panacea (4)

“Nyx below, Arch, what did you fall on to break open your leg?” Par grumbled, tugging his leg against her body. They were sitting on the couch, Arch leaning against the armrest, Par sitting on the other side because his legs were so long. Jeez. Save some height for the rest of them, she thought to herself.

“I don’t know,” he grumbled. “Could you hurry up? Red’s outside, and she’s going to get mad at me if I make her wait too long.”

“Oh, so now you’re scared of Red? You should try standing up for yourself sometimes instead of blindly following others,” Par said. There was a hint of smug sarcasm in her tone.

“You’re the one that tells me to shut up on a daily basis,” Arch responded. “Maybe you should try being nicer—”- it’s good to see Arch start to stand up to Par here. Think about their character arcs. After Red dies, will Arch demand Par treats him differently? How will their friendship evolve?

“Shush. I’m trying to focus here.”

He rolled his eyes.

The door was thrown open. “Par!” Red stuck her head in the room, short copper hair swinging around her round face. She usually got it cut every couple of months, but this summer, she said she’d wanted to grow it out. Her sharp green eyes scanned the room until they landed on Par. “There’s someone waiting for you. They said they’re looking for you.”

“What?” Par shared a look with Arch. No one ever looked for a bionic working under a contract. They were the neglected souls of society, doomed to spend the rest of their lives working for whoever they signed a contract for in the promise of life. That was how it worked for people well-off enough to avoid the Slums, but not fortunate enough to get a spot in the valley. You get the Disease, you sign a contract that would save your life, and then once said life was saved, you spent the rest of it working for your supposed savior.

Anyways, who would be looking for Par? She was well-known as one of Bryce’s workers, a talented bionic that did her job a bit quicker than average, but if they wanted a metal part, they went to Bryce, not her. Maybe they were confused.

“Tell them to find Bryce,” Par told Red. She shrugged and went back out.

“Who would voluntarily look for you?”

She frowned down at Arch. “Careful. I’m the one with the wench and your leg on my lap.”

Red peered back inside again, looking a bit more flustered. “They said they’re looking for you.”

“That’s annoying.” Par bit the inside of her cheek. She really didn’t want to move.