Loving His Broken Luna

Chapter 55

“Oh so, here’s where you’ve been,” Percilla interrupted, amused, her arms crossed over her chest as if she had the authority to change Renee’s decisions.

“Uh huh,” Renee replied without looking up.

“You know your teachers have been marking you as absent this whole time,” she poked Renee for her attention.

“Don’t touch me, Pe,” Renee warned, ignoring what she had to say.

“Don’t touch me, Pe,” she mouthed off, her tone sassy. “What are you doing anyway?”

“What does it look like?”

Usually she’d do her best not to bite back, but at this point, she couldn’t give an actual sh!t. She’s lost so much time between the incident and completion, Renee was spent.

“Touchy,” Percilla replied, rolling her eyes as she did. “Are you aware…” she began again.

“That my clothes are unwashed?” Renee bit out, trained on nearly her every word.

Percilla wasn’t exactly new to this charade. The girl seemed to need to talk to someone all the time.

“Actually, I was going to ask if you were aware that Mr. Andren was looking for you,” she scoffed.

“Are you aware that I have permission to be here for as long as I need as per Mr. Nelwin and the school board?”

Percilla blinked at that, stumped.

“Is that why you’re here?” Pe pushed looking for answers.

“It's just another elaborate school project,” Renee spouted, her tone high while she lied.

It's been ages since she’s had to lie out her teeth all day and night. Certain things, like this, took precedence though for sure.

“Uh huh…”

“Glad to hear I’m not the only one you keep at a distance,” Jason murmured while he hung out across the room.

Kicking him out of her mind was a challenge. It takes endless energy to do it too. Renee pressed her lips into a firm line, “I’m just focusing. Never done this before,” she quipped, then turned to the machine shop in the back of the room.

Renee grabbed a new sheet of thinly gauged aluminum alloy, then worked on forming it around a preset mold.

“It’s better not to get too close,” she murmured.

It was a truth she wouldn’t let go of. Solitude felt better. It was safe. No one needed to get hurt because of her hang ups… and she could find peace.

“Uh huh…” Percilla replied. “Well, when you figure out that you’re wrong, my aunt has a place on the outskirts of the territory. Her daughter needs a roommate…” she trailed, expectantly.

“I don’t have money to support that,” Renee answered without so much as a thank you.

She was living in the school for crap sake!

“I’m sure you can work something out,” Pe replied evenly.

“No, that’s the answer,” Renee countered.

“How can you say no when you’re like this?”

Percilla waved her hands around Renee’s form as she returned back to her workstation.

“Hasn’t your caretaker figured this out yet? Rag showers aren’t a thing anymore. This isn’t the stone age.”

“Why does it bother you so much?”

“It just does!” Percilla bit out. “I’m literally decaying after each meal. I know what people say.”

“Uh huh…” Renee ground her sheers through the metal in hand.

She discarded the scrap in a bin beneath her table then proceeded to file down the edges, the sound alone made Percilla retreat.

Good.

“If you happen to change your mind…”

“Or come upon copious amounts of money…”

“Yeah,” Percilla caught herself. “That’s not… oh my gods stop with that horrible sound!”

“If you back off,” Renee scraped the metal once more.

“Fine. Fine… whatever. Stink if you need to. Just don’t you dare say no one helps you.”

Renee didn’t have time to play her game.

“If you really want to help, send Mr. Andren back this way. He can talk to me here if it’s really that pressing,” Renee replied, attempting the setting once more.

A sigh of relief came settling her all over again. The tank fit.

… Thank goodness.

… Now all she had to do were minor adjustments and her first test drive.

Renee looked around trying to figure out her next move. She had to get rid of Jason. But how?

====

Kris

====

It’s been a while since he’s heard from her.

He’s weak. His alpha too.

Colla hadn’t been able to light his path any more than the faded atmosphere he’d come to know. His only path came through battling his way up a seemingly endless waterfall. The air felt purer there, easier to breathe, and so with no other possibilities available, he clung to the hope there.

He’s been climbing for days, constantly moving further and further along. Some of which had him climbing cliffs and down into ravines filled with life.

Never in his own had he been so desperate than now, feeding on all he could find. His nose buried deep in algae, sniffing along the rocks at roots, looking for signs of danger. Kris lapped at leafy greens, raw, bitter, awful… but so satisfying. Having sustenance re-enter him was unlike any experience he’d ever known.

Being hungry was one thing. Starving though. Starving was a whole other beast. While his hunger pained him, shutting down his abilities and strength, it felt wrong to over eat. Kris simply couldn’t.

Instead he carefully pulled the entirety of the plants growing around the area and tucked them away in his mane.

Eating somehow exhausted him.

“I only have a little bit of time to pull this off,” he thought he heard her murmur. “I hope you’re okay…”

…Am I okay?

Kris wondered that too.

… I’d be better with you.

… Why is that hard to say now?

Kris remained quiet, receding in on himself. He focused on the air wafting softly into the enclosed falls. His snout, thankful for the encouragement, Kris moved on. His paws carried him onward carefully. His nose picked up on scents he hadn’t smelled in ages.

“Food?” he whispered, mostly to himself.

“What?” Renee’s voice filtered through the space around him.

“Shh,” he urged her to stay quiet. “Food.”