Change (Kitsune) (13 page)

I wondered briefly how I would know if I was related to someone, who I could or couldn’t marry without the risk of inbreeding.

"Tell me about your family, you said you’re the fifth of six in age, but the fourth to join the family? I know you're adopted, but I take it you're not the only one?" Gabriel asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"Of the six of us, four of us are adopted. The oldest is Brittney, she's about your age, and the youngest is Shiloh, she's in her last year at NAU. I'll be glad when she's done and can come home. Hopefully she doesn't get a job elsewhere and not come home like Payson did. I miss having all my family close to me."

"What's your family like?"

"We're close. We always have been. And despite that, it doesn't stop us from picking on each other. It's really hard for me not being able to share this with them; we've always told each other everything. How about yours?"

"I get along with my family, but we aren't that tight. We talk and are friendly but we don't talk that often and there's a lot we don't share. I especially enjoyed the chance to get away when I went to college."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Denver. It was beautiful but I missed the desert." He smiled ruefully.

We fell silent while the waitress brought our meals, speaking only to thank her, and once she had left us to our meal I picked up where we’d left off.

"I wasn't willing to leave my family long enough to go to school." I said, "I couldn't stand the thought of living that far from them, or at least most of them. By the time I’d done my two years at EA, Brittney and Cam were back, Pace had graduated and taken a job in Tucson and Raine was already away at school. 'Low was still in High School and I just couldn't bear to be too far away. So I got my degree from NAU through the satellite classes they offer at EAC.

"You've never left town?"

"Well, yeah, of course I’ve been out of town. I've gone on day trips for shopping to both Phoenix and Tucson, and we've vacations have even taken me out of state, but I've never wanted to live anywhere that my family wasn't close by."

"it must be great to have family that means that much to you."

"It is. So, what made you choose Safford as your new home?"

"I ended up here for several reasons. I like the geography; it's a lot like the Sierra Vista/Bisbee area where I grew up. After college I knew I didn't want to live in a city long term, so I was looking for a smallish community. Somewhere I could get to know people and have them get to know me, which was a big thing I missed when I left home, the community.

"I checked out all the Anikitos in rural areas who were looking to hire an enforcer in Arizona. Of all the packs I looked into, not just the ones with enforcer openings, Bill and Karen have the best reputation. Not just among the other pack leaders, but with the average Kindred. They are known for caring for their people, and not being overly domineering or violently aggressive.”

"I guess I just lucked into a good leader then."

"Not just a good leader, the best I've seen. Something about him and the way he treats people engenders devotion. I'm not talking about that creepy cult leader kind of devotion but the  I'd lay my life down to protect him kind of devotion. I didn't come here straight out of college; I moved around some and go to know some other Anikitos before I settled here. Bill is the first I've ever seen to rule with caring instead of fear.

"Don't get me wrong, he doesn't hesitate to order punishments when they're called for. But he's not mean or cruel about it, and as often as not his punishments aren't corporal like most.

"Most Anikitos use physical violence to rule?" I asked, surprised.

"The ones I've encountered do, violence and fear. It's the way it's been done for hundreds of years and the only way that some know or understand."

"I'm glad not to be stuck with one of those. That kind of 'leadership' brings out the worst in me." 

"You're also lucky to have such a close relationship with the Anikitos. I'll warn you though, there will be some who insist that you're getting special treatment because of that relationship, whether it's true or not. But overall, I still think a good relationship with the pack leaders is important."

"Bill's already warned me about people thinking I'm getting special treatment. He said if it gets too bad to let him know and he'll get involved, but unless it gets bad, it's best just to ignore it. It makes sense, if he gets involved it's just reinforcing the concept that I'm getting special treatment."

"Yeah, it does. But, if you want, you can come to be before you go to him, and I'll see what I can do. That won't go over quite so badly, especially if it's known we're friends."

"I'll keep that in mind, should it become a problem, and thanks for the offer."

"No problem, what are friends for if not for helping you out when you need it?"

We finished eating our dinner and Gabriel took me home. I invited him up for some dessert since he bought me dinner, but he declined, saying he had to be up and on duty early the next morning. I thanked him again for the dinner and the nice evening before I went up the stairs and into my apartment.

Chapter 9

Friday morning I drove to the address written on the piece of paper Alexis had given me, it was in a part of town I wasn't particularly familiar with, and it took me a few minutes to find it. I parked my car on the street, noticing that while the house was well cared for it didn't appear to be large, and it blended into the neighborhood well. I followed the front path up to the entrance and knocked on the front door.

Hank answered, "Nickie. Alexis is already in the clinic, it's around back." He stepped out the front door, pulling it closed behind himself; I heard the lock click as the door latched. "Here, let me show you."

He started along the walkway in front of the house toward the driveway. Stopping at the gate on the side of house, he opened and stepped through. He held the gate open and waited for me before letting it swing closed. I saw that we were following a stone path, one that lead up to the front door of what appeared to be a guest house.

Hank opened the front door of the guest house and stepped inside.

"Alexis!" He shouted as I followed him inside and closed the door.

"In here!" I heard her answer just as the door clicked shut.

"She's down the hall in the lunch room. Come on, I'll show you." He lead me down a hallway. We were almost to the end of the hall when I spotted Alexis through an open doorway to one side. She was sitting at a small table sipping from a cup that, from the scent, was filled with an herbal tea.

"Look who came knocking on my door." Hank teased Alexis.

"Oh, good, I was wondering when you would get here." She said laying her hand on top of one of Hank's. He had stepped behind her and was now resting his hands on her shoulders. She rubbed her cheek against his hand as she spoke again, "Thanks for bringing her around, Dear. I was just sitting here contemplating what we should do today should we get lucky and no one come in. Can I interest you in some tea or coffee, Nickie?"

"I'm good, for now at least." I smiled at their obvious affection for each other.

"Where's Caden?" Hank asked worriedly.

"He called earlier; he's running a little late and should be here in the next few minutes."

"Good to know. Well, if the two of you ladies are good, I think I'll take off." Hank said. "But if Caden doesn't show in the next thirty minutes I want to know about it."

"I'm sure he'll be here, but if he isn't, I'll call." Alexis stood up and gave Hank a quick kiss, "Thanks for bringing Nickie out, Dear. I'll see you this evening."

"'Bye, Babe. Have a good day." Hank said, withdrawing from the room, a moment later I heard the quiet squeak of the front door as Hank left the building.

"Is there someplace safe I can put my purse?" I asked.

"Here, you can put your purse in this cabinet, next to mine. I've never had any problems leaving it in here."

I stuck my purse in the cabinet that she opened showing me her small purse sitting inside, and turned back to her, ready to start whatever our duties were for the day.

"Now what?"

"Now I give you the tour, it's a long one you might want to take notes," she grinned as she teased, "This is the break room / lunch room, the fridge in here is the one you'll use for food. Should you bring a lunch that needs to be chilled, this is where it goes. Just be sure to put your name on it so no one takes it, anything without a name is fair game."

"I'll try to remember that."

"Across the hall from the kitchen is the bathroom, not really optimal placement but it's what we have, so we make it work. The last room at the end of the hall is an old bedroom that we've mostly left alone; it's mainly used for the occasional patient who needs to stay through the night. That doesn't happen often but it does happen on occasion, especially with some of our slower healers. That room has a private bath, with a shower should you have occasion to need one while working here.

"We have two exam rooms, one on each side of the hall, they're pretty standard exam rooms, but with some additions. You'll find a lot of things in here that aren't in your standard doctor's office these days. Things more commonly found in emergency rooms, splints, sutures, bandages, that kind of thing.

"We keep basic records, but nothing in depth, just kind of a history in case someone comes in repeatedly with the same kind of injury we can go back over time and see if we can figure out what might be causing it. We have an in at the local lab if we need lab work, someone who will slip in samples and delete the results after we've seen them. We've never had blood work from one of the Kindred turn up anything abnormal, but it's better safe than sorry."

"I've had blood work done in the past, is that going to be a problem?"

"I asked Bill about that after he told us about you. I didn't know about you, but he checked the results when they were done to be sure there were no irregularities, and when you shifted he determined that there was nothing in them to be damaging, the records are still in the system but only because it would be odd for them to disappear now."

"The whole pack's been watching me that long?"

"Not the whole pack, in fact as far as I know, only a few knew anything about you. I generally deal with our contact at the lab, but I knew nothing about it until I asked..."

"I guess that makes sense. Is there anything other than blood work you don't do here?"

"For what the average Kindred needs, very little. We have an x-ray machine and an ultrasound machine but for more advanced imaging, CAT scan, MRI and the sort, you'd have to go to the imaging center next to the hospital. Though, for a particularly fast healer it would be a waste of time, unless it's a very severe injury. And most Kindred don't need much more treatment than we have here. We don't get cancers or most diseases, so a lot of modern medical tests are unnecessary with us."

"Okay, so what is it you want me to do?"

"You just need to be here, just in case. Mostly we don't have anything specific that we need to be doing but someone needs to be here in case someone gets hurt and comes in. We occasionally do ultrasounds for pregnant pack members, but mainly we function as the Kindred Emergency Room. We deal with the more serious wounds, broken bones, that kind of thing. The kind of things that most Kindred aren't going to heal extremely quickly, or will heal wrong without attention. We get a few walk-ins a day, rarely anything serious, though the number of injuries tends to go up when school's out."

"I can see how that would happen, when school's out kids have more time to think up things to do, we always did. And I am sure that the Kindred kids do more dangerous things, knowing they heal faster and they can take more damage."

"That's pretty much what I've determined." I heard a door open in the back of the building and I looked at Alexis to see if she knew who it might be. "That'll be Caden; he's one of our enforcers. He's supposed to be here any time I am, but he was running late this morning."

"So he's like your Gabriel or Terry?"

"Kind of, but for different reasons. Bill and Karen have Gabriel and Terry because they’re Anikitos and Alekto, and their rank all but demands they have them. I have Caden not because I'm Harmonia but because I'm one of the few in the pack with any healing Talent, and the strongest. Anyone in that kind of position would be assigned an enforcer to guard and assist them regardless of their rank."

"Is healing a talent that endangers you?" I asked, confused.

"Not in the way you're thinking. No one is out to get me or would really hurt me on purpose, and nothing about my talent does more than take energy. But when someone is hurt, emotions run high, or even the animal form steps to the forefront, and the injured person could inadvertently injure me. Most often though, it's not the patient I have to worry about, it’s their nearest and dearest. Caden is here to handle that so I don't have to worry about it. So I can concentrate on my patient. Sometimes though I physically need his help. I have the strength to set most bones but sometimes it takes two people to get the right leverage, that kind of thing."

"I see. That makes sense." I nodded.

"Caden, there you are." She looked past me down the hall at the man who had just come in. "This is Nickie Daniels, she's going to be spending some time with us here, and seeing if I can teach her to call animal forms." Turning back to me she finished the introductions, "Nickie, this is Caden Bradley, he should be here anytime we are, and if he can't be here, he's to arrange for a replacement. The rule for me, that I'm going to extend to you, is you never work a shift here, or go out on a healing call without an enforcer present. If something happens that you get called out without me, not something I foresee, but just in case, call Bill or the Theron and request one to go with you."

The man headed our way up the hall was huge, easily 6'6" with chiseled features that accented his ice blue eyes. His hair was pale blond and long enough to be pulled back into a low pony tail, but since I had to look so far up at him, I wasn't sure how long the pony tail might be.

"Nice to meet you, Caden." I said , extending my hand toward him.

He shook my hand firmly, but without crushing it as he said "Nice to meet you too. Are you the Anikitos' Nickie?"

"That's not the way I would put it, but yeah, I guess I am."

"How would you put it?" He wanted to know, his deep voice was suspicious but not unfriendly.

"I don't know. Bill's like a second father to me, but I just don't think of myself as his."

"Okay, I see what you mean. You're not trying to scorn the Anikitos, you just don't automatically relate yourself to him."

"Exactly."

"That may change in time, or it may not. Being able to claim such a relationship to the Anikitos is a rare thing and you may want to take advantage of it, at least for a while.”

"But taking advantage of something like that will make me seem weak, won't it?"

"Maybe to some, others would see it as smart. It would depend on how it's done and whether it's done to protect yourself from those who would take advantage of someone who's new to the pack, or if it's used to shield you from any threat that might come along. Also, how long one uses such a relationship for protection is a big factor. If it's just used until you learn how things are done and maybe establish some of your reputation, it wouldn't be taken as an abuse, however if it's never given up, that would be."

"I see what you mean. I'll keep that in mind, thank you." I said sincerely, my mind spinning with what he was saying to me as I turned back to Alexis. "Are we through with the tour?"

"Almost, we only have the front room left." She told me.

"If you're done with me for a while I'll be in the back reading for now." Caden put in.

"That's fine," Alexis said, turning back to finish my tour, "You may not have noticed when you came in but we have a screen in here, it's hooked to the net, and you can find pretty much anything you care to watch there. You're welcome to read, or study or pretty much do whatever you want until someone comes in. The computer on the desk isn't hooked to the net; it's where we keep our records. We also have a room with some gym equipment if you get bored."

"I'll remember that, and I'll bring something with me to occupy myself next week."

"That'll be fine. As for today, I was afraid you might not be prepared for as much doing nothing as we do around here, but I thought we could use the time to get to know each other a little better.

"I'm sure that Bill and Karen have done their best to ease you into how things work in the new world that you've found yourself thrust into, but I want to know I'm more than willing to answer any questions you might have. Maybe something you'd rather ask someone a little closer to your own age."

"I do have a few questions, but they're not really urgent, more that I'm curious and nosy." I laughed.

"I'll answer what I can."

We spent the rest of the day chatting and visiting, I asked a few of the questions that had occurred to me and I was glad to be getting straight answers from Alexis. She spoke to me as an equal and I appreciated that. We spent some time with Caden as well, and we were becoming fast friends and it was nice to have discovered a woman among the Kindred who was kind of near my age, one whom I could ask all the more personal and embarrassing questions that I had.