A shrill sound awoke Amber up from her dreaming. Amber creaked open her eyes to see her room filled with warm light from the morning sun. Amber shifted a bit, finding the warm blanket of her bed and sheets welcoming. Amber lifted her right arm to grasp her still ringing pink phone near the red rose on her nightstand. Amber looked at it and pressed the answer button and held it up to her ear, "hey" She said, her voice sounding more horse than she would have liked.
"Hey, Sunshine." A gruff aged voice came from the speaker on her phone. "Dad? Why are you calling so early?" She asked sitting up and swinging her legs off her pink and black colored bed and down onto the cold hard brown wood floor. "I was just calling to remind you to not be late this time." His voice chuckled after that. Amber rolled her pink eyes at the comment and got up. She moved to the window shutting the blinds as her redheaded girlfriend started to stir in bed.
"Alright alright, geez you're late to your first meeting, and next thing you know you're the sloppy one," Amber said her hands started to undo her bonette from her head making her afro hair free. "Amber, I'm serious. You've been acting differently lately and I'm afraid that you'll slip up and end up in a ditch with a hole in your head." There was a pause in his little talk, "as your father-" it was cut off by a sigh by Amber. "Dad, I know you're worried but I'm completely fine with Anna, and Theo. I'm an adult, I promise I'm fine... Would I ever lie to you?" Her voice got soberer. There was a sigh on the other line, "I'm not fully convinced you would be truthfully honest but then again that's how I raised you. I have to go now, I'm still picking Isaac up after he gets out of preschool right?" "Yeah if you don't mind, I need to do something late tonight," Amber said, going over to her closet and picking out a white sweater and a light pink dress to go over it. "Not at all, I enjoy the little firestarter running around...he doesn't believe in monsters anymore, right? I don't think my closet could take another fire of his before it's completely gone." Amber let out a chuckle at the worry of her father, "yeah, I had a talk with him about that. He's still afraid of them but he knows that they aren't real." She said sitting down on her black and pink bedding on her bed crossing her legs. Her eyes drifted towards Anna. She smiled seeing the sleeping redhead. There was silence from the other line before the cold beep went off signaling it was over.
Amber felt shifting in her bed. "Hey...'' came a warm voice. Amber looked behind her and saw Anna once again but her deep blue eyes were open. Anna lifted her pale arm and her hand went to Amber's cheek, she moved her thumb against Amber's light brown cheek that reminded Anna of a lightly stained wood. "Where are you going?" She asked removing her hand as she saw the outfit Amber was going to wear laid out on the bed. "Oh remember my job? Well, I have to go to a meeting again soon-" "really?" Come scuff from the redheaded girl sitting up now. "....What?" Amber asked, looking at the pale girl sitting across from her on the other side of the bed. "Nothing just you're usually out most of the day or night...You leave me at home most of the time." Anna huffed out.
"Well, maybe we can set up a night just to hang out. With or without Theo" Amber said, picking up her pink dress. I have to get ready..." "Of course you do as always, I'm going to go make some coffee," Anna said getting up from the bed. "C'mon Ann, don't be like that. Here, how about we go out on the town and do whatever you want after I get off of work today." Amber said, grabbing her girlfriend's sweater. Anna stiffened some and turned to see Amber's pink eyes staring into her blue ones. "...Fine. But don't expect me to be all lovey-dovey with you. This is your fault you know" Anna said, crossing her arms. "I know. I love you, you know that right?" Amber said, pulling Anna in for a hug. "I know, I know, you goof," Anna said wrapping her arms around Amber's waist. Amber giggled and returned the embrace of her lover. "...you should probably get dressed shouldn't you?" Anna finally spoke up after a good minute or two. "Yeah, I probably should." Anna unwrapped her arms from Amber's waist and moved off the bed. "Have a good day" Anna said with a small smile on her face as she moved farther away from Amber and closer to the hall outside their bedroom.
Several minutes passed after that. Anna was standing by the coffee maker waiting for her coffee. The smell of the coffee brewing relaxed her senses making her muscles lax. The beeping of the machinery reached her ears. She took the pot and poured the black coffee into a black cat-themed mug. She grabbed the sugar jar and put two teaspoons of sugar in the coffee. She then grabbed the honey and put some not really caring at the moment. She heard the light pit a patter on becoming louder from the stairs next to the kitchen. "Hey babe," Said Amber coming around from the corner. She walked to the island in the middle of the kitchen and picked up a banana before heading onto the front door. "That's it? No usual sweet kiss that turns into a makeout?" Anna asked leaning on the frame of the kitchen looking at Amber. Amber felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "W-what? I don't always do that" she said, slipping on her tennis shoes. "You did yesterday," Anna said with a smirk on her face as she sipped on her coffee.
Amber tried her shoes and got uplifting up her white as a cloud purse. Anna placed her cup down on the island and turned back to Amber who was now searching for her keys in her bag. Amber pulled the keys out of the pocket of the purse, but she failed to notice the pale freckled arms wrapping around her waist. Amber let out a giggle, "come on, I gotta go." Amber said with eyes half-lidded looking back at Anna. "Do you?" Anna asked, putting on a sickly sweet tone and pouting. "Yes, I have to go to this meeting," Amber said and felt something change but she couldn't pinpoint what. "Oh sorry," Said Anna, removing her head from Amber's neck and shoulder. Amber said nothing as she readjusted her raven hair that was pulled into a ponytail. "Bye see you later." Was all that left Amber's mouth as she left out the front door with a small smile.
"Chagnon! You're late again" came a booming voice as soon as Amber entered the building. Amber turned around and came face to face with a blond girl. A very pissed off one at that, arms crossed and everything.
"Oh hey Mar-Mar," Amber said with a slight chuckle, bringing a hand up to her head stretching it. "Don't do that crap, Chagnon. This is the fifteenth time this year you've been late." The green-eyed small giant like girl said while glaring daggers at the shorter female. "And yet here you are wasting my time, I expected better Mar, especially since I just transferred groups," Amber said pushing past the freckled covered girl going onto the stairs.
"Riu's gone again." Spoke a person with bright purple hair standing by the water station leaning on the wall, the pink mask muffled their speech to some degree. "Wait again? How many more times is he gonna get snatched up? I swear it's like he's trying to get taken, one day he's going to be out of options." Complained a demon looking person. Amber pushed past them, "another one of those days again huh" she mumbled overhearing the conversation.
The old rusty door made a shrill like screech as it opened.
All the eyes turned onto Amber as she shut the door behind her. "Oh look it's the new girl. Amber if I'm right. Come on in, we're still waiting for the others to get here" come from a yellow-eyed woman that had her brown hair braided into box braids. "Aw man, how come everyone is coming in late? How come I didn't get to sleep in?" Complained a boy with grey hair and pink skin to a girl who had a blue tail kinda like his, at least it would be easy to remember the pink guy. Amber let go of the breath that she'd been holding in and sat down in an old rusty chair.
"I don't know why you didn't sleep in Kai, but where's Mary? She was supposed to go get Cas by now." Said the blue-tailed girl. "I don't know but if she doesn't come back with them soon I swear Lilly is going to shoot something or someone." Said what Amber would assume is Kai. "Hey, Amber. Did you see someone that dresses like a fake Princess out there?" Lilly asked, looking over at Amber with her tattooed arms crossed. Amber paused and tilted her head at Lilly for a second before her eyes widening "Oh yeah I saw Mary, she was by the front door...um I'm guessing that she's supposed to go get someone?" Amber asked while crossing her legs together.
"Damn right, she's taking too damn long" just as Lilly said that the door swung open and in came the person with the purple hair and black mask crashing in. Mary stepped back in, having to duck her head to get in the room dusting off her hands with a smirk. "I finally found them." She said walking to a chair and sitting down in it. "Yes, but you took your goddamn time and- oh fuck it. We have more important things to discuss. Even if everyone isn't here." Lilly said before going to the front of the room and going to the whiteboard. "So you all annoying little shits know Riu right? Also welcome to this team Amber, it's not usually like this" Lilly said.
"Well he's gone," She said, taking a pause. "Anyways, we've been tasked with finding out how someone out of this company got their hands on some valuable information and gave it to our competitors. And to execute them." Lilly said, narrowing her pricing yellow eyes at her "co-workers" in front of her. "So, how do we do that exactly?" Said the purple-haired person that was fixing their mask back on.
Stillness filled the old dusty room.
"Well." Said the person with short royal blue hair clasping their brown hands together. Their blue scaly tail swung back and forth, knocking up dust in the old room, "I think we should start where it happened and who had access to said place." They said looking at Lilly. "Good point Dustine," Lilly said while untangling her arms from each other as she placed them on her hips now. "It happened at Grossinger's Catskill Resort and Hotel."
"Wait, isn't that abandoned?" Kai spoke again holding a hand up in a childish manner. "Exactly. If you think about it Kai it'd make some sense to your pea-sized brain for once. Now shut up, unless you have a clue" Lilly said with an exaggerated sigh, the sour expression back on her face. "So what's so special about that place?" Kai huffed glaring at Lilly. "It's where the important stuff is kept hidden. Well, it was." Piped up Amber who shifted in her seat, she then looked at the rest of her team as they bored their eyes into hers. "How do you know that?" Asked the masked purple hair person who had yet to introduce themselves "also hi, I'm Cas. I don't think we've met before." he added. "Oh, the last team I was in was stationed there." Amber expressed as she entangled her hands together once again and straightened her back. "I don't think it really matters anymore." Spoke up Mary. "Actually, no. It does matter. Say newbie" Lilly said keeping her gaze fixated on Amber. "Uh yes?" Amber squeaked under Lilly's gaze.
"Who else was on the team that wasn't dead?"
Amber stopped for a moment, ceasing all motion in her body wrecking her mind for the answer but the thought that kept coming up brought the food she had for dinner right in her throat.
"One other person."
"Who?"
"...my father."