Alexander followed along behind her with ease and grabbed his
forearms so that his sleeves came together and looked as i it had
been sewn together.
''yet it's both a rebellion and refugee base.... everyone here does
they're best to do what they can... most are cooks and bakers here
helping out with the cafeteria like part of the base... there are a
few medics as well, some teachers for those who have gotten
together and started families... but that's further down the base
so the children are safe.. we have as many warriors that are
willing to sacrifice themselves to keep this place safe until we
can relocate, there demons and angel's here who hunt and scour the
temporarily quiet battle field's for stuff that may be useful for
us.. so this place has to be large for all that's came here
throughout the war'' he said, finding her spiteful tone a bit
disrespectful toward's the rebellion Tony worked so hard on to
create.
Anne nodded, not being able to detect his slight hostility. "Mhm.
It's fascinating, really, that we're all bound by fear of the war.
I've heard that the relocation should be soon," she said, keeping
her upbeat tone as she turned the hall, cocking her head a bit as
she reached the mess hall. "The base is rather wondrous, isn't it?"
She paused, looking back at Alexander, "Ah. I'm sorry. I have a
terrible habit of being brutally honest, and babbling quite a bit."
''that's quite alright! better to be honest sometimes then lie''
Alexander said.
he pulled a wallet out of his pocket and grinned.
''lunch is on me by the way, since your going to be modeling for
me'' he said.
Anne blinked sharply, a bit surprised by his offer. "That's... very
nice of you, but I'd just feel terrible about that. Thank you,
anyways," she said, drawing a circle in the air with her
forefinger. A fiery portal appeared in the air, which Anne stuck
her hand in and began to fish for her card. She pulled out the ID,
and the portal dispersed.
Anne flinched, recoiling from him slightly. It was only a
split-second before she returned to her original giddy state,
smiling thankfully at Alexander as she shook her head. "I can pay
for you, if you'd like," she suggested, trying to change his mind
(or the subject). I'd hate to rely on someone like this, she
thought to herself, almost pitifully. "But don't sweat it." She
added this quickly, slipping to the back of the line in hopes that
he wouldn't further discuss it.
''well what i mean is rhe next time if we have lunch together, you
could pay for the both of us, seems fair enough'' Alexander said,
coming up to stand up beside her.
Nanaki was humming as he was in the kitchen cooking, helping out
some of the other cooks.
Anne laughed this time, hanging her head and shutting her eyes.
"You're very persistent, aren't you?.. Alright. But I'll pay next
time." She took a sandwich from the rack of food and walked up to
the cashier.
Alexander looked over the food options an thought for a moment,
then went for a BLT, a small bag full of baked kale chips, and
grabbed a small plate with a piece of strawberry cake before going
to the cashier, setting his cake down.
he made his wallet levitate up and pulled his I.D. out, showing it
to the cashier.
''i'm paying for Anne's lunch'' Alexander said.
"How old are you?" Anne asked politely, crossing her legs and
taking a small bite out of the sandwich. It wasn't as much of a
bite as it was a nibble to the crust. She caught herself inspecting
his posture and the way he held his face neutrally, and scolded
herself for paying such attention to detail. It was the sort of
thing that she used to do when she was a spy, learning how to read
her opponents by a simple shift in their movements. He's not an
opponent, she reminded herself, taking a significantly large
bite of her food.
he blinked and looked up at her as he was mid bite of his BLT,
quickly taking the bite and putting his hand up at his mouth as he
quickly tried to finish it.
''i'm twenty three'' Alexander said once his mouth wasn't full of
food.
"Ah," she said, nodding slightly and taking another bite. It was a
mild surprise; perhaps it was the scar or his mature demeanor that
made him seem a bit older. Anne never expected anyone to be near
her age, anyway; the rebellion consisted of people either much
older than her or those who were a bit too young. She had always
assumed that it was because the early twenties of a demon (or an
angel) was the perfect age to be fully corrupt--not quite young
enough to have a sense of childish innocence and not quite old
enough to come to their senses.
At least, that was the case for most of the demons she had met. She
was, guiltily enough, not at the rebellion because she necessarily
thought the war was wrong... at least, it wasn't the original
reason she came. Realizing that her attention had strayed, Anne
swallowed and took another bite of her food.
''your not the only one to ask truthfully, some think i'm like...
thirty or older while others assume i'm like eighteen, so it's only
natural to be a bit surprised that i'm only twenty three, most
demons and angels are'' he assured, going back to eating his
sandwich.
Anne put a hand in front of her mouth, even though her mouth wasn't
full, "I understand. I'm told that I look sixteen at most, but I'm
twenty-two." She tucked her ivory hair behind her ear, trying not
to stare at him. She had striking eyes--well, not striking. She had
been told that her eyes lacked emotion. Dead eyes, her allies said.
And she understood. It had been that way ever since she'd come to
the rebel camp, but it wasn't like she could fix it.
''ah, so i'm not the only one with a mistaken age identity or
whatever you wanna call it'' he said, laughing a little.
he soon finished off his BLT and started to take bits of take with
the fork he had grabbed and started to eat the cake.
''mm~ strawberry shortcake is the best'' he hummed, smiling
happily.
Anne only gave a half-hearted nod, having never tasted a cake
before. She didn't really understand the appeal behind it and would
rather not waste the money she had on such luxuries. She cringed at
herself--she was thinking analytically and quite coldly again. It
was a small part of her that she hadn't quite buried yet; there was
so much about both the demon and the angel world that she didn't
quite understand yet.