I had to make a reminder to post this chapter. I wasn't kidding when I said I would post this arc weekly.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf: Part Two
Wolf didn't know he fell asleep in class until he's by Kai shaking one shoulder and Thorne poking the other. And to make things better, he was asleep on his math textbook. Again. He wasn't even in math class. Or was he? It takes him a few moments to return to reality as his mind plays him a recap of his morning. The day started with his mom yelling on the phone and then Scarlet yelled for him in the hallway. Based on that alone, it sounds like every other morning but he knows it wasn't.
"Do either of you speak other languages?" Wolf asks.
Kai stops shaking and Thorne stops poking. They look at each other, confused about that question because they didn't expect it.
"I speak English," Thorne states, "and only English."
Wolf and Kai barrow their eyes at him. Well, no spades to that statement.
"Kai?" Wolf asks.
"I can read and understand Cantonese but not speak that well," Kai responds. "Why?"
Wolf hesitates. "No reason. I'll see you both around."
Wolf knows that he's looking for a way to stop feeling angry at himself. He's still carrying that rage around and he wanted somewhere safe to put it down. It's funny how he thought he knew himself through and through. Then he stumbled on a new kind of strength that felt like a fresh beacon of power inside him which he thought he had but probably doesn't. All at once, he feels himself burning a little brighter and hotter than he ever had before.
"I thought he would laugh at that," Thorne says about his response. "I thought you would too."
"When you make a joke that's funny, I'll consider laughing at it," Kai responds.
"Wow...tough crowd today."
-o-
Scarlet stands in the washroom, watching Winter fix her mascara and Cress wash her hands. As Winter dabs at a small black smear, Cress rips out some paper towels to dry her hands. When Winter closes her mascara and puts it back in her bag, she hands Cress some hand lotion. The soap here turns hands to sandpaper. Cress offers some to Scarlet and she shakes her head.
"I need advice," Scarlet states. Her friends look at her, willing to help. "Look, Wolf is going through some things and I unintentionally made him mad. He forgave me but I still feel back because he's still frustrated."
"How?" Cress asks.
"He's questioning his Hebrew background and if he's really a Lunar. I mean, you two are Lunars. Do you consider yourselves as Lunar or whatever your parents are?"
Winter nods, understanding the situation. "Being a Lunar is complicated because the country's so diverse. And even in Luna, each province could very well be its own country. We, as in myself, Cinder, Wolf, and Cress were all born in Luna so our birth certificates say Lunar. I never knew my mother or her culture, my father rarely spoke about his, and Levana has the Blackburn dynasty as an origin story."
"You're lucky to have Levana anyways," Cress tells her.
Winter is about to interject but stops herself. She never considered herself lucky to have a stepmom who actually seemed to like her. She always gave small pushes into the world. Every choice she made was dressed with confidence that raised the two of them into the women they are today. Their decisions, at certain points, were on them and only them. It was their lives, not hers, and always would be. Maybe that's the importance in not knowing Levana's complete past for the longest time.
"The point is," Winter says, "we have all sorts of words that could describe us but we get to choose which ones are most important."
"I still say I'm French," Scarlet says.
Winter nods. "I say Lunar."
"As, do I," Cress adds.
"But, and I digress a bit, have you ever made your boyfriend lose his aces?" Scarlet asks.
Cress shrugs. "Thorne and I haven't been together long enough."
Winter shrugs as well. "They were little harmless things. Petty arguments I don't even remember."
Scarlet sighs. She should've asked Cinder because that Selene reveal drove her and Kai into white water rapids.
-o-
As the school bell rings, Cinder walks through the halls, heading the opposite way as students leaving. Usually, she would flow with the crowd but not today. She has no work and doesn't want to go home to Levana who is likely to stare at her like a relic on display. Cinder turns and picks up speed when she sees Kai putting on his jacket.
"Can we go to your place?" Cinder asks.
"Okay," Kai responds.
"And can I stay the night?"
Kai almost closes the locker door on his hand. If it wasn't for Cinder stopping the door with her foot, they would've spent the night in the emergency room instead of his house.
"Sure," Kai says, properly closing his locker without crushing his fingers. "Why?"
"Levana was being creepy this morning and I don't want to get involved in that," Cinder responds.
"How so?"
Instead of responding, Cinder decides to act it out. It'd be better because no words could describe what occurred. Cinder holds Kai's head by his jaw and turns it in every direction. Her motions are exaggerated but more or less the same. She plays along by looking closely at whatever angle she had pointed up. Laughing, Kai kisses her cheek and that's when Cinder stops the act.
"I didn't do that to her," Cinder says with a scrunched up face.
"None of that is weird," Kai responds.
"Then she told me to have a good day at school."
"That's concerning." He laughs a little. "But as much as I want you over, maybe you should go home because I want to see this madness."
"Good." Cinder smiles wide. "Because I need permission and to pack a bag so you're coming with me."
-o-
Back at her house, Kai was downstairs talking to Levana as Cinder was in her room. She changed into jeans and a tee and threw her backpack on her bed. Cinder rummaged through her dresser and shoved a set of pyjamas in there. She walked into her bathroom and got some toiletries. Tomorrow is a school day so she got her uniform. Would that stop Levana from letting her go? Not really. Levana was lax that way because she knows that her girls would be more scared of the consequences to even think about doing anything stupid.
Cinder grabs her bag and walks down the stairs. She hears snippets of Kai and Levana's conversation and it's nothing unusual. It makes her earlier encounter with Levana seem like a lucid fever dream.
"Levana, I'm sleeping over at Scarlet's," Cinder says.
Levana doesn't even bat a lash. "Okay, have fun at Kai's."
Cinder pauses. That lie was worth a shot. And it didn't help that Kai is an earshot away. But at least she didn't have to argue or get told no. The permission was granted without really asking which was bizarre.
Levana looks at Cinder. "After you go back to a guy's place, it activates all these feelings and you'd want to do it all the time."
Cinder moans. "Spades, Levana…"
Kai keeps quiet. He didn't expect this conversation to happen while he was here, but this is the weirdness he wanted to witness. Cinder looks mortified for them both.
Levana nods. "That's how you were made and why you don't know your father. Don't be like your mother and get pregnant."
"Maybe I will just to bless you with another version of her," Cinder responds.
Kai chokes on his breath but the two women ignore him. He should've waited outside or stayed at his place and wait for Cinder to show up.
"Charming," Levana responds.
Cinder sighs. "Levana, can we forget about Winter's dad and my mother's will for a minute? Why did you keep me?"
Levana nods, taking a breath. "Despite my hatred for Channary, I did admire and care for her. Was is Stockholm? Maybe. She was abusive but she kept me around and gave me a job."
"And in return, you kept me around."
"There's more to that, but yes. You're my only niece. Go have fun at Kai's."
One of my top requests is for Kaider fluff so you will get some in the next chapter.