Chapter One- A tip-off
"Couldn't sleep again huh?" Junior looked at me knowingly before turning to watch the night from the window. I sighed.
"No, and i think it's upsetting cherry" I placed my hands on the windowsill, wishing wistfully on a star that i wasn't tormented by these nightmare's. Her face in my dreams, that's all it ever was.
Whenever i awoke, my fists would be clenched, and my anger would reach an unpredictable level.
"Nah it's not your fault. He understands, we all do"
"Thanks junior"
"Hey no problem" I looked across, noticing his fingers were entwined within each other.
"So, how come you couldn't sleep this time?" This was the third night in a row that we had woke up and wandered the corridors at 3am, finding company in each other. He told me it was just insomnia but i sensed there was more to it than that.
"Mmm..can i tell you something?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Of course you can" He brought his hand to his face.
"Well you see...the thing is...i'm gay" I raised my other eyebrow.
"Is that all? I already knew that, actually. Everyone does"
"W-what!? B-but how!" I leant forward, smiling as i caught sight of the glittering moon.
"I saw you and ragman the other day when i was crawling through the air vents. Wasn't the prettiest of sights"
"What were you doing in the air vents!" I blushed at the memory.
"Well...you probably don't want to know... Anyway, i think it's real cute about you and ragman. Strange, but cute" His mouth gaped openly, completely speechless.
'I can't tell if its from imagining what you were doing in the air vents or from the fact that everyone knows about their supreme buttsex"
'Well if a particular 'someone' hasn't been babbling then he shouldn't even have an idea of what i was doing in the air vents'
'Well good for him, i sure wish i didn't know what you were doing up there'
'You weren't even there!'
'Serquet was though. She told me all about it'
'Goddam it serquet'
'Don't blame me. I doubt i was the only one who noticed' My mouth became a thin line.
'Your so exasperating! The pair of you!'
"Um, lessa?"
"Huh? Oh sorry junior. What were you saying?" He seemed to have regained his composure, his mouth was closed at least.
His eyes dulled.
"Let's just go to bed" I yawned at the word bed. Getting even an hour of sleep would do me the world of good, then in the morning; i would go see cortex for a solution to my nightmares. He was bound to have one.
"Sure thing, we can talk about your buttsex in the morning" I winked.
"Hey!" He protested.
"Calm yourself will you? We don't want any anal injury's"
"Oh ha ha" I laughed as we walked, dodging the mock punches he threw at me.
The banter was what made it all worth it.
I rapped my knuckles on the door for what was the third time already.
"Come in" he called.
"Finally" i muttered before pushing through the wooden door. I was too full of food to be annoyed though. Waffles and bacon really did the trick.
"Yes?" He asked, barely looking up from his desk.
"Nina said you wanted to see me?" He looked up.
"Oh lessa, yes i've got something to talk about with you; but sit down first" He gestured towards the only swiveling chair that was in front of his desk. Even after a month he was still formal with the lot of us when we had the time to grace his office with our presence.
I plonked myself down, already feeling nauseous as the chair began to swing from side to side. Maybe sitting wasn't the greatest idea.
"Well.." His hands left the keyboard of his laptop. *Brr Brr*
"Oh, excuse me a second" I leaned back in the chair, slightly impatient as his gaze flew back to his now buzzing laptop.
Then he looked puzzled.
"It seems to be a skype call?"
"What?" I leaned forward over the desk, trying to peer at the screen through his shoulders.
"Unknown? You must have a secret admirer. Cortex you sly dog, what've you not been telling us" He chewed his lip thoughtfully.
"Actually lessa..i think it's for you" Now it was my turn to look puzzled.
"But it's your laptop? Why the hell would someone skype call me on your laptop? In fact, why do you even have skype?"
"Just answer it for heaven's sake"
"No, you answer it!" He glared at me, then thrust the laptop at me. My hand sliding over the accept call button.
"Lessa?" Damn, it just had to be him.
"Fuck you cortex" I threw him a contemptuous look before facing the screen. It was dark for some reason, but i could make out his features through the darkness.
"Set.."
"Good. It is you" I narrowed my eyes to slits. Swooping my gaze back and forth between him and cortex.
"Let me guess. The two of you have been conspiring together?" Set's mouth twisted.
"Not quite sister of mine. More to the point, i have some interesting information you might want to hear"
"Interesting you say?" I tapped my fingers impatiently on the desk.
"Hmm, let's just say. Catini meadow is the place to be in about an hour or so"
"A portal?"
"Yes" My impatience dissipated rapidly and instead my excitement spiked.
The screen clicked and the call ended.
"Well don't say bye or anything will you. Jeez, so rude!"
"Catini meadow huh" Cortex seemed to be preoccupied and started ruffling through a stack of papers on the desk. I folded my arms and watched him.
"What kind of a name is catini meadow"
"It's actually a place on this planet. Quite pretty too" He stopped shuffling the papers and took on a dreamy look.
"It's where i met my wife, nina's mother. Oh she was so beautiful. Such a shame.." I rolled my eyes. I didn't have time for this.
"Where is it?"
"About five miles east from here, you can't miss it" I jumped to action immediately.
"Okay bye!" I leapt onto the window sill, calculating the direction i should jump in. He shook his head, coming out of shock.
"What!? Where are you going!?" I gave him an incredulous look.
"Well..what am i supposed to say to cherry!"
"Tell him if he cheats on me, he's dead!" i yelled over the roar of fresh wind in my ears, then fell forwards; the breeze carrying me east. Then i remembered i'd forgotten to ask him for a solution. Damn.
"She's insane..but i sure wouldn't want to be cherry if he cheated on her" He sighed but smiled all the same.