“Can we finally go back to Grand Hall?”Salis pleaded.
“Have you been avoiding it?”Marc asked, and Salis looked at him like he was dumb.
“Your girlfriend didn’t feel like making another scene, and you all always eat there.”
“Thanks for ratting me out, perky butt,” Wave huffed.
“Anytime, sugar tits!”
“No!No commenting on body parts in front of me.My caveman control extends only so far,” Marc groaned and started walking.“Come along, angel-boy.”
They made their way to the Grand Hall under the sunny sky and crisp air.Whispers followed them and, by Wave’s estimation, roughly half of them were curious, but didn’t really care one way or the other.About a quarter held a malicious tone, which had both Marc and Salis tensing up.Wave just kept toying with Marc’s hair.Another quarter seemed to be on her side.‘You go, girl’and ‘get them’, were the sentiments—and some were even shouted loudly.She ignored those as well.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm,” Salis muttered.
“I’m not,” Marc snapped back.
“Yeah, I was talking to Wayla.”
“What should I be doing?”she asked.“Roll in tar and feathers or pour ash over myself and wail at the world?”
“Of course not.”Salis snorted.
“Should I make a neon sign saying‘I’m getting good dick and you are not’?Perhaps I should thank everyone for noticing, whatever they are noticing?”
“Well, no,” Marc growled.
“Flinch, shout, pout, cry, cheer?What the fuck would you two like me to do?”Wave was getting annoyed now.“And more importantly, why the fuck would I give a fly’s shit?I don’t even know most of their names.”
“When you put it like that,” Salis murmured softly.“But Wayla, most beings don’t act like that.”
“Fine.I’ll get ‘weirdo’ tattooed onto my forehead and we can all get on with our lives.”
“Sparkle, he didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh, now you’re defending him?”Wave snarled.“Put me down.”
“No.”Simple as that, he just kept walking with a frown.His eyes moved from Wave to Salis and then back.“Fuck it,” he finally said.“If you blab, angel-boy, I’ll tear your wings off.Got it?”
“What?Uh.Yeah.”Salis looked confused and flustered, and Wave wanted to punch something.
“Good,” Marc said calmly.“Get my phone from my front right pocket, please.”
“What?Me?Why?”
“Just do it,” Marc groaned.Salis rushed to his other side, and Marc stopped just long enough for him to fish the phone out.“Jarred is on my latest call list.Call him for me.”
Wave didn’t know what was happening, but she wasn’t happy about it.She clenched her fist, and Marc’s eyes snapped down to her.
“If you punch me, sparkle, you’ll only hurt yourself.”
“Stupid shields,” Wave grumbled, but forced her fingers to straighten.
“Yeah, those stupid shields could have helped you to avoid the fucking power buildup, so shut it.”
“Marc?”Jarred’s voice came from the phone.Salis lifted it, and Wave saw they were on a video call.“Precious!What’s wrong?”
Marc focused on the screen.“My guess is that she’s starting to heal and burning calories at the rate—”
