Tiger's Wedding

Ananse. I just can't with him. Even when he's in a good mood, he'll trick people just to test their patience and sense of humor about themselves. They're not those accepting smart jokes. It's like he gets this sick, sadistic pleasure out of seeing the reaction of his victims, especially when he's angry with them. It's this look of dark glee. It makes me hate him for it. I think he likes pushing the envelope, but it's not to see how far they'll let him go, but to push their buttons. He loves enslaving them to him through the anger they feel at him. It makes him feel powerful.

Kraman's had to put up with him the most out of any of us. He's had to get back to his happy self and his regular life from all those tricks and all that pain. I haven't always been there to pick him back up out of it.

At our wedding, everyone was there. Ako was there, but was still afraid to sit next to Horus. They'd had a bad history, but were willing to set it aside because of their friendship to us.

Then he showed up. He wasn't invited because of all the trouble he'd caused. He had this cruelly evil grin on his face once he noticed everyone noticed him. He stood in the middle, with his gaze coming to rest on us. He didn't break eye contact when we angrily made it with him.

"So, I see I wasn't wanted," he said.

"And yet here you are," Kraman said with withered fatigue in his voice.

I looked at him, my anger at Ananse turning to concern for him. He sighed.

I looked back at Ananse with indignation.

"If you know you're not wanted, why are you here?" I asked.

When he didn't respond because he was drawing himself up to, I responded for him.

"Let me guess, you wanted to ruin our wedding by making us look horrible for not inviting you, when you forgot you'd just look petty and vengeful by showing up. Not only that, but you've messed with everyone here at least once, so none of them likes you."

He pretended to leave, but really snuck around back, where we had the dishes that hadn't been served.

The salad was wonderful, and everyone's pasta and meatballs were fine except for one: Kraman's. He started to take his first bite but put it down with a disturbed look slowly creeping onto his face. I saw a worm crawling in his pasta.

We heard a stifled giggle after everyone gasped.

Ako looked like she wanted to choose flight instead of fight. Horus looked like he was ready for a fight, but would end up choosing flight. Kra and Jag, moving with catlike grace, went back and got him. We all smirked, laughed or tried to stifle it when they brought him out. He smiled back, trying to catch the humor of the situation, but since he was the butte of it, we all stopped.

That wasn't the end of it. We all exchanged a look, then Kraman and I gave Kra and Jag a nod. They took Ananse out of the area and stood guard at the entrances until they were sure he wouldn't return.

The exit they took him through was near a desert.

I enjoyed the thought of his going out in that heat. I pictured him walking out there and getting slowed by the heat with vultures circling above him. He could eventually collapse from the heat and one of them could pick at him.

You don't mess with my friends.