“Over here!” Lily waved.

Rachel led the way to the table and sat in front of Lily. Gale sat beside her, and Erin took the seat beside him.

“It’s nice of you to join us today, Erin,” Lily said with a smile.

“Your gratitude is unnecessary,” Erin said. “When I declared to have this meeting on Tuesday, I meant precisely that. A given result.”

“Good to know.” Lily said as she held herself back from laughing while Rachel sighed.

That was probably the 14th time Rachel sighed today. How many more will she sigh today? Gale needed to keep track.

Tendrils tugged at him as a familiar signature neared and closed in. Looking back, Gale was expecting a business suit from Ollie as he entered the restaurant. However, what showed was a puffy jacket and underneath was a long sleeves shirt and jeans, the ripped kind.

Ollie took the seat beside Lily.

“You’re usually not late,” Lily said.

“Overslept,” he said, picking up one of the menus already on the table.

“That’s rare,” Rachel said.

“I’ve been back home. Taking a vacation. Relaxing for a bit. Getting out of the lab for a while,” Ollie glanced at Gale then looked through the menu once again. “Figured I needed some time away from it all.”

As Gale was about to ask what Ollie’s place looked like and what the rent was, a black SUV pulled up in front of the restaurant where the downtown crowd walked by. Its tires hit the curb as it allowed itself to block most of the sidewalk. The plates read ‘TWINS22’ in white letters against red.

Kyle hopped out from the driver’s side and reached back in. He pulled out a handicap slip and stuck it on the dashboard before closing the door.

Clyde got out from the passenger side, and the two of them walked toward Fran’s entrance in what looked like shiny new blue and red Canada Goose jackets that totally didn’t have goose in them.

The door opened and the twins immediately walked towards the table. Kyle sat beside Ollie while Clyde sat beside Kyle.

“This is why people call you assholes,” Lily said.

Kyle grinned. “It’s fair game. Diplomat plates. We park wherever the fuck we want.”

“The handicap slip is the cherry on top,” Clyde smirked.

Lily narrowed her eyes at them.

“What? You want us to pay for parking at Eaton’s smelly lot like heathens?” Kyle said.

“Yes,” Lily said.

“Well, that’s not happening.”

“You’re terrible people.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” Clyde said.

Rachel leaned forward. “Wait, how do you even have diplomat plates?”

“Perks of being Path’s numero uno’s special absolutely smartest duo on Division 16. We asked Carl for it.”

“Special people require special perks.”

“Special in the head, maybe,” Lily grumbled under her breath.

“That’s not what diplomat plates are for,” Rachel said.

“Says who?”

“International law.”

“Pfft. International law, my ass.” Kyle waved his hand.

Ollie looked at the twins, then at the SUV parked outside. “Aren’t you worried about getting towed?”

“Can’t tow a diplomat vehicle,” Clyde said. “It’s literally illegal.”

“And the handicap thing?”

“That’s just for fun,” Kyle said. “Adds authenticity.”

Lily put her face in her hands. “I hate both of you.”

“No you don’t,” Clyde said.

“I really, really do.”

“You love us.”

“Fine. But you better get me one too.”

“Hot damn, now we’re talking!” Kyle smacked his thigh.

“You deliberately violate traffic regulations for amusement?” Erin asked deadpan, not even an ounce of expression on her face.

“Fuck yeah,” Clyde said.

“First rule of Special Investigations division,” Kyle said. “We ain’t going to park 3 blocks away when a demon is haunting people at Dundas Square!”

“Are those ghosts?” Gale asked.

“Demons, ghosts, yurei, hantu, they’re all the same shit,” Clyde said. “Wanna join a mission, Gale?”

Gale looked to Rachel who just let out another sigh. He said, “Do you have any of the ghost killing dust at least?”

“Better yet, we take you there after this!” Kyle said. “With scout lady over here.”

“Right. I forgot you’re scared of ghosts,” Lily said. “Chinatown’s nearby anyway. Might as well visit. You sure you can walk at -10C in that outfit though?”

“I’m fine,” Gale rubbed the ring. Glancing at Rachel, she had a soft smile on her face.

“Speaking of which, Erin. Nice of you to join us,” Ollie said.

“Told you she’d show up. She’s the Grand Researcher Grand General Grand Dominatus of the Imperial Weber Conglomerate!” Kyle said in the most audacious voice he could muster.

“I am grateful for the title, however, I have not earned the Grand Dominatus title as of yet. Maybe in the future,” Erin said. “Regardless, I have simply stated I will see everyone on ‘Tuesday’. I do not attribute this as a surprise to anyone.”

“How’d you get out anyways?” Clyde asked.

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“You have all laid down a great assault upon the Proctor which yielded a tactical advantage for the Cryil forces. Following that performance, the Guardians were rallied and valiantly annihilated the remnants of the Proctor’s army after Stormbreaker took his head,” Erin scanned around the whole table before continuing. “In days of old, we had a title for young and upcoming heroes who have led a tremendous effort against the corruption. As such, take pride as you all have become ‘Children of the Stars.'”

Lily clapped her hands. Gale also joined in, but it was only the two of them that clapped their hands together.

“I’d make a snarky comment on this, but there’s someone glaring a hole through my forehead right now,” Kyle said.

Rachel, on the other hand, quickly looked away. She cleared her throat before asking, “Does everyone know what they’re getting?”

“Definitely got to be pancakes for me… haven’t had buttermilk pancakes in over 5 years,” Ollie said. “Not sure though. Lily, what you getting?”

“I’m getting my usual, a western omelette with hashbrowns.”

“I think I’ll get steak and eggs,” Rachel said, then caught Gale’s gaze.

“You going to eat all of it? You didn’t eat it last time.”

“You can have my leftovers if I don’t finish it,” Rachel said.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Gale nodded happily.

“You see anything you like?” Rachel asked him.

“I’ll get…” Gale carefully read the menu then chose. “The big breakfast with extra bacon and sausages.”

“I’ll have the orange chicken,” Kyle said.

“Stack of pancakes for me,” Clyde said.

“Didn’t you just eat a box of twinkies earlier?”

“So what?”

“I think I’ll get the baked lasagna,” Ollie said.

“Erin, see anything you like?” Rachel asked.

“I recommend the steak and eggs,” Gale said.

“What’s with you and steak and eggs?” Kyle asked.

“The first time I came here, Rachel didn’t finish her steak and eggs. It looked good.”

“Bet you that first time they had was a real downer,” Clyde said.

“Shut up, Clyde.”

“Look at her. Can’t do shit in public. No fire sparks, fire princess?” Clyde and Kyle laughed.

Rachel sighed, shaking her head once more.

“I do not know any of these dishes. I will go with the steak and eggs as Gale suggested,” Erin said.

Rachel raised her hand up, calling for the waitress.

“Hi, is everyone ready?” the waitress asked.

“I’ll order for everyone,” Rachel said. While pointing to the respective seats, she said all their orders, “One baked lasagna, a western omelette for Lily, orange chicken, and a stack of pancakes for the idiots, steak and eggs for me, a big breakfast for Gale, and lastly, steak and eggs for the blue one.”

“Thanks, your orders will be ready in a moment. Anything to drink for anyone?” the waitress asked.

“Coffee for me,” Ollie said.

“Coke for me and him,” Kyle said.

The waitress waited a couple more seconds.

“Water for the rest,” Rachel said, but Gale tugged her sleeve.

“Can I get coffee too? With sugar?” Gale whispered to her.

“And one more coffee,” Rachel told the waitress.

“Great, coming right up.” The waitress left and walked away. After a couple of minutes, she came back with a tray with two cokes, two coffee, and 3 glasses of water, setting them correctly on each person’s placemat.

Picking up the coffee and taking a sip of the steaming hot liquid, Gale’s face scrunched up immediately. Not from the heat, but from the bitterness.

“How is it?” Rachel asked.

“Bitter,” Gale said.

“There’s sugar on the table.” She slid the sugar to him.

Gale grabbed the sugar dispenser, put in 2 teaspoons full, and stirred it with his coffee spoon. Took another sip. Still bitter. He could still taste the coffee. Another 2 teaspoons, and it was now tolerable. Why did adults drink this again? It’s a weird brown drink. Glancing at Kyle and Clyde, they had coke. It was basically the same thing, except not coffee.

Dammit. He should’ve gotten that instead.

“So get this,” Kyle said, leaning back in his seat. “We literally just got back from that clusterfuck in the Tomb, right? Not even a full day of rest before Carl drops a case file on our desk.”

“You’re kidding,” Lily said sarcastically.

“Apparently, some big wig family’s kid went missing at Sterling Institute. High priority because mommy’s got the big bucks,” Clyde said.

“Couldn’t they assign it to someone else?”

“Everyone’s already full on cases.” Kyle made air quotes around full. “Translation: because fuck you that’s why.”

Gale took another sip of his coffee. He could still taste the hints of bitterness.

Rachel turned toward him. “How much sugar are you putting in there?”

“I don’t know. Enough to make it not bitter.”

“You could just add more milk,” Rachel said, opened the milk packets for him, and poured them in. She stirred it and then waited for him to drink it.

Taking the cup again, Gale took another sip. Now it tasted like… candy? It tasted good with milk. His expression said it all, and his own smile made him laugh a bit.

The food arrived faster than expected. The waitress placed plates in front of everyone. Gale’s big breakfast took up most of the space in front of him. Bacon, sausages, eggs, hashbrowns, toast. To his side, he saw Rachel’s own steak and eggs that he’d be able to devour after she was full.

Rachel’s eyes widened. “Erin, no-“

To his left, Erin’s steak and eggs lifted off the plate. When it reached her mouth’s height, she took a bite of it, then the piece of steak floated back down onto the plate. While that happened, a flash went off during her bite of the floating food.

“Delete that,” Rachel hissed.

“No way. This is going in the group chat.”

“Clyde!”

“What? It’s no harm to anyone.”

Erin swallowed. “Is there an issue with my consumption method?”

“We’re in public,” Rachel said. “People might stare and ask.”

“Let them stare. What is the harm?” Erin said. “And as a note, this food is adequately as your culture calls ‘sick.'”

Kyle and Clyde laughed.

Rachel sighed again. “Just use the fork!”

“I refuse.”

“Erin.”

“The Woman of Fire may not command me.”

“Please, Erin? When in a different culture, you do as they do, not as you,” Gale said.

“A logical statement,” Erin wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I shall use the fork and knife to consume this steak and eggs.”

“Wait, hold on,” Ollie said, pointing his fork at Rachel. “Why you acting like her caretaker? You guys living together or something?”

“Yes!” Rachel said. “And if she does this, some conspiracy nutjobs might stalk us back home, and Gerard will really not like that.”

“She’s staying with you?” Kyle asked as he shovelled a mouthful of rice and orange chicken into his mouth.

“Temporarily.”

“Why?”

“Because she showed up at my house and my grandmother’s not telling me why. That answer your question?!”

“Not really.”

“I traced the strongest signature possessing regenerative properties. Thus, I decided to lodge at the woman of fire’s home for the time being,” Erin said.

Lily leaned forward. “How long is she staying?”

“I don’t know,” Rachel said, rubbing her temples, “No one wants to tell me anything.”

“Yup,” Kyle said.

“Must suck to be in an Aurian family,” Clyde said.

Gale took another sip of his coffee and reached for the sugar again. Having more sugar would make it taste more and more like candy.

“Gale, stop,” Rachel said, taking the sugar dispenser from him. “Your coffee’s already sweet enough.”

Gale looked at her with trembling eyes. But he wanted to drink more of the liquid candy…

“Fine. But just a couple more,” Rachel slid back the sugar dispenser to him.

“By the way, Rachel,” Lily said, “Marine, Jeanne, and I are signing up for survivalist lessons.”

Ollie looked up from his lasagna. “Why?”

“Seemed like a fun idea. What if one day we end up in a wilderness and have to make civilization again?” Lily said. “And no, Kyle. Fuck you.”

“What?” Kyle said. “I didn’t even say anything yet.”

“You were about to,” Clyde said.

“That’s actually smart,” Ollie said. “But why didn’t you just ask Gale?”

Lily glanced at Rachel. “Gale’s busy with his own stuff. Isn’t he taking classes at York Mills?”

“Yorkdale,” Gale said.

“When do the lessons start?” Rachel asked.

“Next month. It’s a weekend course up in Muskoka.”

Rachel turned to Gale. “You should go too. That might be a fun class.”

“I know how to survive in the woods. No instructor can beat me in surviving in the wilderness,” Gale growled in a low voice.

“Speaking of learning new things,” Rachel grinned. “I heard about your banking adventure.”

Gale smiled. “I finally got access to my bank account!”

“How’d that go?”

“I managed to make a friend named Yohan who helped me with banking stuff. He’s a big guy that’s super helpful.”

“You sure you didn’t growl at him to coerce him into helping you?” Kyle asked.

“No, definitely not,” Gale said. They didn’t need to know about how he subdued Yohan in the hallway. “But I really didn’t know that Glory Industries also helped with password things. That’s really useful, Ollie.”

“Oh, that. Makes a whole ton of money by mundane standards,” Ollie said. “Problem is, if that infrastructure goes down, so does the whole internet.”

“Reminds me of Cloudflare decoupling back in 2065,” Clyde said.

“Ehh, this one runs on alien tech,” Ollie shrugged.

“Fuck you, Ollie. What happened to sharing?!” Kyle said.

“You guys literally abandoned me halfway through the rift!”

“Not our fault we followed the captain’s commands!”

“Boys!” Rachel shouted.

“This method of eating takes too much effort. A fork and a knife when I could just levitate the food into my mouth. This is barbaric,” Erin said as a blue outline enveloped her steak once more.

But before it could float up, Rachel sent a spark her way that cancelled her telekinesis.

“Woman of fire. This debt shall be remembered,” Erin said, once again picking up her cutlery and continuing to slice up her steak.

Gale finished his coffee. He wanted more, and more of those milk packet things. Tugging on Rachel’s sleeve, he asked, “Can I have more coffee?”

Rachel sighed, but Gale could tell she was having fun. There was a small smile on her lips after all whenever she looked around the table.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep