Hollow Waves | OFAF #1

9

Eryn stepped out of her apartment. She supplied Marina with groceries and a fresh set of clothes. She left Marina watching TV and hoped it'd be enough for her to be entertained. Sagan grabbed the scruff of Eryn's collar as she turned the corner. Her back slammed against the brick wall, yanking the breath out of Eryn. Eryn's eyes were wide, she was caught off guard by Sagan.

"Why did she call me?" The usual greenish hue in Sagan's eyes faded, replaced by crimson.

"Who did?"

"You know who!" Sagan screeched, a sob catching in her throat.

Hades wouldn't reach out for nothing. She didn't like to waste her precious immortality. She knew something. "What did she say?"

"She asked about Arlo. She knows he's off his rocker," She let Eryn go and ran her hands through her hair, tugging at the strands. She sank to the floor and curled on herself, "she can't come back, Eryn. She threatened that she would if we didn't find him."

Eryn crouched to her level, cupping Sagan's cheek. Eryn caught a slight tremble in her own hand and clenched her jaw. Hades coming back would affect them all, but mostly Sagan. She stuck around with Eryn because she knew she would be able to talk sense into Hades. Eryn was the only one Hades listened to.

"We'll find him," Eryn whispered, forcing Sagan to look at her. With Eryn being older than both Sagan and Arlo, she knew she had to take care of everything. Sagan was still dealing with the last time Hades decided to visit.

Red tears welled in Sagan's eyes; the blood tears a telltale sign she recently fed. Eryn wiped her cheek with her thumb. Sagan sniffled and rubbed her eyes with her knuckles. "Promise me she won't come back here." Sagan faced Hades' rampage on her own the last time.

Gently, Eryn grabbed her hand and pulled it from her face. She smoothed the knotted strands of Sagan's hair before she pulled her into her arms. "I promise."

Sagan squeezed her eyes shut and let out a huff. "There's a quaestor council meeting tonight. Maybe we can find him there."

Eryn stiffened and pulled away from Sagan. She helped her to her feet. She typically avoided going to any of those meetings.

Sagan watched Eryn's expression darken. Sagan mashed her lips together. "It's our only idea. We can't track him without human blood."

"That's not happening." Eryn would not succumb to human blood. She slipped, but she was back on track. Going to the quaestor meeting was their only choice if they wanted to continue their diet. Eryn squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, "We have to go then."

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The top buttons of Eryn's dress shirt bugged her. She undid them for the fifth time and signed. Sagan smoothed over her velvet dress and raised a brow at Eryn.

"If you keep messing with it, you're going to rip the buttons off," She stopped in front of Eryn and adjusted her collar. She ran her hands over Eryn's shoulder and half smiled. It's been a long time since she saw Eryn dressed so elegantly. It was nice. "Better?"

"Luce is treating this like a gala event," Eryn rolled her eyes. Her mind wandered to Marina. She hoped she remained in her apartment. The pig's blood settled uncomfortably in her stomach. It didn't do anything to quell the hollowness in her gut and the dryness in her throat. Too many things were happening at once and she hadn't felt stressed like this in a while. She rubbed her clammy hands on her slacks. The thought of seeing Lucinda again unsettled her. She wished she knew how Sagan felt about it.

Sagan shrugged, "it's an excuse to dress nicely." She yanked up her dress and pressed the doorbell. She quelled the butterflies in her stomach and inhaled deeply. She looked forward to the meeting, hoping Lucinda could talk sense into Eryn.