Hell Hath No Fury - Book One

Aired Grievances

Theo shifted awake and could feel them before she could see them. She wasn't sure how long they had been standing there or how they managed to get into the room without her waking up but the presence of people in the room was unmistakable. She would have been worried except she knew that when she turned around and opened her eyes her two best friends would be hovering over her. So Theo did just that, she slowly flipped onto her back from her position on her stomach, turned her head towards the people in the room, and cracked one eye open. With the curtains drawn, there was not a lot of light but Theo could tell that the silhouettes in front of her were Xyra and Cooker.

Theo huffed out at the fact that was had been woken up by them and decided that Cooker and Xyra could wait until she was fully awake before jumping into the reason they were there, interrupting her vacation. Theo turned onto her side, her back to the girls, and wrapped an arm Ava before pulling her closer. Ava shifted at that and made a few sleepy noises before backing up into Theo's embrace. She felt Ava wake up and she pressed a kiss to the back of her neck and whispered.

"Don't be alarmed but we have company."

Theo wasn't sure why she thought that would work but Ava did not follow directions. Alarmed was just the surface. Ava's head popped up and scanned the room but jolted when she caught a glimpse of the figures in the dark. Theo wasn't sure if Ava had no room on her side of the bed or her body was so shocked she was propelled forward, but either way, Ava tumbled off the bed with a yelp. A thud followed by some shuffling was heard before a head of red hair popped into view.

"Morning?" Ava asked, sleep evident in her tone.

Theo chuckled a bit, despite her realization that her vacation was most likely coming to an end, and sat up in the bed, "Can I help you, pirate intruders?"

"We were just coming to check on you. You've been gone for over six suns and we just didn't expect you to be out here for this long," Xyra commented.

"First, you force me to leave the city. Now, you come in search for me wondering why I am not in the city," Theo quipped. She had promised herself that she would subdue her anger at the both of them for their secretive antics in the but that plan went out the window when she saw them.

"Theo..." Xyra shook her head with a sigh, "we can talk about that later. We've come to stay for a few suns."

"I'm afraid the Grotto is being occupied by others. As you can see by our bare asses on the bed," Theo crossed her arms over her chest.

"To be fair, my bare ass is on the floor," Ava chimed in from her place on the floor, presumably hiding her naked body behind the bed, "I'm also probably going to have to head back this morning."

Theo gasped at the betrayal of Ava giving up her spot in the Grotto so easily. But the gasp was mainly for show, they had discussed leaving back to the city the night before and had agreed they would set off first thing in the morning.

"Well, if you are not joining her on her trek back to the city, I would appreciate it if you stayed with us, Theo," Xyra said as if she was in a business meeting but Theo got the context behind her words. It was a formal request but the way it was worded was practically a plea from Xyra.

Now that Theo's eyes had adjusted to the little light that was in the room, she saw Xyra's leg immobilized between splints and a crutch. Theo swallowed past the lump in her throat, guilt rising in her chest once again. There she was being a fucking dick to Xyra who had sacrificed herself for Theo and Theo's career. Theo nodded her head slowly and looked down to her lap.

"Aye, I'll stay," Theo conceded.

After getting the confirmation from Theo, Cooker spurred into action and walked towards the door, "Alright well, I will be at the grotto for the morning and aftermorning, if any of you want to join."