[crow]

The three of them rolled into town in Luke's smart little convertible, and Bastien tried not to heave a sigh as he got out from the back, bringing up the rear as the three of them made their way in.

The girl tugged the coat he had draped on her more snugly around her shoulders, shivering against the chill. It was spring, sure, but not by much, and Bastien had to steel himself not to do the same. He was beginning to miss the coat he'd given up, actually.

[crow]

It was probably just as well that they'd stopped at a cafe. He could get a hot drink to warm up. He could tell from the set of Luke's face that Luke was itching to get back to the apartment, but the girl had looked pretty dire when they found her in the sewer. And even Luke wasn't callous enough to refuse her a meal, especially if she'd just been attacked by a Mal.

They didn't know, of course, but what else could it have been? That had been where the reading had come from, after all.

[crow]

They got a few odd looks as they came in, which Bastien did his best to ignore. He knew what they looked like: two guys and a tired, shaken-looking girl.

If it were just Luke, it might have been fine--- he was clean-cut and the girls liked him, and he might reasonably have been her boyfriend. But between Bastien's height and his haircut and the way his face seemed to settle into a glower almost by default, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of conclusion people were coming to now.

[crow]

Interestingly enough, the girl walked on, mindless of the attention. No, that wasn't quite right; Bastien saw her clock the scene, and he could see the moment where she made a conscious decision not to concern herself with it. Sometime during the car ride, she must have recovered her nerve. Under different circumstances, that might have gotten a smile out of him. However shaken she might have looked, she still had a spine.

But the circumstances surrounding their meeting were too strange. And anyway, Bastien had to keep an eye on Luke too. Luke hadn't gotten the fight he wanted, and he wasn't good at keeping his head. If someone looked like they were going to give them trouble, Bastien wasn't sure Luke wouldn't greet it with open arms.

[crow]

Bastien didn't like the way Luke was looking at that booth full of guys next to the window, but they got to the counter unmolested, at least. "Can I get a minestrone?" said the girl. "And a chicken sandwhich. Oh, and an iced Americano."

"Nix the coffee. Make it a hot chocolate," said Bastien, cutting in to stand beside her. "And a black tea. Hot."

She glanced up at him, but he pointedly ignored her, and fished out a few wrinkled bills from his pocket to pay for the food.

[crow]

The cashier eyed them uncertainly, but took the money when the girl didn't make an immediate protest. "Pick up on your left," he said, indicating a waiting area further down the counter. Bastien gave a nod, collected his change, and shuffled down in the direction the cashier had indicated. He had to grab Luke by the sleeve to get him to follow along.

It took maybe thirty seconds of waiting for Luke to get antsy. "I'll find us somewhere to sit," he said, and walked off. Bastien watched him go, but Luke merely stalked off to another booth. Bastien sighed again, this time out of relief.

[crow]

Minutes passed. He could see the employee in the back pouring his tea, making the girl's sandwich. He was trying not to critique the contents when a quiet voice piped up from beside him.

"I'm not a kid, you know."

He turned, arching a brow. It was the first thing she'd said since she had agreed to come with them. Maybe it was just because she looked shaken, but he hadn't taken her for the talkative type.

She took his silence as a need for clarification, apparently. "The hot chocolate," she said.

[crow]

Oh. Right. Bastien snorted. "You think I thought you were a kid?" he said.

That earned him a frown. "Then why did you order it?"

"You got no business drinking anything that caffeinated the way you are right now. Or iced, for that matter." Bastien's tone was firm, so he was surprised when the girl rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm an adult," she said. "I can make terrible decisions about what I put in my body if I want to."

"Right," he said, in the most ironic tone he could muster.

[crow]

But the next minute, she broke into a smile. It still looked a bit wan, but even so, it brightened her features, made her look a little less pale and washed out under the dim lights of the cafe. "You're really not as scary as you look, are you?"

Bastien frowned at her. He didn't dignify that comment with a response--- though he wasn't sure what he would have said anyway. She seemed content to draw her own conclusions, smile widening, and she thanked the waitress almost brightly as she picked her food up from the counter.

[crow]

She was starting to bounce back, he supposed. It was a good thing--- probably. Though the exchange did make him wonder at exactly what sort of person she was, under normal circumstances.

Luke waved them over as Bastien scanned the tables. Bastien slid into the booth next to him, while Luke shuffled over hastily, looking slightly surprised. But Bastien wasn't about to crowd the girl into a corner either. The least they could do right now was let her eat in peace.

He picked up his tea from the tray, and took a sip.

[Hunt Recorded]

[crow]

The girl watched him drink, and Bastien arched a brow at her, eyeing the soup in the tray in front of her. She sighed, and for a moment Bastien thought she was going to say something, but she merely picked up the spoon and began stirring at the contents of the bowl, staring into it absently.

"Is everything okay?" said Luke. Bastien had been deliberately staying quiet, giving her room to talk if she wanted to, but he didn't move to stop them. He could understand Luke's sentiments too, this time around.

[crow]

Of course they had questions--- and in Luke's case, he had a report to file. Bastien didn't envy him that particular duty. Luke griped about it, and the President critiqued his reports right back, but it was still a step up from the terse and deeply insufficient attempts that were Bastien's.

The girl looked up. For a moment, she scanned Luke's face, as if searching for something. Then, she smiled. It wasn't the one she had given Bastien earlier. This one was mirthless, rueful, covering up something else. "You wouldn't believe me if I said I don't remember what happened, would you?"

[crow]

Luke didn't immediately speak, which wasn't like him, but Bastien could see him making the effort to choose his words carefully. As far as they knew right now, she was still just a civilian. There was only so much they could say without becoming suspicious or giving too much away. "It's alright if you don't remember," said Luke. "Shock can do that. Do you remember noticing anything strange in the last couple of weeks?"

"Strange..." She frowned. Luke's gaze sharpened with interest. Even Bastien found himself sitting a little straighter.

[crow]

Her frown deepened. "If you mean like stalkers or something, I don't think so." She bit her lip. "I'm not sure. It's all a bit fuzzy..." There was a pause, before she turned back to them, eyes narrowing slightly. "Who are you, anyway? You don't look like the cops."

"We're not," said Luke. "We're... Well, we were there on other business, but it wasn't like we could just leave you there." Luke tried a smile. Bastien didn't know if she would buy it. After all, if they weren't the cops, the normal thing to do would have been to call them, or at least call an ambulance or something.

[crow]

Instead, they'd gotten her into Luke's car and driven her to a coffee shop, and as far as she could tell, for an interrogation too. If she didn't feel like trusting them right now, Bastien could hardly blame her for the sentiment.

He sighed, shifting in his seat slightly, leaning forward to brace his elbows on the table. "Lemme ask you something," he said. "You been sleeping well lately?" As a question, it was innocuous enough. The girl had dark circles under her eyes, and hints of concealer that had long since worn off from a previous attempt to cover them.