dribble drabble - nano 13 being updated

[eden .]

I STARTED THIS PLOT LATE AND I'M FREAKING OUT LITERALLY IT'S MY THIRD PLOT I STARTED FOR NANOWRIMO BUT I THINK I'LL STICK W IT SO HERE IT IS LITERALLY I'M MAKING IT UP AS I GO
BASICALLY I WANTED AN EXCUSE TO WRITE A MODERN AU WITH SOME WWII CHARACTERS I MADE YEAH THAT'S IT EVERYTHING ELSE IS ON THE FLY WHICH IT'S WHY IT'S LAME BEAR W ME

Evelyn began her morning as she always did: jumping off a building.
She didn’t shake much from fear more so than from excitement, now. And cold. It was cold on top of the skyscraper. But there was smog coming out from the vents on the rooftop, and she stood atop of these to warm herself up before she took the literal giant leap. She brushed the blonde hair out of her face and breathed into her chilled fingers. Then she spread out her arms and considered the thin but sturdy material spanning between her wrists down to her waist like bat wings. Evelyn pulled at one of them experimentally. It was slippery and taut. No holes, no tears, and no wear. Everything seemed to be in order.
With a short breath to ground herself (she did not miss the irony), Evelyn took three bounding steps before diving off the building edge.
It still took away her breath every time it happened. The blast of frigid air pulled at her face and brought tears to her eyes, but she kept them open to see the metallic, chill colors of the city ship by. She felt like she was floating, completely free of ropes or tethers or bindings of any sort. It was surreal and exhilarating, and it was one of the few things that woke her up in the mornings, anymore.
Then, after what seemed like only fractions of a second, she pulled open her arms and let the wind catch underneath her. She felt the jerk of it as she suddenly slowed into a comfortable pace. She glided—she only wished she could truly fly at this point—weaving in between buildings and dipping under archways. She narrowly missed the roof of a bus—and actually felt the top of it slip underneath her. She grinned but didn’t make a sound as she banked to her right, floated along the windows of an office building (none of them looked up anymore), and came to a smooth stop on the sidewalk. She righted herself and touched down, taking a few steps to settle herself. The streetgoers walked around her as if she was the most normal thing in the world. She grinned, relishing the moment, before dropping her shoulders as well as her smile and rubbing her eyes. They were aching again.
“Don’t you even bother to wear a helmet?” asked a resonant and openly amused voice. Evelyn looked up to see Andrei had inexplicably appeared before her, standing squarely in the middle of the sidewalk. The crowd parted around them like the Red Sea.
“No point,” Evelyn replied blandly. “You know that.”
“I know you tell me I know,” he replied. He stepped to the side and swept his arm out to guide her forward. “They’re calling for their Oracle.”
“I’m sure they are,” said Evelyn. She strode past Andrei while undoing the fastenings on her arms that kept her wings in place. In the air, they gave her freedom. On the ground, it felt like she was moving through water. She preferred to carry them back to base. She had finished getting those along her arms and just undone the ones along her sides before Andrei swiftly unlocked the ones fastened tightly on her upper back and shoulders. Neither broke stride.
“Thank you,” Evelyn said automatically. She held out her hand to take the gliders, although it was mostly just a formality now; he would never let her carry anything.
“They won’t like you showing up in that,” Andrei evidently felt compelled to point out her outfit. It was streamlined, of course, and close fitting and bland. It was completely black and was essentially like a scuba diving suit—and about as comfortable. And it certainly wasn’t something to wear to a strategy meeting. Evelyn glanced down and had to fight to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
“If they’re going to call for the Oracle so anxiously,” she flared her nostrils, “then they’ll have to get over it.”
“Hm,” Andrei smiled a little but did not reply. They continued through the streets unchallenged as they approached the base of their operations: a glass dome whose curved skeleton could be seen even from this distance. The white nanomaterial—literally atomically constructed to have a perfectly balanced and stable structure while still maintaining flexibility—gracefully and artfully soared into the air, crisscrossing and stretching across an entire city square. Fitted into the lattice structure was one way glass that doubled as solar panels. The reflective material had the most efficient solar cells embedded inside—apparently converting ninety seven percent of solar rays into energy and losing only three percent to heat—and stored enough power for the building to run full time through the night and whatever dreary days that might come. The panels powered research projects, military endeavors, greenhouses, and all things mundane all under that single domed roof. It was daunting to approach not just because of its sheer size but also because it was a pinnacle of scientific achievement. The Axis was entirely self-sufficient. It was essentially a small society living within a larger one.
And even though Evelyn had been part of this society for the better part of seven years, she still needed to be carded every time she came within five feet of the place.
“How are you, Victor?” asked Evelyn out of politeness. He knew it.
“Fine. And how are you?”
Andrei cleared his throat.
“Miss Oracle?” Victor tacked on. Andrei chuckled behind her. He had only been a quarter serious and Evelyn was the only other one that knew it.
“You don’t need to call me that,” Evelyn told him, deadpan. “I’m well.”
“You’ve been diving again?” he nodded towards her getup as he ran her identification card through machinery that Evelyn couldn’t begin to understand.
“As usual.” She hadn’t meant to sound impatient, but evidently Victor thought he had displeased her. He apologized before handing back her card and glancing at Andrei.
“Haven’t got one yet,” smiled Andrei.
“I…” hesitated Victor before he sighed and stepped aside. “Make sure you get one, Medvedev.”
“Will do, sir,” saluted Andrei—it was actually rather comical, considering he was a good two inches taller than Victor—as he strutted after Evelyn, who was already at the door.
“You need to get an I.D.,” Evelyn chided him as they entered the dome. It was like entering a different dimension. The outside world was hot and choking, full of smog and sweat and too many people in too few places. Inside was quiet and shockingly Spartan. The building only had what was absolutely necessary, which essentially included two refrigerators, three microwaves, and four bathrooms (two for women, two for men) strategically placed throughout. There were elevators and such, and chairs and desks for public use if one wished, but typically everyone in the dome was so busy and hastened they preferred to do their work standing up and walking about. Evelyn narrowly avoided being barreled over by a pair of economists determining where the MCR equaled the MVT or some nonsense. One of them was angrily jabbing at the flat screen he was holding. It held a graph of some sort with a dizzying number of lines. Andrei would’ve made them apologize if Evelyn hadn’t practically pushed him forward.
“Keep forgetting to get around to it,” shrugged Andrei good naturedly as they entered the empty elevator. Evelyn inserted her I.D. card into the slot along the inside wall of the elevator and waited patiently for the black screen just above it glow pale blue and reveal a keypad. She typed in her personal code (160916) and the floor number, and the doors slid smoothly closed and they began their descent.
“It’s been four months and we come here almost every day,” Evelyn frowned as the ground began to rise above their heads. “How haven’t you gotten around to it?”
Andrei shrugged again, unconcerned. “I get in just fine. I don’t think I need one.”
“You only get in because you come in just behind me and you intimidate the guards through association with me,” Evelyn told him.
“Yes, so I get in just fine,” Andrei repeated cheerily.
“At my expense.”
“I don’t think it’s that much trouble.”
“One day you’re going to have to get into this place and you won’t be let in.”
“Is that a warning?” he raised his eyebrow with genuine curiosity.
“Probability theory,” Evelyn replied and stepped out into the hall just as the doors opened. She heard Andrei chuckle again as he followed her out.
The ground beneath the dome was a maze of tunnels and lifts going up, down, left, and right across otherwise uncrossable chasms of unfinished caverns. While there were no official designations, typically a floor was made up of a certain type of person or peoples conducting a specific type of research or work. However, because there were no official designations, the floors where these people worked were subject to change and whim and how much pull competition might have for the same floor, which only added to the chaos that was the Underground. This particular floor was, at the moment, devoted to military strategy and training, and was, as such, furbished sparingly. The halls were metallic but wide, which left room for carts to move crates and for training partners to run by carrying weights. Military officials strode through the halls, their heavy boots making the metal floor rattle, and weapons scientists rushed through with tablets or their newest, highly destructive invention. Unlike many of the floors underneath the dome, this floor had a multitude of heavy duty doors that led to a multitude of heavy duty chambers. Evelyn had only been in three or four in her years of work here, and she didn’t have much desire to see much more. The ones she had entered had been distressing experiences for her.
“Which room?” asked Evelyn.
“This way,” answered Andrei. He tapped her shoulders and turned her towards the right. She headed in that direction and he stayed behind her, keeping a respectful two paces apart. Or, rather, about one and a half, as two of her quick steps were equal to about one of his leisurely ones. As such, Evelyn had to nearly jog to make sure she stayed ahead of Andrei. Usually, she wouldn’t even bother. It was too much work for very little outcome, but out of respect for the group they were working under, the pair of them felt it was appropriate to follow protocol as closely as possible (except, obviously, getting individual keycards).
Andrei didn’t tell her to stop at any of the doors Evelyn passed, so she didn’t even glance at them as she continued around the curved halls. For whatever reason, this floor had not been constructed in straight lines but rather rounded ones, and as such looked much more like a complicated snake than a carefully calculated architectural structure. When she had first entered, she became dizzy after the first few forks and soon lost her way. It wasn’t as if she could use “left” then “right” then “left again” as her guides. Pathways arose organically and seemingly randomly. It made her nervous whenever she came down here because she was always afraid she was going to get lost, starve, die, and rot in one of the many tunnels here.
Andrei, however, apparently knew exactly where he was going despite having been here only a fraction of what Evelyn had, and seemed to inherently have this sense the moment he stepped inside the dome. It was his ability, she learned later. His hyperactive senses and his constant tabs on the environment around him forced him to learn a map of the place quicker and more accurately than a regular person ever could. It seemed aggravating, but she would’ve much preferred memorizing complicated maps over her ability.
“Here,” Andrei steered her towards a leftward fork, and she stepped back to his side and allowed him to keep a hand between her shoulder blades. It was evident that they were meeting in a room that she had not been in before, and it was evident that Andrei was the only one out of the two of them that knew where they were going. It would’ve been better if he had just stepped in front of her and took the lead, but that would be pushing things. He wasn’t her equal, just another set of convenient hands.
“This one,” Andrei murmured. They had long since passed their last person some yards back. The pair of them had been walking in silence, their only company the rattling of metal underneath their feet. In front of Evelyn was a circular and black iron door that clearly opened electronically when prompted, although she didn’t see any identification point to let herself in. She mentally frowned but approached anyway.
After conducting a thorough investigation of the nearby walls and the door itself, Evelyn concluded that there was, in fact, no way she could unlock or open the entryway herself. She considered the heavy material, shrugged, and did the only thing she could do: she knocked.
The sound that came from her knuckles hitting the metal sounded absolutely pitiful. She wasn’t even sure if she had hit it at all at first, but when someone called for the door to be opened, she stepped back. Presently, the door spiraled open, swirls appearing in the metal and spinning away from the center to create and opening. Evelyn only blinked before stepping over the threshold and entering the room.
It was cavernous and at the same time suffocating; it was hard to tell how large it really was with the number of people stuffing the inside, but when Evelyn looked up, she saw the ceiling was vaulted so much that it disappeared beyond her line of sight. Officers and officials shifted aside to allow her in, and she approached the main rectangular table where a gathering of eleven commanders sat. They were leaning either backwards or forwards, evidently deep in thought in the middle of conversation, but when they saw her, all arguments stopped. The head, Ershwin, stood and offered her his hand.
“Oracle,” he inclined his head slightly. “We’re glad you could make it.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Evelyn replied.
Ershwin certainly didn’t look like a commanding officer—although, none of the eleven sitting at the table did. And none of the people in the room looked to be part of a standing military, either. As, essentially, a glorified mafia or gang, the Axis could afford to be lax about uniform while still maintaining its iron grip about the city and the surrounding territories. The eleven commanders deigned to wear suits, but other outfits ranged from pressed khakis to torn jeans. And Andrei thought they would be upset by Evelyn’s flying suit?
“And this is?” asked Ershwin, looking over her shoulder. She turned and saw Andrei had appeared just behind her. It occurred to her that Ershwin had never actually met Andrei. She had never been called to a gathering as large as this one while Andrei was around.
“This is Andrei Medvedev,” she introduced him before he could get some remark in. “He’s…my companion.”
Ershwin’s brow furrowed minutely, although Evelyn was unsure if it was from surprise, anger, or a mixture of both.
“Mr. Medvedev, this is a private gathering for high ranking members, so if you would like to wait outside of the—”
“I go where she goes,” Andrei pointed to Evelyn. Ershwin turned to glare at her accusingly. She shrugged. Andrei had been saying things like that since the day he had set foot in the dome.
“You’re welcome to try and kick him out. I can’t promise you’ll have all of your generals ready to mobilize anytime soon, though,” she added, casting a glance around the room. They shifted uncomfortably under her gaze. Evelyn thought it was a little bit funny, honestly, that they never looked her in the eyes. It wasn’t as if she needed eye contact to see when and how these men would die.
Evelyn couldn’t see him, but she could tell that Andrei was openly grinning. She wished he wouldn’t. It wasn’t respectful for someone of his ranking. He barely had a rank. Still, a warning from the Oracle was enough to silence the matter. Ershwin grumbled but did not argue—and there were, evidently, other matters to get to, anyway.
“Oracle, as you can see, we’re preparing a battle plan to counter the recent terrorist acts against us,” Ershwin moved to the side to present the expansive map flattened out on the table. “We’ve had four attacks in the past week and a half, and they—”
“—have had crippling casualties, loss of resources, and caused general widespread panic. Yes, I know of them, Commander. If you had made time for my call prior to the attacks, I would’ve been able to tell you the same thing.
Commander Ershwin swallowed but did not reply. It was doubtless that he could feel the entire room’s stares.
“Yes, that’s correct,” he finally cleared his throat. “I’m glad you already know the details. That’ll make things go much faster.” He tapped the map at a few red “X”s marked through the city. “These are the points that they’ve attacked, and these”—he now pointed to a few blue dots—“are places we think their base may be. They’ve already told us they’re planning on attacking again, so we’re planning on storming these sights.”
“And you want to know if it’ll be successful or not.”
“Yes, if you would please.”
Evelyn blinked and sighed. “I’ll need a chair, please.”
The room shifted to try and find an available seat for her. One of the commanders rose to offer her his.
“Just put it behind me,” muttered Evelyn almost inaudibly, her other senses already dimming. The musty smell of multiple bodies was disappearing, the taste of the coffee she had had that morning faded, and the sounds of fabric and footsteps muffled. She was vaguely aware of someone taking her shoulders and pushing her into a chair, but shortly thereafter, she couldn’t even tell she was sitting in a chair at all, nor could she feel her flying gear or even where her hands or feet were. No sound, no taste, no smell, no sensation. It was terrifying and Evelyn could never stop the leap of fear before she went under. She wasn’t even aware of herself. She couldn’t even be sure that she was existing in this moment. Was she breathing? She wasn’t sure. Was her heart pumping blood through her veins? She couldn’t tell. Was she swallowing out of nervousness just now? Who knows.
Andrei, she knew, would at least make sure she didn’t stop breathing while she was in her seat (she assumed she was safely in a chair, now). He might’ve only met her a few months ago, but he was much more dependable than the other officers in the room. They wouldn’t touch her, not out of respect or because they’d be at a loss, but because no one wanted to touch the thing that could see into the future. It would only be when Evelyn collapsed onto the ground and a daring someone checked her pulse and found she was not breathing that they would rush her to an emergency room. But, despite his jokes and casual demeanor, Andrei was reliable.
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced Evelyn’s eyes. That she could feel. She thought she gasped in surprise but she wasn’t sure. A rush of images flickered by her, and she anxiously tried to keep track of them all, tried to discern the moment she was looking for. Some of them rushed past in a flurry of color and some of them jerked and paused and shuddered like old moving picture shows. She could taste brine, chocolate, and blood. She could feel wind, cotton, and syrup sticking at her fingers. They disappeared as soon as they had come. She went between states of sensation and feeling it being stripped away one after another. It was dizzying and almost sickening.
Then she paused and found herself thrown into numbness again. The images suspended and floated, unbound and fluid within her vision. She mentally reached for one of the flickering, flashing spasm of pictures that couldn’t quite seem to settle. It was curious but not completely unusual. She inspected them, watched them, but for some reason could not throw herself in the moment. Still, she could tell what was going on: attacks on the bases, storming the quarters, bursting through doors—
A harsh slap across her face woke her up. With a surprised gasp, the vision fell past her eyes and she was flooded with sensation: the feeling of air filling her lungs, the stinging on her face, the ground underneath her back…
Her sight was always the last thing to come back, and it came back slowly. It seemed as if her eyes were trying to acclimate to the new environment. It stung and her corneas ached, but it wasn’t the piercing pain that happened whenever she tried to see the future. She blinked multiple times, and each time her sight improved at various degrees: from darkness to dullness to grayscale to muted shades to full Technicolor. Andrei was leaning over her, her wings now slung over his shoulder. He had controlled concern on his face. He had not tried to sit her up, yet.
“You weren’t breathing,” he explained the slap.
“I’m fine,” she said automatically without anyone asking. She made to get up, and he put a hand behind her shoulder and helped her. Then she tried to stand, but he wouldn’t have any of it; he forced her to stay sitting. It was just as well—her head was spinning.
“Oracle,” Ershwin broke the silence of the room, “were you able to—?”
“You fail,” Evelyn sighed into a hand. Andrei’s was still resting on her shoulder. She leaned into it somewhat, afraid that she might keel over. “It would seem between now and when you’re planning on attacking, they’ve gotten the third part of their Trinity.”
“Trinity…?” Ershwin trailed off, evidently confused.
“March sixth, two years ago,” Evelyn said impatiently. “I told you that at some point in time the enemy would gain three people that would eventually become their center of power.” She raised her eyes from her hand. “Over the past two years, they’ve gained two parts of the three. Within the next week, the third part will join.” She paused. “Unless you interfere.”
Ershwin paused before his eyes suddenly widened in realization, and he rose and mobilized. “Keep track of everyone that goes in and out of the city. And make sure we account for the people that don’t have an association with the Iscariot.”
“Am I dismissed, commander?” Evelyn asked as the room burst into action.
“Oh—yes, yes. Thank you, Oracle,” Erswhin waved a hand, distracted as someone approached his shoulder and murmured something in his ear.
Evelyn didn’t bother to thank him; he wouldn’t have heard her anyway. She allowed Andrei to support her as she rose. While they weren’t unstable or weak per se, Evelyn still couldn’t completely feel her legs. She stared at them as she moved forward, concentrating on each step and feeling irritated that she couldn’t do something as simple as walking without accidentally tripping over herself. It was as if she were some sort of newborn.
When they had finally exited the room, Andrei asked her frankly, “Does their interference work?”
“Of course not,” said Evelyn baldly, regaining some sensation in her legs and keeping Andrei at a distance, now. “Ershwin wouldn’t know how to track someone down if you gave him a fleet of bloodhounds.” But since no one asked for details, Evelyn didn’t give them. It didn’t much matter to her which side won as long as she knew where she’d be sleeping at the end of the day.
Andrei didn’t reply but instead guided the pair of them out of the building. Outside was bright and clean and open—much different from the meeting they had just been in. Immediately, Evelyn felt better, freer. She closed her eyes and felt the breeze pulling at her hair.
“Not going to jump off another building, are you?” Andrei asked amusedly.
“It’s getting too windy,” Evelyn replied seriously. She opened her eyes and held out her hands for the wings. “Thank you for holding those. I’ll be going home, now.”
He didn’t give them to her for a moment. “I’ll come with you,” he offered.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“No, I want to,” he waved his hand.
“But I don’t want you anywhere near the place I live.”
Andrei paused and looked at Evelyn seriously. “Madam Oracle, I would never hurt you.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” Evelyn replied honestly. “But no one knows where I live except for me.”
“‘No one’ being open to interpretation, I’m guessing?”
Andrei and Evelyn turned to look at the new voice that entered the conversation. Approaching them was an East Asian woman, young—perhaps nearing twenty—and impeccably full of herself. She strode forward in expensive combat boots and a very inconvenient looking jacket. It had too many buckles and not enough buttons. But she seemed to be rather comfortable in it. She could probably look confident in a trash bag. She was taller than Evelyn, which irked her minutely, as Evelyn was at least five years older than her, but the more it was mentioned the more she would be made fun of for it.
“Alexandra,” Evelyn nodded. Alex only grinned.
“You have a message?” Evelyn prompted her.
“Hey, don’t let me interrupt you two,” she shrugged and backed away a few steps. “What was Andrei saying about coming over?”
“Yes, about that,” Andrei tapped Evelyn’s shoulder.
“It’s a no.”
“But what will I do when someone attacks you?”
“I’ll see them coming from miles away.”
“But what if you can’t?”
“I think I’m rather capable.”
“Perhaps you don’t want me to see you in your natural environment?” Andrei suggested, shrugging a little bemusedly and staring off into the sky.
“I think it’s pretty hot,” Alex put in.
“Stay out of others’ business,” Evelyn held up a hand as Andrei nodded over her head, “Very chivalrous, isn’t it?” They were teasing her, which was only natural. Evelyn was very easy to tease. She wasn’t sure if she was bothered by it or not.
“And where’s your partner in crime, Alex? Or has Xavier finally gotten tired of being your meat shield?”
“He’s a little worn from our late night escapades,” Alex grinned wolfishly. Andrei snorted.
“I can take both of you two on in my sleep,” she continued—and she wasn’t joking. She could take them down while sleeping. It was just a question of whether or not the loud noise would wake her up before the skirmish was over.
“Your message,” Evelyn prompted Alexandra. She grinned and put a hand to her mouth to stop herself from giggling.
“Yeah, right, that.” She took a deep breath and snapped her feet together. “Sophie says hi—first of all.”
“Hi, Sophie,” Andrei waved at Alex. Evelyn knew Andrei, in fact, had no idea who Sophie was. And the only reason Evelyn had any inkling of any Sophie was because of her vision of the woman.
“She’d like to know if you’d be interested in dinner tomorrow evening at six. At the pasta place in Little Italy. She said you’d know the one.”
“That’s what she sent you all the way here for?” Evelyn clicked her tongue. “A dinner date?”
Alex shrugged. “I’m just the messenger. What should I tell her?”
“Did she mention what she wanted to talk about?”
“Did I mention what she wanted to talk about?”
Evelyn resisted the urge to massage her temples. “Fine, tell her I’ll come.”
“And me,” Andrei raised a hand.
“You weren’t invited.”
“Actually, technically, Sophie didn’t specify,” said Alexandra, “so if he wanted to come, nothing is actually stopping him except maybe your confounding sense of honor, Evelyn.”
“A moment ago you were ecstatic about Andrei guiding me home.”
“That’s because I ship you two like nothing else,” Alex replied frankly. Evelyn had no idea what that meant. Andrei apparently did, however, because he let out a short bark of laughter.
“Anyways, Sophie’s pretty go with the flow, so she probably won’t care. I’ll let her know both of you are coming, yeah?” Alexandra began stepping backwards, a thumb over her shoulder. “I’ll let you two get back to your lover’s quarrel.”
“Thanks for letting us know!” Andrei called to her as she began taking long strides away from them, her back to them now. She threw a hand up as a farewell gesture before disappearing in a crowd of people.
“I wonder how many Advils she has to take to come out all the time like that,” Andrei mused aloud. He glanced at Evelyn. “I guess you’d know, wouldn’t you?”
“Be glad you’ve got an ability that has maximum returns with minimal cost” was all Evelyn said. She seized her wings from Andrei’s slack hand before he could react—or rather, before he could make the conscious decision of whether or not he wanted to react—and folded them neatly over her wrists.
“You don’t have to follow me everywhere,” she reminded him seriously. “I appreciate your help, but you shouldn’t feel obligated to watch me all the time.”
“I know I shouldn’t,” Andrei very nearly rolled his eyes. “I don’t. The Oracle can take care of herself.”
Evelyn blinked, bemused. “Then don’t hang around me so much. I feel like an inconvenience.”
“If you were an ‘inconvenience’, I’d be sure to tell you, Oracle,” he smiled at her serenely. Evelyn hesitated minutely.
“Don’t you ever have plans?” Evelyn massaged her face a little. Andrei seemed like the kind of person that would easily have a large social circle and enjoy having one—whereas Evelyn went out of her way to associate with as few people as possible. It was tiring to be around him all the time, frankly, and somewhat concerning that he didn’t seem to have anything to do all day except trail after her like a guard dog. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate having him around, but he was naturally louder and more excitable than Evelyn. It was almost physically draining just to be exposed to his presence for extended periods of time.
“Not really,” Andrei shook his head unconcernedly, “but I’d be willing to have more plans if they were with you.”
She couldn’t help it—Evelyn snorted and bent over. It felt awkward whenever she laughed, as if she was using a muscle that she didn’t typically use. It felt stiff and unnatural, which probably should’ve worried her somewhat but didn’t.
“That might wound a man’s pride, you know,” Andrei advised her. He was joking, she knew. He was even smiling a little when she straightened up.
“Sorry,” she murmured into her mouth, “I just thought of something funny.”
“While I was asking you out, you mean?”
Evelyn skirted around the subject. “I thought of what Alexandra might’ve said if she’d heard how you’d asked.”
Andrei raised an eyebrow and replied patiently, “She’d probably say something like ‘that was smooth as Hell’.”
Evelyn’s lips jerked a little in a half smile. “Yes, something exactly like that. You even got her casualness right.”
“We’re like the same person,” said Andrei slowly. Evelyn forced down her smile and told him, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” Andrei agreed, “but that’s okay. I forgive you.”
Evelyn faintly wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of one of Andrei’s grudges. She’d never seen him angry or even upset before—although she’d seen him extremely sardonic and critical at times. Mostly when he was satirizing the system and its flaws.
“Thank you for forgiving me.”
“So?” Andrei prompted her after a pause, and she started.
“What?”
“Impossible,” Andrei cast his gaze towards the sky and shook his head in disbelief. “You’re incredible, Oracle. All of your visions and you didn’t even rehearse a good reply to this.”
“Oh.” He had been waiting for an answer. If Evelyn was being honest, she had actually gotten a few inklings of this scenario—perhaps when she was daydreaming—but never bothered to fully explore it. In reality, Andrei had said similar things before in the past. Offhand flirtations, comments about her charm (where there was none), and things of that nature, but Evelyn assumed it was just his personality. He was willing enough to exchange banter along those lines with Alexandra on the occasions where she came to meet them both, in any case. Perhaps it was wrong to draw assumptions from such few interactions?
“I guess I didn’t think I had to,” Evelyn frowned. “Should I have?”
Andrei tilted his head to the side, apparently fascinated. “I guess not. Don’t concern yourself, Oracle. Go home.”
“I—oh,” Evelyn blinked. “Alright. If you’re sure?”
“Of course I’m sure,” Andrei smiled reassuringly. “I see you every day, anyway. Who else is going to tell you how ardently and fervently they love you without me around?” He straightened and saw her off towards the bus stop.
“You should say these things more seriously,” Evelyn grumbled a little as they approached the stop. Andrei glanced down at her, evidently surprised that she addressed the subject so directly now, and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Please. You know what I mean,” she said impatiently. “You’ve never said anything with a straight face since the day I’ve met you—which,” she suddenly jumped straight into because, if she was going to be direct, she might as well do it all at the same time, “I still have no details about. I understand you might want to keep things to yourself, and of course you’re entitled to it, but you can’t just show up one day in front of the Dome and expect me to accept that. One of these days you’re going to have to give me a straight answer. No grandiose gestures, no ridiculous speeches, no teasing or calling me Oracle so sarcastically—if you’re going to call me ‘Oracle’ then at the very least treat me as if I were her!”
“Oracle.”
“I’m not done.”
“Oh, you’re not done.” He said it with infuriating patience.
“No, I’m not,” Evelyn said scathingly. She could be very scathing. “I value your company and I value your companionship. Why, without you with me just a few minutes ago, I would’ve been rushed to the hospital because of asphyxiation!” She threw out a hand towards the Dome. “Don’t you think that matters to me? Because it does. Of course it does. But it’s been three months. You can’t go around following me and telling people that you’ll follow me to the ends of the earth because I don’t know the first thing about you. You know I value privacy. You know that. I think sometimes you know more about me than I do myself, and I make a point of not telling you anything about me!”
“Oracle.”
“But what about you? The only thing I could tell anyone about you is that you’re a sarcastic jerk who can’t answer a question with a straight answer!”
That made Andrei smile a bit. He had to hide it into his chest before he looked up, placed his hands on Evelyn’s square shoulders, and repeated again, “Oracle.”
“What?”
“Would you like a coffee?”

[eden .]

IDK I SHIP ANDREI AND EVELYN REALLY HARD ???????

“I’ve never had coffee before,” Evelyn said in passing as they stood in the line, considerably calmer, now. She regretted her outburst—and was embarrassed by it too—and apologized profusely. He didn’t seem to mind. He actually told her that it was refreshing to see her blow up every so often. She was too stoical all the time. She wasn’t sure why that was a bad thing.
“Never? In your life? Not even a sip?” Andrei asked.
“Never.”
“What did you do when you needed to wake up when you were tired?”
“My stress kept me up. I was never tired enough to risk closing my eyes more than I needed to. I already had enough nightmares at night. I usually woke up from those, actually, and wouldn’t go back to sleep for the rest of the night.” Evelyn replied frankly.
“Sounds tough.”
She laughed a little to herself and said, “When I was younger, I tried to stop myself from sleeping, so I stayed up for eighty hours straight. Did everything I could to keep my eyes from closing. Slapped myself, clothespinned my eyelids open, played loud music…” She smiled and shook her head. “All I did was gave myself a migraine and a talking to. And I still fell asleep after that—and of course, since I was sleep deprived, it was possibly the longest stretch of nightmares I had at once. Which, mind, was only about twelve hours.”
Andrei looked vaguely terrified.
“But I take sleeping pills now, so I have to sleep for at least seven hours each night,” Evelyn tried to reassure him. Apparently, it didn’t work.
“And you have nightmares every night?”
“If I don’t, then I don’t recall the nights where I didn’t,” Evelyn shrugged offhandedly. “Oh, it’s your turn.”
“Espresso. And a mocha for her.” He looked at her. “You like sweet things, right?” She nodded. Then she exclaimed, “Oh, I can pay for it myself…”
“This is your first coffee and you’ve also just told me possibly the most depressing childhood story I’ve ever heard firsthand. I’ll buy,” he told wearily.
“Are you sure?”
“Here you go,” Andrei answered by offering his card to the cashier. She took it and completed the transaction coolly.
“I’ll make sure I pay you back.”
“It’s a gift,” Andrei said, guiding Evelyn out of the way so the next person could order. “Christ, learn to relax a little.”
As per usual, he didn’t sound angry or impatient, just vaguely amused, which Evelyn disliked. It was difficult for her to read emotions, and even harder when the subject only ever projected one: perpetually in good humor.
“It’s not that depressing,” Evelyn piped up.
“What?”
“My childhood. It’s not that depressing.”
“It’s pretty depressing.”
“Well, I mean, it certainly wasn’t normal,” said Evelyn, “but I guess since I never knew better, the nightmares were kind of a…norm.”
“It’s a pretty depressing norm.”
“But I’m telling you that I don’t know better—so I don’t really mind.”
“You don’t mind?”
“I’m used to it, I guess.”
Andrei shook his head. “I don’t get any of you.”
They announced their coffees were ready. Andrei reached around Evelyn to take them and offered one to her.
“Is it supposed to be this large?” asked Evelyn, twisting the cup around in her hands.
“That’s a small,” Andrei chuckled. “Don’t worry, you don’t have to finish it all.”
But she should, since it was bought for her. She tentatively took her first sip—and promptly burned her tongue. She stuck it out for a moment before pressing it against the roof of her mouth.
“Fantastic work, Oracle.” He guided her to a tall table near the window. He slipped into one of the seats easily. Evelyn had to put her cup on the table first before half-jumping into her chair. Andrei seemed content to watch her struggle. She tried to look dignified as she settled into her seat.
“If you can see the future, why didn’t you wait until the drink cooled down to drink it?” Andrei half joked.
“I’ve seen myself burn my tongue on a lot of drinks,” Evelyn sighed. She had gotten this question before. “It’s not really worth trying to avoid them.”
“And I’m guessing it’s a similar mentality that makes it okay for you to jump of buildings each morning?”
“Is it so strange?”
“I wouldn’t do it,” Andrei admitted, “and I’m the guy most likely out of the two of us to walk away.”
“Are you saying Andrei Medvedev is, in fact, a coward?” Evelyn jerk-smiled.
“Coward? Of course not,” Andrei laughed. “Just cautious.”
“Well, I jump off buildings because—well, why not? It’s exhilarating,” Evelyn shrugged. Andrei furrowed a brow and stared at her.
“You have to try it first to understand.”
“Hm.” Andrei took a sip of his coffee.
“I already know that I’m not going to die from building jumping,” said Evelyn, “and knowing that kind of takes away the danger of everything…But flying is still pretty fun.”
“Back up,” Andrei set his cup down and held up a hand. “You already know when you’re going to die?”
“I have a fairly good idea,” Evelyn inclined her head.
“That doesn’t bother you at all?”
Evelyn hesitated. “I think it would be wrong to say that it bothers me anymore.”
Andrei stared at her. “Am I allowed to ask how you die?”
Evelyn shook her head. “No, you’re not.”
Andrei did not look particularly surprised or offended. “How about when?”
“No.”
Again, he didn’t seem taken aback, but now Andrei looked rather forlorn.
“What’s with that face?”
“Do you die before I do?”
“I shouldn’t answer that.”
“Do you know when I die?”
“I shouldn’t tell you that, either. Stop asking me questions that you know I won’t answer.”
Andrei rain a wiry hand through his tussled blond hair.
“Why are you so bothered? Everyone dies. He’ll die,” she nodded towards a barista, “she’ll die”—a middle aged woman speaking into a cell phone pressed against her shoulder—“you’ll die (even if you feel invincible all the time)…why is it so different if I die?”
“I’m just amazed you’re sitting here with me drinking coffee instead of trying to prevent your own death. Why aren’t you running for your life? Why haven’t you built a safe house for yourself? Why aren’t you walking around with an entourage of guards and three guns? You know if you asked you could get it.”
“I don’t think it really matters,” Evelyn considered her coffee cup in her hands. “Even if I survive a day more than I expected I would, that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t keel over from—I don’t know—food poisoning the very next day.” She shrugged. “Like I said, I’m not much bothered by it anymore. It’s a fact of life. I’ve just been forced to come to terms with it sooner than most people. And living in safe houses all my life seems very boring,” she added. “Hence: the skydiving.”
“So you want to do as many things as you can before you die, yet you’ve never had coffee before?”
“I’m not sure if I like it,” Evelyn stuck out her tongue. “What does yours taste like?”
“If you didn’t like your mocha, then you’re probably going to throw up when you taste this,” he told her as he pushed the cup to her.
He was right. Evelyn nearly spat right back into his cup. Thankfully, she was able to swallow it—although she was pretty sure she’d never be able to get the bitter aftertaste off of her tongue. She had a very strong urge to take a handful of mints and brush her teeth three times.
“Told you,” he laughed as she gingerly placed the cup back onto the table. She shoved his drink back to him with distaste.
“How can you stand that?”
“Acquired taste.”
Evelyn went back to her mocha. At least it was more or less tolerable. If someone wanted to poison Evelyn, they could just make her down that black stuff Andrei called a drink.
“You should see your face,” Andrei grinned.
“Hush,” Evelyn glared at him.
After a short moment of silence, Andrei said to her, “I first saw you after I was leaving the Dome. The Axis hired me for a job. I finished it and came back to collect and report.”
“What?” Evelyn blinked and straightened, confused at the sudden subject change.
“You must’ve had a vision accidentally, because you fell onto your knees in the middle of the hallway,” he considered her. “It was pretty terrifying. You started screaming and crying but you never closed your eyes. They were wide open. And I don’t think you blinked once. Pupils dilated—way more than they should’ve been—and your whites”—he waved a finger towards her eyes—“were red. I thought you had burst a vein or something.”
Evelyn frowned. She hadn’t heard anyone actually come out and describe what she looked like when she was seeing the future before. Usually the subject had been evaded—typically very poorly.
“And then you woke up. It took you a second, like it always does,” he said, directly looking at her. “You stopped screaming very suddenly, though, and after you gathered your bearings, you stood yourself up and wiped off your face and told everyone you were fine.” Andrei paused. “I think the part that bothered me most was that no one tried to help you up or wake you up or something. They just let you fall and let you scream. They actually backed up.”
“You didn’t help me.” It wasn’t an accusation, but an observation. Andrei took it in stride.
“That’s true. I guess I was more fascinated than anything else. But the others…”
“Were afraid. I know.”
Andrei shook his head and corrected her. “Disgusted.”
Evelyn blinked but was not particularly surprised. But it still hurt to hear it said aloud.
“That’s their opinion,” she finally said diplomatically. When Andrei didn’t go on with his story, Evelyn tried to remember the day he was talking about. She never recalled seeing him until three months ago, so it must’ve been before that time that he first saw her. It wasn’t hard to narrow down the days. It wasn’t often that she actually showed emotion while having a vision—or, at least, she didn’t think it was. At the very least, she didn’t usually wake up with tears on her face.
“If it’s the day I’m thinking of,” Evelyn stared through the window and into the street, “then on that day I saw the first Iscariot attack. It was very terrible. There were lots of casualties.”
“You saw the first attacks five months in advance?”
“Was it that long ago?” Evelyn wondered aloud. Then she snorted a little and sipped her mocha absentmindedly. “I know that I called Commander Ershwin about it at some point or another. Or tried to. I tried to do my part. It’s his fault for not making time for the woman that can see the future.”
“Seems to defeat the purpose of having the Oracle on your side,” Andrei agreed.
“The Oracle is only convenient when you want her to be so,” Evelyn smiled knowingly. “Other than that, she needs to leave the commanders to their busy schedules and not bother them with images of crying mothers and next week’s shipment costs.” She shook her head and sat back in her chair. “It doesn’t matter. I have a place to sleep and food on my table. If they don’t want to listen to me, that’s fine; there are options open to me.”
“Are you serious?”
Evelyn turned and met Andrei’s gaze. He as holding his head in his hand, and he for once looked very serious.
“About leaving the Axis?” she shrugged. Andrei glanced around once—it might’ve been a tick, but Evelyn suspected he was trying to see if they were being listened in on.
“Don’t worry about it,” she told him. “I don’t die in a coffee shop for speaking out of turn.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” he said, exasperated.
“If I wanted to, I could,” she ignored him. “I don’t think they quite understand that. Don’t you think the Iscariot would be more than happy to have the Oracle with them?”
“That depends,” Andrei blinked. “They might think it’d be safer to just kill you where you stand. According to you, they already have—who was it?”
“Malachi joined first,” Evelyn said. She had told Andrei this often enough now, and had told the administration once and only once. That’s all she owed them. “Minori second. I suspect the third person would probably be Sophie.”
“And if you’ve interpreted everything correctly…”
“Any one of them could kill me easily,” Evelyn nodded. She glanced up and down Andrei. “The only one that would give you trouble is Malachi. Minori would just be an annoyance.”
“I’m not sure I’d call him a simple annoyance,” Andrei raised an eyebrow.
Evelyn shrugged. “Well, we’re all in a similar boat, anyhow, so I doubt they’ll be much inclined to kill us unless they had to.”
“I wouldn’t be so optimistic.”
“For someone who laughs a lot, you’re certainly very pessimistic,” Evelyn countered. Andrei grinned around the palm of his hand. She glanced at her watch.
“Do you need to go home soon?”
“No, I don’t,” Evelyn said honestly, looking up. “I don’t have much to do all day.”
“Hey, all the more reason to spend more time with me, right?” Andrei arched an eyebrow.
“If you say so,” Evelyn halfheartedly smiled. Then she asked, “Why did you tell me all about when you first saw me?”
“You wanted to know something about me,” he shrugged, “and you told me about how you lived your childhood life afraid to go to sleep and that you know when and how you’re going to die. I felt like I owed you something. Should I think of something else?”
“Please don’t feel obligated,” Evelyn held up a hurried hand. “I was upset before. You shouldn’t have to—”
“No, I should, and you know it,” Andrei rolled his eyes. Evelyn bit her tongue a little.
“What else would you like to know?”
“You choose,” Evelyn urged him. “I don’t want to ask about something personal.”
Andrei shook his head. “My life’s an open book, Oracle. There’s nothing you can hear from me that you can’t dig up some way or another in another place.”
Evelyn hesitated for a fraction of a second. “And why is that?”
“As you may have noticed, I have a pretty damn good physique,” Andrei smirked. “As you may have guessed, that has to do with my uncanny ability to shoot an arrow into the end of another arrow on a bull’s eye over a hundred feet away. With a less-than-functional bow and under extreme weather conditions and—”
“Do angels play fanfares in your wake and does the ground upon which you step become holy, as well?”
Andrei chuckled. Then he sobered and told her, “As you can imagine, a shot aimed at an entire cranium with a sniper rifle with a well calibrated sight is about as hard as falling asleep.” It took him a moment, but then his eyes widened minutely and he amended, “That wasn’t the best example.”
“I get the basic idea,” Evelyn said patiently.
“Well, I’ve a very good guy to hire,” said Andrei, “and killing people has a surprisingly gratuitous payout, so I figured, ‘Why not?’”
“I’m glad it was such an easy decision for you,” Evelyn half teased him.
“Oracle, how hard do you honestly try to save all the people you’ve seen die?”
“None.”
“Yes, precisely,” Andrei pointed a finger at her. “So while my line of work is disgusting and cold-hearted, your passiveness and indifferent nature is even more disturbing, in my humble opinion.”
“Who’s humble?”
“I digress,” Andrei shrugged. “In any case, my entire life has been recorded, at this point. Organizations have my birthdate, my height, my weight, my birthplace…everything about me.”
“Do they even know your favorite color?”
“My favorite color is dark green, and no, they don’t know that.”
“That’s because it’s useless information.”
“Like how you like sweet things?”
Evelyn glanced at her mocha. “Well, if I ever have the opportunity to buy you a dark green drink, I’ll get it for you.”

[eden .]

this has basically no point idk

As they had agreed, Evelyn met Andrei at the bus stop outside the Dome. She wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but she thought that he would have at least dressed a bit more formally. While Sophie was not someone who cared much about how someone dressed, Evelyn thought it wasn’t appropriate to go to a meeting dressed in jeans.
“We’re not going to a business conference,” Andrei rolled his eyes. “It’s a fun dinner between friends.”
“It’s not going to be that fun,” Evelyn grumbled.
“It’ll be okay,” Andrei patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Which way?”
“Third stop,” she indicated towards the approaching bus. The pair of them boarded it, and Evelyn paid for the pair of them with her Axis identification.
She might’ve complained about how they didn’t appreciate her or paid her any attention when she had something important to say, but she did find the infinite sums of money (to a point) extremely convenient. All charges went directly towards the Axis’ treasury. While Evelyn essentially worked for free, she didn’t have to pay for anything in her life.
Evelyn sat, but Andrei deigned to stand for the duration of the drive. He told her that he didn’t like sitting because, since he would be lower than his theoretical attacker, he would be at a disadvantage. Evelyn argued seriously that he should, out of kindness, give this attacker the disadvantage. He laughed a little at that, but he still kept standing and hovered close to her knee. She thought it might’ve been just as well; she was getting many sidelong glances from the other passengers. The face of the Oracle, after all, was not exactly kept close to the vest.
Three stops later, they came well into the heart of the expansive Little Italy in the city. Evelyn rose and Andrei shifted to the side to allow her to pass him by. She led the way out of the bus and onto the sidewalk.
Evening was falling, which meant all of the lights in the store windows had turned on their soft yellow lights. Small Christmas lights—even though it wasn’t anywhere near December—were strung across doorways and verandas above the stores and restaurants. The sidewalk was nearly swollen with people touring or looking for a nice new pair of boots.
“You lead,” Evelyn gestured Andrei into the front. She waved down the street. “The pasta restaurant is just on the end of this sidewalk.”
“Why am I leading?” asked Andrei with a faint smile as Evelyn pushed the small of his back.
“You’re tall,” she said simply. “You can part the Red Sea.”
“It’s nice to know I’m being useful,” Andrei said amusedly. Still, Evelyn wasn’t wrong; the crowd simply moved to the side as Andrei pushed through, and it wasn’t just his height. While Evelyn hardly noticed it anymore no that she had known him for some length of time, Andrei did have a level of intimidation that made most actively try to avoid eye contact. But if they bothered to strike a conversation with him (or he with them), they would find that he’s extremely easy to talk to—although if they bothered to think a bit harder, they’d find that the conversation subjects tended to be rather stale. Work, friends, how terrible the rain was a few days ago…Andrei’s talent was simply making anyone talking about such bland things feel like the most interesting person in the world.
But at the moment, his sauntering stride served Evelyn well. She followed close behind him and tried not to feel frustrated that she only came up to his mid back.
“Is it this place?” Andrei asked when they arrived.
“Yes, this is the one,” Evelyn slid past him and opened the charmingly worn wooden door. Immediately, the muted ambiance of the restaurant made Evelyn feel calmer. The lights had been dimmed and the lighting at the tables came primarily from the candles lit there. There was a quiet murmur of conversation with the occasional uproarious outburst of laughter, but nothing that caused a headache. It made her feel better just standing there. As she pushed the door open further, a dangling bell rang. Immediately, someone welcomed them, rounding the corner and asking if he could help.
“We’re here to meet a Sophie?” Evelyn blinked.
“Oh, yes, she’s here already. This way,” the man smiled kindly and guided them towards the back of the restaurant. Evelyn trailed after him. She could hear Andrei’s slow footsteps behind her.
“Here we are,” he presented the table with a polite hand.
“Thank you,” Evelyn nodded. As he left, Evelyn climbed the two steps that led into the semi-private room. While there were four walls and only one table, the room had no door, only an archway, and one of the walls had an open shutter window. It was certainly possible to have a private conversation, but Evelyn couldn’t help feeling a little exposed, considering the group of people that were meeting here.
As Evelyn knew she would—especially since Alex would’ve told her Evelyn was brining Andrei along—Sophie brought a companion of her own. Sitting directly on Sophie’s left and towards the back wall of the room was Minori—although, besides Sophie, Evelyn was the only one that knew that, and only from her visions. His dark eyes immediately rose, and he stood as she and Andrei entered and held out a hand.
“Oracle,” he said without condescension or malice. She took it and shook once before taking a seat nearer towards the exit and directly in front of Sophie, whose brown hair had been pulled back (hastily) for their dinner, although it didn’t completely control the few flyaway wisps spinning around her cheeks. Her intelligent eyes glimmered in the candlelight.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Oracle,” Sophia smiled warmly. “My name is—”
“Sophie Lhereaux. Yes, I know who you are,” Evelyn blinked. “I see you’ve officially joined the Iscariot.” And thus completing the third point in their Trinity. Ershwin would have to get moving.
“When you saw me in your visions, did you refer to it as ‘knowing’ who I was or ‘will know’ who I am?” she asked curiously, smiling. Evelyn was vaguely aware of Minori and Andrei finishing their greetings and sitting down. Andrei took the seat opposite of Minori.
“I see we both brought our bodyguards,” Sophie paused the previous conversation for a moment, turning to Andrei. “Andrei Medvedev. I hope your knee is doing well?”
Andrei, to his credit, did not blink. He smiled instead and replied, “It’s much better, thanks.”
“Oracle, I’m sure you know already, but for sake of etiquette allow me to formally introduce Minori Takahashi.” Sophie presented Minori, and he inclined his head once. Then he assumed his most bored expression and propped his chin on the heel of his hand, placing his elbow on the table. His eyes might’ve been half closed, but Evelyn had no doubt that he was watching very carefully. By contrast, Andrei was happily perusing the menu, not a care in the world.
“As you undoubtedly have realized, the third part of our tripartite is not present. I apologize for that. Malachi is exceedingly unsociable,” said Sophie.
“I wouldn’t be sure if I could’ve had a true conversation with him, anyway,” said Evelyn coolly. Sophie’s smile widened a bit.
“Your visions have served you well.”
“Have you ordered?”
“We were waiting for you.”
“Are you ready?”
“Hm? I think so,” Andrei answered Evelyn absentmindedly.
“And you?”
“Yes, I’ve made my decision,” Sophie nodded. “Minori?”
Minori only shook his head once. He wasn’t eating.
“He’s had a hard day, I’m afraid,” Sophie frowned a little. “I imagine he doesn’t have much of an appetite.”
With that, they placed their orders, and all that was left was to wait and fill the silence with conversation.
“Undoubtedly, you knew my name and my abilities before today didn’t you, Oracle?” Sophie asked frankly.
“I did. But then again, you knew about mine.”
“Yes, I did,” laughed Sophie. “What a dichotomy we are: one woman that knows the future, and one that knows everything about the past.”
“It’s somewhere in between that inspiration is found, I guess,” Evelyn agreed. She cast a glance towards Andrei and Minori. Minori was still keeping his silent vigil in his corner, and Andrei was content with listening to the conversation. As Evelyn met his gaze, his face broke into a wide smile.
“A fight between them would be interesting, wouldn’t it?” laughed Sophie. “Shall we place bets?”
“Andrei would win,” Evelyn said with certainty, turning back to Sophie, but she could feel Andrei’s smile growing.
“Minori might not be a master soldier, but don’t underestimate his skill,” Sophie warned teasingly.
“You’d need extreme luck to win against Andrei—and superhuman skill.”
“Stop comparing dicks already you two,” laughed Andrei. “I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to see some fighting soon.”
“Perhaps we should ask the expert,” Sophie tilted her head and considered Evelyn.
“For what did you have to ask the Messengers to call me to such a meeting?” Evelyn ignored the question.
“I thought it would be nice to meet the others like us,” Sophie shrugged. “It’s a shame Xavier and Alex couldn’t come. But, of course, they have to remain impartial…”
“You invited us because you felt like having dinner?”
“Do I need a better reason?” Sophie raised an eyebrow. “I would’ve asked you myself without troubling the Messengers in the first place, but as you know, I can’t come within a mile of you without being shot straight through the head—”
“No hard feelings?”
“—of course not, Andrei—so I felt that the best way to get a message was through…well, the Messengers. I feel like we’re coming back to the same idea over and over again. Oracle, do you really need a better reason to have a nice dinner with friends?”
“You’re not my friends,” Evelyn said shortly. “I don’t have friends.”
“Ouch,” Andrei sounded genuinely wounded. She shot him a chastising glare. Couldn’t he act professional for at least the duration of a dinner?
At that moment, the food arrived, and Evelyn finally deigned to sit back in her chair to allow the waiter to set the dishes down.
“Thank you,” she said, unintentionally clipped. She waited for the waiter to leave before she impatiently picked up a fork and stabbed one of the shrimp in her pasta.
“What did that shrimp ever do to you?” Andrei accused her.
“To answer your question, Oracle,” Sophie called for Evelyn’s attention. Evelyn turned her head and ignored her food for a moment. Sophie hadn’t touched hers, either.
“I called for you in this temporary truce because I feel that I owe you and Andrei something—as we’re all, as you know, in the same boat. There is no one else in the world remotely like us. I’d know.” She folded her hands on top of the table and leaned in. Everything about her expression was emotionless except for her eyes, which were beseeching and stormy over her glasses.
“Things are about to get very bad for you,” said Sophie. “The Iscariot are going to make their move against the Axis. The power struggle has gone on for too long now, and they’re mobilizing towards putting a decisive end to this underground war.” Sophie considered her hands. “I’m sure you’ve seen it yourself, Oracle.”
Flashes of bombings and smoke billowing up from the subways and into the streets flickered past Evelyn’s vision.
“I see a lot of things,” murmured Evelyn at last. “And you shouldn’t act all innocent. The reason they’re beginning to move no of all times is because you’ve finally joined them. You’ve got the ability to give them intel—about everything.”
Sophie inclined her head. “That’s true.”
“Then don’t talk to me as if you’re concerned,” Evelyn glared. “If it bothered you so much, you wouldn’t have joined.”
To that, Sophie had no good answer. She considered the tablecloth before raising her head and saying, “I care enough to bring you here.”
“What do you want me to do, then? Are you asking me to join Iscariot? Or maybe disappear so the Axis is beaten that much easier?”
“I want you to tread lightly,” Sophie very nearly pleaded. She shut her eyes for a moment before opening them again and saying, “Make sure you’ve put your trust in the right people.”
Evelyn found it aggravating that Sophie apparently seemed to know that someone around Evelyn was going to betray her but was not directly saying it. However, she supposed Sophie withheld this information for similar reasons to why Evelyn did not always tell the whole truth about someone’s future—or tell someone about their future at all.
“I appreciate the warning, Sophie,” Evelyn blinked slowly. “Lord knows I’m the one person in the world who might need them the least.”
“Don’t Removed with me, Oracle,” Sophie said sharply. “I’m not giving you this warning because you didn’t know about the future climates. I’m giving you this warning because you need to hear it from someone.”
“Are you going to eat?” Andrei asked quietly, and Evelyn impatiently shoved her food towards him. He didn’t touch it, but he did move it aside as Evelyn also leaned forward to glare at Sophie.
“Don’t overstep, Sophie,” Evelyn warned. “You three together might be Iscariot’s Holy Trinity, but to me you’re just another girl.”
“Don’t overstep, Evelyn,” Sophie warned. “You might be the Axis’ Prophet, but to us, you’re simply a child.” When Evelyn shot a glance towards Minori, she saw that his eyes glittered dangerously under his eyelids. She suddenly did not feel very confident—even though Andrei was sitting patiently at her side. She gripped the tablecloth.
“Thank you for the meal,” Evelyn said stiffly and rising. Sophie watched her rise.
“You’re welcome,” she blinked. “Andrei, it was nice to meet you.”
“And you,” he smiled amicably, holding out a hand to say goodbye. Sophie took it graciously.
“Nice meeting you, Minori,” Andrei nodded towards the young man in the corner. He smiled minutely, raised a lazy hand, and tilted it once towards the side in a wave.
“Don’t get into trouble, now,” said Minori, his voice resonant and mocking, as Evelyn left dinner. She felt her shoulders stiffen, but she didn’t turn around.
Outside, Andrei fell in step beside her and said, “Well, I think that could’ve gotten somewhat better.”
“Don’t start with me, Andrei,” Evelyn practically snarled as she strode down the sidewalk towards the bus stop.
“For someone that knows everything,” Evelyn exclaimed exasperatedly, “she doesn’t have a damn idea what she’s talking about!” She did not have the time to waste on being condescended upon! Sophie was young, a child, perhaps even Alexandra’s age, and even if she had nearly omnipotent knowledge, it certainly didn’t give her the right to give Evelyn warnings about things she had seen coming since before she was able to walk.
“I don’t think it was that bad,” frowned Andrei. He gripped her shoulder to keep her from walking into the street.
“It says no crossing,” he murmured to her as she shook him off.
“‘Things are about to go very badly’ for me, she says,” Evelyn scoffed and shook her head. “As if I didn’t just this morning see buildings go up in flames! Doesn’t she think I would’ve left if I felt the need for it?”
“I think the entire point of the meeting was just to meet you, if I’ve being honest, Oracle.”
“She already knows everything about me,” Evelyn waved her hand flippantly. “She knows everything! I bet she knows what your favorite color is, not to mention mine.”
“Is your favorite color somehow better than mine?” Andrei half-smiled. She ignored him.
“Maybe she’s just worried about you.”
“No one needs to worry about me!” Evelyn threw her hands into the air. “I can see into the damn future! I already know I’ll get a paper cut next week, I know that a car will almost run me over in three days—I know when I’m going to die, for God’s sake! I don’t need to be worried over. There’s nothing to worry about!”
“I think you’re a bit confused about what it means to worry about someone,” Andrei said quietly as the bus pulled up. She didn’t even hear him. She stormed onto the vehicle and threw herself into a seat, moodily glaring out the window. Andrei sat down next to her.
“I think you’re taking this a bit too hard, Oracle,” Andrei said seriously. Evelyn ran a hand through her hair.
“I probably am,” she admitted. “But it’s irritating; I was expecting some sort of negotiation meeting or bribe.”
“Didn’t you see this coming?” Andrei asked, evidently surprised.
“No, I didn’t. I don’t see everything,” Evelyn looked at him. He was nearly halfway down the seat, his head against the back and his knees against the back of the seat in front of them. “She undoubtedly knows how my ability works. Sophie probably just decided to meet me this morning because she felt like it. I can’t see anything about the future until someone makes a solid decision—and it’s only the most probable outcome, too. If someone makes a different decision that day—maybe get a large instead of a small coffee, wear a different pair of shoes—it’ll probably change everything.” She paused for a moment and added cynically, “And sometimes things change because of sheer dumb luck. Bad or otherwise.”
“I didn’t know you were restricted like that.”
“There are lots of things you don’t know about me,” Evelyn replied automatically.
“Is it so changeable, though?”
“Very. I’ll give you a very simple example: if I decided tomorrow morning I wasn’t going to wear any gear while jumping off a building, my future would suddenly change to dying with my head cracked open and bleeding my brains out on cement sidewalk.” Andrei cringed a little, apparently unsettled by the thought.
“Just because right now I know a possible way I die doesn’t mean it’ll be the way I die. You would agree it’s very unlikely I’ll survive by stepping off a building.” Andrei nodded.
“The future isn’t so easy.”
“I guess it isn’t,” Andrei agreed, staring at the gray back of the chair in front of him absentmindedly.