Page 10 of Prickly as a Porcupine

Joline shook her head.That was probably not the strangest thing she’d seen at WANC.But patient or not, Joline decided to forgo reading in her tree anymore that night, and instead started walking back towards WANC to tell an agent, just in case this was someone who didn’t belong on campus.Can’t be too careful,she thought.Especially with the number of rescued patients on site.It was a fact all her classes made abundantly clear: all had valuable information that could help FUC apprehend the person responsible for their condition.They were all vulnerable witnesses to be protected because, when the time came, they would be witnesses who would help FUC put the bad guys behind bars for life.

Joline didn’t want to risk it.If the flying snake were a patent, she’d feel stupid, but she’d feel even worse if they were someone who didn’t belong here, and she kept that information to herself.

6

“A what?”Agent Stone asked Joline.He happened to be the first agent she came across in the hallway.And while she signed up for one of his classes next semester, Joline found herself incredibly intimidated by the agent.He’d helped to rescue hundreds of shifters and apprehended a few head scientists recently.She didn’t want to appear dumb in front of someone she greatly admired.And the female agent next to him was equally intimidating.Joline had heard Agent Sparks took out a whole crew of baddies single-handed a few years ago.“Are you sure it wasn’t a dragon or a wyvern?”he asked, raising a brown eyebrow.

Joline shook her head, wondering why he would think that was the normal option.“This snake had feathered wings.I did an online search as I walked back to WANC and found that they’re called amphipteres.I think, anyway.”She shrugged.“I didn’t think my search would turn up a real thing.But that’s what they called the imagery on medieval shields.See.”She showed the image of a shield with the painted picture of a snake with wings on it.

“And you saw one?”He hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans.The agent appeared intrigued by her sighting.Joline hoped he didn’t think she was pulling his chain.But while his body language was relaxed, Agent Stone appeared to be taking her seriously.

Agent Sparks stood next to him, silently taking everything in.Joline happened across the two most formidable agents in WANC.She tried her best to swallow her anxiety, knowing they were both actively investigating the Grimm case she’d heard many rumors about.

“Yes, I am certain.I smelled it first, actually, but the scents made no sense to me.I thought I was wrong.But that’s what I saw.A green snake with green feathery wings.And it wasn’t an abnormally large snake, either.It hid in the grass out by the lake.”She found herself pointing as if they needed clarification of what ‘outside’ meant.

“Were you alone?”Agent Sparks asked as she tucked a loose red curl behind her ear.

“I was when I saw the snake.”She wasn’t sure if the agent was insinuating she was hallucinating or trying to discern who the snake may have been watching.

“But you weren’t alone prior to that?”Agent Stone chimed in.He seemed every much the hound shifter he was, hot on the trail of someone.

Joline nodded.“I was with someone I’d just recently met, her name is Ariel, but I don’t know her last name.It was only after she left that I noticed the grass moving… oddly.”

Agents Stone and Sparks exchanged a knowing glance.So, they both knew Ariel.That wasn’t that surprising.She had said she was working with Agent Stone on a case.But their exchanged glance seemed to say a whole lot more than simply “yeah, we know who that is.”

Joline continued.“First, I sniffed the air, and I thought my nose must be confused.I smelled snake and feathers.Then when I got closer, it all made sense.But not really at the same time.”She felt her brow wrinkle.Snake with wings was a strange combo, even for WANC.

Agent Sparks nodded, her curly red hair bouncing with the movement.“That’s a new one, even for us.”The agents seemed to take it in stride.Probably not much of anything surprised them at this point.

“Anything else?”Agent Stone asked, cocking his head to the side like a dog who found something interesting.When Joline shook her head, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a card.He handed it to her and continued, “We’re in the campus directory, but this has our cell numbers on it, not just our office numbers.Reach out to Agent Sparks or me if you see anything else out of place.”

“Anything at all,” Agent Sparks added, pressing her red lips together.

Joline agreed that she would before walking away down the hall.She hated that now she had more questions than answers, but not being an agent herself, she wasn’t really privy to any of the information related to active investigations.She planned to tell Ariel the next time she saw her, in case any of it made sense to her.

Ariel knocked on Paige’s office door.She had no idea what the tiger shifter’s hours were.After waiting a few minutes, Ariel decided she’d have to talk to her counselor tomorrow.While Paige did provide her work cell number if Ariel needed anything, she didn’t want to bother her while at home.It wasn’t that important.

“What are you doing here?”

Ariel turned to find Jennifer walking towards her.The claws on the shrew foot clicked on the floor as she sauntered over.Her dark eyes took in Ariel, but she didn’t say anything.Ariel knew she had to have looked a mess after all the crying she’d done.Her eyes were probably red and puffy.

“You were right.All of you.”

Jennifer nodded, staying mercifully stone-faced instead of smug, as Ariel feared she might.“What changed your mind?”

Ariel bit her lip.While Jennifer seemed forgiving, she wasn’t exactly warm.Ariel could understand.Jennifer was a rescue, while Ariel wasn’t—she was technically a prisoner of sorts.And it was clear Jennifer had gone through a lot.“I spent the afternoon thinking over what you all said in group today.”

Jennifer tapped her thin lips.“No.I don’t think so.Something else happened.”

Ariel recoiled.So much for trying to open up.Why did Jennifer act like she was owed all the details?“Even if it did, that doesn’t mean I want to talk it over with you.”

“No.I suppose you wouldn’t,” Jennifer barked back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I don’t think you’re taking this program seriously.Like, at all.We’re all trying to heal, and then there’s you.”Jennifer nodded her chin toward Ariel as if for emphasis.

Ariel wanted to be mad.She wanted to tell Jennifer she was wrong.But suddenly, all the fight went out of her, like air from a leaky tire, and she admitted, “You’re right.I wasn’t trying.”