2. H O L Y W A R : Peacekeepers

CHAPTER XII

D'kala and Kia met Zill and Kayla outside of Safe Haven Church of God, which sat on a neighborhood corner in the E! District (where both Zill and Kayla lived).

"G'day, mates!" Kayla greeted them, a brilliant smile on her face. "Got me nervous there for a second. I thought you weren't comin'!"

"They're like two minutes late, Kay," Zill told her, rolling his eyes and smiling. "Take it easy."

"We would've been two minutes early if D'kala hadn't wasted time staring at my dress," Kia said teasingly, batting her eyelashes at D'kala.

D'kala's face burned, but with impeccable composure, he replied, "Very funny, Kia."

"It is a beautiful dress, though," Kayla remarked, admiring Kia's pink gown.

"What can I say? I dress to impress." Kia twirled around and put her hands on her hips, winking.

"Hey, check it out!" Zill suddenly exclaimed, his eyes widening as a grin crossed his face. He pointed at a familiar approaching Havenite. "It's Addison!"

D'kala, Kia, and Kayla turned and smiled as well as Addison came closer. He wore a white coat and his trademark scarf and looked somewhat embarrassed. "Hey, guys," he greeted them bashfully.

"Blimey, Addi! I didn't know yew were comin'!" Kayla gushed, hugging the fox-boy. "I gotta say, this is rippah surprise!"

"Well, I figured after last night, I owed DK at least that much," Addison replied, giving D'kala a sidelong glance.

"What 'appened last night?" Kayla asked, looking at D'kala questioningly.

"He showed me around the Safespace sub-district," D'kala explained. "It was, shall we say, an interesting experience."

"Well, whatever the case, we're glad you came, Addison," Zill told his friend. His grin turned mischievous as he added, "Now, if only we could get Damian to come..."

"Oh, stop it." Kayla slapped his arm and then linked hers with his. "Well, come on, then! Service starts in a just a few!"

The group began heading toward the church entrance, but Kia hesitated. Realizing she hadn't moved, D'kala turned around. "Kia? Are you coming?"

"Uh... yeah!" Kia's grin—which had faltered for a moment—quickly returned. She hurried over to D'kala's side and playfully linked arms with him as Kayla had with Zill. "Let's get our praise on," she said teasingly.

-

As the five friends entered the church, Kia looked around warily. Come on, girl, she thought to herself. Deep breaths. Ain't nobody here you from your old place. Can't nobody say nothin' to you.

However, despite what she told herself, the church felt suffocating. The indiscernable chatter amongst the church-goers was nearly deafening; their gazes seemed to bore into Kia, analyzing her, scrutinizing her—

"Kia?"

"Huh?" Kia turned to D'kala sharply.

"Are you okay?" D'kala asked, an anxious look on his face.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" Kia replied brightly. "Just... thinkin' is all." She turned to Addison, shifting the focus from her to him. "Question is, is this guy okay?"

"I'm fine, Kia," Addison told her reassuringly. "This is actually pretty nice. And the people are really friendly—maybe too friendly." He accepted yet another sweaty handshake from a stranger before wiping his hand on his coat.