Ananta woke with a start, head pounding. The girl was shaking his body, the man still in his truck, wary.
"Ananta! Ananta!"
He sat up, groggy, as the girl sat back, her eyes sharp, green glowing through her bandages. "My head hurts," Ananta said drily, more an observation than anything.
"Yeah, same here," the girl said, and stood, offering her hand to him. "Do you think it has anything to do with…" she glanced at the man - Felix - and lowered her voice, pointing to her forehead. "Him?"
Ananta shook his head, frowning. "No, I think we're dehydrated."
"Oh." The girl hauled him to his feet, disappointed. "Really?"
"Yes." Ananta turned to Felix, the sun slanting his vision again. "You. Phoenix. Why are you here?"
* * *
"A meeting? You can't be serious."
"Oh, but I am, milady," Art said, grinning. "I've already put it to a vote within the company," he continued, twirling his finger on the glass coffee table in front of him. "Guess what they said."
"Unanimous for a meeting."
"Ding ding ding! Cor-rect."
"That doesn't mean anything."
"Oh, but it does when you have a majority."
"For god's sake, Art, you-" Lavender leaned forwards, rubbing her forehead. "You don't have a majority. The council's been split for decades."
"Why yes it has, Lady Lav, acute observations," he said, matching her stance. "Except certain, ah, world-threatening scenarios like the Ouroboros escaping tend to… shift things a little."
"You told them?"
Art examined his fingernails, picking at the cuticles, and shrugged. "Why not?"
"We have it under control."
"Doesn't look like it," Art said, glancing at the pile of rubble outside. "Actually, it looks like you got your asses kicked by a twelve year old. Like I said, for certain… groups, that does change things."
"Shit," muttered Lavender, and Art seemed to grin wider. "Fine. So you called a meeting. Where and when?"
"I suggested Petrus's place."
Lavender looked up sharply. "Petrus? Did he vote for a meeting?"
"Well… I can't tell you, Lady. That would be breaking my code."
"You have no fucking code, Art."
"I have a code," he said, eyebrows furrowing. "It's just not your code, you pretentious twat."
"Did he vote?"
"Yes." Art was practically glowing now, his red eyes shimmering with glee. "The meeting is happening, Lav. Where we want it for once. I only came here out of courtesy, really. Consider it a privilege that I didn't just send some grunt. Petrus's place, in a week exactly. Come a day early. He'll meet you at the gates."
He glanced at Mateo, then, his eyes darkening to an uncharacteristically serious shade of burgundy. "Bring the boy, too. All containers will be there." Lavender made a sound of protest, but he cut it off. "Politics aside, Lav, you know what this means. For all of us." And with that, his already translucent gray skin faded into nothing, his red eyes sending shards of red light bouncing around the room as he disappeared.
"Shit," muttered Lavender again, and looked up at Mateo. "Get ready. And bring me those damn guards."