Lowe and Gray: The Atavistic Box

Chapter Fourteen - First Dates and First Missions.

LITTLE PERSIA WAS a small eatery in Valden. It appeared to be a small hut on the outside, but on the inside it was a luxury restaurant with rows of comforting booths nestled up against each other, each one lined with brightly colored cushions of sunset oranges, and bright pinks. Clean white crockery lined the counter, behind which stood a girl with peach-coloured hair in a waitress's red and white checked apron, nimbly counting out change.

Aurora peered at the waitress, at her milky-white skin and blue eyes without whites or pupils. She was pretty - but in an eerie sort of way. She peered at the girl's visible veins - blue like her eyes - and realised she was a faerie.

The waitress saw Jace, waved, and gestured that they should sit wherever they wanted. He slid into a booth and Aurora sat opposite him. "Little Persia is the best place to eat in all of London," he said with a smile, picking up his menu.

Aurora picked hers up too, "I suppose I'll be the judge of that."

"You thought I'd take you anywhere less for our first date?" He grinned.

Aurora stared at her menu to hide the warm blush in her cheeks. She was reluctant to go on a date with Jace at first - mainly due to the war they were suddenly thrown into - but she didn't think they'd have any time for dating once things were in full swing - and she'd take any excuse to spend time with Jace alone.

Aurora stared blankly at her menu. Crickets and honey were featured as a special, as were plates of raw meat, whole raw fish, and a bat panini. A page of the beverage section was devoted to different types of blood - thankfully to Aurora's relief they were different kinds of animal blood, rather than type A or type O.

"Who eats raw fish?" She asked.

Jace snorted. "Ever heard of sushi? Usually it's the nixies that eat that stuff. Don't eat faerie food - one minute you're eating a faerie plum-topped pie and the next minute you're running half-naked down Carnaby Street with webbed feet. Not that it's ever happened to me, of course."

Aurora laughed. "Is there any human food on this thing?"

"The back." He reached over, turning her menu around for her. "There's blood for vampires, raw meat for werewolves, all sorts of oddities for faeries."

"Any recommendations?"

"Whatever takes your fancy. Everything here is great," Jace waved the waitress over. "I'll have the usual," he grinned.

The waitress smiled in return and turned to Aurora. "Know what you're having?"

"I'll have the coconut pancakes with the wildberry smoothie," She said after a moment's hesitation.

"Good choice," she winked a startling blue eye at Aurora and just as she turned to leave, Jace gripped her by the wrist.

"Not too long, Lilia. Make it quick."

She looked at him. "Do you want tasty food or quick food?"

"Both," he grinned, and Lilia wobbled off in high heels. He faced Aurora again. "Lilia's one of my best friends."

"Faerie?"

He nodded with a grin. "Yep, I think she's part nixie."

"What?"

"Water-faeries. She has nixie eyes," he said thoughtfully.

Aurora frowned. "Don't you know what she is?"

"I respect her privacy. She's never asked about my family so I won't ask about her faerie heritage."

"Are all your friends faeries?"