𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨

birds of a feather.

//this takes place right after the roleplay chapter titled "release."

after calming down from the involuntary, violent meltdown caused by two armed muggers robbing her, skye was still in shock from the events that transpired, and couldn't help but feel regret. had it not been for her partner to pull her out of it, she would've unknowingly beat one of the robbers to death during that episode. after parting ways with them, she eventually went home, since it was closer to her and knew a safe path to take without the chance of any robbers catching her off-guard. despite seemingly calming down, she was still tense from the encounter, as her faintly bloody fists were still trembling. she slowly sat down on the stairs, as she chose to light up a cigarette to take the edge off once more. her free hand ran across her face, rubbing her eyes. her head was hanging down as she sat there in thought, and her left leg was still bouncing in place. in all ways, it was obvious that she was not relaxed. she couldn't help but think about whether or not those robbers would press charges against her or not, she cannot go back to prison. not again. not after she fought tooth to nail in that cold hell of a planet. she was done. she was done fighting.

however, the fixer's train of thought was interrupted as her phone rang in her pocket, to which she quickly snapped her attention to. she reached over to pick it up, and only saw an unsaved phone number. reluctantly, she picked it up, putting it to her ear. she didn't say anything, as she waited for the voice on the other end.

"hello? is this skye reynolds?" a feminine voice was heard from the other end of the phone. it seemed inquisitive, though in a sense that whoever was speaking to her was not a salesperson at all, willing to sell her products, nor a fan who somehow tracked down her phone number. it sounded more... familiar.

"yeah... who is this?" the fixer answered the unknown person's question with another question. despite the fact that she had a feeling as to who it might be, she had to be completely sure. after that, the same voice chimed in. "officially? i work as a recruiting officer in one of the fixer network offices in new tarragon! unofficially? well, let's just say that i'm someone that i think you truly miss as well." the other voice replied with a hint of confidence, which puzzled skye for a bit. though, when she heard that the caller was a recruiting officer, it put her off a bit, since she had no intention of going back to the fixers.

"i don't know... there are so many people i've missed... but if you're asking about me coming back to the fixers, then i'll have you know i'm currently enjoying my retirement and want it to stay that way. i can do whatever i want now. besides, the sky's the limit." the ex-fixer made her stance clear on the possibility of return, pre-emptively refusing any offer that it might come her way. though, at the end... she wanted to put that other theory to the test, hoping that whoever was calling her, would catch on. the response she received was exactly what she hoped to hear. "it isn't the limit. it's only the beginning... it's good to hear from you again, blue." the voice responded, though it was now much more casual. hearing that phrase made the woman smile, taking another hit from the cigarette. it was her.

"holy shxt, red... i thought you disappeared into thin air after i came back... i tried reaching out to you, but no luck." skye uttered out, shifting a ltitle bit more in her seat, to which "red" answered: "well, management gave me a new phone for work... they said it's for 'protocol' and all that gobbledygook... they wanted me to lose the old one. i guess they told you the same thing..."

"makes sense... that's why i haven't seen you at the old cafe. not even the other staff knew where you went." the cyanette called out with a hum of thought, connecting the dots. "rent's getting more demanding, so working at the cafe wouldn't do much in the long run, even though i fxcking loved working there... now i'm working a desk job, believe it or not." the friend couldn't help but complain about it, but she wasn't really that pressed about it, though what she said stood true. the ex-fixer couldn't help but chuckle in response.

"remember when you told me that you'd sooner die than work in an office?" skye jokingly inquired robin, a smirk creeping up on her lips, to which the other voice let out a soft laugh on the other end. "yeah, yeah, real funny... good lord, it's been a while since we talked like this... i felt like i was living in a time loop ever since you left..."

"i think you've had it easy, if you ask me... say, wanna catch up sometime tomorrow? i've got all the time in the world right now, might as well spend some with ya. y'know... like old times?" skye made a proposition to the newly-minted recruitment officer, eagerly waiting for a response."i thought you'd never ask... how does the old cafe sound, blue? during opening hours tomorrow?" robin agreed, looking forward to meet up with her old friend just as much.

"i think it sounds brilliant. alright, i'll see you tomorrow."

and with that, the call ended as the cyanette let out a soft sigh of content, for a bit, that one call took her mind off what she did today... but she still couldn't help but feel thankful for her friend, as well as her partner who helped her during her most vulnerable moments. she was about to finish her smoke, until a stray cat hopped up to the stairs, going through the gaps of the guardrails. its was was of a darker gray, akin to silver, with black stripes, dots and swirling patterns. it was a tabby. it was obvious that skye knew this cat, it roams around her part of the neighborhood. it then proceeded to sit next to skye on the steps, though brushing itself against her elbow for attention.

"good to see you're still enjoying life, little guy... i wish things were just as easy for me as they are for ya..." the fixer murmured softly, stomping the cigarette butt under her heel one of the lower steps before stroking the cat, to which the feline climbed up on her lap and rested on it, earning an amused hum from the woman. she always had a soft spot for cats, even though she never considered herself to be a cat person, nor any other pet person, in that manner... but she can't help but enjoy this one's company whenever she had a bad day, like this one, as in the incident that took place. the cat seemed like it really missed skye, as it began to purr in her lap. at this point, she didn't really feel like getting up on her feet.

for a moment... everything was okay.

after several minutes, the woman had to get back to the apartment, so she gently picked up the cat from her lap and set it aside once it stopped purring, got up on her feet, clean any fur that was left on her lap and began to use the chip on her keys to open up the front door. however, she couldn't fully open the door when she heard a meow from the cat, which attracted her attention. it hopped up each step and brushed itself against her ankles, before slipping inside the building. skye took notice of it, and ultimately took the decision of taking the cat in. it was one of the things that she was looking forward to, and motivate her to get through the day. even though it didn't do much, she loved this cat.