Snippet #916889

“Are they now?” Aika replied, her voice cool, yet laced with a hint of concern, and her brow creased at the sight of Ivory’s discernable wounds. Only a girl like her could reel off such grim news with such a jovial, pristine face, like a kitten alerting you of the apocalypse. There was a lot to like about her, of course; Hiro, in spite of what that nonchalant expression told the world, obliged. Mixed emotions of the news seared Aika’s mind as she leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the girl and her smile.

She nibbled her bottom lip, a habit borne from the yearning of smokes. It hardly took a genius to figure that one out—seems like Ivory here had her pinned on the spot. With a smirk, Aika said, “Had a fairly smooth run out there. I caught some weak ones on the coastline, a little gang of three to be exact. By the looks of it, I’d say they gave me less trouble than those…”

Hiro skimmed her peripheral vision. More importantly, the pipe between in mouth followed suit, as did the second one that was promptly offered to her. She returned his blank stare, although the corners of her lips threatened to curve into a smile. Good man. No hopeless addict is left behind. “…bastards up north” were her finishing words as she accepted the rather formal instrument, knowing full and well that the guy had probably just rummaged through Ivory’s personal dreamscape. Aika was silent for a moment, shaking her head at the departing boy. So this was their almighty trio, the band of mortal heroes and their blowing pipes? Worked for her.

“A true gentleman.” There was no drier way to describe him. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, the warrior Poonyah snarled in disagreement.

Still fiddling with the pipe, Aika perked up as the front doors sounded, and a moonlit Saito entered the lounge in a tumult of shadow. His commanding presence fit well with the glum tone of his words, and, despite acknowledging it ages ago, the warning of the nearby full moon hit her like a merciless gust.

“Yeah, and that’s why I want us all to discuss this thing before we’re knee-deep in a shitstorm,” she said to him, beckoning for Ivory to follow as she made her way downstairs. “It’s easy to get a little anxious this time of the month, but it’s bugging me. Speaking of anxious,” she added, frowning, “has anyone seen Yui and Emiko? Those two picked a perfect time to hit the town.”

Knowing Yui’s more… ambitious side, the girl had most likely detoured to a friend’s place for a night; many times this would happen without so much as a call or a text, but Aika had learned to accept it, if only slightly. And Emi, well, she was a fan of this type of deal, the whole stride-after-dark affair. Aika didn’t blame her, but that barely kept distress away from the senior member. Taking out her mobile phone, she sent a brief text to them both, messaging them of what was to come.