The Hunt

Chapter 25- Not All Change is Good

Zephyr raised his glass.

"To a successful mission," he cheered. "It's long overdue, but after last times mistake I think it's worth it."

"Mistake is putting it lightly," Cecily commented, though she still tapped her cup of tea to his glass of juice.

"Yeah," Rei said, matching Zephyr and Cecily, "but this would be a lot better with actual alcohol."

"Agreed," Alma said.

The three guys raised an eyebrow at her.

She smiled, punching Orion in the shoulder. "I'm kidding. Don't give me that look." Her gaze turned to the others. "And I mean all of you."

She tapped her cup to Cecily's.

It's good to see them relaxed like this, Zeph thought. Cecily was as calm as she'd been from the beginning, but she was starting to smile and talk more. Turns out there was a little sass under that terrifying gaze. Orion was starting to open up, not to mention whatever was going on between him and the minor. Ugh, Zephyr would have to keep an eye out for that.

And Rei. Rei was becoming more open to the rest of them. Especially Cecily. He used to only be willing to befriend Zephyr but now that he'd been forced into these circumstances, he'd opened up a little. The prince was proud of his little conquest.

The mismatched group of professionals, plus one prince and one criminal which they rarely referred to her as, they were a real team.

"How about," Alma said, her eyes drifting over to Zephyr, "in celebration, I teach you some cool moves."

"You?" Orion replied. "So you got a few lessons from Cecily. You can't be that great."

"Alright," the little saint replied, "Then you can watch over us. If I mess up then you can show us both."

"Excuse me," Zeph cut in, "but I never agreed to this."

"Not like you were planning on saying no," Alma laughed. She grabbed hold of his and Orion's arms, dragging them as she skipped towards the door. As if just realizing that there were more people than her prince and assassin, she turned around. "You two coming of do I have to drag you out too?"

"We'll be out in a few," Rei said before turning to Cecily, "right?"

Cecily nodded her agreement.

Alma gave them that look for a second before nodding and dragging Zephyr and Orion out the door of the little bunker.

---

Reiko glanced over and Cecily who was, in tern, watching him with a steady gaze.

"Now that the kids are gone, wanna watch some T.V.?" Rei offered.

Cecily nodded, finally taking her gaze away from him.

He let out a sigh of relief. Whether he knew she wouldn't hurt I'm or not, her gaze was a heavy thing to be under. Not to mention, he never knew what the girl was thinking.

So, instead of dwelling on the hunter, he grabbed the remote. Clicking the little button, the television set flicked on, the news being the first thing to appear. Zephyr, the boring prince with maturity that sometimes rivaled his fathers, liked to keep up with what was going on with the outside world. Of course, it was a smart idea, but the news absolutely bored the foreign guard.

Unless it was talking about himself.

And today, it just happened to be.

'As of last night, Deslyn Reacher has vanished,' the nicely dressed news man said, holding a tablet between his finely trimmed nails. Ugh, show people. 'Witnesses say that, despite the bloody show given at Sie Wong's, the prince and his entourage continue to fight for the throne.'