Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 7 - Reunion of Light and Feather - Part II

Picture of Zoe by FallenMidnightAngel <3 

---

Chapter 7 - Reunion of Light and Feather - Part II

---

Twenty minutes later, and Raph had Athira voluntarily seated in the outdoor area of a small cafe a few hundred metres from the front doors of the Elite HQ.

The area was sectioned off from the general walkway with wooden railings, a rare enough sight to see in the city. Tiny coloured lights flickered on the edge of the wood, the circuitry that linked them together hidden within it.

Athira’s gaze followed the waitress as she left with their orders. The outside seating was empty enough to allow her and Raph some privacy in the corner, but the inside was nearly full.

Apparently I never realised how active the night life is around Sirah. Especially if it funds a cafe only open at night. She glanced back at the menu. ‘Moonpie’. The hell is that, anyway?

“I’ve messaged Zoe to tell her where we are,” said Raph, leaning back in the chair. “Haven’t got a reply from her yet.”

“Maybe she’s lost in that maze of a building,” offered Athira, failing to hide her amusement. “You seemed to have a few problems navigating our way out.”

“You didn’t do any better despite being the one to find it,” he said tightly.

Athira shook her head. “If it were up to me, we would have just gone through the walls.”

“Cheater,” mumbled Raph.

Athira smiled. She couldn’t stop reaching up to touch the amulet. The weight on her chest was a massive relief, and whatever Reader had done to it didn’t seem to have affected it long-term. Without colour to fuel their communication link, Talon was silent, but the calm drifting through her body told her he was still there.

I suppose I won’t have to kill him out of revenge

Raph noticed and gestured to the amulet. “You seem a lot more relaxed with that.”

“Like I said, I need it.”

He clucked his tongue. “So can I trust you now?”

“As much as you ever could,” she said simply.

The waitress returned quickly with Athira’s chocolate milkshake and Raph’s... She looked down at the odd array of food on his plate and the teal coloured drink. Whatever that is.

Athira took the drink and let the taste of it fill her mouth. She wasn’t sure why she ordered it, since she wasn’t particularly thirsty. She never was these days.

Still, she thought, draining half the drink at once. Not like there’s no reason I can’t.

Her eyes locked on Raph’s bracelet when it started emitting a patterned, urgent beep. Raph put down whatever it was he’d been about to take a bite of and tapped it twice, causing a screen to appear above it. She couldn’t read it from the other side, but could see the screen changing. 

He caught her curious glance and gave her a half smile.

"Paperwork," he said. "The worst part about this hero gig excluding Discord.” He sighed again. “Especially being the leader of a team." 

"Why bother with it?" she asked, fingers once again at her amulet. 

"The Elites like to keep track of our progress, abilities, interactions with villains and anything else that happens to be relevant at the time. They have people who do nothing but read through these reports and try to make connections between villains, events and other things."