"And how long ago was this?"
Eckhart squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, eying his sister nervously. She'd invited him over for "a quick chat", but it felt more like an interrogation than anything. "U-um..." he stammered, trying very hard to meet Hildegarde's gaze. "Maybe, uh, lare spring? Early summer?" The boy glanced at his feet. "Why? What's it matter?"
Hildegarde crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. "Be
cause, Eckhart, you have a target on your back. Remember?" She blew a stray hair out of her eyes. "You don't think it's just a
little strange that two weeks after you get here,
another person who says they know you just shows up at our doorstep?"
Eckhart's nose wrinkled. "Well... I mean, I guess..." he mumbled. "But Bella knows him too! She can vouch for him, just ask!"
"Yeah right she will. Bella will throw him under the bus for being annoying, just wait."His sister sighed, relaxing her shoulders. "Well, I guess I'll need to talk to Fluffopotomus then." She ran her fingers through her hair, frowning at the grim expression on her brothers face. "Look, you know I'm not giving you a hard time for the sake of it. I just need to be sure you're safe."
The boy's eyes closed as he took a deep breath. "Yeah. I know."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Yep!"
Tiffany beamed, his skin and hair sparkling as the sunlight washed over them. The pastel young man stuck out so much against the drab greys and browns of the city that it almost hurt to look at him. "We gotta get nice and clean so folks don't think we're messy. Then we gotta get the next block, and the one after that." He looked back at Ewan, smiling. "Then we gotta wash the windows, and start putting a fresh coat of paint on those fences over there!"
His eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! And if you see any bodies, let me know! We clean those up too."