“Are you from the wolfkin tribe?” I asked, sitting down next to the girl.

It was dark out and other than a few lanterns, the stars, and the Abyss lights, the deck was dark. However, by that point, I had many abilities that could let me see in the dark. One couldn’t be a dungeon diver without good night vision.

“Obviously.” She responded; her voice seemingly tinged with anger.

I cleared my throat. “I just meant, why were you up near the Abyss in the rabbitkin territory?”

“That’s my own business!” She responded, her eyes glaring at me from under her hood.

In the dark, her eyes seemed to absorb all of the light, causing them to glow a bit. Even after helping her, she hadn’t become any more polite. If she had spoken to the other girls this way, it wasn’t surprising why they had given up trying to engage with her. Even when the girls were mean to each other, it was usually done with an ounce of playfulness and comradery. Rea just felt hostile.

“I need to know where to take you if we’re going to get you home.” I tried to get her to open up a different way.

“Home?” I couldn’t see anything but those glowing eyes, but they narrowed a bit. “I have no home.”

I nodded slowly. I wasn’t sure why I was expecting such an answer, but it seemed pretty obvious given her behavior before.

“You could… come to Chalm and live with us?” I offered. ‘I’d find you a place.”

She stared ahead silently for a bit, but just before I spoke again, she turned to me. “W-would you?”

“Of course.” I nodded, feeling just a bit hopeful that I was getting through to her a little.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

She turned to me even more, a big smile on her face that didn’t feel natural. “Would you keep me safe?”

“I mean, Chalm is a safe place to be.” Even I felt awkward saying that, given everything that city went through in only a year.

“Would you protect me, with your body?” She leaned a bit closer.

“Yes,” I answered, although I felt something was off.

Her hand came out and landed on my leg. “And, would you want my body?”

“Rea…”

“Can I be your slave?” her hand started to move up my leg.

“What are you trying to ask?”

“I’m just asking a simple question. Will I be a toy for you to play with like all of the other girls?”

She raised, her eyes closing, and her mouth heading for my own. Her hand was near to a certain spot. I reached out and grabbed her by her shoulders, stopping her dead. Her eyes opened, and then she jumped slightly in my grip when she saw the severe expression on my face.

“None of the girls are my toys,” I responded, this time, my voice filled with some anger. “If you think I’m just messing around, then you don’t know a thing about me.”

Her shock lasted a few seconds, and then she shook her head, trying to shake my grip. When I held onto her, she suddenly lunged and bit my hand. It didn’t hurt, but I was surprised, so I let go of her. She immediately backed up, her smile gone and her eyes returning to that angry, hateful expression.

“Have things your way.” She growled before spinning around and scampering away into the ship.

Just what was with this girl?