#rising light

Sometimes it was awonder that Kate had lived as long as she had. Yes, she was one of the sweetestpeople that you knew. And yes, she was the most positive of people. But shealso had a tendency to offer to fight anyone who even looked at someone shecared about with anything less than a smile on their face.

Case in point, shewas currently squaring up to your oldest friend because he’d glared at you ingreeting. You’d yet to introduce Michael to her, but right now you were beginningto wonder if there was any point.

‘Who even are you?’Michael asked, quirking an eyebrow at her. You could see the amusement all butradiating off him, knew that he was underestimating her, like so many peopledid. Part of you screamed out to assure her that she didn’t need to argue withhim, but another part of you also thought it might be somewhat entertaining to seehow he dealt with fighting Kate. After all, you knew exactly who you’d put yourmoney on if it boiled down to it.

‘Doesn’t matter,’countered Kate, rolling her shoulders ever so slightly, ‘you should just benice to people.’

Michael chuckled,glanced back at his friends as if trying to figure out if he was really seeingthis or not.

‘Hey!’ snappedKate, and all the alarm bells started ringing in your head. You placed a handon her shoulder, hoping to quell the frustration, even if only a little, butshe rolled away. ‘Why don’t you comedown here, Giant, and fight me!’

Silence followedthe comment. A moment of no one being quite sure how to react. After all, itwasn’t every day someone of Kate’s stature picked a fight with someonebasically double their broadness and with at least a foot on them in height.But there was also a kind of determination behind her eyes that assuredeveryone just how serious she was.

Michael shifteduncomfortably. For all his gusto usually, fighting was not one of the things heliked to think about.

‘Yeah, so, Kate,’you said, hastily moving between the two of them. ‘This is Michael, you know,the guy I told you I basically grew up with?’

All the angerseemed to fade from Kate in an instant. She looked between the two of you, asif trying to see something that might corroborate the comment, before shakingher head. ‘Still should’ve smiled though,’ she grumbled, but there was no real irritationbehind it any longer.

Michael waited abeat, as if still trying to work something out, before he let out a relievedlaugh. ‘Nice to meet you, Kate,’ he said, holding out a hand for her.

‘You’re still agiant though,’ she said, shaking his hand with a winning smile on her face.