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Her lights were off.
Valko scratched the back of his head. Not a great start.
Then again, she never said anything about the status of the lights. Their agreement was that if her window was unlocked then he was free to enter. She had started leaving it this way especially for him, thanks to the clandestine nature many of their meetings held, but EonCore's chairman wasn't here on business tonight.
With a brief glance around the perimeter, and a small huff through his nose, the wolf lunged — landing on her balcony without a sound. Up close he could see that only some of the apartment was dark; dim light filtered through a crack in one door, a nightlight that couldn't illuminate her other windows.
Gloved fingers pushed against the frame. It budged, allowing Valko to lift. He entered with care, crouched low inside, and closed the window as he had found it.
Once all of the sounds and smells from outside were blocked off, he sniffed the air. The lovely scent which greeted him was several hours old, at least in this part of her home. Valko kept still as he kneeled, listening in the dark for any disruptions.
Hearing none, Valko announced himself — first with a quick whistle in a familiar high-low tone.
The noise carried well between apartment walls, and not a single sound issued in response.
Standing at his full height, Valko crept through the dark room as if the woman he sought was sleeping soundly on her bed. He pulled the already ajar door of her bedroom open and stepped into the adjoining hallway, which was almost as dark if not for a small glow cast from the kitchen.
"Knock knock," the wolf said in jest, giving a gentle tap to the bathroom door as he passed.
No one else was here and no one had been through the apartment in a while.
He peered into her empty kitchen, just on the off chance, then found himself in the mixed living room-slash-office arrangement she had. All things considered it was a spacious apartment, a great place for a hardworking bachelorette like herself, but even with all of her items and decorations it somehow felt empty without her in it.
Valko bit the gloved tip of his thumb and forefinger, then pulled his bare hand free. From his pocket came the phone and a few determined swipes of his thumb found her name.
It rang several times and went to voice mail. Her message was cute but he didn't let it finish.
"Too busy for me," Valko scoffed, thumbing out a text instead.
Window was open. Let myself in.
You working late? I'll make dinner if you aren't already out with friends.
All he could do now was wait. Since he had already gone through the trouble of coming all this way, Valko saw no point in a temporary retreat until she returned.
"Make yourself at home," she'd told him before, not without a bit of sarcasm.
He had all the time in the world now and used it to meander about the place. First he inspected her bookshelf; it held a number of familiar titles, though most were not on his radar — topics of hunting, firearm handling and history, a mix of non-fiction focused on Linkon City and its surrounding territories, and a smattering of fiction in a wide variety of genres he could only guess at from the spines and covers. He flipped through several before abandoning them and slipping into the kitchen.
The fridge was his first target. Its crisp air was a balm this humid night but the artificial coolant gave a stale scent to all of its contents. At least that could be cooked away; even leftovers could be revived under the right conditions, and it seemed she had quite a few takeout containers already. She must have been too busy to cook this week.
Between her ingredients in the refrigerator and the pantry, Valko was sure he could throw together a decent meal. Hell, maybe he'd even pack her a lunch for tomorrow if she stayed out late enough.
Just let me see you before it's time I turn into a pumpkin, too.
There was still no response from the Lady Hunter by the time Valko had snooped everywhere else. He'd turned the TV on and gotten bored, saw a half-played game of chess and made one additional move (he wondered how long it would take for her to notice), and even snooped a little around her desk — just at the notes out in the open. Most of them contained to-dos for the week, including groceries, a check up with her doctor, some bodyguard side job she was working on, and boxing practice.
"How does she find time for it all and manage to play games?"
And speaking of, where was her game console? He was sure she had one but the charging dock wasn't by the TV. Unless she was playing it in the bathroom, that left only one other place to look.
Valko pressed upon her bedroom door. It creaked fully with barely a sound. Though her room gave off the same distant scent as everywhere else, the traces she left here were far more concentrated.
He flicked the light switch and warmth poured in.
With every corner illuminated, the wolf took a moment to examine the Hunter's den; it was cozy, arranged to bring the optimum amount of rest and comfort… and it was absolutely full to bursting with a hoard of stuffed animals.
Valko had seen them before; this wasn't the first time he had been in her bedroom, but it was the first time he was here without its owner. Only now did he get a good look at them, and from what he could tell she had acquired even more plush friends since his last visit.
He couldn't help but laugh.
One at a time, Valko picked a few of the plushies up and looked them over. There were no repeats in design, save for variations in color — crane games loved releasing the same slightly altered toy in a series to encourage collectors — which spoke to her dedication and skill. If he had to guess, between her shelves, other surfaces, and even piled neatly into one corner of the room, there must have been damn near a hundred of the things.
"This is way too many… She's got a zoo in here." Valko turned a pink fox around to stare at its cute face and beady little eyes. "But you guys seem happy, huh? She takes pretty good care of you."
No dirt, smudges, rips, or tears — not even drool spots. Most of them smelled like her, which likely meant she cycled them out as sleeping companions.
Valko sniffed a few. The intensity of her scent was different on every single one, some mingling with other distinct notes: a snowman that smelled of jasmine, a baby peanut wrapped in its blanket-like shell that carried a faint hint of gunshot residue, and a grumpy crow that smelled like expensive leather. Many other scents decorated her other toys, no doubt from friends she had acquired them with.
That made him smile.
It was good that between work and all of the stress she carried there was time left for her loved ones.
With a few more discerning sniffs, Valko detected the one plush of the bunch she must have spent last night with. This one was an adorable raccoon sporting a purple flower — Crunchy, a tie in with his favorite chocolate brand.
"I'm gonna make you smell like me, too," he promised.
There was no better way to do so than how the Hunter herself had marked this raccoon. Valko carried the shy-looking creature to the neatly made and luxuriously soft bedspread. Rather than make a mess of the blankets, he laid himself and the plushie atop them and set his head down against a cute pillow shaped like a smiling cloud.
A sweet voice drifted on the wind. It spoke his name, faint at first yet it grew closer, accompanied by such a lovely scent that smelled like everything good between the forest and moonlight.
It approached gently, coaxing Valko from a tender sleep far deeper than he'd intended. Warmth spread across his back then trailed up his arm. Ever so softly he allowed his body to turn until he saw the face of the woman he most wanted to see tonight. She almost looked angelic with how the lamplight framed her.
His ears, the extra set of furry ones atop his head, folded with affection while his tail wagged happily of its own accord.
She smiled, bright and fond… though it quickly waned. Her eyes widened and her voice crept out in horror.
"Valko!" she cried, pointing an accusing finger. "Crunchy!"
"Hunh?" He was barely coherent. His mouth felt full of cotton.
"Put her down!"
Valko twisted his lips to speak. His tongue curled around something fuzzy and unpleasant. Cringing back, he looked down at the raccoon he'd chosen as his napping companion: poor Crunchy's head was covered in drool, the purple flower on her head was missing and where it had sat, along with her ears, was punctured with white fluff escaping the wound.
"Agh, crap."
"Drop it!"
"Alright, alright!" He surrendered, both hands raised for mercy.
The Hunter scooped up the slobbery doll and turned it all around to examine any further injuries.
"I'm sorry," he said, after pulling a stray piece of fluff from his mouth. "It was just really cute and your bed's comfy—"
"So you used her as a chew toy?!"
"Not on purpose!"
"Look at her!" Sad beady eyes were turned towards him. "You bit her brains out!"
Maybe he was hungrier than he'd thought…
"I'll buy you a new one, okay? I'm sorry!"
Her face flushed, expression twisting somewhere between confusion and anguish.
"You can't! She's a special edition!"
"Then I'll— I'll sew her back together."
"You— Wait, you can do that…?"
Valko barely caught the incredulous laugh that almost crept out. "You don't have to be so shocked."
She turned Crunchy Raccoon towards herself, no doubt looking at her own reflection in its tiny soulful eyes. Biting her lip, she asked, "You promise?"
"I promise. She'll be good as new."
Swaying slightly where she stood, the hunter deliberated the wolf's offer. "Okay…"
He breathed a sigh of relief.
"But—"
His whole body tensed.
"—You also have to take me to Twinkle Toys and win her sisters. So she won't be lonely when her surgery's done."
Was that all?
"You got it. A whole family of Crunchy's to greet her."
"Good."
So that would be his penance. At least she wasn't upset anymore.
"Now get up," she ordered, "you said you were gonna cook and then never answered me. I'm starving!"
"Ah—"
Five texts and three missed calls. No wonder she added a whole family to her list of demands.