Antics

Rhydan leaned back in his seat with all the dramatic flair of a performer about to take center stage. His grin was so wide it looked like it might snap his jaw clean off.

"I'll sponsor everyone's meal today!" he declared, pounding a fist on the table like a war drum.

The words had barely left his mouth before Yven shot up, one fist punching the air in triumph. "I knew there was a reason I stuck around you rich folk! Let's eat big today!"

Liora, Rhydan's girlfriend, tilted her head, her rich brown hair cascading down her shoulders like glossy silk, each strand catching the soft glow of the cafeteria lights. Her arms were still folded across her ample chest, drawing attention to her sculpted figure, every curve and dip accentuated beneath her sleek, dark crimson bodysuit. Her eyes, a fierce, molten amber, glimmered with playful threat.

"Yes, babe," she purred, voice low and sultry, "but make sure you don't embarrass me. Order something decent today, or I'll pretend I don't know you."

Rhydan, instantly tamed like a whipped puppy, nodded vigorously. "Of course! Only the best for my queen!" Without another word, he practically bolted off, almost tripping over his own feet in his desperation to please.

Drae and Yven exchanged looks so incredulous they might as well have had question marks hovering over their heads.

"Was that Rhydan, or did someone upload a new firmware into his brain?" Drae murmured, one eyebrow raised.

Mira her delicate, slender frame accentuated by the fitted ivory jacket she wore over her uniform covered her mouth, her laughter spilling out like a bubbling spring. "Rhydan is so different from Ayla. I can't believe they're cousins; it's like watching a puppy and an ice sculpture in the same room."

Liora rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the smirk twisting at the corner of her lips. "He's an adorable fool. But… he's my adorable fool." Her eyes softened, bright amber shifting from sharp to tender in an instant, like a flame momentarily calmed by a gentle breeze.

Yven groaned theatrically, pressing both hands to his chest as if he'd been shot. "Could you maybe… not throw the word 'love' around like it's a new trend? Some of us are dying in singlehood out here!"

Liora's smirk sharpened into a shark-like grin. "Maybe if you didn't chase every skirt from here to the outer colonies, you'd stand a chance."

Yven recoiled, eyes wide as saucers. "Whoa! Who told you that? Who's been snitching on me? That's classified information!"

Liora snorted, flicking her hair back. "Everyone knows, genius."

Mira, still laughing so hard her shoulders trembled, reached out to lightly slap Yven on the arm. "You really are an evil man. You deserve every bit of this."

Ayla standing beside them, her shimmering silver hair cascading like liquid moonlight down her back remained silent. Her arms were folded elegantly under her chest, enhancing the natural lines of her slim, graceful figure. Her pale lavender eyes, often as cold and distant as starlight, softened just for a fleeting second. A small, almost imperceptible curve tugged at her lush lips.

That fleeting smile, like dawn melting away the last frost, was so stunning it felt as though the entire world had briefly held its breath.

Drae saw it. And in that split moment, it was as if time itself stilled around him. His pulse hammered against his ribs, each thud echoing in his skull. He could not tear his gaze away, transfixed by the warmth that had snuck past Ayla's guarded exterior.

Realizing he'd been staring, he snapped out of it, a rush of heat flooding his neck and cheeks. He coughed, fumbling for words. "Yven… hasn't exactly been with that many people," he offered carefully, though his voice betrayed a faint tremor. "He's just… selective."

Yven jumped as if he'd been saved from a firing squad. He threw his arm over Drae's shoulder, shaking him like a dog would its favorite toy. "Finally! Some justice in this cruel world!"

Drae rolled his eyes, pulling away with an exaggerated groan. "I didn't say I was your lawyer. Don't push it."

"Traitor!" Yven shouted, before slumping dramatically over the table, forehead pressed against the polished surface.

Rhydan returned then, balancing a sleek, floating tray loaded with plates and bowls that emitted wisps of fragrant steam. The smell of roasted demon beast meat mingled with the scent of bio-cultured vegetables and fresh-baked starch cakes, flooding the space with a mouthwatering aroma.

He dropped into his seat, cheeks flushed from sprinting. Before he could open his mouth, Liora's piercing gaze locked onto him like a targeting system.

"And where exactly have you been all this time, hmm?" Her voice was deceptively soft, dripping with honey and edged with a blade.

Rhydan froze, his eyes darting wildly from Liora to the tray, then back again, as if searching for an escape route that didn't exist. "I uuuhh, I ," he tried talking, fidgeting a bit looking at his two rascal friends for a way out.