"She's not used to being safe.So she checks the shadows anyway… even when they only hold sunlight."
Morning sunlight bled gently through the windows of Café Salvare.
Aeris unlocked the door, flipped the "Closed" sign to "Open," and exhaled.
Routine. Order. Smell of roasted beans and dusted cinnamon.The kind of normal she'd never thought she could live in.
She started brewing the morning batch. Her hands moved with practiced rhythm.
Behind her, Hilda dragged in a box of supplies with exaggerated grunts.
Hilda:
"Help me out, would you? My back wasn't built for heroics."
Aeris (dry):
"You're the one who said you used to outrun drones and climb fences."
Hilda:
"Yeah, and then I hit thirty. Gravity got meaner."
Aeris smirked faintly. A little one—but it was there.
Later that morning
A young couple sat at the window booth, laughing over shared croissants.An old man read the newspaper in his usual corner.A teen studied for exams, headphones in and eyes bagged.
Aeris served each of them with gentle nods.
Not warm—not like Hilda was—but not cold either.
Customer (to Aeris):
"You always work so quietly. You okay?"
Aeris (after a pause):
"…I like hearing people talk."
Customer (smiling):
"Well, your silence keeps the place peaceful. Don't change."
She turned away—but the words stuck in Aeris's mind like a warm coat.
"Don't change."
Afternoon — Break Time
Aeris sat at the back booth, legs crossed, sipping iced coffee.Hilda sat across from her, flipping through old mission logs on her tablet.
Hilda:
"We've got a request coming in soon. Nothing urgent."
Aeris:
"I thought today was a rest day."
Hilda:
"It is. I just like torturing you with the idea of paperwork."
A beat of silence.
Aeris (glancing up):
"You ever regret not retiring properly?"
Hilda:
"Every Monday. And then I see how much worse the world's gotten."
She sipped her own drink.
Hilda:
"But sometimes… sometimes I see kids like you walk in. Wounded. Dangerous. Half-dead and too proud to ask for help."
She met Aeris's eyes.
Hilda:
"And I figure—if I've got one more good fight in me, it might as well be keeping you alive."
Aeris looked away.
Not because she didn't care. But because if she did look… she might cry.
That evening
They closed the café early.
Aeris lit a single candle on the counter while Hilda dozed in the armchair at the back.
The music was low. The sky outside turned dark purple.
She sat on the counter with her legs pulled up, resting her chin on her knees.
A small, still voice in her head whispered:
"I could stay here forever…"
But something deeper in her gut whispered back:
"You won't be allowed to."
Night — Café Salvare
The wind howled outside. A storm was coming, but not the kind that carried rain.
Aeris sat alone at the bar, gently wiping the coffee machine until it gleamed.She wasn't working. She was just… staying busy.
Hilda was upstairs tonight, letting her "daughter-in-practice" handle lockup.
The café was warm and humming. But Aeris's mind felt distant.
Her eyes kept flicking to the small envelope on the counter.
Unmarked. Cream-colored. Sealed in red wax.
It had arrived earlier that day—no return address. Just… waiting.
"You'll want to read that soon," Hilda had said, dropping it off casually.
"Why?" Aeris asked.
"Because it smells like old ghosts."
She picked it up now.
Slid her blade under the seal. Clean cut.
Inside:
A single page. Typed. Clean font. No signature.
TO: Subject VIONNE-BIRTH
We are aware of your survival.
Your file remains active.
Certain key assets of the VIONNE Project are currently enrolled at Ironvale Fort Academy.
You are requested to observe, identify, and prepare for retrieval protocols.
You may operate under temporary autonomy. New identity approved: Alina V.
Your orders come from the top.
Don't disappoint again.
Aeris didn't move.
Her hand trembled slightly. Just once. Then stillness returned.
She stared at the letter for a full minute before folding it back with slow precision.
A new identity. A new hunt.But this time… it led back to them.
Back to the ones taken while she was left in a tube.Back to the origin of everything she had become.
She stepped outside into the night air.
The city was still. The only sound was distant thunder rolling behind the skyline.
She gripped the paper tightly.
Her eyes burned. Not from anger. Not from fear.
But from knowing the small warmth she'd found here was… limited. Borrowed.And now, it was nearly time to leave it behind.
Back inside, Hilda had come down. She stood behind the counter, watching quietly.
Hilda:
"So. You read it."
Aeris (quietly):
"They want me to go back."
Hilda (carefully):
"To the academy?"
A beat.
Aeris:
"To find the others. The ones like me."
Hilda (gruff):
"You don't have to go, you know. Not for them."
Aeris turned, expression unreadable.
Aeris:
"I'm not going for them. I'm going for me."
Outside, the wind picked up.
Tomorrow, she would pack.Tomorrow, she would become Alina.
But tonight—she stood in the quiet heartbeat of the café, holding on to what little peace remained.
And she whispered to no one:
"Dead star, huh…?"
Her voice was calm.
"Let's see how long the darkness can survive when I walk into it."