“Well – what do you think?” Chewing slowly, heat crept up my neck at the five pairs of intent eyes trained firmly on me. My heart thudded hard in my chest at the anxious expectation bearing down on me, and I swallowed roughly through a tight throat. Whatever the human Chad had ordered for me was honestly…
Delicious.
“It is very good.” Flames licked my cheeks at the loud cheers that filled the restaurant, and I scooped a damp, flimsy thing filled with onions onto my fork. The men and woman around me started in on their plates, and I watched the human Chad prop his chin on his fist out of the corner of my eye.
“You know Linne, I’m glad you finally decided to come out with us. It’s good to socialize, and there’s nothing wrong with having friends at work.” Ripping a piece of meat off a stick, the human Chad ate quickly as I pushed my forkful past my teeth. Flavor exploded on my taste buds, sweeping all along my tongue on waves of saliva, and I ducked my head to bite back a groan. “Even if it’s not often, you should come to lunch.”
“This is my first time eating food. I would like to come again.” Answering listlessly, I swallowed my bite before several gazes turned back to me, and I stiffened as my blunder came to my attention. Glancing around the table, my eyes narrowed and lips pursed, and I looked to the human Chad while my mind came up blank. Swiping his mouth with a napkin, he waved his free hand and cleared his throat to help me out of the shallow hole I’d dug for myself.
“Not a lot of people have tried Afghan food, either. It’s just a matter of taste. Besides, we don’t come here often – just when we get tired of the usual.” Relief slumped my shoulders, and I shoved my forkful into my mouth as Kevin groaned animatedly in the seat directly next to mine.
“I know! I needed a break from the pizza. Maybe tomorrow we’ll go to that chicken taco truck downtown.” The conversation got back on track and, more importantly, was off of me, and I sunk back in my seat to eat quietly. My eyes couldn’t linger on any one person as they went back and forth, and it didn’t take long for me to settle on Kristy across the vast, smoothly polished table.
If she had been born in my realm, her looks would’ve made her extremely popular with the Court. Every prominent man would be clamoring for her, trying to become her consort, and they’d all probably fail miserably. Kristy was very strong willed, and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of magic she would have if she wasn’t just a regular human.
Thick, bright hair the color of fire hung down over her shoulders in waves, and her eyes were a vivid blue. The combination was striking despite her clean, long face, and I blinked hard when that gaze suddenly connected with mine. Kristy didn’t seem unnerved by my staring, and I cocked my head before opening my mouth.
“You are very…pretty…” My voice faltered slightly, and I licked my lips absently as Kristy shot me a smile to reveal two shallow craters in her cheeks. Silence surrounded us, and my eyes flittered around as nerves settled deep in my belly. I had never said so many words to Kristy; normally, I only greeted her in the morning – nothing more.
“Thank you. You’re very pretty as well, Linne.” My pupils widened at the sincerity in Kristy’s voice, and I reached up to touch my face automatically. A cotton sensation attacked my inner cheeks, but she only smiled wider with a twinkle in her eye.
“Uh – so…” Breaking the awkward quiet, the human Chad tapped his fingertips on the table absently and shot me an amused glance. “No inter-company dating – it’s policy.”
“You know very well that I’m not into women, Chad – no offence if you are, of course, Linne.” Flying quickly to answer Kristy, I nearly choked on air as I shook my head wildly.
“No – no – I just…think you are…pretty…” Furrowing my brows sharply, I propped my forearms on the table to nudge my plate back. “Why can I not compliment you without it being seen as sexual in nature?”
Confusion laced my tone, and Kevin really did choke on his mouthful at my question. Rubbing my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I kept my eyes on Kristy while he banged on his chest roughly. He was just a child; the youngest of everyone, he probably wasn’t comfortable with such conversation.
But I needed to know, and Kristy shrugged absently as she scooped rice onto her fork.
“Because we live in a society that doesn’t believe in just friends. Not to say that being in a relationship is a bad thing, but any form of even the slightest kindness is seen as attraction. You didn’t grow up with a custom of compliments?” Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I thought back to my home world and how best to answer such a question.
“There is not much kindness where I come from…” Frowning slightly, I curled my fingers into loose fists against my inner elbows even as Kristy ducked her head in understanding. “If someone was nice, it was because there was a reason…not essentially sexual, but some ulterior motive.”
“That’s fucked up – ” Rasping his opinion from beyond the rim of his drained glass, Kevin coughed harshly as I trained my gaze on him. “Where do you come from, anyway? You never told us.”
“She doesn’t have to tell us, Kevin. It’s called being respectful of a person’s privacy and not being a nosy asshole.” Speaking up for the first time since the turn in topic, Jon set his spoon in his empty bowl to lean back in his chair. Cradling the back of his head with laced fingers, he glared hotly at Kevin for a long moment before his softening gaze flickered to me. “He’s too young to know what the definition of ‘boundaries’ is, Linne. Just ignore him.”
“I am not.” My mind worked slowly as Kevin’s whine filtered through my ears; just as he and the human Chad were cousins, so were Kevin and Jon. But the human Chad and Jon were not related, although they did work well together as if they were. “Don’t give her a bad impression of me.”
“You do that all by yourself, kiddo.” Kristy’s tease caused Kevin to huff, and she flicked back her hair as they moved on from Kevin’s question, the weights lifting from my chest. Breathing became easier, and I adjusted my grip on my fork even as she continued. “You’re only 17 – it’s to be expected that you just can’t control what you say.”
“Like the time at Grams’ funeral when they explained that death isn’t like the movies and you don’t just die.” My brows shot up at that, and Kevin went a purplish red in the face as embarrassment and shame blazed from his eyes.
“Jon, I was 15, and I never knew that people did that when they died. I laughed because I was uncomfortable.” Sputtering a pathetic response, Kevin’s voice heightened, and I looked around the table as everyone chuckled. “Can we talk about something else, please? Like…I don’t know – anything…”
“Okay – okay. You’re off the hook for now, Kev. So…” Taking control of the conversation, the human Chad’s firm, deep voice pulled everyone’s attention, and I resumed my eating as he took a breath. “Today, I know no one wants to do this job, but…money. Also, it’s fairly uncomplicated. We’re just doing some yard work, mulching, and digging out the path for the stonework. Even though they’re assholes, the shifters that contracted the job open the potential for more high-profile jobs, which means more money – which means raises. Just don’t say or do anything directly to them and keep your comments to yourself until we’re well down the street. Got it?”
A chorus of begrudging agreements met the human Chad’s little speech, and I nodded dumbly around my mouthful. His words, his expression, in the yard before he called lunch blossomed in my mind’s eye, and my wings twitched slightly in their sheaths. No one noticed; they couldn’t because they were human, and the human Chad cast me a sidelong glance as the thick hairs on his right arm stood up slightly.
“It’s just for four hours – it’ll go by quick. Then, we go back in the morning to finish the path, and we’re done. Easy peasy.”
“I don’t get why shifters think they’re all that and we’re…sub-human…” Despite Kevin’s words, the atmosphere didn’t get heavy or dark, and I shrugged absently as I swallowed my bite. Everyone around the table was resigned to this fact of their lives, despite the situation being very much the opposite.
“They want to be better than you because they are not. It is as simple as that. Hatred is bred of inferiority no matter where you originate.” Pushing around my last onion-filled thing, I cracked a small, bitter smirk as Kristy hummed softly in agreement.
“Humans are seen as weak and inferior to shifters, but why are you still here? Why did the shifters not wipe you out if they are so much more mighty than humans? True – they can utilize magic, and humans cannot, but humans have never needed magic. Humans don’t need anything to assist in their survival. They can compete all by themselves.”