Game On

Chapter 4

Cal's POV

We were running low on supplies on the ship, so of course, it was time to go get some. This was one of my favourite pass times. The rush, the thrill, the adrenaline pumping through your veins, it was like cliff diving, but required real skill. Theft isn't easy, especially for some. Not naming names but Sena, for example, fidgeted with her hands as we walked past the stalls of a street market, she still hadn't built up an immunity to the guilt, but I could tell she loved the rush, just like I did because she would always be really hyped up after we succeeded. I put my hand over hers to stop her from moving.
"we'll be fine, we always are."
"not all of us can run like you" she nodded towards Honto, his abilities were impressive, his flexible texture allowed him to do a lot of things, but moving at at top speed wasn't one.
"Ah yes, unfortunately not all are as athletically gifted like me" she hit me on the arm
"Cal, I'm serious" she looked up at me, her eyes glinted, full of concern. I sighed, my attempt at lightening the mood, or making her crack a smile went unrewarded.
"he won't get caught, so, he won't have to run. Don't worry so much. It makes me uncomfortable" I smirked down at her. I don't know why she worried so much about everyone but it stressed me out.
Amalia waved two fingers in front of us, it was time to split up. Sena followed her, I went with Ricky and Honto. We walked in separate directions until we were definitely out of ear shot so it wasn't clear we were all together.
Ricky started to strut at a normal pace and Honto and I spread out, towards stalls close by. He nudged off a passerby and started blaming him, creating a scene, Ricky was a tall and broad guy, the muscles of the group, he was a magnet for conflict from guys who wanted to prove themselves, this man in particular wasn't being blamed without at least, a heated argument, so I had time to grab stuff and make a run for it, and Honto could absorb whatever he wanted.
I moved out quickly with food in my pockets, in my bag and some in my arms. I had to get away as quickly as possible so I wasn't seen. As I walked back towards the ship I glanced over to see how the girls were doing. Amalia used her charm to distract each vendor, a lot of guys found her big smile and wide, brown eyes very distracting. It took me a while to spot Sena, but there she was lurking behind the stall, using her ability with ice to coat the outside of an apple with a layer of ice and then controlling that ice to make it move towards her and into her satchel. This is why we got the bread, it just gets soggy. I found myself staring instead of moving, her gift was so unfair. All I do is heal fast, and heal others, and my life helps keep a planet alive. Ha, never mind mine are better. I have to admit though, hers were still fascinating to watch though, very aesthetically pleasing. I continued on my way back to the ship, I went to the control panel and pressed a button. The seats turned towards each other and moved back and a table came up from underneath. I put my contribution of food on the table and sat in my usual seat. The rest shortly followed, we had done well today.
We all sat for our meal later that day. I was especially starving today, all the different tastes of food from different places was a nice contrast, only some places have markets with a good variety.
"So, earlier this morning we got a call from Mister Gaad." Amalia informed us. We all dropped our utensils and waited. "We're in." she said calmly. I looked straight to Sena, her shoulders slumped and she sighed. She looked up at me for a reaction and I smiled at her
"we must be more interesting than we thought" I winked at her.
"it's sad when we even underestimate ourselves." Ricky laughed. The discussion continued but Sena didn't speak for the rest of the meal, none of us pointed it out but we all noticed. Sena always spoke, she brightened the room with her stories, the conversation was more upbeat and sometimes heated if you argued with her about something she found important, so when she didn't speak it was awkward and quiet, but she didn't break her silence. After a day at a market she usually had funny stories to tell, things that weren't that interesting at all but it was the way she told it that made it come alive. I noticed that Honto stretched over and put a hand on her arm and just looked at her, silently asking if she was okay. She smiled slightly up at him, her tense shoulders softened a bit and he went back to eating. I think what was annoying her most is that we didn't listen to her, not that she was scared.
After dinner Sena thanked us for getting the food and put our plates on the circular pad, pressed the button to lower it down underneath to be washed, all normal behaviour but then went into the back to her bed. She wasn't the type to sleep straight after dinner, she'd be one of the latest to go to bed. I looked to Amalia with wide eyes and she gestured for me to follow her.
I found her lying on her bed facing towards the wall holding a pillow. I sat down on the bed.
"What's up?" I asked, softly but casually, I wasn't good at this type of thing. She shrugged her shoulders "Sena, tell me" she turned around and looked at me
"I don't know. I just don't trust this and no one's listening to me. What if the people after your family recognise you. I think Amalia is just doing this so her sister will see she's still alive and it's putting us all in danger"
"what are you hiding from?" I asked as it dawned on me that she wasn't afraid of the other gang, or us getting in trouble over our crimes, but the publicity drawing attention to our old lives and incase they somehow caught up with us again. I heard her breath catch in her throat, her body tensed and she sat up.
"I'm just annoyed that no one's listening to me, I know I've been overdramatic but it's the only way anyone will ever listen to anything I say." I put my hand on hers, instead of feeling her cold skin as I was expecting a warmth spread through my hand and my stomach, her eyes shot back up to mine, wide and full of emotions I couldn't read. I was going to pull my hand back incase I overstepped a line but I didn't want to make it more awkward, she was affectionate with Honto but I suppose she knew that I wasn't a tactile person and didn't like that whole touchy - feely kind of thing so she never was with me. She smiled eventually and my shoulders relaxed.
"thank you cal" she put her hand on my arm. I smirked awkwardly and stood,
"right, we have a busy few days ahead of us so I'll let you rest." she nodded and brushed her hair back behind her ear. I turned and went back out to the others

They discussed strategies for an hour or so and we all retired to bed. Honto morphed himself around Sena - who was awake reading- smothering her in a hug and then went to his pod that kept him at the right temperature to remain flexible, or something like that, he only really communicated with Sena and sometimes Ricky. We don't know why, and we couldn't really ask him.

We all fell asleep as soon as the lights were off, eager to rest before all the work began.