Classy, Controlled Chaos - The STEAM Team Adventures

🐉 Dragon's Doom [2/5] 🐉

Marshall's POV:

After scouting the arid, deciduous area ahead and giving my three friends the clear, we settled down at the Fyre and Flames Grill.

We took a booth as our usual seating area.

I sat down beside Addison as always, and Sophii promptly snagged Edward by the shoulder to sit next to her.

Never would I underestimate that shadowshifter's strength.

"Hey hey, Marshall!" I swiveled my head around, meeting Kairo's friendly, tangerine gaze. "And company, of course."

"Hi, Kai." I smiled, greeting him with a simple handshake. "The usual for me, please. Oh, and, taro for the pretty lady."

Addison gave him a brief wave, her cheeks subtly tinged with rose at my compliment.

The waiter nodded, jotting down our order on his fireproof notepad. "Got it, got it... What about for His Majesty and our feline friend over here?"

"Matcha tea for the two of us," Edward mumbled, gently stroking his gloved hand along Sophii's furry flank. "Oh, and, please, just refer to me as Ed. No need to be formal with me outside of royal matters."

Kairo grinned, neatly brushing back some of his crimson-tinted sepia hair with his free hand. "Sure! Will that be all for you guys for now?"

"I suppose so," I replied, folding my gloved hands and setting them down on the table. "Wait, sorry... Sushi cones for the four of us, please. And could you replace the fish in one of them to be ginger instead? Addi's allergic."

"No problem, your order will be out shortly!" The waiter concluded, energetically spinning around and making his way toward the kitchen. "Just holler if you need anything!"

I let out a breath I had been holding as the jolly phoenix left our table, leaving me to chat with my three companions.

"Enjoying your night?" I asked Addison, who had her nose in a paperback romance novel. "Oh, sorry, you're reading. My bad."

"No, you're good!" She chirped, closing her book. "Rude of me to tune you all out when we're supposed to be talking. And yes, I'm enjoying my night. How about you?"

I felt comfortable opening up to her more than I did Sophii, Edward, and if she were here, Tia.

Sophii's a great listener, but she can't give decent advice because of her lack of social skills. She's never really interacted with people much.

Edward's just obnoxiously positive nowadays. He's over-the-top and tries to smother us in fictional, sugarcoated sunshine and rainbows. It's better than the old him, though.

Do I really have to explain Tia?

"I'm... I'm doing well," I stammered out, realizing I was awkwardly staring deeply into her gaze. "Sorry, I uh, zoned out. What's up?"

"The sky, duh." The librarian joked lightheartedly, breaking eye contact with me. "You back in orbit yet, or are you feeling sleepy?"

"Yes, I'm here." I yawned, quickly covering a gloved hand over my mouth. "Goodness, the exhaustion from the past three or four weeks finally kicked in... Almost as if I gave it a cue."

"You're tired?" Sophii meowed, laying her fluffy head against Edward's shoulder. "Since when? I thought phoenixes had infinite energy."

I snorted at the mention of her false claim. "Where's the basis behind that?"

She shrugged, her smoky-gray eyes narrowing at me. "I dunno, do you think I know as much as you humans do?"

"You were once human," I argued, leaning back in my seat. "I mean, wait, how old are you, even?"

"Uhh," The panther hesitated, flicking her sleek tail. "Seventeenish? In human revolutions, of course. Not as if my age matters..."

"Can't you just say years?" Edward asked, patting her on the head. "Like, moon cycles are months, and revolutions are years."

"Why are years called revolutions?" Sophii meowed, pawing at the prince's face. "Like, what's up with that? That doesn't make sense."

"It's referring to the revolutions around the sun." I answered, pulling my clasped arms under the table and twiddling my thumbs. "One revolution around the sun is a year. Well, at least, around the sun we haven't seen in five years."

"Ooh, you're smart." Edward chimed in, giving us an innocent, sheepminded look. "Remind me of what revolution means."

"You'd know if you didn't skip trainee school to try to become an ice skater." Addison snorted, crossing her arms. "You've got the perfect build for it, but you lack the consistency of practicing."

"Don't call me out like that!" The prince mock-whined, rolling his eyes. "I was too busy trying to be Northwynd's future king, that's all."

"And His Majesty needs a nice, relaxing break from all the chaos." Kairo cut into our conversation, passing out our boba tea and the sushi cones. "Forgive me for interrupting, but here's a snack for you all to have while you continue your chat."

I smiled at the waiter, dipping my head in a gesture of thanks. "Thanks, Kai."

"You are all most certainly welcome." He replied cheerfully, handing me my usual cup of coffee boba tea -which I discovered via Addison, she's an expert on this stuff-. "Anything else?"

The phoenix handed me a menu so I could skim through my options, offering it to me with my drink.  "Ah, I'm fine. I'll let Addi have a look."

She was contently sipping on the straw of her drink, setting her glass to the side as she eyed the menu from where I sat.

Leaning towards her so she could get a better look, I let her consider her choices.

"Need a moment?" Kairo chimed in, politely taking a step back.

"Oh, no worries, you're good!" The librarian smiled, looking up from the page. "Uhh... Maybe an Everhallow Wyvern Roll, make that two, please. And whatever you consider your favorite entree for the four of us."

The waiter nodded, jotting down her order as she spoke. "Me personally, I'm a sucker for the raw tuna sashimi platter we serve here. Most people despise the taste of raw fish, but when served with ginger, it's a great experience."

I was about to remind Kairo of Addison's allergy, but he gave me a knowing side glance. "We also have a barbecue sampler; the meats are marinated for over forty-eight hours in Pyronica's finest flavors. Wanna try that?"

"Sure," She began, handing him back his menu. "Marshall, what are you getting?"

"I'll have what Addi's having," I replied, nodding at the orange-winged phoenix. "Thanks again, Kai."

We went back to our conversation as soon as he left our table.

"You did ice skating?" I asked Edward, who was awkwardly staring into his lap. "I don't mean that in a rude way. But since when?"

"Since I started in my academy," The prince mumbled, his voice just above inaudible. "My dad wanted me to be a fierce fighter, but I never had the strength. At least Tia's happy that he loves her..."

"Ew, don't say it like that, I don't need a reminder of that creep." Addison shuddered, hesitantly biting into her sushi cone. "I'll never understand why she's head-over-heels for him. King Arthur's just another weirdo we don't like."

"I don't think insulting someone's parent isn't the best way to make a first impression," Sophii meowed, comfortingly placing a broad paw on Edward's shoulder. "Also, if Tia heard what you just said, you may as well have dug your own grave."

"Can we not talk about something negative for once?" I chuckled nervously, attempting to relieve us from the sudden tension. "Speaking of King Arthur, his kingdom is in need of repairs. We won't be visiting there for a while."

The librarian nodded at my words, a relieved smile spreading across her hooded face.

"I hope so."