Movement No. 10
Yasmeena
When I wake up, Tempest isn’t in the bed beside mine, and it feels off. In just a short time, I’ve gotten used to her presence, whether I like it or not. It’s comforting and familiar, and I hope the meeting with Cain and Luc goes well for her.
I get dressed and make my way for the hall, where some of the carnies are having breakfast. Once Tempest and Luc get back, The Devil’s Masquerade has a meeting to discuss updates on the turf war, and a strange sort of nervous energy festers in my stomach.
When I walk inside, Khalid is sitting at the table, eating some breakfast meat, and staring blankly at a newspaper. I move closer, and he looks up in my direction.
“Have you read the news lately?”
I shake my head. I used to always know the news before it was even released, but now that I’m fixated on this turf war, I don’t have the time.
Every moment I previously spent working as The Spy has now become my practice time with Tempest. It feels strange to not be in the know. “No, I honestly haven’t.”
Khalid places the paper on the table, and I read the headline in big, bold letters.
FELION KILLED DURING HUNT GONE WRONG
“Someone we know?”
He shakes his head, and relief floods through me.
“Please tell me it was a half-demon,” I say, pleading for this to not add to our already tumultuous relationship with the lupion.
Khalid frowns. “Nope. Definitely a lupion.
“Fuck my life,” I say, rubbing my face in my hands.
“I spoke to Kayoda the other day, and he and Roxanne had some patients recently that definitely brawled, too. One was a felion, the other a lupion,” he says. “Broken teeth, black eyes, they said it was bad.”
Yikes. “I really wish this would all just fucking stop,” I say, my fingers balling into fists.
“Hey.” He reaches a hand towards me, gesturing for me to sit down, and I take the chair beside him. “Take a deep breath.”
“I’m fine, I’m just… I don’t know,” I say, feeling the exhaustion taking root in my bones.
One corner of his mouth curves up. “How’s it going with all your fancy engagement plans? Anything promising that might end this war?”
I wish I could say we’ve made major progress, but everything feels like baby steps right now. “We’re trying, Khalid. I swear I’m working on this as much as I can, but it won’t happen overnight.”
“Sweetie, I know. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Nobody is judging you,” he says, and I hate how much my little brother seems to be comforting me these days.
And he’s wrong. Some days it feels like everyone is judging me, watching me. I’m supposed to perform and work alongside a lupion who hates me, and help her people, who also hate me.
The entire situation is absurd. The lupion and felion hate each other because we have to share the same space, and I think some part of our genetics recall once being just cats and dogs. Instead of fighting against those ancient genes, we’re giving in to them, creating our toxic reality.
It’s a vicious cycle, and one I’m hoping to end as soon as possible.
Luc enters his office, followed by Tempest, and I swear I can suddenly hear my heart beating in my chest. The look she gives me sends shivers down my spine.
We all stand and take a knee. “Our Infernal King.”
“Please, take your seats,” Luc says, taking his own chair. “We just met with Cain.”
“About what?” Absinthe asks, as if she has the social awareness of a fly.
“He wanted to talk to me, ask how I’m doing.
King Luc and Governor Raph were kind enough to chaperone the meeting.
” Tempest’s voice sounds honest, but she smells wrong.
I don’t think she’s lying, but she’s skating the truth.
Perhaps she’s still upset they don’t trust her to be alone yet, or maybe she’s mad over her cousin.
Tempest’s records don’t indicate she was close to any of her blood relatives, only listing an older caretaker named Saoirse. She did work with her cousin and father daily, though, so there’s no telling what trauma bond might’ve formed there.
Everyone else takes their seats, and Draven clears his throat. “We should discuss the next steps in our campaign. Gemma, feel free to take over.”
“Gladly!” she says, and stands up, clicking on the projector. A slide of photos pops up onto the wall, and she begins to explain her five-step plan. “Engagement. Community outreach. Performance. Participation. Treaty.”
“How are things progressing?” Luc asks.
“Well, seeing as it’s been less than a week, not far.
We’ve completed step one of five. Engagement!
These two lovely ladies are officially engaged.
They’ve begun practicing for their performances, so we should really get to working on community outreach.
Participation will come with time,” Gemma continues.
I look down at the ring sparkling on my left hand, gemstones the colors of our eyes.
“Define community outreach,” Tempest says, and the room goes still. “I know we’re doing some kind of food donation thing today, but could you be more specific about the overall plan?”
“Outreach… in your communities…” Reina rolls her eyes.
Absinthe smiles. “Specifically, the lupion and felion comm—”
Tempest’s face is turning red. “For the love of Hel, could Gemma please explain?”
“Of course! You two are going to go around and poll your communities, asking them about specific topics and issues, and then we as a team will come up with resolutions for what we can solve. Once we find those resolutions, you two will go back out into the communities and volunteer to implement them,” Gemma explains.
“For example, if a felion were to complain that they struggle to find work, you would go looking for job opportunities for them.”
“I think that’s totally doable,” I finally chime in.
“Definitely. Plus, the more you make it look like Yasmeena is helping the lupion and Tempest is helping the felion, the more tensions will ease between the two species. I think, but we’ll see how it actually plays out,” Gemma says and smiles.
“I believe in you guys, and we’ll send Absinthe or Reina to lurk in the shadows as backup in case you need a bodyguard. ”
“What about participation—what does that entail?” Raph asks.
“Once they begin helping the communities, we hypothesize they’ll be invited to community-based events, which will be a good opportunity to show face and prove that even warring species can fall in love.” Draven says, looking over at Gemma.
“Parties, celebrations, things of that nature?” Raph cocks his head.
“Precisely,” Draven clarifies.
“When can they start this work?” Luc asks.
Gemma smiles in a devious way that has my stomach doing nervous acrobatics.
“They’re going to start today. This afternoon, once they’re done practicing, the rest of The Devil’s Masquerade will have set up a grocery distribution pop-up, where they’ll serve meat and other items not covered by the government. ”
“Can we help set up this booth?” I ask. It’s not that I’m selfless and want to assist a bunch of people that likely hate me, but I desperately want to avoid another training session with Tempest. My body is still sore from hunting last night, and frankly, last practice was awful.
There’s also a small part of me that wants to avoid Tempest for a bit because of how she makes me feel.
It’s like the more I loathe her, the more I lust after her, too.
“No. You two need to practice,” Raph says, his voice loud and finite.
Well. Can’t say I didn’t try.
Walking into the large tent, Tempest and I prepare to rehearse. If we don’t want to be late to the food drive, we’ll have to make this practice quick.
Tempest’s fingers flex as she applies chalk to her hands, and I can’t help but stare, picturing what they’d feel like against my body.
“I want to do some conditioning,” she says, gesturing to the straps she attached to the rig, rather than our usual routine of trapeze. “Some pike flexibility exercises, some dips.”
“Sure, yeah.”
While my muscles are already achy, I agree that conditioning will be good for us, especially with the limited time we have today.
We get on the floor and run through some basic stretches first. Butterfly, pigeon pose, and eventually we find ourselves in the splits.
I’m balancing on a tightrope between attraction and disdain, and it’s a struggle to stay upright. Tempest is muscular and effortlessly beautiful, but there’s something icy about her, and it’s more than just the color of her eyes.
She holds herself in a way that’s cold and apathetic, but then seemingly out of nowhere I get a completely different side of her—one I’ve never seen before.
Charming, empathetic, and even… warm. It’s the version of her I wish she showed me every day, but I understand it isn’t something I’ve yet earned.
Weirdly, I find myself wanting to, though. I don’t know if it’s lust or just the natural progression of friendship that develops when you work alongside someone, but I find myself hoping we earn each other’s trust, even if we never speak again after all of this is over.
Tempest gets on the floor, moving into an L sit press position, before shifting her body up into a handstand. Every muscle flexes. From the thick trunks of her thighs, to the sexy extension of her shoulders, I just want to take a bite of her.
This engagement might be a political play, but there are rare moments where the conflict fades from my mind, and I can’t help but envision what we could be. If that one night at The Cathedral would’ve led to us hooking up, or if we’d have always somehow found our way onto opposing sides.
The chemistry between us is undeniable, but it’s hard to tell if our disagreements stem from our personalities, or our species alone. Sometimes I think it’s the latter, and that almost makes this more difficult.
Beyond this conflict, what possibilities exist for us? And even more, I wonder who or what I would be had I not grown up on Ira. Khalid and I may have suffered, but it molded us into who we are today. Strong and perseverant.
Tempest snaps her fingers, getting my attention. “You good?”
“Yeah, just lost in thought.”
“You can think while you stretch, you know?” she says, and a smirk grazes her lips.
I nod, getting onto the floor beside her. “Oh yeah, do you do a lot of that?”
“Stretching?” she asks.
“Thinking,” I clarify.
One of her eyebrows ticks up. “Stretching sounds more fun.”
There’s a playful edge to her words, and I can’t tell if she’s flirting or not, but the thought alone causes goosebumps to raise on my flesh. I’m so fucked.