Cassius wasn't all sure how they'd gotten to this point. Or how they'd all agreed that he could be trusted enough to be taken into the city. At first, he thought it was a joke. Though, now that he was in the backseat of the car heading in town, he wasn't so sure that it was.
Who knows? Maybe they're taking the prank to a whole new level.
Rexton hadn't come back to his room and hadn't even met with the rest of the SWARM this morning. Cassius thought for just a second that maybe he'd taken things too far. It had never been his intention to do what he'd done last night. He never thought he would get the chance to do something like that, to be frank.
And though it had just been teasing—he never thought of taking it further than that—his stomach still twisted with a sickening feeling. He hadn't done anything wrong. It was Rexton that had done more harm to him. So, he reasoned with himself, Rexton kinda deserved it.
He looked out the tinted window. They'd bound his hands but had left the leash. Every time they took him out, they were getting more lenient with him. After what had happened on their last mission he thought Kera would have chained him up tighter. Mattius wouldn't have minded either.
No. Instead, they were playing at something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Kera was driving while Mattius was in the front passenger seat. Levi was in the back with him, guarding.
The last time he was in Keshtin was also the last he tried to escape. It had been another fail and another plot in this strange sequence of his powers doing scary shit. First, he lost them and then he couldn't control them. It was like he would never find an in-between that he could do something with.
The tall sleek buildings towered high into the sky. They reflected sunlight, shining into his eyes. He squinted to get a better look. The car was going too fast for him to catch all the details, but he was sure he could memorize some of the streets if he focused hard enough.
They turned onto the next street. It was busier. From the Exterus walking on the street, he thought it might be an Exteru only section of town. But then he spotted some Remus. They were carrying shopping bags. A shopping district then.
He didn't want to be amazed by these new sights. The buildings were one thing. They weren't that different though they were cleaner and shinier than the ones on the base. But he couldn't stop his eyes from widening as he saw different types of clothes. The Exteru all usually had light skin and light hair. It was a thing for them, he'd found out from the base, to even dye their hair pure white. Few Exterus were born with it, but it was a style.
The Remu had darker hair, brown, black, and dirty blond. It varied from curly and wavy, but they usually wore it short.
And the Exterus loved their white. He caught glimpses of it everywhere. If they found a way to keep it white, he was sure the Exterus would have pushed for them to be able to wear white uniforms.
He had to fight the smile forming on his lips at the image. They would look ridiculous compared to the rest of them. He was thankful that it wasn't customary for him to wear white.
The only thing that he was required to wear was his black uniform and chains. Really, it was all that he needed anyway. He had no attachment to fashion expression. Someone who hadn't been raised in the same condition as him might think differently, but he'd never met a Mekiah who wasn't part of the military.
House Mekiah might have completely different views as him. They were usually spoiled and brainwashed from the point of birth.
They stopped at the end of the street. Cassius turned the other way to see what was happening.
Rexton was standing on the sidewalk. His face was as blank as ever. He was dressed in his uniform, but he was relaxed in a way that didn't look right on him. Cassius frowned as he took in the way he was standing. It was his hair, tousled and not styled as it usually was, that was very different from usual. He wasn't sure if he liked it or if it was the worst thing he'd seen in his life.
Couldn't be the worse though. He'd seen men die.
Kera parked the car with a sharp jerk. Mattius hissed at her and she ignored him. Her driving was much like her attitude.
Levi was unaffected and jumped out of the car as soon as it was parked. He walked—almost skipping—to Cassius's side to open the door for him.
The kid was the least threatening out of all of them. It didn't mean Cassius liked him more. His jolly mood could perhaps be the most annoying.
Levi didn't attempt to grab him, instead opting to let Cassius climb out of the car on his own. It shouldn't have affected him in the way that it did. His stomach churned as a spark of appreciation washed over him.
Though Levi didn't act like it all the time, he was one of his captors. One of the many that kept him locked up like a dog. That, he had to remember, was the reason why he had to keep his head in the right frame of mind. He couldn't let himself sink further into new feelings that would cloud his judgment.
That being said, the girl had already starting to make him think differently. When this all began, the demon and now her, he'd only had to look out for himself. Try as he might, he knew that he couldn't leave this place if it wasn't with her. She was just a kid, who probably knew nothing about what would happen to her in this place, and she wouldn't survive for long.
And even now, he still thought about her. He couldn't imagine what they might be doing to her, but he had to think smart. Go through the motions and come up with a new plan.
He snickered to himself in his head.
Like all his plans went well. He had to be the worst planner in the entire history of Xtavia.
Levi closed the door and Cassius got another look at the busy street. He'd been kinda right about the shopping part. It was a mixture of things like clothing shops specializing in Exteru and Remu clothing. There was a shop at the end that advertised clothing for Mekiah slaves, ranging from bed, house, and farming slaves. Of course, there were shops for magic, guns, and a variety of other things.
But mixed in were cafes, hair salons, and some other stores he didn't have a clue what they sold.
Suddenly, he felt sick. The influx of new information, most of which made him feel like he knew nothing about the world he lived in, made him feel small. His hands began to shake.
He clenched them in the hopes that no one noticed.
Then, he turned his eyes toward Kera and Mattius. Levi gestured for him to follow them, staying close to him in case he ran for it. If they were worried about that they should have kept a leash on him.
Or kept him locked up at the base.
His eyes fell upon Rexton and he hated how he lost his breath for a moment. It was like being pushed off a ledge. Falling and falling with no sense of when he would make impact.
Each time they met, Rexton sunk further under his skin. Try as he might, he couldn't ever get the sickening feeling out of his system.
They were gaining a lot of attention once Exterus and Remu spotted him. It wasn't hard to pick a Mekiah out in a crowd and given that four military people were guarding him, it would be next to impossible not to draw attention.
Cassius bit the inside of his cheek so that he wouldn't let his thoughts slip out from his mouth. He'd done a lot of mouthing off in the last few weeks. The little girl was now a soft spot for him and he was sure everyone knew it by now. Rexton was even more pissed off at him after what he'd done last night. He didn't want to give him another reason to punish him.
Rexton looked around. He must have noticed too that they were gaining more eyes.
"Uncuff him."
Kera and Mattius both looked like they wanted to protest, but they kept their mouths shut.
Levi had the key. He hesitated for a second but then retrieved the key from his inside jacket pocket and unlocked the cuffs. At one time, being uncuffed would have given Cassius instant relief. Now, it only felt strange when he didn't have the metal chaffing away his wrists.
He avoided Rexton's eyes, trying to ignore this entire situation. He had no clue why they were in town or why they were all together anyway. It wasn't like they were on a mission. That had gone to shit last time.
No one said a word as Rexton turned and began walking down the street. Kera and Mattius acted like his bodyguards and Levi stayed back with Cassius. They must have really trusted that he wasn't going to run.
Or they didn't think he was a threat anymore.
Cassius glowered at the thought of being seen as weak. He'd almost set this entire fucking on fire. He was far from being weak.
They just didn't know that he could connect with the Third Eye. That would make them tremble with fear.
Where they were heading ended up being the small cafe they'd passed in the car. He raised his brows in surprise when they walked in. The cafe was larger than it looked from the outside. There were dividers set up and the front part had many wooden benches and tables set up. Further down a small hallway, he saw doors that led to the inside of the setup dividers.
The atmosphere was calming, unlike he would have expected from an establishment run by Exteru.
But he was soon proven wrong when a Remu woman invited them in with a smile.
"Good afternoon," she said and gave a slight nod. "A seating for—"
Her eyes flickered to Cassius. The corners of her smile dropped and fear flickered through her eyes. As soon as it was there, she masked it, looking up to Rexton as if searching for reassurance.
"Seating for five?"
Rexton nodded. "Please. A private room if one is available."
From what Cassius had already seen, he knew there was nothing else he could be expecting from this place. The Remu woman still gave him a wary look every once in a while as she motioned them to one of the back rooms. She was scared, that was evident as much, but she wasn't screaming for the hills. She must have met many Mekiah though probably not any military types like he was.
He wasn't bulging with muscles. The only thing he had going for him was height, but he wasn't much taller than the average man. The only thing he'd been bred for was magic. That was it.
But it must have been still terrifying for the Remu woman to see someone bigger than a regular house or bed slave size to be walking about in town. Farm slaves were the same size as him though they probably stayed on factory land.
The room she gave them was spacious enough for the five of them. It had the same wooden benches and table as in the front room. The dividers didn't reach the ceilings and had layered siding for decoration. They looked thick and were probably noise canceling.
The room still didn't explain why he was here. Even once they were all sitting—Mattius, Kera, Rexton sitting on one bench, Levi and Cassius sitting on the other—he didn't know what was going on. They were sitting around like they came here to socialize.
The worse of it was that Cassius was sitting across from Rexton. Now he either had to look at the fuckhead or avoid looking for however long they were here. He really hoped everyone else shared his feelings and just wanted to get the fuck out of here.
Menus were handed out. Cassius looked around quizzical, but no one was looking at him. Well, except Rexton.
Rexton opened the menu in front of him and pointed at one particular dish. The small image beside it showed that it was a type of noodle soup with a spicy broth and a bowl of vegetables on the side.
"It's one of my favorites."
Cassius read the name. "Masoa…"
"From Oulandia. This restaurant specializes in exotic foods."
Oulandia wasn't what Cassius would call exotic. It was a neighboring country that specialized in technology and was well more advanced in the field than Xtavia was. They had a treaty with Xtavia. In exchange for Mekiah slaves, they built military weapons. The guns that were enhanced with magic were created in Oulandia. But a controversial aspect of the country was that it was purely run on slave labor. Though the Mekiah were not seen as citizens in Xtavia's eyes, they were the only one subject to such tolerance. Oulandia took it further, slaving their own people if they were born in the Beta status.
But there were many things about Oulandia that Xtavia didn't know about. They traded goods and no one who entered the country ever came back to Xtavia. They were very secretive about their work.
Cassius saw the opening for a conversation. He was hesitant to continue, after what had happened last night in Rexton's bedroom, but they were past the line of what a General and Mekiah slave should be. They were in up-in-arms so to speak.
"Is this what you're ordering?" The table fell silent, but he didn't look away from the menu.
Rexton didn't answer at first. He held up his own menu, hand on his chin as he thought—or so it seemed—about the choices in front of him. Cassius was once hit with the fact that Rexton was more than a general. He was a man that ate, slept, and felt pain as he did. It was easy to forget that the people that held his life in their hands were just as normal as he was. There, of course, was a deep divide between the Mekiah and the rest of the world. Each region of the world had their own take on them. When it all boiled down to nothing, he and Rexton weren't as different as he would have liked to believe.
After a short moment, Rexton laid the menu flat on the table. "I think I will."
Cassius folded his menu and set it on top of Rexton's. "Two then."
The menus weren't line up right and Rexton's was open. It shouldn't have meant anything that Cassius had thrown his on top, but it meant everything in the world they lived in. There was always a reason why one thing pissed off someone and it was the lack of respect on Cassius's part.
Rexton didn't act in disapproval. He ignored it.
The woman—their waitress now—hadn't left. She watched them with wide eyes.
"Two Masoas, a plate of Remian, and a platter of Regonce," Rexton said and handed her their menus.
"A side of Welec as well," Mattius added.
The woman jotted down the order and took all their menus back. She was a little flustered as she muttered that their food would be right out and then scurried away.
Kera made a pinched face. "I hate when you do that."
Rexton raised a brow. "What?"
"Ordering for us. It's embarrassing."
Cassius had to blink a couple of times to fully grasp what he was witnessing. Kera was blushing and it wasn't out of anger. She hid behind her hand and almost slumped in her seat.
"It's more efficient." Rexton put his hands on the table.
"You make us look like kids."
"Then you can order next time."
The exchange was surreal. They were speaking like old friends, not like co-workers. The whole dynamic between the two was nothing like when they were in the field. A strange feeling inside of Cassius bloomed. He clenched his fist by his side and focused his gaze on the table in front of him. It wasn't that he was jealous. Why would he be jealous? He was just confused. That was it.
The wait time until the food arrived wasn't long. Ten minutes at the longest and in that time, Cassius observed the SWARM team when they were 'hanging' out. Mattius spoke in grunts and never a complete sentence. Kera spoke mostly to Levi and Levi wanted to chat with everyone. It was obvious he was the most outgoing of the group, though he was the shyest as well. This caused a lot of blushing when someone would point out something about him.
The strangest of it all was that Rexton gave away his smiles and laughter freely. His cold statue was broken for this time only.
Cassius didn't know what to make of the turned tables. He let them talk, pulling back further into himself, and listened as if he were not there at all. He still didn't understand why he was here in the first place.
The food arrived and all the conversation stopped as everyone began to eat. Cassius looked around at the dishes. They were foreign to him. Mattius has a plate of vegetables drizzled with a red sauce and the side of what looked like lettuce to Cassius. Kera and Levi shared the platter which looked like a bunch of sweet food. Cake bites soaked in red sauce, tarts with jelly, and cheese bread that oozed when pulled apart.
And then there were the two bowls of noodle soup Rexton had ordered for the two of them. As pictured in the menu, there were thick noodles in a red-tinted broth with grilled broccoli, long beans, and other vegetables he didn't know the name of. He stared down at the noodles, his reflection looking back at him. For a moment, he was lost in the bleak eyes. They were underlined with black bags that told how much sleep he wasn't getting. He didn't realize how exhausted he looked until now. Now he could feel it throughout his body.
Rexton picked up his fork. In an almost joking way, with a smile on his lips, he cheersed to Cassius.
A sudden thump in Cassius's chest made it hard to swallow. He picked up his own fork and before he could move, Rexton's clinked his with Cassius's.