Hours passed into days, and before I realized it, there were only three days left until the expedition came. Sylvie skipped a full day of school to spend time with me, so I naturally had to call in again. I hadn't been so happy in a long, long time, and it showed.
”You’re looking chipper.” Quinn yawned, and stretched out. She had black bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept, and sipped at a thermos while driving. Today was one of the few laid back ones.
”Sylvie and I made up!” I laughed, and thwacked her arm playfully with my tail. “You look… a bit rough?”
”My partner abandoned me for two days, so yeah.” She groaned and ran a hand down her face. “So much paperwork, Reyna. I don’t think you can understand how miserable it was.”
“Who do you think usually does all that paperwork?” I asked innocently. I did feel bad for leaving her though. I knew just how rotten it felt to be left behind. “Sorry.”
”It’s fine. I’m glad you had a nice time.” She patted my shoulder, and grabbed her coffee to sip at once more. The scent of alcohol was mixed in with the bitter substance. “You’ve been a bit down recently.”
”Yeah, well…” There was a lot to be down about. Like the expedition looming over my head. Some of my cheer faded. “Don’t drink too much of that stuff.”
“Reyna Vargriev.” She glared at me through the rear-view mirror, and downed the rest of the thermos as if to spite me. “Are you really trying to take away my one true love in life?”
”It’s a toxic relationship at best, and you know it.” I squinted at her, and my nose twitched. At the very least, it smelled like it was almost all coffee with just a bit of cream in it. “Especially for your liver.”
”My liver is made of titanium, my dear Canary.” She tossed the thermos to the back of her car. It promptly disappeared into mounds of unwashed clothes that likewise reeked of alcohol. “I need to pull you into a bar so you can understand just how good it feels to live for once.”
”Right, keep telling yourself that.” I’d been on enough drugs at the lab for one lifetime. They used to test experimental combat stims on me since I healed internal damage so quickly. Alcohol was way too close to that feeling.
“I can and I will.” She nodded her head resolutely.
“And don’t pretend yesterday wasn’t easy. You just had to visit Silverport Academy.” If she had to do actual field work, I would’ve gone in. It was just a visit to inspire the UCS’s future generations of sla—workers.
“You don’t know my suffering.” She growled. Her face revealed how she was truly feeling. There was enough bitterness there to drown even coffee. “Teenagers called me Mommy Tidebreak, Reyna. Repeatedly.”
“Gain some weight.” I shrugged. To be fair, though, reporters tended to take pictures that’d get views. Quinn was downright shredded and made for an easy target.
“Why do you think I took up drinking?” Quinn sighed. “Stupid halo keeps me in too good of a shape.”
That… she was probably the only person in the world to complain about something like that. And it definitely wasn’t why she started drinking. She’d taken up that nasty habit before we left the academy.
“You shouldn’t have used that muscle burst technique back then.” I crossed my arms, and hugged my tail close. “I told you it’d come to bite you in the ass.”
”Yeah, well, not all of us are Apexes who get to be naturally fit.” She groaned. Back at the academy, she’d used her power to precision explode her muscles for instant gains. The first time had been… bloody. The times after that, though? Well, the results spoke for themselves.
“We’re here.” She abruptly slammed on the breaks, and swerved over into a parking spot.
Today’s agenda was super simple. We had a sports brand shoot this afternoon, quickly followed by a fan meet and greet. Guardians protected the city, yes, but they were also super stars and celebrities in their own right. PR was an important part of Harbor’s job. Not to mention corporate donors were partly what kept us running.
Quinn just sat there with the engine running, and didn’t unlock the door. She exaggeratedly flopped over the console onto my lap, and stole my tail out of my arms. “I don’t wanna do this, Rey-Rey!”
”Really, Quinn? Can’t you act your age for once?” I wiggled around and adjusted so she wasn’t pressing so awkwardly into me.
She nuzzled into my fluffy tail, and the motion sent a weird thrill up the limb. “Wah! Don’ make me, Rey-Rey! I don’ wanna.”
”… how much have you drunk today?” PR, as it turned out, was also Quinn’s most hated part of the job. She was definitely the type to stay for the fight, and flee for the paparazzi.
”Just a few, just a few.” She muttered drowsily like she hadn’t just downed a bunch of coffee.
”Cups?”
”Bottles…”
“Pyre, Quinn! Why the hell did you drive?!” I reached across, and confiscated the keys. Awoken had more resilient bodies, but that hardly meant anything by that point!
”’Cause you’re scared of driving.” She rolled over on my thighs so she could stare up at me, and pulled my tail closer to her chest. “See! I was helping you.”
”By giving me a heart attack?!” I ripped my tail out of her arms, and tapped her on the forehead repeatedly with my finger. “Anyone up here?”
A low whine broke out of her throat, and she grabbed my hand to stop me from poking her again. “I… I’ll behave if you go to the bar with me tonight.”
”… I’m not drinking, Quinn.” That was non-negotiable.
”I don’t want you to. I just want you to be there with me when I drink. It’s so boring by myself.” She sighed as if the world was out to get her. “Sides, you know how much it takes to get an Awoken tipsy.”
”Fine.” It was just sacrificing a bit of my time. I was already going to get home way past Sylvie’s bed time thanks to the fan meet-up. How Tidebreak managed to get such a loyal base of fans was beyond me.
“Yay!” She immediately perked up, and grinned. She pulled herself out of my lap, and sat up properly. “I was lying. That was totally my first cup today.”
“… you’re lying again, aren’t you?”
”Teehee!” She stuck her tongue out at me, and popped out of the car. I unwillingly followed a few moments later.
— — —
Several hours later, Quinn dragged me to a bar. Honestly, after the fan meetup, I felt like drinking too. Apparently, the higher ups of Harbor—in their infinite wisdom—thought to capitalize on me of all people and start selling merch since the last fan meet and greet. Me. A Canary.
The first time a kid approached me with a poster of me protectively standing in front of a child, I froze up entirely. Usually, Canaries didn’t have great followings compared to their Guardians. Tended to die too quickly for that. I was… exotic, I guess.
I signed it, ‘course. My signature looked absurd on the poster. I didn’t take lessons like Quinn, so it came out all shaky and weird looking. I still couldn’t get over the fact that someone wanted my signature. On merchandise of my face. My face still burned every time I thought back to that.
“Ugh, my wrist feels like it's gonna fall off.” Quinn’s head dropped onto the table in exhaustion. She lifted up her hand like an AV, and crashed it down into the table.
“Here you are, ladies.” A waiter dropped off glasses of cider and a can of pop. I, naturally, grabbed the latter and popped it open.
Quinn snagged a glass, and chugged the entire thing before I could even sip at my own drink. She whipped her hand across her face and let out a satisfied sigh. Honestly, she must’ve had some kind of subspace in her stomach to hold all that.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Quinn dug around her jacket, and pulled onto a photo of me. “You have no idea how hard it was to get this. The first edition merch sold out way too quick.”
”People bought that kind of thing?” I stared at the photo. In it my eyes were crinkled into exhausted half-moons, and my ears stood at full attention. That… was that taken during the Typhon Disaster? “Why?”
”’Cause you’re so pretty, duh.” She slid it across to me alongside a marker. “Sign one more for me?”
“…” Pretty? Me? Heh, right. I plucked a black strand from my tail, and shook my head. Quinn probably bought them all out. That sounded like something she’d do. Still, I obediently signed the picture for her.
”Thanks, bestie!” She snatched the picture back like it was precious, and tucked it back into her jacket. “At least your pay check should be fat.”
”… what do you mean?” My ears twitched in confusion.
”Yeah, you know. We get a cut of all official merch profits?” Quinn tilted her head slightly to the side, and frowned. “You did sign a merch contract for your likeness, right?”
“Um… no?” I thought back through all the paperwork I’d done in the past couple months. That didn’t ring any bells.
”Those bastards.” Quinn’s eyes flared with rage, and her halo popped into existence for a brief moment. The sudden light startled her, and it abruptly flashed out. “Don’t you worry about it, Reyna. I’ll pummel the sales team until they cough up your share and then some. We’ll see who dares take advantage of my Canary after that.”
Everyone, Quinn. Everyone takes advantage of me. I was already tired, and that thought made my shoulders feel even heavier. I needed to tell her. My ears flattened to the side of my head. Just… just not yet. I didn’t want to ruin this peace with my issues.
She blew a strand of blue hair out of her face, and sighed heavily. “As if this week couldn’t get any worse.”
I recognized the look in her eyes. She usually had enough control to keep her halo tucked away. ”Something else happened besides the Academy visit, didn’t it?”
”Is it that obvious?” She groaned and rubbed at her face with both hands. “Dear old pops is driving marriage forward again.“
”I thought you talked to him about it.” She’d been complaining about him trying to play matchmaker ever since I met her. It’d been a couple months since she last brought it up.
”I just… I don’t want to disappoint him, you know?” She downed another glass of ale, and then went for another just to be safe. “Fuck! There’s supposed to be more to the great Guardian Tidebreak then spreading her legs for some man, Reyna. Why can’t he see that?”
Her home life was complicated at best. To be frank, if it weren’t for the academy and her becoming an Awoken, we would’ve never crossed paths. The rich heiress and the pauper mutt wasn’t a famous tale. “He doesn’t just see you as breeding stock, Quinn.”
”I know. I know!” She ripped at her hair in frustration. “That just makes it all the worst. He really does think he’s doing his best for me. Why can’t he just give me some breathing space?”
At least you still have a dad. I shut down the bitter words before they could leak out. My dad… I missed him dearly. I never even got to see him again after mom ripped out his heart.
She waved at the bartender, and slammed her head down onto the table with a heavy thunk. “‘Continue the line, Quinn!’ ‘I love you, Quinn!’ ‘I just want what’s best for you, Quinn!’ It’s never ‘how was your bloody fucking day, Quinn?’”
The waiter approached, and set down several more glasses. I recognized this kind of talk from a few times in the past. Once the waiter was gone, I spoke up, ”… who’d he set you up with this time?”
”Shaton Shade.” She lifted her head weakly, and turned to meet my eyes. “CEO of Shade Energy’s son. I’m not that plugged into the elite anymore, and even I’ve heard he kicks puppies for fun.”
Shade Energy was a massive corporation, and one of the UCS’s founding ones. Their stuff was literally everywhere. “Aren’t they based in the central cities?”
“In a few days, he’s coming for some kind of program to promote unity.” She stared me dead in the eye, and reached for another glass of liver destruction. “Does it look like I know, Reyna?”
“No…”
”Sorry. I’m not mad at you. I’m just… I’m bummed.” She sighed heavily, and downed another drink. One turned to two, and soon I lost count. Her cheeks finally took on a slightly flushed look, and her irritation mellowed out.
The two of us settled into an easy silence for a while. Quinn was always so easy to be around. That’s why it was so hard to force myself to speak up. “Hey, Quinn?”
”Yuh?” She downed another ale, and waved at the bar. It was like she didn’t even feel the burn of alcohol anymore.
I took a sip of my pop as if to encourage myself, and pulled my tail into my lap to ick at it. “You remember that conversation we had back then?”
”Woah, real specific, Reyna.” She slid her finger around the rim of her empty glass, and smacked her lips in disappointment. “We have so many deep and thought provoking conversations all the time.”
“The one about taking care of Sylvie.” I sipped at my pop again, and my eyes danced away from her. I lightly stroked at my tail to calm down my raging nerves.
”Yes.” Her stupor faded significantly into awareness, and her eyes sharpened on me. “I do.”
”I… I was signed up for a MET expedition.” I let it all out in one rough rasp, and closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to see her disappointment.
”When?” Her voice came out short and clipped. The blue glow just beyond my eyelids told me all I needed to know.
“Three days.”
”Reyna, I swear to the Pyre I’ll get you out of—“
”Don’t. Please don’t.” I finally opened my eyes to see her resolutely sitting there with the valiant and noble aura that all Guardians should aspire for. Beneath that surface, rage roiled like the infinite and vast ocean. “I… I need to go.”
“Do you?” The wrath turned on me. “Or should I buy you a rope so you can get it on quicker?”
“Quin…” I winced, and pulled out a strand of silver by accident. That one hurt. “There’s something out there that I need to get.”
“What could you possibly need from the Mire?!” Quinn’s rage boiled over.
Several patrons, who were already looking over thanks to her glowing halo, pulled out phones to record. A good video of a guardian enraged in public could sell for an extremely high amount of credits to the right reporters. A veil of murky water erupted, separating us from the outside world.
”What could you possibly need, Reyna?” Her voice turned quiet, and she repeated her question. The anger was still there, but it was simmering in the background this time.
”Hope.” It was all I was hinging on. I… I couldn’t continue with Hades. They were steadily driving me to my death. Even I could see that. I couldn’t let them take away the very things I held dear without at least a token resistance.
“Hope, huh?” She sighed heavily. The anger faded into instant melancholy. She picked up her glass of ale and swirled it around. “Hope, you allusive bitch.”
The table went silent once more. The easiness from before was gone, and replaced with a heavy opressive air. I stared out the window, and listened to the rain continuously patter against it. Lightning flashed, casting a moody glow over the entire table.
I hugged my tail tightly to my chest once more, and stroked the soft fur. “I… I’m sorry for keeping it from you.”
“How long?” Her voice was far too quiet.
I flinched, and stared down at the blue light reflecting off of the wooden table. ”Four days…”
“And you didn’t tell me? Your partner?” Her halo shut off, and the blue glow went alongside it. “Were you just going to wait until the day of?”
“I told you now, didn’t I?” Even to me, that defense sounded weak. I should’ve told her as soon as I heard, I just… I was scared. Terrified. I didn’t want our last days to be spent dreading what was to come.
“Yeah… yeah, you did.” She downed the last glass, and the water veil dropped. Most of the patrons in the bar except a select few were gone, and the bartender shot us a nod. “That’s why this place is the best.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes. The waiter brought a tray full of varied drinks while we just sat there. It seemed Quinn was quite a known face at this place. Just how often did she come here?
”Okay… three days? That’s more than enough time to buy up every radiant relic in the city, right?” She tried to smile. It came out distorted and broken.
”Quinn, you don’t have to spend—“
”What else would I spend it on, Rey-Rey? Alcohol?” She pushed her glass away. Quinn never refused a drink. “It can’t compare to my best friend. ‘Sides, I have more credits than I know what to do with.”
”… thank you.” It wouldn’t be the first time she helped me out. She’d paid for rent several times over the years when I was desperate. She was quite literally the only reason Sylvie and I weren’t out on the street a few times… I was more grateful then she could ever know.
“What am I going to do if you…” don’t come back. It was unspoken, but I heard it just the same. My tail wagged around erraticly. The concern emanating from her made my heart shine with happiness.
”It’ll be okay.” I reached across the table, and held her hand in my own.
”It better be, Reyna. It better be. I’ll have some strong words for the man upstairs otherwise.” She squeezed my fingers tightly. “Does Sylvie know?”
I pulled my hand away, and rubbed my tail soothingly once more. ”It’s what we argued about…”
“Right, of course she’d say something.” She sighed, and sat back up. “Let’s get you back… I feel guilty keeping you out at a bar.”
”It’s fine, Quinn.” Sylvie was already asleep. She’d texted goodnight not that long ago.
”Still…” Quinn stood up and waved to the bartender. He simply nodded, and we left the bar behind. She took a deep breathe just at the door. “I’m really going to miss you, you know?”
My tail wagged no matter how much I tried to get it to stay still, and my cheeks warmed up. The stench of alcohol faded into the soothing scent of burnt ozone and fresh rainwater. Cool air pleasantly billowed across my flushed cheeks.
Lively voices chattered across the streets, and people just living their lives moved around. A young couple walked just ahead of us blushing and laughing. A group of kids gleefully ran up the street with a security guard chasing them.
I smiled lightly, and watched the chaos as we walked rain-slicked streets. Neon flashed and flickered as a brown out rolled through the place. Even with that, the citizens hardly seemed to notice and continued their daily lives.
I ended up driving Quinn home, and caught a cab back to my place. My ears pulled back as I carefully unlocked the door and silently slipped into the apartment. The door clicked softly behind me.
Sylvie was passed out on the couch, cutely clutching one of my black wolf plushies. Her nose was pressed down into its head, and she lightly bit the back of its neck. Heh, she stole one of my plushies again.
”Sylvie,” I rocked her slightly. She just tossed, and flicked her tail at me without waking up. A chuckle broke out of me, and I picked her up.
“Sis?” Sylvie sleepily mumbled. She curled in my arms, and rubbed her head lightly against my shoulder.
“Go back to sleep.” My thumb soothingly circled her back, and I carried her back to her room. I tucked her under her covers, and pressed a light kiss to her forehead. “Night.”
My sister tossed in her bed, and slowly settled back down. I silently left her room. This peace… There were three more days. Three more days of pretending I belonged in it.