The blue fire pit cracked into the night, stretching the shadows of the frantic villagers, fast on their feet to change the oil in the lamp lights, moving and fitting scratched wooden tables and puffy sittings for the post stage feast. The actors, as it was tradition, had their separate seats, in the crosshairs of the public. Fortunately for Lian and her group, though, tonight they were no longer lambs for entertainment; they paid their dues and their meal. The praises they got were not for the quality, just that they did for them.
While the Kildarians had a seating plan set up, the redhead tried to coax and exchange one chair after another, slowly encroaching on her target: Arim. The two have been exchanging looks and flirts for what seemed like an eternity now. The playfulness was enjoyable, but their day until the portal to the human world synched was approaching. So, if she has to take the step to find out where the two stood, then so be it. Except for an issue: she soon found herself in the presence of a mighty wall: Tommen.
Tommen- " You do know that you look like you want to strangle him, right?", he remarked, pointing with a fork at her focused, unblinking gaze. " But I can't let ya right. Arim finally got up the courage to try and talk with that teen menace."
Somehow, those words drained her of any will she had, and the redhead dropped like a stone on a chair. A bit frustrated, she rubs her temple, a bit annoyed by how invested he, Brigit and Zinc were in Arim and Maci talking to one another. " So, so…help me out here to understand something already. So, Arim's her long-lost sibling she's searching for, right?"
The Nordic sips from a straw, talking slow, long drinks from his cup; his eyes are hidden under his black, darkened glasses, but she could feel him peeking, stalling for time.
Lian- " Why all the secrecy? I don't…I'm very confused, in multiple ways, tired and I just want some sense. Help…please?…"
Tommen, still caught a bit off-guard by how easily she figured things out, wasn't sure how much he should divulge. On the other hand, Zinc, who was munching like a rabbit on a piece of cabbage, had years to figure out how much he should divulge…in a surprisingly restrained tone.
Zinc- " I'll tell you something that might chill you out. So, basically, Arim's a bit afraid…of what it might do to her family back on Earth. He and, their mutual dad, have patched things out a while ago…with a demand from my boy-that Maci never finds out about his existence. In Arim's head, he would live in this world and Maci as a football star or whatever on Earth. Never to interact."
Lian- " But she found something out-"
Zinc- " Yes. So things are weird between the two. He even planned to stay out of her sight while she snooped around…but things happened. So", the little crimson firbolg emphasized by throwing a crumb into Lian's forehead, " whatever you're dealing with right now, it can wait. Right?"
For the first time, she felt that Zinc's aggression towards her was warranted. "Right.", she replied, taking a deep, shameful drink from a bottle nearby. Brigit, thinking it was a celebratory drink, clapped and yelled to " bring the girl another bottle!"
…
The actor/narrator, once drenched in a majestic white suit, proudly showing off her skills on the stage, now played with her thumbs, once more trying to make amends with her first love. The others, curious about the drama, followed Brigit's pleas from a safe distance, speculating the reasons for her and the weaver's break-up.
Finely- " My guess…Brigit was a player and flirted around?", they said, with a fox's smirk and coaxing the rest to play along.
"No!", yelled in unison Scramble and Grunshie. " The young lady is an adventurous one, but not a scoundrel type!" Scramble broke the stereo and, still hungry for a story, let her imagination run wild. " But what if…she had a moment of weakness? Or the two tried to start…to build something together, but it was too much for the pair? What if it left them so sour that neither are able to find love anymore?!"
Tommen-" Brigit had a second girlfriend", the artist remarked dryly, pointing at the woman that tried to mediate the talks between Brigit and her first ex.
Ogda - "...Ah, ok, that answer that", replied the water firbolg as if he was snapped from a nap; " Giol, didn't you say that you wanted to ask them about their…"
Giol- " Technique? Yap. But now's not the time. I don't know if you haven't caught on, but tonight's all about timing and patience." The lancer's remark felt heavy on Lian, both because of his words and sympathetic pats on the shoulder.
A few understand his words, while for others it flew right through an ear and out of the other- Temitayo, who up until then was busy silently slicing and opening her food to guess the ingredients, asked something addressed to everyone. " That was an interesting story, right? From the play?"
Ogda- "...Hmmm. I enjoyed it, but it felt a bit off at the end. Rushed? And I'm still not sure about the portal-"
Tommen- " What do you mean?"
Lian- " Why it showed up out of nowhere", she interjected, sharing the same concerns as her partner.
A defeated, tired but also weirdly at peace Brigit joined them right in the middle of that plot point- " Ah, that ancient question. There was an investigation, done by our dear tech enthusiast Blitz, and he found zilch. Zero. Nada. Nothing about the source. "
Lian- " Right, I guess. Nothing to be done then." She then turned to the weavers, one with puffy eyes, while the other penduled a bleary stare between her colleague and Brigit. "Isss everything fine with…"
Brigit- " Nope. Maybe. Pamia will probably dislike my guts until the end of times, upgraded from hate though. But that's my problem. Now, to return to something less depressing: The aftermath of my village's destruction." She munched on a piece of bread, cheese and licked her fingers of the meat grease, ready to enlighten them with more information.
Brigit-" To be honest, the only thing we skip on is the Firebird conclusion - it was hers, my mom's request to leave her out of the last act. All I can say is that after she saved us and helped Nizzio to defend the bridge, she ended up staying in Caer Sidi, 'adopted' me, became a pact partner and is a 'freelance' member of the Union."
Ogda- "... Hmm, shame. I kinda wanted to hear more about the other world from her perspective. "
Brigit- " Ah. You also want that?", she stared at Giol, who scratched his chin chitin armor, thinking long and hard and shrugged as his final answer.
Giol- " Maybe. If we catch her when she's back in town, we could ask."
Brigit- " Ah, no need. I've got other ways to call her. Cool, looks like we've got tomorrow planned."
Giol- " What?", he almost jumped, a bit surprised. " That soon?", hoping for some help from Ogda, but no luck; the water firbolg actually seemed confused by his jumpiness and uneasiness. " Ok, I, sure…I guess it would be fine to find out more about…home?"
Ogda- "...It's alright, I also don't consider it home, just my starting place."
The lancer bit his upper lip in frustration on his friend's selective attentiveness, but in the end yielded to the peer pressure- "Well, if you put it like that, guess that's better. Nice catch, by the way, it helped." He thought of inviting his human 'brother' on the ride, who immediately declined the invitation.
Tommen- " Tomorrow is my duel in the clover arena against that metallic sculptor. Besides, you've got this man, you have backup." Giol chuckled.
…
For a while has been like an owl, turning her head to the side, using her ability in small portions to pierce through the bodies of feathered people, dim lamp lights and reflections from the glasses;
Ogda felt pinches from the power-ups and at some point got fed up with her and asked Giol to help move the wall; their distraction worked, faster than they expected, as both Lian and Arim were caught off-guard when their glances met suddenly. The redhead's shoulder shriveled down, and she became glued to her seat; "Snap out of it, you can do it!", she thought, followed with a few doses of water to wash down the insecurities, and a rapid lift from her chair in a perfect, rigid straight back.
In the spirit of a crane, she turned around, only to then see Arim also rigidly rotating towards her. Looking like two deer caught in the headlights, they take a first, awkward step forward and exchange a weird, forced peasantry.
Arim- " Oh, hey…"
Lian- " Yeah, hi…" she paused, her mind spinning at full speed to think of something. " Uhm, going some…where are you going, because I was on my way…your way."
Arim- " Same, same." He replied, believing he said more than what came out; The young man then reboots. " Also your way. To congratulate you, on your performance today…"
"Oh thank god, a crooked door" realized the girl, hoping her next act would end the awkward streak. " That's not true because I was awful, thank you very much."
Arim-"...Yeah…sorry; kinda our fault for not letting you guys know…a lot earlier than that. The original crew got food poisoning while we were with the Tuatha business", he tried to explain, slowly gaining some rhythm in his speech." Anyway, except for Finley, kinda Brigit and surprisingly, Ogda, the rest of us should think twice before hoping to win…uhm…what is it called, that actor's prize?"
Lian- " An oscar?"
Arim- " What, those are still around? I thought they got discontinued a while ago", to which Lian just shrugged.
Lian- " Maybe. But, can't say that you weren't at my level of bad. You managed to give me the chills a few times, with your portrayal."
The young man looked down, getting quiet once again. A blushy cheek and a small smile betrayed him. " Yeah, you liked it? My acting?"
Lian-" Wow, moving fast huh, going straight to liking", the girl laughed, and her eyes widened, trying to make sure she's just jesting. He giggles back. It gives her courage to move forward. " So…I lied a bit before, about something."
Arim- " Knew it, I was actually the star out there", a joke so dry and quick that it caught the redhead by surprise, and gave her an opportunity.
Lian- " Yeah…yeah. Maybe. In that case, I think that the star should be celebrated…by a going out…tomorrow…but just the two of us?" She expected him to freeze up, maybe bumble a bit, but to her surprise, he squinted his eyes.
Arim- " But we've been doing that since you got here? I've been showing you guys the city and whatnot for a while now."
Disappointed, and dreading the harrowing moment of having to explain the date part of the date, she remarked irritatedly that "because it's your job. This would be different. You know, going out, between people that…"
The young man's Union training about all kinds of meetings started to rotate around his head, until something clicked for him. "Ohhh. Right. You were trying to do what I was…You are asking me on a date, right?"
Lian- " Yap. Date…romantically…right?"
Arim- " Yeah."
Unsure of what to even do next (leave, sit down, talk more), they individually decided to take a seat; surprising at first, weird for another second, but the moment they started to fill their plates, it became easier for them to talk; especially when it came to finding out their favorite snacks.