Loop Two - Chapter Twelve

Amber thanked the waitress and turned her plate so that it was facing her. “This looks alright,” she said. It was mostly pastries: an eclair, some croissants, and a few buns stuffed full of some sweet-smelling sauce. Basically, junk-ish food that was socially acceptable for an adult to eat.

“This is good,” Cassy said as she took a delicate bite from one of her own pastries. Then, because she seemed to feel particularly adventurous, she dipped it in her steaming mug of hot cocoa.

“What were we talking about before?” Amber asked.

“We were going on about our tragic pasts,” Cassy said. “You know, all the boring stuff that’ll be written in the back of our cards one day to make little kids think we’re relatable.’

“Our cards?” Amber asked. “Oh, are you talking about those trading cards?”

Cassy made a gesture that could have meant anything. “Yeah, those. My little brother collects them. I always thought they were kind of neat.”

“You didn’t collect them yourself?” Amber asked. She tried dipping her own croissant in her coffee. It was mushy and a bit weird, but it did taste pretty good.

Cassy pouted. “No. They’re for kids.”

Amber grinned. “You totally collected them. Didn’t they come in those little packs?”

“Yeah, yeah, but I didn’t play the stupid games with them. I just liked opening the packs and stealing my brother’s rarer cards, alright?”

“Alright. I saw them a lot, but they were pricey. Didn’t know you had siblings.”

“Just the one,” Cassy said. “He’s a little brat, too. I guess he’s alright, for a little brother.”

Amber shrugged. Not exactly experienced with siblings. “That sounds nice. You’re very... I guess talkative today.”

“Aren’t I usually?” Cassy asked.

“I mean, sure, but you seem... I don’t know, you’re telling me a lot about yourself. More than usual, maybe?”

“I guess,” Cassy said with a shrug. “It feels like you’re a friend, you know. Haven’t had a close friend in a while, so I figured why not, you know?”

“I guess,” Amber said. “Aren’t you worried? I-- something could happen, and I might end up in the past again, and then none of this will have happened.”

“I don’t see why I should be worried about that,” Cassy said. “It’s not like I’d know.”

“Yeah, but then everything you tell me will have been one-sided. You won’t remember it, or, well, it wouldn’t have actually happened. It’s unfair. Like, I can tell you stuff about me now, to make it fair, but that might all disappear.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess. But I don’t think it matters that much, does it? You’ll still be my friend, even if you go back, right? I mean, it was weird that you knew me already, but not bad weird. As long as you’re honest and shit.”

“I’ll try,” Amber said. She didn’t know why that moved her so much. Turning her head down, she focused on what was left on her plate. “I do hope I won’t be dying again any time soon.”

“Hah! I hope the same. But then, if I get blown up you can spin things back to fetch me, right?”

“That’s not quite how it works, but I guess that’s close enough,” Amber said. “So, did you want to do anything after we’re done eating?”

Cassy shrugged, then glanced outside. “It’s still pretty early. Does this count as supper for us?”

“It could, though I, ah, could eat more. I think there should be some vendors around on the street.”

“Oh, street food,” Cassy said. “That does sound nice. We’ll have to find the best ones. Also, there might be shows and stuff. Like, what’s that?” She pointed out onto the street.

Amber half-turned to look where Cassy was pointing. There were three people walking away in long black cloaks. Familiar ones. It took her a moment to recall where she’d seen a similar outfit. “Wait. Those are the people at the bunker.” She twisted around to see better. They weren’t the same people—the heights were wrong, as were their builds—but the cloaks were definitely similar.

“What bunker?”

“Didn’t I tell you that part?” Amber asked absently. They were moving away at a decent pace. She jumped to her feet and fumbled for her phone. “Cassy, can you go pay? Then catch up with me.”

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“I think they’re bad guys,” Amber said. She looked around the cafe, and noted that there were fewer people around. The waitress was behind the counter, wiping some things clean. It seemed oddly normal, considering how hard her heart was beating away in her chest. “I’ll call you,” she said before darting out onto the street.

I hope Cassy doesn’t take that wrong, Amber thought as she looked both ways, then stood taller to better make out the three figures.

She jogged after them, then slowed down a few houses later. Crap, I’m wearing the school’s uniform. I’m probably standing out a lot. I can’t just run up to them.

Amber chewed on her lower lip, but with no other options, she decided to follow the trio from a little distance away. One of them had their hood down, and it was obvious they were older. A man whose hair had mostly gone while, but still seemed fit. The other two were also likely men, at least judging from the width of their shoulders and their height from behind.

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Her phone buzzed in her skirt pocket and Amber jumped before tugging it out. There was a text on the home screen.

CassyBleriot - Where R U?

CassyBleriot - Am paying

Amber opened the texting app while looking ahead. She had some contacts pre-entered into her phone. Her teammates, her teachers, and the administration building. Clever, but not something she had time to look into. She clicked on the convo with Cassy.

AmberGreen - I’m following them.

The reply was almost instant.

CassyBleriot - kk tell me where to find u

AmberGreen - Outside. Can you go high?

CassyBleriot - Y

Amber was going to have to tease Cassy about her texting later, but that could wait. She nearly bumped into a horse-drawn cart, her attention diverted to her phone rather than to where she was walking, and for a single panicked moment, she lost sight of the people she was following.

Then she saw one of them talking to someone ahead, by a cart set on the corner of the street selling something in small containers.

Amber followed after them and glanced around the corner. The three were now joined by a fourth member. She ducked back, then turned towards the food cart. “Um, excuse me,” she asked the man behind it. He was filling some paper containers with what looked like a mixture of warm nuts and popcorn.

“Hmm?” the man asked.

“Those people, with the dark cloaks, who are they?” Amber asked.

The salesman shrugged his shoulders. “They’re the Black Magi.”

“I’m not familiar with them,” Amber said. “What do they do?” She knew she didn’t have much time for questions, but the more she knew now, the better off she’d be.

“They’re folk that want to learn magic the old way. They mostly mind their own, sometimes help with tricky things. Are you interested in some nuts?”

“Uh, I don’t have change,” Amber said. “Thanks.

She glanced around the corner again, then held back a swear. The road was clear of anyone in a large black cloak.

Amber started down the road anyway. It was mostly lined by homes, nearer to the part of Norumbega farthest from the new section. She eyed the buildings as she walked past them, looking for something that might stand out, but she didn’t know what exactly that would look like.

“Hey!”

Amber’s heart skipped a beat and she spun around so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet.

Cassy hovered behind her, a smug grin on as she sat on her broom. “Boo?” she asked.

“You nearly killed me there,” Amber said, a hand over her chest. “Did you see them?”

“You mean the weird people with the black hoods? I thought they were weird-looking, but that’s it. What was that about a bunker?”

Amber gestured to the broom, and, when Cassy nodded, she jumped on behind the girl. Cassy started to rise right away. “Last loop, we headed out and accompanied another team on a mission.”

“Oh, I think I vaguely remember that,” Cassy said.

“Yeah, we found this bunker, out in the woods. There were magicals there that we fought. They were strong, and they had cloaks like those people were wearing.”

“Alright, so they’re sus as hell,” Cassy agreed. You lost track of them?”

“Yeah,” Amber said.

Cassy tilted the broom forwards a little, and they started to move ahead. “Keep an eye open. I’ll do a spiral around the area.”

“Got it,” Amber replied.

“So, do you know what we’ll do once we find them?” Cassy asked.

Amber frowned. “I don’t know. We can’t exactly arrest them. That guy down there called them Black Magi. I didn’t get the impression they’re considered bad around here.”

“Well, that’s annoying,” Cassy said. “I say we beat the crap out of them, maybe get some answers.”

“I’m sure we can do better than that,” Amber said. “We might get into some serious trouble for attacking people.”

“Alright, what if we attack one of them, then you go back into the past, before anything happens?” Cassy asked.

“That’s... I don’t know if my control is that good,” Amber said. “Let’s just find out what we can, I guess.” She pointed to the ground, a small road squeezed in between two buildings that looked more like factories than homes. They were close to the outer wall of the city. “There!”

Cassy half turned, then squinted down. “Oh yeah, I think I see them,” she said. “Want me to land on the roof?”

“Can you go around so they can’t see us?” Amber asked.

“Hang on,” Cassy replied.

They spun around in a wide arc, and, with Cassy leaning forwards and pulling Amber after her, they zipped down until they were hovering just over the roof. Amber could hear people talking below. “Nice work,” she whispered. “Let’s just listen for now, alright?”

“Got it.”

***