#nalim

“Okay, she’s close.”

“Ugh, you said she was in the City.” Nalim trudged forward. “Not nearby, in a random field.”

“Well she was when I checked. She’s got long legs. Be grateful she’s not off-planet and quit your whining.”

“I would’ve been fine with it, if you didn’t keep telling me ‘okay, NOW she’s close’ for the past hour. I could’ve driven closer, but no. I’m walking to keep quiet, in case she can hear me from miles away.”

Asha grumbled under her voice, shell tilting back and forth like the taunting head of a little kid with their tongue out. Eventually, she began to crest the top of a hill, and a far away body in the grass became visible.

Nalim quelled the bile in her throat and dropped down to the ground. She waved her hand, and Asha transmatted her rifle into position. She hovered over Nalim’s shoulder.

“Are you worried she’s dead?”

“You never fucking know with this kid.” Nalim aimed through her sights, finding the top of Callisto’s head, down to her chest. Up…down. Up…down. An exhale of relief. “She's alive.”

As if on cue, a pale blue hand reached up, and her pointer finger traced a shape in the air. A brief giggle cut through the wind. Argo floated up from the grass, eye toward the sky as well, and projected an image of something, resulting in more giggling. Nalim smiled.

She backed up before standing and brushed the dirt off her knees. “She's fine. Where's Europa?”

—

Europa almost never noticed her. She gravitated towards busy places, and her attention to her surroundings was always far lower than Nalim would have preferred it. It made her easy to follow, for better or for worse.

The market street was filled with movement, the setting sun releasing its hot grasp on the pavement. Nalim stepped out of the shuffle, leaned against a wall, and turned her head just enough to watch.

Europa stuck out enough by herself, whether it was the yellow clothes or the loud voice, but it became much easier to spot her once Mithrax came around to the City. They exacerbated each other's obviousness problem. Currently, only Eido followed right behind her, curiously peering around at the other stores while Europa spoke to a merchant. Briefly, she wondered if Eido would catch sight of their stalker and alert her. Then the merchant raised his voice, which was quickly followed by Europa doing the same. Eido’s attention quickly snapped to them. Whatever expletives Europa was saying, it appeared Eido had already been introduced, and she was now trying in vain to mediate the disagreement. Europa’s ghost perused the shelves, not once looking at the conversation. Almost nobody else on the street seemed to care at all. Nalim chuckled. She looked down the street, to where Mithrax’s helmet bobbed above the rest of the crowd. He carried an eliksni child in one arm, and both heads turned to look for Europa at the sound of her voice. At the same time the merchant threw up his hands, Mithrax dragged a hand across his mask. Europa was stressing out everyone involved. All was well.

“Asha, make a note to scold Europa on her awareness.”

“I’ll put it on the list.”

“What list?”

“List of things I’m not writing down. You’ll do it anyway.”

Nalim rolled her eyes, and left the street unnoticed.

–

Night had begun to take hold. She looked at the neon light across the street, and the people funneling into the basement below it. Loud music waxed and waned as the door swung.

“He’s in there?”

“Says he is. Unless only Lady’s in there. Unlikely, but not impossible.”

Nalim shrugged. “Alright. Guess I’ll check.”

She shuffled into the line, uncomfortable with the closeness of the other patrons. Several minutes passed before a hunter guardian tried for the door, invisible. The bouncer reached out and grabbed the neck of their cloak, throwing them backward to land near her. She caught herself smiling at their look of surprise. A group of other guardians near the front of the line snickered, looking back at the fallen one. An unofficial and embarrassing rite of passage for a great many Guardians in the City. Not her, of course.

She hooked a hand under their arm and yanked them back to their feet, smiled, and stuck her thumb backward in a “back of the line” motion. They grumbled something about a thanks, and stalked off. 

Asha materialized over her shoulder. “Remind you of somebody?”

“Shut up.”

When it came to be her turn, she looked up out of her hood, preemptively squinting at the light of the face scanner. The bouncer's eyes widened only slightly. He lowered the wand and let her pass unscanned.

Inside was much less spacious than the line, but it was less boring. The music drowned out any possible conversation, and the dim lighting made everyone look like faded spirits, many of them with glowing eyes. A low stage on the far wall was getting set up, a bar waiting across from it. Maybe he wanted to come see the music. Alexi did love music. However, he didn’t really bother drinking for the drunkenness of it, and he complained about bar prices on the non-alcoholic drinks. She’d most likely remain unnoticed back there.

While she moved toward the counter, she looked around for him. He was huge, but a million titans were gigantic. Looking for an exo didn’t narrow it down any. Finding a large man made of black metal in a room with most of the lights off was going to have to be a stroke of luck.

The tone of the constant noise changed when a door opened. People turned, started nudging each other and pointing. The speed of chatting quickened. She raised an eyebrow, following the crowd’s gaze.

The people emerging from the doorway were facing away from her, carrying band equipment. The first was a human man she didn’t recognize. He didn’t seem to appreciate the people watching him, mostly concerned about getting the unwieldy amp from his arms to the stage. The second was an black-haired awoken woman trailing behind him, air drumming with the drumsticks in her hands. She ate up the attention from the crowd, and the volume of the chatter increased. The third was an awoken man with a microphone, long white hair covering most of his shoulders and back. She couldn’t at first tell, but he turned to smile at the fourth and she recognized him. Alton. Then the fourth emerged, and she smiled. A large exo, black metal plates of his shoulders and back glittering in the neon lights. The red light in his throat wavered as he talked to the crowd. He carried a pink and black guitar in his hands, handling it like porcelain. The four of them migrated toward the stage. 

“He’s playing.” She smiled at her ghost. She was almost certain Asha couldn’t hear her, but it didn’t matter. Asha visibly brightened looking at him, making the same realization.

The crowd almost whined in unison when the band merely put their things down and didn’t stay. The four began their trek back towards the door they came through. She watched Alton check for Alexi behind him every two steps, but Alexi seemed to slow in the center of the crowd. He looked around, over the heads of most, faceplates knitted in a slight confusion. Alton noticed him falling behind, and walked back to touch his arm. She couldn’t lipread Alexi, but she could tell Alton was asking if he was alright. He nodded as if he wasn’t completely sure, and followed him back into the room.

By the time they came back out, she’d ordered a drink and found an open stool, gratefully leaning her back against it for a full view of the stage. She was at the complete back of the crowd, and all the lights focused on the stage by now, so she didn’t bother turning away or tugging her hood down. Most of her concerns about his well-being had already been answered, so just curiosity remained.

He didn’t stop or look around when he came out this time. He got onto the stage, took his place, and secured the strap of the guitar over his shoulder. Then he looked up, seemingly right at her, tapping two fingers against his eyes before flicking them outward. Some patrons in the crowd in between him and her squealed and giggled, but he didn’t seem to react. She sat up straighter, and at that he smiled.

“He caught me.” Nalim laughed. A swell of pride bloomed warm in her chest.