Revamped!

[In case you needed a small break from the Jacin drama, there is a little Wolflet and Kaider here.] [2020: I love how the boy runs away and past me says let's take a break from him.]

Forming Clay Soldiers: Part Six

After all the endless nagging from Scarlet, Wolf finally agreed to take her on a real date. He didn't see a point in one since they hang out all the time and have their arms around each other for the majority of that time. Why couldn't they call any of those dates? He'll never know. But then he considered that maybe an outing that they can title as a date sounds nice and they could finally say they have been on one. And she'd stop bothering him about it.

Wolf took full control of planning the date and when the day came, his only condition was to dress casually which they both did. They're in jeans. Scarlet wore her signature red sweatshirt and a light windbreaker and Wolf wore a dark tee and a leather jacket. In the car, Scarlet sits in anticipation as Wolf drives. She's excited about this date and Wolf is pleased to see that.

"Alright," Wolf says, parking the car. "We're here."

Scarlet steps out, expecting to see this enigmatic date place filled with romance, but her hopes crash to the ground when she sees Lunar Academy in front of them. She turns around to Wolf and glares sickeningly at him.

"Really?" Scarlet questions. "School on a Saturday?"

"Just wait…" Wolf says.

He takes her hands and leads her into the courtyard. Scarlet sees a cute picnic set up. That makes the date seem a bit better so far but still, they're at school.

"Leave it up to you to come up with a minimalist date," Scarlet says. "Still, the setting is surprising."

Wolf isn't sure if that's a compliment, sarcasm or a mix of the two, but he still takes it as is.

"Hey," Wolf defends, "nobody could steal your ability to come up with new thoughts."

"What kind of date is this?"

"Lunch and a show."

Wolf points to the classroom window in front of their picnic. Scarlet looks through and sees Thorne sitting alone at a desk, struggling on a test he missed in the middle of the week. Even on the weekend, he had to show up in his school uniform. That's the most Lunar Academy thing Lunar Academy has done. Thorne sees them both there and gives them the finger as they both laugh at him.

"So you took me to a picnic at school on a Saturday to watch Thorne fail a test?" Scarlet asks.

Wolf nods as Scarlet's smile grows bigger than ever.

"This is the best date ever," Scarlet tells him, truly about to cry. "I didn't think you had it in you."

She looks up at him and the proud grin on his face. He knows that he succeeded in the dating game. Everything about Wolf is handsome. Those strong shoulders, those bright and gentle eyes she gets lost in… Her heart flutters, warming herself up just by looking at him.

"Scarlet," Wolf says, "quit staring at me or you'll miss the best part: Thorne leaving many questions blank."

Scarlet applauds. Thorne turns to glare at them.

-o-

Cinder dials Iko's number. She has yet to tell Iko about the letter that Jacin sent Winter. If they told their friends here, Iko and Kinney need to know as well. Spades, they should've known first. Maybe they have some helpful ideas about Jacin's vague letter but she doubts it. Cinder doesn't even know what to say about it. When Jacin dropped in a while ago, she didn't think anything was wrong. They were bantering as they always do. Should she have seen something?

Homegirl Iko: Uh, Cinder? You there?

Cinder snaps back into reality. "Yeah, sorry, just thinking."

Homegirl Iko: About?

Cinder clears her throat. "Jacin wrote Winter a letter. It didn't say much as to why he ran away but he doesn't want Winter to tell his parents about the letter."

Homegirl Iko: Well, duh, that defeats the whole purpose of running away to begin with.

Cinder rolls her eyes. "I'm just trying to keep you updated on my end."

Homegirl Iko: And I thank you for that.

-o-

Kai walks down the hallway of his house, munching an apple as one thought stays resident in his mind: Cinder Blackburn. He can't deny that there's something attractive about that girl besides her obvious good looks. Aside from the spunky wit and way with tools, he just couldn't keep his mind away from her. There was also the mysterious aura that came with her (and the rest of the Blackburn family). Cinder seemed to be pretty open but Kai can't help but have a feeling in his gut that she has an elusive backstory. Besides, she's a rich Lunar girl straight from the infamous town of Artemisia who lives with her aunt and her step-cousin. Surely, there's an interesting story.

They've been on a few dates (more like two but Kai likes to believe it's been more) and have been together in their group of friends. Still, there was something more intimate about being alone with her, even if their first time alone together was when he barely knew her and she ran off yelling another boy's name - a boy who he later learned was Winter's boyfriend.

That memory makes Kai sigh happily. Good times, good times.

Kai calls Cinder and holds the phone to his ear. As the phone rings, he takes a bite of his apple. Mid-chew, Cinder picks up.

Cinder: What up?

Flustered, Kai spits the apple chunk from his mouth and acts cool. He shouldn't have taken another bite but hopefully, Cinder didn't hear that.

"Hey," Kai says casually. "Look, I was thinking. Let's make this official."

Cinder: Are you proposing?

Kai is speechless. What he said sounded better in his head. He needs a way out of this but his silence and hesitation probably dug him way too deep. Then, he hears Cinder laugh which pulls him out of his hole.

"I'm proposing that we go out again," Kai says. Good save, good save.

Cinder: Sounds great. How about three hours from now? I'm not doing anything.

"Neither am I," Kai says, not even looking if he had anything to do.

Cinder: Great! Show up a minute late and you're going on a date by yourself.

Kai laughs. "I'll be a minute early just for you."

Cinder: Hey, while I have you here, why is your dad asking Levana to work so late? Not that I'm complaining, I'm just curious and grateful.

Kai shrugs. "No idea. I can ask him and tell you later."

Their call ends. Kai smiles proudly for being able to score himself another date. Before he gets ready, he decides to ask his dad what Cinder wanted to know. He leaves his room and heads to his dad's office where he's rummaging through a filing cabinet.

Kai smiles to himself, leaning against the door. His dad is always working hard for the two of them, especially after his mom died many years ago. Now, that the two of them were living on one household income, his dad was working harder than ever although their income is still enough to feed a large family, pay the bills, and go on vacation. It gave him something to do, especially when Kai got older and got more busy with school and friends. Despite that, the two of them have been closer than ever.

Kai softly knocks on the door to get his dad's attention.

"Dad," Kai says, "I'm going out with Cinder later."

"Fascinating," Rikan replies excitedly. "Be home by curfew."

"Oh, one more thing. Cinder wants to know why Levana is working later than usual."

Rikan sighs. "Kai, I was going to tell you this later but I suppose now's a good time. I think I'm going to step down from being mayor soon."

Kai is left stunned. He can't remember a time when his father wasn't Commonwealth's mayor.

-o-

"What if I have to order those mocha-cappuccino-foam things?!" Cinder exclaims at Winter.

Winter smirks a little. "Order extra foam."

Cinder jokingly glares at her. Winter laughs a little. Still, Cinder takes it as good advice.

Cinder decided to go to Winter for help for her date with Kai as to what outfit she should wear and how to do her hair. Winter knew that Cinder would never wear anything floral from her closet, so she offered some jeans and a grey flannel. Her hair was retied in its signature ponytail with no loose strands falling out or baby hairs standing and she tied white converses on her feet.

Winter needed this distraction from all the Jacin drama going on, even if it only took about twenty minutes for Cinder to get ready.

"My date's in half an hour so I'd better go," Cinder says. "Call me if you need anything or if something happens with Jacin. Don't think you're interrupting me because you won't."

"I'll call," Winter says.

Cinder starts to head out the door.

"Oh, Cinder!" Winter calls. Cinder peeks her head back Winter's doorway. "Bring me back a mocha-cappuccino-foam thing!"

Cinder smirks. "I'll even get extra foam for yours."

Winter smiles to herself as she hears Cinder leave and locks the front door behind her. She's happy that Cinder is going out with a boy she likes. Back in Artemisia, Cinder had no suitors or dates. Back then, Winter and even Iko weren't sure if Cinder was interested in romance but now, Winter can say that Lunar boys weren't her cup of tea - or she should say, a cup of mocha-cappuccino-foam thing.

Winter hears her phone ring. She looks at the screen and sees an unknown number calling. Hesitant, Winter picks up and waits a few seconds before talking, hearing an uncomfortable static in her ears.

"Hello?" Winter says skeptically.

Unknown: Hey, Trouble.

Winter gasps. "Jacin?!"

[As you can see, I like foreshadowing the next arcs in the current one.]