Business Casual

A small piece for @sunnjays, featuring her OC Eva.

“Niijima-san, may I have a word?”

Evangeline poked her head into Sae’s office, already knowing what the answer was going to be. Sae glanced up from her work and arched an eyebrow.  When Eva wanted to talk during work, she was up to something, and Sae tended to dislike that when she was in the middle of a case.

To be fair, she was almost always in the middle of a case.

Traitor

With a heavy thud, Coma slammed onto the ship’s deck, grunting in pain as her shoulder took the brunt of the blow.  Her hands and feet were bound, and some repair tape was slapped over her mouth.  Her primary method of communication up until how had been struggling and muffled yelling.

Booted feet stepped into her view, and her eyes looked higher up from them until she saw the gloating, smirking face of her captor.  Bright green eyes, straight purple hair, and a smile she couldn’t wait to knock the teeth out of.

Callistra.

“Hello, Coma,” the woman purred as she knelt down.  “You’re so much more attractive with your mouth shut.”

Coma replied with a stream of muffled curses.  Callistra reached down and ripped the tape off - or, only a little bit, deciding to leave it on.

“You thought you were safe in the Tower, didn’t you?”  She tutted, gently trailing a finger along Coma’s chin.  The captive girl jerked her head away, trying to escape her reach.  “Ah ah.  Don’t be petulant.  I know you’re angry, but what’s done is done.”  With a violet-tinted hand, Callistra reached out and forcibly took ahold of Coma’s chin, making her face Callistra.

“Well, you won’t be a thorn in my side afer this.  The Vanguard will fall, and you’ll be able to watch it from a nice, safe distance in what’s left of the Reef.  If, of course, the other prisoners don’t kill you.”  Callistra’s lips broke into a wide, sadistic smile.

A few muffled words from Coma’s end.  More expletives.  And a question.

“How did we get in?  Simple.  We had the codes from...a friend.”  She glanced behind her, and Coma followed her glance, looking at the figure who stepped into view.

And then her face contorted in sorrow as Vlana looked down at the bound and silenced Coma, eyes full of her own sadness.

“We’re not friends,” Vlana growled slightly.  “Now we’re done.  Pay up.”

“Yes, yes, of course.  Pay the woman, Amber,” Callistra ordered, snapping her fingers.

One of Callistra’s lackeys handed Vlana a small datachit.  Vlana held it up, her Ghost scanned it, and then ‘nodded’.  The chit vanished, dematerialized by the Ghost, and Vlana nodded to Callistra.  “We’re done.”

“Of course.  Take her away.  We have other business to attend to.”

Strong hands grabbed Coma, dragging her along the floor to another room. She thrashed and yelled, both as ineffective as she expected they would be.  Her best efforts were fruitless here, tied and gagged and Ghostless.

Vlana watched her get dragged along, face impassive as it could be given the situation.  Coma was staring fire at her, the hatred evident, the curses clear even muffled as they were.

I’m so sorry, love, Coma thought as they rounded the corner.  But this is the best way.  I’ll see you again soon.

As she disembarked the ship, Vlana made a barely perceptible flick with her hand, and the tracking beacon slipped into the gap for the ship’s hydraulics.

Coma would not be a prisoner for long.

Violet Everdense

Iris was fairly sure that if she left her head on the desk any longer, it would become permanently pressed with the shape of the wood grain.  She would occasionally utter a wistful sigh or annoyed mutter, having resigned herself to spending her entire lunch break in this way.

Viola Esoterica

(This is an older piece that I put through revisions to use on a writing application.)

“You have so much cool stuff!”

Ainsley looked up from the bubbling cauldron to make sure that Ianthe wasn’t touching anything she wasn’t allowed to touch.  The treehouse that Ainsley lived in was stocked to the canopy with all sorts of plants and other often dangerous magical necessities, haphazardly organized according to some system that only Ainsley understood.

She would never admit it, but it didn’t really make sense to her either.

Workout

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

“Come on.  You can’t keep your head in books and journals all day like some kind of Warlock.  Exercise will do you good.”

Coma, like all Guardians, did some exercise.  The Light was a wonderful source of power, but for all it did for them, it was no substitute for good, old fashioned physical exertion and workouts.  Her training was mostly cardio and fitness, meant to keep her on her toes and active while out in the field.

Astride

(From a prompt that @tarot-tatas gave me like forever ago I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG)

On one level, Ann knew that Makoto could ride a motorcycle.  She’d done so to break them out of Kaneshiro’s palace, and she was often astride Johanna when inside the Metaverse.  She also, as she’d told them soon after joining them, had a motorcycle license.

But there was something entirely different about seeing it, in the real world.  She came out to meet up with Makoto for their date and found her girlfriend straddling the bike, idling outside of Ann’s house.  As Ann watched, Makoto reached up and pulled off her helmet, her hair quickly falling into place and her smile as wide as the horizon.

Strike, II

Three jumpships emerged from hyperspace, swiftly descending towards Mars.  Coma’s Glass Minuet lead the charge.  Keres’ AX-19 Spindle Demon was on the portside, and Vlana’s unusually colored Smokehouse Six was starboard.

Coma flicked a switch, then glanced out at the crimson sphere that floated before her, filling her viewport.

Five + One

Their first meeting was in the Emerald Forest as part of the initiation ceremony.  It was a strange ritual, but Verra enjoyed the element of randomness and fun that it gave, despite the potential for disaster.