Silence.
The silence permeating throughout that car was so loud that even a lion's roar would've been drowned out.
Both Meiying and Farra were seated in the car, and between them, a phone was in one of the cupholders. The two girls stared intensely at one another, waiting to see which one would back down first, but neither gave any ground. The first to make a move was Farra, who raised one of her hands. Recognizing her intent, Meiying did the same, raising her hand just above her head.
As an act of generosity toward her partner, Meiying advised Farra, "I'll do you a favor and let you back down now. It'll save you the humiliation."
"Would you have said the same to the great King Arthur before he drew the legendary Excalibur? It'd be an insult to my future self if I gave in now."
"Have it your way."
The two held still for a moment longer, then just as the phone buzzed, the two threw down their fists.
"Paper!"
"Rock!"
With bitterness showing on her face, Meiying picked up the phone.
"Ha! See! I knew I could do it!"
"Alright, alright, shut up for a second."
Putting the phone to her ear, Meiying took a deep breath before she answered the call.
"He-Hello Mistress Liliana..."
Meiying's voice was unusually soft, a far cry from her typical assertiveness. "Yes, Mistress Liliana, I'm aware... Yes, I understand completely."
Farra watched, a mischievous grin creeping across her face. She widened her eyes dramatically and puffed out her cheeks, exaggerating a pout as Meiying struggled to maintain her composure.
"Of course, Mistress... I apologize for the delay... Yes, we are working on it." Meiying's fingers clenched into a tight fist, her knuckles turning white as Farra stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. Meiying shot her a deadly glare but remained silent, forcing herself to focus on the call.
"Trust me, we're very close to having a breakthrough in this case and I'll ensure that we provide a more steady stream of updates. I apologize for the great delay, but I can assure you that- No, please! There isn't any need for that!"
Meiying swallowed hard. "Yes, Mistress. I promise we'll have made significant progress in the coming days."
As Liliana continued, Farra began miming an exaggerated crying face, pretending to wipe away tears with her fingers. Meiying's eye twitched, her patience hanging by a thread.
Meiying slowly lowered the phone from her ear, her face carefully neutral. Farra, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, immediately stopped her antics and smiled sweetly.
"That sounded rough. Everything alright?" Farra asked, feigning innocence.
Meiying took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as if gathering every ounce of willpower she had. "Farra..."
As Meiying spoke, Farra instinctively moved her body away.
"If you don't want to end up naked and tied to a tree in the middle of a forest tonight, I suggest you stop testing me."
"Wow, that was shockingly calm coming from you."
That remark was the straw that broke the camel's back.
With awe invoking precision of a falcon, Meiying pounced on Farra. The utter perfection of her movement was incredible. The swiftness and accuracy it takes to take off your seatbelt and so perfectly leap onto someone in the confines of a car is not something to be underestimated. It's not something that can be done lazily, it must be trained, learned.
In the same light, Farra's reaction must be praised. Without any thought going through her mind, she protected her neck before she could be strangled. It's not something that can be done lazily, it must be trained, learned.
"This is all your fault! Your stupid info has led us on wild goose chase after wild goose chase. This was meant to be a quick, simple mission. Ranking officers like us should have no problem solving a case like this, so why in the hell are we struggling so much?!"
"Have you considered that this might not be as simple as those pencil pushers back home think it is? Not to mention that those kids have been avoiding us so we can't get any statements from them."
"Who cares if the job is simple or not? If the mistress herself is calling us, then things are looking bad for us either way. If I get stripped of my title-"
"You'll be fine, stop acting like a child, though-"
"I'll rip your goddamn throat out if you even think about finishing that sentence!"
Before long, the two separated, though Meiying was clearly still angry.
"Farra... give me the run down one more time..."
"You promise you won't hurt me?"
"...Yeah, I promise."
"In our search for leads in our case to find out what was in the coffin, we-"
"We?"
"I suggested that we look into the five mages currently living in the city. The first two were the Hernandez brothers, who were clearly super suspicious. Actually, on that note, the fifth battalion has recently labeled them as criminals so-"
Menacingly, Meiying cracked her knuckles.
"Oh and anyway! After that, we started looking into the three other mages living in this city, all three of which are students at the same school. It looked super easy, but..."
"But, somehow these children keep avoiding us."
"Well, yes..."
"Farra, fix it. We've been here for a week and I want to go home."
"Don't you worry, I've got this super great idea that'll fix everything!"
Meiying scoffed, but since she didn't directly refuse, Farra took it to be a good sign and headed off to their destination.
"This is the dojo two of the mages go to frequently, I bet they'll be here today as well."
The car rumbled softly as they pulled into the parking lot of an old, run-down dojo. The sign above the door, once vibrant, now hung crooked and faded, with the words "Dragon Mojo" barely legible under layers of peeling paint.
"This place looks like it could collapse at any moment."
Farra unbuckled her seatbelt, glancing at the dojo with an amused smirk. "Yeah, but I guess that's part of the appeal."
Meiying rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, the cold wind immediately cutting through her thin jacket. She slammed the door shut, scanning the area with a practiced eye. "Alright, let's get this over with. What's this great idea of yours?"
Farra, her face lighting up with enthusiasm, jogged around the car to join Meiying. "Okay, hear me out. What if-"
Bending down slightly, Farra whispered her idea into Meiying's ear.
Meiying took a step closer, her hands clenched into fists. "You want to say that again?"
Farra didn't back down, meeting Meiying's glare with one of her own. "You want this mission to be done with right? Then stop acting like a spoiled brat and listen to me here!"
"You're impossible!" Meiying hissed, her voice low but dangerous.
"And you're stubborn!" Farra retorted.
Without missing a beat, the two started to fight once more.
Unknown to both of them, two boys had just walked into the dojo.