Young Writers Society

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to answer that.

She could tell her the truth, but what if she really did have an opinion on demons? And what if that opinion wasn't a good one? She could blow it in a single response. But just as she was starting to really debate what she should say in her head, her eyes flickered from their false blue to their true gold.

"It's, um..."

"It's alright, you don't have to tell if you don't want to." Her response was strange, but Megara wasn't one to judge. After all, there was plenty she wouldn't in a million years tell to a stranger.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm a demon," she admitted. Her eyes finally settled on their true gold, though Runi was completely oblivious to the change. "Most demons don't like because I'm not like them, and most other people don't like me because I'm a demon."

Even though they were still dancing, Runi removed one hand to rub the back of her neck.

Megara frowned, pondering this for a moment.

She didn't know a lot about demons. They weren't inherently evil beings, but they were often created for wicked purposes or by unsavory means. Megara did know a lot about unsavory means. She, in a way, was created by such means. Hardened into a killer by a series of threats, carried out threats, and...lessons in the arts of hurting without killing.

"You spend a great deal of time around unfair people," she said carefully.

Runi didn't respond to that - she didn't know how. She hadn't exactly expected Megara to take their side, but she also hadn't expected a comment like that. She stood up a little straight, hand returning from the back of her neck to her side.

"...You really think so?" she hesitantly asked - not wanting to ruin the moment if she thought otherwise.

"I don't lie when I don't have to," she responded. Runi was an odd case, shy, hesitant. She didn't want to believe Megara could possibly mean what she said right away. Megara would assume Runi was just avoiding jumping to conclusions, but that wasn't it. Believing Megara wasn't a jump, it was barely a step. So Megara began to wonder what kinds of people had surrounded Runi to make her afraid like this. Second-guessing.

She drew her hands away briefly to adjust her gloves, which had begun to twist around her arms uncomfortably. When she returned them, she said, "How do you usually spend your time? I don't imagine you typically hop realities like this." It was a poor attempt at humor, but the mood needed to be lightened somehow. It was a shame Runi was stuck here with someone with as little humor as Megara.

So she did lie sometimes, then.

Runi, in the back of her mind, wondered for what, but wasn't seriously concerned. She really liked Megara, even if they barely knew each other.

"I don't," she admitted. "It happens occasionally and without warning for me. I think the last time was...maybe when I got transported to my friend's throne room? He's not from my reality, and I didn't even know he was royalty, so that was a shock."

She gave Megara a small smile. "Most of the time I either hang out in my apartment or go to the coffee shop I work at."

Megara didn't comment on her having a friend she didn't know was royalty. That felt like it could stray into sensitive territory, and Megara didn't want to scare her away.

"You work at a shop?" she inquired instead. It seemed safer, and Runi didn't strike her as the type to work at any kind of shop. Perhaps Megara was just drawing conclusions from her time at court. In disguise, but at court nonetheless. Runi seemed to her a lot like some of the nobles she'd met, the ones she'd actually liked. She was hesitant like them, with more to say than she was willing to put to words.

Megara's mind wandered, dancing around memories of such nobles. She always had regretted having her first kiss on the job, as someone other than herself. She was Ninny then, a shy little thing who was meant to attract the attention of a rich young lord who The Count had decided was better dead than alive, and she had. Ninny had gotten his attention, and Megara had liked him. He was sweet, funny, charming. So when he asked to kiss her...

Megara blushed, snapped immediately back to reality. She'd only been distracted a moment, thank the gods. What am I doing thinking of kisses right now? she chastised herself, This isn't the time. I have to focus on getting home. That last bit was a lie. In reality, she had just about as much time as she desired. Nothing back home was so urgent as to demand she rush back.

Still, she tried to buy her own lies. She couldn't lose focus.

She nodded.

"The pay isn't that great," she admitted, "but it's still something! And I do get a lot of vacation time if I, uh, ever needed it. Which I don't..."

Megara tried not to let her confusion show on her face. Nothing about that sounded more than remotely familiar.

"Well, it's there if you need it," she said, somewhat dumbly, "Do you uh...how do you think we're supposed to get out of here?" she quickly changed the subject. It was what they'd come to the dance floor for, after all.

Runi faltered.

She had been so busy talking with Megara that she had forgotten to start looking for an escape. She glanced around at the dance floor, gaze wandering from one dancing pair to another. None of them seemed remotely disturbed by the situation. Runi frowned, her footwork momentarily faltering as she tried to determine the significance of her observation.

"I'm still not sure," she sheepishly admitted, turning back to Megara. "Maybe we should ask someone?"

Megara almost tripped when Runi faltered, but she managed to catch herself. Unfortunately, she managed to catch herself with her bad leg. She hissed and pain and leaned a little more heavily on Runi to regain her balance.

"Yeah," she said, wincing as she shifted, "If we're going to do that, though, would you mind helping me over to my cane first?"

Her face went red as Megara leaned more into her, knowing that it was likely out of pain and not because she honestly wanted to get that close. "I don't mind at all," she said, grinning as she led her over to the cane. She knew she was blushing bad, but there wasn't really anything she could do about it.

When they reached her cane, Megara lingered a little longer than was maybe necessary before pulling away to lean her weight into that. "Thank you," she said, giving Runi a smile.

Runi was blushing. Runi was blushing a lot.

Megara dropped her gaze to the floor, wondering if she'd embarrassed her in some way or broken some big rule of etiquette wherever she was from.

"Let's, um, Would you like to stay together to talk to people or..." she left the question in the air. Had she insulted Runi? She hoped not.

Her blush somehow grew even worse.

"Oh, um..." Runi started, hesitating when she noticed Megara's change in gaze. Maybe she didn't want to stay together, and was looking for an easy way out? "What do you want to do?"