Despite everything going on in Last Kunlun, Raime was occupied with practicing squats. They were still in shape, that much was certain, but the odd feeling in their bones always managed to creep back into their mind if they were left alone for more than a minute. Up and down, up and down again. Their left knee cracked with a satisfying sound. Bones were supposed to do that after all, but for a while now their whole body had felt unusually sharp. They had bigger things concerning them at the time, but once they’d been scooped out of the elevator, it must have been like their entire soul had been massaged by a professional. Air in their lungs had felt too fresh, every movement of their limbs so free, it was almost frightening. This fault in their knee revealed that their body was going back to normal, which was fine. Raime stretched other parts of their body, exerting every extensions to make sure they hadn’t been replaced by plastic parts.
Noone else was to be their witness either way, they waited patiently outside of Sihvan’s auditorium. Both from a bad look from the Major and a lesson learned from themselves, they stayed outside the classroom while the frame conducted his business. The both of them had been alone in there for some time now, the body of class had left the hallway a good while ago. Some suspense grew, what if Sihvan refused for some reason? Or better yet, what if he insisted that Raime would come as well? Wishful thinking, they didn’t figure that the Capitán’s order somehow mattered less than the professor’s. But what if he threw a tantrum in their stead? Anything could be happening behind those doors. Four phalanxes cracked between their two hands. Raime exhaled, swaying the both of them as if to shake water off. The discomfort in their lower jaw persisted, even a thorough investigation in front of the mirror revealed nothing more than the scab they’d inflicted on themselves. The scab itself was now solid enough to resist unconscious attempts from Raime to try and dig in again. They figured it would pass like a sore throat, they just had to keep their hands to themselves in the meantime.
The doors swung open, letting the Major through. His lenses fell on Raime who was in the process of stretching their left leg as far as it could go, hereby blocking the way out of the classroom. He didn’t complain immediately but Raime retreated their leg straight away, not looking in his eyes longer than necessary. Without any comment, the Major headed for the stairs.
“So?” Raime huffed during long strides to keep up with the frame.
“He will go. He was apprehensive but like the Capitán supposed, his excitement ultimately made the final call.”
“No mention of me?”
“You think of yourself too much.”
“Whatever.”
Raime still wasn’t used to the eye magnet standing right next to them. By walking side by side, they became an accomplice in a sense, the gazes washed over them just by being in his company. They had been so used to scouring the city while not a single person ever paid attention to them. Acting outward, reaching out, asking questions, remembering faces they met, it was the antithesis of the life they once lived. And yet none of it felt that unfamiliar. How much of that was the comfort of knowing their life was somehow more sacred than anyone elses? Stepping over the gravel of the path leading out of Universalis, Raime shot a glance at the Major. How many people had seen him up close for that amount of time as well? They were at the summit like they’d never left it, continuously seeing what nobody else will ever see.
“I expected you to flail around more,” The Major said without looking at them.
“I can’t really blame the Capitán for not giving me hot seat honestly, I’ve barely done anything…”
It was a nice change of pace that he was the one to initiate the conversation. They were waiting for the green line’s aerobus since the both of them agreed that there wouldn’t be a point to race through the city again. Just as the thought passed through their mind, the Major grew silent again.
“You wanna say something?” Raime insisted.
“There are times where it is better to keep thoughts to oneself.”
“Okay! You were thinking something mean!”
“I was not.”
“Can you even lie? You can lie if she tells you to I bet so there’s no protocol to stop you.”
“Fine.”
“Fine?”
“I thought that it was a surprising burst of maturity coming from you.”
“Wow.”
“This was not mean.”
“Okay, man…” Raime chuckled, hopping on board of the aerobus.
They instinctively took the same seats as last time they had ridden together, but mirrored to the other side. The rest of the aerobus’s passengers promptly took their leave after the Major got in his seat, leaving the two of them alone. The aerobus rocked forward, guiding them towards the City Hall. Even if they had made peace with missing that opportunity, the Major and Sihvan’s journey remained fresh in their mind. They would be bound to find something, wouldn’t they? The blue line didn’t run to the other side of the world so it’s not like they’re going to find exactly where Raime came from but it would give them something. Right?
“Say… you know I’m not that dumb right?” Raime said, their voice wavering, their mind failing to catch up to the words coming out of their mouth, “I know that you and the Capitán are bullshitting about this role-play thing…”
The Major met their eyes but the valves were already open, Raime could feel their face heating up.
“What you got going on… what you’re searching for at the Marrow Knight’s grave, that sounds serious… too serious for me, I know that much, I know that’s the real reason I’m not coming and that’s okay! I’m just happy being there.”
“Is that so.”
“One hundred percent.”
“You will understand then that I cannot simply disclose the entirety of the situation without the Capitán’s immediate approval.”
“Yeah… yeah, but… you’re looking for someone, right?”
Raime could see him think, his lenses fixated on them. Was he assessing some kind of risk? He doesn’t know. If she doesn’t know then he doesn’t know and then Raime still remains alone at the apex. And so they needed to know, they needed to hear it for themselves.
“We are looking for someone.”
The Major didn’t look like he was going to give them anything more to chew on but they still had more to reel in.
“And what happens when you find that someone?”
The Major’s lenses finally went back to look outside the window.
“The Capitán will decide.”
Before Raime could continue down the slope to see how sharp the bottom would be, they rose from their seat and waved to the Major.
“You know what we should do? Hit up a bar.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Come on! I’m being benched you owe me that much.”
“I owe you less than nothing.”
“Listen, listen for a sec. Things are shifting around here, you’re just gonna go back to school once this is all over?”
“The Capitán-
“I’m asking you, bud,” Raime pointed in the Major’s direction as the aerobus veered to the left, making them miss their expected stop, “The Capitán is likely gonna be even more busy than they were before, I can tell as much. But you, if she’s not gonna keep you as her lamppost, you need to be your own furniture!”
“You want to get drunk, do it on your own.”
“I’ll drink moderately. Do you need to eat at all?”
“No.”
“Can you even eat anything?”
“No.”
“Well I guess we’ll just… stay for the vibes. Come on, out, out, out.”
Raime saw that the Major realized they had missed City hall and were now deep in Versal. Only a few days ago they would have never dared to taunt this war machine but now they felt like it was their responsibility to take him by the hand. The Capitán obviously needed him as far away from her as possible now that all eyes were on her, he must’ve been aware of this as well. The last thing anyone needed was for the Major to get bored. Raime exaggeratedly beckoned him towards the district as the Major looked backward. Maybe they felt a kinship, or in a cynical manner they were copying Avril’s behavior toward them. Either way, the Major ended up following. Last Kunlun had only looked at him with fear in their eyes, Raime included, he needed to get himself out there, show everyone how tame he actually was without the Capitán to guide him around. Then, if Raime were to take his place, the city would have someone to stand behind. The thought was bitter and they were intent on drowning it in some liquor that would also carry until the Major and Sihvan’s departure.
The place of choice was somewhere the crowd wouldn’t erupt into a panic as easily upon seeing the Major just walk in. Instead of the ground floor or first floors of a building, this bar was located in the middle of a large Versal courtyard, surrounded by tall, asymmetrical, brick buildings whose deep red color didn’t reflect just yet. A central gazebo served as the main counter, allowing for a 360° view of the terrace for whoever sat inside. The bar itself was a bit too posh for Raime’s liking but it would be the least claustrophobic place for an experiment like this. They regretted their choice quickly after only a few seconds of an attempt at bargaining with the human at the counter.
“I swear he’s not going to make a scene or anything, you’ll actually be surprised how little he actually moves once you sit him down. It’s just… exposure therapy?”
“For a war frame?” The barkeep answered, deeply unconvinced.
“Times change.”
“Change ‘em elsewhere. Don’t know who the fuck you are, unless the Capitán herself asks me to babysit her walking nuke, I’m out.”
Raime got back to the Major who had been diligently waiting to the side of the grid arch serving as entrance. He had put himself well enough out of the way, politely standing watch waiting for them. If this is what the Capitán had to see everytime she took him anywhere, Raime could easily understand why she’d stick him at Universalis. The Major must’ve gotten the hint from Raime’s dejected expression.
“I do not know what you expected.”
Raime pouted and furrowed their brow, looking around as the district slowly came alive. The Sun hadn’t fallen yet, but anticipation was rising, this was yet another day they had all survived, and there would be booze enough to reward everyone. Raime gripped the bottle tight and stuck it in their suit’s pocket, definitely stretching the fabric in the process. They had swiped it out from under the counter the second the barkeep turned their back on them, small satisfaction from a petty move, it’s not like they would’ve had to barter anything if they had asked for one. They could’ve paced around the district, trying their luck at any bar they came across but if this had been the reaction in the place with the sky above their head, then Raime didn’t bet much on their odds at any place where the Major would have needed to fold their spine just to pass the front door. During their reflection, he had stood there, waiting for an answer, an admission of defeat.
“Just means we start from ground below zero.”
“What could that possibly mean.”
“Public intoxication.”
A double sided bench under the green line stop “Markt” served as their base of operation. With how spacious it was, they would’ve had to share space if the Major wasn’t still impressively effective at making people run away from him. And so the both of them each had a side to themselves, letting Raime lie down, only rising their head to take a swig from the bottle they’d snatched. Some white wine, really not their favorite and way too light for what they were going for but this was all that fate accorded them. The alcohol tested and disapproved, they passed the bottle over to the other side of the bench, tapping it lightly against the Major’s shoulder.
“You’re not made of electricity you can still give it a try…”
The Sun was setting, Last Kunlun rising from its gray tomb to light itself up once more. Now, the time was for all to enjoy, everything so far away from the next sunrise. People stopped to look at them, not too long, not too hard. Raime repeated the movement, like a metronome of glass colliding with the Major’s frame. He wasn’t paying attention, only looking up, where no eyes spied on him. Raime eventually gave up, delicately lodging the bottle next to him should he choose to indulge.
“What’re you processing?” Raime mumbled, their arms slumped over the back of the bench.
“The journey, I have the safety of Sihvan as responsibility and no idea as to what I should be expecting. I have come to know Last Kunlun but this will be the first time I step blindly into the unknown.”
“You’ll feel just like her then…”
The Major cocked his head backward to meet their eyes. Raime looked away, badly hiding a grin. The Major took hold of the bottle, still opened and inspected it. He looked at it in silence for a few seconds before deciding to stick the bottleneck in an interstice beneath his neck. Almost immediately, Raime heard the Major’s core whir loudly before ejecting all of the liquid’s content away from the same hole it entered from, expertly dousing the street in front of him. The passerby that were still around were more confused than afraid, probably dissuaded because of Raime’s uncontrollable fit of laughter.
“You never tried that before? Really?” Raime heaved between two wheezes.
The Major was looking at his over sized vest, now as drenched in wine as the pavement. His lenses couldn’t have communicated his feelings even if he tried, but thanks to the wine or by coincidence, Raime heard him whistle.
“How was the taste?” Raime asked, attempting to regain their composure.
“Uncomfortable.”
The Major’s frame kept whistling, mixing with the music coming from the bar that had given them the boot. Raime wondered if he had noticed that the gap between the night life of Last Kunlun and him had grown shorter.