A Castle Of Crystal

11. Coffee and crystals

I refrained from mentioning to Jules that we believed Kane might be the one coming over— after all, we weren't entirely sure and I would rather find out for myself before making her worry. She knew better than anyone after all how cruel Alchemilla could be and I wasn't about to stress her out more.

She was still sleeping when I awoke early in the morning, contemplating what I might choose to do for the day. Kane was injured, she said he was at home for the week and not at work so I could go to his apartment and stake it out but that felt...wrong. Instead I got up and in the dim light of the lamp sorted through my bag, pulling on a pink turtleneck with frilly sleeves and jeans covered in printed patches before I ran a brush through my hair. It reached my hips now and I hadn't ever really thought to cut it; short hair was far better for a warrior but it felt like I'd be losing a part of myself if I chopped it off after all this time. I thought of my mother's touch while I ran my fingers through it and it was a memory I held far too dear now that they were gone.

I was just zipping up my boots with the chunky heels and buckles when I heard Jules' door open across the hall. She knocked and I called for her to come in, spotting sleepy eyes and frizzy hair that put a smile on my face as she flopped onto the bed beside me. Before I could even do anything she readjusted and ran her fingers through my hair as she began to braid, splitting the locks in half and tying the end off when she was done before moving to the other one. A flush of gentle heat filled my cheeks and I leaned into her when she wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Looking to hitch a ride into town with me?"

"I was actually going to head to the coffee shop here, better than the one I usually go to by your work," I chuckled, "it seems you were right, local chains are a lot better than the big one."

"See, you doubt me too much," she chirped, "your bangs need a trim. Want me to handle it when I get home?"

"I'd very much appreciate it, they're cute as shit but they're starting to bother my eyes."

We traded a softer laugh before she got up to get ready for work, leaving me to gather my things and pull on a fuzzy coat dotted with blue roses. She was already out the front door before I even made it into the hall and I slowed my pace to take everything in. Photos lined the walls that I always peered at as I passed by but today I paused, examining a family portrait of a mother, a father, a daughter and a son. Jules' family always reminded me of mine, with a parent as a Traveler and a foot in each world, as the saying went. I had similar photos on the walls of my home except that they were painted, not photographed.

"All war does is tear families apart," I sighed to myself as I turned back toward the door, making sure I had my key and locking up behind me before I started toward the café.

I wasn't feeling the most upbeat today and my music reflected that, gentler waves of indie rock echoing in my already jumbled mind. The sunglasses perched on my nose helped to ease the relentless headache and keep out the glaring gray sunlight that illuminated the city but it didn't keep out the strange glances thrown my way. A tiny smile ticked up on my lips and for what it was worth I didn't mind the attention, in fact I enjoyed it; having been exiled for almost a decade meant that when I did go somewhere in Alchemilla I had to keep my head low, blend in, but I didn't have to do that here and it was refreshing.

For a Monday the café was unexpectedly busy and while I didn't typically enjoy standing in line I suffered through it, getting myself a mocha and retreating to one of the tables by the window to use the laptop. I'd wiped the memory of everything Jules kept on here— save for the pictures— and had been using it to track modern events. Who the President was, what big, world-changing events happened, which reality star was getting flack today, things to make it so that if I were to be questioned I could actually attempt to hold a conversation. The one thing I didn't like about Terra was the fact that everyone was so interconnected these days that it was actually rather hard to go completely under the radar and people gave you silly looks if you said you didn't have a cell phone.