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This took an incredibly long time because I’m trying out a new style with Saskia!  It took a while to get into her mindset, plus she’s not very well developed yet

Also, I wrote random portions of this kind of late, so some of it is definitely not going to be written as well lol

Saskia:

“What’s he doing here?” Sasha stabs a finger over my head, voice laced with disgust.  There’s a tall man sitting close by, knees firmly tucked under his chin.  He’s staring straight at us – big, inky eyes peeking out from soft curtains of black curls.

Basil?

And just like that, I can feel my whole chest squeeze in a knot.  He’s sitting all alone, eyes soft and forlorn, lips ever so slightly pulled to the right.  It’s a real pretty look, but I can tell he’s bored out of his mind.  Bored and lonely.  I want to feel sorry for him, but I don’t.  He’s sitting all alone and it’s definitely his own fault.  His eyes suddenly squeeze up in a tight glare.

“Good question.”  He sniffs.  “I mean, you sent me here yourself and you’re surprised to see me?  Sounds like your problem, not mine.”

Oh boy.

“Ok, Sasha.  What did you do now?”  Silence.  I whip around with a glare, but he’s gone.  “Oh, whatever,” I huff.

Not my man, not my problem.

Right now, Basil’s missing his respirator, and that’s my top priority.  I shift my pack around my waist, rooting and shuffling around the contents until my fingers close over the hard metal mask.

He’s watching me closely, eyes tracking my every move.  I almost feel scared to approach him.  Not because I think he’d hurt me  – he’s the one person I feel completely safe around.  He’s just so untouchable.

Back in the labs, I thought he was the most perfect, the most beautiful, most unattainable thing I’d ever seen – at least until I actually met him.  I’m not that naive anymore, but sometimes a little shadow of that dumb crush comes back and hits me full force. For a moment, I’ll feel like I’m that shy, smitten girl staring at him from behind so many sheets of glass, just a little bit awed.

I think this is one of those moments.

I sigh.

I’m calling it.  In the next few hours, Basil’s going to do something so rude and stupid it absolutely murders every ounce of that attraction, except not completely ’cause I always end up falling for him all over again.

That’s always how it works.

Basil watches me carefully as I approach him, eyes resting in a soft, barren gaze.  I hold out the mask, careful not to get too close.  He gets so overwhelmed by people, maybe even more than me.  My lips quirk in a faint smile.

“Here.”

Basil’s eyes shoot wide open as soon as he sees the thing.  He whips around, yanking the device out of my hands like some sort of feral animal.

“Basil!” I launch forward, lunging for the respirator.  “You’re so nasty!”  My fingers scrape his hands as I scrabble for a grip on the slick metal, and all of a sudden he’s seizing up like he’s been shot.  His eyes snap open – twin spotlights staring up at me like I’m gripping a giant assault rifle and I’m just about to blast him to oblivion.

“Sorry,” he whispers.  He loosens his grip, gently peeling the device from my fingers.  I raise my brows.  He pauses, the respirator half on his face.  “Thanks, Skia.”  I think I can see his face flush ever so slightly, but it’s hard to tell in the dim light.  Click.  The respirator’s on, now.  I can hear the gentle hiss of filtered breath in the staile air.  He looks up at me anxiously.  “I could have died.”  I cross my arms.  Called it.

“Yeah, I know.  That’s why I got upset.  ‘Cause you couldn’t have acted any more ungrate-”

“I’m sorry.”  His inky gaze quivers a little, and I melt.  I smile warmly, hoping he’ll catch on.

“You’re sitting on someone’s crutch.”  Basil’s eyes crumple into a glare.  I can practically see his lip curling under the mask.  His arms tense up, knees squeezing between his shoulders.

He’s not budging, ‘least not while I’m here.  See, moving would mean acknowledging that he was actually oblivious enough to sit on someone’s crutch and not notice, so he’s just going to keep sitting on it ’til his legs go numb.

He’s in a really bad mood now, and I don’t blame him.

“I’m just going to leave you alone,” I say.  He nods, and I catch a little hint of relief in his glance.

Somewhere in the distance, I can see Sasha hovering around an argument.  Two strangers – a tall man wearing a long coat and a tall girl with long auburn hair, and neither of them have anything to do with Sasha.

I have no idea what he’s doing, but whatever it is, it looks annoying.  I push myself up off, half running, half walking towards the group.

@irishhcelticredflowercrown Lorcan has a long coat, right?  And if I remember correctly, he’s not wearing his mask anymore.

@rose-colored-fancy so, I believe the Shrike has finally discovered Liorah, and he may or may not be rather smitten…

😉

I have no idea how flirting works irl so I’m just going to pass that one off to Liorah lol