Chapter 2
1359 Words
“Alright Andromache, what ya got for me?”
“Guuuuus, it's Andy. Spelt A.N.D.Y… ANDY,” and I chucked him a couple of his favourites - a cheese scone and a bran muffin.
I dropped grumpily into a seat opposite him and he happily bit into his baked goods. Gus was well on in years with pure white hair and soft plump features. He was one of the few elderly at the settlement but still as sharp as a knife as he was my boss and part of our governing Council. He was also head of the Science department here at Tectum.
And like Calli, he helped raise Yann. Treated me like a daughter and Yann like a grandson.
“C,mon dear, Andromache is a strong and beautiful name. It means ‘fighter of men’ or ‘man battler’, take pride in the name your parents chose”, he said as he raised his bushy brows at me.
I waved him off but secretly, I loved the meaning. Just not the way it sounded.
“I’ll let it slide this time - but you needed to see me?”
“Ah!”, he jumped up and rummaged through his desk, procuring a tightly bound parcel. He passed it over before sitting back down to finish off his scone. Inspecting the parcel, it was bound in leather to keep out the damp and as I unraveled it, a letter fell out into my hand along with a tooth.
A very large Lycan tooth.
I looked up at Gus questioningly but he waved me on to read it.
"Dear Tectum Settlement,
Greetings from The Archivio across the way,
There has been an increase of Vargul activity in both our Sectors. More and more are coming down from the mountains.
Let's meet to discuss a joining of forces to deal with the threat and possible training as I hear your Medic Corp is second to none.
We will arrive in 2 days' time at noon.
Scientia Est Potentia
Regards,
Mikal & The Council "
"Scientia est potentia?" I asked. He took a swing of his hot cocoa and set it down.
"It means Knowledge is Power. They are the archivists of this world, keepers of past history and recorders of the present. That's why they are called The Archivio, meaning the archive."
The Archivio settlement was quite a way away and we haven't had much interaction with them so this was quite a surprise.
I raised my brows, impressed. But then I remembered the fang.
"Yes, it is Lycan. Or more so, Vargul. I would be careful with it even though it looks to be disinfected. I guess it's a gift of sorts", Gus shrugged, "as well as the wrapping."
"What do you…? Wait." I looked down at the leather wrapping and I literally felt my skin crawl.
It was skin. Vargul skin.
"Uggh!", I shrieked and dropped it on his desk. Trust me, I'm not the squeamish type since I've dealt with blood and guts but just the feel of it against my fingers gave me the creeps. Gus just chuckled and picked it up.
"It's rare, you know. I'm sure as you know that when a Lycan or Vargul die, their bodies eventually return to their human forms. Im not sure how they've done this, but it is impressive."
I stared at him bug-eyed, "dude, no that's just nasty?"
He just shrugged and offered some of his muffin but I shook my head, still inwardly retching at the feel of the skin against my fingers.
Gus was a scientist at heart so no wonder this interested him.
Poor Vargul, I thought. It's not their fault…
"Anyways, when they arrive, I thought you could join me for the meeting of the two Councils? They are interested in our Medic Corp and who better to have than our Head of the Medical School beside me", he smiled.
"Uh yeah, sure, I can do that. They arrive on a Saturday so I'll have Calli and Faun watch over Yann then I'll meet you at the hall?" I got up to leave and gave Gus a peck on the cheek before turning to the door.
"Oh and Andromache...maybe wear something nice on Saturday", he winked.
Letting out a chuckle and shaking my head, I left his office and made my way back to Calli. Gus was always trying to play matchmaker for me even though I had a 'pairing'.
A pairing was essentially an arranged couple of sorts. The Council tries to assist young adults where necessary. Weird but we gotta keep the population up, I guess.
But Gus didn't like Saleem.
To Gus, he was too, how did he put it.......militant, had no character and was boring. It was recommended by the Council so I thought I’d let it play out for now.
I went in search of Calli since she was no longer in my office and I found her taking the new recruits for a morning drill in the gym.
I made it beside her and passed over her muffins while she handed me her clipboard.
Running through the list, I was surprised at how many we had signed up. "Do we really have this many coming through?", I asked.
"Yeap! Word is getting around on how good we are and plus- they all want to meet the sexy Huntress," she winked.
"Girl you're a legend! Blueberry AND a bran!", and she began scoffing them down.
Even had to hit her in the back a few times to stop her from choking.
"Slow down", I laughed. "Oh that reminds me - Gus said the Archivio council will be coming in a few days to discuss the increase of Vargul in our Sector and he wants me to be there. They are also interested in our Medic Corp. Could you and Faun watch Yann for me while I attend?"
"Ofgh coursth," she managed to get out before swallowing, "I'll come around first thing. That's cool you get to meet the Archivio, I mean they are pretty legendary. Maybe you'll snag yourself a sugar daddy," she giggled, wriggling her hips.
Everyone knew that the people at the Archivio were rich. When I say rich, I mean rich in resources and rare items from the OId World. There was no use for hand-held cash anymore which suited us perfectly.
"Uh no thanks", I laughed, "but Gus did say for me to wear something nice so could I borrow a dress or something?"
"Mmmhmmm, I'll bring a few outfits Saturday morning. By the way, is he looking at me or you?", she nodded to the recruit on the right.
He was cute with wavy, brown hair that just covered his eyes and was super tall. She always had a thing for the tall guys.
Looking over, we stared him straight in the eyes and tilted our heads as he went down for push ups. He quickly looked away and we sniggered.
"Definitely you and your fat ass" I said as I smacked her left cheek. "Okay, when you finish here, take them to Training Room 1 for Basic First Aid so we can see what level they are at and we will go from there. Im gonna go get started on that pile on my desk."
She waved me off, and started bellowing new instructions to the recruits. I looked back and they were scampering into action and I had to hide my smile.
She had the face of an angel but the bark of a demon. She could also kick any one of their asses if she really wanted to.
The day went by quite fast once I reached my office and I dove into the paperwork. We of course make our own recycled paper and didn't use it unless necessary.
But the beating heart of Tectum was the Militia and Medic Corp, so we got to use it more than others.
Gotta say, I loved my role in this settlement but I couldn't wait for the day to end.
- Writer
