Luz Oscura is deserted at this late hour; they have to sleep sometime. It will be a few hours before the early fall sun turns the sky gray, yet the twin moons have already descended. Icarus is still wheeling ahead of the group, and Esilea seems to be in her own world, twirling the pin in her fingers. I'm pretty sure Wikolia is still following us out of sight, but I'm not certain. She just kinda...does her own thing.

Sure enough, she drops down by us once we reach the empty club. Icarus comes to a halt and spins in the same motion. He frowns up at Esilea, who seems oblivious to his attitude.

"You need to get rid of that," he says. That gets her attention.

"No!" she says, tucking it into her hair. Icarus' frown deepens, and I lean against the wall of the club. I wish I had some popcorn; I love it when my team bickers. Are they my team though? Is this even a team? Serious things to think about.

"The pirate said it was enchanted," Icarus retorts. "It could be a tracking device; we don't know that woman! What if it explodes?" Esilea leans in, her eyes searching Icarus' face.

"What's really going on here, little bun?" Icarus turns and pushes the door open, wheeling into the darkness. Esilea quickly follows him into the club's dim light. I raise an eyebrow at Wikolia while we follow. Her tail twitches, but she says nothing. I think she's nervous too. "Don't walk away from me!"

"I'm not walking," Icarus snaps, turning to her. Oooh, bad move there my warrior friend. "Or have you forgotten? You can't trust mages or their work."

"I know but—" Icarus interrupts her with a raise of his hand.

"Especially when we're in our most vulnerable position," He leans forward and I see Chin slip into the corner of the room in my peripheral vision. I mouth the word popcorn to him, but he just shakes his head and shrugs. "We can't afford these risks."

"You can't afford much these days." Icarus stops, remaining still in the soft light.

"What was that?" Esilea steps closer, yanking his chair to face her. She puts her face close to his with a snarl.

"I said," her muscles gleam as she grips the wood harder, "you can't afford much, can you? Don't think I haven't noticed. So don't," she stands tall, "pretend to be so high and mighty."

"And whose fault is that?" Icarus tries to yank himself away, but the warrior doesn't relent. "Whose fault is all of this?"

"Certainly not mine!"

"Of course not. When is anything your fault, Esilea?" The tall warrior steps back, shocked. I start to interrupt, but Icarus isn't finished. "You barely do your job. When was the last time you protected me from anything? You can barely protect yourself. Or have you forgotten how we came to be in this situation, in the first place?" His words cut the tall warrior like daggers. She steps back, lower lip trembling.

"I just thought—"

"I'm not paying you to think!" Icarus shouts. His words hang in the air, and he seems to see us watching for the first time. He blushes furiously, turning to see Chin staring at him, mouth agape.

"That's enough," I whisper, stepping forward. I put my hand on Esilea's shoulder, looking up at her; she won't meet my eyes. "We're sorting through this. And you," I round on Icarus, "You, young man have some serious—"

"You're paaaaayin' her?" Naiomi interrupts and props herself up on the couch, her hair mussed and furry ears twitching. She can't hide the slur in her voice. Or the dried drool on her face and clothes. I hope its drool. "I thought you guysh were," she hiccups, "were jusht an iiiitem."

"He's a child!" Esilea shouts at the drunk Kitsune. Before Naiomi can respond, I cover her mouth. I don't move my hand even when she licks my palm, no matter how gross it is.

"You two need to work this out. Now. Meanwhile, I," I cast a meaningful glance at Chin, "will have a meeting with Xian's employer." Chin nods and scrambles out of the room. I turn to Wikolia, who stands almost at attention. I could get used to this. "The Wyvern will watch you and make sure everybody behaves." I cast a hard look at Icarus and Esilea, before slipping into Maximón's office.