[5-10] Flights of Fancy (Christa and Red)

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

A pregnant silence hung between the two for a moment, the fiery feline peering skeptically at the huntress. In the grand scheme of things, the time they had spent on the island had been extremely short; despite this, Nanaki felt he had come to know the woman better than she gave him credit for. In her attempt to downplay the significance of Karl’s remarks, she had laid her hand on the table. Though he was not more than a cub, naive and foolish, he knew a face hiding pain better than most. He watched as she fingered the key thoughtfully, staring down at the item like it was more than a simple piece of brass. More silence.

“We could use some food,” Red announced suddenly, turning to catch their guide’s glance. He held it for a moment before continuing. “If you’d be so kind,” the cat finished, narrowing his eyes at the human.

“What’re you implying?” Took responded, crossing his arms. “We have these,” he reached over and grabbed the familiar tin can, holding it up and waving it in such a way that those gathered could all hear the contents sloshing around. 

“I don’t eat beans,” Nanaki replied flatly. “I wouldn’t say ‘no’ to some game, though. Neither of us are in any shape to hunt, but I think you’ll manage.”

The man made to reply, though Christa silenced him with a hand. “Yeah, Took. It would be helpful if you caught us something.” She never looked up from her key.

The man glared at Red, fixing him with a look loaded with venom. Without a word, Took grabbed the lantern and left the room. A moment later the duo heard the front door snap shut.

“So,” the crimson Prime began. He knew that humans typically exchanged pleasantries to ease into touchy subjects, but his curiosity got the better of him. “What happened to your sister?” He didn’t feel it to be the best way to approach the question, though he lacked the energy to dig for softer words. “Why would Karl bother to mention that?”

“She…” the woman began, finally looking up at her companion and offering a forced smile, something akin to pain playing at the corners of her mouth. “She was kidnapped...” She closed her hand over the key as she spoke, slipping it into her pocket with the greatest care, as if it were etched in glass rather than metal alloy. 

If there was anything Red could speak volumes on it was corrupt, manipulative humans. Considering the circumstances, however, he shelved that thought. “And what did Karl say down there? I heard bits and pieces before he left, but my ears are still ringing from earlier.”

The blonde sighed, turning away. “Nothing I haven’t already said.” She plopped herself onto the vacant bed, slamming her fist down on the footboard. “I wish Karl Jak would just fuck off!”

“I don’t think I have as much a problem with him as you seem to, though I agree.” He offered a weak smile, taking a seat upon the rough wooden floor. At his size he was just about eye-to-eye with her now. “So...what do we do?”

Christa met his gaze once more, squaring her jaw. “We don’t have a fucking choice, do we? We play Karl’s stupid game some more and head toward whatever fucking town he’s talking about.” She gritted her teeth as if to keep back an explosion of emotion; which shade, Red didn’t know.

“Do you think he could be lying?” Red knew the question to be asinine, though he hoped that baiting the huntress into raving about Karl could ease whatever pain she was harboring. Surely not the most healthy way to deal with things, though he was speaking to a woman carrying around a pack of cigarettes like they were some trophy. 

“Pfft. It’s fifty-fifty at this point, and I think he likes it that way. Even if he’s not lying we still look like dopes following him around all over his private fucking playground.” She wrung her hands together as if hoping for the executive producer’s neck to appear between them. 

Nanaki nodded, their shared loathing of the man briefly chasing away the unsteady feeling he had been carrying since his unfortunate meeting with a hunk of granite. He glanced over at a nearby box, rooting around in its contents for a few moments before returning with a parcel clutched delicately between his sizable fangs. He laid the bag upon the questionably clean linen, pushing it toward her. “Eat that.”

Christa picked the gift from the sheets, raising an eyebrow at the plain brown packaging. She held the MRE gingerly, as if she held nothing but distrust for the manufactured grub. “Maybe later.” She placed it on the bed beside her, looking back at the crimson cat. “Thanks, though.”

The burgundy beast nodded. He craned his neck, peering into the main room to ensure that they were alone before speaking further. “I don’t trust your new friend,” he said. His normally curious eyes were stern, boring into hers. “I might not be the best at judging humans, but I know that he’s trouble.”

The gunslinger nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “I understand. I don’t really trust him either, but he serves a purpose. He did help me get you off of that ritual slab.”

Nanaki rolled his eyes. Whether or not his safety really hinged on the suspicious man’s actions, he didn’t want to ponder. “If you greeted him like you greet me, that’s not shocking.” There was a touch of playfulness in his tone, despite the relatively tense ambience. “We need to keep him at arm’s length. I didn’t like the way he was looking at you earlier.” With his bestial upbringing, he knew the look well: Hunger.

The woman nodded, as if such actions were obvious. “We need to keep him around for a while longer, though. Hopefully he’ll know some way to get to this town we’re supposed to head toward.”

Red sighed, giving a shrug in response. “Okay. I trust your judgement.” 

Trust. A word he didn’t say very often. How far that trust would carry him, he’d have to wait and see.