Loona made tea for herself and the three other tense people in the room. She’d attempted to break the tension by thanking Kiri for her bravery when she went to rescue Niall and Nonah and went as far as to ask her how she was feeling after taking a bit of a beating from Dorok. It helped put Niall and Nonah a bit more at ease but Kiri did not like being reminded of how easily he’d knocked her out.
Loona handed Kiri her tea and followed her to the sofa. She doubted she would try anything but she wanted to keep an eye on her so kept behind her. The pair sat down and Loona set cups down for Niall and Nonah. Kiri nodded in the direction of Niall and Nonah, not quite sure what to say just yet and took a sip of her hot tea. It was still way to hot and it burned her tongue slightly but she needed to hide the fact she wasn’t talking just yet.
“Loona, would you mind taking Nonah and letting me talk to Kiri in private please?” Niall said splitting the obvious silence.
Loona raised an eyebrow. “Not a chance.”
“I’m not gonna hurt him, seriously he stabbed Dorok in the foot for me.” Kiri chimed in now starting to feel mildly insulted by Loona.
“Fine, ok. I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me. C’mon Nonah.” Loona set her hand down on the table and Nonah clambered on keeping her eyes fixed on Kiri. Nonah could normally tell someone’s intentions from the look of them but Kiri was hard to read.
Niall watched as Loona walked to the kitchen. She had set Nonah on the counter and was glancing over occasionally. She didn’t look concerned or worried, more like a sentry standing post.
Loona drew close to the kitchen counter and set her hands on either side of Nonah who was face deep into a round digestive cookie she had found, a content look on her face.
“Loona?” Nonah spoke with her mouth full, her face lit up, always happy to see her friend.
“Nonah…” Loona’s voice was sugar sweet, but dripping with ulterior motive. “I need you do so me a big favour!” Loona had a bit of a bashful look on her face, it was quite out of the norm for her. She was slightly embarrassed at herself for what she was about to ask Nonah to do.
Nonah took another bite and swallowed hard. “Do you want a bite?” Nonah asked, wondering if perhaps THAT was the favour Loona wanted.
“No dear…I need you to listen to me for a minute ok?” Loona briskly plucked the cookie out of Nonah’s little hands.
“Hey!” Nonah jumped up reaching for the cookie, when she realized it was far out of her reach she folded her arms in a huff. “That was mine…” Her face was messy with cookie crumbs.
“Shhhh…hun I’ll give you a whole BOX if you do this for me ok?” Loona’s eyes shifted towards the living area with a devious glare, she looked back to Nonah with a bright smile. “Please?”
“They’d better be the ones with the honey and cream filling…” Nonah said with a pout. “So what do you need me to do?”
Loona’s eyes narrowed viciously when she looked over to the gap in between the counter and the overhead cupboards that lead to the living area. “It’s a little game I call Nonah Spies!” She looked back to Nonah with a wicked grin.
“How are you feeling?” Niall asked her forcing concern in his voice. He did actually care, she didn’t seem like the Kiri who had taunted him and terrified him. She seemed a bit smaller and more vulnerable than she had done before.
Kiri was taken aback by Niall’s confidence and concern. She thought she was going to have to work hard to get him on her side. “I’m ok…been better. Done a lot of thinking.”
“Oh?” Niall enquired.
“I want Naskia back in my life. She’s my oldest friend and I miss her…a lot. I never thought I needed anyone, I’m always the one who gets by on my own but I really do miss her. She was always there for me and then I did something stupid…” Kiri said. Niall was unsure how to take what she said, there was very little emotion coming from her.
“By something stupid you mean try to kill me?” Niall raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah pretty much, I don’t know if I actually would have killed you but I definitely wanted to scare you. Put you in your place, ya know?” Kiri replied.
Niall was somewhat shocked by her blasé tone and honesty. He had hoped for some sort of a change in her but it didn’t seem to be there. He was feeling anxious even with Loona so close by. “I don’t understand, how can you do that to another person?”
Kiri smiled back, she looked like she was reliving a happy memory. It was the first honest emotion she’d let slip through since she sat down. It sent a chill up Niall’s spine. “Well no offense but I didn’t see you as a person…I saw you as a thing. Specifically a thing that was in my way and I wanted you removed. I know that must make me look terrible, I know that but I see you as a person now, I won’t do it again.”
“So that’s it?! No apology for trying to eat me?! No ‘thank you for risking your life to save me from a psycho despite me trying to kill you?!’” Niall shot back quickly without taking a breath.
“Yeah, I’m getting to that.” Kiri sounded almost annoyed at Niall for talking back. “I’m sorry I threatened to eat you and I do owe you for saving me. I actually really owe you for saving me, no one has actually put themselves in harm’s way for me before and despite all I did to you, you risked your life to save me…so thank you. I owe you and I will pay you back.”
Nonah peeked her head into the living area, she spotted the imposing form of Kiri sitting on the couch, Niall was standing on the table. His posture suggested he was nervous but he was trying to put up a strong face before his cocoa skinned adversary. Nonah balled her fists together and sent Kiri a mean look. “Ohhh I wish Niall had beaten you up too, you big meanie!” she thought to herself with a frown painted across her normally bubbly features.
She wasn’t sure just what it was about Kiri she didn’t like, but she didn’t like her at all. Kiri was hard to read, and she made Niall nervous. His posture was defensive, his eyes showed fear. He had never looked more uncomfortable. Kiri on the other hand looked so relaxed and confident it made Nonah’s blood boil.
“Focus Nonah! You’re a spy! A super spy!” Nonah psyched herself up. Loona had trusted her with a specific task! She had never felt so important! Loona was treating her like more than just a pet! She was asking for her help! It made her smile; it made her feel 100 units tall!
Niall tried to read Kiri’s face but again she just looked blank, he didn’t really know if she was sorry or not. If he didn’t know then how could he trust her? “Sorry Kiri but you don’t seem sorry at all.”
Kiri huffed, she still seemed more annoyed with Niall than actually contrite. She caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye but ignored it. “Look I trained myself to hide things, I’ve been doing it for a lot longer than you’ve been alive. You do it too, I see you sometimes when Naskia sits down just a bit too quickly for you or stumbles with you in her hand. You act like you’re not scared but you are. I do the same thing, we’re similar in that respect you and I.”
“Heh…yeah I do that. I’ve always done that. I’ve never really gotten on with people so I try to look tough.” Niall said.
Kiri smiled. “Me too, at least among Humans you’re tall and strong. And you’re a man. Try being a weedy girl! People think you’re a pushover, I’ve fought tooth and nail to get where I am today. No one gave me anything, I beat 150 other candidates to get the scholarship here at Tannhauser despite no family support or anything…only Naskia was really, truly there for me.”
“Ha! At least you’re Titan. I’m a finger sized pet. I finally, FINALLY get the University to recognise me as an intelligent physicist and get a job only to have some bitch called Lyroo Prenn come along and steal it from me.” Niall said getting angry. His competing over circumstances was a way of hiding the empathy he felt with Kiri. She wasn’t the only one who had a tough time growing up.
“Who’s Lyroo Prenn?” Kiri asked.
“Some bitch who is President of the Human Owners Society.” Niall spat.
Kiri sipped her tea. “Well if there is anything I can do to help I will. I don’t like being in someone else’s debt.”
“You could always take me to her now with a holoprojector, Loona and Naskia won’t.” Niall said unsure if he was serious or not.
Nonah scurried across the room making it to the book shelf close to the table. Her miniature blond head poked out from the side of the shelf as she looked over to Kiri and Niall who were engaged in conversation. Niall still looked nervous, but his arms were now more animated and he seemed more confident. It was Kiri this time who was sitting back, her posture suggesting she was looking for a way out of something, cornered almost.
Nonah smiled smugly and made another mean face at Kiri. “You tell her Niall! Niall’s smarter than you! He’d be stronger too if he was giant like you!” She thought to herself, becoming distracted in her own little world and tuning out what they were saying. After a few moments she snapped back to reality and psyched herself up once more, leaning against the book shelf as flat as she could.
‘No Nonah…focus! You’re doing this for Loona!’ Just the thought of it made her feel so important and proud! She almost jumped into action and dashed across the living room floor again, closer to Kiri and Niall, she was hiding under the very table Niall was standing on now.
Kiri laughed admiring Niall’s fight. The sight of the small blonde girl who’d just run under the table was amusing her also. She had a lot of fight in her as well. “Sorry but I’m not sure I’d make it to the door alive with Loona and her little friend watching me.”
“Heh…” Niall said realising he had forgotten about Kiri the monster and was just idly chatting with the person opposite. “I suppose after all we’ve been through, it’d be ok for you and Naskia to hang out.”
Kiri grinned broadly. “You mean it?”
“Yeah I do. Just be nice ok?” Niall said. He did mean it. He didn’t sense any more manipulation or bad intentions from Kiri. She just seemed lonely and a bit lost.
Nonah was humming softly to herself, a tune she had often heard on the wall screen when Loona was watching action movies. It made her feel more like a super spy! She didn’t seem to realize it was more than likely giving her away.
“Ok…do you want to be friends or anything?” Kiri’s grin faded slightly.
“Let’s just see how things go ok?” Niall replied.
Kiri held out her finger in front of Niall. He grabbed it firmly in his hand and shook it.
“It’s ok little girl, you can stop hiding now.” Kiri said bending down under the table.
Kiri called Loona back over and Loona put Nonah on the table with a cookie. It was still rather awkward. It was very clear that Loona barely tolerated Kiri and that Kiri did not like Loona one bit.
“Kiri?” Nonah said cutting the tension like a knife.
“Ehhh…yeah?” Kiri replied. She had no actual interest in Nonah. While she respected Niall for what he had done for her and his intelligence, Nonah was still just another pet.
“You’re weird…” Nonah said looking Kiri up and down.
Kiri grinned. “Thanks.”
Nonah skipped over from her position where her cookie was to stand in front of Kiri. “You’re not nice like Naskia and Loona…but you still helped us, so thank you.”
“You’re welcome…” Kiri said turning her attention away from Nonah hoping to end this interaction.
Nonah ignored Kiri’s cue and carried on. “Are you a nice person though? I’m not sure.”
Loona smiled. She could see just how uncomfortable Kiri was getting but decided not to interrupt.
“Ehhh, no. I’m not nice.” Kiri sighed.
“Why not?” Nonah enquired.
Kiri sighed again as Loona and Niall shared a grin. The group looked to the door as a noise came from in and Naskia walked through. Naskia went white as sheet and froze on the spot when she saw Kiri sitting beside Loona on the sofa.
“Kiri…you shouldn’t be here.” Naskia said bluntly.
Kiri got up to leave to show she didn’t want a fight.
“It’s ok, she can stay.” Niall said.
“Did I miss something here?” Naskia said setting her bag down.
“We talked. We’re good.” Niall said looking up at the now nervous looking Kiri.
“I meant what I said before. I miss you Nas, I’m not asking to move back in, just hang out a bit.” Kiri said.
Naskia walked to the table and allowed Niall to step on to her hand, she cupped him and raised him to her face to check if he was ok. “And you don’t mind? You’re not scared of her anymore?”
“I wouldn’t say I’m scared of her.” Niall lied. “But we’ve found some common ground and she’s not a threat to me anymore. We’re never going to be best buddies but I don’t see why you two can’t be friends.”
Naskia bit her lip nervously and looked up from Niall to Kiri. On one hand she had manipulated her for years, tried to take Niall away from her and then tried to kill him but on the other she had helped her to save Niall and Nonah.
“I’m sorry Kiri, it’s not just the Niall stuff but you lied to me! You always act like you know what’s best and I don’t want that anymore. I’m a grown woman making my own decisions, not a toy for you to boss about.” Naskia said.
“I promise I’ll change, please can we just hang out sometime?” Kiri pleaded. “I won’t interfere in your life.”
“I dunno Kiri…” Naskia said.
“Give her a chance Nas. You two were friends for years. Plus she jumped on Dorok’s back when he went for you, not many people would do that.” Niall interrupted. Kiri smiled a bit glad to finally feel like she had someone on her side.
“Urgh fine! You’re as bad as she is for manipulation ya know that?” Naskia said lifting Niall up to her face and smiling. “We can hang out a bit and see where it goes ok?”
Kiri grinned. “Thank you Nas! And thank you too Niall. I’ll get out of your hair…should probably go to class anyway.”
“Bye Kiri.” Loona said.
“I’ll be in touch soon Nas.” Kiri said going out the door forgetting to say goodbye to everyone else.
Naskia set Niall on the table and sat down, she softly stroked Nonah’s dirty blonde hair and gave her a smile as she settled in to sofa.
“We need to talk; my brother called me on my way back from the nurse. He’s read the charter and it’s not good. Basically they’re right, you can’t legally work there. Nevertheless he’s filed an appeal with the Board of Governors and there’s going to be a hearing…” Naskia explained.
“A hearing?” Niall asked.
“Basically they present their case as to why you should not work at the University and then we present ours stating why you should. The Board of Governors will then decide what to do.” Naskia replied.
“Ok…great. When is it?” Niall asked.
“In two days.” Naskia replied.
“And when does your brother get here?” Niall pressed on.
Naskia grimaced. Niall wasn’t going to like this. “He’s not, he’s in the middle of a big case and can’t get the time off work.”
“Fuck….” Niall cursed. “I’ll have to do it myself then.”
“Ehhh….that’s just it sweetie…you can’t. You have to an Imperial Citizen to represent someone. You can witness though.” Naskia explained trying to keep Niall calm.
Niall visibly fumed, his arms swung by his side as he contemplated how much fun it would be to smash up more things but he held it together.
“So who is representing me?” Niall said through gritted teeth.
“Ehhh…well me I suppose.” Naskia said before laughing nervously. It didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Loona sat forward to interject. “What’s your plan?”
“Ehhh….well just show how smart Niall is really. Once they see that then they’ll have to admit him.” Naskia said.
“Hmmm…” Loona said getting up. “I don’t think that will do it…”
“What do you mean?” Naskia asked. She was pretty confident her plan would work but she knew Loona was more experienced in debate than she was.
Loona started to pace back and forth thinking. She thought back to Lyroo Prenn and her arguments, how she handled herself and acted. “They’re not going to prove he’s stupid, they can’t and they know this. They have to prove he’s not our equal. They also need to undermine you Nas.”
“Me?” Naskia interjected blinking her long eyelashes innocently. This all sounded a lot more complicated than she originally thought.
“If I were them I’d go after you. Show that Niall isn’t the exception here, you are. You’re an unfit owner and potentially an unfit Titan, maybe you shouldn’t be allowed to have Niall, maybe they should take him and look after him?” Loona went on.
“They wouldn’t….would they?” Naskia asked. She was getting upset now. The stakes were a lot higher than she had imagined.
“They might do, also maybe going after the Human species in general, wheeling out some of their pets to do tricks to try to associate Niall with them.” Loona said, she actually looked like she was enjoying herself.
“So what do I do?” Naskia asked.
Loona kept pacing and thinking she turned quickly on her heel and pointed at Naskia. “You need to make them see him as a Titan, not as a Human. I don’t mean make him big…though him sitting in hearing room Titan sized needs to happen at least once but show them he’s more than just a physicist; show them he’s a thinking, feeling man with complex emotions, a personality, a culture and other skills. Break out that instrument you have with the strings or something.”
Naskia’s eyes lit up and she looked at Niall. He seemed a lot less despondent than he had done a minute or two ago.
“Do you think we can win this?” Niall asked.
“Yeah I don’t see why not. The University is pretty progressive, I’d publish this on your blog too. You seem to have a lot of supporters. Them coming out to back you would go a long way to swaying the Board in your favour.” Loona said.
“Can I help?” Nonah said excited.
Naskia leaned over and picked her up gently. “Aww sweetie, I don’t think you can.”
“Actually I think you can help.” Loona shot back. “Niall recorded all their sessions, made lesson plans and tested her. He’s acted like a teacher. She is proof there that this man is a capable teacher. Also Nonah giving evidence demonstrates the whole species is capable of learning and Niall is not an anomaly. We can use Nonah to fight back against any suppositions they make on Humans being happy just to be pets.”
“Where do you come up with this from?!” Naskia said standing up quickly forcing Nonah into the palm of her hand.
“Well my media course covers public opinion and how to sway it so I’m fairly intuitive there. I also did debate for years in school! My parents made me start going but I really enjoyed it in the end. Having a good proper argument with someone and gradually ripping their position in to shreds really gets me going!” Loona said. “Making Lyroo Prenn look stupid on a live broadcast was the highlight of my year!”
“Well why don’t you do it then?” Naskia said.
“Yeah actually you should.” Niall added.
“Do what?” Loona asked.
“Represent me!” Niall said back thinking it was blatantly obvious.
“But Naskia is, she knows you better!” Loona said.
“Yeah but I’m rubbish!” Naskia walked over to Loona leaving Niall on his own on the table staring up at the two immense women. “I get nervous and get the shakes, I say stupid things and go all red. I’ll be terrible! You know this! You have ideas and you’re good with words, think how good it will look for you when you win!”
“Hmmm…” Loona thought. “You may have a point there! This could look very good for my career. Plus I get to help you two out. Ok, this ought to be a fun challenge.”