#opal:threads

Opal lay in bed beside Ruby, gently running her fingers up and down the other’s arm absently. “It’s been a while since we’ve done this. I needed it,” she admitted with a small smile. “Have you been acclimating to the city well? Does anyone suspect who you really are?”

School was out for the summer, but that didn’t mean the faculty of the university stopped working the whole time. Especially her husband, who didn’t seem to ever enjoy not taking things super seriously. It was a cover job. He didn’t need to perform it perfectly.

“Tell me, husband, how have you found the city so far? It’s been frightfully dull except for a few . . . choice moments, in my opinion. I’ll be honest, I’m surprised you followed me up here. Do you not trust me?” Opal smirked faintly, knowing neither of them 100% trusted each other. That’s how most things worked in the underground.

The door of the flower shop opened with a bang, apparently pushed by an unseen force. Opal stepped into the shop, hands on her hips as she looked around for the owner.

“Ah, there you are Ruby,” Opal said as she approached her guard. “I’ve secured our entourage rooms at the local bed and breakfast. It’s rather small and quaint, but it will do for now. I don’t want to draw too much attention to ourselves by buying an ostentatious house, though I would prefer to not be surrounded by such commoners.” She glanced toward a passers-by with some disgust.

“Well, this is certainly a mess,” Opal observed as she looked over the destruction the earthquake had wrought. There were cleaning crews working on it now, clearing away rubble so that the repair crews could come in and start working on the pipes and power lines. She tapped her finger absently on her arm as she watched, fascinated by the mix of human and supernatural workers, the latter using magic to assist those that couldn’t use it.

Opal stared down at her new telecommunication device. It was called a ‘cellular phone’ and it had a screen full of little boxes. She didn’t know what any of them did. In her kingdom, she just had to send one of her guards or use magic to transfer a message to someone. Why did humans have to make everything so complicated?

“So this is what you’ve been spending your gold on,” Opal observed as she looked at the decor in Wyatt’s office. “You certainly aren’t maintaining a low profile up here, are you?” She turned to look at her husband’s son, looking over his outfit. “I hope you’re more subtle in your dealings on the council than you are in your wardrobe and decorative choices.” She gestured absently.