As the trio sets down on the top level of Yggdrasil, a tanned woman appears in the doorway and walks toward them.
"So little sisters, you finally decided to show up?" An inverted triangle sits daintily between her eyebrows as she glares at the three of them.
"Hello, Urd. If you would be so kind as to step aside, we won't be any later than we already are," Draconis suggests mildly. Skuld snickers at Urd's look toward him.
"Yes, I'll get out of your way, but I have a message for my littlest sister. Chrono has found a few bugs in the time matrix. Any more damage and people will start to notice..."
"Crap! Sorry sis! I gotta go!" Skuld says as she runs off for the systems room. Draconis notices that her wings had disappeared sometime during the talk.
"You, Draconis, need to get to your desk. The wish lines are about to open," Urd reminds him. He groans and runs off, only to skid to a stop and backpedal his way to Belldandy.
"Have a good day at work, Bell." Belldandy smiles and kisses him on the cheek. Urd laughs loudly at his deep blush. Draconis scowls at her before running off.
"He's a good guy, Bell," Urd comments once he's out of earshot.
"I know, but he's not for me," Belldandy replies with a distant look in her eyes. "I better get to work. Have fun Urd." Urd nods and walks off.
Still reeling from Belldandy's kiss, Draconis is stopped suddenly by a looming shape in front of him. He resists the urge to melt into the big man's shadow as he speaks.
"Boy, are you pesterin' my niece again?" Draconis looks the man over. His scraggly brown hair falls to his shoulders and frames his face. A blue pentagram rests inside a slender circle between his thick brows, and the crescents positioned on his cheek bones are blurred by his thick facial hair. Over his business suit he wears an old and hard-worn trench coat. Resting on his back is a wicked flamberge with a curved tip. "Boy! I axed yous a question!"
"Hidiki, your vocabulary is falling apart again," Draconis smiles at the flustered man. "And, to answer your question, no I'm not 'pesterin' your niece. I flew her to work. Where have you been?" He starts off toward his work place.
"Out hunting demons." Now that he has calmed, Hidiki speaks without a harsh accent. He begins to loosen his tie nervously.
"WHAT!! Demon hunting! With the doublet system?" Draconis exclaims heatedly.
"No, not the big demons, just the little ones like the Anki," Hidiki explains hurriedly. "I didn't even see any actual demons." Draconis takes a deep, calming breath.
"Are you sure? You didn't kill any demons?"
"Yes, boy! Do you think I'd risk Belldandy like that? I don't know who or where her doublet is, so any demon I kill could be him!" Hidiki calms himself and looks at Draconis. "Anyhow, I heard of your promotion. Congratulations! First class! I never would have guessed that you would advance this quickly!" He pounds on Draconis's shoulders enthusiastically. "How's about you come over to my place for some pot roast in celebration?"
"Um... not today, work is going to take me all day. I'll get back to you on this one, alright?" Hidiki looks disappointed, but nods in agreement and walks off to greet an old friend that he hasn't seen in a couple of years; since his last visit, in fact.
As he walks down the crowded hallway, Draconis accidentally runs into a woman a little shorter than he.
"Draconis, you really should watch where you are going," her grey eyes sparkle in her unmarked face as she looks up at him.
"Sorry, Kaiya. I wasn't looking. How's your job hunt going?" he bows in apology and they walk together.
"So far, not so good. No one really has a job that I could do. How're you doing with Belldandy? Any progress?" She smiles and winks at his blush.
"Nothing. I can't seem to gather enough courage to ask her out." They come to a branch in the hall. "Here's where we part. Oh, if you need any help, you know where to find me." He steps into a shadow near the wall and melts into it. He takes two steps in a swirling darkness that hints of unimagined colors and walks out of the shadows.