn't be. It'd actually be nice to have someone help me with the cooking for once. Anyway, you live by yourself. Why eat alone? That can't be fun," she states with no amount of modesty.
Being a lone wolf is a hard habit to break. He doesn't accept help from anyone when it concerns his well-being. Trust is a hard aspect for him to do, but her offer does sound mouth-watering good by the looks of the food on display.
"Kiza! Is the food ready?" Stinger barges in and yells upon seeing Caine. "Ah! So here's where you're hiding. Come on! We're about to start a game."
"Dad. The food," Kiza stings back, "Bring it outside."
"Of course, honey," he smiles.
The Lycanton can barely hide his smile as Kiza glares back at her father in disdain at the pet name. He expected a big argument to take place, but she names a suggestion instead.
"Dad, Caine's gonna be joining us for dinner everyday from now on," she issues with confidence.
Stinger and Caine get taken aback as they turn around to stare at the brash young lady.
"Honey, I'm sure Caine wouldn't want to eat with us everyday," he jokes.
"Well, why wouldn't he? It's not like he has a family to come home to everyday. Might as well make him useful and bring him here. He can help me cook."
The newbie's mouth drops open, unable to get a word in as the two keep talking.
"Are you still mad about me not helping out in the kitchen? Kiza, I told you I needed to set up the party. I didn't know it would take so long to get the dance floor! I'm sorry!"
"Yeah, well it would have been done sooner had you told me about it earlier."
"Flew out of my mind."
"Along with everything else."
The father puts the dish of food back down as he struts closer to his daughter glaring down harshly. She counters by matching his stare and defiantly sticking her chin up in the air. Somehow the conversation has taken a turn for the worst.
"Kiza! That's not how you talk to your father," Stinger grits his teeth as the grin disappears from his face.
"Maybe someone should, seeing as you rule everything with an iron fist!"
"What's that suppose to mean?!"
"Okay, I think it's time we move the food back to the party," Caine interrupts as he motions for the door. He didn't know they would take the argument this far and the once happy expressions on their faces has now faded to annoyance. They're family. They shouldn't be like this.
Suddenly Caine gets surrounded as the two angry bees come buzzing upon him.
"Caine, I'm not bossy, am I? I treat you kids good," Stinger talks gently as Kiza pushes him aside.
"Caine knows how demanding and pushy you are. There's no way he's gonna say it to your face because you're his commanding officer!" she pokes his chest slowly with each syllable.
"All the more reason he should agree with me!" he yells while gesturing frantically.
"And why would that make any sense? It just proves that you're a dictator," she scoffs with a bewildering eye-roll.
The Lycanton sighs in anxiety as he goes back and forth over how to stop the two from tearing each others throats apart. The topic of the original argument gets lost and their voices increase in volume where he's certain people in the party can hear. Not wanting to endure one more piece of commentary from the bees, he yells at them to stop.
"You two are beyond infuriating! There is a party going on and people out there need food. What will it take for you two to stop this foolish argument?!" Caine implores in desperation.
"Come help me cook tomorrow," Kiza suggests.
"And the nights afterwards," Stinger adds.
The confused pup looks warily at the scheming two but agrees as they steer him ahead into the commotion with plates of food juggling in their hands. As the three of them pass everyone, the befuddled tracker notices the bees mingle with bright smiles back on their faces. Even as the party wears down and the three remain, with Caine being dragged in as the newbie to help clean up, they chat noisily as if the anger in the kitchen never happened. They are indeed an odd family.
"Well, that was a wild one if I do say so myself! Glad of you to stay and help, man. We should do that again," he cheers on excitedly.
The wolf-splice questions where his mind is at as he heads out the door, "Let's concentrate on work for now before we get to partying like that again."
"Okay. We'll see you tomorrow?" he grins.
The party pooper frowns, "You were serious?"
Before he thinks of an argument, the dinner invitation hits him hard as he figures out Stinger's plan. "I see now. This party and that whole argument was a trap to get me to come over to your house for dinner everyday."
"I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later," the clever commander muses, tapping him on the back.
Caine sighs as he recalls the abnormal accounts of Stinger constantly asking him to eat over at his place when he denied each request politely. At first, he thought the commander was just being cordial, but after 36 consecutive days of asking, he was wondering if there was something suspicious in his food worth testing on a new kid like him. The persistent man even came at his home for a late hangout! The wolf-splice agrees wholeheartedly with Kiza about her father's pushy attitude to make him feel part of a group when he'd rather retreat back into his safe solitude. That commander tends to be resolute through the end, so he must have made some kind of bet or promise over him.
"No backing out now! You gave your word. See you at dinner tomorrow!"
He gets tossed out of the party and walks back home alone by the upper floors. It's compact but enough room for one. As he reaches for a drink and stares out to overlook the places outside, he wonders how long it has been since the silence that was once a calming entity became a lonely one. While the noise at Stinger's house irritated him, it was fun and lively. Laughter filled the home as did the angry clipped voices of the Apini family. He didn't have time to be by himself. Too many people joined his side to joke around or he'd end up just listening closely to laugh along to something they said.
He collapses on the bed as he stares out into the universe of stars displayed above thinking about what his commanding officer hopes to gain by having him over in his hive. The man will be disappointed to learn that a stray animal like him never does well in structured structured environments. It'll only be a matter of time before they get bored or annoyed of him like many of the others. While his accomplishments earn him praising curiosity, he is nothing more than a mindless soldier. He can't make others smile let alone talk about the weather. While he's referred to as a great hunter, he's also known as an empty shell, devoid of emotions. He has too much discipline to reign in any feelings. It's looked upon as a weakness for warriors like him. In the end, he's just a machine of war.
As he calls for the light to dim, the hardened soldier couldn't help but think if he should bring something over for dinner. A tiny present to show his appreciation. It's common courtesy but would it be too much? It's not like he asked to dine with them, more like he was forced. Though, for once, it would be nice to know how it's like to eat a meal cooked for a family.
He's never met a rambunctious family like the Apinis in his life. The home really is too big for just the two of them, and yet they fill it with so much noise that seeing them in an even bigger house might actually suit them.
It wouldn't be such a band thing for him to eat dinner with them for a few days. Too much takeout has made his tongue used to bland food and Kiza can teach him a thing or two with that delicious stew she made. There can be no fault in going along with the flow. While he could be thrown out of their lives in the future, he can at least gain their attention now. It might be his only chance at finding out what it's like to be part of an actual family, to bicker nonsense and make up in the same instance. The logic is beyond nonsensical. Why would people force themselves to argue like Kiza and Stinger? It's a waste of energy, but Caine can see there's more to their bond then clashing their heads together. It's love, right? That's what it's called. Love.
Author's Notes: Well that was fun! Haha! Took me longer than I thought, but it's finished for sure. I really wish I could watch the movie one more time. I like details and I had to rely on my memory which honestly isn't all that reliable. Sadly, there's no more showings where I live. Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Enjoy the universe of Jupiter Ascending and I love that fanfics are still springing up! Have fun with it!