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Hunter was an enigma.
That was the verdict Flora came to after a few months of being part of UNICORNS’ Alpha Team.
Aside from the irony of a Hunter being named Hunter, there was just…a lot that Flora didn’t quite understand about the young woman whose desk was just a couple cubicles down from her own.
Firstly, there was the fact that Hunter’s partner was notorious for not showing up to work.
Their coworker, Simone, had explained to her when she brought it up that that “was just how Xavier was”. He came and went as he pleased, and the general verdict was that he was well aware of just how good he was at his job and no one was going to argue with the guy who singlehandedly outclassed every other member of even UNICORNS combined. Flora refused to believe the numbers he pulled was actually real, unless the guy just never slept. Or maybe it was just a side effect of allegedly having worked at the association for so long no one actually knew how long he’d been there. Maybe some intern messed up the numbers and counted all of his tallies together on the annual report.
Then again, they did say that the quiet ones were always the most dangerous. And Xavier was probably the most unimposing, introverted, quiet person she’d ever met at the Hunters’ Association. Meeting him on the street, she wouldn’t have ever dreamed he was a Deepspace Hunter if he wasn’t wearing the gear.
Maybe that was why he was partnered with Hunter. Flora would absolutely go mental if her own partner, Sam, didn’t show up for even a day. She genuinely had admiration for Hunter and her ability to still be able to take on missions without the assurance of backup. Their boss, Jenna, usually hated it when people did that.
Perhaps that rare clearance was due to her personal doctor, who stopped by regularly when Hunter’s shift ended, especially on rougher days when they all were overworked. He usually had a box of takeout with him,and although Flora wasn’t sure of what boundary lines were technically being crossed with the action, would take Hunter back to her apartment. Flora knew she wasn’t the only one that was envious that Hunter had managed to bag renowned cardiac surgeon Zayne Li as her primary care physician and apparent chauffer despite the fact he was hard to get an appointment with for regular cardiac patients. It was honestly probably due to the specialized case Hunter once mentioned in passing she had.
“It’s a condition I’ve had since I was born. The Li family and my grandmother were close, so I suppose he feels some responsibility over my health,” Hunter had said during one lunch conversation after Tara from Data Analytics had asked her about it all.
Xavier had been there, a rare occasion, and had rolled his eyes at the mention of the doctor’s name.
“He’s way too familiar with you,” he grumbled into his cup noodles.
“We did technically grow up together,” Hunter shrugged, glancing over at her sulking partner. “Besides, it’s just a ride home. He’s heading the same way anyways. Xavier, you literally went to a hot pot place with him and Rafayel last weekend!”
“To make sure he’s keeping himself in check,” Xavier replied evenly.
Hunter had just shaken her head at him, then turned to Flora and Tara at the table and mouthed, Can you believe him? at them.
Speaking of Rafayel…there was Rafayel.
Renowned art prodigy and a man whose work sold for millions. And Hunter, despite her busy schedules as a Deepspace Hunter, served as his personal bodyguard.
Not 24/7, of course. But at official gallery openings and events, Hunter was given leave to go and do her side gig. Rafayel was a powerful man, an elite whom even the usually-steadfast Jenna respected. Or at least didn’t want to cross–after all, Rafayel had even offered–offerred!--a mural for the Hunter’s Association as a token of gratitude for letting him hire one of their elite squad members.
Flora really wasn’t sure how Hunter managed it. Especially when she opened up her social media feed and saw Hunter in all sorts of places during their vacation days. Sometimes it was in the Arctic, sometimes it was off on a coastal area, frequently it was somewhere in Skyhaven, and at least once a week, somewhere that made Flora feel rather broke despite the generous salary she received for her work. Seriously, how did Hunter manage to end up in so many restaurants that had bookings that sold out months in advance?
The jewelry Hunter wore during office parties or official events was also rather….out of Flora’s budget. Rafayel clearly paid very well.
Or…
“I have a contact who deals in fine goods. Do you remember Skye? It’s one of his contacts.” Hunter explained when Flora asked about the ruby necklace Hunter had worn to one particular team-building dinner.
Flora did remember Skye, a rather nice fruit vendor that sometimes stopped by to drop off produce and say hello to Hunter. They seemed to be close, though she had to wonder why he and Xavier kept trying to trip each other when the two were in the same room. It was almost comical watching them both go at it behind Hunter’s back.
Xavier was also the only person who seemed to hold disdain for Hunter’s jewelry collection, except for the time she came to the office party in a pair of sparkly star-shaped earrings. Flora didn’t have to be a genius to guess where those had come from.
At least unlike Hunter’s trips to fancy restaurants, Flora knew why Hunter often went to Skyhaven. Sort of. Hunter was the unofficial emissary between the Association and the Farspace Fleet, something that Flora would have never dared to volunteer for. The DAA, maybe, but the Farspace Fleet….they were a whole different level of secrecy and politics. But Hunter seemed comfortable with it all, and from the office gossip Flora picked up…
“They say she has an in, some higher-up.”
“Oh, is that why she’s always the one to go?”
“Yeah, because she’s at less risk than any of us.”
Flora was fine by that logic.
She was, however, very envious that Hunter was very good friends with the chairman of EonCore. AKA the tech giants behind so many things that Flora was pretty sure they could buy half of Linkon City and still have money left over.
Coming in to work just to see Hunter (and occasionally Xavier) step out of a limousine with the EonCore logo on the sides was quite the experience.
Honestly, Flora was kind of jealous. But she did like her days off, and Hunter seemed rather happy with her workaholic lifestyle and vast network of connections.
And it was kind of fun betting on which of Hunter’s strange friends would show up on any given day.
.
“Why did you have to put your coat over her earlier? People are already gossipping.” Xavier grumbled at Zayne, who was typing on his laptop in the living room of Hunter’s apartment.
Zayne raised an eyebrow. “Well, you did go home early today.”
“I was tired.”
“Fighting Wanderers all night,” Sylus commented drowsily from his corner, as far away from the windows as possible. “Luke and Kieren wouldn’t shut up about seeing “the great Lumiere” flying through the streets. Mephisto even got some nice pictures. Want to see?”
“No thanks. I’ll pass.”
“”I’ll take one. It might make for good inspiration,” Rafayel called from the kitchen. He walked into the living room, Caleb following a few steps behind. Both had their hands full with plates of food set for the dining table that was set up against the floor-length windows on one side of the room.
From the living room’s couch, there was a snort of amusement. “Inspiration or blackmail?” Valko asked with a glint in his eye that was probably not from the tablet in his hands, open to a research paper on protocore science.
Xavier glared at Rafayel. “Don’t you dare.”
“I’ll consider it, for the right price.”
“Millionaires,” Zayne muttered to Caleb as the latter passed. Caleb snorted–both lived rather comfortably, but the amount of money they had compared to the other four in the room was definitely enough to put them in a very different socioeconomic class.
“Whatcha talking about?” Hunter asked as she stepped out of her room, hair freshly washed and dried from her shower. “Is the food ready?”
“Sure is, Pips,” Caleb said cheerfully. “Come on, all of you, before it gets cold.”
“Smells amazing,” Xavier declared as he beelined to the table. Valko wasn’t far behind, his tail popping out to wag behind him.
“Why are there carrots on mine…?” Zayne commented as he approached with narrowed eyes. “Caleb?”
“Wasn’t me,” Caleb said, then glanced at his plate. “Hey, what’s with the cilantro? I didn’t put that there…”
Rafayel covered his laughter behind his drink. Valko lightly kicked at his foot under the table, his own face behind a glass of chocolate milk. Sylus rolled his eyes at the both of them, ignoring that across from him Xavier was shoving food into his mouth.
Hunter smiled as she took a more composed bite than Xavier of her dinner. The flavours filled her mouth and she happily indulged in the brief memories that came with this particular spice combination, a recipe her grandmother had perfected many years ago and that Caleb had taken up since.
Around her, her boys were enjoying their own dinners and conversation had begun to spring up–Rafayel and the upcoming exhibition Thomas was making him have (“Miss Bodyguard, I’ll need your services on that day”), Valko and the research he’d started in a more effective engine for deepspace vehicles (“Dear Colonel, could I get one of the Farspace Fleet’s ships from storage to do some testing?”), Sylus and some news regarding Xavier and Rafayel’s bounties (”They went up. Wasn’t me, stop giving me that lok Mr. Crown Prince Lumiere.”).
It was cozy. It was familiar. It was home.
Hunter wouldn’t have it any other way.