Chai and Teeth

“Oh, so this is where you’ve been,” Kavi muttered, perched high above the marketplace. His boots dangled lazily from the rooftop edge, but his eyes were sharp as they scanned the streets below. His voice hissed low into his commlink.

“Captain Femi, the experiment’s nearly complete. She keeps coming back to this place, wasting her time with these mundane people.”

Static crackled, followed by the calm, unyielding voice of Captain Femi.

“Fine. Report everything by tonight. But don’t let your guard down, Kavi.”

Kavi’s lip curled into something between a sneer and a smirk.

“I don’t understand what’s so special about this place or these people. She keeps coming back, talking to these mundane fools living like common food. I genuinely don’t understand why anyone would find helpless cattle, just waiting to be slaughtered, entertaining.”

His grin sharpened.

“But maybe… maybe I can have a little fun.”

The Next Day

Roe wiped down the counter. The morning rush was over. Cups clinked. The café was quiet. He let the stillness settle.

Cheers spilled in from outside. Roars. Whistles. Applause. Someone had killed a beast.

Roe watched through the glass. Townsfolk crowded around someone in the street. Bread, fruit, coins—handed over. Gratitude everywhere.

The hero.

Kavi.

He smiled for the crowd. Bowed. Clapped a boy on the shoulder. Winked at a pair of women. Raised his hand like a blessing.

The cheer swelled.

Then ding.

The bell above the café door chimed.

Roe turned.

Kavi stepped inside.

The smile was gone.

The room's temperature seemed to drop by a degree.

Inside Ember’s Light

“Hello,” Roe greeted, slipping into his usual warmth. “Welcome. Sit anywhere. It’s kind of slow right now. What can I get you?”

Kavi slid into a chair with deliberate calm.

“I’ll have a cup of chai.”

“Coming right up.”

Roe moved to prepare it, hands steady even as he felt the weight of Kavi’s stare pressing against his back.

Kavi broke the silence.

“It’s a nice place you have here. Seems you’re doing a decent amount of business, even with all this foolishness going around. How do you manage to keep the doors open?”

Roe set the kettle down and let it heat before answering.

I look out for myself first. But the best thing for me? The people who look out for me. When I’m low on supplies, when it’s too risky to make the trip, I can count on my neighbors. They count on me for good food and service. We help each other. That’s how it works.

Kavi tilted his head, expression unreadable.

“I don’t know. Something about the effort of doing good and not getting paid for it doesn’t sit well with me. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth saving people like you. No powers. No strength. If we just let you all die out, we could focus on ourselves. Stop wasting energy on trivial matters.”

Roe slid the chai across the counter. His voice stayed calm. Hard underneath.

“Seems like you don’t understand how the economy works. You protect the powerless, and we tend your gardens. We harvest your food, cook your meals, tend your wounded. We are the epicenter that the rest of your countries need to survive. So it doesn’t look like we’re the weak ones. We’re the backbone.”

He turned away. Kept cleaning. Voice flat.

“You’re just doing what you’re paid to do. Protect. But if you don’t want to do your job, then who’s to say you’re the one who deserves power?”

Kavi’s smile twitched, thin and sharp.

“Oh? Is that what you teach that pretty little girl of yours?”

Roe’s hand froze against the counter. His eyes darkened.

“Watch your mouth,” he said quietly. “And I advise you to leave. Don’t pay me. I don’t want your money. Just get out.”

He leaned forward slightly, steam curling between them.

“And if you show yourself here again, it won’t be me or my people that get devoured by monsters. That, I can assure you.”

Kavi’s grin widened.

“Is that a threat?”

Roe’s voice dropped lower.

“No. It’s a promise.”

Kavi chuckled.

“I like that energy.”

Roe’s hand tightened on the glass. He hurled it over his shoulder at Kavi’s chair.

His hand tightened around the rim of the glass he had been polishing. He turned sharply and hurled it over his shoulder toward the chair where Kavi sat.

The glass shattered against the wall.

The seat was empty.

The chai sat untouched. Steam curled up.

Roe’s jaw clenched.

He glanced toward the door.

The bell did not ring.

Outside, lost within the crowd, Kavi moved unseen, a quiet whisper slipping from his lips as he faded into the flow of the marketplace.