All Hail the Shifter King
Title: A Waste of Scotch
Word Count: 1119
Note: Non-canon, from a previous version of the novel.
"So this is where you've been hiding," Eli observed, stepping onto the rooftop patio with the bottle of scotch and two glasses in his hand.
"Not my fault your house smells like a kennel," Ryder commented dryly, though he smiled and gestured to the seat beside him before jabbing his cigarette into the ashtray. "The humans go to sleep?"
"Don't call them that," Eli chided, wrinkling his nose as he sat down.
"I'm sorry, what do you want me to call them? Evolved apes?"
"They're not some lesser species." He pulled the stopper from the bottle, poured a half glass of amber liquid, and passed it to Ryder. The latter chuckled and rolled his eyes as he took the glass.
"Anything that I've eaten qualifies as a lesser species," he said, and sniffed the glass as Eli poured his own. "Damn. How old is this?"
"Older than you," Eli told him, smirking, and did a double-take when he set the bottle down and saw the forest of cigarette butts in the ashtray. "Holy shit, did you smoke all of these?"
"Taking advantage of my inability to get cancer," came the reply. "Cheers." Ryder threw back the contents of his glass and half-gasped, half-choked, his eyes going wide. "Jesus Christ..." he wheezed, pounding his chest and laughing. "That's... amazing."
"You're a damn barbarian," Eli pointed out, laughing despite himself, and refilled Ryder's glass. "So, in all seriousness..."
"Fuck, I knew you came up here to ruin my evening."
"I brought the scotch to make up for it."
"Is the scotch going to make up for it?"
"Mmm. Probably not." Eli stoppered the bottle and set it on the table before he leaned back in his chair, staring out across Azinsi proper. It had less than a third of Rion Fell's population, but by comparison the quality of living was far superior, and it showed in the sprawling homes that ringed the edge of the rainforest. Further still, miles past the city limits, his eyes could pick out the pitch blackness of the Sun grounds, and it made his heart ache. Even though he lived in Azinsi, as close as he could get to the place of his birth, home had never felt so far away.
Ryder followed his gaze, seemed to guess what he was staring at, and snorted as he downed his scotch, this time with no dramatics.
"I don't get you," he said, shaking his head. "What, are you homesick?"
"I miss home, yes."
"Yeah, well..." Ryder poured himself a third glass. "I'm sure home doesn't miss you." Eli physically recoiled, stung by the remark, but Ryder just shrugged. "Saying it like it is, man." When Eli only lowered his eyes, staring into his glass, Ryder slumped back in his chair and stared at him, both confused and curious. "What happened to you?" he finally asked.
"What?" Eli asked.
"You heard me. Five years ago, you were the goddamn king of the jungle. My people used to have nightmares about you." Ryder gestured at him with his glass, the drink sloshing dangerously close to the edge. "Now look at you. Rock bottom."
"You can't tell me you're doing much better," Eli shot back, then sighed and rubbed his face. "Look, that's beside the point," he muttered. "The reason I came up here -"
"Oh no." Ryder wagged his empty glass at him. "No, you don't get off that easy. Answer my question."
"How is it you're suddenly an expert on me?" Eli snapped, feeling his face heat with a mixture of irritation and shame. "You don't even know me."
"I don't need to be your fucking girlfriend to know you're acting out of character," Ryder retorted. "I've been killing your kind for damn near a century. This hiding act, pretending to be human, is fucking pathetic." He slammed his glass down for emphasis, nearly upsetting the small table. "So what happened? Is it those humans down there?"
"It has nothing to do with them," Eli muttered, returning his eyes to his glass because he couldn't bear the thought of looking Ryder in the face.
"Bullshit, Eli! You might be able to fool the half-breed -"
"Don't call her that," Eli snarled.
"- but you sure as fuck aren't fooling me. What, do you feel sorry for them? Scared that Terren's going to maul their pretty faces? Feel bad that all their fucking experiments got screwed up?"
"They're trying to save the -"
"Oh, don't give me that shit!" Ryder shoved himself to his feet, his chair clattering to the concrete. "Save the rainforest? Are you fucking kidding me?! Did you even see the shit going on in that lab?" He dramatically raised his hands and looked to the sky, as if having an epiphany. "Oh, right, I forgot, you were too busy saving the humans."
"Those humans are the only reason you're even alive right now, Ryder!" Eli snapped, gaining his feet as well and spilling his drink in the process. "Or did you forget that part, hmm?"
"Give me a fucking break, they -"
"You'd be laid out on a fucking autopsy table like any good little lab rat, because I sure as hell didn't see any of your fellow scalies scramblng to save your ass." When Ryder stalked toward him, his hands balled into fists, Eli just laughed. "Truth hurts, doesn't it? Being indebted to a pair of warm-bloods? Bet that stings right down to your black little heart, doesn't -"
The sudden impact and flare of pain across his face made him lose his balance and fall heavily to one knee, knocking his chair over and forcing him to grab the table to steady himself. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been struck by someone who could actually hurt him - the spots in his vision and the distinct ringing in his skull weren't exactly pleasant reminders of what it felt like.
"Should have known," Ryder said, flexing his fingers - his knuckles crackled loudly. "Your fucking soft hearts are why the humans killed so many of you in the first -"
Eli rose to his feet with the fluid grace typical of his kind, rage clouding his vision and sending tremors through his body, and without even commanding his limbs to move he grabbed the neck of the scotch bottle and slammed it into the side of Ryder's head. The heavy glass shattered on impact, long shards tearing his skin and a mist of pungent scotch exploding into the still air. If he'd been human the hit probably would have killed him - as it was, he was surprisingly dazed when he hit the ground, blinking owlishly as he gingerly touched the spears of glass in his face.