Sipping at her drink, Teilun leans back in her chair with a heavy sigh, her eyes glancing over at Bracken from across the table. Peacefully partaking of her tea, the refined Nightvar appears chipper this morning, earning a raised brow from Teilun.
"So, why are you so happy today? I know you like these outings, but you're never this cheery for no particular reason," Teilun points out, slugging back more of her usual order and folding a leg over the other as she shoots Bracken a teasing smirk, "You look like you got laid or something. You finally find someone to chase after besides Riktor?"
"Ha! The exact opposite, in fact. I happen to have convinced him to bed me last night," she claims while lifting her nose in the air with a smug smile, her teacup held by the handle between two delicate fingers, "He and I had quite a fun time, plenty of excitement between the three of us."
"Three!? Who the hell was the third?" Teilun demands with an astonished gaze, all traces of teasing gone from her features, placing her drink down onto the table and narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "You didn't take any weird drugs that night, right? My brother said yes and brought a third into that?"
"Stone-cold sober, my dear friend. Felt everything," Bracken purrs, lidding her eyes and shifting in her seat. Finishing her cup of tea, she licks her lips before meeting her friend's gaze again, her smugness only growing as she continues, "And so did his wife, for that matter. She did invite me, after all."
"Ah, that explains it," the muscular noblewoman says with a shrug, chugging the rest of her drink and practically slamming the wooden mug onto the table with a satisfied sigh, "Good stuff, as usual! What's wrong, Bracken?"
"Just...you accept it that easily?" she asks, drained of all the wind in her sails and practically deflating in her seat, seeming to have wanted to rub this in Teilun's face since it happened.
"Hey! Teilun, what did I say about slamming the tables!?" the building owner, a trim Panthar male, shouts from behind the counter, a blushing Nightvar server clearly doing his best to ignore what's happening around him while working beside his boss, "You already broke a table, remember!? I will bill you if that happens again, understand!?"
"Shit. My bad, Talis! Won't happen again!" she calls out to the huffing cat-folk, his arms crossed in a display of irritation, though he seems satisfied with her answer. Returning her attention to Bracken, Teilun gives an innocent smile and tilts her head in curiosity, ignoring the glare leveled at her from across the table, "Yes? Is something wrong, my friend?"
"Nevermind..." Bracken groans with a roll of her eyes, pouring herself another cup of tea from the pot that she ordered earlier before shaking her head softly, resisting the urge to sigh, "I do have another reason for my good mood, though. An old colleague of mine that I ran a few missions with went missing several years ago, but he was found about a week ago."
"Oh? He alright then? Nothing too bad happened to him?" Teilun asks, leaning back in her seat and resting her hands on the table before her with a curious gaze, "He isn't dead, right? Please tell me this isn't something where you're happy cause someone you hated is gone."
"W-what? What kind of barbarian do you take me for? No, he is alive and very much well now. The poor soul was under the effects of slaving ink, so he had no control of his own actions until someone on your team subdued him," Bracken explains, waving a hand dismissively and blowing on her fresh tea to cool it, "I don't know who knocked him out, but he was somehow taken alive and mostly unharmed. Surprising, that an Obsidian Corps field agent would be able to be taken alive under those circumstances."
"Really? Huh... I didn't notice anyone who was acting unusually," Teilun says with a hum, glancing away from her friend and towards her MTC as it gives a soft ping, the display lighting up in a soft blue, "Is that...? Ugh, dad says I need to head home. I hope there isn't anything wrong, I don't usually get called back this early unless something happened."
"I would not worry about it, my friend. He likely needs to talk about something with you. Perhaps he's going to give you a gift for your birthday and wants some input," the smaller Nightvar suggests with a soft shrug, sipping at her tea and waving her friend off with a hand, "Do not worry about leaving me alone for today, Teilun. I must depart soon regardless for some Corps work. So much overtime after the Red Beryl Corps brought back all those documents and drives for us to sift through."
"Sorry about that, Bracken. This should be enough for today's bill though," Teilun states with a chuckle, taking three silver Howlers from her pocket before depositing them on the table as she heads towards the door, sparing a glance back at her friend as she walks, "See you next week! I promise not to break any tables next time, too!"
Making her way out of the building and glancing up at the sign above the doorway, Teilun chuckles to herself and shakes her head before continuing on her way home, deciding to walk the distance herself this time and enjoy the time alone, "I still can't believe this place is named 'Kat Café.' Talis and his wife really came up with a punny name, didn't they?"
=====
Opening the door to her family's home and stepping into the large lobby, Teilun takes a quick glance around in search of Lucian, the head of her family. The middle-aged Nightvar is many things, but being someone who accepts tardiness is not something the patriarch of the Bloodfang family is known for.
His brows furrowed in annoyance and his arms folded across his chest, Lucian taps his boot-clad paw against the floor as he awaits his daughter's return, the two noticing each other at the exact same moment. Allowing her father to speak first, Teilun approaches him before giving a respectful bow, the expression on his face implying the need to discuss a serious matter.
