Graydon's jaw tightened as he stared her down.
"I expected this," she continued, giving him a significant look.
It was her second lie of the night. And just as necessary as the first.
"Funny—you failed to warn me of this possibility," Graydon said flatly, looking like he dearly wished to put her over his knee.
Kira fought back her smile. He was adorable when he was grumpy. "If I had, you'd never have let me come."
"You're learning bad habits," Graydon grumbled, looking away from her.
She cupped his jaw, finding it rigid from how hard he was grinding his teeth. His stubble pricked her palm as she lifted onto her tip toes to press a kiss to the corner of his lips.
"I'll be fine," she promised.
Storm clouds gathered in Graydon's eyes. "You'd better be."
Unspoken, was what he'd do to the humans around her if she wasn't.
Kira dropped back onto her heels; her smile impish. "Just for the record—you make a terrible oshota."
Graydon pulled her hand away from his face to glare. "I do not. I'm great at it."
"Only in terms of your ability to protect. You're absolute shit when it comes to following orders."
That was probably what made him such a great Face. He dominated any situation he was in. Even when he didn't say a word.
The fact he was willing to humor her and take a back seat while she drove the situation was something of a coup.
They'd come a long way from that first meeting.
"Look after the kid while I'm gone, would you?" Kira nodded at Lathan.
Though the wanderer was perfectly capable of looking after himself, you could never be too careful. With a lenacht in the mix, they had to stay on their toes. The Tsavitee had already targeted it once.
"One day we're going to have a talk about your habit of leaving me behind."
"You should compare notes with Finn. He'd love having someone to commiserate with."
Kira walked over to Lathan, fishing the J1N's shell out of his hood.
"Don't think I won't," Graydon warned as Kira shook the drone.
"See you soon," Kira said with one last look at Graydon.
His stance was rigid, the muscles in his body strung as tight as a bow. "You'd better. Otherwise, I'm coming in after you. I make no promises as to what state your friend or their equipment will end up in if that becomes necessary."
"I'll consider myself warned."
Kira tossed the J1N into the air. "Let's go, Jin. Looks like we've got work to do."
The J1N sailed in a perfect parabola. Right before it dropped like a stone, hitting the snow with a thud.
Diesel raised an eyebrow. "You weren't kidding. That's some glitch."
With a frustrated sigh, Kira bent and prodded the drone. Each tap was a little fiercer than the last. Finally, there was a hum as the drone's antigravs initiated.
The J1N lifted off the ground. "The great and mighty Jin is reporting for duty."
Kira grabbed the J1N, turning it so its 'eye' was facing in the right direction. "Let me help you, buddy. There you go."
She cast a smile at Diesel as she patted the J1N for good measure.
Brie moved off into the night without a word, leaving Kira and the J1N to follow.
Nerves flooded Kira's stomach. Her hands developed a tiny tremor that had her primus rising from the place it had been slumbering since they'd started traveling with the lenacht.
Please let Odin have what they needed, Kira whispered silently. Otherwise, they would have come all this way for nothing.
Graydon
Graydon watched the trees swallow Kira and the other two, hating the fact that he was remaining behind. It was going to take everything Kira had to walk back into that ship.
And he wasn't going to be there to ease her burden.
He could follow. It would be easy. These humans and their toys weren't much of a threat. Easily swatted aside.
The problem was that she'd been the one to ask this. Kira asked very little of him. How could he go against her wishes now?
Diesel chuckled. "She's got you wrapped around her finger."
There was an edge to the human now that Kira was no longer there. The friendly camaraderie had vanished, leaving behind someone who was both shrewd and intelligent.
Diesel looked Graydon over. As if trying to decide how much time and effort Graydon was worth.
"You're not her usual sort," Diesel observed.
"That's because I'm unique."
Of course, Graydon wasn't her type. She never would have had the opportunity to run across someone like him until the day they met.
There was a stunned silence. Then Diesel roared with laughter. "I see it now. Your arrogance fits with her and Jin's."
Graydon only gave the human part of his attention, the rest focused on listening to Kira move through the forest.
"You're Tuann, aren't you?"
Graydon stared.
The human's lips quirked, as if pleased to finally get a response.
Only, Graydon caught the faint trace of tension around his mouth and the corners of his eyes that announced his discomfort.
To the human, it would feel like a weight was pressing on the top of his head. The urge to submit to that pressure continuing to build as danger whispered across his skin. A warning that he'd drawn the notice of a much bigger predator.
The Tuann called it the oho. A nonviolent way of suppressing someone whose willpower was weaker than yours.
Kira wielded it instinctively. That was probably why this man didn't flinch from Graydon's gaze. He'd had the chance to build up a tolerance.
There was also the fact that his mind and willpower were uncommonly strong.
Graydon reeled in his displeasure. He buried his emotions before suppressing the oho to levels that would be considered more polite among his kind.
The lines bracketing Diesel's lips eased. "Is Kira Tuann?"
If the man was smart, he'd be careful about what he said next.
Diesel made a face at Graydon's continued silence. "There's a lot of negative sentiment going around about your kind right now."
Graydon prowled closer.
The human tensed.
Graydon's gaze followed the human's hand as it strayed toward what he suspected was a weapon concealed in the arm of his chair.
"I wouldn't," Graydon purred, almost hoping the human would ignore his advice. He welcomed a chance to exercise some of this excess energy from his bones.
The only thing that had stopped him so far was the prospect of Kira's displeasure.
Diesel took his hand away from the weapon. "People say we might have won the war years earlier if the Tuann had taken action."
"It wasn't our job to fight your war for you."
That was the problem with humanity. They were always looking for someone else to bear the burden of their hubris.
"I like you. You'll be good for her." Diesel leaned forward, his voice lowering. "Strange, isn't it? That everyone wants to blame the Tuann for standing on the sidelines and watching when first contact with your race wasn’t announced until well into the latter years of the war. It's almost like someone is trying to influence public opinion, wouldn't you say?"
Oh ho. Kira’s friend was quite the observant one.
"What did Kira say your role was on the Vega?"