“Is it?” The question struck her as odd and had Jo looking at herwatch.
“I guess so, I mean, technically. . .” Her watch read 11:45. When had she gone to bed? How long had she been asleep for? It suddenly seemed ablur.
“Time gets distorted here,” Snow said, as if reading hermind.
“Yeah. . .” They stared at each other for a long moment before Jo suddenly remembered that there was coffee to be had. It was unexpectedly relieving to have an excuse to look away from him. Under any other circumstances, she’d want to ogle a man as attractive as Snow. But he was. . .different.
“How did yousleep?”
Jo stilled once more, and turned. Was he really trying to make small-talk? “Good. Like the dead, really.” Jo instantly cringed at the metaphor and returned to hertask.
“Good.”
Another awkwardsilence.
“Do you want a cup of coffee?” She asked as the pot waspercolating.
“There’s no time.” The sudden urgency to his tone startled her. “Wake Eslar, inform the rest of the group. There has been a wish. Briefing room inten.”
With that, the man was gone before she had time to even turn back around. Jo blinked. “I guess that’s a no to coffee, then?” she called at the spot he’d justvacated.
Mug in hand, Jo ventured down the series of hallways, ending up at the room with Eslar’s name on the door. She gave a few solid raps. By the speed with which the man opened the door and how put-together he was, he clearly had not been sleeping for some time. She tried to steal a glance into his room, but couldn’t; the tall elf dominated the sliver of opendoor.
Eslar looked her up and down, and Jo did much the same.An elf, an actual elf. She’d seen stranger things, she supposed. Heading to the first town in the LSR to be inhabited entirely by androids should’ve been one. But at the exact moment, even that seemed far morebenign.
“Yes?” he asked, the word void of anyemotion.
“Snow said there’s a wish, told me to geteveryone.”
“Told you?” Eslar arched aneyebrow.
“Yes. . .” Jo wasn’t uncertain of her request; she was uncertain of why Eslar was suddenly looking at her as though she’d sprouted a secondhead.
“Whyyou?”
“I don’t know? I was awake? He drew straws? Or maybe he likes me?” The last joke hit an odd place in Jo’schest.
“Very well, let’s round up theothers.”
Samson and Takako looked as if they’d been awake as well. Wayne was found lounging in a mostly-open silk robe, but had a clarity to his eyes that told Jo they hadn’t been closed in restful repose for some time. But Nico practically lunged for her cup of coffee the moment he saw it. Jo liked the guy, but not enough to give him her coffee. Which meant that the two of them went on an expedition to the kitchen for refills before being the last ones to arrive in the briefingroom.
What she had only yet experienced as the still, quiet air of the briefing room was now alive with energy. Everyone shifted restlessly, like they couldn’t find a comfortable way to sit. Three chairs were empty, and when Nico settled by Eslar, Jo went for the location between Takako and Wayne, on the opposite end of the table fromSnow.
“Not there.” The former held up ahand.
“Why?” It was more curiosity than anger. Jo didn’t care if she sat in that chair or the one between Eslar andSamson.
“Pan sitsthere.”
“Pan?” Jo vaguely remembered the name being mentionedbefore.
Snow spoke from the head of the table. “She’ll be here ina—”
“Sorry I’m late.” A woman made a show of a yawn from the doorway, scanning the room as she entered. She had pencil-straight hair down to her waist in an ombre of pinks from her roots to the ends. At first glance, Jo thought she was nothing more than a child—young teen, at the oldest. But there was a maturity to the shape of her face. Her proportions, though slender, were womanly, and Jo was left wondering if she was looking at someone very young, or veryold.
Midway to her chair, the woman stopped dead in her tracks. Slowly, her attention swung over to Jo. She stared at Jo with bright yellow eyes, almost like those of a cat, and with all the same curiosity. Then, a pterodactylscreech.
“There’s a girl?” Pan exclaimed in echo, thrusting a finger in Jo’s direction. “When did thishappen?”
