“I know we should probably get some sleep when we’re done with this today.” Mira said, her thin, bug like arms wrapped around herself, “But after this? After hours in that laundry room and now out in the cold? The showers might be a good idea. “A particularly cool breeze cut through the metal bars of the cage, drawing a further shiver from her.”
“It’s not so bad.” Was Pearla’s comment, “You’re always cold.”
TO had no idea if Mira was always cold, or if Pearla normally seemed so indifferent to the chill that the wine in Arkane brought late at night. They knew that the only thing keeping them warm was their wings wrapped tightly around them.
“Do you think this stuff on my wings will come off if I go to the showers?” TO asked as they stroked the inside of their wing, feeling the texture of the wax used to cover up their scars.
“I’d put off showering as long as you can.” Mira said, “You’d probably be fine if you got a little water on them, but we don’t know how long we’re going to be in here now.” She glanced up at them, “I’m sure you can go a few days without a shower.”
“They were really intense about showering in training.” Pearla said, “Which I suppose makes sense; if you’re in a giant building with a bunch of other people you want everyone to keep clean.”
“It’s fine.” TO muttered. “I’m sure we’ll be out of here soon enough.”
“Hey, at least while we’re here, we have this view.” Mira said, gesturing to the tall, windowless buildings that stood around them and blocked their view, “You’d think there’d be less wind here with all these buildings, but no, it snakes its way around and comes in to cut right to the bone-“
“Yeah.” A small, unfamiliar voice said, “Most people bring their blankets up with them to keep warm.”
This late at night, there were no others in the cage and the city was quieter in the security district than it was in other places. The surrounding bars also didn’t do so well to bounce back a lot of sound. While Mira and Pearla jumped and looked around frantically to find the source of the noise, TO could find it immediately. In a nearby corner there was a tiny drain in the floor with a metal grate over it; TO probably could have fit their fist down the drain, but that was all. Still, that was the place the voice came from.
“Over here.” TO said, walking towards the corner.
“Yeah, that’s right.” The voice said, “Leanaran sent me. Just come over here and sit down next to the grate. Use your big old wings to cover it if you.”
Mira and Pearla, still not entirely sure where the sound was coming from, followed TO as they headed to the corner and sat down on the cold tile of the roof, their wings spread slightly to cover the grate. As soon as they opened their wings, the wind tore away the layer of heat that TO had produced, sending a chill through them.
They agreed with Mira; it was too cold.
Once TO had settled down, the grate lifted from its place and a small creature With too many long, twisting tentacles crawled up, its tentacles still trailing behind them. TO couldn’t tell where the head ended, and the body began on this creature, but they could identify six eyes at least.
“An insectoid, a purple snake lady, and someone with natural black wings.” They said, looking at the three of them. “You must be the ones Leanaran mentioned.”
“Yes.” Pearla said, the word coming out in a breath of relief, please tell me you have-“
“Don't talk directly to me!” The creature snapped, “Abyssal shit, lady! There are cameras here. Look, both of you, just sit down next to your friend and act like you’re talking to them.”
Mira’s antennae twitched, her eyes narrowed, but she did as the small creature bid and sat next to TO. Pearla sat on the other side.
“Good; better anyway. Yes; I have your stuff, and I have a note.” They said, A tentacle came up from the pipe, and tightly clutched in one twisting tendril was a crumpled napkin with clumsy writing sprawled over it in an uneven purple ink. They passed it to Mira.
“They said to give it to you directly.” They said, “Read it later; it’s a list of names and brief descriptions.”
“Thanks.” she muttered as she slid the paper into the hidden pocket of her uniform.
“Good. now I’m going to lay these communicators down on the ground, and leave.” They said, “when I’m gone, you can slip these into pockets or whatever, and leave.” They flexed, their muscles pulling up the tendrils about halfway, then they stopped.
“... something bad is happening, isn’t it?” They asked as they peered up at the three, “And you all know about it.”
“Why would you think that?” Mira asked, her voice cool and casual as could be.
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“Because Leanaran was not himself today, Because I got a list of names and i know damn well Leanaran’s not selling anyone out, and because he’s sent me to give this to you without telling me to bring back anything in return.” They huffed, “Normally, I get to take a cut as a delivery free.. But obviously there’s no delivery fee here!”
They still hadn’t pulled the communicators from the pipe. Instead, they left them hidden as they watched the three expectantly.
“... Do you want a delivery fee?” TO asked.
“Well, obviously.” The small creature said. “If I’m doing extra work, I should get paid for it, shouldn’t I?”
“And why not ask Leanaran about that?” Mira asked as her antenna lowered, drawing closer to her head and giving her a narrowed appearance. “He asked you to do this, so why ask us?”
“Well, it’s just common courtesy, a tip-”
“Is it really?”
“Of course.” They said as their tendrils twisted about them, “A reward for my service and discretion.”
Mira’s glare continued, but her antenna twitched just slightly. Idly, TO wondered if they were akin to a Synth’s ears, saying more about her emotions than she’d like to display, or if she had some control over them.
“What did you say your name was?” She asked.
“I didn’t. You can call me Outis. They/them.”
“And what do you want, Outis?”
“Well, I’d love to not get fucked just because I’m out of the loop.” they said. “I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know if it’s good that I’m not on this list, or bad.” they glanced up at them, “If something big is happening, I’d like to know.”
“Ah.” Mira said, “Information, then.”
“Essentially.”
Information was dangerous. They already discussed that, and if too many people in the center knew what was really going on it might cause panic, and they didn’t have the resources to get everyone out.
“... The security minister for this quadrant is here on Arkane.” Mira said after a long silence. “Did you know that?”
“I did.”
“Well, it’ll be problematic for some people to be here longer than they need to be, you understand. Even if they’re in the indebted system.”
Outis hummed, the noise mixed with a strange gurgling sound that made TO feel vaguely uncomfortable.
“Leanaran’s on the list.” Outis said, “You’re implying that he’s in trouble?”
“I'm saying that Leanaran decided it’s best for them to be on the list.” Mira said, “I’ve not read it yet.” She made a show of stretching, giving a big wide yawn. TO never realized before now that Mira used only a tiny portion of her mouth when speaking. When her mouth opened up all the way, it was a gaping void of spiraling teeth, with sharp mandibles on either side.
Big enough to swallow Outis whole if she wanted, and vicious looking enough to turn them into pulp.
“If you like, we can go to Leanaran.” She said when she finally closed her mouth back up, the different section of chitin falling into place over her mouth like a puzzle. “You can tell him you read the note and ask why he’s on the list. Actually-” She examined her hands, specifically the long claws on the end, with the tiny hooks on the edges, “If our information isn’t enough, I’m sure he’d understand and maybe come up with a better way to pay you for your service.”
“Oh no.” Outis said, pulling their tentacles up out of the tube. “This is more than enough. Just a little information is all I asked for! A token of thanks, really.”
TO heard the communicators hit the tile. “Don’t take them right away,” Outis said, “Wait until the grate is back in place, slip them into your pocket, then linger for longer before you leave. Got it?”
“Not my first time, Outis.” Mira said, “Well, first time here. Not my first time being discreet.”
They grumbled something in a language TO didn’t recognize, then left. The scrape of metal against the tiles, and the gentle sound of the grate falling back into place was TO’s sign; they gently felt around, being careful not to look at the ground. Eventually, their fingers touched the cool plastic case of the communicator. They slipped it into their pocket then leaned back against the wall.
“... Got it?” TO asked.
“Yup.” Mira said, “Sorry we couldn’t get yours Pearla.”
“Do they have a charge?” Pearla asked, “That's what I want to know. Can you use it to disable the chip in my neck?”
“Best not to check yet.” Mira said, “We’ll sit here for another few minutes, then head to the showers. It should be dead this time of night, so I’m going to take my chances at a shower. But before that, we can slip into a washroom stall and get your chip sorted out.”
“Right.” Pearla said, “I’ll sleep better if I can get my chip deactivated.”
“And on that note, once we’re done there, we find a place to sleep.” She said, “We can’t get caught having nowhere to sleep; we need to make it seem like we belong here. All the new people around might confuse the guards for now, but they’ll notice something if we claim we don’t have a bed to sleep in, and they’ll try to check our chips.”
“Got it.” TO said. The idea of a hot shower was absolutely intoxicating. The chill to their bones and the lingering smell of the laundry room bothered them, and they weren’t used to going to sleep without taking at least one shower in a day. Even when the insurgents locked them up, they could use the bowl of water in the room to bathe.
Of course, that wouldn’t be the hardest thing. They weren’t used to going to sleep without DH with them, skin against skin, wrapped up on one another's limbs and wings.
What they’d do for DH to be there with them, for their mate to hold them, to rub their ears, to scratch the back of their neck. TO kiss them and nuzzle them as they dozed.
Even if they had to sleep in the laundry room again, if they knew DH would be there, they’d go with a smile on their face. They went through the timeline in their head, and tried to figure out how much longer they’d be in here. Losing their communicators had put them behind, so now they were looking at two nights in this awful place. Two nights, and that was if everything went right.
They sighed and pulled their knees to their chest. Two nights away from their mate.
They hoped it was worth it.