Clouds Cover the Sun Because they like the warmth

A Swift End to The Trouble

 Manon arrived at her work feeling nerves boiling inside her. Daniella had woken up early just to ensure she had someone around in case anything happened. Thankfully nothing happened. The sun began to rise. Reflecting off of the now ominous feeling building. As she looked up she could've sworn she saw a figure watching from the top floor. Yet she chose to ignore it as she and Daniella walked inside. Going to her station nothing was wrong. She got to work immediately. Especially since she promised to make Daniella coffee as soon as they arrived, and by the looks of it, she needed it. Guess she was a bit of a night owl, though she didn't look like she was half owl. Maybe some kind of parrot? It wasn't up for Manon to really know though. She continued to move through the motions. Getting snacks out, brewing coffee, and even cleaning stuff she didn't last night. Manon gave Daniella her coffee. Daniella nodded as the elevator dinged. Though Manon could not hear the usual chatter that came from her coworkers. Instead the man from the previous evening stepped in. Both women turned to stare, Manon was more scared than angry, while Daniella had immediate anger. "You are not allowed here." Manon replied quickly, the man said nothing as he grabbed her arm and attempted to pull her over the counter. "Hey what are you doing? Get off of her!" Daniella Shouted as she tried to pull the man off of Manon. Manon held onto the counter trying to move her arm out of the man's grasp. The struggle ultimately ended with the man letting go. Dark red marks from Daniella's talons stained his shirt as he lunged back forward without explanation, but instead of lunging at Manon he aimed for Daniella. Manon was moving over the counter as the man grabbed a fistful of Daniella's feathers as she pulled his wings back. A loud scream came from Daniella as she fell to the floor. Tears started in her eyes as she looked over, lifting one of her wings to reveal blood dripping from a large portion. Manon rushed over as Daniella let out a loud ear piercing scream. Manon looked over at the now terrified man. His hands shook as he looked down at the clumps of feathers in his hands. "What the fuck did you think you were doing?" Manon shouted as she removed her apron. Being careful as she lifted Daniella's wing before placing it under the blood. Daniella swapped the wing down as her nails dug into the carpet. Thudding footsteps came over as Manuel, Bryce, Norman, and a few other people. Some of the people immediately grabbed the man, and held him down as Bryce and Norman ran over to Daniella. "Someone call 911!" Norman shouted as Manuel pulled out a walkie talkie. "Someone get an ambulance down here, and the cops." Manuel shouted as Bryce rushed over to a first aid kit. "Help me roll her over." Norman said as he tugged on Manon's shoulder. "Manuel, see if we have any aviation hybrids here?" Norman shouted and Manuel shook his head. "Daniella can you move your wings?" Manon asked as Bryce came over. Daniella nodded as she pulled them in with a strangled cry. The three did their best to be as gentle as they could while rolling her onto her side, "Can we touch your wings?" Bryce asked as he opened the kit. "Marianne can." Daniella replied through gritted teeth. The two men looked at her. "Me? Okay?" Manon replied as Bryce handed her a bandage roll. "Don't touch her back if you can." Bryce muttered. Manon didn't have time to think about the comment as she removed her now blood stained apron. Quickly doing her best while being as gentle as she could while wrapping them. Finally finishing with sweaty palms. Daniella's chest rose and fell. "Hey, stay awake." Bryce said as he gently slapped her face. Sirens played in the background as Manuel continued to talk over his walkie talkie. In only a few minutes the elevator dinged. Several paramedics rushed out. Two of which were also aviation hybrids. The trio moved back as paramedics got to work on actually treating Daniella. Shortly after, the police arrived. Manuel directed them over to the man while another two stayed by. Manon felt her whole body shaking as she watched on in shock. Her mind was still reeling after what had happened. She felt a small squeeze on her hand. She took a look at Norman who shared a confused expression. "Are you okay?" Manon shook her head but Manuel got their attention before either could say anything else. "Sir, the officers are asking for statements." The group nodded as each was assigned to a different officer. Recounting the story wasn't too hard as it was all fresh in her mind. Yet still recalling it felt disgusting. She feared for Daniella, and her safety. She knew no matter what wound it would be painful, but the reaction was rather horrifying. The scream still haunting her head as she remained in one of the seats in the breakroom. Even after a lot of the cops cleared out, and the janitors walked over to clean the blood stains. Both giving some uncomfortable mumbling she couldn't make out. Soft footsteps approached her as Norman sat in a chair closest to her. "Hey." Norman said. "Hey." Manon replied as she looked at him. She noticed that he looked rather stressed as well. "Do you want to head up to my office for a bit?" Norman asked quietly, Manon nodded. She wanted some form of peace this morning. She stood up along with Norman as the two left for the elevator. Leaving to the ninth floor. Manon had been a bit out of it that she didn't recall that there was nothing but sky. She was mildly terrified until the elevator opened in a regular office. Manon was confused as Norman walked in with her following behind. There were several other doors as well, but the two just walked straight ahead to one with Norman's name on a silver plaque. The office was definitely much bigger than the cubicles she had seen. Unlike the hall outside the walls were painted the same light gray as the carpet. In front of a large window was a dark gray desk with a computer to her far left with a few papers on the desk, alongside a lamp, and a jar of black licorice. The room smells faintly of coffee, and something else she wasn't really sure she could identify. Norman stopped before the desk before looking back at her before quickly embarrassing her into a hug. It felt nice after what had happened. Manon held onto him tightly. Her nerves calmed down as she felt tears tempting flow. Though she would not cry right now. She was at work right now. Norman rubbed gentle circles on her back. "Is Daniella going to be okay?" Manon asked as she looked back at Norman looked back at her with the same concern. "I hope so. I have heard that wings are really sensitive." Manon nodded. She hadn't really noticed it as she was concerned with Daniella's injury. "I'll let you get off early if you want to go check on her." Norman said as Manon gave him a small smile. "Thanks," Manon replied as Norman let go of her and moved behind his desk. "I also told the cops about Rebeca, so hopefully she won't be bothering you anymore." Manon gave him a smile. It was nice to know that somebody had her story backed up. Manon followed him as he sat down. She didn't want to leave his arms just yet. It would be a step too far if she sat on his lap. So instead she leaned her chin on his head, and wrapped her arms around him. She noticed he got a bit warmer. Leaning his head up so he could look at her a bit before grabbing some papers from a desk drawer. "My least favorite thing about this is filling out accident reports." Norman muttered as he pulled one, and grabbed a pen. Manon watched as he scribbled things down on the paper. "Wait, were you injured from it?" Norman asked as he looked up at her with concern. Manon shook her head as Norman let out a sigh of relief before pressing a quick peck to her jawline. "I'm at least glad you weren't hurt." Norman replied as he moved one hand to be over hers. Manon couldn't help but let out a smile. As the two were calming down from the crazy that had happened that morning. His office didn't have the constant buzz of computers and phones that she heard the usual office has. Nor did it have the sound of the elevators moving up and down, or any of the sounds she had when she was moving around the little kitchen area. It was mostly silent with the exception of the sound of pen against paper. Manon didn't mind it too much. It was how her area usually was when she had forgotten to bring a book with her. It was how some of their time had been spent. The two of them being silent, and basking in each other's company. Yet that almost always went out the window when they were eating. For some reason conversation just started right away without any prompting. Manon's eyes eventually parted away from the paper and to the jar of black licorice on his desk. Manon had been dating him long enough to know that he had a sweet tooth. Every time they went somewhere he had always ordered some kind of desert. Maybe she should bake him something some time. It would also be nice to give Daniella something as well. After work she might make some cookies. Though she had also heard a lot of people don't like black licorice. "You know, I know you have a sweet tooth, but I'm a little surprised you actually have licorice in your office." Norman shrugged. "Well, this is a little secret butttt," Norman opened a drawer with very few items in it. Though she noticed a small thin rectangular hole. He grabbed what she could best describe as a small crowbar that looked to fit perfectly in the whole. He grabbed it, and slotted it in before lifting the false bottom to reveal a large amount of candy, and wrapped up cookies. Manon's eyes widened as Norman began laughing. "Jesus Christ man." Manon exclaimed as Norman began to burst into hearty laughter. "Are you not allowed to have sweets or something?" Norman shrugged. "I get hungry sometimes. Besides, it's a backup if I run out of licorice." Manon nodded as Norman reached for the jar. "Have you ever had black licorice before?" Norman asked, Manon shook her head. "No but I'll try some." Norman split a piece in half, and gave one to her. Manon took it and took a bite into it. Almost immediately she wanted to gag. It was overly sweet, but at the same time it tasted like wine, a bit like the metallic taste of blood and something else she couldn't describe. The look on her face must have said it all as Norman began to laugh. "Don't like it?" Manon shook her head as she barely managed to swallow it. Norman let out another giggle as he took the other piece, and took a bite. "It was so sweet, and yet it had like some of the most disgusting flavors in there." Norman gave her a smile. "The pungent probably wasn't helping." Manon raised a brow. "The what?" "The pungent, it's the root of licorice, which really adds to its signature flavor. It's part of the reason a lot of people hate it." Manon nodded as Norman screwed the lid back on. "Do you want something else to wash it down?" "What do you got?" Manon asked as Norman looked through the drawer. "I got lots of different kinds of chocolate, oatmeal raisin cookies, and a snickerdoodle one." "I'll take some dark chocolate." Norman fished out three packets of some decently expensive dark chocolate, and handed them to her. "You sure I can have three." Norman nodded. "Yeah." He replied before planting another kiss on her cheek. Manon flashed him a bright smile before unwrapping a piece and popping it in her mouth. She hadn't had that specific brand before. It tasted much better than the licorice. Honestly Manon could spend all morning with him in the office. At least until the janitors were done cleaning. She just hoped Daniella was okay at the hospital.