That mess is on her side of the lab. Again.
Joey turns slowly and gathers her ire as she glares at Kyle, hopelessly busy making armor from the newest batch of his new Valkyrian steel. He’s completely oblivious to it while he finishes wiring the next armor sets that even she’s going to get a workout in. While she prefers being light and fast, bullets do not respect speed nearly as much.
Everyone has cleared out of the lab or is chilling back at the house after they discussed Angela’s sudden revelations regarding the mana crystals–including the one currently sitting in her chest cavity. It’s staggering that girl dares to face that every day, and never bat an eye. She might be even more steadfast than that messy-haired teen busily perfecting his concussion canisters behind her.
Wait, aren’t we technically boyfriend and girlfriend? She doesn’t mean to let the thought radiate out, but Drenar leans toward her from the bench, smiling.
“Oh, finally gotten to the scientific discovery of the month?” he says confidently. She narrows her gaze at him, hands on her hips.
“Oh no you don’t, you starstruck teen. It has to be earned,” she growled. “And it’s earned with your blood, sweat, charm, and tears.”
“You already have three of those. Literally. And my scales. Seriously, I worry you’re making a macabre collection of weird dragon stuff, instead of using our samples for alchemical goodness,” he says, looking smug. She opens her mouth to retort, and thinks better of it. Does he know how to push her buttons? Is he paying attention to Angela’s uncanny ability to read people? Nah, he’s not that talented yet. “I mean, we are. I would be hard-pressed to say that we aren’t. Because, you know, reasons.”
She felt her cheeks flush and she stammers out a response. “There you go again, you sound like Alex!”
{Oh, don’t throw that shade my way. My lad’s all grown up, thank you very much, and I didn’t say a word!} Alex counters through the psionic link. Drenar leans back, still wearing that cocksure grin.
“Okay, miss Pyromist, give me some refuting evidence that says we aren’t…you know…a couple,” he adds, even as he finishes adjusting his canister. Suddenly, an idea crops up. She smiles evilly, and his confidence evaporates.
“We haven’t gone on a date yet, by ourselves. The last couple of times we went, it was with the others. It’s not a date unless it’s just the two of us, and your wing ladies aren’t around to keep you from stumbling.” She gives her most fox-like impression of a smile, even though she is currently very much a boring human at the moment. “Checkmate, Rashalda.” He predictably sputters and tries to make an excuse, but she’s already turned around. Someone still needs to get an earful for the mess on her side of the lab!
“Er-hem, Kyle, I need your attention for a second,” she calls out politely. He’s still forging away, is he still utterly focused? “Kyle, there is something in my lab that needs to be addressed.” But Kyle is still sticking his tongue out and sintering arcane circuits together–how does he tune out the world so thoroughly? She taps her shoe on the floor impatiently. She needs to show how serious this violation is, immediately.
“Kylancer Edwin Bertance! Clean up your mess, young man!” she states commandingly, and he manages to strike his hand with the sintering tool, and he shouts and predictably sticks the offended burnt finger in his mouth while letting out a light groan. She points at the scrap mess on the bench, eyes etched in deadly intent. “This is my lab bench, which you are contaminating with sinter, grease, metal particles, and sweaty grossness!” she calls out, and he just stands there, trying to come up with a response.
“I–it was–I was just gonna clean it up–”
“Dude, she called you by your middle name, she’s pissed,” Drenar states while trying not to crack up. As if he’s forgotten about his own shortcoming just fifteen seconds ago! “If a woman calls you by your middle name, you’d better take care of whatever request she’s got, or you might find yourself poisoned, dissolved, clawed, or all of the above.”
“Oh she’s got you in a mood,” Kyle grumbles. “Psionic piggybacking. Sheesh.” She let the slightly unfair comment roll off for now.
“Kyle, I swear, you are a genius when it comes to systems engineering, but when it comes to cleaning, you are the worst!”
“Alright, fine, I’ll take a knock on the nose. Drenar, pro tip, when you ask her on a date, make sure you’re presentable, or you’re gonna get chewed out,” Kyle states acidly, even as he slides the scrap into sorting bins for recycling. “Also, don’t be afraid to split the bill.”
“But isn’t it the guy’s responsibility to…” Joey sighs while Drenar takes the hint from Kyle’s haggard stance and look of exasperation. He turns back to her. “Alright, I'll trust you on this one. Joey, let’s go on a date. You and me. I pick the food, you pick the entertainment.”
She lets out a beaming smile. “Aha, see, you can be educated! Alright, I accept, but this entertainment might not be your style. As it were, I had an appointment to attend to later this afternoon.” He arches an eyebrow and leans in.
“What would that be?”
“Getting a piercing.” She already has two on each ear, but she figures, the third will probably be the last for now, and Drenar blinks in surprise.
“Sure, I’m game, it sounds important to you. Wait, you have two on your ears already, aren’t you gonna run out of ear space?” he adds with a laugh. “Unless, you’re planning on elsewhere?”
The nerve of this drake, yet I can’t help but applaud his confidence. “Oh no, just one more on my ears, then I’m done,” she responds and tries not to blush at his comment. This star-struck teen outmaneuvered her? Oh, there will be pain in store for him later! But not the bad kind, as she prepared her response. “I don’t think you have the pain tolerance for–”
She wants to say something a little more flirty, and feels her cheeks burning as a particular moment comes back, and he tilts his head quizzically as she goes silent. “Uh, hey, I know you don’t have the psionics running in the background, but you’re looking a little rosy? What’d I say?”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Nope, nothing, nada! Let’s just get wrapped up here and make sure we don’t, you know, get shot at by lurking Talons agents for date night! And comb your hair!” She turns away to hide the fact that she’s embarrassed the lewd thought even crossed her mind, now of all times! Kyle, however, seems to know something is up, and sends her a private note, and a roll of his eyes only accentuates his irritation.
{He must be really good in the sack, for you to put up with this awkward teen charm of his, and not on account of his limitless bravery under fire.} She gives him the tsundere special glare of doom, just to make it clear she does not approve of that.
{Give it a rest, Kyle! We dated for five minutes!} She shoots back in a private message. He shrugs. {Besides, how would you know that?}
{When I wake up at one in the morning, and have to take a liquid oxygen shower to clear a mood? That might be a sign that your psionics are on transmit mode, just a wee little bit.}
She claps a hand to her mouth, eyes wide. This is mortifying on such a profound level, that she doesn’t have a response. A tiny squeak manages to emerge from her lips, and Drenar still is standing there, looking confused. “Are you guys sending private messages? You’re both making a weird face–”
“Nope, not at all, gotta go clean up, lots to do!” she says animatedly and tries to not think of what Julia and Angela might have heard.
Or seen.
***
Josephine waits anxiously by the teleportal platform at Nick’s barn and checks her wristwatch for the third time in a minute. Okay, he's still not late. I'm a couple of minutes early. She checks to make sure she doesn’t have a mess on her shirt. Or any unseemly scents from the laboratory. She takes a deep breath and leans on the railing, making sure there’s nothing out of the ordinary.
Okay, no fur on my clothes, this is my cute long-sleeve I like. I’m good. Wait. Did I brush my teeth? It couldn’t have been that long ago. She sighs impatiently, she’s an organized orchestra in the lab, but here, outside of it, she’s an anxious ball of energy. Am I pushing him a little too hard? Am I too old for him? Is my status as an arcanist genius genuinely intimidating to him?
For once, a resounding silence is her answer. She’s far enough away from the others that the psionic link doesn’t seem to take. She finds it odd, however, that the range she can talk to the others over this connection is growing. It used to only be a few meters distance, at best. Now, they can be several meters apart and she can ‘hear’ them very distinctly from one another. It has easily doubled in range, and she hasn’t even run a proper test to calculate the range increase.
Then again, they’ve been quite busy, the past two months.
“Hey, sorry I’m late. There was a disagreement with Alex about the attire.” Drenar half-jogs back into the barn in a jacket and a black, long-sleeved shirt, and his typical jeans and sneakers. And he finally combed his hair, instead of looking like a wild beast! She instantly snaps to attention and grins. That’s further than I ever got with Kyle. he can be presentable, after all!
“You’re right on time. Shall we?” She offers an arm, and he plays along by locking elbows as they enter the now active portal. The SAF official that looks up at the pair of them raises an eyebrow but says nothing when they show him the access badge Nick had handed out to the team in the weeks prior.
“Uh, any armaments or customs declarations?” He asks casually. Drenar did make a subtle motion to the holster where Remari is discretely hidden, and she has the alchemical canister rotary that she waved to. Given what he’s capable of doing with the dagger alone, and Luminari getting strangely cozy with Angela of late, it’s still an incredible armament. The SAF soldier takes note of the small emblem on his jacket, and his face widens in surprise.
“The Luminaires? The group from legend? That allows you guys to carry weapons? I thought Barry was kidding!”
What he’s referring to is the emblem that Angela designed for the team, working away at creating a design that carried the spirit of what the Luminaires stood for. A massive silver dragon, spreading her wings resided in the upper portion of the shield-shaped badge. Below her, each of the major kin was represented in a silhouette: humans, fey, wargen, kitsune, dragons, dwarven, and elven. The dragon gently clutches in her hands a runic sword, representing Luminari. A small inscription at the bottom reads ‘Be a light to guide the way’.
Joey smiles quietly at this, Drenar had received the first one that she’d made, and she was busily making the rest. If there was anyone who was the embodiment of what this team meant, it was those two, with their steadfast determination. It did make her question why they drifted apart from the romantic standpoint. But, seeing him talking quietly with the soldier, able to talk calmly about their ordeal as a calling to do something important without asking for a thing in return, made her realize he was always going to be a part of her life.
Not just for the immediate crisis.
“Wow! You were the guys that stopped the Talons here, two months ago? Barry would’ve been mowed down if you guys didn’t show up!” the dark-haired soldier said, before waving them through. “Go on, they got some little festival going on, luckily no snow tonight. Have fun!”
A moment later, they’re at the Mercadian Promenade, and work their way down the busy street. It’s lively here today, with vendors shouting out advertisements on the street, and many Kin walking around–even a few dragons padding forward, talking as a group. It sounds like they’re arguing over a sports team. She ignores the commotion and points Drenar to the right direction. He’s still new to this, the sense of wonder, of being in a whole other world, has not dulled for him. And the way his face lights up as he takes in the sights, it brings a smile to her face.
He’s such a kid. I mean, yeah, he’s almost my age, but he’s making up for a childhood that got thrown on the rocks at the direction of one giant murder lizard. She hastily discards the thought. Time for a night on the town, and toss all this saving the world stuff aside for one day!