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Autumndusk, The COU Castle: An Employee Lounge, Time: 10:00 AM
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In The COU Castle, the employee lounge area is consistently busy with everyone doing work, messing with others, or just sleeping from exhaustion.
On the couch, Bada seems to be pondering something as he looks over the papers on the table - the case about the decreasing population in Tarrabria. 'I need to take care of this matter if Father arranges a meeting with her.'
The door swings open as the familiar redhead comes back - Freya. She seems to be prettier after the recent skincare treatment.
"Freya?" Bada asks before Freya sits next to him, unusually quiet.
"Freya?" Bada starts poking her, trying to get her out of this state.
Freya, however, starts to pin Bada down before pulling him into a passionate deep kiss. Their lips touch each other with Freya pulling on Bada's tie to show who's the more dominant one in their relationship.
"I was waiting for my returning kiss but you didn't give it to me, so I decided to do it on my own," Freya remarks after they break apart, leaving Bada panting for air. Freya smirks as she plays with his tie with her finger.
"Uhm..."
Freya and Bada look to see the source of the voice - it's Nathan, he finally gets out of the dirty miner's clothes and wears a suit this time, with his hair tied in a small ponytail. He's holding a tray of hot, fresh chai tea.
"Did I...interrupt something?" Nathan asks. He feels like he walked into their "intimate" moment.
Freya looks at Bada, "When did we allow kids to work in The COU?" She seems confused.
"Freya! He's 16!" Bada states, trying again to get her off of him, but she just looks at him in amusement.
"Chai tea, Mr. Bada?" Nathan offers, with Bada nodding confirmation. Nathan places down the tea for them both.
"So what's up with him?" Freya remarks, still on top of Bada.
"Well, he doesn't have parents..." Bada begins explaining as he drinks his tea.
Bada takes a long sip of the chai tea before continuing his explanation to Freya.
"When we put up those missing children posters for Gray Phoenix, Nathan here was one of the kids that turned up without any family," he says.
Freya finally gets off of Bada, allowing him to sit up properly on the couch. Nathan stands politely to the side, waiting to see if they need anything else.
"So since he's underage, I decided to take him in and give him a job and home here," Bada says. He gives Nathan an approving nod. "He's been working hard ever since."
"I see." Freya studies Nathan with new curiosity. "Sorry for assuming you were just a child, Nathan. I can see Bada cares about you."
She playfully elbows Bada in the ribs. "Getting paternal in your old age, hmm?"
Bada's cheeks flush. "I just wanted to help him out!"
Nathan smiles slightly at their banter. "It's very kind of you, Mr. Bada. I'm grateful for the opportunity here."
His eyes drift down to the papers on the missing Tarrabrians that still have Bada concerned. Nathan wonders if someday he can help investigate that mystery too. For now, he refills their teacups, listening to Freya continue her affectionate teasing of a flustered Bada.
Freya decided that it would be the best time to talk about it. "Well, aside from this, Bada, we need to address the giant elephant in the room," Freya said, sipping on her tea.
"Uhhh...are you guys referring to me?" The anthropomorphic elephant asked as he was carrying a bunch of paperwork to print out.
"No, not you, Tram. Not yet," Freya stated. Tram could only shrug before walking away to print out the paper.
"Oh...right. Do you know where he went?" Bada asked, to which Freya shook her head.
"Nope, he left no clue at all for me and disappeared in the mist. Couldn't get a read on that guy," Freya stated, looking down at the ground.
"Yeah, you can't get a read on Sugar about what he's about to do next," a mysterious voice stated before Freya turned to the left to see Nick eating an apple.
"How did you?! When?!" Freya couldn't even feel him entering the room at all.
"Time is a bitch," Nick simply stated, which baffled the three people in the conversation.
"We are getting off-topic. Bada, we can't hide Sugar forever," Freya stated, looking at him straight in the eyes.
"Yes, we can! We can just cover it up with someone or something else! If we could do it once, we can do it again," Bada looked Freya in the eyes as well, the tension between them beginning to heat up.
"Yeah, because he's out there, getting someone killed or making a big scene! If he does something rash, everyone will know who he is," Freya was grabbing him, wanting him to understand.
"Think about it, Bada! The other kingdoms know about him since he showed himself during that incident and probably told the truth to the kingdom," Bada started to turn his head away from her.
Bada turns his head away, conflicted emotions playing across his face. Freya's words have struck a nerve.
"I know, believe me I know," Bada says quietly. "But if we reveal now that he's my..."
He trails off, struggling to continue. Nick watches silently from the corner, taking another bite of his apple, his expression unreadable behind his smirk.
Freya's gaze softens. She reaches out and gently turns Bada's face back towards her.
"Hey. It's going to be okay," she says. "I get why you covered for him. I'd have done the same if he were my family. But we can't change what happened now."
Bada closes his eyes with a pained exhale. "My father will be furious. The scandal it would cause..."
"So we handle it carefully," Freya assures. "Make a controlled announcement on our terms. The other kingdoms may have suspicions but they don't know for certain. Not yet."
She squeezes his hand. "Sugar needs help. The longer he's out there unchecked the worse it could get. But with COU's resources, our connections...we can find him, bring him back safely."
Bada opens his eyes, meeting her determined gaze again. Slowly he nods.
"You're right. I've avoided this long enough." He glances over at Nick. "Presumably you have some ideas where my mentor has gone?"
"A few educated guesses," Nick says around another apple bite, a hint of a sly smile touching his lips. "Shall we discuss?"
Nick polishes off the last bite of his apple before elaborating.
"So Qumor outskirts is a decent likelihood for Sugar's location," he says. "He took a liking to that isolated countryside last time he did a...walkabout."
Nick tosses the apple core neatly into the trash as Bada listens tensely.
"Plenty of abandoned wastelands and cabins out there for makeshift shelter," Nick continues. "Decent hunting and foraging. And the remoteness gives privacy for..."
He pauses, giving Bada a brief meaningful look.
"Letting off some magical steam," Nick finishes diplomatically. "Without prying eyes or casualties."
Bada exhales, looking mildly relieved at the implication that his unstable mentor may at least be keeping a low profile for now.
"I should have known he'd head back there eventually. Our family used to vacation at our old estate in Qumor when I met him for the first time." Bada's expression turns distant at the memory. "It was an escape for Sugar even then."
"Right, so," Nick claps his hands decisively. "I'll gather a discreet search team and we can start sweeping the area. With any luck, we'll find him within a few weeks."
He heads for the door but pauses, glancing back. "Don't worry. We'll bring your mentor home safe."
Freya decided to lighten up the mood. "Hey, Bada~" Bada turned to her to see she was holding a cherry dress, waving it around.
"Oh no..." Bada tried to run before he was tackled to the ground by Freya as he struggled against her.
Nathan decided to start a conversation, "I guess you know so much about Sugar, don't you?" He was curious about this fella.
"Yeah, he's my brother-in-law, and I need to take care of him as my sister's last wish," Nick stated, sipping on the tea, "Also, he almost had a billion people killed five years ago when he lost her."
"Oh! Jeez...I am so sorry..." Nathan could feel the burden that Nick had to carry on his back, it was heavy. Too heavy.
"Aw, look at you~ You're so cute in a dress!" Freya presented Bada in the cherry dress; he was embarrassed as he covered his face.
"Now then, come here, dear~" Freya pressed a button in which a metallic soundproof wall blocked the window of Bada's office.
"Mr. Nick. What are they doing?" Nathan said before Nick covered his eye and lifted him.
"Son, it's gonna change the rating of this book into 17+," Nick said, looking at me. Don't you break the fourth wall, you goddamn toothpaste! Follow the script!
Nick and Nathan quickly left Freya and Bada to their own devices.
"I need an adult..." Bada stated before he was pinned down on the couch.
"Honey, we are both the adults ~" Freya licked her lip, this is going to be a fun experience. "Now, spread em open, Bada~"
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