Chapter Text
Memnoch sat down at their usual table, finding that Valkyrie, Xexiax, and Eko were on break at the same time and were already seated with their lunches.
“So, Memnoch, have you met the new guy working at Zoomiez?” Eko asked, her voice lilting and teasing, but Memnoch wasn’t sure he knew what she was actually implying.
“No. Why do you ask?” He was suspicious; he’d only known Eko for a few months, but he knew that tone wasn’t likely to mean anything good.
The goliath gave a rough chuckle, “Ignore her, she’s just trying to rile you up by bringing up another hot emo with pointy ears.”
He immediately bristled, his voice taking on a rough edge, “I am very happily taken, thank you very much.” Their relationship was relatively new, but it was developing faster than any of his previous loves, and he didn't want to risk losing it because of Eko implying things.
“Whoa whoa whoa! That’s not what I meant! He just looks like he might run in the same circles as you. He looks goth and was wearing a “Brothers of Honor” T-shirt.” Eko returned to her food, quickly shoveling it into her mouth to avoid having to speak anymore.
Xexiax finally piped up, “He also smokes. If you don’t know him yet, you probably will.” Memnoch met eyes with the Stryx woman, feeling the tone in her voice that meant she was worried he would encroach on their favorite smoke spot.
Memnoch nodded at his friend before speaking, “Do any of you actually know his name, or are we collectively too cowardly to talk to him?” He smirked, feeling like he already knew the answer and would once again be able to come to the group’s rescue.
“Oh, Yeah! It’s Cassian!” Asriel piped up from the next table over, where Memnoch figured she would claim she totally wasn’t eavesdropping if asked. As the name registered, Memnoch tried to hide his shock and recognition.
“Interesting, if he shows up to smoke, I’ll talk to him, since the rest of the adults are pussies.” Memnoch rolled his eyes and then laughed as Valk began lecturing him on not cursing around her daughter, who Memnoch mostly raised. The conversation moved on from there, flowing freely between the collection of old friends.
When Memnoch got up to throw his trash away and head back to work, it was nearly 20 minutes before his actual lunch ended. Valk noticed immediately. “You’re leaving early? You never wanna work!”
“Nah, just need a smoke break before I get back to it!” He lied through his pointed teeth as he walked away in the opposite direction of his normal smoke spot and towards the Zumiez that had only been open for a few months. He didn’t see the way Xexiax narrowed her eyes and studied him as he left.
Soon, he arrived at the doorway to the mall skateshop, where he lurked for a moment, looking to see if the drow was indeed there or if the name had been a coincidence. Spotting the man behind the cash register, he took a breath and walked in, not even pretending to look at any merchandise. “You dyed your hair.”
Cassian looked up, lavender eyes meeting silver, “Yeah, and? The hell are you doing here?”
Last they met, he was a scrawny 18-year-old getting into barfights and losing badly, whom Memnoch had occasionally smoked with and occasionally participated in the beating up of. Now, he was a broad and strong 20-something who seemed fully sober, a version of him that Memnoch had never seen. He had also dyed his naturally white hair to a raven black and gotten a lot of piercings, making his already lavender skin seem even more striking.
“I work at the Joys of Anastasia, it’s just below here.” Memnoch clarified, figuring that if Cassian was as new as the others implied, he probably wouldn’t know where all the stores were, although the elf was very proud of how popular his store had become.
Cassian rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know where your dumb hippie store is. Do you sell lighters?”
Memnoch scoffed, offended for a moment before answering, “It is not a hippie store! And yes, we do, but they are ceremonial lighters. For Incense! Not for whatever cheap cigarettes you want them for.” Memnoch played up his anastasian accent, stressing the vowels more than was probably necessary.
The drow just stared at him, clearly unfazed. “Whatever. I’m sure when I go for a smoke break later, I’ll see you holding the same cheap cigs.”
“You most certainly will not,” he swished his hair dramatically and walked out of the store, remembering vaguely that the last time he met Cassian, they smoked the same brand.