Chapter 24 – A Name from My Queen

“Arwain Riot from Silver Stream is on the scene. Icarus bomb captured and ready for disposal.”

After a quick flight, the bomb left his grip and fell into a pit safely located away from the city. He watched it explode before heading back.

Three weeks had passed since he talked directly with the mayor. The attacks continued periodically like they have been. Regardless of how he personally felt about the mayor’s aspirations, Arwain would continue being a champion for Stratos. However, he was going to do it his way.

“Jolly, was that the last one?”

“Affirmative, operations are back to normal. Shall I send you the next package?”

“Send ‘er on over. Another one for the guys down below?”

“Of course. You have a monopoly on them. As if anyone else would dare piss off the head of the city.”

“Well, sorry for dragging you all on the ride, but my mind’s made up. If they are going to make it purposefully annoying for the No-Flyers, then we’ll just pick up the slack!”

Arwain caught the package and immediately dropped into a five-second dive. As he approached the clouds, several police droid floated after him, blaring warnings that he was entering restricted space. Ignoring them, he quickly slipped into the clouds where they couldn’t follow.

Mayor DeWine may have held a dissatisfaction with the No-Flyers living in his city, but that was no reason to deprive them of their packages. As if the police droids could catch up to him in speed. Neither could the city judge his actions too harshly as cameras continued to tail him for the public to see. Arwain took full advantage of that publicity to show that everyone was part of this city.

Of course, his conviction hadn’t always been that solid. Just after he returned from the mayor’s office, he entered HQ, downcast and wondering what he should do. At the time, Queen was there, in her usual place by the window, and she could tell something was up.

“Hey Buttercheeks, what’s with the long face? Did the mayor drag you through the mud for that little scuffle? I caught a glimpse of it. Those movements you pulled off were some moist-inducing stuff. I could feel myself drooling buckets afterward.”

Arwain relayed his little walk with the mayor and his viewpoint of the city. With a sigh, he slapped himself on the head.

“Did I flub everything up? We’re supposed to help the city, but here I am, disagreeing with the big man in city hall.”

Queen stared at him for a moment, but then, her lips curled into a smirk.

“If that’s what you’re thinking, what if I said that I’m submitting my resignation?”

Arwain’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. His lips fought to motorboat out an answer.

“W-W-Wait, it’s my fault, isn’t it? O-Of course, it is. You wouldn’t want to be liable for the dumbshit actions of a hero wannabe. But I can change, Queen, I’ll-”

A set of hands pressed his cheeks together, puckering his lips so he shut up. Queen stared at him for a moment before coming forward with a headbutt.

The impact was only a love tap, but it shook Arwain’s thoughts enough to question what was going on. By now, he was sure that Queen was messing with him, but his first response was to panic anyway.

“There you go again, Arwain. The first instinct you have is to question your own actions, not others. I know how it is. Something big happens, and you feel like you have no one else but yourself to blame. And then, more and more things slowly become your fault as well. Eventually, you feel like the whole damn world is your problem, and you freeze up from having it weigh upon your shoulders.”

“Isn’t that what a champion is supposed to do?”

“What, and let you leave us behind? Not a chance, buckaroo. We’ve been there to kick your arse back on the right path every time you act like a bonehead. I don’t see it suddenly changing just cause of some title.”

Arwain wanted to talk back, but his jaw hung trying to find the right words. Queen tucked a hand under his chin and lifted it up, giving him a smile.

“You know, Arwain. I once knew someone just as inexperienced, fresh at this delivery service with a pride that was easily built yet just as easily shattered. She kept making mistakes, hopping from company to company thinking that she just needed to work harder. Fix everything about herself along the way. Become someone that could be dependable no matter what.”

“And what happened to that person?”

“She nearly cracked at the seams. Failure upon failure was piled up, until the next little mistake threatened to drive a fissure right through them all. She was ready to give up, hang up the belt, and retire the wings.”

At this point, it was obvious to Arwain who Queen was talking about, but he humored her, nonetheless. Past all of the teasing and playfulness was a person who was hiding quite a lot. Whenever that personality resurfaced, Arwain immediately knew to listen… just like that day.

-----

It was a dreary afternoon, humid enough for clothing to become tape upon one’s skin, stifling enough that a few glides between shaded areas made sweat roll down every inch that basked in it.

Despite that, Vera McQueen knew that Gliders didn’t take off days from harsh conditions. She had been at it for hours already, making use of every covered section along her path to ward off the blistering UV rays of a massive heatwave.

As she dropped off another package, she mentally ticked off one from a very long list. She shook her head before convincing herself that she could still finish it, despite the blunder that had happened.

The small company that she worked for had made a rookie mistake, taking on too many jobs in earnest, before realizing that too much was just as detrimental to one’s reputation. It became clear when the other staff started dropping like flies from exhaustion that they weren’t going to complete what was promised.

Still, Vera persisted. She used every ounce of her veteran knowledge to compensate for the others. This company had to succeed. There was nowhere else to turn to.

One would think that someone of her polished skills would be welcome just about anywhere. That would have been the case had it not been for one little bit of slander pasted across her background checks – a harassment claim when she took her teasing a little too far.

Vera was known to be a little buddy-buddy, perhaps letting her guard down too easily when it came to her hobbies. One vulgar comment, and instantly, she was out of a job.

Unfortunately, incidents rarely happened in isolation. Such a charge on her record was a public smear between fellow Gliders, some who took it as an opportunity to force her to open up to them. By then, Vera had retreated into her shell, the gut shot of losing her first job making it clear that she wouldn’t humor such advances.

When pushing a little didn’t work, outright slander became the next thing she faced.

“A little bare muscle will get her to spread her wings,” they joked.

“She would pluck any feather that tickled her fancy,” others added.

Without having done a single thing wrong, Vera was forced to leave once again to avoid any controversies. But simply leaving had been yet another mistake. The next examiner would poke at her short tenures. Another would throw her file away based on unconfronted hearsay.

It became hard enough to find any company that was desperate enough to hire her. And those that did couldn’t help seeing her as an easy mule to toss all the work onto while pointing at her record as leverage. And now, she was stuck in this predicament.

Her vision started growing blurry, but she bit her lip, the pain helping to refocus her sights on the next delivery. She kept pushing, one at a time, until her eyelids grew heavy for a moment longer than she could hold back the exhaustion.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms whisked her away, cradled like a princess. Vera opened her eyes to see a teenage boy with fiery red hair. She almost reached up to kiss him, until she realized that he was likely out of her hit zone.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” he said, noticing her face close to his.

Strangely, he was not bothered by it at all. Even more surprising was that he pressed his forehead right up against hers.

“Geez! You’re burning up! What the hell are you thinking, flying around in a daze like that?”

Slowly, Vera’s bearings were returning to her, and with a flap, she kicked off from her savior.

“It’s nothing for you to be concerned about. Don’t you have some deliveries to make, young man? You look like a Glider yourself.”

“Arwain’s the name. Unfortunately, I’m not so lucky to have a steady workflow at the moment. Been practicing some rounds in preparation for a new company. There are apparently far more kinks to work out when you have to decide everything for yourself. Since I saw you tumbling past, I couldn’t help but give you a lift.”

“Thank you for that, but I best be on my way now.”

Vera felt triggered from being touched, paranoia forcing her to think the worst of it. She was hasty to leave, but then, a hand clamped onto her shoulder.

“Are you sure about that? I can lend you a hand. A little pre-gaming for the real thing wouldn’t hurt me in the least.”

Vera turned back and stared at Arwain, who looked like the typical cocky newbie that bit off more than he could chew. She shot him a gaze of suspicion, poking for any holes in the jovial attitude that could be hiding some hidden objective.

“Practice, you say? Heh, doubt you could keep up in this heat. But sure, any little bit would be welcome. Let’s see if you can even match up to my coworkers who even called it quits for today.”

“That sounds like a challenge to me. Bring it!”

Vera threw him a package. She wasn’t beyond exploiting others to get the job done. After all, that was what other Gliders had pulled on her when she wouldn’t ‘play nice’ with them.

“Got it! Be back in a jiffy!”

Vera watched as Arwain zoomed off with gusto. She rolled her eyes, wondering how long it would last. Either way, she wasn’t as easy as she pretended.

But then, it didn’t stop. He came back with a smile each time – face dripping with sweat, breath haggard, and wings drooping. He seemed to be a glutton for punishment, at least in her eyes. With his help, Vera managed to finish the entire list, much to her surprise.

“Say, kid. How the hell can you enjoy looking so miserable like that?”

“What do you mean? Delivering these packages will make someone happy to receive them. How can I not be happy that I’ve contributed to that in some way?”

“You’re either an idiot or a hopeless romantic.”

Arwain scratched his head sheepishly and replied, “Jolly says I’m the former, which is why I need someone to kick myself on the right track.”

Vera’s expression froze for a moment before she busted out laughing. She hadn’t expected for someone to willingly see himself as an idiot. That kind of honesty was refreshing. She felt a bit guilty about suspecting him.

“Say, kid. What was the name of your company that you started?”

“I actually haven’t thought of one yet.”

“Oh? But I’m sure that you have some idea what kind of company you want to run.”

“That’s why I’m practicing field work. In hopes that some silver lining will come streaming into my head along the way.”

Vera smiled, an idea flashing through her head.

“How about ‘Silver Stream’ then?”

Arwain nearly crashed in midair, the idea bulb seeming to have been smashed over his head as the cause.

“That’s it! Thanks a bunch, ma’am! Come to think of it, who do I owe the pleasure of this?”

A selfish desire bubbled up from Vera’s chest. It may have been a whim, one from a personality that she wished to hide still. Yet, she felt like it was a proper test for what she would do next.

“Tell you what. Call me ‘Queen’ and I’ll even consider dropping by your fresh little company for a look.”

-----

Vera beamed a grin at the eager face of Arwain before her, wondering if it was too late to make a certain childhood friend a little jealous. Of course, it was always a joke, but humoring herself never hurt anyone. The ones around her would join in on the fun regardless.

“But you know what? She turned out alright.”

“Oh? What changed that?” Arwain asked.

“A little something called ‘trust’. She could finally learn to leave it to others and go on trusting that things would be alright. That made every bit of difference in her world.”

Queen settled for giving him a peck on the cheek instead.

“Here’s some of that trust back. You keep on doing what you think is best. Make all the mistakes you feel are needed. You’ll find that silver lining streaming to you once again.”