Lynx Northern Shifters 3

today?”
Those lynx eyes widened. “Project?”
“You usually have a project, at least that’s how it has seemed to me, be it making me a cot or feeding the deer.”
Jonah peered at him for a moment, as if trying to read Trey’s real meaning. “Well, I haven’t thought of one. Is there something you want to do?”
Trey wanted to understand everything about Jonah’s life so he could figure out a way to help him. He gestured to the books. “I’m curious about your library, where you got the books from, what you use them for now.”
Jonah shook his head, dismissing the books and everything about them. So Trey walked over and studied the titles. Nonfiction mostly, and a lot of technical stuff. He pulled out a few books and flipped through them to see they were math texts with equations and some history of math.
“I think you like math, Jonah.”
He shrugged. “So?”
Odd response. “So, that’s good.”
Jonah grimaced. “Why’s it good ?”
“It’s easier to be a sane shifter if you’re interested in studying, keeps your human side going.” A memory of his first night here, when Jonah had called him Enigma, came back to him. “You were going to tell me about the Enigma machine.”
The expression on Jonah’s face clearly conveyed that he believed he was being humored, if not patronized. Obviously some asshole had belittled Jonah in the past.
“What did your mother think of you being interested in math?”
Jonah blinked at the change in subject, or maybe at mentioning his mother. “She was proud of me,” he said warily.
“Good.”
Jonah frowned, perhaps at that word good again.
“And your brother, Craig, what did he think?”
“He didn’t care.” Jonah shifted, almost scowling. “What are you getting at?”
“I’m wondering why you’re defensive about math, that’s all.” He flipped through another book, mostly equations. He thought he’d be able to wait Jonah out on this as he continued to browse.
Five minutes later, the lynx proved him right by stepping up beside him. “I like algebra best. I study it, but it’s hard to get the right education when I have no access to more books. Mom got these for me at a library sale years ago, before we moved up here. So my knowledge is patchy at best.”
“You’d like to study at university.”
Hope flared briefly on his rawboned face. “Do you think I could somehow?”
“Not immediately.” Trey shut the book as Jonah’s face fell. “But I’m going to work on it. There are correspondence courses, things like that.”
Jonah bit his lip. “I have no money for it. The money I have I need for my yearly supplies. And I have no ID, either. My mother didn’t register my birth certificate and social insurance number. She wanted to keep me off-record for my safety.”
“I can see why she’d be careful. But like I said, I’ll work on it. I can’t make any promises though.”
“I understand,” Jonah said in that quick way of his, like he was trying not to expect too much.
“At least I’ll get you some more books.”
Jonah gazed at him, somewhere between amazed and admiring, and Trey had this terrible desire to reach an arm around the young man’s neck and pull him close.
No .
“Thank you.” Jonah’s voice trembled with emotion and they stared at each other for longer than they should before Trey snapped his gaze away and took out another book, asked which type of math it was about.
Jonah was eager to talk, the dam of silence that had made up his last three years was gone with Trey there to listen and the young man had a lot to say. He opened up, explaining his entire library, both fact and fiction, and Trey paid close attention throughout the day to all Jonah wanted to tell him with that young, quite beautiful voice of his. It was clear that one of the reasons the lynx was so sane, despite his solitude, was because he was very engaged in intellectual human pursuits. It was going to be important to foster that.
    That evening, Jonah’s throat was sore from speaking so much. Yes, he’d told Trey about the Enigma machine, as well as what history of math he knew, as well as the Turing machine, as well as… Jonah felt a little embarrassed, even if Trey had spent the entire time looking completely interested. Maybe Trey was pretending to be interested, but nothing in his face or demeanor revealed anything but, well, fascination for what Jonah had to say. Which was pretty heady stuff after years alone. Before that his brother had displayed