Raven
I wake up as the flight lands and look out the window. I feel the cold air encircling the plane and pull Ren's jacket off, I had been using it as a blanket but now I put it on properly. It lost the smell of him long ago, I should really have thrown it out but it is a nice jacket. I always thought maybe I could give it back to him someday. The sky is filled with storm clouds, hints of blue peeking out from behind the large black bulks. People run about unloading planes and shouting directions, making hand gestures I'm sure only they understand. It's so strange watching other people work, sometimes the enter a mechanic-like state. Other times people are frantic and stressed, and some just watch coldly as the go about their own work and judge everybody else's. We stand up and grab our things from above and step off the cold plane into the equally cold airport. How am I supposed to relax if I'm constantly freezing? People are running to and fro, some talking pleasantly to a friend others using harsh and hushed voices over the telephone. I see a small group of people waiting by the gate, one girl with deep orange locks, hanging down her back, she's waiting with her hands held behind her back next to two men, they seem familiar but I know I couldn't have ever seen them before. We're in Ireland for crying out loud. I feel a cold breeze waft against me. I pull the orange and black checkered jacket closer around me, rubbing sleep from my eyes, careful to not mess up my make up. One of the boys has an eye catching deep auburn hair, the other boy is blonde, I can't see his face very well, his eyes are hidden by his hair and a black mask is pulled up over his face. He must be some sort of germaphobe. There's another girl with them, her hair is brown short and raggedy. She looks over at me and waves us over, she tugs on the sleeve of the blonde haired boy and then the group starts walking over to us.
"Okay…." I look over at Amora who seems to have also noticed the perfectly balanced group of two boys and two girls walking towards us. Amora takes a deep breath and closes her eyes trying to pick up on their scent to see if they're dangerous. A puzzled look crosses her face before she goes pale. "AJ?" she whispers.
"Aye, ladies? You look a lit'le los' you need some 'elp?" the blonde man speaks with a fake accent. This can't be good. I lean over to her
"That's not a real accent" She looks at me with wide eyes and shrugs, seeming to only be half present. The group reaches us and I automatically narrow my gaze at the tallest one in the group.
"Who are you?" I say, guardedly, the man with auburn hair looks directly at me, his eyes are a dazzling blue. "We'r the greetin 'muunity for ye trip." The girl with the raggedy brown hair speaks and I turn my gaze to her. Her accent is at least real. I still don't budge
"Oh yeah? That's great! Does that mean you can tell me…" I look at the group. "What hotel are we going to? How long are we staying? and why aren't our plane tickets for a round trip?" The girls of the group pale slightly but the blonde one takes their silence in stride. Answering every question with rehearsed accuracy. He was definitely prepared for questions. "Oh I see...Just one more question."
"Yees Ma'am?" The blond says, feeling good about how well he's handling the situation. He pronounced Ma'am as 'mom' but his accent still seems slightly inconsistent. I step closer to them, hopinig to caouse a scene in the middle of the airport. If we can get someone's attention we can get away much easier. "Why do you all have military training?" The blond man stays silent. "Well," I say, looking towards the amn with auburn hair. The woman who stands next to him has also stayed silent butI have a feeeling she doesn't kow as much aas the Auburn haired man does. "I guess that means it's your turn to answer a question." His eyes focus on me and hold me. "You're quite smart. I'm impressed" He speaks with a refined tone and golden vibrato. His words make my heart jump and then I remember Ren's eyes, Hyper aware and gold. I look closely at his eyes, Amora steps forward, shaken. Her knives in a steel grip. She's looking at the man's friend. He has pronounced, smooth features, green eyes, blonde hair, and glasses. Definitely full blood Irish. But, he didn't seem to have an accent at all….
"We are all trained individuals. We're still the greeting community. You girls didn't win any trip by chance, You've been invited to a very prestigious party. By word of Derrick Moretti. A special party in honor of his fiance. He wanted to make sure you were deposited to your hotel safely. We're ex-merceneries hired as bodyguards for you and your future husband." The man speaks eloquently but not rehearsed. Amora loosens her grip on the knives. "Derrick?" she asks quietly and bitterly. The man nods. I look at the rest of them, they seem slightly confused but quickly hide it under warm smiles. I've noticed the blond man won't look Amora in her eyes.
"sorey for the disguise, we 'er told it was a surprise for ya." he says, still with his fake accent. They're still hiding something. Amora doesn't seem to think so, she just drops her shoulders and sighs.
"Well let's go then." she says dismally. Still not buying it, I find more questions to ask as we walk through the airport to baggage claim.
"So...what did you say your names were?" Amora still won't stop staring at the blonde one. I wonder what it is she likes about him. Sure he's handsome, but who can really tell? half his face is hidden. They hesitate, as if they didn't know how to answer the question. One of them seemed to be listening to someone talk. I notice a nearly invisible ear piece in both of the boys' ears. Is someone talking to them?
"Aye," said the auburn haired man. "I'm Ronan." He reaches out his hand and offers a smile "I'm Connor." Said the blonde.
"Mary, 'nd this es Jessie." Says the one with brown hair. I look over at Jessie. She hasn't said a single word. She's walking a few paces ahead of everyone else but she turns back to look at me, her eyes are violet and blue. She quickly turns away again. I can't tell exactly why she's nervous, but I don't think she's part of the threat. "Valerie." I say in response in an effort to make them think I'm no longer concerned. "Ah." The one pretending to be named Connor adds as we reach baggage claim, he regards Amora with concern. "Is yer friend still a lit'l shook frim the flight? " I make eye contact with Amora, she knows that these guys are not as innocent as they seem. Connor offers his hand to her in a comforting gesture. She sheathed her knife at some point, but I have no doubt that it's easily accessible. Jessie and Mary hastily excuse themselves to the bathroom. Whatever they needed to do has been done. They won't be coming back anytime soon.