Gluttony and Greed Walk into a Burger Joint

Chapter 8 - Late Night Breakfast

 Alus was halfway through his second of three 9PM omelets from the local 24/7 diner down the road when Runeak came through the doors. Mouth full of egg, he wondered under his breath at Arek, "How does she do that?"

Arek was sipping the suboptimal coffee (black), but nevertheless not complaining. His back was to the main entrance, however, Wrath's presence was easily felt once she entered a room. Not to mention the particular ironic glint in his brother's eyes was reserved exclusively for their middle sister. And, of course, Arek didn't need Alus to explain the question. He answered easily. "She could find a white cow in a snowstorm."

Smirking, Alus lowered his shining grey eyes to his brother.

"A needle in a haystack?"

With a chuckle, Alus shook his head and took another large bite, finishing off the ham and swiss omelet and moving onto his third -classic Denver. His mouth was full when Runeak made it over to their booth. Sliding to make room for her, Arek gestured next to himself. The Fifth slunk into the worn cushioned spot without a break in her movements, like she knew the spot would open up before it actually had.

Swallowing his latest bite, Alus took a long swig of Mountain Dew before properly addressing his sister. "Lady Terror, would you like some coffee or tea?"

Runeak, as the Twins knew she would, ignored him. "You did not kill her."

Alus's utensils froze on his plate, mid-cut. His shoulders rose and fell with a long breath as he put them carefully down and folded his arms atop the table. "Yeah, about that..--"

"I knew you would not. I went to do so."

Both brothers went uncannily still, not blinking, not breathing. Arek tried to keep his voice calm. "Runeak."

Those too-black-to-be-brown eyes swung over to Greed, and she continued in her same flat, soulless tone. "She did not shine for me."

"Runeak, did you kill her or didn't you?"

"There was no reason to without her shine." Wrath's predatory gaze shifted away from Arek, back to Alus who was still carefully unmoving, though something relaxed in him to hear Dani was still among the living. "She flares at the sound of your name." And again, she looked to Arek. "Your names."

"You saying it's us that makes her light up like Las Vegas?" This from Alus.

Arek asked his own question before Runeak could answer. "How is that possible?"

"You must be present when she is harvested," Runeak finished and fell silent.

The three demons all remained quiet as their waiter approached the table, filled a glass of water for Runeak, appeared to think twice about asking if she'd like to order anything else, then left.

"That's never happened before, has it? One of us selectively turning someone into a beacon? " Alus.

"Not that we've known, anyway." Arek.

"Why would that happen?"

"What causes the glow in the first place?"

Alus looked at his brother like he was stupid.

Arek sneered. "I can read you. Don't look at me like that. I'm serious. Break it down, and maybe something will come of it."

Alus rolled his eyes but still smiled while he shook his head and took another large bite of omelet, chewing thoughtfully and speaking through a full mouth. "Fine. The soul glows. Next elementarily basic question?"

"What makes one soul glow more than another?"

"Are we actually having this conversation?"

"Humor me, Alustar!"

In response to his lengthened name, Alus held up his hands, fork in one hand, knife in the other. "No need for threats. I'll play nice." The smile was still in Gluttony's voice, ever the diplomat.

Runeak looked bored, staring ahead and not at either of them. It would be easy for the casual passerby to forget she was there at all. She was the patient huntress once more, blending into the background and waiting for her opportunity to strike. The Twins knew better than to think she'd checked out of the conversation, but they also had nothing as yet to hide from their sister.

Taking the last bite of his final omelet, Alus took his time chewing if only to annoy his brother a little more. Arek waited with the stoic expression that was his blank face. The more serious of the Twins was not up for joking. It was that cue, more than anything, which made Alus take another long drink of Mountain Dew and answer him without his usual humor. "Souls are brighter the more the owner has suffered in life."

"If that were true, that would mean the mentioning of our names makes Dani suffer."

"Don't be daft." Alus said it absently as he picked at his hashbrowns. "The glow comes with recovery from the suffering. Resilience. Bouncing ba--." He stopped mid-sentence.

Alus and Arek spoke simultaneously: "She has suffered tremendously." "We pull her out of her darkness."

The Twins paused, stared at one another, then asked at the same time: "How?" "Why?"

It was at this point when Runeak decided she'd heard all she wished to or needed to hear. Pushing her water closer to Alus, the Fifth stood up with her usual fluid grace and slipped out of the restaurant.

The two brothers continued on as if she hadn't just left, Alus first. "Maybe she likes us more than I thought?" His lop-sided smile was too much. Arek scoffed and leaned back into the corner of the booth, sipping his coffee.

"I think that much is true regardless. But why?"

"Why? Have you seen us in the mirror?"

"Alus."

Gluttony shot his brother one of his winning smiles, raised his glass in mock 'cheers', then finished the last of his soda.

Arek continued. "We feel a connection to her. I'm going to assume she feels the same of us, as evidenced by her shining brighter at the mention of our names or our presence nearby. The question then, is, where did that come from?"

Alus shrugged and gave the majority of his attention to what was left on his plates. Simple as that, Arek knew he wouldn't be getting much more useful conversation out of his brother while there was still food in sight.

After the last bite, while Alus wiped at his mouth with a napkin, Arek opened his mouth to ask more questions when Alus interrupted him. "There's a club down the street. Let's go dancing."

Gluttony left the booth while Greed stared open-mouthed for less than a second. Arek recovered quickly, and with an irritated growl, he threw only as many bills as needed on the table to cover the tab.

"Tip, Miser!" Alus called from over his shoulder.

Jaw tensing, Arek threw another 10 dollar bill on the table and ran after his brother.

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