Bluefire

Minor Rest

When the gates opened, the line became a battlefield. There was little space for me to move.

After realizing I wouldn't be walking past the line fast enough, the gloves came off and I decided I was through with staying polite. I forced my way through.

Much kicking and screaming ensued, but I successfully bulldozed my way through to the exit, showing my passport to the strangely familiar foreign service officer and running off into the pier.

Sadie had told me to meet them on the entrance, so that's where I headed. However, before I even reached the gate, I felt a slim yet strong hand yank me off to one side as soon as I rounded the corner of the gift shop.

Alyx was standing, alone and casually leaning against a wall in an alcove that was too shallow to call an alley. She scanned me up and down, looking like some female thug or mafia girl with her leather jacket, hookerific denim shorts and black thigh high boots. The bling on her neck, a silver pendant with a wolf face, didn't help her look any less intimidating, more so because she was as tall as I was. Oh, and she had a lolipop in her mouth.

The girl kept on staring at me as if I was some sort of fascinating specimen ready to be dissected. Well, now I felt welcome!

She suddenly decided to lean close to me and... was she smelling me?

"What?" I inquired, backing off and looking extraordinarily confused. I wasn't wearing anything... well, any strange cologne or perfume that would prompt anyone to sniff me.

The raven headed delinquent didn't answer. Instead, she suddenly backed off, wrinkling her nose.

"Have you been with anyone else recently?" she asked, looking warily at me.

"No..." I answered, glancing behind me and wondering if this was a setup of some sort. I wondered what she could be referring to though. She did seem a bit fidgety right now, but I showered not more than a few minutes before. It couldn't be me. "Do I... like..."

"There's a peculiar scent over you..." she answered, backing back an step and visibly relaxing. "Must be from before... or it got stuck down to your clothes."

"I haven't seen anyone, recently."

"Including your cousin?"

"Yes. I intended to stay away from her as much as possible." I argued, suddenly feeling dizzy. I brought my hands to my temples to rub them. The memory of my cousin being wishy-washier than she had ever been did not sit well with me. Thankfully, she hadn't tried to get close to me since leaving Copenhagen.

Alyx tilted her head, leaning down into a finger as she seemed to ponder a question I hadn't been asked yet.

When a cold breeze hit us, I instinctively opened my eyes and looked around. Maybe closing them at a moment like this had been a bad idea.

Alyx leaned into the wall with me.

"Good. I'd feel a lot more at ease if you kept your distance from her..."

I stared at her, the wind chill increasing as wind assailed us in the small hole in the wall.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Did Tish tell you anything funny yesterday?"

When she mentioned Tiziana, I felt my stomach drop slightly. This could only mean one thing and one thing only.

"Nothing serious..." I responded, dismissing the possibility she might be refferring to... that.

She smirked and I saw her push up from the wall she was leaning on... to put an arm over me and pin me down.