 He knew he had asked an inappropriate question. It wasn’t like him to do so, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. In all honesty, Tedros wasn’t sure if he had ever had a one-on-one conversation with a luperci verto. Sure, there had been one or two that had passed through his life, but the number seemed to get increasingly small as the virus spread mainly through birth. The math added up – the more luperci there were (and the older and older they became), the more likely the majority of them would be luperci ortus. Eventually, Tedros believed, that every canine would have the virus, and there would be no more verto left. Tedros noted the sneer-like smirk that barely crossed her maw, and he felt his tightened muscles relax just a little. She spoke his mind for him, preaching to the choir about how fascinating the whole ordeal was. But the next words that came out of her mouth were blunt and harsh, and yet positive at the same time. Becoming a luperci through the act of rape must be the worst way to go about it, Tedros thought. Yet for some reason the coywolf didn’t seem to be thrilled about it not being rape. The smile originally on his face faded as he looked at her fierce eyes. She clarified. A fight. Like he had figured. But it was a stupid fight, at least in the eyes of Tedros. The new Inferni member was probably the most peaceful of them all, unwilling to fight in just about any situation (save for self-defense or safety). So the fact that Vesper would put herself in harm’s way simply for a piece of meat seemed ridiculous. Was it really worth all of the trouble? If Tedros had been the leader of a pack, this statement would have been enough to question the strength of her character. But it wasn’t his pack, and his mantra certainly didn’t follow through to the rest of Inferni. His mind fell to darker thoughts of Kaena Lykoi, and all of her descendants who had her dangerous, angry blood within them. Vesper continued talking, and Tedros drew his mind away from the negative thinking. He watched her body, awkwardly using hand gestures for what he assumed was the first time. She spoke of the first change and her body language changed slightly as if she were remembering how awful it was. He couldn’t blame her. Not knowing that your body was suddenly going to change form had to be awful. It had been scary when he had been in control of it, he could hardly imagine what it must have been like for her. His apology was forming in his mouth as she growled at him not to apologize. Tedros Talik smirked and tilted his head toward the ground, not quite sure what to say next. They sat in silence for a few moments, Tedros listening to the wind rustling through the field. “Shifting gets easier,” he said, trying to offer some piece of advice to break the silence. “And there is so much more that your body will allow you to do. The half-way point your body stops at – that is ideal for travel. It’s the fastest form. And as you have probably seen, being on two legs has both advantages and disadvantages.” He paused, knowing that he was rambling about things Vesper probably already knew. She wasn’t stupid. “You know, you certainly have the personality of an Inferni member,” Ted said honestly, smiling a wide, solicitor smile. |
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