Rising Shards

After an interminably long afternoon shift, I met up with Alix and drove us to the theater.

”I would have driven myself, but I am currently between vehicles, as it were,” Alix said.

”That’s fine, I don’t mind driving you,” I said. ”Wait, how have you been getting to work then?”

”Well, it was easier with Wildfire Hearts because I was staying with a friend in LE at the time, and that friend let me ride the train into town because she’s a driver there so she had a bunch of free passes to give out, but that train stops at Rising Shards so I’d have to run from there to Wildfire Hearts. And the train was like a couple miles away from the place, I couldn’t get a ride from that friend because she had to be there a few hours earlier than me, but yeah. Nice morning jog every day though!”

”That...doesn’t sound easier?” I said.

”Now I’m a few blocks from Rising Shards so I just walk,” Alix said.

”And that does sound easier,” I said. ”Did you like the challenge of it or something like that?”

”I never really considered it,” Alix said, scratching her head. ”I’m so itchy today, what the hell, ha ha. It just felt easier doing all that versus how it is now.”

”I don’t really get it, but I like that you have a unique way of thinking about things,” I said.

We passed the big movie theater on main street in Sky Clay, and Alix made a confused whimper like a dog not getting her walk, which made me make a mental note to see if Alix maybe wanted me to get the collar out when we got back to my place.

”Movie not there?” Alix asked. ”Er, you know what I mean. Oh, wait. Is this some kind of thing where you heard me say I kind of enjoy an arduous journey to a place, so we’re gonna park way out and then go trek all the way to the theater, maybe through some dangerous woods or something?”

We reached a stoplight, so I gave a quick look over to Alix, whose expression was somewhere between overtly confident and panicked sweating as she dabbed at her forehead.

”Er, no...?” I said. ”Maybe next date?”

Alix gasped softly. ”You’d want another date with me?”

”Yes, you goof!” I laughed. ”This is already like kind of our third or so date you know, and we’ve fucked a fair bit already. So obviously I’d like another one.”

”Even if I majorly screw this up?” Alix said.

I almost said ’especially if you screw up,’ because I was way into her whole fail woman thing, but I didn’t want to encourage her to try and screw up on purpose or anything.

”It’d take a lot for you to do that,” I said.

We arrived at a smaller theater, one with connections to a local college that had some classes there, called ”Leave Your Fangs at the Door.” They played lots of indie stuff, a lot of student films by aspiring directors and such, and was the best place to see something unique that wasn’t just corporate dreck.

”Do we...literally have to...?” Alix asked, feeling at her own fangs.

”No, it’s just a goofy name,” I said. ”Come on!”

As we waited in line, Alix had one more question.

”Is this the kind of movie we have to pay attention to?” Alix asked quietly. ”If you catch my drift.”

”Heh, I think it might have some downtime,” I said. ”It is an experimental horror movie though so you might not be in the mood for that. And it’s a bit crowded tonight so we have to be careful.”

”Someone once described being with me as experimental horror, so maybe that’s perfect,” Alix said.