Falling in Love with the King of Beasts

KALLE

They were almost back at the suite. Gahrye carried both bags of books and Kalle walked right behind him as they turned to swing up the stairs and go find Elia and show her—tell her what they'd learned!

But Shaw's voice echoed from the hallway downstairs behind them. "Kalle! Gahrye! Can I grab you for a minute?"

Gahrye turned to look at her, both of them hyper-aware of the books he carried, of what Shaw would do if he found out about them.

Kalle sighed and stopped walking. "You go check Elia," she said loud enough for Shaw to hear. "I'll catch up with him." Gahrye shot a dark look over his shoulder back, toward where Shaw must be standing, waiting, but he just nodded and turned, trotting up the stairs with his long legs in a way that made Kalle realize he must constantly shorten his stride for her, slow himself to match her.

Her heart throbbed, but she had to keep her expression blank as she turned and started back down the stairs.

"What is it?" she asked Shaw as kindly as she could.

Shaw was watching Gahrye stride up the stairs his expression frustrated. "Can I speak with you privately?" he whispered, tipping his head towards his office down the hall.

"Of course. Is there a problem?" she asked as they walked.

Shaw glanced back over his shoulder, then shook his head. "Wait until we're inside."

When they reached the office—not a large room, but with extremely high ceilings that gave it the feel of being bigger than it was—Shaw indicated that she should take one of the thick chairs on the other side of his desk.

Shaw's desk was something she and her grandmother had always giggled about, amid whispered jokes of overcompensation.

Shaw was not a large man. But his desk—solid wood, antique, and rich mahogany—was large enough to swamp Gahrye. He had a footstool hidden beneath it, because without it, he couldn't use the desktop without his feet swinging, inches from the floor.

When he got himself settled—which put him in a position a good foot above Kalle—he pulled off his glasses and rubbed the heels of his hands in his eyes.

"I know you've become good friends with Gahrye," he started. Kalle almost laughed. "But I have been asking both he and Elia at every opportunity, and they still refuse to allow me to interview them. Kalle, you know that my research and our records are not intended to hurt or disturb them. But it is crucial that we keep records of every traverse and the promises, prophecies, and threats made! Without those we cannot trace the accuracy of what the voices are saying—or know with any certainty what to protect future Anima from!"

"I know, I know," Kalle said. "They aren't trying to upset you, Shaw. They're just… going through a lot. I think they don't really want to relive those moments."

Shaw shook his head. "They will already have forgotten many of the smaller details. We are already in a position of being reduced in what we can record. And now Elia is shifting?! We have to explore that—learn how or why she is able to. Unless she was Anima all along? Did the wolves deceive the Guardians about their reason for taking her through? If so, we need to know that as well!"

Kalle put her hands up towards him to calm him down. "No, no. Elia is human. At least, she was. We think… we think this is to do with the pregnancy. But we're still struggling to find any records that will explain this. Do you know anything, Shaw? Have you ever read or heard anything about humas becoming Anima? Being able to shift?"

Shaw shook his head. "I have been wracking my brain about this. I think there was something, one time. But just a passing reference, and so far I haven't been able to find anything. But if I do, I will show it to you."

"Thank you, we're really struggling."

Shaw's lips pinched thin and he returned his glasses to his face. "I understand that this has all been very challenging for them, and I understand why they want the space to themselves to move, but I have to tell you, I am not comfortable moving them from this house before they've shared their experiences with us and allowed us to add their accounts, and their lives and knowledge to the histories! If we let them hide away, we will never hear from them. Can you… can you speak with them about taking the interview with me? I would be happy to shift them over to the other house once it's done."

Kalle's stomach clenched. "You're going to… blackmail them into doing the interviews?"

"No, no. Just motivate." When he saw the look on Kalle's face he rolled his eyes. "Kalle, you know I have no malicious intent towards them. But I have to serve all of the Anima, not just Elia and Gahrye. If something were to happen to them and their knowledge holds the key to helping someone else, we are up shit creek without a paddle. I am not asking for this for my own purposes! I am asking because we ask everyone—and all have complied before this. What are they hiding that they cannot—"

"They aren't hiding anything, Uncle, at least, not that I know of. Elia is truly struggling, and Gahrye is truly frightened for her. They don't understand the importance of the work you do. I can't make guarantees, but I'll speak to them."

Shaw slumped back in his chair, but he did look relieved. "Thank you," he said. "Please… try hard. If they don't tell us something we need to know, the next Anima to come may punish me for not having retrieved what we needed. I would prefer not to face… that."

Kalle frowned. "Punish you? How would Anima punish you? Don't you help them?"

"Yes, of course. I simply mean that they will disapprove, and may perhaps decide not to share their information either… this is not a precedent we can set, Kalle! The accounts of the voices have been our guide for what issues to prepare to fight for decades."

"But, I thought they lied a lot?"

"They do—but the issues they raise, the people they target, these are always an indicator of who and what is going to become important. We must take what we can from them and use it to the best of our ability."

Kalle stared at her Uncle, but he didn't waver.

"I'm serious, Kalle," he said softly, in a much calmer voice than his usual wheedling tone. "We need to find out what the voices pinpointed about both of them—what they promised or predicted. That is the way we know what to protect against."

Kalle sighed. "I'll talk to them."

"Today?"

"Yes, today. Just… be just a little more patient, please. They really are struggling."

"Aren't we all?" Shaw muttered.

Kalle looked at him sharply. "Are we? Not the way they are, I don't think?"

Shaw flapped a hand at her. "Of course not, of course not. I just meant… life is hard. It's hard for all of us. Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to because it's right, not because it's easy."

Kalle raised her eyebrows at him. "Then I guess you might have to wait a little longer, Uncle," she said and turned it into a tease with a wink.

He snorted, but he didn't smile.