She walked the corridor, padding quietly on her way to pick up a snack from the dining hall in off-hours so she could avoid interacting with the judgmental priests at mealtime. She moved with impressive stealth, and her footsteps were nearly silent, a habit picked up in this place thanks to the disapproving stares so often elicited by no more than her simple presence. She wasn’t quite ninja-quiet, but her unintentional keep-quiet skills were nevertheless impressive.
Ella peered into the dining area. Empty.
At least that’s going my way,she noted, redirecting to the kitchen area.
Draikis had familiarized her with the place when they’d visited together pre-picnic one day, and she’d taken quick mental note of where most things were kept. Not all the things, naturally, so she would still have to do a little digging, but putting together a basic snack pack shouldn’t take her long at all.It would give her sustenance as she dug through the texts, but more importantly, this would also allow her to avoid any run-ins with the other priests. No matter what Draikis said or did to try to smooth things over for her, she was still an annoyance to most of them, like a scratch on the roof of your mouth, always present, forgotten until something brought the discomfort to the front of one’s mind again.
Only she was more than that. She was a woman in their testosterone-filled halls.
“Not to worry. I’ll just be in and out and away from here lickety split-like,” she mused, filling a small bag made of some high-tensile yet featherweight material. “And a little fruit, some bread. Oh, and they have cheese in that cooling thingie,” she mused, opening the seemingly unsealed refrigeration device, its contents kept cool by a force field of some kind.
Fortunately, she’d seen Draikis deactivate it previously, so there would be no embarrassing bumping into the invisible barrier, though she did wonder if it would hurt or just feel like some sort of invisible obstacle.
“Like Wonder Woman’s invisible jet,” she said with a chuckle, loading up on a few delicacies before re-sealing the unit. “Well, that should be plenty. And there’s a water dispenser in the archives, so I’m good there. Yep, I’m set.”
She headed out of the back area, clearing the kitchen and storage space in just a few quick steps, heading through the dining hall proper on her way to the exit.
That went about as well as it could ha?—
“What are you doing here?” a loud voice boomed across the empty chamber. Totaxxis. And he did not look pleased. Not one bit.
“I was just getting a sna?—”
“You dare enter our dining area unattended? As if you belong here?”
“I was just getting a quick?—”
“Draikis may have taken you on as his little pet project, but you can be assured,Iam not of the same liberal mindset as he. Nor are my brothers. You may have the privilege of temporary refuge due to your unusual means of arrival, but you do not have free run of this place.”
“I didn’t think I did. In fact, I was getting this so I couldavoid?—”
“The arrogance of you, woman. You are not?—”
Ella snapped.
“Listen, fucko. I’m trying my best to be respectful of you and your buddies’ inability to be around women, but if you cut me off again, I swear?—”
“You swearwhat, little female?” he countered, an unpleasant gleam in his eye.
Ella’s gut tensed, but her self-preservation instinct overrode her desire to slap him across his asshole face.
Calm down. Don’t say something you’ll regret. And don’t put Draikis in a bad place. He vouched for you. Just breathe. This isn’t the first asshole you’ve dealt with.
Ella took a breath, held it for a count of four, then slowly released it for the same duration, forcing her anger to the back of her mind. She couldn’t afford to allow this to escalate, no matter how much this asshole deserved a tongue lashing. But that would be stepping into his trap. Giving him what he wanted. Areason. Right now, he was on a fishing expedition but had no real reason for his anger beyond his own issues. She would not give him anything more.
“I swear, I was heading to the archives when you stopped me just now.”
“You were pilfering the larder. Do you deny it?”
“Pilfering? I’m literally only grabbing a snack, Totaxxis. And I’m doing it to stayoutof your hair. So I don’t have to come back later for a meal. You should be thanking me.”
The man shrugged, a dismissive grunt rising from his chest. But he did seem to pause at least, so her words appeared to have sunk in, at least a little. At least enough to take the edge off, if not outright defuse the situation. Ella felt her fight-or-flight instinct begin to relax. Crisis averted.
Or so she unwisely thought. She should have known better.
“On your world, perhaps taking what is not yours is allowed. You are clearly a primitive race, and you lack the culture and refinement of our kind. But that is no excuse.”
“I’m not looking for an excuse,” she shot back, her anger flaring up bright once more. “And on my world, people don’t act like such assholes when someone is clearly trying to do right by them. But I guess your advanced culture doesn’t value respectful discourse and polite appreciation. Maybe you’re not actually better than us, despite what your ego clearly tells you.”
