The Remains of Hope

4| Once Upon A War

For the second time today, my phone rang with a call from Cerise, her face flashing across the screen before I swiped and accepted her call, pressing my phone close to my ear so I could hear her over the bustling noise of the metro.

"Hello, Amanda. Is now a bad time?" Her voice was slightly softer than its normal baritone, making it harder to hear her, and I wondered what was up with the tentative tone.

"No, the interview got cancelled today. Apparently something came up. Why? Is everything alright?"

I leaned to the left to avoid smacking into the wings of several Drakhenae all trying to board the train, the large appendages of varying colors not hard to miss. There were more and more of them in public places, I'd noted over the years, a result of the decreasing tension between the Drakhenae and human countries and travel was more open for both. If one went to Italy, a relatively Drakhenae country, there were more and more humans. It was nice to see old hate being forgotten and the increasing diversity.

Though it was easy to get insanely jealous when walking down the sidewalk only to look up and see humans with wings flying in the sky – much more convenient than walking or driving within a city, if one thought about it. It was still bizarre to see them as a part of everyday life and when in flight. To work their wings required the use of almost every muscle in your abdomen, back, and lower body for balance, so the Drakhenae were almost always resembling a group of people straight out of the military.

"No, everything's alright," Cerise responded, pulling me out of my observations and making me realize that I'd been staring at the wings of someone in front of me for too long. Though this person, a woman, had bright red wings, with the scales along the bones gleaming and the leather between looking like a dull flame, and when she turned her head, the red scales on her cheekbones – though they were a darker red – also gleamed. A child, also Drakhenae, held her hand, and as the train continued to fill up, his wings slowly pressed against my hip and I tried to avoid the claws at the tips of them.

They seriously need to file those.

"I was just wondering if we could meet up at a cafe? The one you like with the mixed beignets?" she continued.

This was usually code for her wanting to talk to me about something she didn't want to do over the phone. I knew that meant she probably had something more serious to share, and besides, the cafe's mixed vanilla and chocolate icing was bliss incarnate. 

"Sure, I can be there in fifteen minutes."

The claw on one of the child's wings was now pressing against my side, and upon further inspection, I realized that the tip wasn't that sharp anyway. Maybe they do file them.

I spent the rest of the train ride trying not to press into other people's limbs – limbs that now included wings – and wondering what Cerise wanted to talk about, while also helplessly trying to forget meeting with Ivan earlier.

Moreso, I tried to push away the guilt that was festering in me at how I treated him. I had to admit that it was unfair of me to act like he was being a pushy male who didn't get what "no" meant. That wasn't what this was, or ever had been. It made it harder to think like that when I remembered my drunken words to him months ago.

But my guilt didn't change my resolve – though it was a resolve that seemed to weaken every time he visited, if letting him hold me was any indication.

The train pulling into a stop demanded my attention, forcing me to quickly grab onto the pole beside me. The voice over the intercom loudly alerted the passengers what station this was, but I was already out, making my way to the subway exit. The subway system was a familiar landscape – where the stations were, where to switch trains, and how to navigate around the city when you got off. Walking down familiar streets and shops once I exited the subway, I made my way towards the cafe, and already saw Cerise – her red mane of hair was always distinguishable – seated at one of the outdoor tables. But no matter what, she would always stand out easily in any crowd – the feather-covered wings that jutted from her back made it impossible for her to not stand out.