A Web Serial by M.C.A. Hogarth
| 04. Fang. | 06. The Violinist. |
|---|
05. Trouble in the Team
A gym. Claws is sitting on a weight bench, watching the treadmill timer.
"Keep runnin', Spots, almost done, and...."
He leans over and hits the timer, restarting the program.
"Go!"
Spots grimaces and keeps on. Fifteen minutes later...
"Woah! Hey, relax, I got ya. Gonna make a habit of fallin' off stuff?"
"N... n... no..."
"Did good. Here, sit. Get your breath back."
Quiet between them. Spots pants. Once she has her breath...
"Hey. How come you didn't complain?"
"What?"
"You know. The suits practically run for us. 'S'no need for you to do the trainin'."
"Of course there is. If I rely on the suit, then I don't know if I can rely on myself. And if I can't do that... how can anyone else?"
Claws glances at her, then grips her shoulder. She smiles and stands to go shower.
"Hey, Spots? You got muscle definition in your back."
Spots pauses, eyes wide. Then laughs.
A small common room. Fang is doing maintenance on a knife and its sheath, neither standard issue. Three men are playing cards. When Claws enters with a towel draped around his neck, Fang looks up.
"Still playing coach to Pollyanna?"
"Why, Fang, I had no idea you knew how to read."
"Why do you ****ing bother? She'll die first time something goes down."
The largest of the men speaks without looking up from his cards. "Hasn't yet."
"Newb's luck."
"It's not luck. And I ****in' bother because she actually works at it. You got a ****in' problem with that?"
Claws glares at Fang, who says nothing. Then at the others. One of them, a bald man with dark gold skin, holds up his hands.
"Hey, man, don't look at me. I'm all about the MILFs. Bring on the cookies."
Claws narrows his eyes and steps back. Fang waits until he's about to leave, then speaks to his back.
"Hey, Claws... **** you and your literary ***."
#
A dark sleeping compartment. Spots is already asleep. Claws stops over her bunk to look at her. He goes to his own, sits down and rubs his face.
"Damn it."
Sleepily. "Claws? You say something?"
"No, Spots. Go back to sleep." A pause. Irritated: "Where the hell did you learn to go from asleep to awake without blinking?"
"...mmm. Try having a baby sometime, Claws... night..."
Quietly. "Good night, Spots."
| 04. Fang. | 06. The Violinist. |
|---|
Stardancer.Org