“A mouse.”
He nodded. “Ah, yes, that makes sense.” Then he laughed, a full-throated and hearty thing. “Well then, since you’ll be on Amber’s squad, just remember… Mice eat butterflies.”
I blinked, looking over at Silence, who was a bit wide-eyed with surprise as well.
“And Cranes eat all of the above!” This sharp-tongued voice came from above us. I looked up to see a gallery balcony along three sides of the great hall. Lady Crane leaned upon the railing glaring down at us. I didn’t know what she was doing, and she didn’t deign to explain before she turned and left.
Ant chuckled. “True… so watch out for her.”
“Are there any in Maverick’s House that aren’t tiny creatures?” I asked.
Ant smiled and gave a knowing wink. “Oh… yes. You just wait and see.”
As the morning wore on, we did meet the other members of the House, all but two. We kept hearing about Lady Midnight and her secret mission, but nothing more. The other missing member was Fin… whose avatar was a whale, and he was out patrolling the ocean waters for pirates. But the rest we met that day.
Jack arrived for breakfast still completely naked, winking at me once again before heading into the kitchens.
“Ignore him,” Ant said. “He’s on my squad, and he likes to flirt and will probably make some advances on you, but if you tell him no, he’ll listen.”
That was good to know.
“That goes for you too,” Ant said to Silence. “Jack… goes for all sorts.”
Silence and I raised our brows at that, but same-sex pairings weren’t uncommon in Elista. Silence nodded at the advice.
“Why is he…” I began.
“Naked?” Ant shrugged. “Just his thing. He only does it while he’s here, out on missions he’s fully dressed and a deadly fighter, quick and lethal.”
Also good to know.
The next to arrive were two men who looked similar enough to each other I guessed they were brothers. What had Lady Crane called them? Fennec and Foggy? They came over and made introductions. Neither were large men, Fennec was only a bit taller than me, short for a man, and very lean; wiry was a good word to describe him. He had pale brown hair, almost dirty-blond. His hazel eyes looked friendly. He had a way of twitching his head as if he was constantly hearing something distracting.
“A Fennec is a type of fox, very small, with large ears,” he said, describing his avatar. He then went to talk to Silence after Ant told him to take the young man under his wing.
Foggy, on the other hand, was… just plain odd. He was even shorter than his brother, one of the few full-grown men I looked down at, yet he was a bit more filled out, though still lean of frame.
“Fog beetle,” he said shaking my hand. Then… for no particular reason, released me and did a lithe half-flip, landing lightly on his arms and settling into a very relaxed head-stand. “Nice to meet you.” He had darker hair than his brother but the same hazel eyes. And he too moved his head in odd ways, but more extreme, tilting and moving around to seemingly look at everything from every angle all at once.
“He’s on my squad,” Ant said. “And you’ll… get used to him in time. He may not be normal, but he has some very interesting ways of seeing things and perspectives on situations like no one else.”
As the brothers were leaving, another pair entered, both women, and as different as two people could be. One was very large, heavy-set, and a head taller than me, which made her a unique woman indeed. The second was small, quite slight of build, and a bit fidgety.
“Tusk,” the larger woman introduced herself. “A boar.”
“She’s the muscle on Amber’s squad,” Ant said.
The tall woman had wiry, unkempt dark-brown hair with a dark complexion, bright and clear yellow eyes, and a wide smile.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Legs. I’m Sparrow,” said the other, smaller woman. That name I understood, and it immediately made sense. Small and a bit erratic of movement, like her namesake, with large green eyes and a small mouth. Her hair was a light red-brown. I liked her instantly, and she seemed to sense that, smiling at me.
“A scout, also on Amber’s squad,” Ant said.
“We were going to get some food and head to the library, would you like to join us?” Sparrow asked.
“I’d love that, thank you!” I said instantly. “I might stick around here until I’ve met the rest of the household, but I’ll meet you there if I’m not needed elsewhere.” This with a look at Ant.
“The first day is all yours, your training begins tomorrow. Bright and earlyish at eight. Be out in the back courtyard and ready to work.” With that, he rose. “Feel free to stick around here or go with Tusk and Sparrow, but the last member of the House may not be down for a while. Princess… likes to sleep… all the time.”
