Chapter 7 #3
Fray couldn’t look away, his hearts thumping, pulling him to Tobin. He wanted to—
Ciaran cleared his throat beside them. He gave Fray a smile before he turned to Marten. “If we want to get off the mountain before dark, we should go now.”
“Of course,” Marten said. He was a tall man, with greying blond hair and dark blue eyes, and he had an air of calm and patience about him that Fray could only guess came with age—he was old, even by their standards—and he had a worldly father vibe that Fray warmed to immediately.
He was quiet, observant, and mindful. And it was clear that Arvid and Lukas had the utmost respect for him. “I will return,” he told them.
Both Arvid and Lukas gave a nod in return. “Safe journey,” Arvid said.
It was then clear to Fray from the fact that it was Arvid who spoke, he was the second-in-command out of the three of them.
Ciaran clapped Fray on the shoulder. “Be good hosts,” he said with a pointed glare. There was no heat in it, but it was Ciaran’s way of telling Fray and Tobin to be sociable. Until they returned, anyway.
Then Ciaran gave Kellan a nod. “Call me if anything happens.”
The others all filed out, leaving Fray and Tobin alone with Arvid and Lukas. When they heard the cruiser’s engine kick over, Fray turned his smile toward Arvid first. “Sorry I’ve missed the past few days. We have some catching up to do, yes? How have you been?”
“We are well,” he said, smile wide. “And thank you for giving up your accommodations while we are here.”
Fray snorted. “Okay, so, well, first off, you’re very welcome. Stay as long as you like. And second of all, I had no idea because, well...”
“You’ve been busy,” Lukas said with a laugh.
Tobin chuckled and hid half his face behind Fray’s shoulder. “Something like that.”
Fray laughed without any shame at all, but he remembered Ciaran telling him to be a good host. “We should probably leave the police station.” He gestured toward the door. “So, you guys hungry? Do you need to swim?”
“We are fine for now,” Arvid said as they walked outside into the biting wind. “Fraser, may we speak candidly?”
“Of course,” he replied quickly, slipping his hand into Tobin’s as they headed toward the jetty. “Please, call me Fray. And you can say whatever needs saying to me.”
“You are not Ciaran’s second,” Arvid said. It wasn’t a question. “He gave instruction to Kellan, not you. Not to say I don’t think Kellan is capable, I’m sure he is, but I assumed you were his lieutenant, given your closeness with Ciaran. Or perhaps he assumed you were preoccupied at the moment?”
“You noticed, huh?” Fray grinned at him.
“Kellan is the right choice. I could step in if I needed to, or was asked, or whatever. Any of us could here. I’m Ciaran’s best friend, outside of Sawyer, of course.
We dive shipwrecks together, and we hang out.
And I think it’s important for a leader to have someone he can vent to, a friend he can use as a sounding board without worrying about all that hierarchy bullshit. ”
Arvid’s smile was approving, as was the nod he gave. “So very true.”
“We’re also pretty chill here,” Fray added. “We don’t have centuries of traditions and protocol like you guys do. We just all do our part, get done what needs doing.”
They reached the jetty and stood there, looking out across the Cove. The grey clouds were low, the air cold, the water dark.
“I must say,” Lukas said. “I do love this little town. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it’s a wonderful place—so remote, private. You are the only ones here, and the weather is perfect for our kind.”
“We love it here,” Fray said. “We do get some passing humans, mostly fishing trawlers. But they never stay long. Humans don’t like it here.”
“Which makes it even more perfect,” Tobin said.
“Except for Sawyer,” Lukas said.
“Oh, yes,” Fray said with a laugh. “Don’t worry, at first we were like, what the fuck, too, but he’s one of us now.” Then he made a face. “Well, as much as a human can be.”
“And our secret is safe with him,” Arvid noted, “because he cannot bring harm to his mate.”
“Correct,” Fray replied.
“And your consortium,” Arvid added. “Having such a collection of different cephamorphs in one consortium is unusual. As you know, in our consortium in the Arctic, we are all Nordic. Again, I was not sure what to expect of your dynamics, but I am pleasantly surprised. You all complement each other so well. I have long studied the histories of our kind, so your consortium is a fascinating insight for me. I would love to hear stories of how you all came to be here, how you found each other.”
“We come from all over,” Fray said. “Not everyone’s story is mine to tell. As you know, I needed a little more legroom.”
And by legroom, Fray meant room to be himself. The esteemed high order of the Nordic consortium, where stoicism and rules, studies and restraint were taken far too seriously for Fray’s liking. It wasn’t uncommon for individuals to opt out of the Nordic waters for more relaxed lives.
Arvid laughed. “You were never cut out for the discipline. Even as a hatchling, you were averse to rules.”
“And quiet,” Lukas added.
Tobin chuckled warmly. “Sounds like Fray.”
“I’m not that loud,” Fray said, giving him a nudge with his elbow. “Anyway, the no-noise rule was stupid. It was like living in a library.”
For a moment, no one spoke, but then Tobin let out a quiet sigh.
“I’m from the West Coast of the mainland,” Tobin said.
“Originally, anyway. Found myself alone as a youngling in Melbourne, and Kellan took pity on me. He told me of a place, kinda isolated, away from humans, at any rate. He said I’d be safer there. So I tagged along, and here I am.”
Fray remembered the day Kellan had returned with another stowaway.
He had brown hair and hazel-green eyes. Was shy, kinda kept to himself, but his lips would twitch with the hint of a smile.
Almost as if he didn’t want to let himself be happy.
.. and now Fray knew why. He was terrified of letting people in, of being rejected, of being hurt by those closest to him.
Fray squeezed Tobin’s hand, leaning into him a little. “It was the best day ever.”
Arvid looked at them fondly. “You’re both very lucky.”
“I know,” Tobin whispered, his smile shy.
Fray leaned into him, sliding his arm around Tobin’s waist and breathing his scent in. “Me too.”
They were quiet again, watching the low clouds and mist converge to blanket the water and the trees. The dark water ebbed and swirled around the pylons, moving the way it always did.
“The water here,” Lukas said. “It is special, yes?”
Fray chuckled. “Yes.”
“It appears quite different when in freeform,” Arvid noted. “Or, should I say it appears muted with human eyes.”
“Except to Sawyer,” Tobin said.
“Ah, yes,” Arvid said with a nod. “He’s quite the anomaly, is he not?”
“He keeps going in headfirst,” Tobin said. “He’s gotten better lately, but the first week he was here, he fell in four times.” Then he amended, “Well, toppled in headfirst is a more apt way to describe it. I pulled him out once.”
“He says the water calls to him,” Fray added.
Lukas raised an eyebrow. “Calls to him?”
Fray nodded. “We figured it has something to do with him being bonded to Ciaran and the fact that he’s human. But maybe he feels the pull to the water through Ciaran. Like how we feel the pull to the water.” He shrugged. “There’s never been a human-cephamorph bond before, so we don’t really know.”
“There are many unknown factors,” Arvid agreed.
“Yep, like how he puts up with Ciaran,” Fray joked. Both Arvid’s and Lukas’s heads turned to look at him, eyes wide with the shock that anyone would speak of their leader that way. Fray snorted. “He’s my best friend; I can say that. I’ve earned the right to take the piss.”
Tobin chuckled. “Ciaran would be disappointed if you didn’t.”
“Exactly.”
Arvid pointed his chin at the water. “Ciaran said Sawyer heard Lusca’s name. He heard it underwater.”
“Yeah,” Fray whispered. “Weird, huh? How the human heard it and not us?”
Arvid and Lukas both gave a nod. “Yes,” Arvid said, a little too coolly. “And this Mr Brown that Marten has gone to meet. Another human?”
Fray laughed. “Ah, we have a treaty which forbids us from saying anything.” He eyed Arvid. “But I’m guessing you knew that, and you were testing us?”
Arvid smirked at him. “I had to try.”
“A valiant attempt,” Fray joked. “I think Marten will be able to tell you more when he gets back.”
Lukas was looking down to the rocky ledge near the water and nodded toward it. “What can you tell us about him?”
Fray and Tobin both turned and saw Lukas was referring to Salem sitting on a large rock, unfazed by the water lapping near his tail as he licked his paw.
Then Lukas added, “Or does that fall under the treaty as well?”
Fray was shocked and confused. “Who? Salem?”
Hearing his name, Salem looked at up at them. He studied them for a long moment, then leapt up and leisurely sauntered off toward Aurin’s place.
“He’s the village cat,” Fray said. He was about to make a joke, but he realised Tobin was watching Lukas and Arvid.
“You know something,” Tobin said to them.
Lukas and Arvid exchanged a quick glance, then Arvid offered a placating smile. “Not at all.”
Yeah, Fray didn’t believe that.
Not for one second.