"Ah, hello," I said. I stepped around him and kept walking down the hall. I didn't have time for any antics. Especially with so many people to take care of.
"Hey, wait!" he hurried after me. "You are Amara, right?"
"Yes," I said, not stopping. He ran his hand through his hair.
"Ah, well, I wanted to thank you for doing what you did for us," he said. He seemed kind of nervous and awkward, like he didn't want to upset me.
"Oh, were you one of the prisoners in Luka's group?" I asked, reaching more blankets from a rack.
When I mentioned Luka's name, his eyes narrowed. "Yes, I was."
I examined him closer. He had a distant look in his eye and he kept avoiding eye contact with me. His whole body was tense, like the word itself could summon him. I gave up and continued on my way.
He immediately started to follow me again. I quickly realized I wasn't going to lose him anytime soon and he kept following me, even helping me with my tasks. Suddenly, I felt my phone vibrate. I set my pile of blankets down before pulling it out of my pocket.
'Amara, can you bring me some more gauze for bandaging?' -Wren
I texted her back telling her that I was coming. I turned to the young man. "Ah, excuse me, I have to get medical supplies for Wren."
"Oh, I will come with you," he said. I opened my mouth, but he cut me off. "I insist."
I gave up and he followed me to the 'hospital' in the mansion. I finally gave up trying to avoid him and decided to chat with him instead. I learned that he was a special force agent for the Association. He was usually sent with a team to far away planets to take care of monsters like minor demons. Apparently, they had been taken captive from one of their most recent missions about a month ago.
I found that I rather liked Malcolm. He was almost the exact opposite of Luka. Between the two, Malcolm was definitely the more popular choice. He had a calm demeanor and he was a good listener. He wasn't judgemental and he was quite friendly, but he always seemed to hold himself back. Never expressing too much nor to little. He kept things almost...professional. Luka was the flip-side. He was prickly and cold. He was emotionless and kept his distance. But, they both were hiding something and they had their own way of deflecting nosy people.
As I talked to him, I was still curious about his reaction to the mention of Luka's name. I decided that I wanted to test the waters. And so I did.
"Hey Malcolm, what do you think about the team?"
"You mean, the New Guard?" He said, slightly perplexed by my question.
"Uh, yes that's what I mean."
"Hm, well I think you have a good leader and I think you work well together especially since Archean had to scramble to make a new one."
I fell silent as his comment. New one? Then, what happened to the Old Guard? I guess I will have to ask Astrid later.
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I was walking with a pile of rolls of gauze that Wren requested when Luka came up to me. It was kind of funny. He seemed bored, walking around aimlessly. I don't know if he knew it or not, but he visible brightened when he saw me. I smiled at Luka as he approached. He gave me a slight smile, but, when he saw the person next to me, his eyes narrowed in disdain.
"Malcolm." Luka greeted.
"Lukarian." Malcom said.
He then turned to me, deciding to ignore Malcolm's presence any further.
He walked close to me as I continued on my way to Wren. He glared at Malcolm as he noticed him following us at a safe distance from Luka.
"What are you doing?" Luka hissed.
"Exactly what I am supposed to be doing," I said, annoyed. He gave me a sharp glare. "Why are you talking to him? You shouldn't talk to people like him."
I looked up at him with a fierce gaze. "And what kind of person is he exactly?"
Luka's face darkened. His eyes lost focus and he didn't say anything for a few minutes.
"He is the kind of person that...would stab you in the back if it meant that he would gain something. He is the kind of person who looks kind on the outside, but really wants to kill you in your sleep," Luka whispered in my ear, quiet enough that Malcolm could not hear us. I felt a shiver run down my spine as Luka's voice dipped.
I really didn't want to believe him. I truly didn't, but...Luka wasn't usually wrong. Something must have happened in the past.
"Are you speaking for experience or opinion?"
Luka turned and looked me in the eyes. "Experience."
I stayed quiet for the rest of the way, not daring to make Luka's already dark expression darken any further.
Luka escorted me to Wren and, with a final warning, he departed. After giving Wren the supplies, I returned to my other tasks. Malcolm followed me back to his residence and bid me goodbye. I waved to him and left the residences. For the rest of the day, I pondered Luka's words. He really seemed to resent Malcolm, but how could someone so sweet be so cold-hearted? Then again, Luka doesn't like a lot of people, but he didn't usually express his animosity like that.
So, why did Luka react like that? What happened in the past?