Before Us [Wriolette]

Chapter 9: Clorinde

Beep-

Beep Beep-

Beep Beep Beep-

B-

God that alarm is annoying.

Wriothesley's day was packed with events. First, he had his get together with Clorinde, who he hasn't seen in two weeks or so. He was looking forward to this most because of their tea exchanging tradition. After, he had his meeting with his supervisors, all of whom expect a report on recent leads and discoveries on their case. Unfortunately, all they had as of now was a guest list for the party on the night of the overdose. Finally, he had his shift at the cafe. They keep rearranging the times of his shifts because its tough to throw a new recruit into the schedule out of nowhere, so he has to be ready to come at any point of the day. Of course with prior notice.

The dark haired man's phone calendar just had to remind him of this first thing in the morning, so he wasn't off to a great start. Throwing his legs off of the side of the bed and hastily selecting some clothes from his closet, he used one hand to tidy his wild locks. Those two damn patches of hair never. stayed. down. Once Wriothesley had slid his shirt on, he shuffled into his tight pants with great difficulty. Were it not for his meeting, he would usually wear something looser, but he probably wont have time to stop at home after meeting with Clorinde. Speaking of which, he may want to gift her a tea befitting of the work trip she went on. Ayahuasca tea, to represent her week-long first aid 101 required biennially by her work. The group of teachers that work there are extremely naturalist, so phones are reserved for emergencies. This would mean that there was no way for Clorinde to get in touch with her girlfriend, who Wriothesley has not met yet, or Wriothesley. Of course, she had plans with her gf for her first few days back, but he would get to see her today. Wriothesley had asked Clorinde to bring the mysterious gf so they could meet, but she didn't seem too keen on the idea. He had heard whispers and someone else's giggles (most likely her gf's) in the background while they were discussing him, but he didn't know what to make of it and therefore hasn't mentioned it.

Delicately placing the tea in his duffel bag as he swiped the keys off the table, Wriothesley made his way down the stairs of the apartment complex and to the exit. The wind was still as he walked to his motorcycle and fastened his CKS Mission AMS Full Face Helmet (don't sue me) onto his head. Meropide, his pride and joy, was found on the side of the road damaged and dented, but with the help of an instruction manual and nearby repair shops, he was able to fix it into the bike it is today. Starting it up, he glides through the parking lot and towards their appointed meeting location.

Wriothesley had seen Clorinde's car while looking for a spot, and sped up a bit as to not keep her waiting. At this hour, even small-town diners such as this one had a crowd. Finding a spot, he removed his helmet and grabbed his bag. Upon opening the door, he saw Clorinde sitting at a table next to...

Navia?!

Unexpected. When did they even meet? Well, it ain't his business.

He waved to Clorinde to signal his arrival and was returned with the seat he was to sit on being kicked farther from the table. An invitation. Of sorts. Sitting down opposite Clorinde, he greets them. "Hello, Clorinde." he cocks his head to the side, smiling, "Ms. Navia, pleasure meeting you here."

Clorinde looks amused so briefly Wriothesley may have imagined it, quickly masking it with false intrigue. "Ah, you two have met?" she says, not in an unfriendly way. Wriothesley was going to answer, but Navia beat him to the punch. "It was quite surprising when you mentioned him the other day, this was quite the nice coincidence!" she removed her glasses from her forehead and set them in her purse, soon replacing the space between them with and extended hand. "Haha, it really is." Wriothesley answers, taking her hand in a loose handshake. "How long have you two been together?"

While Clorinde's cheeks are dusted lightly with pink at the question, Navia's face erupts with vibrant warmth despite her calm stature. Looking to Navia to ask for permission and receiving a composed nod in return, Clorinde answers, "3 months." "Oh, congrats!" he replies, taking a sip of the water brought by the waiter. Navia's face becomes less colorful as she responds. "Why, thank you!" and as if to divert the subject, she asks, "Do you have a special someone, Wriothesley?"

Ooohhhhh...

Clorinde and Wriothesley nearly spit out their respective drinks at the question, and he musters the most disbelief he can into one facial expression. Navia freezes, sensing something wrong, and thinks about her question.

"O-oh, oh my. I do apologize, that slipped my mind." Looking distraught, she leaned back in her chair and asked another question, "Well, do you have any pets?" He had always loved dogs, but the truth was, "I once considered keeping pets in my apartment, but quickly gave up on the idea... It's just not right to keep small animals where they won't have room to run." (please get the reference... I had to change it up a little so it made sense) As the tension around then eased, Navia smiled and indulged him in follow up questions. The two were well engaged in their own conversations, but Clorinde didn't mind. She was just fine watching her girlfriend talk and smile.

Once Wriothesley and Clorinde had exchanged their teas, it was about time for the blue-eyed man to head to his meeting. Clorinde was on the verge of going insane by their 10th minute gossiping about customers, so when time came to go, she was more than happy to walk Navia back to her home. Wriothesley waved them goodbye and walked in the other direction as he pulled up a GPS to the station.

***not really anything notable, but if I think of something better to be named "Meropide," I'll change it later. Also, I'm aware that my characterization struggles, my proofreader ditched me after ch 1. You know who you are...***