Grace of a Wolf by Lenaleia

Chapter 42: Grace: Lyre’s Strange Behavior

When Lyre slides into the chair across from me, I lose track of the strange cat. It disappears as if it was never there at all.

"White?" Lyre asks between bites, completely unconcerned as I tell her about a bizarre cat only I can see.

"Yeah."

"Don’t worry, it’s harmless."

Andrew’s out there now; I watch through the window as he sniffs the air, turning to shrug his shoulders at me through the glass. He must not smell anything.

Having a stalker is annoying, but hey, if he wants to brave the strange and mysterious for me, I’m not going to complain. If I have to suffer through his constant unwanted presence, I may as well get something out of it.

I nibble at a French fry, enjoying its salty potato goodness as I watch her eat. "What do you mean by ’harmless’?"

Lyre shrugs, her slitted eyes narrowing slightly as she takes another monstrous bite of her burger. Ketchup dots the corner of her mouth. "Exactly what the word means."

She’s already halfway through her meal, and she’s only been sitting here for a minute. My stomach growls in response, my appetite suddenly returning now that Lyre’s here.

The burger’s greasy and generic, but for some reason its flavor rivals the food the pack offers. Freedom is the best seasoning.

"Our plans are going to be messed up, though," she muses between chews, staring out the window. Andrew paces a few more times, nostrils flaring, before he heads back to the entrance, presumably to come back here.

"What do you mean?" Mustard gloops out the side of my burger, and I wipe at it with a napkin. It isn’t that I dislike mustard, but too much of it is just... well, too much.

"It means what I said." Her tone borders on patronizing, as if I’m asking a stupid question.

I blink, waiting for elaboration that doesn’t come.

"Well, that’s why it’s always best to expect the unexpected." Lyre’s voice comes out languid, lazy almost. She stretches in her chair, leaning back as she finishes the last quarter of her food. "We won’t go far tonight. I’d rather have a comfortable place to stay."

Lyre’s a free spirit, willingly bringing me along at her own expense. If she’s being a little weird, well, she was weird from the moment we met,

between us isn’t uncomfortable, exactly. Just... weird. At least on my end. Lyre seems perfectly content to exist in her own bubble of certainty while I flounder in confusion

through mine. While I continue to eat, she plucks fries from the container between us,

nearby campground," she explains without looking up. Her brightly colored nails click against the screen as she huffs. "Damn it. If I’d known

nature, a reflexive response. Somehow, I feel responsible for this inconvenience, even though

head snaps up.

in midair as I blink at her. "I don’t know. It

her head and clicks her tongue. "Stop apologizing when there’s nothing to apologize

like I’d ever considered myself strong, but being looked down on is never a great

of the entire world rests squarely on her shoulders. She shakes her head again. "You need to remember how to appear strong, even

say automatically, used to

to be strong. Just look

twitches. "You want me

points her finger at me. "Don’t think I don’t know you’re doing this on purpose. Be strong of mind, Grace. Don’t lower your head for just anyone.

aside, the lines she’s spouting now belong on

She scratches at her head with both hands, completely mussing her rainbow-colored hair until it sticks up in wild

says, sounding utterly

at me with her unsettling slitted eyes. "If you appear weak, then those beneath you will have nowhere to

stare at her for a long moment, my burger forgotten in my hands. "Did you major in saying things without any context whatsoever? Because you’re really excelling

"Just

slides into the chair beside me, a scowl

burger, chewing slowly as I study the strange woman across from me. Her hair looks like a rainbow exploded on her head, especially now that she’s messed it up, and looks kind of like a young, rainbow-colored

ask, trying to understand our next

to me. "Yes. There’s a little place about twenty minutes from here.

observes, straightening in his

We ignore him.