Aftermath

Larayna rubbed her neck. She was a little sore from the jarring impacts the battle had left her with. For her first official battle, she didn’t think it had gone too bad. If she was going to keep doing this then she would need to get better. She pulled her Arcadian jacket around her. The tight top and jeans were not as warm as she had hoped for. The heels or her boots clicked as she walked, at least her feet were fine. Cold feet was something she didn’t enjoy.

The team had dropped her off at a nearby town to get her Command Wolf repaired and she was taking the opportunity to wander the streets. Craving warmth and company, she found herself wander in to a bar. It was relatively quiet, a few patrons sat drinking and eating whilst someone played and sung at the piano in the back corner. She made her way to the bar.

“What can I get, ye miss?” the bartender spoke in a thick drawl that made it hard to understand what words he was actually using.

“I’ll just have a hot chocolate please,” she replied with a smile. “Maybe a dash of rum in to fight the cold?” He nodded and turned to make her drink. She leapt forwards, resting her elbows on the bar and thought back to the battle. It could have gone better but she had been beaten by the better pilot. She didn’t feel too bad about it. Not as bad as she thought she would have.

But something bothered her. She had felt the rage again during the battle. She had never felt it outside of her dreams before. Her cool, calm self had been replaced briefly. She would never have thought to try and go for the throat like she did. She just felt the burning sensation rise in the back of her throat and burst outwards in to her zoid. She shivered again, it suddenly seemed cold in here too.

The area that Aiyana's last battle had just taken place in had nowhere for the young woman to stop for repairs on the Command Wolf she was piloting. The poor Zoid had taken a decent pounding to the armor on the body of it, and the girl was just now dropping off her Zoid with the mechanics in town so that she could get repairs done while finding a place to relax and get something to eat. The Ancient Zoidian, though her hat covered the markings on her head that gave it away, made her way through town until she found a bar that seemed to be a little more on the popular side. Surely they would have a decent selection of food and drink compared to the near empty places that were more likely to hold the dredges that would follow her out of the place without her permission.

Her body ached slightly from the previous fight. Her opponent had been quite aggressive, even to the point of going for the throat of the Command Wolf during the battle. The thought of such aggressive maneuvering made her shudder. Was a throat shot even legal? That could sever the head of the Zoid off and render it permanently inoperable! Finding her way to the bar, once inside, the woman would sit down beside another that was already there before the bartender came back with a hot chocolate for the one she was next to.

"And what can I get for ye, miss?"

"Can I have some coffee? And something salty, a warm pretzel if you have them here?"

"Aye, lemme get right on that for ye." The man would nod as he spoke before going off to get her order taken care of.

The Zoidian would not recognize the girl next to her just yet, she had not seen an image of her during the fight, but if conversation broke out between the two then they were sure to realize that they were on opposite sides of the same battle from hours ago.

The piano being played gave her a calm feeling, no matter the song playing. She was not sure why it did so. Maybe it was the softer tones that a piano did to most other instruments. Either way, she hoped they would continue for the duration of her stay. "Kind of cold right now, huh?" Aiyana would ask while looking down at her hands as they rested on the bar, her words a kind of an ice-breaker as she attempted to speak to the girl with the hot chocolate so she could keep herself distracted while waiting for her order.

As she was presented with her chosen beverage, Larayna stared down in to it for a while. Both hands grasped the cup tight. It was hot, almost burning, but it sort of staved off the chill she was feeling. She did not appear to register that Aiyana was even sat beside her for a few moments until the woman spoke up. Larayna looked up from the drink to where the voice originated, her face a tinge of pink as she felt she had been rude.

“Kind of cold right now, huh?” It was a way to break the silence but Larayna appreciated the gesture. She took in the sight of someone of very similar height and build to her. Her green hair was a similar length to hers, even if she had it up in a bun right now. She took the gesture for what it was and but on her best smile, despite the thoughts that swirled round in her head at the moment.

“No kidding,” Larayna seemed to relax back in to the calm picture she normally was. “I had some rum in the hot chocolate for a bit of extra warmth.” On cue, she drank some of the steamy beverage. The chocolate was thick and sweet. As the rum hit her stomach though, she felt the liquid fire run through her veins, once more staving off the cold that she felt whether she woke from her dreams. She tried to put it to the back of her mind. No use dwelling on it now.

“I’ve just been out in the swamp,” Lara continued. “It’s even colder out there. Do you think the mist ever leaves a place like this?” She thought for a moment. Maybe there would be ruins buried out here in the swamps. Perhaps she should go and see what she could find? Maybe not without her zoid.

“What brings you out here?” this woman didn’t look like she was from around here. The way she dressed spoke of somewhere less quaint than this. This place was clearly somewhere that had become a tourist spot for the bog. “I take it you’re not here for the sunny weather?”