Kintsugi

The Storm

They checked out in the early morning, deciding to make use of the thick cloud cover that had rolled in rather than switching their driving hours back to the evening. Anson drifted towards Sable again and she wordlessly stood to give him room to climb on. Eveirdo said nothing, but the discomfort wasn't nearly as bad as it had been the day before. They made good time for most of the day, stopping to inhale lunch and hitting the road again to make as much distance as possible before they were forced to stop.

Eveirdo could smell a storm on the way, he said, and it was going to be a rough one.

The first flash of lightning lit their road ahead as it was approaching five-thirty, still another three hours before they had wanted to stop and find shelter for the night. The crack of thunder reached them over the roar of their engines as the horizon ahead of them turned into a light show. The downpour hit them like a wall, not five minutes later, pounding into them and making visibility a nightmare.

Eveirdo pulled them off the road at the first shelter he found. An abandoned gas station. They parked beneath the awning covering the spaces where pumps had once stood and watched the storm rage. Anson watched the awning shiver and rattle above them, wondering if it would hold.

"Well, we're not going anywhere for a while." Aisling slid off the back of her bike, jerking her jacket to shake off the worst of the water and peeling it off. She dug out dry clothes as Rebecca climbed off next and started wringing out the hem of her peasant skirt.

Anson slid off Sable's bike when she stood, shaking off as much water as he could too. He eyed Aisling wandering towards the empty station, looking for a bit of privacy to change, and probably satisfying a curiosity that came along with spaces that had once held life and now were void. Then his gaze was drawn to Eveirdo stripping.

Sable raised a brow. "What are you doing?"

Eveirdo gave a wane smile. "This is the sort of weather I live for." He draped his clothes out over his bike to hopefully dry a bit, then stepped beyond the shelter of the awning. Water sluiced down his skin, then ran in rivulets over his scales. The ridges around his eyes and nose directed water away, leaving his vision and breathing clear. His wings spread, and then he was airborne and gone in the storm.

Sable gave Anson a skeptical look. Anson just shook his head and found himself some dry clothes, changing right there next to Eveirdo's bike. He looked towards the station when there was a crash, followed by Aisling calling an apology. Rebecca sighed.

"I'll go make sure she's not doing anything stupid."

Anson chuckled as the Witch strode across the abandoned lot to disappear into the dark store. He finished dressing in dry clothes and laid the wet ones out next to Eveirdo's. Thunder cracked and rumbled. When the sound faded to leave only the rain pounding on the awning above them, Sable spoke up over the noise.

"You two seem better, if not completely back to normal."

Anson glanced her way, then fixed his eyes back out on the storm raging around them. "We both apologized. I think he still feels bad for pissing me off enough to punch him and I'm..." He sighed, pressing his lips together for a moment. "I'm beginning to suspect I know who he wants to court."

Sable grinned. "Oh yeah?"

Anson slowly nodded. "He said he would tell me straight when we find the treasure. But I've been adding things up on my own too. Subtlety is not a Dragon strong suit and Eveirdo may as well be waving around a neon sign."

"You think so too?"

He turned to look at her knowing smirk. "I still want him to say it."

Sable nodded sagely, still grinning. "Of course. It's only right." She chuckled and looked out into the driving rain. Until she realized that things had gone quiet behind them and twisted to look back into the abandoned station. "Girls?"