Amelia and Stan stepped out into the cool evening air together, the restaurant doors closing softly behind them.
The city lights of Inksea stretched along the promenade in soft gold and white, reflecting off the dark glass of the surrounding buildings. Distant engines hummed. A light breeze carried the faint scent of rain on pavement mixed with the residual warmth of the restaurant's kitchen.
Amelia's personal car was still in another country.
The vehicles she had arrived with back then, days ago when she came to thank Stan for saving her; those rows of sleek rentals arranged alongside the Vanguard, had been temporary, booked after she flew into Velaris for the talent show.
Now that the event was over and her schedule had shifted to Inksea, she had nothing of her own on the ground, at least she has nothing in Velaris and Inksea since she's not based here...
