Soul Stone

The Reunion

"Fight you?"

The shock Kayne felt over the request was written all over his face. Zeke stood his ground, though, ready to plunge his hand into his pocket at any moment and yank out his soul stone. Kayne just stared at him in disbelief, before shaking his head and chuckling slightly.

"Do I strike you as a fighter?" he asked, sounding more curious than insulted.

"I hadn't..." Zeke began, before Kayne cut him off.

"I'm not," Kayne explained, answering his own question "I'm a musician who is forced to fight to survive in a world I was shoved face-first into. Surely, you can relate?"

Zeke shook his head. "This isn't about surviving, or whatever new world you're talking about. I have my reasons for asking." He explained, crossing his arms.

"I have my own reasons for declining," Kayne replied "but I don't recommend going looking for fights. When it comes to our little world, that is a very difficult road to break off from once you start walking down it."

"I don't care about roads," Zeke replied "I'm just looking to prove something to myself."

Kayne chuckled softly at that, and the look on his face changed from serene to almost painfully sad, seemingly without even changing expressions. He shook his head, and continued to walk back toward the Tavern. Zeke gulped slightly, before turning on his heels and walking back to the Antique Shop. He supposed he'd have to wait a little longer to find out whatever he had been looking for.

*********

Sara absolutely hated shopping for clothes. She had a very specific brand she liked, and she ordered it online, because she didn't know of any stores on her particular side of the planet that sold her brand. She especially, however, hated the social aspect of shopping in general. So as Kaley chatted away about boys and (Sara imagined) all of her past failed pregnancies, battles with drug abuse and whatever other little bits of conversational gold Kaley had stored in that pea-sized brain of hers', Sara found herself planning a daring escape out of a nearby window.

Sure, the girl clearly meant well by trying to befriend her, but it was clear to Sara that there was another motive behind it all, too. Now it was just a matter of finding out what.

"I'm not interested in Zeke!" Kaley blurted out, seemingly mid-sentence.

"I didn't think you were," Sara replied with a shrug "You're entirely too pretty for him, to begin with."

Kaley looked shock at Sara's response. Sara smiled slightly, and Kaley had no way of knowing that she was actually scrambling to recover from that little moment of honesty. "I mean, I'm with him for his personality, more than his looks" Sara explained, hastily.

"Well, come on now" Kaley pressed on, smiling slyly "You've got to admit, he's been toning up recently, and I bet he cleans up real nice!"

Sara rolled her eyes. Typical Barbie answer from a typical Barbie girl. She had no way of knowing that Zeke was toning up because he was forced to dodge life-threatening bolts of lightning, or participate in a messed-up "Fight Club" on a nearly nightly basis. He was being force-fed strength and agility, and she was glad to hear that the results were at least begining to show outwardly. When she realized she hadn't said anything in a while, Sara just looked at Kaley, smiled wanly, and shrugged.

Couldn't the day just end a few hours sooner?

******

Kayne fumbled with the lock on his door for a moment, the shock from the close call still very much alive inside him. He hurried in, and locked the door behind him. The last thing he needed right now was for someone to know how nervous that close call had made him. What was that idiot doing, calling him out in the middle of a public street?