Page 29 of The VaDorok's Unexpected Mate
He smirked at her in response, and she rolled her eyes. Of course. He was going easy on her because she nearly turned into a human popsicle. He wasn’t ending his little campaign against her that easily.
For fuck’s sake, were all teens such persistent little terrors?
“So, you’re going easy on me for today,” she said casually, which he neither confirmed nor denied. He merely continued to play with his leather string. She sighed and stroked Gremlin’s large ear. It appeared so. Great. Oh well. Although she didn’t enjoy his attitude, she would take his practical jokes any day of the week compared to her current situation. “Don’t do me any favors,” she added in a mutter.
Hie eyes flew up to her in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that this is kind of boring. No offense.”
He squinted at her suspiciously. “You want me to disturb you?”
“As long as you can take as good as you give, I’m game,” she replied cheerfully. “Either way, it’s better than just sitting here in silence, so go ahead—give me your best shot.”
Ren stared at her, but reluctantly the corners of his mouth turned up and he quietly chuckled. Despite that, he shook his head. “Not today. Kull was very specific with his instructions.”
Katie groaned as she flopped back onto the couch. “Did he have any orders about what to do if there is an onset of death by boredom?”
That time Ren snickered, his eyes brightened suddenly as he studied her. “We... we could play a game?” he suggested.
Her eyebrows raised, intrigued. “A game?”
He nodded eagerly, but his head swung away with a look of embarrassment. “It is really a game for younglings but... but I like it. Kull used to play it with me.”
Okay, so it was something she wouldn’t struggle too hard with, and it would occupy her time. It sounded like a potential win.
“Sure, show me what you’ve got.”
The male grinned as he scampered quickly to his feet and disappeared down the hall and into his room. When he returned, it was with a handful of brightly painted sticks. Crouching in front of her, he opened his hand and let the sticks fall. The sound startled Gremlin from her lap, but the little durwa parked herself a short distance away and rose on her hind legs like an elongated poof. Gremlin nervously stared at the sticks lying on the table as if expecting one to leap out at her. Katie stifled a laugh at the durwa’s reaction, and her attention returned to the sticks lying in front of her.
“Now pick up one, but you can’t move any of the others,” he cautioned. “If you do, then your turn is over.”
A slow smile spread across Katie’s face as she leaned forward to select her stick. It seemed that Pick Up Sticks was universal.
With the air of competition thick between them, they played throughout the afternoon. The sounds of falling sticks became nothing more than a soft punctuation of sound among their raised voices as they jeered and taunted each other as they took turns throwing and picking up the sticks.
“What’s the score?” she asked Ren.
He looked at the board of tallying beads and smirked. “I am ahead by fifty points.”
“Just watch me make you eat those points,” she challenged with a grin, drawing a snicker from her opponent.
She gathered the sticks into her hand for a good toss when the door suddenly opened and Kull entered, bringing more thana little snow in with him. It fell from his fur as he trekked inside and headed for the fire. He didn’t look her way or even acknowledge her. Well, he didn’t acknowledge Ren, either, but the younger male seemed accustomed to the routine since he went directly for the large leather sack looped over Kull’s shoulder and relieved him of his burden.
Katie cleared her throat awkwardly as his back continued to face her. “How was hunting? Did you catch something good?”
Kull merely grunted in reply as he crouched by the fire.
Oh, my fucking god. Not this again.
“Right,” she muttered.
Kull’s head turned to peer back at her. His eyes then dropped as he glanced at the sticks lying at the table, and his brows raised. “You were playing Falling Sticks?”
His voice was steady and deep, with a faint rasp to it from not being used all day, but without a trace of being affected by the cold. It was his words, however, that surprised her.
Is that what they were seriously called? Well, it was no worse than being called Pick Up Sticks. Neither name was particularly creative.
Katie studied him and smiled. “I’ve been kicking Ren’s butt all day,” she outright lied, drawing a chortle of amusement from the younger male. “You want to give it a go?”
