Fenix took Aura to a recreational room in the brief time they had before dinner.
The room was lit with flashing neon lights. Arcade games lined the left wall, and a large square table with a digital screen stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by a bench on each side.
There was faint, relaxing music playing overhead and a movie screen on the opposite wall.
"What do you think?" Fenix asked as Aura took everything in.
"... It's... so stimulating," she commented awkwardly.
Fenix tugged her against him and kissed her cheek.
"I know, right?!" he agreed brightly. He then led her over to the strange table. "There are a lot of games programmed into it. It also comes with tablets, so players can even keep their hands private during card games," he explained, while lifting one of the tablets from a shelf under the table.
"Wow."
Aura sat down carefully and paid attention as he scrolled through the dozens of options.
"This is amazing, but why didn't you invite anyone else?" she added. Fenix's smile didn't waver, but he sat upright and moved his hand behind her head.
"I wanted to be alone with you for a while."
He admitted this quietly, pulling her in and resting his forehead against hers.
Aura's cheeks tingled,
"... Well, thank you for showing me... What did you want to do here?" she muttered.
Fenix smiled.
Instead of answering, he leaned forward, moving gradually until their lips met while wrapping his free arm around her.
Several kisses later, Aura pushed him back and looked into his eyes with a flustered face. Fenix smirked, then bent down to grab two tablets.
He handed one to her and said,
"You can use that as a controller. There's this co-op game I know you'll enjoy."
Aura corrected her posture, brushing her hair behind her ear as she waited for Fenix to scroll through the lengthy catalog. After he chose the game, he sat upright, his shoulder brushing against hers.
"This game can be tricky at first," Fenix warned, then he continued, "I'll guide you so it's not irritating."
Aura nodded, then stared at the screen with hyperfocus. Her seriousness amused him.
The game was a puzzle-solving platformer. The main goal was to avoid being seen by the gigantic boss, while you worked together to escape his house.
Aura was so immersed that when the call for dinner happened, she was actually disappointed.
"Can we come back after dinner?" she asked shakily. Fenix shook his head and said,
"It'll be late. Dad has an assembly planned after we eat where he's going to impose a strict curfew."
Aura's eyes widened in surprise. Fenix snickered and whispered,
"Not that it applies to us."
Then he kissed her passionately once more. He turned away suddenly as if he had to force himself to stop. He stood up, and Aura looked at his face. He was blushing immensely as he extended his hand to help her up and muttered,
"Let's go eat,"
Aura smirked before taking his hand.
"It's a shame... I was really enjoying it," she said softly. Fenix's hand warmed in hers.
"Enjoying what?" he asked as they walked together, in case she was referring to the game.
"... I wonder," Aura replied in a playful voice. Fenix laughed.
"Are you teasing me?"
"... I wonder," she repeated.
Everyone arrived at approximately the same time. Aura was first in line, with Fenix close behind.
After choosing their seats, they were soon joined by Caster and Mirror.
Vision, Veil, Flow, and Cantarella sat at the parallel table. When Panther started approaching the table with her meal, Fenix got up to meet her.
"We need to talk," he muttered with no emotion in his voice.
Panther panicked internally.
"Now," he demanded, and at the same time, he headed toward a corner out of earshot of the rest of the group.
She swallowed hard and followed after him.
"What's going on?" she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.
"Don't sit with us," Fenix demanded curtly. Panther forced a smile and replied,
"Why not? I hope I haven't done something wrong."
Fenix groaned and ruffled his hair before saying,
"You antagonized my wife on purpose, so she'd fight you. I don't want to be near you while we're eating."
His words felt like a slap in the face.
"... You just spoke so highly of her. I wanted to try sparring with her just once," Panther explained.
"I don't care."
His harsh tone hurt worse than the words. She stared down at the plate in her hands.
"Just sit somewhere else today," he added dismissively, while returning to his place at Aura's side.
Panther stayed in the corner, biting her lip like a chastised child.
She watched Fenix interact happily with everyone else and regretted agreeing to join this mission.
"Hey, Panther!" Shade greeted from an empty table across the room. When she looked up, he gestured for her to sit with him. She hesitated for a moment before going over.
When she sat down, she eyed his meal.
"You're eating spaghetti again," she commented.
"Yeah, it was really good during lunch, and it's even better now."
He didn't seem to notice she was judging him.
She silently began eating her curry.
"I have something to say," he began, then paused to eat one of his meatballs before continuing, "When I was watching you fight earlier, I got inspired. I think Fenix had you in mind when he invited me here."
Panther got butterflies at the thought. The fact that Fenix had considered her at all never occurred.
"What do you mean?" she mumbled.
"Oh yeah, you weren't there during my fight. That's probably a good thing, because it was super embarrassing," he cleared his throat and added, "I can create shadows and even become one. You can move through shadows. So we'd make the perfect team."
His statement lifted her mood, but she tried to keep that from showing.
"So what are you suggesting?" she inquired as she cleared her plate.
"We should train together, I think we'd make an awesome combination."
She stared down into her lap, and his leg shook anxiously as he waited for her reply.
"That makes sense... yeah, let's do it."
At her reply, Shade sighed in relief.
There was an assembly in the meeting room after dinner. Pierce stood behind a podium and made an announcement,
"Lights out begins at twenty-two hundred hours. That means at ten PM everyone needs to be in their own room. Starting tomorrow, we'll begin intense training. Everyone needs to be competent enough to handle whatever we may face when we land in three days."
Everyone listened quietly, but Cantarella groaned and began muttering,
"I'm an academic, not a soldier. I don't want to work out!"
Pierce acted like he didn't hear her and began going over everyone's roles.
Pierce and Fenix were the diplomats. Caster, Veil, and Vision would act as bodyguards. Shade and Panther would tightly monitor the situation from the shadows and step in if necessary.
Aura, Cantarella, and Flow were on the medical team and were only to join combat if there were absolutely no other options.
Aura didn't like that. She folded her arms and pouted.
It was almost nine when the meeting ended, so everyone in the group was escorted to their rooms.
When Barb left them, Panther sped over to Aura.
The sudden approach put Aura on alert, and her hand paused on the doorknob.
At a few feet away, Panther bowed and said,
"I'm sorry... for earlier. I shouldn't have pressured you into doing something you didn't want to do."
She was caught off guard, so there was a delay before Aura responded,
"It's alright."
"No, it's not," Panther argued, "If we do spar again, it'll be when we both feel like it."
A soft smile formed on Aura's face.
"I'm looking forward to it," she replied. Panther then raised her head and waved goodbye.
Aura waved back, and they both went into their rooms.
Fenix was waiting inside Aura's closet, standing on the Howdy Do Mat, his arms folded.
"You didn't waste any time," Aura commented, trying to suppress her excitement.
"... Well, yeah. There's still a whole hour before curfew, yet they sent us to our rooms. My dad has gone mad with power." As he complained, he flopped down, lying flat on her bed.
"... You do have a point," she muttered in response, taking a seat beside him. Fenix wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned forward to place soft, lingering kisses against the small of her back. Her breath caught, and she closed her eyes tight.
"I'm going to give you a break today. You're already exhausted and... we have training in the morning."
She twisted slightly so she could meet his eyes. Her heart shuddered on contact.
"...but," Fenix began again, with a sweet expression, "Can I still stay? I have a hard time sleeping without you."
His request did critical damage to her rationale. She was tempted to tell him not to be so considerate, but she held her tongue and instead shyly replied,
"... I sleep better when you're around, too."
Fenix's demeanor brightened, then he pulled her down into the bed with him and cuddled her close.