Ender's cheeks heated, his face pinching in irritation. “And this is why your name is Toddles,” he snapped, before sniffing and continuing. “Besides, there’s dirty money, and then there's‘dirty money’.We don’t take shit from criminals who f—” He ground his teeth, seeming to stop the word from coming out at the last second, before saying, “Pardon. We don’t take nothing from no two-bit low-down scoundrels, who we know are part of the current Cryptid trafficking ring, on top of the various other horrifying crimes he likes to commit.”
Despite the situation being horrible, as seemingly always, Seri couldn’t help but chuckle. Ender’s accent was just so thick, yet…endearing.
“Okay…well…there’s not much more to tell you.” He shifted nervously under their looks. “The only part I left out was the who…though you already know now, thanks to Severo. But yeah…Preston Chanway.”
Quill was looking up now, brows pinched, at the same time Skya had hold of his hands and was waggling them about happily. It was a contrast, for sure.She seemed to be taking quickly to the man despite not usually liking strangers to get near her. Though…now that he thought about it, she seemed to be okay with Severo.
Ender whistled. “It certainly was a big thing to leave out. But it does explain the need to hide, that’s for sure. So, Severo, how did your as?—”
“Language!” Seri snapped.
“Pardon.” The Gorgon chuckled. “Now, how did you get involved in this, Severo?”
“They framed Seri for the murder of one of Preston’s guards. Corrupt cops, and someone listening in on a conversation I had with Cyrus, equals…now we are here,” Severo explained in the least informative way possible.
Ender grinned widely. “You left out all the fun parts. But I bet Cyrus is chapped to all…heck, that someone got the drop on him.”
“He chased me for weeks and our car blew up,” Seri deadpanned. “I don’t constitute that as fun.”
“Yes, and I do feel bad about chasing you. Also…it didn’t explode. Parts of it exploded, but it didn’t fully blow up. Also, we weren’t inside it at the time.”
“Explosions count as blowing up,” Seri huffed, before yawning.
“Right, Severo, let’s talk, you and I. And Seri can stay here and catch up with Quill.”
Catch…up? How does one catch up with someone they don’t really know? He frowned as Severo let Ender draw him away, the other two people leaving with them.
Seri eyed Quill and Skya. The man cleared his throat. His little girl gave a gummy smile, before letting out a big yawn, her eyes drooping a bit.
Quill chuckled, looking down at Skya. “Sounds like someone else is getting sleepy, too.”
“About time, honestly,” Seri said with a soft laugh, before he hesitantly said, “Quill…”
The man peered up. “Yes?”
“Thank you…for helping me the way you did. I probably would have been caught if it wasn’t for you. By Preston’s people, that is.”
Quill shrugged. “I did what I thought I should—nothing more, nothing less. You had this look about you.”
“What look?”
“Like you were running from something. Something that scared you to death. Offering help was no skin off my back. If you had reached out with lies and nonsense, you’d have been ignored.”
“How…did you know I wasn’t lying?”
“We have our ways.” Quill smirked, his violet eyes became swirling pools, green seeping in for a brief moment before they returned to normal.
Was…Quill…a Fate? But his last name wasn’t Grimm…
The man’s smirk suddenly widened, and he cheekily said, “Besides, it’s hard to say no to such a pretty face, and a belly that round.”
Seri scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I wasn’t that round.”
Hehadbeen very round, but like, who would point that out?! It was just rude.
Quill burst into laughter. “You were big and round. Waddling and everything, just like a penguin.”
Seri’s nose wrinkled in disgust, but all he could do was shake his head in response.
