METEOR

As Meteor’s door opened, the tapestry on the outside fluttered. Vayu and Requiem circled MNT Halelevu. While the colors had begun to fade, the original skill of the weaver was evident in every stitch. Nobody knew how old the tapestry was—not even Meteor or Valerius—but it was beautiful. Meteor was looking forward to the days when the food scarcity problem resolved and he could focus on collecting artsy cannibals.

With a lazy smirk at Kole, Meteor flicked his tail to gesture to come inside. Then the door shut behind the coyote.

Voices from the communal area carried in off the walls. Even with the door closed, Vale’s caws rang loud and clear. “GODDAMMIT, I FORGOT TO GET BOOKS FOR KANE WHEN I WAS TRADING WITH THE HORDE!” Xanti’s response in a quieter tone was not understandable.

Gold regalia of delicate chain jewelry and gemstones already laid on his writing desk. Meteor spared a glance at the stuff, then frowned. A flick of his left ear. Xanti had pierced his face to hell in the week after the first meeting. Meteor had, what, five gold studs on his left ear, another on his left nostril, and both eyebrows… he liked the studs, but the chains were far too heavy, only endurable for meetings.

“Thanks for volunteering to help me with the regalia.” Meteor’s lazy smirk became a playful grin. Kole’s face at seeing him dressed to impress made this whole nonsense tolerable.

Then a quick eye roll. “Technically, according to tradition, since the meeting will be held at Requiem’s Tooth, this is Vale’s job. But Vale has made it quite clear that first meeting was a one time occurrence, and—” Meteor’s grin slid back to a lazy smirk. “—honestly, I don’t want Dead Eye messing with my piercings, so I might as well break tradition in a way he can’t be personally offended.”

His head tilted. The lazy smirk widened. “And, of course, you’re my boyfriend.”

METEOR

Meteor’s lazy smirk grew into satisfied smugness. He might not know shit about piercings or care about such things, but, with Kole, he didn’t need to. It was nice to be able to trust someone to handle these sorts of details. “Lucky for me,” he agreed. “I think all relationships are built on a foundation of trust and complementary skills.”

But, at the nickname, he hesitated. “Huh. I like that nickname.” That realization came with an exhale and relaxation of his shoulders.

A playful gleam in his golden eyes. Then, Meteor lowered his head and attempted to gently headbutt Kole’s shoulder. With a snort, he took a seat in front of the gold regalia. The headbutt had messed up the locks of mane around his horns, but, whatever, Kole was probably going to fuss over every little detail.

“You speak other languages, hm? That was German, wasn’t it?” Meteor still smirked lazily, but there was a confused gleam in his golden eyes. Kole didn’t seem… intelligent enough… for that skillset. But then a slight shrug. “Is it rude for me to call you my attack coyote? I think it’s cute.”