Short Story: Girls' Night

The hot air is the first thing Lyrissa notices as she steps off the teleportation sigil. Sweet Ellanari, Raenelle sure wasn’t kidding when she mentioned the summer heat is much thicker and more humid than in the Capital.

Blowing out a short breath, she fans herself as she exits the Kelireth Teleportation Square. But a smile quickly touches the corner of her lips as she thinks about the night ahead.

It took some convincing, but Lyrissa finally got Raenelle to agree to a girls’ night out — just the two of them. This will be the first time they’ve been able to arrange plans to hang out since the graduation and separation of ways as each goes off to their assigned job positions in different cities, and Lyrissa is more than looking forward to it.

Raenelle had pretty much left the planning for the night to her, which suited Lyrissa just fine. A bit of asking around did the trick, and she learned about the new tavern in Kelireth, which had quickly been cultivating a fine reputation for its fantastic food complemented by the best musical performances Kelireth has to offer. Lyrissa figured food, if nothing else, would be able to draw Raenelle out from her hermit shell — and she was right.

It takes Lyrissa a bit to find her way in this unfamiliar town, but she’s soon standing in front of the tavern where she and Raenelle are supposed to meet. With a spring in her steps, Lyrissa enters the establishment.

Immediately caught up in the lively energy of the tavern, Lyrissa nods her head along to the beat of music and the drunkenly clapping crowd as she peers around the place, searching for her friend. Her face lights up when she spots Raenelle waiting in a corner, and she rushes over with an enthusiastic greeting.

That is, until she notices Raenelle's familiar attire.

"Seriously, Raenelle?" Lyrissa says with exasperation.

"What?" Raenelle crosses her arms defensively, looking confused.

"It's a girls' night! Yet you're wearing the same outfit you do every day!" Lyrissa rolls her eyes. "Couldn't you have at least gotten a little dressed up? I mean, look at my fabulous outfit." She pauses, tapping her finger against her chin as a thought occurs to her. "You know, I'm not sure that I've ever seen you wear anything else. Do you even have other clothes?"

Raenelle rolls her eyes and mutters something under her breath before once again speaking up at a hearable volume. "Of course I have other clothes. This outfit just happens to be the comfiest." She gives Lyrissa a mock glare. "I didn't realize tonight had a dress code, Rissa."

Lyrissa giggles. "If that's what it takes to see you in a different dress for once, our next night will."

"You're assuming there will be a next time," Raenelle says with a smirk. Lyrissa laughs and playfully elbows her friend before the two of them head to the counter.

As expected, Raenelle chooses to start the night by ordering from the hunched barman an absolute feast of food. Lyrissa fails to hide the inching grin from her face in time when Raenelle turns back around to face her.

"What?" Raenelle shoots her a mock glare that holds no heat. "Oh, don't look at me like that. I'm starving; I haven't had dinner yet."

"Uh-huh," Lyrissa teases. "Since when have you ever missed dinner?"

Raenelle huffs but doesn't have a rebuttal. With a trill of laughter, Lyrissa steps forward to order her own, much smaller meal.

When their food is ready, the two girls retreat to a nearby empty table, with Raenelle moving slow as a snail to adequately balance all of her assorted dishes.

As they sit down and begin to dig in, Lyrissa strikes up a casual conversation.

“So…” she begins, “how’s life as a Reanimator? It’s been a couple months — feeling settled in yet?”

Raenelle's lips turn down into a scowl. “Zianna, don’t get me started." She glares down at her food as if it was its fault. "I’ve put in a few requests to change to a different position — anything but this — but no such luck so far. They're always short on Reanimators, and well, I suppose with my academic record in the Academy..."

She lets out a frustrated sigh, and Lyrissa frowns, reaching forward to squeeze Raenelle's hand reassuringly. "I'm sorry. I know how you feel. My mother's interference has pretty much guaranteed I can’t leave my position as a Guardian either. I had practically no say in it at all, and it’s been absolutely dull."

Raenelle gives a small hum in sympathy, and for a moment, neither of them talks. Then Lyrissa breaks the silence with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Well, there's nothing either of us can do about it now, so we might as well just try and forget about it for now. Let’s just enjoy this rare night away from the monotony of life as a working folk!"

Raenelle’s lips quirk up into a smile, and she agrees with a nod of her head. As the two of them throw themselves into their meals, the conversation takes a much lighter and more pleasant turn.

The two of them spend the rest of the night dancing, eating, and chatting. Lyrissa enjoys it immensely. At last, the night begins to wind down with more and more people exiting the tavern as they prepare to close. Lyrissa and Raenelle follow suit, both in high spirits as they step into the cool night air, their troubles forgotten for now.

"That was so much fun!" Lyrissa says, linking arms with Raenelle. "We should definitely do this again sometime."

"I might be up for that," Raenelle agrees, not too grudgingly. "Though next time, we should do it earlier in the evening, so I don't miss so much of my precious sleep." She pauses, making a slight face. "Ugh, getting up for work tomorrow will be horrible, but Sebastien will throw a fit if I sleep in."

Lyrissa laughs, delighted that Raenelle didn't immediately shoot the idea down, but then her smile fades slightly as she cocks her head with a touch of abashment. “You're right though, we did stay out too late. Sorry about that. I lost track of time with all the fun we were having, and now I need to get to the Teleportation Square before it closes. How much time do I have left?"

Raenelle glances down at her wrist, her eyes widening slightly in surprise. "It's actually nearly two. We really did stay out late. The square's closed by now for sure."

"Oh, misery!" Lyrissa exclaims, a frown developing on her face. "I really didn't plan this well."

Lyrissa bites her lip as she considers. She doesn't really want to spend the gold on an inn, but she doesn't have many options at this point.

Raenelle's voice interrupts her thoughts. “Right. In that case, why don’t you come home with me? There’s plenty of guest rooms you can choose from, and you can just head back in the morning before work." She pauses, then continues with a hint of uncertainty. “As long as you don’t mind the long walk, that is. You know my place is kind of in the middle of nowhere.”

Lyrissa's face lights up, and she shoots Raenelle a thankful smile. "Of course I don’t mind! You're a savior! Thanks, Raenelle!"

Raenelle gives a dismissive wave. "Of course, don't worry about it. We should get going now, I suppose."

Lyrissa nods, falling into step beside Raenelle. Their walk to Raenelle’s manor is much quieter than their night has been, but Lyrissa finds that the silence is quite comfortable and allows her time to muse on how exactly their friendship has strengthened over the course of the night.

Lyrissa smiles secretly to herself as she glances at the taller girl. This really was an excellent idea, and Lyrissa is glad she decided to befriend her. She has a feeling that they'll stay close for a long, long time.

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Written by Nicole Wooden and edited by me as usual. Hope you guys enjoyed that! Let me know if you have any topics to suggest for the short story next month! :D