“You know, I don’t really see what’s so good about it,” Jade said as she stabbed at a piece of ravioli with her fork, adding a second to the stack before bringing it towards her mouth. “Runa talks as though you can see the plates through a bunch of antiques, but isn’t it just… voyeuristic?”

Nina stifled a laugh at the comment, but Aline didn’t fare so well. Spitting ale from her lips, she wiped her chin with a sleeve before scowling, reaching for a napkin to clean up the mess. Trim, the fourth and final person at the table, only offered a sigh. Nina didn’t know whether it was because of Jade’s comment or Aline’s reaction, but the disappointed expression only added to her amusement.

“What? I’m serious,” Jade continued. “She’s never even left Terminus, so how can she say that?”

“Can you please not put Runa and voyeuristic in the same sentence?” Aline said as she dropped the napkin back on the table. “Bad images, alright?”

“Oh,” Jade replied before pausing, placing her fork down before closing her eyes and frowning. “Eww.”

“Exactly.”

After deciding that they had waited long enough to see if Reina and Svanda would return for dinner, the four had walked to a nearby restaurant to avoid cooking. It was a simple place with a polished concrete floor and a few wooden tables scattered around a central fire, but it was comfortable enough for the group to order a few dishes before easing their way into the ale. Saela was still nowhere to be seen, but none of them really cared. Saela was Saela, she’d be back soon enough.

“You know what I mean though,” Jade continued while reaching for her glass. “She always tries with that crap, yet there’s no appreciation for the people who go out and make it happen. Reina should jack the prices up, it’s not like Runa can’t afford it.”

“It’s just a sales pitch,” Trim said as she picked at the salad before her, the only person at the table who wasn’t drinking. “Her customers are usually people who can’t leave Terminus. It’s easier to sell them a story where the products are just as good as traveling to different plates when you yourself also want to believe in it.”

“Not like we’d know,” Jade said with a wave of her hand. “None of us are important enough to sit in on the conversations.”

Nina smiled at Jade’s mock displeasure before returning to her meal, a collection of local vegetables baked inside a pocket of bread. She’d opted for it at Aline’s recommendation, and despite the haphazard appearance it was actually pretty good. Nothing poisonous, Aline had clarified. Why clarification was needed in the first place was a little unnerving if she was to be honest, and next time the warning would hopefully come before she had already made a start.

Maybe she’d just have to be more careful.

“You say that as though it’s a bad thing,” Trim shrugged as she eyed the empty glasses on the table. “Nine times out of ten, meetings like that are just a pain.”

“What’s the one out of ten then?” Jade asked, finishing her glass before sliding it over to the collection in the corner of the table. Reaching for a replacement, she took a sip before picking up the fork up once more and resuming her attack on the ravioli. “You hear something interesting?”

“You hear something interesting more often than that,” Trim answered with a frown. “The problem is that more often than not, dealing with the person on the other side of the table isn’t worth it.”

“Maybe you’re just not as good with people as the other two are,” Aline offered with a shrug. “Reina and Svanda never seem to have any problems.”

“Reina can deal with anyone,” Trim agreed. “Svanda… well, you can picture it. You think anyone really wants to give her a hard time when she’s got that monstrosity slung over her shoulder?”

“The Daerx Clan does,” Jade quipped as she finished off what was left of her plate, the comment causing the table to descend into an awkward silence. Nina could already see the slight flush on Jade’s cheeks which indicated that she had been drinking too quickly, and the loosening tongue did nothing to convince her otherwise. It couldn’t be helped, she reasoned. They needed to unwind a little now that they had the opportunity, and it wasn’t like Nina’s current state was any better either. She was still reserved enough to keep her mouth shut at least. The Daerx clan were a touchy subject when Reina, Svanda, or Trim were around, and so instead of getting involved she decided to duck under the tension by busying herself with what was left of her meal.

If there was a hidden agenda behind Jade’s comment, it didn’t work. Trim’s expression remained nonchalant much to Nina’s relief, but at the same time she had been hoping to glean at least a sliver of information from a response. She didn’t know what she wanted to hear, but anything would have been better than nothing. Pushing for answers about what went on over at the Daerx Clan was risky, but an isolated Trim was where they would see their best chances. Svanda wouldn’t give them anything if that’s how Reina wanted to play things, while Reina herself would be unshakeable.

Unfortunately, being the weakest link in the chain didn’t mean that you would also be easy to crack.

“The Clan is an exception,” she finally said with a bland expression before tossing her napkin onto her plate. Pushing herself out of her chair, she scanned the table once more before zipping the top of her tracksuit up and then turning on her heel. “Thanks for the meal. Don’t stay out too late.”

The three watched on in silence as she strode out the door before turning down the street, melting into the evening beyond. Fortunately the restaurant was easily within walking distance to the house, as a debate over what to do with the car was the last thing that Nina wanted to deal with. She was tempted to say that Jade had crossed the line with her remark, but thankfully Trim didn’t seem to care. Her own earlier use of the word deflection came to mind, but then again, she could just be reading into things too deeply. Jab at the Daerx Clan or not, Nina wouldn’t have wanted to hang around with three others who were drinking a little too much for their own good either. Restraint was one of Trim’s finer qualities and while Nina applauded her for it, the glass of ale in her hand was a reminder that she hadn’t had any success convincing herself to follow in the same footsteps.

“No fun at all,” Jade said with a pout as she pushed her plate to the side before moving her glass to the centre. Lazing back in her chair, her gaze lingered on the door for another moment before she shook off the disappointment, replacing the pout with a smile. “It was worth a shot.”

“Just don’t try it with Reina,” Aline reminded her. “It’ll just end up like last time.”

Jade’s smile lasted for seconds before being replaced by a sour expression. Nina was tempted to ask about what had happened, but she decided to err on the side of caution just in case. Jade was usually pretty good about being upfront when she was happy to share, so the fact that she hadn’t led Nina to believe that prying wasn’t the wisest option. Answers would come with time if she was fortunate, and so for now she would just have to go with the flow. It wasn’t an ideal solution as Terminus seemed to be throwing up new questions for her at every turn, but that wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with either. Reina would probably call it character building, but Nina wasn’t too sure. There were elements of it, sure, but the constant stress had probably prevented anything of value from sticking.

At least she was learning.

“Ah, she got you after all,” Aline noted with a chuckle before tapping on the tabletop. “Guess you deserved it though.”

“What?” Jade asked with a frown.

“She didn’t pay,” Aline replied with a smirk, pointing a finger in the direction of Trim’s now vacant seat.