Natalya knelt just inside the mouth of the cave, fussing with a piece of chalk. Her calloused hands made slow, sure arcs, carving a circle on the ground. She was a Lorne-viola, which was a nice way of saying she occasionally stuck out; violet skin, onyx hair still up in the large Velcro rollers, eyes like smouldering coals. She still needed to do her makeup. She wore a turquoise jumpsuit that left her back and arms bare. She’d left the house in a rush, half-preparing for a party, half-preparing for a hunt; the work-life balance was still being figured out. She opened the hatch of the little carrier by her side and pulled out a small white rabbit, holding him at eye level.
He busily munched away on a piece of lettuce, surveying her with calm disdain. “This is kidnapping, this is,” he said after a while, which Natalya wasn’t quite sure how to engage with.