Page 44 of Forging Bonds: Part One

Griff nods, “Yeah, that sounds right to me. We’ll meet here for lunch?”

The guys all start to get up and I realize that I got so distracted by the conversation that I forgot to mention Luke.

“Wait,” I say, and they all immediately stop. I glance at Raiden, “You know when we went into town, and Luke had to close his shop before I got a chance to look around properly, and he said he would keep it open for me?”

I am aware that was a really long-winded way to ask the question, but it’s the way my brain decided to do it, and I learned a long time ago that there is no point arguing with my brain. My brain is going to do what it wants to do and it doesn’t matter what I do to try to get it to behave in a somewhat normal way, it won’t. I stopped trying to change it a long time ago.

Raiden must be getting used to me because he follows my train of thought easily enough and asks, “Yeah, I remember. Do you want me to call him and see if he can close early tomorrow afternoon so that you and the others can go and check it out?”

I grin, “Yes, please. I want to get that weapon made; I’m hoping that he can do it quickly enough that I will have it for the Choosing. Neera mentioned something about needing a new sword, and then Navy and Joey both decided that they should get weapons for themselves as a well done for graduating.”

Evander’s eyebrows raise, “I don’t think you need to worry about not getting on with them. They’re all like you.”

I shrug, “You know it isn’t as easy as I would like it to be for me to make friends. If I end up making three all at once and not because they want to be friends with you, then that will be a first.”

Van’s eyes fill with understanding, but he smiles, “That may have been true when we were kids, but you have made so many friends in the years since then, powerful friends that would do a hell of a lot for you. Don’t sell yourself short.”

I consider his words, “You’re right.”

“Luke says that’s fine. He can shut it down from around two. Does that work?” Raiden says as he glances up from his phone and gets us back on track.

“One second, I’ll check. I’m sure it is though,” I reply.

I pull out my phone and send a message in the group chat. It doesn’t take long, and I get messages back from all of them that it works well.

“All good?” Raiden asks.

I nod, “Yep. That’s fine. We’re going to meet at Neera’s place around two and then head straight to Luke’s. She’s just asked us for our coffee orders so she can get them ready when we arrive, which is pretty cool.”

“Awesome,” River grins. “Luke is amazing at what he does. You’re going to have a blast.”

Everyone finally gets up and goes to their various destinations. Since I have my phone out anyway, I decide to send messages to Reed and Doc.

Me:How’s it going? I missed you at breakfast.

While I wait for Doc to reply, I message Reed.

Me:Are you helping, or are you bored? I miss you.

Reed:I’m missing you too. Usually, I would find something else to do while Doc works, but we need to stick together, and although the Draconian Team isn’t supposed to be here today, we still need to be cautious.

Me:Yeah, that makes sense. What are you doing then?

Reed:I’m sitting on the couch playing with my phone while Doc does his thing. He’s setting shit up for the tests that he wants to do at the moment, but once he’s done that, I’ll help him with the autopsy.

Me:That’s so cool. I had no idea that you knew how to do that.

Reed:I decided to learn so that I would understand some of what he was talking about. What are you guys up to?

“Are you coming, Neith?” River asks as he pops his head back through the door.

I nod, and get up, and follow him out, “Yeah, I’m coming.”

Me:River, Van, and I are doing some research on the Choosing, Ransom’s doing his potion, and Griff is training Raiden in flight combat.

Reed: Aw man, I missed out on flight training?

Me:Hopefully, you can do it tomorrow. Raiden wants to get as much training as possible.

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