“What are you all looking at?” Julio kinda didn’t want to know what they were all looking at.
He looked anyway, something, something, curiosity and cats.
His mama had always said he was going to get himself killed being stupid. He hated that she was probably right.
It was Sam, Proudstar, and that crazy Shatterstar guy. The three of them were covered in blood and cutting up, Julio didn't want to think about it. It was clearly some type of large animal, or least it used to be. The weirder part was they seemed to know what they were doing, weird freaky alien guy excluded. Proudstar seemed to be making jerky or something.
Julio had seen his mother chop up fresh meat from the butcher for cooking, The head of the poor thing was usually not still leaking blood and guts a few feat away, and chickens snapped necks paled in comparison. It was weird that Sam and his kind hearted nature seemed totally fine.
“What the fuck?”
“Why don't you go over there Feral, you eat raw meat,” Tabby said in an accusatory tone. It comforted him to know the toughest person he knew was also freaked out.
“Yeah like rodents, I’m from the fucking Bronx, Im not going near… whatever that is,”
“It’s gotta be a bear, what else is that big?” The irish girl, Terry asked
“I think I’m gonna vomit,” da Costa did look vaguely sickly, not that Julio could blame him.
“Pussy,” Tabby responded immediately,
“Dipshit,” Roberto shot back. Real mature guys
“Ok enough I’m going out there,” Julio didn't want to look weak, especially in front of Feral.
He had a reputation to uphold after all. He put on a front and tried to act like his cousin Omar. Omar had always defended him as a kid, acting like a bodyguard scaring off bullies. Maybe if he had let Julio learn how to stick up for himself he would have fared better against the right. He’ll never know now.
“What the fuck are you three idiots doing,” He asked. Julio was aware all three could kill him, well, maybe not Sam.
Sam looked embarrassed and started wiping his hands off on a towel, ew, ew, Julio fought the urge to gag at the thought of whatever was on his hands.
“Shatty killed this poor bastard,” Proudstar started,
“I didn’t know what it was!” Shatterstar protested haughtily
“So we might as well eat the thing,”
“I know it seems bad but bear meat is really good, I promise.” Sam added while cutting up more oh ew.
“You’re telling me your old scrawny ass haunted bear at like 15,” Proudstar interjected.
“Not by myself asshole,”
“Anyway we're gonna be here for a while. It takes a long time to get rid of the parasites and bacteria and shit.” Proudstar continued
“Why did you kill the bear in the first place?” Julio asked Shattertstar who was meandering around guiltily.
“It attacked me first!” Shatterstar protested
“It’s a fucking bear! What if it was a mother? What if it had kids?”
“Didn't take you for a bleeding heart Rictor,” Proudstar said it in an appreciative way that stopped Julio from flipping him off,
“Oh shut up,”
“How are human and animal children made anyway?” Shatterstar turned to Sam
Jesus Fucking Christ
“Yeah Sam, how are babies made?” Proudstar teased, “Do you know?”
“I have nine siblings James, also Haroun told me about the Jenny thing,”
“Shut the fuck up,” Julio didn’t miss the way James faced turned from playful to sour at the name.
“Jenny?”
“Guthrie, how does it work?” Shatterstar seemed really really pissed to out of the loop,
“Who are we talking about?”
“Jimmy’s old team on the east coast, the Hellions,”
“Weird name,” Julio said, “Go ask Da Costa and Tabby how babies are made they’ll explain it.”
Shatterstar gave him a really weird look and said something in his weird alien language before going off to do just that.
Proudstar to his credit kept most of his laughter concealed.
“That was mean Ric,” Sam commented
“You're welcome! I got you off the hook!”
“Shatterstar is sensitive,”
“The six and a half foot murder guy?”
“Well, it’s not like he was well socialized,” Proudstar commented, “Plus I think he likes you, he hasn't tried to kill you at all ”
“Are you insane?”
“Him and feral remind me of my old teammate Sharon,” James continued “She was raised by cats and shit,”
“You’re both crazy,” Julio glared and stomped off.
I was strange the way Julio felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up whenever Shatterstar stared at him. Like he could feel the earth's fractures and fault lines. It left him feeling off balance, Julio hated feeling of balance.
“Tabbitha and Sunspot were very helpful,” Dios. It's like Julio summoned the guy just by thinking of him.
He looked like he was thinking deeply about something before he spoke again.
“Thank you,” It was slow and deliberate like he was reading from a teleprompter.
“De nada,”
Shatterstar tilted his head like a cat, and Julio fought the urge to call it cute, even in his own mind.
“It’s Spanish tonto, what I spoke in Mexico,”
“Hrm,” Shatterstar nodded like he knew what Julio was talking about when he clearly didn’t.
Julio couldn’t stifel the smile pulling at his lips.
“What did Tabby and Roberto tell you anyway?”
“That the penis is inserted into the vagina,” Shatterstar said sagely “Some fluids are exchanged”
That was Julio’s breaking point, he burst into laughter,
“What?” “What is amusing,” The guy's face scrunched up when he was confused, dios lo ayuda he was cute. In a cat that will scratch your face off way. Julio wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked and then shoved that thought down deep.
“Nothing, you should probably wash the bear stank off you dude, you reek,”
Julio could feel those eyes on him as he walked away and he willed his heart to stop beating so goddamn fast.