Thatcher’s brows furrowed at the noise. He didn’t think it was Nike. She was quick, but not that quick. He brandished his scythe, the ribbon like shadow coming from his tattoo, wrapping up his arm and hand and forming into the tall weapon. He stood straight, keeping his body relaxed in case of a combative situation.
A figure slowly emerged from the bushes and Zephyr realized that it was a dog. It was limping and whined when it came to Zephyr. "Hey there pup." He called. The dog came over and lifted its foot, a thorn stuck in it. Few minutes later, the thorn was out and it was jumping around.
Thatcher lowered his tensed shoulders a tad when he saw the dog bound out of the bushes. He put his scythe away and looked down at the dog. He gave a deep him before crouching down to give the dog’s head a gentle pat.
"I'm assuming this isn't Nike." He grinned, looking at the dog who was now studying them with its head tilted. "Considering this one only has one head." Zephyr stood up and leaned against a tree. He was ready to leave but guessed that the reaper wouldn't leave without his assumed daughter.
Thatcher nodded and stood up straight. “Of course it’s not her,” he hummed deeply, clicking his tongue softly. Maybe she was having some trouble. He made a sharp, loud whistle before going quiet again. After a moment, there was rustling in the brush nearby and a girl with dark skin, curly, thick black hair, and chocolate brown eyes can bursting out into the clearing, running to Thatcher immediately. She couldn’t have been more than 13 years old, so she was quite young seeming.
“Thatcher!” Nike cried, hugging onto his legs tightly when she reached him, sobbing softly as she clung to him. “You just disappeared, I didn’t know what happened!”
Thatcher tilted his head a tad before crouching down to her level. His lips brushed her forehead gently and he wiped her tears off of her cheeks with his fingers. “I know, I’m sorry about that. I couldn’t control what happened.”
“I just want to go back home, we’re outside the Sector,” Nike sniffed, wiping at her runny nose.
“We will soon. We just have to do a couple things very quickly and then we can,” he reassured her, tucking strands of her long hair behind her ears.
Zephyr stood there awkwardly, rubbing his arm. He ran a hand through his hair and took a step back before waving. "Um, hello?" He called, a half smile making it's way on his face.
Thatcher wiped Nike’s cheeks free of tears and she sniffles softly until they stopped. When Zephyr spoke up, Thatcher stood, a hand on Nike’s shoulder as she looked at him suspiciously. “Who’s that?” she asked.
“That is Zephyr. We’re going to be staying with him for a little bit,” he told her, and her eyes seemed to light up as she smiled.
“Do you have an actual house?!” she exclaimed.
"Yeah, all the campus dorms were full when I got accepted so they put me in a small but cozy house. There is an extra bedroom in there so you can have your own room." Zephyr smiled at Nike and gestured. "Its not too far from here. Just a short 10-15 minute walk."
Nike grinned happily at that. “So no more of that stupid, disgusting motel,” she confirmed to herself.
“Thank the gods for that,” Thatcher breathed. He looked away from Nike and back to Zephyr with raised brows. “Go on ahead and lead the way, then. We’ll follow behind.”
After speaking, he bent over and reached down, lifting Nike into his arms and shifting her so she could be on his back with her arms around his neck. She seemed to cling to him happily, and he was thankful that she was still light. It was better than trying to carry her enormous body of pure muscle when in her hound form.
True to his word, the house was a short distance away. Zephyr quickly unlocked the door and opened the lights before taking off his shoes and gesturing. "The empty room is there. I only have sleeping bags though so if you want the bed, you can take mine. Welcome to my home." He shrugged, walking into the kitchen to make a sandwich. "Do you eat? I'm making a ham sandwich. Want one?"
Thatcher arrived at the house, still holding Nike close to himself. It was nice in his opinion. Better than all of those nasty hotels they had been staying in in the past years. “I don’t need sleep. Nike can have the empty room and I’ll stay there with her,” he replied.
At the offer of a sandwich, Thatcher turned his head to look at Nike with a questioning expression. Nike nodded her head and he looked back at Zephyr. “Nike would like one. I will politely decline that offer, though.”
(bump…)