Hector
He crept out of Rachel’s unit just as the mountains to the east of Cloud Lake that separated it from his homeland of Cadia began to grow orange with light. Sunrise was coming, and he jogged back across the town this time, not feeling the need for an all-out sprint. As he grew closer to the embassy, his heart began to thud in his chest, beating faster than it had all evening with Rachel.
The embassy appeared and he slowed to a walk, keeping his eyes out for any figures. Hector had no idea what was awaiting him upon his arrival. It seemed unlikely that Martin had decided not to report him for fighting him and then leaving, which meant he was going to have to deal with those consequences now.
He’d specifically avoided talking to Rachel about his departure from the embassy and how it hadn’t gone anywhere near as smoothly as planned. She didn’t need to know the sort of trouble he was in. She was already worried enough about him, and about them. That wasn’t something he was going to burden her with.
The first rays of sunlight crested the mountain as he stood underneath his open window. Hector eyed the lip of the window, flexed his legs, and flung himself up just high enough to grab onto it with his fingers. Then he hauled himself up and over the ledge and into his room. He swiftly returned the screen to its place and then turned to head for the shower. So far so good. Maybe Martin hadn’t—
“How was your evening?”
Hector jumped. There was no getting around it. He practically leapt six inches in the air as the voice spoke from behind him. The room was still cloaked in darkness, not yet lit enough for him to have seen the figure standing at the far end covered in shadows. If he’d paused to inspect his apartment he would have looked into the darkness and saw him. But since he’d seen the lights off and assumed it was empty, he hadn’t bothered.
“Andrew,” he said, recovering his composure and once again acting like the big bad bear shifter that he was.
“Where have you been, Hector?” his boss asked, flicking on the light even as the room began to brighten as the sun started to clear the mountains.
He didn’t respond. There was no point. They both knew the answer.
“The woman.”
“Her name is Rachel,” he snapped harshly.
Andrew inclined his head in apology. “Rachel, yes. How is she?”
“She’s fine, thank you for inquiring,” he responded stiffly.
There was a long pause. Andrew didn’t speak, and Hector felt like he was missing a cue, as if he were supposed to be the one speaking here. He wasn’t sure what Andrew was expecting from him, however. He wasn’t going to make an excuse. He’d done what he’d done. That was the end of it, so if Andrew was waiting for him to try and weasel his way out, he would be waiting a long time.
“Martin is also fine,” Andrew replied at last.
Oh. That was what he was supposed to have done. Asked about the guard he’d beaten up on his way out of the embassy. Oops.
“That’s good.”
“You didn’t have to beat him up,” Andrew sighed.
“I know. I tried to not to. I told him to go away, to just leave it be. But he insisted on bringing me to see you. Said that I was disobeying the rules if I didn’t.”
“He was right.”
“Of course he was right,” Hector growled. “I’m not an idiot. But we both know that confining me to quarters wasn’t right. It was an overreaction by you, but you can’t go back on it now, because it will look bad. I get that; I don’t blame you. That’s why I’m back now, and why I left without anyone seeing me. If Martin had just kept his trap shut, there would quite literally be no issue.”
“But you beat him up to go see a woman,” Andrew said, spreading his hands. “Whatever might have been changed the instant you struck him.” His eyes hardened. “And what is necessary or over the top is not for you to decide. That’s my job.”
Hector swallowed and bobbed his head. Andrew was a good friend, and an excellent boss. But there were times where he was forced to remind those around him that he was the boss, and not just a peer. This was one of those times.
“So, how do you want to handle this?”
“No idea,” he responded. “But I need to get to work.”
Andrew’s eyebrows rose in a mixture of surprise and confusion. “Work? You’re still relieved of duty, Hector. That certainly hasn’t changed after what you did last night.”
He seethed at the reminder of the punishment that had been laid upon him. “I’m aware of that,” he said, teeth clenched. “I was referring to getting back to work on fixing the embassy.”
“Ah,” was all Andrew said.
The door opened. “He’s here!” Martin said loudly as he came inside. “And Hector is back!”
Andrew held up a hand to forestall Hector from saying anything as Martin entered the room.
“See, I told you he snuck out,” Martin said. “So what are you going to do? Arrest him? Ship him home?”
“Martin,” Andrew said gently.
“He broke my nose,” the other shifter said.
“Martin,” Andrew repeated, but his voice had become icy.
The other shifter finally got the hint and stopped. “Yes?”
“Go away. This isn’t your jurisdiction.”
“But—”
Andrew shot him a glance, as if daring him to keep speaking.
Martin’s jaw worked several times, but in the end he simply stared angrily at Hector as he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him.
“So,” Hector said into the silence that followed.
“So,” Andrew echoed.
“I should get to work.”
There was only a slight hesitation from his boss before he jerked his head in the direction of the door. “I expect you to work your ass off today,” he said.
Hector nodded. “Of course. And tonight?”
The pause was much longer this time.
“Do a better job of not being seen,” Andrew said.
Hector was very careful not to smile as he darted from the room and headed downstairs to pitch in. Most of the other shifters were just waking up, but they would need to eat first. Hector intended to ensure that he would begin helping to prepare the food before the majority of them arrived. It was the least he could do, now that he was unofficially off house arrest and could see Rachel on the regular!
All throughout breakfast he was smiling and chatting with the other shifters, unable to conceal his mood. Things were starting to look up again. He didn’t have his job back, but he’d proven to Andrew that he wasn’t going to run away from the situation, and that he was here to help make it right as well. The world had conspired against him for a bit, but now it was starting to work with him instead.
The day passed swiftly, and his mood generally remained good, though it was soured by the reminder that someone had died because of his actions, something that Hector was going to have to live with for the rest of his life. He wasn’t entirely sure how to begin coping with that just yet, but he knew he would have to at some point, before it became too deep-seated and started causing issues with him.
Working with his hands was a soothing way of letting his brain think about other things. Hector, like most shifters, had plenty of experience building things, as all construction in Cadia itself was done by hand. Everyone was expected to pull their own weight, and use of tools was ingrained upon young shifters at an early age.
The more he thought about it though, the more he felt guilty over Corvin’s death. The shadow loomed up and over him, despite where he was going at the end of the day. Even the prospect of heading to Rachel’s couldn’t cure him of the blackness that he felt was infesting his soul.
How was he going to handle this?