Legion of 8

Chapter 7: Ella

It was nearing night when we arrived at the little tavern up the road. The tram didn't stop far enough into the forest, so we had to haul ourselves and our minimal belongings a mile up the road to the inn.

Its name, Pine Needles Inn and Tavern, made me think of high fantasy novels where the crew would stop at a little tavern along the road for some mead and stew and a place to stay, so that's sort of what I expected when we walked in.

That wasn't quite what we got, but it was close. The outside of the building was built like a large log cabin, with seating along a long porch, and a series of cars and people lining the outside. When we walked in, it opened into a restaurant-looking area with a large bar at the back, which was surrounded by people drinking, talking, and generally having a good time.

There were also tables around the front area, with more people and a few TV screens playing a sport I had never seen before. It looked a little like life-sized air hockey combined with soccer as people used their feet to kick around a floating puck.

A woman at the front desk area offered us a cheerful smile.

"Hello, what can I do for you today?" she asked, tapping away at her computer screen.

"We're just looking for a room for the night," explained Quillion, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Alright, what size?" she looked up, noting the eight of us.

Quillion looked at the rest of us, hoping someone would offer an answer.

"The cheapest one you've got," said Jax, pulling out the money his mom had given him.

The woman tapped on the computer screen again, "Alright, that looks like it'll be our one bed in room 114. It'll be sixty Novas per night."

Jax handed her a few of the purple bills, which I assume were Novas and she slid two keys on the front desk in return.

"Enjoy your stay!" she said as we made our way back to the room. Upon opening the door, I understood why it was so cheap. It was extremely tiny, with just a bed that didn't look much bigger than the ones back at the apartment, along with a desk, armchair, and bathroom.

"I'll take the bed," Acer joked, sprinting towards the bed and belly-flopping onto the mattress like a little kid.

"So the rest of us are supposed to sleep on the floor?" Quillion crossed his arms.

"I'll take the bed with Acer," Harvey sighed, making his way over to the bed. He pushed Acer over and laid down next to him. Harvey took up a good third of the bed while Acer had been exiled to a mere corner. Acer's wings hung off the side of the bed and threatened to pull him off entirely.

"No, you snore." Acer wrinkled his nose and shoved Harvey, taking over more room for himself.

Safiya rubbed her temple, "In this room, if anyone snores, we're going to hear it regardless of where we're sleeping. Two people can take the bed, one person can take the armchair, and the other five of us will sleep on the floor. It's not that hard."

"I'll take the armchair," volunteered Coda, "I'm the smallest, so I'm probably the only one that can sleep in it." She went over to the chair and curled up in it.

That left Safiya, Jax, Quillion, De, and I on the floor. Oh, joy.

"I guess that settles it," said Quillion, "Let's go down and see what we can find for dinner."

Everyone made their way back to the kitchen area, where dinner was already being served. I ordered some soup and sat there for a moment to eat. The soup was subpar at best, but we'd skipped lunch because of the tram ride, so it tasted like a million bucks.