"You called me over for this?" Fenrir glanced at Selene as he spoke, who already appeared to be preparing for the task at hand, boxes at the ready to put the fishing nets into. Selene looked up at him, her dark eyes seeming to stare into his soul as she shot him a stern look up and down, before heaving a heavy sigh as if she were carrying some sort of burden. "Yes, Fenrir." Her voice was very pointed as she spoke, "Keeping the reef clean is very important, especially at this time of year. Think of the wildlife-"
"I got it." He cut her off before she could speak anymore, sensing she was about go on one of those passionate rants about right and wrong like she usually did. Her conviction with such things conflicted him, given his past. Like he needed more guilt placed at his paws. And yet, he couldn't help but admire it.
What must it be like to have such a strong moral compass?
He distinctly was not the same way, but it was primarily due to how he'd been raised. Sheltered, then thrust into the world with no warning. Thrust into the war with very little preparation. He took a breath in, his brain going fuzzy with visions of the past that threatened to bubble up to the surface, scratching and clawing to be let out. He did not want to let them out. He should focus on what he was doing, what she wanted him to do. He had to.
"You're collecting negative energy." Selene's lofty voice broke the trance that he'd already begun to slip into. She didn't look up from what she was doing.
She always seemed to know things like that, claimed it was an innate ability of hers. Fenrir had his doubts. Just because she made good money off of fortune telling didn't mean she was an actual psychic. Fenrir had a few choice words for the supposed 'psychics' that had forced him into the war, claiming he would 'turn the tides' or whatever load of nonsense it was.
Time to move into the present, he reminded himself. "So, what do you want me to do?"
Selene let out what sounded like a huff of triamuph.
It was clear which one of them had won that exchange.
Selene very rarely lost.
She was quite witty like that, able to come up with quick quips on the fly. He'd like her eloquent words if he wasn't on the other side of them. That was a thought he kept to himself. He'd tried complimenting her, once. She'd told him nobody likes a liar and a flatterer. That one still hurt, even now.
Why he even dared to challenge her in a battle of wits was beyond him. He sighed, and heaved himself to his paws once more, grabbing the net and dragging it to the shore rather uncermoniously. "There." He said loudly, trying to sound victorious.
Selene did not care.
He let out of huff. Why did he even try? It wasn't as if he needed to impress her, he was only here because their pact. Once she'd done her part of the deal, he would be on his way, and would never see her again. Something told him that she'd prefer it that way. A prick in his chest.
He ignored it as he waded out into the corals again, once more performing his silly little dance of attempting to avoid crushing any sort of flora or fauna. Pretty soon, he'd found a net, and then another, and then soon three more. Gosh, did nobody care to clean up after themselves? Like, this was so much work for no reason than someone else's laziness! He let out a huff, muttering under his breath, "how hard is it clean up after yourself?"
"Convience my dear." Was Selene's lofty reply. My dear? Fenrir blinked, trying to process that, but Selene was already moving on, continuing to talk. "...faians would rather have comfort than truth, it's simple really. They do what benefits themselves. You'd be surprised how rare common sense is."
"...What did you call me?" Selene's speech came to a halt, and she looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "Your name, of course." Fenrir let out a breathy laugh that was a mix between bewildered and awkward. "That was not what you called me."
