Connor and the Wolves - 24. Mixed Signals

Khurtschono poked at the cereal on the table, wrinkling her nose. Across from her, Soren was already gulping everything down — cereal, omelette, yoghurt all vanished into his maw.
“Is the milk bad?” Khurtschono cast a sidelong glance at Skylar, who was elbow deep in dishes. “It smells weird.”
“Cow milk,” Skylar explained. “Now eat it. You don’t want to miss the bus.”
“Why did we switch to cow milk?” Khurtschono grumbled, scooping a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Thin cream flooded her mouth, mixing with the grainy texture of oats. Khurtschono grimaced at the taste, forcing herself to swallow. There was something almost nutty about the aftertaste, but she focused on eating fast instead of exploring the strange flavour.
“Cheaper and easier to get,” Skylar said.
“It’s really good,” Soren inhaled the last of his own cereal. “Thank you.”
He carried his plate and bowl to the sink, only to be pushed back by Skylar.
“Sit. You’re still a guest here,” she scolded, taking his dishes.
“Don’t fight her,” Khurtschono added. “She has vinegar.”
Soren sat quickly, ducking his head in apology. Khurtschono chuckled, gulping down her milk.
“Relax, it was a joke. She’s more likely to spray me.”
A door closed loudly, and Khurtschono’s ear twitched. She stood up and rushed her bowl to the sink, tossing it beside her plate.
“Okay, let’s get going,” she said, grabbing Soren’s arm and tugging him toward the door.
“What-”
“Hey!” Skylar glared at Khurtschono. “I’m not fin-” She paused, ears swivelling toward the stairs. “Actually, I can finish the dishes later. Let’s go. John!”
She vanished into the house, reappearing a moment later with John grumbling in her grasp. Khurtschono was already by the door, a stunned Soren in hand.
“Oh.”
Altanchono stared at Soren from the stairs. Before he could say anything, Khurtschono had pushed Soren outside, guiding him toward Skylar’s truck.
“Sorry,” she breathed. “We were supposed to be out before he left.”
“Left?” Soren echoed.
“Therapy,” Khurtschono said, opening the passenger door for Soren. “Ma’s taking him. It’s why Skylar’s taking us to school.”
“Oh. What about John?”
“John is here against his will,” John growled as he slid into the back seat.
“John is here,” Skylar corrected, getting into the drivers seat, “because this family supports each other. Ma and Aav are missing,” she added with a stern glare at John, “because they’re busy with work and with Altanchono.”
“Can we just go please?” Khurtschono demanded, eyeing Altanchono in the rearview mirror. The orange neko had an unreadable expression on his face as he watched them from the window.
The truck came to life with a subdued rumble. Khurtschono leaned back as they left the drive, watching the world pass around her.
“So Soren, have you always been into running?” Skylar asked as she drove.
Khurtschono’s ears perked up. She glanced at Soren, curious about his answer. He hadn’t joined the track team until Khurtschono had — maybe he hadn’t known about it? Or maybe he hadn’t had time. But why would that have changed now?
Soren shrugged, staring out the window.
“I’ve always run,” he said simply.
“But you enjoy it?”
Another shrug. Khurtschono could almost see Skylar’s brain spinning, trying to find another angle to engage Soren from.
“Uh…”
“What do you like to draw?” Khurtschono interrupted. “I saw the wolf picture in your bedroom.”
Soren turned his head, eyes wide in surprise.
“Uh… animals, mostly. Wolves, sharks….”
“Have you ever drawn any horses?” Skylar asked, picking up the thread Khurtschono provided.
“No…” Soren turned back to his window, and Khurtschono bit back a sigh. “I’ve drawn an alpaca though. There was one that lived in the stables several years before you bought your house. A human ran a wool farm, and my parents took me to see it.” He shrugged. “Wasn’t a good picture.”
“What’s an alpaca?” Khurtschono asked.
“It’s a type of camel,” John said beside her, not bothering to look up from his phone. “Generally raised for its high quality wool, as opposed to its larger cousin, the llama, which is usually kept to guard herds of sheep. They’re from the mountains north of Khorsa.”
The truck bounced, startling Khurtschono. Her eyes widened — they were at school already? A trip that usually took half an hour barely took ten minutes in Skylar’s car. A twinge of jealousy tore through Khurtschono. When would she get a car that could actually move?
A bus was waiting in the car park, with a group of students wandering around. Skylar parked near the bus, and Khurtschono and Soren got out, both stretching after the short trip.
“You ready?” Khurtschono asked.
Soren nodded silently, and the two made their way to the bus.

“Do you think NekoWolf will be at the race?”
Khurtschono tore her eyes away from Miles’ back guiltily, focusing on Soren beside her. The bus was full of conflicting scents, maskers and deodorants meant to cover the stench of wolves. It was worse than on a city bus, but at least she couldn’t actually smell Miles under the cacophony of scents.
“Um… probably,” she said. “I think he runs for Quarian Academy, but he’s not a werewolf, so we’re probably not going to see him.” She studied Soren — anything to keep her attention away from Miles. “Why?”
Soren shrugged.
“He’s nice,” he said after a moment’s thought. “Though I suppose it would be poor sportsmanship to cheer on a runner from a rival school.”
He glanced at Khurtschono’s leg, steadily bouncing to the bus’ rumbling. A tiny smile played along the corner of his lip. Khurtschono scoffed quietly.
“He’s… yeah, I guess he is nice,” she admitted. “Always looking out for the newer guild members. But he’s such a pain in the ass too. Always looking for the next bit of juicy gossip.” She rolled her eyes.
“He keeps asking if we’re together.”
Khurtschono sucked in a breath. Chewing her lip, she glanced at her lap.
“We aren’t — not that I would be against it,” she added quickly, trying to soften the blow.
“You wouldn’t?” Soren stared at her for a moment. “I thought we were just friends.”
“We are friends,” Khurtschono agreed. “But… I mean, mates should be friends first. My parents were friends before they got together.”
“So… you want to be together?” Soren asked cautiously.
A momentary panic took Khurtschono. She liked Soren. A lot. But she could still smell that orange cologne whispering through the bus, invading her nose, all but demanding she take action. She couldn’t be Soren’s mate — what about Miles?
What about Miles? He was old. He was an elf. He was her teacher. If she pursued him…
…she’d be no better than Altanchono.
“Sorry,” Soren muttered beside her, leaning against the window to watch the city pass by.
“Wai-”
The word caught in her throat. Khurtschono’s heart plummeted. She wasn’t Altanchono. She was not going to assault Miles — she’d never do something like that. But he was still her mate, and she was almost an adult by neko standards. Surely he’d at least hear her out… when the time was right. She couldn’t hurt Soren by pursuing both of them. It was better to let Soren think she wasn’t interested.
The bus stopped in the midst of her turmoil. People began getting to their feet, only to be stopped as Miles rose.
“Okay everyone, this is it,” he called through the bus. “The first meet of the year. Today we see what the competition is like.”
Khurtschono’s eyes travelled the elf’s body, admiring the red tank top he was wearing. To be fair, all of the non-wolf athletes wore the tank top, but it looked better on Miles.
The elf’s eyes swept through the bus. Khurtschono glanced away quickly as he passed over her.
“We have a long road ahead of us, but I know if we travel that road one step at a time, improving one race at a time, we stand a good chance of making it to Mydara this year.” Beside Khurtschono, Soren straightened suddenly, as though startled by that thought. “It will take hard work and dedication. I have watched you all work this past week, and each of you has shown that you are willing to do what it takes to improve. That is all that I ask, that you be better than yourself. You will find that if you work to beat yourself, our rivals will fall under your feet as well.” Miles met Khurtschono’s eyes before moving on to another neko. “Gansukh, Khurtschono, I’d like to speak with you once we’re off the bus. Everyone else, get started with your pre-shift stretches.”
Everyone filed off the bus. Khurtschono stepped out of Soren’s way, but he stuck by her side as she approached Miles.
“Oh good, you’re here too Soren,” Miles said. “Kurt, Gansukh has agreed to be your caller for the the 800 and 1600. You shouldn’t need one for the four by four; that’s just a single lap around the track. You two are still happy with the events?” He studied Khurtschono, his eyes barely avoiding hers. “You’re running two distance races and a sprint with barely a race between to recover. That’s a rough pace for hardened runners. I won’t be mad if you have to scratch a race. Either of you,” he added with a glance at Soren.
“You said I should drop the 3200 for the 1600.” Soren shrugged. “I’m used to long distance-”
“I know; your stamina is incredible,” Miles said with a reassuring smile. “But you’re not jogging along a road today. You’re racing. It’s going to be a different run. And to clarify, I said you should switch to the 3200 only if you don’t want to run the four by four. Really, with the distance you’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if you only run cross country and one other event.”
“What would you suggest we do?” Khurtschono asked.
“Like I told you-” Miles paused and took a breath. “Sorry… I suggested you keep to two events for your first meet. You didn’t seem attached to that idea, so my suggestion for you is running the 400 and the 800 with the four by four at the end. It will help you improve your speed and stamina.” He turned to Soren. “For you-”
“I remember,” Soren said quietly. “1600 and four by four, after the cross country race.”
“If I’m allowed to make a suggestion,” Gansukh spoke up. “Khurtschono, there’s no shame in sticking to only one or two events. Maybe try the 400 and the four by four. You can always add events at the next meet.”
“I think I’ll just run the four by four,” Soren said.
“That will give you plenty of time to recover,” Miles smiled at the human.
Khurtschono grunted. If she dropped events, she couldn’t impress Miles. But what if she couldn’t keep up? Which would be worse?
“I… I suppose I should… probably stick to the 800 and 400,” she conceded.
“I think you’ll still find that a welcome challenge,” Miles said. “Now, you three head over to the locker room and get changed. We’ll all head over to registration once everyone has shifted.”
Gansukh led the two from the car park, letting Khurtschono get her first good look at the school they were at. It didn’t seem that impressive — the football pitch was barely green, and the school walls looked like they’d been the target of every bird in Astara.
“What is a caller?” Soren asked, pulling Khurtschono from her study.
“I’m going to call out Khurtschono’s laps as he completes them,” Gansukh said. “It will help him focus more on the race, and strategise better in the 1600.”
“Her,” Soren said.
Gansukh glanced at the human.
“Her bangle is on her left wrist,” Soren explained. “Her, not-”
“It’s okay Soren,” Khurtschono said, reaching up to pat his back. “Don’t worry about it.”
Gansukh shrugged, pulling open a heavy metal door. The musty stench of stale sweat slammed into Khurtschono, and she grimaced.
“Quarian Academy has the worst locker rooms,” Gansukh said. “Don’t worry, the others are better cleaned. We better hurry though. The wolf cross country race starts in thirty minutes.”

A horde of wolves toed the starting line. Khurtschono hung back, watching Soren sidle up beside a tan wolf. The two eyed each other, relaxing into their prestart stances. Khurtschono heard a loud chime, and the mob shot forward.
From the stands, Skylar cheered as Soren pulled ahead of the pack. Wolves jostled for position, forcing him back, and Khurtschono watched intently as he settled into a spot six wolves behind first place. The other wolves pulled ahead, opening a gap between themselves and Soren. The last image Khurtschono had of the dark tan wolf was of him leading his own pack around a corner.
She let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. Already, a crowd of people were swarming the starting line — they weren’t waiting for the wolves to finish their race? Khurtschono frowned at the inconsiderate act. They’d have to move again when the wolves finished.
A commotion caught her attention near the Quarian Academy athletes. Khurtschono recoiled as a pair of elves grabbed a grey neko by the arms. Royal blue uniforms placed them as palace guards, only adding to her nerves. Why the fuck would royal guards take a neko from school? Would she be next? She worshipped a forbidden god, but how could they have found out?
A calico neko leapt from the stands, rushing to Khurtschono as the grey neko was led away. John grabbed Khurtschono’s scruff, dragging her away from the throngs of athletes.
“We should go!” he hissed. “That was a palace guard; what if they find out about-”
Khurtschono snarled at her brother, silencing him. She shook her head vehemently — they couldn’t abandon Soren. Besides, fleeing after a neko had been taken would be suspicious.
Growling in frustration, John spun away and hurried back into the stands. Khurtschono let out a nervous breath, her head turning back toward where the guards had taken the grey neko. There was no sign of them now. Whatever happened, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with her.
A chime broke through her thoughts. Khurtschono watched the crowd of runners break from the starting line — clearly they weren’t waiting for the wolves to finish. Shaking off her concerns, Khurtschono rejoined her team. Worrying about the future wasn’t going to help anything. It was best to just push onward.