Adriel went to the counter curiously. "Are you going to tell Avery you can see me?"
Ein scoffed. "Hell no. They already think I've lost my marbles. What do you think will happen if I tell Avery I'm haunted by a ghost?"
He opened the cabinet, retrieving a half-empty bag of coffee grounds. The rich, earthy aroma filled the air as he poured the grounds into the machine's filter.
Adriel leaned against the counter, staring at Ein with slight interest. "What did you do to make them think you're crazy anyway?"
Ein closed the cabinet, pausing for a moment. Then he filled the reservoir with water from the sink, ignoring the ghost's eyes on him.
Adriel shifted on his feet. "You don't like talking about yourself, do you?"
With a click, Ein closed the reservoir lid and stared at the buttons. "Do you like talking about how you were murdered?" he quipped.
The ghost rubbed his chin. "I guess the sight of myself bleeding out ungracefully in a dirty alley wasn't the greatest, but I already complained it enough, so I'm over it." He waited, clearly waiting for Ein to share.
"It's nothing interesting," Ein said, inexpressively. "I had a partner, Luke. We went after a bad guy, fell into a trap."
Adriel took a seat by the table, preparing to listen to the story. "Sounds like there's more to it."
Ein cast a doubtful sideward glance at him. "Why do you want to know?"
Adriel rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin on his hands. "You heard about my life. Now I want to hear about yours."
Ein busied himself with the coffee machine, his fingers fidgeting with the buttons as he tried to keep his expression neutral.
"Long story short, the bad guys wanted to know who send us. Luke couldn't take the torture and spilled information on our locations and safety measures. In the end he died. I escaped alone. By the time I got back, our organization was ruined."
Adriel nodded slowly, chewing over the story. "And then what?"
Ein pressed the start button on the coffee machine. "Avery, Dean and I established Jolly Wings, that works as a chicken shop by day and a killing business by night."
"I see..." Adriel murmured, his eyes shifting around as he rubbed his chin in thought. "But what made them think you're out of your mind?"
"I was paranoid for a good while after it all went down," Ein gave an honest answer. "Over-attentive to sounds and movements. Might have overreacted once or twice, which was enough to make them think I'm going off the rails."
The machine stopped whirring with a beep. Ein turned to pour the brewed coffee into two mugs before setting them on the table. "Anyway, that's the story."
Ein had left out certain details of the story, like how the 'bad guy' they went after was the CFO of Byers Holdings.
Judging from the way Adriel carried himself, Ein assumed he had no clue about the underground business.
"Were you very close with Luke?" Adriel inquired, sliding one of the cups over to his side.
Ein sat down on the other side of the table. "Friends since high school."
Adriel nodded, sipping the coffee. The hot liquid left a bitter aftertaste. "It must have hurt," he mused, watching as Ein brought his own cup to his lips, "losing a friend like that."
Ein shrugged with a sardonic smirk. "Back then, I was more pissed than hurt. I cursed at him plenty after he died. But now that I see your soul's still lingering around, I really hope he didn't hear all that."
Adriel tried to lighten the atmosphere a little, "I'm sure he was too busy being dead to listen to you."
"Unlike someone."
The box of fried chicken was still sitting on the table, seemingly untouched despite the ghost's previous feast. Ein contemplatively picked one of the cold pieces, but as soon as he bit into it, he changed his mind and threw it back into the box.
"You really ate the soul out of this," Ein muttered, wiping his mouth. The meat tasted like dust and ashes, not a single hint of the savory flavor.
Adriel watched his dissatisfied expression and laughed. He leaned over the table, digging through the box, "Wait, there was supposed to be one or two pieces I didn't touch."
The sight of Adriel rummaging through the box like a raccoon was too amusing to hang onto the heavy topics. That was enough depressing talks for at least the next week.
"Aha! Found it," Adriel triumphantly brought up a large piece of chicken, hanging it over to Ein.
"Thanks."
To Ein's relief, despite its coldness, this piece still had the consistency and and flavor of a chicken.
He washed it down with a swig of coffee and got up from the table. "You ready? Let's go."
"Wait, we're not walking again, are we? It's going to take way too long. I don't want to go all that way by foot."
The ghost's prayers (complaints) were heard. Ein caved and ended up driving to Jolly Wings by car.
It was around eight in the morning when they pulled up to the building. Avery was already moving inside, lazily lifting the chairs off the tables and yawning.
Ein walked up to the door and knocked on the glass by the "closed" sign. Avery glanced up, flashed a grin, then came to unlock the door.
"Here so soon? Is your meticulous research phase over? Accepting deals without much thought now?"
Ein came in, recalling the unopened envelope waiting for him on the corner of the kitchen table. It had slipped his mind after the whole ordeal with Adriel's body.
"It's not about that."
Avery paused, tilting his head with a sly grin. "What is it, then? Missed me?"
Ein shook his head, coughing out a "No."
"Cold." Avery chuckled, moving to wipe down the table of the nearest booth.
"It's dusty here," Ein muttered as he lifted a chair off a table and took a seat.
Avery scoffed. "If you want, I can give you a bucket and a broom. You're more than welcome to scrub this place until it sparkles. Less work for me."
"No, thanks."
The ghost circled Ein impatiently. "Ask about the blue moon already. Why are you beating around the bush?"
Ein leaned back in his seat and cleared his throat. "Have you heard of this blue moon thing? The wishes or something?"
Avery paused in his cleaning, looking at Ein with a smirk. "Oho! Since when have you paid attention to superstitions?"
"Just heard someone mention it," Ein said, feigning indifference.
"Just heard it, huh?" Avery resumed wiping the table, a playful grin on his face. "Why are you asking? Do you have a wish?"
"Can't I be curious?" Ein retorted.
"Not with that attitude," Avery quipped. "Anyway, look it up online. It's the twenty-first century. You think I know more than the internet?"
Ein crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought you liked the sound of your own voice."
Avery chuckled, slinging the cleaning cloth over his shoulder. "Why, yes, I do," he said in a sing-song voice. "Out with it, then. What do you want to know?"
"Is there something special one would need to do when making a wish on the blue moon night?" Ein inquired.
Avery let out a laugh, setting the cleaning cloth down on the table. "Special? Like what? You think there's some kind of secret ritual or something?"
Ein narrowed his eyes. "Is there?"