hiraeth

two

A/N: dksjshhd halfway through this fic my grammar is gonna be gone bet 😂😂

ii. Nia

"No, because what the-"

"Fudge-"

"-is that?" Nia cries, pointing to a goblin looking thing with dragon-esque wings.

Listen. Her and Enne had been having a pretty good morning. No soulmate marks had appeared on Nia's arms for the past two days, and more importantly, it was Friday, meaning Percy hadn't swung by to lie about the bagel quality or spy on them from his table again.

"Maybe he got bored of watching me play Geometry Dash," Nia had proposed as soon as they opened up the café.

Enne had snorted. "No, you're the one who got bored of playing Geometry Dash, remember?"

"Then Percy and I have one thing in common."

Under other circumstances, Nia would have been flattered some guy with green eyes was interested, but it was dawning on her that Percy could very well be a stalker. Not fresh. Not fun. 👀

They decided to wait until Monday to talk to him and ask what was up with his sketchy behavior. Nia was half-relieved. He made her uneasy, but at least Enne said she'd confront him first.

So yes, their morning was nice and easy. Barely anyone came in to sit, which wasn't surprising.

That is, until, out of the blue, Caitlin and Nikki sauntered into their café like they owned the place. gtfo anyways--

"Give us two lattes," drawled Nikki, red hair framing her face. She drummed her nails on the glass display. "Now."

Nia had to restrain herself from socking her in the jaw, and Enne placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head.

"Coming right up," Enne said, forcing a fake smile.

"No foam," Nikki added

"Got it."

"Extra hot," Caitlin piped up

"Okay."

"In a double cup," Nikki and Caitlin sang in unison.

Nia whirled around and raised her eyebrows. "Is that all?"

it was when both her and Enne were turned around preparing their drinks and elbowing each other the entire time ("Nia, I made a smiley face on the drink" and "lol Enne look at this meme I found"), that Caitlin and Nikki were going through a transformation. Like, a whole appearance makeover.

Enne had spun back to face their customers, carefully placing the drinks on the counter. "Here's your--holy crap."

Nia, still unaware, had snorted. "Good one, Enne." She turned and saw the creatures. "Oh. Ew."

So here they are now, shrinking in on themselves at the back counter, while Nikki and Caitlin bare their sharp teeth, bald heads shining in the yellow light of the café.

"This isn't exactly what I signed up for when I took this job," Nia declares, reaching for a nearby blender to fend them off if they attacked. For some reason, her blood boils, and the instinct to immediately fight takes ahold of her senses. Something. Something washes up in her mind. A glimpse of a battle.

What?

Enne picks up a fork. 🍴

"Enne, no."

"What do you want?" her friend asks the creatures, voice shaking.

Nikki simply grins.

Then all hell breaks loose.

~~~

🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️ "Run faster!" Nia screeches as they dash down the street. She's quick and makes it up the stairs to the platform in record speed. Enne, on the other hand, is practically wheezing, struggling to catch up.

"I'm not built for this," she gasps. 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️

Nia drags her by the sleeve and gestures to the horrible creatures sprinting down the road like bullets. "Enne, if you don't pretend this is track and field, you're gonna die."

"G o o d."

"Hey, that's my line."

They finally reach the elevated platform. The sky is a bright azure, and it's so hot, Nia is on the verge of giving up. Around them, people mill about or sit quietly on the benches provided.

"The train! Perfect!" Enne points to the rail transport screeching to a halt in front of them. They race towards a set of doors.

Nikki and Caitlin (or whatever they are now) catch up and reach out to grab Nia, but the doors slam shut in their faces, and just like that, the train speeds away choo choo

"Thank goodness." Enne slumps into a nearby chair. Nia follows suit, drenched in sweat. The city skyline whizzes past, tall buildings and smoke blurring past the windows.

But their peace is short-lived: a massive hole is ripped from the top of their passenger car. Caitlin grins from above, metal bits hanging from her teeth.

Around them, everyone screams, but Nia notices they aren't even looking at the creature on top, but at the ground. Do they not see Caitlin? Do they think something fell from the sky?

Her and Enne are on their feet like everyone else. "uh, Enne-"

Whatever she's about to say goes out the window once Nikki and Caitlin drop down in front of them.

Nikki circles them, eyes glowing. "Don't be afraid. The Underworld is waiting and Hades is upset," she hisses.

Nia reels back, aghast. The Underworld? Hades?

The sound of a moving train echoes in the distance.

"Soooo, these guys are on some type of drug," she concludes. 💊

"Beth Harmon, who?"

The creatures lunge forward.

Enne waves her fork around while Nia squeezes her eyes shut and yeets her blender in Caitlin's face.

Nothing happens. The blender shatters.

Nia peels her eyes open. The train has come to an emergency stop and everyone else rushes out the doors. To her utter confusion, the creatures are nowhere to be seen. She glances over at Enne, who's now crouched down and squinting at black ash scattered across the floor.

Neither of them notice the raven-haired boy on the other side of the car, a sword in hand. 🤺🤺

He leans down and picks up a fragment of glass, clearing his throat. "So, umm..."

Enne makes a noise of surprise. Nia gapes.

"...sorry I'm late?" 👁👄👁

No one moves.

"Jackson," Nia manages to spit out, "what the actual-"

"Fudge," breathes Enne, and the lights flicker and fade.

"Enne?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop censoring me."