Chapter 3: fairies on a ceiling fan
Ordinarily, a morning for Kai entails a quick run around the perimeter of the Guildhouse with Arturo, a mirror call to Austin, and a nice balanced breakfast in the imposing halls of Henrietta.
Of course, those kinds of mornings were reserved solely for the Astra. It’s a whole nother ball game in the Terra. Room service delivers a platter full of greasy, sugary foods, and Kai finds he has neither the drive nor the patience to turn them away.
"Uh, compliments to the chef," Kai says, tiredly rubbing at his face before passing his practically trademarked moon quarters to the wide-eyed maid. At first, he figures his alarm is due to the tip, but then he closes the door. And sat on the couch is Wilma, half-shifted, with a simple bowl of cereal in her lap.
Right. He did accidentally kick a werewolf off the roof and invite her to stay with him last night. Somehow, he woke up thinking he'd dreamt up the whole damn thing.
"Good morning", he greets awkwardly as he rolls over on the back of the breakfast cart.
Tail wagging as she watches him with mild intrigue, Wilma smiles around a mouthful of cereal and nods her head at him. "Mornin'."
When he plops down beside her, carefully parking the cart between the two of them, Kai takes a moment to search for the right conversation starter. He holds out his hands and gives her a lopsided smile. "So.”
What results is a long sip of cereal from Wilma and an accompanying stare. "So", she returns just as helpfully. Bruiser spares them from any further awkwardness, leaping into her lap to show her his stomach. And to think people call Kai the attention-whore. Her tail wags in tandem with Bruiser's as she cradles him close and coos, "Well, good mornin' to you, too, little guy.”
Kai just rolls his eyes. He pulls his legs onto the couch and reaches for a green plate of golden goose eggs, clearing his throat once he’s brought it to rest against his lap. When Wilma looks at him, seemingly absentminded, he gestures to the cart and says, "There's more than enough to go around. If you want."
With a slow series of blinks, Wilma scoops the remainder of her bland-a*s cereal out of her bowl and into her mouth. "Cereal not appetizin' enough for you?"
Kai twirls his fingers. With a whirl of silver magic, he guides a blueberry muffin into his hand and reaches for the mirror remote. "Excuse me, but if I’m gonna eat some cereal, it’s gotta be as interesting and as tasty… well, as me, of course."
Whilst they settle into a strange if companionable silence, Kai glances at Wilma out of the corner of his eye every so often. He settles on some old cartoon from his childhood, pleased at the amused snorts Wilm releases every now and then, and is about to commence small-talk when his mini-mirror suddenly rings.
"Uh, I'll be right back.” He rises to his feet and walks to the kitchen, leant over the marble island as he accepts the call. Before he can get a greeting in, Austin’s already started talking. Kai smiles, chin braced in the palm of his hand all the while.
The mirror’s reflection shows heavy clouds and the occasional strike of lightning, which means Austin’s out flying again. "There are you. I had a delivery that brought me near your place this morning, and your wards-"
Right. Trust Austin to catch onto something like that. Kai looks in the toaster, where he notices the suspicious sight of Wilma reaching for the steak and potatoes. Rolling his eyes, he then looks back at his mirror. "I know my wards are shot if that's what you're gonna say. I'm working on a mending plan."
A moment passes where Austin just stares at him, eyebrows as purple as orchids raised in disbelief. He crosses his arms over his chest and scoffs before he points out, "Kai, you suck at ward magic."
"Well, I don’t know if I would say that necessarily. And in any case, really, who needs wards when you have a guard cat?”
Hardly amused, Austin just shakes his tiny bat head at him, wind whipping loudly around him as he seems to angle downward. "I’ve seen fireworms with better self-preservation than Bruiser. But that’s beside the point. How did you know your wards are shot?"
Kai hums, idly toying with the collar of his cloak as he searches for the safest response. "My… roommate told me."
“Your roommate?" If he was disbelieving before, he's outright incredulous now. "You haven’t even been here a full day yet, how do you have a roommate?”
Said roommate turns up the volume on the mirror, humming to herself as she contentedly helps herself to a tray of happycakes. “It’s…kind of a long story.” Suddenly aware of the potential for prying eyes, Kai clambers to his feet to draw the curtains shut. "Are you still coming over later?”
"Yes, probably when I'm done with my deliveries. Do you need any help unpacking? I could come by on my lunch-”
Kai narrows his eyes, scoffing as he shakes his head at him. “You’re supposed to eat on your lunch break, not spend it helping me unpack. And you know you’re not supposed to be on your mirror while you’re flying.”
Unwilling to receive yet another lecture, Austin simply turns off the video on his end, as if that’ll keep him from running into the engine of an airplane. “There is literally no one else up here right now. I don’t even see Sky Patrol, and I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Naturally,” Kai snorts, his eyes rolling all the way up to the ceiling.
“But I do see my next house coming up, so I will have to call you back later. I expect a full update on this new roommate.”
There’s a part of Kai that argues he should attempt to dampen his friend’s curiosity. But past experiences have taught him that the attempt would only fan the flames, so he brings the call to a cordial end, promising to fill him in later before swiping across his mirror. When he sits back down on the couch, Wilma watches him, gnawing on a piece of bone with expectant eyes. “One of my old guildmates from college,” Kai explains with a mere shrug. “He'll probably want to meet you soon.”
Wilma nods, then sets aside her bone in favor of reaching for the bowl of muffins. “You were in a Guild then?”
Something about that gives Kai pause before he accepts some orange juice sent his way. “Gray Moons, best in the Astra,” he says, watching her in some attempt to place recognition within her eyes. Most people recognize him by his face or name alone.
But Wilma just stares blankly, her eyes unfamiliar when she replies, “I don’t really follow Guilds like that, but if it’s anythin’ like a pack, I’m guessin’ that’s pretty cool.”
“Well, it is pretty cool.” Kai pries his wand free of his pocket, spinning it over his glass of orange juice until a cool cloud of snow’s formed over it. Pleased with the resulting slushie, he then leans back against the couch cushions and hums thoughtfully to himself. “The Sunseeker adopted me when I was a kid, so they’re basically family. They helped me pay for school and some advanced spellwork if it’s too expensive… is that what a pack’s like?”
When he looks expectantly at Wilma, her eyes, once alight with barely-contained laughter, have gone considerably dimmer. Her tail falls still, and she turns her attention back onto the breakfast cart. “I guess. Just without the money.” She then clears her throat and starts scarfing down every bit of fresh meat she can find.
And Kai considers, in his paid-for hotel suite, with his enchanted mini-mirror and jewel-studded ears, that they’re more different than he would’ve originally assumed. And in his defense, he assumed quite a lot.
“So how’d the art thing get started?” he says after a moment, hoping to redirect the conversation back to safer waters. “I’m assuming you’ve got something against Hotels. Or at least, the snobs that use them.”
Wilma covers her mouth with a furry paw, snickering into the extremity as she shakes her head at him. “Mister man, you do realize that you yourself are a snob, don’t you?”
With a self-satisfied grin, Kai tosses an arm over the back of the couch and winks. “Yes, ma’am. I am the absolutely best of the worst.”
“That’s not something I would brag about.” Legs folded crisscross applesauce, Wilma reaches for a cup of rainbow juice, eyeing it uncertainly before she takes a reluctant sip. “Anyway, I guess art’s always been a hobby. But I tried to check in here once, and they practically threw me out on my a*s.”
Probably explains the tag-job. With an inquisitive hum, Kai tilts his head back and idly notes a stray fairy flying about the ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead. “Well, so long as I’m around, you don’t have to worry about that.”
Something changes in Wilma’s eyes. A switch from mild amusement to a stoic sadness. Her ears press down flat against her head, and she sits forward, eye half-lidded as she focuses on the mirror ahead. “I don’t mind worryin’ about it. But thanks.”
Hm. Kai takes a sip of his orange slushie before rising to his feet and starting for the large wall of windows that makes up the southeastern portion of their suite. With his cloak wrapped happily around him, he tilts his head and watches as a helicopter soars over the unassuming city.
The city, as he’s coming to learn, is a strange yet inviting place. And the people even more so. He looks further up, to where a gibbous moon stands proudly amongst the daytime sky. Waxing, to be specific. For him, it’ll mean a period of greater lunar power. For Wilma…
“I’m gonna head out for a while,” Wilma says all of a sudden, drawing his attention back indoors. “Go for a run, stretch my legs.”
A nod is all Kai can manage, still so very intrigued by the change in tone and what caused it. He notes that Wilma doesn’t seem to have a mirror and decides he’ll ask her if she wants one later. “Okay. Uh, my friend’s coming over later so… you know…”
With a faint smile, Wilma steps out onto the balcony in a simple hoodie and cargo pants. “No offense taken.” She climbs back atop the railing, stirring to mind memories of the night before. “I know how and when to make myself scarce.”
Kai scratches the back of his neck, suddenly filled with self-doubt when he asks, “I didn’t… say anything wrong, did I?”
If Wilma was about to launch herself off the roof, she pauses then, looking back over her shoulder to consider Kai with kind eyes. Her ears perk up lightly, and when she speaks, her voice is quiet, tentative. “No. No, you didn’t do anythin’,” she assures him, and there’s something sincere in her voice. “I just… I just gotta stretch my legs. I’m not meant to be cooped up in a house all day.”
“Okay,” Kai says, inhaling sharply. He shoves his hands deep into his pockets, shoulders risen as he looks up at her. “So we’re… okay?”
Rising like a mountain out of the earth, Wilma assumes her full height and a toothy smile. “Yeah, we’re okay,” she says before leaping off the railing and onto the building just across the street. Like something out of an urban legend, she soars over the rooftops until she’s beyond sight.
“Okay,” Kai says to the open air, wrapping his cloak tighter around him before walking back indoors. And if when Austin stops by, he’s in a better mood than usual, well, that’s no one’s business but his own.