After a few days of obsessively checking the squirrels, in an attempt to prevent Helen from carrying out her plans, all I had was a bad case of paranoia, and a splitting headache. As I lay face down on the couch, a pillow covering my head, I felt a small hand on my back.
“Whatchu doing Teddy? I’ve never seen you sit still for so long,” Issi asked. I hadn’t even heard her approach , the sneaky little ninja.
“Dying,” I replied, deadpanned.
“Don’t die!” The little girl cried, climbing onto my back.
“She’s just being dramatic, Issi,” Jane said from the other side of the couch. A mont later, I felt Issi’s weight leave my back. “Although, I admit, she doesn’t look too well.”
I slowly pushed myself upright and looked over the back of the couch, where Jane was holding Isabelle. The light hurt my eyes, so I pulled my trademark hoodie lower. “I’ve just been busy lately, I’m a little tired.”
“It’s more than that. You’re ALWAYS busy, but the last few days it feels like you’ve been pushing yourself more than usual. Is there sothing going on?” Jane asked.
I slumped down on the couch, refusing to look her in the face. “Nope.”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Jane replied almost imdiately. She carefully lowered Issi down on one of the kitchen chairs before turning back towards . “Is it about those Guiding Light goons?”
“Not at all,” I said, slinking further down onto the couch.
“That ans yes!,” Isabelle giggled. “Teddy is a terrible liar.”
I shot an evil look at the pair, which only elicited more giggles from Issi and a serious look from Jane. “Ok, fine, I AM dealing with the Guiding Light, but it’s nothing to be concerned with.”
“Evelyn, I know you’re trying to protect us from sothing,” Jane said with a sigh, ”but wouldn’t it be safer just to tell everyone about it? If you hide the truth about the situation, it may put the kids in danger.”
I sighed and laid my head against the back of the couch. “Fine, call everyone down. I’ll get food for everyone and explain the situation,” I said quietly.
Jane nodded. Her eyes flickered for a mont, then I heard doors open elsewhere in the residence. “Nyx, als and drinks for everyone, except , please. I don’t think I can stomach it with this headache.”
Done. I could also get you so dicine to alleviate the headache, but I know you’re against drugs. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea either, the pain is a sign of you overstressing your brain cells. I recomnd trusting the surveillance system you put in place a little bit more, and stop overtaxing yourself. After the eting I’d also suggest a small dose of nanos. That’ll help with the pain, and prevent long term effects.
“Fine, sure. We’ll talk about it later,” I mumbled. Jane glanced in my direction, but didn’t say anything. It hadn’t taken long for everyone to accept the fact that I occasionally talked to myself.
After the food appeared on the table, eliciting a squeal of delight from Issi, the rest of the family wandered down and took their places around the table. While Eddie and Issi dug in, the rest turned my way, expectantly.
“So… Here’s the story,” I started, a little hesitantly. “As so of you may know, I’ve been tracking down the Guiding Light to make sure they don’t start trouble.” I paused for a mont. “Well, I found them. The problem is that a samurai has attached herself to the organization, and I MAY have antagonized her a little.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
There was an overwhelming silence in the room. Eddie and Issi even stopped eating to look at . “That definitely sounds like you,” Alan said with a sigh. “I’m sure you had a good reason for doing what you did. I doubt you’d piss off soone powerful without a good reason.”
“You’re right, I did,” I replied, sitting up and looking at everyone for the first ti. “I’m not going to go into details about what was said, just know that at the end of our eting the two of us ca to an agreent. I’m going to protect the north half of the city, and she’s going to… manage the south side. I won’t interfere with her, she doesn’t interfere with .”
Jennifer narrowed her eyes. “So, if that’s the case, and you ca to an agreent, why are you warning us now?”
“Jane forced her!,” Isabelle chirped up, a smile on her face.
I shot the little girl a quick glare, which just caused her to burst into giggles again, before continuing. “I don’t plan on upholding my side of the bargain, and since I don’t know her that well, I’m concerned that she may not uphold hers,” I told my captive audience.
Jane, Alan and Jennifer frowned, the other two didn’t seem to quite understand what that ant, which was probably for the best. “I spent the last few days trying to keep track of the situation, and I’m fairly confident she’ll be unable to penetrate the shelter if things escalate, but I don’t want to take any chances,” I said tiredly.
“What about when we need to leave?” Eddie asked, between bites of so sort of casserole.
This ti, everyone turned and looked in his direction. Guess I wasn’t the only one that thought he hadn’t been paying attention. “First of all, I don’t think you’ve left here since we moved in, which makes things easier,” I said. “As for those people that actually step outside, I assigned not only your regular fox escorts, but a backup squad of rabbits to shadow you, just in case sothing cos up. There’s also several squads of bears on standby, which will swoop in at a mont’s notice to protect you.”
“You’re seriously concerned that this woman might try sothing, aren’t you?” Jane asked, softly.
“Yes, and no. I don’t think she has a reason to start a fight with , but I also think that she’s calculating enough to try and capture one of you if she thought it would give her leverage over . She is not a nice person,” I declared, looking over the group at the table. “I thought I could handle the situation by increasing the local protection, and surveillance, without worrying you all, but now that you’re aware, I’d like to ask you all to stay ho as much as possible. At least, until all this blows over.”
I waited for everyone to nod before continuing, “Sharron has already agreed to help, so if you NEED to go out for so reason, I want to make sure that one of us goes with.”
“For how long?” Alan asked.
“Until the situation is resolved,” I replied sharply. “This woman isn’t a joke, and even if you don’t like the extra protection, it’s for your own good.” I took a deep breath to calm down, “I’m producing a shit ton of troops, so the situation WILL be solved, it’s just a matter of ti.”
Alan sat back, and pouted. I didn’t know WHY he was so pissy, I didn’t think he left the shelter that often anyway. “Does anyone else have any questions?” I asked.
Isabelle sat up straight, her hand shooting into the air. “Yes, Issi?”
“You have bunnies? Can I hug one?” the little girl asked.
I sighed, resting my forehead against the back of the couch. I could feel the tension, which had previously been building, bleed out of the room a little. “Yes, you can hug one. Only if you finish your al, and your howork,” I said.
“‘Kay,” the little girl replied, before going back to her al.
“Anyone else have a question?” I asked, lifting my head to look at the table again. No one said anything, so I pointed at the table. “No? Then eat up before it gets cold.”
As everyone turned to eat, I lay back on the couch. My head was still killing , but I felt a little better after discussing the situation with the family. Since no one was leaving without my knowledge, I could maybe rely a little more on the squirrels’ reports, rather than manual monitoring.
I sighed, and placed the pillow back over the top of my head to block out the light. Guess the only thing left to do was take care of myself. “Nyx, I’ll take those nanos now,” I mumbled.
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