[GREYSON]
"You're leaving..." Hudhayfah stated and Mbali looked at him like he had no eyes to see what she was doing.
"Well yeah. I was coming to say goodbye after meeting with my Lycans but then here you are. I guess I don't have to stay around anymore right? I have to leave for Sicario," Mbali said, looking everywhere but at Hudhayfah.
She knew the healer had to have something to say to her, but at the moment, the only thing that mattered to her was that she helped Hawi out. Everything else could come after.
She already knew that the war with the shadow knights would take some time but that was enough for her, because at least then her sister would be too busy with Hair to even remember the huge wall and the rift that stood between the two sisters.
"Why don't you stay for dinner? Rukiya and Hawi are alone for the first time in a long time. We both know that could end with a thousand messes. You really don't want to be the only one going home to clean that up, right?" Hudhayfah asked.
Mbali stared at him skeptically.
She hadn't exactly thought of the possibility that they had left Sicario and left the two insane mates together. There was no denying that the mess they would get back to would be a little too huge and crazy, but was it worth staying in Greyson?
Was she going to smile and nod like a little girl who hadn't just been betrayed by her sister and try to make things work like the world was all roses and sunshine?
Some things aren't fair and they knew that, but then with all factors considered Hudhayfah's idea didn't exactly seem like the worst of them all. The women were a disaster and they would be a lot of work.
"I can try. Besides, I will have the help of the entire Sicario to clean up whatever is waiting for us in Sicario," Mbali said defiantly making the old healer sigh. This wasn't easy for Mbali and he wasn't going to try and force her to stay if she didn't want to.
"If you insist... But I was holding you to take a break. This is your chance at that and Hair didn't stop you from coming.
"If there was a lot of work as you make it seem, she would have come here with Rukiya and all of this would have been done in less than two hours and then you would be on your way back to Sicario.
"It's okay to feel weak, Lihle. It's okay to question a lot of things, but just for this evening, how about you forget about everything and just be yourself?" Hudhayfah suggested and Mbali considered it.
By ten o'clock, the kids were taken to bed while the adult stayed up drinking and retelling tales of the old times. They were happy to see that the psycho misfits had come for them and they were glad that their alpha had a team that she could tell the truth.
They were thankful for a lot of things that night, things that Mbali would always remember for as long as she lived. She had always wished for this kind of union when she went back home, but then Clarkson itself was not going to be home unless they won the war.
They couldn't go back there because then they would be bringing danger to the pack, and they couldn't do that. They had to make sure that their missions were complete and then the Lycans would make their way home and get the rest they deserved.
Until then they would hop between towns and cities, factions and homes, trying to figure out what the shadow warlocks were up to and making sure to stop them.
"I'm going to bed," Mbali declared when dawn came. She had drunk a lot and still managed to stay sober. Sure, Lycans never really got drunk. But just this once, Jabali Lihle wished that she could drink and forget her worries.
She had hoped that maybe if she drank over twenty liquor bottles she would be fine, but then she wasn't. Instead, she was back to where she had been and frankly, seeing her sister's face was pissing her off even more.
She had been the one to suggest they keep everything aside for the night, but the more she looked in Malika's direction and saw her sister already staring at her, the more Mbali wanted to ask her sister all the questions she had.
But she couldn't.
And maybe that was why she was the first of the adults to go to bed. Maybe she was running, hell she was always running, but just this once, she hoped that someone would catch her and tell her that she didn't need to run anymore.
Maybe, just maybe, there was someone out there for her. Maybe the universe wouldn't always be cruel to her, the girl who had lost everything, right?
"Be careful," Malika whispered sadly.
"When am I never careful?" Mbali scoffed angrily.
As she walked the Greyson hallways, she felt a presence staring at her.
Maybe it was the liquor, right?