Legend of Kataria (Draft Version)

Chapter 9

"But--"

"Oh for Griffion's sake! Do I have to spell it out? It. Wasn't. Your. Fault. Leah wouldn't have wanted you to blame yourself. She'd have wanted you to stay safe. She cared for you. A lot. Believe me, I know. Now, come on." He leaned over to slap Greeny on the back. "No use wasting away up here. Come eat." He stood up. "I'll have Miles fix up some bacon." With that, he exited, closing the door quietly behind him.

Greeny lay there for another minute, staring absently at the ceiling. And then, with a groan, he rolled himself out of bed and went to take a shower. He emerged from his room twenty minutes later, running a towel through his soggy hair and tucking in his shirt. He ditched the towel two doors down and continued to the kitchen, following the smell of fresh eggs and slightly burning toast. He found the teens spread throughout the room. Red and Blue were conversing in the corner, Miles was cooking behind what appeared to be a bar table, and Pinky was sitting in the dining room, flicking through TV channels as though they were going out of style. He suspected she was checking the news to make sure none of them had been spotted. He caught sight of a couple of fly-bys of Southpoint, but very little detail on the actual extent of the damage.

"Morning," Miles greeted as Greeny slid onto one of the barstools and rested his head on a hand. "Good to see you up and about, Bush. What can I get you?"

Greeny eyed the drink options for a moment before responding. "Chocolate milk, please. Shaken, not stirred." He was too tired to hear what he'd said, but that didn't stop the ghost of a smile from spreading across Miles' lips as the blond turned and went back to work.

"Going to do anything exciting this morning?" Red questioned as he sat down next to him with a glass of lemonade and a plate piled high with bacon and sausage. He gestured for Greeny to help himself and the teen did so, taking a piece of bacon and munching it quietly as he shrugged and waited for Red to continue. "You know, Pinky's going to do some training in the gym later on. Maybe you could join her?"

Greeny shot a glance toward the girl as he took a sip of his milk. "Yeah, that's probably not such a good idea. I think she hates me."

"Don't take it personally. She hates everyone."

"Brilliant." Greeny downed his glass in a single gulp. "Wish me luck then." He stood up and started toward the sofa.

"Don't die!" came Red's call behind him. Greeny took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, unsure whether he was trying to smooth it down or just release his stress. He exhaled loudly as he came around the couch to stand before her. She started, alerting him that she was aware of his presence, but she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the television, flicking a few more channels.

"Um...hello." Greeny felt his voice squawk.

She sighed deeply and a pained expression crossed her face as she twisted to look up at him. "What do you want?"

Greeny cringed. His brain screamed at him to back away and he felt his legs shaking as they fought to obey. He forced himself to stay put, however, and he grasped the edge of the couch to steady himself. "Red...said that I should maybe...train with you?" It came out sounding more like a question than a statement.

Pinky dropped the remote back onto the couch and leaned back against the pillows with a huff. "And why would I do that for you?"

"Oh...well...um..."

"Because he needs to learn to defend himself." Blue's voice near Greeny's ear caused him to jump, "and you're the best fighter out of all of us."

Pinky's eyes narrowed as she glanced between Blue and Greeny and back again. "Oh?" she said testily.