#like we can't all have lip...(just further evening things out since talon is all lip al has half lip and i have 0 lip)

[skunkes]

[memesiders]

Ghost AU Part 2 :)

(This was the last part I had saved so figured I'd post it :) Will be working on Part 3 soon!)

Hazel eyes stared back at Mel as she studied herself in the bathroom mirror, setting down the eye liner and studying her work. The dark circles under her eyes refused to go away, no matter how much high coverage concealer she packed on. Her normally rich olive skin was so pale she almost looked like a ghost herself. "You look miserable," she sighed to her reflection, smoothing some highlighter onto her cheekbones and up her temple. She reached into her makeup bag and pulled out a dark wine colored liquid lipstick, carefully running it over her lips. Not sure this helps make me look more alive, but oh well, she thought, looking over herself once she was finished. Another loud sigh left her lips and she pushed away from the counter, bundling her vibrant hair into a messy bun, shorter strands escaping the hair tie and framing her face.

The hairs on the back of her neck immediately stood on end, a primal emotion washing over her that made her heart beat faster.

"Fury," she said softly, eyes darting around the small room. Something pink flashed in her peripheral vision and she spun on her heels, grabbing onto the doorway to steady herself. "I... I'm sorry about last night. You didn't even do anything and I yelled at you. But..." She took a deep breath, her shoulders slumping.

"When you get like that around Lawson, I... You can't be like that around my baby brother." The phantom took form then, standing only a few inches away from the girl. Jaw clenched and arms crossed, the woman studied Mel.

"I know not to harm the brat; you know this by now," she replied, but her words fell on deaf ears. "You've made it more than clear he's completely off limits. Besides, I'd like to stay far away from that creature..." Fury uncrossed her arms, reaching out a tentative hand. Her fingers curled around a few of the bright loose stands, wrapping them around her finger before giving them a quick tug. "You're the worst creature of all." Mel smiled at this action and Fury couldn't help but give a small smirk.

She and the child had almost never gotten along, but the mortal had still managed to wiggle herself into Fury's small, cold heart; not that she'd ever admit it.

"Melinoe," her mother called. "Come eat, your bus is almost here!"

"Coming!" Mel shouted back, flipping the bathroom light off. "Alright, let's behave today, agreed?" Fury scoffed, stepping aside as the girl dashed down the hall.

"I'm always behaved, when it matters."

Mel hurried into the kitchen, throwing herself into the empty seat at the table that waited for her. She quickly tore into her breakfast, shoving a giant forkful of egg, cheese, and tomatoes into her mouth. "Easy, killer," her dad chuckled, looking up from the folder spread open in front of him. "Don't want you to choke."

"It's moms Huevos Rancheros; I literally cannot control myself," she shot back, following it up with another big bite from her breakfast. Her father laughed, reaching over and messing with her bun.

"Well try and show at least a little restraint, alright kiddo?"

"No promises!" They both chuckled and continued on with their morning, nearly oblivious to the beings that entered the room.

"Ooh, Huevos Rancheros," Strife groaned, staring at the dish longingly. "I can see it, I can smell it, but damn do I want to taste it; just once!"

"Maybe if we were corporeal," War grumbled. "I'd love to be able to feel my sword sink into the gnarled body of a demon just once more, feel my blade pierce its putrid heart." Strife looked at his brother, cocking his head slightly.

"Riiiiight... I mean, that sounds fun too." War sighed and reached out, grabbing one of the dining chairs. With a gentle tug the chair was sent flying across the kitchen, crashing into the wall. Mel's mother shrieked in surprise, a hand flying over her chest as she attempted to calm herself down. Mel choked on her food and quickly glanced from the broken chair to her mother and back again.

"It's an accident," she rushed out, her pulse jumping slightly. "It's War; he just doesn't know his own strength! I- I'll work on it with him-"

"You shouldn't have to work on anything!" her mom snapped, quickly clamping her lips together. The woman closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. Mel looked down at her half eaten plate of food, picking at the remaining eggs. "I'm sorry, sweetie." Her mother was calmer now, and had regained some of the color she'd lost. "You should probably get ready to meet the bus." Mel nodded quickly and pushed her plate away taking a last gulp of orange juice before standing.

"It wasn't her fault," War grumbled his hands balling into fists. "Why must they treat her this way?" The air in the room swirled, the kitchen cabinets fluttering open and closed. The adults in the room quickly looked at each other with wide eyes, fear palpable in them.

"War," Mel said, spinning on her heels. "Please, stop." The ghost seemed to ignore her, the rattling only getting worse.

"Brother, stop," Strife ordered, his usual cheerful tone now completely stripped of humor. "This won't help her."

"They've upset her!" War exclaimed, one of the cabinets slamming closed. Everyone jumped and Mel gulped, her heart beating faster.

"War, please, stop! We- We have to get to school!"

"You'll only further upset her if you don't cut it out," Strife warned. "Look at her; does she look okay with this?" War glanced over at his human, studying her. The worry etched on her face, her small frame trembling, the shine in her eyes as tears began to build; and just like that, all was calm in the home. War sagged forward, grimacing.

"Thank you," she breathed, a sense of relief washing over her.

"Go," her mother said suddenly. Mel looked at her mom.

"I'm so-"

"Please, just take your brother and go." Her mom turned away from her then, gripping the counter to keep steady. "Have a good day at school." Mel furiously blinked back tears, grabbing her brothers hand and leading him to the door. The two backpacks next to the door levitated off of the ground and Mel swiped them up quickly, noting the faint smell of gunpowder.

"Thanks, Strife." The siblings stepped out into the crisp autumn air, the cold biting into her nose and cheeks.

"Are you okay, Meli?" Lawson asked, looking up at her curiously. Mel dabbed at her eyes and forced a smile, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine! It's just my allergies acting up." She tried to sound as cheerful as possible but the look on her little brothers face told her that she wasn't doing a good job of it.

"Is mommy mad at you?"

"No, she's not. She just doesn't want us to miss the bus." As they reached the end of the gravel driveway, a loud engine roar shattered the silence, a large yellow school bus turning down their street. "See? We would've been late!" Law smiled and wrapped his little arms around her side, squeezing tightly. She smiled and smoothed down his messy hair.

She looked up and spotted a familiar black blob sitting on the power lines across the street. The crow had been around for as long as she could remember, seeming to follow wherever she went. She'd offered the bird a few shiny bits and baubles and though it seemed grateful for the gifts, it would never get to close or allow her to pet it.

Death sighed from beside the two humans, staring longingly at the crow across from them. "Dust, you fool. Why do you continue to stick around? There's nothing left for you here." The animal cawed loudly in reply, attempting to tell him off, and the reaper chuckled. He missed the bird, not that he'd ever admit it; missed stroking his midnight feathers, the feeling of his talons sinking into Death's shoulder when the creature was too tired to carry on flying or felt lazy, missed the occasional peck or two; he missed everything.

"That thing's still around," Fury asked, moving to stand next to him. "How long has it been now?"

"Fourteen years since he tracked us down."

"And he still hasn't left; you two must've been great friends." Death hummed in reply, his gaze torn from the bird as the school bus pulled up. The door hissed and opened, the children quickly climbing on. Fury groaned quietly, following the humans onto the bus. Her lip curled immediately as she studied the scene before her, her hands rising to rest on her hips. The children on the bus were loud, wild, and disgusting, nothing unusual; still, it never ceased to amaze her just how annoying human offspring were.

"Just five minutes with these brats and they'd reconsider raising their voices above a whisper," she grumbled.

"You'd also scar them for the rest of their lives," Strife chuckled, popping into the bus. War followed close behind, barely hopping on before the vehicle pulled forward, leaving the house behind them.

"At least they'd be behaved." One particular child shrieked just then and Fury snarled, grabbing one of the girls pigtails and yanking it hard. The girl nearly flew from her seat. "Shut up!"

"Fury," Death warned. The girl pulled herself back up, her eyes wide with fear. She clutched the pigtail to the side of her head and quickly looked around, searching for the culprit.

"What?"

"Can we not go one day without you harming an unsuspecting child?"

"Can I not go one day without the incessant prattling of prepubescent children?"

"Someone get this girl a Snickers," Strife muttered, jokingly elbowing War's side. Fury cut her gaze to him, reaching for her whip, when she remembered it wasn't there. It was with her body at... She frowned to herself; where was her body? She still couldn't remember. None of them remembered how or where they died. The only thing she could remember was waking up tethered to an infant. Her eyes drifted to the teenager in the back, oblivious to the ghost that was watching her. Sixteen long years with no knowledge of how she and her brothers had perished. It irked her every single day, and she would never be able to get answers; not while she was attached to Melinoe.

"Fury," War said cautiously, careful to not provoke his temperamental sister. Fury hissed softly, turning her attention back to her siblings. Without saying anything, she disappeared from view, leaving only a wisp of pink smoke in her wake. The others exchanged glances but said nothing; their sister would calm down eventually. Hopefully she wouldn't cause any harm before then.

[imagines-never-die]

Mcree, Zenyatta and (efi if you're down) meeting a centaurian woman, she got stuck in a trap and they come to save her but she's very mistrustful of their intentions because they could be the one who set up the trap and hurt their leg. She tries to run but can't get far because of her injury and denies any help until they grow to trust the person, it takes a while but soon she becomes softer and caring towards them, let them ride on her back if need be and stomp on any bad guys.

(Sure, I’m down with writing Efi! She’s cool.)

McCree

Jesse heard the sounds of something scraping against the coarse sand.It was right behind that abandoned shed, right beyond the rim oftrees that started the forest. He knew he was a bit off course, butif you knew McCree, you should expect it. His curiosity knew nobounds, and this was a great example of it.

He had his gun out, held to the side of his body, his arm relaxed. Heapproached the shed quietly, then turned the corner.

The gunslinger could barely believe his eyes. It was an actual livecentaur, on the ground and squirming. As he looked further, from hisawe he noticed that the creature’s back leg was stuck in a hunter’sbear trap. It was rusty and worn, probably forgotten into the forestfor years.

Jesse lowered his gun and took a step closer, and that’s when thecentaur noticed him. She whined in a startled manner and forcefullytried to crawl away from the cowboy, only to tear the wound on herleg further.

“Whoa, whoa! Hold on, pumpkin! You’ll hurt yourself more likethat,” Jesse warned, to no effect. She was still scared, butcould crawl no further without tearing her own leg apart. A noise ofpain left her lips as McCree took another cautious step closer. “Now,I ain’t gonna hurt ya, so don’t you hurt me either.”

She stilled when Jesse was so close he could touch her. She coveredher eyes with her palms and continued sobbing like she had beforethat man had appeared. The pain in her leg was nothing compared tothe fear of death she was currently experiencing.

The cowboy glanced up at the centaur’s face, the sympathy nearlymaking his own leg ache. He quickly turned back to the bear trap andgroaned in frustration, knowing it’d be a pain to try and get it off.He’d only seen these things in old movies, so he didn’t know how tooperate it. It was not in mint condition, though, so maybe if hecould get something between it…

He stood straight and looked around under the shadow of his hat.There were a bunch of trees around; A sturdy branch would do. Hequickly pulled out Peacekeeper, startling the centaur and making herstare, her eyes still filled with tears. With a few practised pressesof the trigger a fresh branch from one of the trees fell down. Thegun was loud, and the centauress had covered her ears.

Jesse sheathed his gun and went to pick up the branch, lifting it upand accidentally hitting himself in the face with some of the leaves.He groaned, annoyed, and went to slip the branch between the trap,right next to the centaur’s wounded leg.

“Okay, when ya feel the trap loosin’ up, pull out yer leg,alright?” he said to her, and after a moment, she gave ahesitant nod. He nodded back to let her know he would try it now,then started pushing up the end of the branch on his side while hisfoot kept the trap down. The trap was hard to open, like he’dexpected, and he had to use a lot of strenght. A slight groan lefthis lips, but soon enough the trap seemed to give in.

The centaur pulled her leg away as soon as it came loose. Stillafraid, she got to her feet and tried to run away, only to trip onher feet and fall down again. Jesse let go of the branch and let thetrap catch it. Its teeth got buried deep, and it caused both of themto stare for half a second.

“You know, I don’t think yer gonna be able to run away in yercondition. Besides, I’m not tryin’ to hurt ya, you should know thatby now,” McCree said as he approached the creature again. Shesighed, staring at the ground, seemingly weighing her options. “Howabout ya tell me yer name, for starters – mine’s Jesse McCree.”

Eventually, the centauress gave in and spoke.

“It’s [Name]… And… Thank you for helping me,” she saidcautiously. Jesse managed a smile at the response, then brought hishand to the comlink in his ear.

“Base, you there? I got a little sidetracked…”

It took a bit of convincing for some of the members of the reformedOverwatch, but eventually he got the backup he’d requested. They gota ride to his location, and even though [Name] seemed reluctant tocooperate, they managed to get her into the plane. Mercy was waitingfor her in the plane, but she found she could not even get close tothe centaur without sedating her, and it was not good to do such athing while in the air. She’d have to wait until they got back tobase, even if she was worried the wound would get infected.

It was many hours later that Mercy had finally managed to patch herup. [Name] was still asleep from the drugs she’d been given, butthere was really nothing else to do. She was far too agressive towardstrangers, and even having Jesse in the room had not helped.

The cowboy was leaned against the wall outside the small medbay (itwas all they had at the moment), waiting for good news. Angelastepped out of the room, and as soon as he laid eyes on Jesse, shelooked stunned.

“Jesse McCree, were you just about to light a cigaretteindoors?!” she nagged right away, and McCree was quick to putaway the cigarillo and lighter, startled by the reaction.

“Er, not more than one?” he defended weakly, and Angelashook her head in disapproval.

“Those things are bad for your health, anyway,” shecontinued in the same tone, though a bit calmer. Jesse grinned.

“That’s what ya keep tellin’ me,” he responded andshrugged, then decided it was best to change the topic. “How’s[Name]?”

“Lucky for us, there is no sign of infection. If we use somemore of our resources on her, she should be able to walk in two days.But, as you know, we don’t have a lot to spare at the moment…”she explained softly and leaned against the wall herself. “So itlooks like we’ll have to wait for her to get better naturally. One ofthe bones in her leg was broken, so it will take a while.”

“Well, shoot. ‘Guess we got no choice,” Jesse agreed. “Is'pose we’ll have to make friends with her, too.” Mercy nodded.

“That would be for the best, but she is an agressive case. Well,she’s scared. That’s to be expected,” she said, then stoppedleaning on the wall. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee. You?”

“I could go for one, too,” Jesse agreed, and the pair leftthe hallway while conversing casually.

It took a long time, but after seeing McCree and the rest of themembers of Overwatch on a daily basis, [Name] started to warm up tothem. She would start talking to others more freely, and the jokesand smiles followed soon after. At that point it no longer came as asurprise when she asked to stay.

It was her first mission, and some Talon agents had showed up on thescene. They were outnumbered and separated, Jesse and Tracer hidingbehind a knocked over car and [Name] lost somewhere in the area. Itseemed her comlink was broken, since nobody could contact her. Thatwas not their only problem – Jesse had been shot to the thigh byWidowmaker, and he could barely move.

“You should go back to fightin’, Lena. We’ll both get shot if yastay here,” Jesse said for the tenth time or so, and Tracer’sresponse remained the same.

“I’m not leaving you, silly. We’ll figure something out,”she said, though her tone clearly indicated she was starting to getdesperate. She stood up straight to take a peek behind the car, onlyto see some Talon agents approaching them. She dove back down,worried.

“Damn it,” she whispered, and Jesse instantly knew what wasup. “Okay, umm… You stay here. I’ll go distract them.”

“Yer chronal accelerator’s out of charge. ’S too dangerous,”Jesse pointed out in a sharp whisper.

“You can still shoot even if you can’t walk. Watch my back,”Tracer simply responded with a smile on her lips. Jesse wondered howit didn’t falter even a bit. Before he could respond, Lena hadalready hopped over the car and was running into the field.

That was before she came to a full stop right behind the car. Thenoise was great when a full-sized centaur jumped on top of the fiveor so agents and stomped over them, kicking one into the nearest walland grabbing one of their guns in the same go. All the Brit could dowas stare until [Name] approached her with worry in her eyes.

“Jesse?” she asked, and that’s when Lena came to hersenses.

“Behind that car- how, where did you…?” she stuttered,but soon shook her head and smiled widely. “I’m so glad youfound us.” Jesse had crawled out into view, quiet curse wordsleaving his lips.

“You saved us, that’s for sure,” the cowboy agreed with asigh. “Thank you, [Name.]”

“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to get back…” shesaid, then noticed the wound on Jesse’s thigh. “Oh… I have anidea.” She went over and kneeled down, eyes on Jesse while allthe man showed was a confused expression. “Climb on.”

The gunslinger stared for a good while before obliging. He crawledonto [Name]’s back, grunting all the way, even when Lena came tohelp. [Name] stood up and Jesse wavered, unsure where to grab forsupport until [Name] guided his hands around her human torso.

“Can’t say I’ve ever rode a centaur before,” Jesse started,and she only gave a brief glare at him.

“Don’t make it weird, McCree,” she said, and Lena couldn’thelp a giggle. “Tracer, can you get back to the plane on yourown?”

“Yeah. I’m almost charged up,” she told and banged at themachine on her chest once. “See you there, loves.”

With a nod, the centaur galloped away with a cowboy on her back.Since they would have to run for a while, Jesse took it as a chanceto converse alone.

“You know, this reminds me of the time we met,” he told,and [Name] smiled to herself.

“It does. Though the roles have changed,” she responded,earning a chuckle out of Jesse.

“Looks like we’re even then,” he commented playfully.

“Yes, Jesse. We’re even now.”

Zenyatta

It had been a long time since Zenyatta had visited the monastery inNepal. His brothers and sisters had different reactions to him, butwithin a few days he had settled in. He would not stay for long,though, he never did. At least, he did not expect to.

It was surprising to hear two monks converse about a centaur found onthe edge of the omnic village. How or why such a creature had gottenso high up on the mountains, they did not know, but some of theomnics had gone to help it out of a hunter’s trap. Naturally,Zenyatta had gone to ask where exactly this was happening.

It did not take long for him to reach the place they’d pointed himto, and there really was a centaur trapped a few meters in the air, arope tightly around its back leg. Three other omnics were surroundingit, trying to take a hold of the trap only to be chased away by thecentauress’ angered movements.

“Stay away from me!” she shouted, her eyes glossy from theintense fear. Finally one of the omnics managed to get close enoughto the rope to quickly cut it with a sharp knife, and the centaurcame tumbling down onto the snowy ground.

She instantly got up and tried to run away, but tripped and stumbled,soon enough falling back down. It seemed she had hurt herself in thefall. The omnics approached her again, but she took a morethreatening position.

“I told you to stay away!”

At this point, they mostly seemed frustrated. That was beforeZenyatta hovered closer, deciding to offer his help now that hecould.

“We are not hunters, and do not wish you harm,” he said inhis usual mechanical voice, earning everyone’s attention, includingthe centaur’s. “If you let me come closer, I can take a look atyour leg.” The centaur looked doubtful, and she shook her head.

“No. You’re lying. Stay back,” she ordered, and Zenyattaobeyed. He glanced at the others, and they realized to also stay put.The centaur forcefully climbed onto her feet and tried to walk downthe mountain, her right front leg in the air. She had fallen on topof it, and walking was difficult because of the pain and thick layersof snow…

Once again, she did not make it far before stumbling and fallingdown. Curses left her mouth, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks.She stayed like that for a good while, and it started to seem likeshe had no intention to get up again. That’s when Zenyatta hoveredcloser to her, and she barely looked toward him when he leaned downto study her leg.

It was broken, there was no doubt. Even a slight touch earned a hissof pain from her. Zenyatta lifted his gaze to her face.

“If you let us take you to the village, I can tie your leg andease the pain,” he promised softly. She did not respond atfirst, but the omnic was patient. Eventually she gave a slight nod,even if her eyes were elsewhere.

Zenyatta nodded toward the others, and they got close to her. Sheshowed hesitance in letting them touch her, but in due time theymanaged to carry her up the hill.

It was a small room with a fireplace that her and Zenyatta were nowin. She was cold and hungry, but at least her leg was tied now. Theomnic moved one of his orbs above the leg, and it seemed to transmitsome sort of energy into it. She was surprised to find it actuallydidn’t ache as bad afterward.

“How did you do that?” she asked, not hiding her shock.

“There is energy all around us. Within us. All I did wasmanipulate it a little,” Zenyatta explained, though vaguely.“Your leg will heal quickly if you do not put any weight on it.”She decided to stay silently impressed, as she wasn’t sure what toask to get specifics.

“Thank you… For saving me,” she said cautiously. “Idon’t even know your name.”

“You may call me Zenyatta,” he replied in an eased tone andcalled his orb back to the ring around his neck. They rotated slowly,almost hypnotic.

“I’m called [Name],” she introduced herself in return. Itmade her feel a little better, knowing who was taking care of her.“I’m sorry I was hostile. Strangers make me nervous.”

“Do not worry, we have already forgiven you. We understand youwere afraid at the time,” he replied, and [Name] smiled alittle.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve met any kind people,” sheexplained, and Zenyatta only nodded in return. Her stomach made asound due to her growing hunger, and she blushed.

“Ah, right. Omnics do not consume food, so I nearly forgot…”he said and rose up from the floor, still hovering. “I will gofind you something to eat.”

“T-there’s no need!” she tried, but Zenyatta was quick toshoot her down.

“You must rest your leg, [Name]. I assure you, it is notrouble,” he told, and she argued him no further. With a nod ofher head, she allowed the omnic to exit the building.

Zenyatta ended up staying for a week longer than first intended.Within that time, he talked a lot with [Name], even after her leg washealed. An unexpected friendship was formed, and when the time forhim to leave came, she was among the others wishing him goodbye.

“I could come with you. Carry you on my back, help you fight badguys and such,” she half joked, earning a mechanical chuckle outof the omnic.

“It is a kind offer, but you have been held from your familylong enough,” Zenyatta replied, and she knew it was true. Shehad to go her own way, the path she had intended to follow from thebeginning.

“I can’t wait to see them,” she admitted. “I hope tosee you again, too. You’ve been so kind to me all this time.”

“Our paths may yet cross,” Zenyatta said. “But now Imust go. There is a lot I have to do.” With a polite bow of herhead, she had said her goodbyes. She stood there for some time,watching her omnic friend hover into the distance. It was not longafter that she started heading away, too.

[Name] felt a little melancholic, as one always did when sayinggoodbye to a friend. Especially when you knew you might never seethem again.

Efi

She was out scavenging the junkyard for parts that were no longermade. She was covered in dirt from searching for the right kind ofmaterials, and it had definitely been a few hours already. Noresults. Efi sighed and sat down on a rusty car carcase. No lucktoday.

She headed out of the junkyard, sneaking through a hole in the metalfence. No guards were nearby, they never really were around thispart. The forest it lead to was too dense for their comfort.

Efi only had to make it through a small part of the forest before sheheard strange noises amongst the trees. It sounded like whines… Wassomeone in trouble? Being an overly helpful person, she had to go andcheck it out.

She stopped behind one of the trees and carefully peeked out to seewhat the noise was. Her eyes widened when she saw a centaur trappedinside a net in the air. It was an energy net, glowing blue. And itwas beeping, calling out to the hunter that owned it. Efi stepped outfrom behind the tree, approaching her centaur, a lot less scared now.

The centauress, though, showed immediate fear and started strugglingwhen she noticed Efi.

“Hold on, I’ll get you out of that,” Efi promised, not toothreatened by the panicked movements of the centaur. And it seemedthat soon enough it stilled, probably realizing the hunter mostlikely wouldn’t be a child.

Efi climbed up the tree and balanced on the thick branch the trap wasattached to. She sat down on it, legs dangling from each side as sheleaned down to mess with the smallish device that produced the net.She popped the lid open forcefully and studied the wire connections.It was pretty simple which one she would have to break to open thetrap �� opening it with a key wasn’t an option since she didn’t haveit – and she pulled it out.

The trap dissipated and the centaur fell down. The branch wavered andEfi took a tight grip on it, worried she might fall. She did end upslipping off, but still held onto it with her hands. She let go anddropped to her feet, the fall only a couple meters and didn’t hurther.

“Are you ok- hey!” she called after the centaur, who hadstumbled up and then tried to run away. She tripped and fell backdown, giving another whine. “Oh, you’re hurt…” Efinoticed. She took a moment to ponder what to do while the centauressstared at her. “Hello, my name is Efi.”

The centaur did not introduce herself, but the young inventor did notmind.

“My home is close by. You could rest in our garage for tonightif you’d like,” she offered and stepped a little closer. Thecentaur weighed her options, then glanced at her legs. They ached,since the net had electrocuted her upon capture.

“Just for tonight,” she then agreed, knowing she could notmake it on her own at the moment, and the hunter might be back soon.A wide smile spread onto Efi’s lips.

“It’s this way,” she said and pointed to a direction, thentook a few steps into it, waiting for the centauress to follow. Shestumbled up, and walked slowly and unsurely. Efi kept her pacematched up to the centaur’s, not wishing for her to strain herself.

“My name is [Name]… Thank you for freeing me,” thecentaur eventually said, and Efi kept smiling.

“That’s a pretty name,” she said in response. The rest ofthe trip was mostly spent in silence.

After twenty minutes of walking Efi’s house showed up on the edge ofthe forest. She went to open the garage door for her guest, and[Name] was hesitant, but eventually entered after the young girl. Sheclosed the garage door and put on the lights, then lead her into thestorage room next to where their car was parked. [Name] just barelyfit through the door.

The room was filled with machines and working stations, tools anddifferent blueprints [Name] couldn’t make the heads or tails of. Shepicked one up, looked at it for a moment and raised her gaze only tosee a robot on the other side of the room that looked similar. It wasnot done, but it reminded her of her kind.

“She is what I’m working on right now,” Efi proudlypresented. “I’m making her out of an old OR15 unit. But she’snot done yet.” [Name] put down the blueprint and went to inspectthe robot a little closer, staring into its lightless eyes. “Sheactually looks a bit like you,” Efi chuckled.

“You’ve built all these things?” the centaur asked insurprise. “But you are just a child.”

“Mm, I am still young. Everyone keeps saying I’ll accomplishgreat things when I get older, but I don’t know… I hope she canhelp a lot of people once she’s done,” she told and sat down onone of the chairs. “I hope you don’t mind sleeping here, withher.”

[Name] shook her head.

“She’ll keep me company,” she said softly and found herselfa place on the floor, then lied down. She really needed the rest, andsleep was already calling to her.

“I’ll be upstairs if you need me. But try to not wake up myparents if you can,” Efi said and got up, then headed for thedoor that lead inside. “Sleep well!”

[Name] did. Many hours of the night went by easily, and she dreamt ofpeaceful things. It was way past midnight when something woke her up,though. She looked around the dark room, alerted by that something.She listened for it, then heard it again. Someone was talkingoutside. Then the garage door opened.

She got to her feet, noting that they did not ache as much anymore.Footsteps neared the room she was in, and she braced herself for whatwas to come.

A loud noise in the middle of the night woke up Efi and her parents.She was the first one to rush downstairs, knowing the source of thatnoise. She was instantly worried about [Name].

“[Name]!” she exclaimed as she opened the door, afraid ofwhat she’d see. But, against her expectations, she saw two guys beatup on the ground, and the centauress standing above them.

“These men were trying to steal something of yours,” shetold, and Efi knew what it was right away.

“It’s the OR15 parts. They were auctioned some time ago, andmany people wanted them,” she told back. That was when herparents reached downstairs, and they were shocked to see what wasgoing on.

“Efi, stay back,” her father said as he stepped in front ofhis family, to protect them.

“Wait, dad, [Name] is a friend! She just saved us from beingrobbed,” Efi immediately defended, and her father turned aroundto face her.

“What?” he asked, stunned. Efi nodded in confirmation, andher father turned back to the unfolding scene. “That is…Unexpected.” Efi made her way past him and went up to [Name].

“I’ll go call the police,” her mother stated before exitingthe scene. Efi took one of [Name]’s hands inside her own two andsmiled widely. The centaur looked surprised.

“Thank you! I really need those parts. It was nice of you todefend them,” she told happily. [Name] blushed just a little atthe heartfelt thanks.

“It was nothing,” she then said, flustered. She sighed andkneeled down, putting a hand on Efi’s shoulder. “Thank you forsaving me.” Efi smiled and nodded, then went to hug [Name]. Evenshe cracked a small smile and hesitantly hugged back.

Efi’s father could only watch, confused, and shake his head at whatwas happening.

–Mod Evie