A Team in Progress

"This may or may not sting."

"Urk…"

Peo manages to hold back cries of pain as I rub the mysterious blue liquid onto her hip. I was given no specific instructions on the quantity, so I only put a small amount to start with.

"No moving from this spot for the next few hours."

The beast girl is propped against the headboard of the grand bed. She shuffles her clothes back into place and leans her head back with obvious discomfort. Even in this situation, she hasn't removed the silver scarf from around her neck.

"If I had known we would use this so soon, I would have purchased more."

"Sorry…C."

"It's fine. This is why we buy these kinds of things."

I bring myself down to the floor beside the bed and pop open one of the sacks. The contents inside are still warm.

"Here."

Peo's eyes widen as she stares at the pastry in my hand. It probably doesn't smell as attractive as grilled meat, but the aroma of fresh bread is more than enough to pique her curiosity.

"What…is this?"

"Cream bread, or so it said on the sign."

I wait for her to take her share before sinking my teeth into the remaining serving. The bread is soft and easy to tear, allowing me to quickly reach the sweet cream in the centre. The exact identity of this cream is unknown to me, but the flavour is good enough for me to ask no questions.

"So this world has things like this too…"

Peo watches me chew with hers still untouched. I can feel those green eyes staring at me with many questions behind their lenses.

"…Why?"

"You certainly like asking that question."

I take another bite of the pastry, swallowing before I speak again.

"Where I'm from, young girls like sweet things."

"Hm?"

The fur around her neck shifts as her head tilts to the side. I lean my head back to bring my eyes within view of the girl atop the sheets.

"It was rough, but you helped me out against those guys. I would have likely been sent back to the armoury for repairs if you weren't there."

Once I saw our enemies, I was expecting to sustain a few injuries. No matter how skilled of a fighter you are, it is impossible to come out of every fight without losing blood. The fact that neither of us took on any wounds is something to be relieved about.

I turn the second half of bread in my hands, my eyes looking past it.

"It has been years since I last worked with another person on the ground. I'm used to fighting solo, planning every move with only one piece on the board."

The sound of Peo's soft breathing reaches my ears as I continue. Speaking about the past is never my style, but I find the words simply slipping out of my mouth.

"I tried to fight five on one back there, but that was a mistake. We have to work together now."

Our communication is often lacking. Neither of us are heavy talkers, and this lack of understanding between us was apparent today.

"If we want to survive, we have to cooperate. If you need anything, tell me and I'll see what I can do. If something seems wrong, let me know and we'll make a plan. And sometimes…"

The room I'm in seems to change. I'm still sitting, but I'm not leaning against a bed. Instead, my back is propped against a metal wall belonging to an armoured van.

"Cheers to another successful mission!"

A familiar man raises a paper cup containing heavily sugared coffee. I do not raise my cup and neither does the lady sitting by a wall of monitors.

"D, there was surely no need for this extra stop."

"Come on, C! It's not a big deal!"

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, our fellow agent shoves a chocolate covered doughnut into my hands. Crumbs from the fried pastry drop onto the neat black suit that I'm always wearing.

"We're a team! It only makes sense that we celebrate together!"

How did this man ever become a secret agent? Our job is to mercilessly cause death and destruction across the globe as our government sees fit. This particular mission was not riddled with as many bodies, but it still seems unnecessary to celebrate something as mundane as doing our job.

Regardless, our funds were spent on these desserts. It would be wasteful to not eat them after the money has already been spent.

"Such a pointless activity…"

I take a bite of the doughnut and allow the unhealthy amount of sugar seep into my mouth. It's simple and nothing particularly special, but I enjoy the flavour. Considering our activities, it isn't often that we get to splurge on luxuries such as these.

Agent D takes a big gulp of his coffee before looking back to us.

"Can someone pass one to A?"

As I continue eating, Agent B silently stands from her chair and passes one of the doughnuts up front. With only the two of us left, Agent D drops into the chair beside me.

"Isn't it nice to do something like this every once in a while?"

"It won't make our employers happy to see the extra charge. You also chose an item that is particularly bad for our health."

"So serious!"

My partner laughs and leans back in his chair. His eyes seem to stare off into an unseen distance as he takes another sip.

"We spend so much fighting that we can rarely just enjoy each other's company. If we can't relax together, then how can we properly work together when things get tough?"

He holds up his third doughnut of the trip and takes a hearty bite. The sound of his loud chewing is annoying, but not enough to keep me from eating my own.

"It's nice to enjoy a treat like this, right C?"

The memory fades as quickly as it came. Metal transforms back into stone and the one beside me is no longer a secret agent.

I take another bite of bread. The sweetness fills my mouth, sweetness that Peo still hasn't yet partaken in. I raise the half eaten pastry up and look at the beast girl.

"Sometimes we can just enjoy a treat like this."

Am I smiling like he was back then? His words didn't mean much to me back then, but they felt like the right ones to say at this moment. Peo and I have a long journey ahead of us, one that requires absolute trust between us. Perhaps enjoying little things like this is exactly what we needed.

Peo stares at me with large eyes, moving them between me and the cream bread in her hands. After a few moments of staring at the item in her hands, she lowers the scarf from over her mouth. Her eyes light up the moment she sinks her fangs into the soft dough.

"Taste good?"

"Mhm!"

She doesn't spare me any words, but the bliss on her face is enough to make this purchase worth it. The small pastry never stood a chance at lasting longer than a couple of seconds in her hands. For the first time since we met, this girl looks happy.

"Hey, kid. How old are you?"

"Hm?"

Peo finally returns from her internal candy land. She slips the silver fur back over her mouth before speaking.

"Fifteen…years."

"I'm surprised that you all use our calendar."

"Counting moons…became troublesome."

This girl is just about young enough to have been my daughter back on Earth. If beastfolk grow at about the same rate as humans, then this is basically as big as she's getting. That saves me the trouble of dealing with her attire as she ages.

I finish my own treat as a flash in the window catches my attention.

BANG

A sudden crack of thunder fires across the sky and brings along a sudden downpour. Water beats against stone and glass, taking priority to our ears.

"Good thing we came back early…"

I try to stand up and seat myself elsewhere, but something stops me. A pair of arms find themselves wrapped around my torso.

"Peo?"

"Don't…move."

BANG

Another strike of lightning in the distance, one that causes the girl's arms to wrap tighter. I can feel her heartbeat against my back. The image of Thorsten's magical blade appears in my head, that and the bodies of beasts struck down by its power.

"Don't…turn around."

"That is slightly problematic…"

"Grrr!"

Peo presses her face harder against my spine. At her mercy, I simply seat myself on the bed and allow her to constrict me with every strike of lightning.

"When did I become so soft…"

Dying seems to have a lot of unintended consequences. One of those continues to hide her face and fears while the evening storm rages on.