Fanfare

Introductions

When she walks out of the long tunnel beside Pierce, everyone in the room turns to look at her. It is silent. She stops and lets him walk ahead. He continues on to a table that is half-full, containing the man named Jack, a few other men, and three women who look at her through narrowed eyes. Pierce stands next to the bench seat and turns to look at her, no expression on his face, his eyes ice. This is not a question; this is a demand. This is no time to rebel. She swallows and walks over, waits for him to move; he doesn't. He is uncomfortably close, and she moves past him and slides along the seat. He slips in with one fluid, graceful movement. She shifts away from Pierce and finds herself sandwiched between him and Jack. The latter smiles down at her.

"Good morning. Trenna, is it?" he asks. Polite. Welcoming. He picks up a piece of bread and offers it to her. She takes it warily with a nod. Then she realises she's famished. When she takes a bite of the bread, it's soft and warm against her lips. She swallows, a slight smile on her face.

"Jack, is it?" she asks, and his smile widens. He holds out his hand. She puts her own into his and he grasps her fingers; warm, comforting. He holds her hand a little longer than necessary before letting it go. She feels Pierce's eyes boring into her. Trenna focuses on her bread. "This is Mark, John, Ben, Anna, Calla and Cinta." He points out each of the people on the table. They are all different in age and looks, so it's not hard to differentiate between them. She adds labels to them and gives each a small nod, though not a smile; they still narrow their eyes at her, snake-like and full of suspicion. That's ok, because she doesn't exactly trust them, either. She takes another bite of her bread. It's soon gone. Jack hands her another.

"So, how did you learn about our glorious mission?" he asks. The girl named Anna snorts. She looks to be Pierce and Kina's age, her hair a bright red and cut short so it hangs at her shoulders. Her eyes are a vibrant emerald green and they regard Trenna with outright hostility.

Trenna looks to Pierce, who remains indifferent. She says nothing, unsure. Finally, Pierce speaks into a silence that has grown uncomfortable in a very short amount of time. "She's the one I was telling you about."

"The one with the particular mechanical talents?" Jack's fingers make exaggerated movements, as if he is connecting wires. Pierce leans back a little and nods. "So how was she recruited?" Jack asks, but he looks at Trenna, interested. The other occupants of the table lean in, clearly wanting to hear the answer while trying to look as if they don't care.

Pierce's fingers strum along the strap of his gun thoughtfully. "I found her and asked her if she was interested."

Trenna chokes a little on her bread, and Jack roughly slaps her on the back. She swallows and looks at Pierce incredulously. "You make it sound like you found me when I found you," she says, keeping her voice even.

"Yeah, well." Pierce looks as close to bashful as she thinks is possible for him, while somehow still looking indifferent. "Another one of her talents," he says vaguely. One of his hands grips the back of his neck.

One of the men chuckles reluctantly. Ben, she thinks, adding the dark hair to her label for the older man. "So is that your magic, then?" he asks.

Trenna shakes her head. "I don't need magic to follow Pierce without him realising." Anna looks at her, mouth agape. Jack is laughing loudly. Pierce's fingers grip his gun strap tightly.

"Cocky," Ben says. His face is more open; he looks a little more relaxed, rather than hostile. He sounds amused.

"Honest," Trenna corrects him. She picks up another piece of bread, feeling more at ease, and bites into it; she senses confidence will make these people like her more than a cowering girl. Ben smiles warily.

"Dangerously so," Pierce mutters.

"And here I was, thinking Pierce was the best of us," Ben says. He slings a friendly arm over Trenna's shoulders. There is something about him, something brotherly, that makes her feel comfortable. Pierce's eyes bore into the side of her head.

The other girl, Calla, stands suddenly. The table falls silent. She stares angrily at Trenna. "He is," she says. "And anyone who can follow him without magic is hiding something." Then she storms off into one of the doors, uncomfortably near Trenna's.

Losing her confidence, she drops the bread and folds her hands, then looks down at them in her lap. They're small. She never cared much about it before, but now they make her feel like an ant amongst giants, a child in a world of adults. She wants to go home. She suddenly, desperately, wants to see Kina and Joss, wants to be in his house, on his couch with his feet against her stomach and her sister in his arms. She wants to be anywhere but here. The feeling churns in her stomach and settles like a rock, weighting her down.

She rests her hands on either side of her on the bench, her fingers wrapping around the edge. She starts as a hand settles hesitantly on top of hers, large and long, slim-fingered and warm, covered in white, old scars. His fingers wrap over hers til she can't see her own hand anymore. She darts a quick look at him, but he stares forwards, not looking at her, not acknowledging what he is doing. His expression is blank, his eyes cold. So she doesn't react. But she doesn't pulls her hand away, either.

Ben coughs. "Don't worry about Calla," he says, a little embarrassed. "She just doesn't trust easily. But she's the most loyal person you'll ever meet, once she gets to know someone. She's my sister." he adds, as if needing to clarify his words.

Trenna shrugs. "It's fine. I don't blame her. No one really trusts anyone anymore, even out there," she says; she doesn't need to clarify where 'out there' is. There are a few murmurs of assent. It's hard for her to notice. She's still looking down at her lap, trying not to notice that Pierce's hand remains on top of hers on the seat.

Ben starts talking to Anna about the bomb they set off the other day, when she, Kina and Joss were caught in the blast. When they almost died. She's interested in the topic, and a little furious. But she can't concentrate on the conversation. Pierce picks her hand up from the seat and winds his fingers through hers, sweeping his thumb across the back of her hand. She holds her breath. He drops her hand and stands abruptly.

"Where're you going?" Jack asks, looking at him inquiringly.

"I have to organise the next attempt. Take Trenna on the next shift." He slides out from behind the bench and disappears from the room before she has time to blink.