Time flew through the night at the Stubborn Goat Gastropub at the Halifax Waterfront, soaring to the tune of folk-covers of popular music, Acadian pieces and sea shanties performed by the four-piece by that plaid-clad four-piece band. Irys and Bae danced and laughed and sang along with the rest of the crowd, losing themselves in the cool nighttime sea breeze of it all. Their colleagues Mumei and Kaela joined in too while Selen Tatsuki smiled and cleared away empty beer mugs, wine glasses and bottles of ' No Boats On Sunday' apple cider behind the scenes.
Before they knew it, the band finished their set and bowed out from the stage. The fanfare wound down and the four office ladies returned to their informal seats at the many wooden staircases, buzzed by the alcohol but still electrified by the atmosphere they bore witness to. The rush job of the Zoners Group of Companies almost seemed like a fever dream to them.
But as the nighttime crowds started to trickle out of the Stubborn Goat, the office ladies knew that they had to pack it up too. Selen dropped by their spot, collected their tabs and saw them off with her impeccable smile.
"Thanks for dropping by, you guys!" Selen beamed, waving to the office ladies on their way out. Mumei and her companions waved back.
' Well, I know where I'll spend a Friday night next time. ' Bae quietly thought to herself.
With that, the four ladies sauntered - albeit slowly and not in a straight line - towards Lower Water Street. There, Kaela and Mumei hailed a Casino Taxi cab and bid farewell to the Nephilim and the rat-girl.
Irys and Bae watched the cab bring Kaela and Mumei away.
"And there they go." Bae sighed and watched the emptier streets of downtown Halifax, "We stayed out longer than I thought we would."
"That means we were having fun." Irys smiled, "I had fun. Did you?"
"I did." Bae nodded. She yawned and stretched, "But I'm just about tuckered out…"
"You think you can make it back home?" Irys probed, turning away from the rat-girl.
Bae smirked.
"What, you offering me a ride?" Bae asked.
Irys started to fidget. She tapped her pointer fingers and muttered, "Hmm… maybe?"
"A night drive would be a nice way to end tonight." Bae spoke, closing her eyes and feeling the sea breeze blowing by her.
Suddenly, Irys chuckled.
"Huh?" Bae pouted, "What's so funny?"
"You always seem to speak your mind so freely after you've had a few drinks." Irys faced Bae squarely and looked into the rat-girl's eyes, "It makes me wonder: am I talking to Baelz Hakos or the alcohol she drank right now?"
"I'm Baelz Hakos and that's all that i'll ever be." Bae answered firmly. Then she pointed at Irys, "And when you start getting philosophical on me, I know you've had one too many drinks too, Iwys." She snorted, "Now that I think about it, will you be able to drive back to your place that buzzed?"
Before Irys could answer, the night sky suddenly flashed with bright light. Moments later, a cacophony of noise blasted their ears.
BRA-BAAAAM!
All of a sudden, a downpour started.
…
Rain came in a drizzle at first, but it intensified with every nervous heartbeat of Irys and Bae. The two of them ran through the boardwalk of the waterfront, covering themselves with their coats all the way through. Minutes later, they took shelter inside the Halifax Ferry Terminal, drenched and dripping with rainwater.
"Sheesh, man…" Bae wrung the sleeves and hems of her coat as best as she could, "I checked the weather this morning. I thought there was a 30% chance of rain!"
"Forecasts change…" Irys frowned, scrambling to salvage her now disheveled head of maroon hair, "And the weather here is really fickle. Really, really fickle. "
The Nephilim emphasized the word 'fickle'. Her two-colored eyes glanced at Bae for a moment. Bae frowned too. She had a good guess of what Irys thought just now. Rather than confront Irys about it, Bae just stayed silent and kept focusing on her drenched clothes.
"So what are you gonna do now?" Bae wrinkled her nose and asked the Nephilim, "You're buzzed and it's raining cats and Bread Dogs. Are you still planning to drive home?"
"My Vespa's just parked at the Purdy's Wharf parking lot." Irys reminded, trying and failing to comb her hair with her fingers, "I just need to get there and I'll be off to the races."
"Seriously?" Bae furrowed her brow, "And how far are you driving?"
Irys turned away from Bae and sighed.
"My place is at Larry Uteck." Irys revealed, "Halfway to Enfield - and the airport."
"That far!? You're gonna take your Vespa on the highway in this condition?" Bae raised her voice.
"Are you planning to suggest an alternative, Bae?" Irys raised her voice too.
Bae clenched her fist. She stood firm and spoke with full conviction, "Take the Dartmouth ferry with me. Come to my place."
A long, uneasy pause fell upon the ferry terminal. The Nephilim whirled around to face Bae. She opened her mouth, but all she could muster was a loud, "HUH!?"
"Come to my place." Bae insisted without hesitation, "I'm just a short bus ride away from Alderney Landing terminal across the harbor. You won't have to sprint all the way to Purdy's Wharf and get wet all over again ."
"But that's…!" Irys started sentences but couldn't seem to finish them, "Is that really alright if I…?"
However, when her two-colored eyes met with Bae's blue, the rat-girl stood tall.
"You're serious, aren't you?" Irys tested.
"One hundred percent." Bae confirmed, "I'm not gonna let you get hurt or sick - not on my watch."
Irys lowered her head. Water continued to drip down the long locks of her maroon hair and on the sides of her cheek. She mumbled something beneath her breath, her voice masked by the pouring rain crashing into the glass windows of the ferry terminal. Then, the deep foghorn of the Dartmouth ferry sounded.
HOOOOOONK~ HONK-HONK! HOOOOOONK!
"Last chance, Irys." Bae urged. She extended her hand to the Nephilim and pleaded, "Please."
Irys raised her eyes, but the tense, cryptic expression remained painted on her visage. Lightning flashed in the dark heavens again.
BRA-BAAAAM!
"If I go with you, you might not like what I have to say. A year's worth of it." Irys warned, raising her voice over the thunderclap, "You understand that, right?"
Sweat and rainwater dripped down Bae's brow. Her hand twitched, but she clenched it into a fist and nodded.
"We were going to have this conversation sooner or later, Irys." Bae answered, "I want to hear every word of it."
"As long as we're on the same page." Irys nodded.
Bae nodded back and lowered her hand.
With that, Irys and Bae walked together towards the turnstile of the ferry terminal but kept their distance from each other. The awkward silence lingered on between them, broken only by the howling winds and the crackling thunder.
…
Nowhere With You
Summer Rain
…
To Be Continued