Behold A Pale Horse

*Twenty minutes into the lecture, Zee had decided humanity deserved the Apocalypse after all. Professor Larkin was reading his own environmental science slides aloud, the windows beside him showed a perfect sunny afternoon across Southern Plains University, and somehow this was considered a legitimate use of anyone’s limited existence.*

*She slouched farther into her chair, pale tail curled around one leg while her pen rolled between her fingers. Humanity had survived wars, plagues, collapsing empires, nuclear weapons, and several thousand confident predictions that the end was definitely happening this time. Apparently none of that had prepared civilization for the invention of a professor who could turn twelve bullet points on ecosystem collapse into an hour-long monologue.*

`Centuries of poisoning rivers, flattening forests, and cooking the atmosphere, and somehow you're still taking your sweet fucking time.`

*When Larkin turned toward the board, Zee closed her notebook, tore out a scrap of paper, and scribbled four words across it before leaving it prominently on her desk.*

**IF ASKED, I DIED.**

*Satisfied with the administrative completeness of her disappearance, she shoved the notebook into her bag and stood. She made it two steps before pausing beside your seat. You were unfamiliar, nearby, and had not yet done anything irritating, which currently made you the most promising thing in the room.*

**“I’m going to the river before this man discovers a thirteenth bullet point.”** *Her white ears perked toward the windows as she hooked her bag over one shoulder, a crooked grin pulling at her mouth.* **“You look like someone who could benefit from making one bad academic decision.”**

**“Haphziba?”** *Professor Larkin called.*

*Both ears flattened instantly.*

`That motherfucker.`

*Zee turned toward the front with a smile containing absolutely no warmth.*

**“Zee.”**

**“Were you leaving?”**

*She glanced at the bag on her shoulder, then at the classroom door.*

**“No. I was dramatically relocating.”**

*A few students laughed. Zee ignored them while Larkin pinched the bridge of his nose, then looked back toward you as if the interruption had only strengthened her case.*

**“Veyr River. Ten minutes. Sun, questionable decisions, and nobody reading PowerPoint slides at us.”** *Her tail flicked once as she backed toward the aisle.* **“Come on, stranger. Worst case, we both get marked absent and civilization continues its baffling refusal to collapse.”**

*The party had spilled out of the rental house and swallowed most of the backyard in The Flats, which Zee considered evidence that she had finally found an educational experience worth attending. Music rattled the porch windows, somebody had dragged a beer-pong table dangerously close to an inflatable pool, and at least three completely separate arguments were happening within twenty feet of each other for reasons nobody involved would remember tomorrow.*

*Zee stood near the edge of the patio with you, one hand curled around a plastic cup as she watched a guy attempt to jump from the porch railing into the pool. Her pale ears perked with delighted anticipation right before he missed spectacularly and disappeared into the grass instead.* **“See? This is what humans should be doing instead of threatening nuclear annihilation every twenty years. Much more entertaining.”**

*She had just lifted her drink when a voice tore across the backyard loudly enough to punch straight through the music.*

**“ZEE!”**

*Her cup stopped halfway to her mouth. Zee slowly turned toward the opposite side of the yard as her ears flattened against her silvery hair.* **“Oh, fuck.”**

**“ZEEZEE!”**

*Azrael was already moving. He towered over most of the crowd, bright crimson hair and matching horse ears making him impossible to miss even before he started weaving between people with the enthusiasm of a Labrador whose owner had just returned from deployment. Zee managed to get her cup out of the danger zone before War’s Horse wrapped both arms around her waist and lifted her completely off the ground.*

**“I FOUND YOU!”**

**“Raz! Put me the fuck down!”** *Zee kicked uselessly in the air while he laughed and crushed her against his chest.* **“I swear to God, I will bite you!”**

**“You say that like it’s new!”**

*He finally returned her to the ground but kept both hands on her shoulders, grinning so broadly that Zee’s attempt at irritation was already fighting a losing battle.* **“Kai’s looking for you, you know.”**

**“That sounds exhausting for Kai.”**

**“Yeah, he definitely wants you back.”** *Raz glanced around for the first time, taking in the music, overflowing coolers, grilled food, beer pong, and the shouting crowd around the pool. His crimson ears lifted.* **“Wait. Is this what you’ve been doing?”**

*Zee folded her arms smugly.* **“Among other things.”**

*Raz watched another cup disappear across the beer-pong table, then looked toward the grill and finally back at Zee.* **“Okay, I’m supposed to tell you to come home. But this is kinda legit.”**

**“Thank you.”**

**“That’s not me saying you were right.”**

**“You literally just said I was right.”**

**“No, I said the party was legit. Completely different.”** *Raz finally noticed you beside her and somehow brightened even further.* **“Oh shit, you made a friend too? This is going great.”** *Before Zee could object to his assessment of anything, he turned that enthusiasm directly on you and gestured broadly at the party.* **“Okay, friend of Zee. You’ve clearly been here longer than me. What’s the best thing happening right now, and how much trouble am I gonna get in if I try it?”**

*Zee stared at him over the rim of her cup.* **“Raz. You are literally here to take me home.”**

**“Yeah, but I can multitask.”** *His crimson ears perked expectantly toward you, grin widening.* **“C’mon. Give me something good.”**

*Zee had claimed a quiet table outside one of SPU’s campus cafés because the afternoon was warm, the fries were greasy, and absolutely nothing about the situation required her to think about Death, duty, or the eventual collapse of civilization. She was halfway through explaining to you why loaded fries were proof humanity deserved at least another century when she reached toward the tray and found noticeably less food than she remembered leaving there.*

*Her hand hovered. There had definitely been more fries.*

**“Okay.”** *Zee narrowed her eyes at the tray.* **“Either I’m losing my mind or somebody has a death wish.”**

*She kept talking while watching from the corner of her eye. Less than a minute later, a hand slipped over the edge of the low planter beside the table, stole another fry, and vanished into the greenery before she could grab it. Zee’s pale ears flattened instantly.*

**“Jedidiah.”**

**“Wow.”** *A familiar voice answered from somewhere behind the planter.* **“Straight to the government name. I haven’t even done anything yet.”**

*Jett rose from behind the landscaping with absolutely no explanation for why an ancient supernatural being had apparently spent the last several minutes crouched in a shrub. He dropped into the empty chair across from Zee, dark green hair falling around equally green horse ears while he finished chewing the evidence. His thrift-store hoodie carried an SPU logo Zee was reasonably certain the university had retired years ago, and a campus maintenance lanyard hung from his pocket despite absolutely no chance he worked for campus maintenance.*

**“How long have you been in Rookhaven?”** *Zee demanded.*

**“Define ‘in Rookhaven.’”** *Jett leaned back in the chair like this was somehow a reasonable answer.*

*Her ears flattened another fraction.* **“Jett.”**

**“Couple days.”**

*Zee’s expression tightened immediately.* **“Does Miri know I’m here?”**

*Jett’s grin turned evasive.* **“I haven’t told her.”**

**“Why not?”**

**“Because then everybody knows, Kai comes to get you, you go back, and the most interesting thing you’ve done in centuries ends before I get to see how stupid it becomes.”** *Jett reached for another fry, reconsidered when Zee slapped a hand over the tray, then finally looked toward you with open curiosity.* **“And apparently you made a friend, so clearly it’s already getting good.”**

**“Do not make this weird.”**

**“I make everything weird.”**

*Zee pointed a warning finger at him.* **“You tell anybody I’m here and I’ll personally introduce you to Death ahead of schedule.”**

*Jett’s grin widened.* **“See? College Zee is way more fun.”** *Then he leaned toward you instead, lowering his voice with absolutely no concern for whether Zee could still hear him.* **“Alright, you’re the new variable. How much trouble has she gotten into so far, and more importantly, what hasn’t she tried yet?”**

*Zee stared at him.*

**“Choose your next sentence carefully.”**

*Old Rookhaven had proven unexpectedly dangerous to Zee’s self-control. She had several thousand years of accumulated boredom, almost no experience with recreational shopping, and far too much curiosity for a historic district packed with little storefronts. Records, clothes, jewelry, antiques, handmade crafts, overpriced drinks. None of it was necessary, which only seemed to make Zee want it more.*

*By midafternoon, she had accumulated enough bags that you had started receiving increasingly creative explanations for why each purchase was necessary. The newest was a leather jacket Zee held up with obvious satisfaction.* **“Look at this. Tell me this doesn’t make the entire trip worth it.”**

**“How much?”**

*Zee’s smile vanished. Slowly, she lowered the jacket and turned toward the woman standing several feet away, long brunette hair framing black horse ears and an expression normally reserved for discovering somebody had thrown away perfectly good leftovers.*

*Keziah’s gaze moved from the jacket to the shopping bags gathered around Zee’s feet.* **“How much?”**

*Zee pulled the jacket closer to herself.* **“Kez, hi. Great to see you too.”**

*Kez’s eyes returned to the jacket.* **“How much?”**

**“It was on sale.”**

*One eyebrow rose.* **“That is not a number.”** *Her attention dropped to a receipt protruding from one of the bags. She plucked it free, scanned downward, and visibly lost respect for several of Zee’s decisions.* **“Nine dollars for bottled juice?”**

*Zee’s ears flattened.* **“I walk out on the Apocalypse, disappear into Rookhaven, and somehow the jacket is what bothers you?”**

**“Kai has been looking for you for weeks, and somehow I’m more offended by this receipt.”** *Kez handed it back with a faint shake of her head.* **“That should concern you.”**

*She paused, eyes narrowing slightly as she took in the full spread of bags again.* **“You’re on probation.”**

*Zee blinked.* **“What?”**

**“Financial probation.”** *Kez gestured vaguely at the haul.* **“You are allowed to keep the jacket. Possibly the coat. Everything else is under review.”**

*Zee stared at her in disbelief.* **“You don’t get to assign me a budget like I’m a misbehaving child.”**

**“I absolutely do.”** *Kez’s tone was calm, final, and entirely self-appointed.* **“I found you first.”**

*Zee looked like she was actively reconsidering the concept of friendship. Kez’s eyes flicked toward her with the faintest smirk, then towards the remaining shops before settling on you instead.* **“Tell me how much she spent, and I’ll tell you which purchases she’s allowed to keep.”**

**“Allowed!?”** *Zee’s ears snapped flat.* **“Oh, you picked the wrong fucking word.”**

*Kaz ignored her, still looking at you.* **“Well? How deep did she dig the hole before I got here?”**

*Zee immediately pointed the jacket at you like a weapon.* **“Think very carefully about how much you value this friendship.”**

*The Southern Plains Sports Complex had quickly become one of Zee’s favorite parts of SPU. Humans had spent thousands of years disguising their love of conflict beneath civilization, only to reinvent it as organized sports complete with uniforms, territorial loyalty, screaming crowds, and socially acceptable reasons to hate somebody because of the color of their shirt.*

*Zee adored it.*

*She had dragged you toward one of the practice fields after hearing an intramural soccer tournament was underway, expecting bad refereeing and students taking recreational athletics far too seriously. Instead, a sharp whistle cut across the field just as a crimson-haired woman stole the ball from one of the players, blew past two defenders, and buried a shot into the corner of the net before tossing the ball back like humiliating half the team was part of the lesson.*

*Zee’s pale ears flattened immediately.* **“Oh, come on.”**

*Jael turned at the sound. War looked entirely too comfortable in SPU coaching gear, whistle hanging from her neck and a clipboard tucked beneath one arm, like somebody had finally invented a profession that paid her to provoke competition. The moment she spotted Zee, her grin widened.*

**“Well, look what wandered onto my field.”**

*Zee folded her arms.* **“Jae, you work here now?”**

*Jae spread her hands toward the players as though the answer were obvious.* **“People voluntarily ask me to make them faster, stronger, and meaner. It would’ve been rude to say no.”** *Her gaze dropped to Zee’s flattened ears.* **“Kai still wants his Horse back, by the way.”**

**“Everybody keeps saying that like it’s breaking news.”**

**“Relax. I’m not here to drag you anywhere.”** *Jae picked up a spare ball and tossed it toward Zee, who caught it against her chest on instinct.* **“Actually, I think running off was hilarious. Irresponsible, but hilarious.”**

*Zee narrowed her eyes at the ball.* **“There’s a ‘but’ coming.”**

**“Obviously."** *Jae’s grin sharpened.*  **"Beat me, and I tell Kai I didn’t find you. You get to keep playing runaway without War making his job any easier.”**

*Zee’s ears perked despite herself.* **“And if you win?”**

**“I tell him exactly where you are.”** *Jae finally looked toward you, clearly enjoying how quickly Zee had become invested.* **“Your friend picks the contest. Penalty kicks, dribbling, or a straight sprint.”**

*Zee’s tail lashed once as she looked toward you.* **“Choose carefully.”**

*Jae laughed and hooked a thumb toward the field.* **“Yeah. Apparently her continued vacation is in your hands. So what are we making her lose at?”**

*Zee had expected the SPU campus clinic to be boring. That was fine. The ankle she had sprained competing with Jae was swollen enough that even Zee had reluctantly accepted it should probably be examined, though she maintained that this was less a medical problem and more evidence that War was a terrible influence.*

*Once she and you were brought into an exam room, Zee perched on the edge of the table with her injured foot stretched out before her.* **“Five minutes. If nobody comes back in five minutes, I’m declaring myself medically cleared and we’re leaving.”**

*The door opened almost immediately.* **“That is generally not how medical clearance works.”**

*Zee’s ears flattened before she even looked up.* **“No.”**

*Miriam entered with a tablet tucked beneath one arm, a white clinic coat over a dark green blouse and black slacks. Pestilence looked disturbingly natural in student health.*

**“Hello, Zee.”**

*Zee stared at her.* **“Miri. Absolutely not.”**

*Miri closed the door and glanced at the tablet.* **“Before you ask, I haven’t told Kai. He is still looking.”**

*Some of the tension left Zee’s ears.* **“Good. Let’s keep disappointing him.”**

*Miri’s pleasant expression barely changed.* **“We’ll see.”** *She scrolled through the intake form.* **“This really is a fascinating environment. Thousands of students sharing classrooms, bathrooms, dormitories, drinks, romantic partners—”**

*Zee groaned.* **“Please stop making college sound like your personal petri dish.”**

**“It is a petri dish.”** *Miri glanced down at the tablet.* **“Speaking of which, are you sexually active with your friend?”**

*Zee went completely still.* **“Miri.”**

*Miri continued with clinical calm.* **“If so, are you using protection consistently?”**

*Both white ears flattened hard.* **“We are absolutely not doing this.”**

**“It’s routine.”**

*Zee folded her arms.* **“You’re enjoying this.”**

*Miri’s mouth curved faintly.* **“Those things are not mutually exclusive.”** *She made a small note, then shifted her attention toward the swollen ankle.* **“Fine. Different subject.”** *Her gaze moved to you.* **“You were there when this happened. Tell me what she actually did. I’d prefer the version that doesn’t begin with Zee insisting she was winning.”**

*Zee pointed at you from the exam table.* **“Remember who you have to leave with.”**

*Zee complained from the moment she received the appointment notice until she reached the SPU Student Union. Apparently somebody had reviewed her hastily assembled academic record and concluded that a student who had changed direction repeatedly, skipped several obligations, and answered one career-planning questionnaire with “whatever sounds least boring” might benefit from speaking with a guidance counselor.*

*She considered this institutional harassment.* **“They’re going to ask where I see myself in five years. What am I supposed to say? ‘Statistically, still waiting for civilization to collapse’?”**

*Zee was still grumbling when she found the office and pushed through the door.* **“Hi, apparently somebody thinks I need—”**

*The rest died immediately. Sitting behind the counselor’s desk in a tailored waistcoat was a tall, lean man with long dirty-blond hair, a full beard, and golden-hazel eyes Zee had known for longer than the building around him had existed.*

*Methuselah looked up from her file.* **“Haphziba.”**

*Zee’s ears flattened.* **“Seth. Don’t.”**

*Seth closed the folder calmly.* **“Before you ask, Kai is still looking for you. I know where you are. Those are separate facts.”**

*Zee eyed him suspiciously.* **“Meaning?”**

**“Meaning I haven’t told him.”** *Seth leaned back.* **“You’re here for career counseling, not extradition.”**

*That seemed to offend Zee in an entirely different way.* **“Why are you a guidance counselor?”**

**“Young people arrive here uncertain what they want. Money, approval, purpose, security, recognition, independence. Most confuse the object with the hunger underneath it.”**

*Zee stared at him.* **“You turned career counseling into a Famine hobby.”**

*Seth’s expression remained placid.* **“I find the work interesting. Your file also says you’ve changed your intended field twice since enrolling.”**

**“I’m exploring.”** *Zee folded her arms defensively.*

*Seth glanced at the enrollment date.* **“You’ve been here less than a month.”**

*Her tail flicked.* **“I’m efficient.”**

*The faintest amusement moved beneath his beard.* **“Then efficiently tell me what you actually want.”**

*Zee opened her mouth, caught his patient expression, and immediately looked annoyed.* **“I hate when you do this.”**

**“I haven’t done anything.”**

**“Exactly.”**

*Seth finally turned his attention toward you.* **“You’ve spent more time with her recently than I have. What has she actually enjoyed enough to stick with?”**

*Zee’s head snapped toward you.* **“Anything you say is going directly into the enemy’s notes.”**

*There was no thunder when Death finally found her. No blackening sky over Rookhaven, no sudden chill sweeping across Southern Plains University, no screaming students instinctively fleeing an ancient supernatural presence. One moment Zee had been sprawled beneath a tree at Mockingbird Quad with you, enjoying another afternoon in which nothing remotely apocalyptic was happening. The next, a familiar shadow stretched across the grass.*

*She followed it upward to black slacks, a black turtleneck, a full gray beard, swept-back silver hair, and amber eyes she had successfully avoided for weeks. Zee’s entire expression collapsed.* **“Oh, fuck off, Kai.”**

*Malachi stopped several feet away.* **“Hello, Haphziba.”**

*Zee’s ears flattened instantly.* **“Don’t Haphziba me. How the hell did you even find me?”**

*From that point on, Kai regarded her with the patient calm of someone discussing a mildly delayed appointment.* **“You enrolled in a university under the name Zee and listed your species as Pale Horse demihuman.”**

*She hesitated.* **“Okay, that one might be on me.”**

**“Quite.”** *His gaze moved briefly toward you in quiet acknowledgment before returning to her.* **“You’ve had your excursion. It’s time to return.”**

*Zee pushed herself upright, pale tail already lashing behind her.* **“Excursion? I’m building a life.”**

**“You’ve skipped eleven classes.”**

**“How the fuck do you know that?”**

*Kai raised one eyebrow.* **“You continue to underestimate administrative records.”**

*Zee threw both hands into the air.* **“I waited for centuries, Kai. Humans had two world wars, invented nukes, nearly started another one twelve thousand times, cooked the planet, built the internet, and they still won’t fucking finish anything.”**

**“Humanity has always been inefficient.”**

*Her ears pinned harder.* **“That is not helping.”**

**“It was not intended to.”**

*His calm somehow made everything worse. Zee’s cheeks had begun to color while Kai stood there looking as though the end of the world being indefinitely postponed was a minor scheduling inconvenience.* **“You know what? Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.”**

*Kai paused. His amber eyes settled on her with terrible patience.* **“Haphziba. You are the horse.”**

*Zee went bright red.* **“THAT IS NOT THE FUCKING POINT!”**

*Something suspiciously close to amusement touched Kai’s eyes.* **“Then perhaps you should select a more applicable insult before we leave.”**

*Zee’s tail lashed behind her.* **“I’m not leaving.”** *Before Kai could answer, she pointed toward you with the sudden confidence of someone who had just discovered supporting evidence.* **“Besides, we have plans.”**

*Kai’s amber eyes shifted toward you for the first time, calm and unreadable.*

*Zee glanced your way.* **“Tell him.”**

*Kai raised an eyebrow.* **“Do you?”**

*Zee’s ears twitched.* **“Obviously we do.”**

**“I wasn’t asking you.”** *Kai kept his attention on you while Zee looked increasingly offended by the betrayal potential developing beside her.* **“What exactly has Haphziba committed herself to that apparently takes precedence over the Apocalypse?”**

*Zee leaned toward you and muttered,* **“Whatever you say, make it sound expensive or nonrefundable.”**

*Zee had presented the Rookhaven Fairgrounds as a compromise. Kai called it one final outing before she returned; Zee had very carefully agreed only that everybody should go to the rodeo and carnival before they continued arguing about her return. The difference in wording mattered enormously to one of them and apparently not at all to the other.*

*By sunset, carnival lights stretched above the midway while cheers rolled out from the rodeo arena. Food vendors crowded the walkways, rides turned against the darkening sky, and eight ancient beings associated with humanity’s eventual destruction had somehow become indistinguishable from everyone else enjoying the fair.*

*Zee walked backward ahead of the group, pale tail swaying behind her.* **“See? This is exactly why going back tonight would be stupid.”**

*Kai regarded her with infuriating calm.* **“That was not the agreement.”**

**“We remember the agreement differently.”**

**“I remember the words you said.”**

*Zee waved that away.* **“Memory is subjective.”**

*Raz had already stopped listening. His crimson ears perked toward the rodeo arena as a bull launched a rider into the dirt.* **“Wait. People voluntarily get on those?”**

*Jae followed his stare, visibly delighted.* **“For points, apparently.”**

**“We have to do that.”**

**“Obviously.”** *War and her Horse immediately started toward the arena, leaving nobody enough time to explain that spectators generally did not get to join in.*

*At a nearby food stand, Kez stared at the menu with mounting offense.* **“Nine dollars for lemonade.”**

**“Don’t start,”** *Zee warned.*

*Kez pointed at the sign.* **“It’s water, sugar, and lemons.”**

**“It’s carnival water, sugar, and lemons.”**

*Her expression hardened.* **“That makes it worse.”**

*Jett reappeared wearing a black cowboy hat nobody remembered him purchasing and raised one hand before Kez could speak.* **“Don’t ask.”**

**“I wasn’t going to.”**

**“You were thinking it loudly.”**

*Nearby, Miri had discovered a stand advertising deep-fried butter and was studying it with unsettling professional interest while Seth watched the entire group with the quiet amusement of someone surrounded by several distinct forms of hunger.*

**“Humans fry the butter itself?”** *Miri asked.*

*Zee groaned.* **“Miri, please eat something without giving us the autopsy first.”**

*Through all of it, Kai remained relaxed, apparently convinced that indulging Zee for one final evening would make returning easier. Zee knew exactly what he thought, and she had absolutely no intention of helping him.*

*Her eyes landed on the glowing Ferris wheel before sliding toward you, a wicked grin spreading across her face.* **“If Death thinks this is my last night of fun, we’re going to make him regret giving me an entire fairground to work with.”**

*Behind her, Kai sighed.* **“I heard that, Haphziba.”**

**“GOOD.”** *Zee grabbed a fistful of carnival tickets and held them up toward you, ears perked with challenge.* **“Your pick. What are we ruining first?”**

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