Chapter 26 – Lockdown
Metal broke against Giu’s arm, the canine pushing past to connect with teeth, his foe crumbling on impact. Another came swinging with a spear, which Giu ducked, a form-changed kick knocking him out as well. The others quickly followed, Tea dispatching the giants with tsyulavins and kicks respectively. They turned to Giu with a smile. He didn’t return it.
“Really wish this train would hurry up,” he said, returning to the drop-off point.
“Oh. It’s probably still on its way.”
He gave a silent nod, ignoring the disappointment in their voice.
The two had been waiting for a few minutes when the bandits first showed up. Or at least, that’s what Giu assumed they were. Their gray skin and hairless frames made it clear as day they were rabbits. Rabbits who attacked them both on sight, much to Giu’s annoyance.
“Gi.”
He picked up a rock, tossing it and watching it soar. What’s taking this thing so long? Crappy train. He tossed another, the stone bouncing off a tree this time around.
“Gi.”
At the very least it was peaceful, the rabbit attackers aside. It brought him back to the days lounging in the sun. Before he became a tag-along. Before he knew Immy existed. When all he had was his faded nametag and the clothes on his back. When he really thought he was…
“Giu.”
He finally looked over to the pixie.
“What?”
Tea recoiled, which even he felt a tad guilty for. He sighed, his fur relaxing.
 “Sorry,” he said.
Tea nodded, flying a bit closer.
“I didn’t mean to offend,” they said. “Before. When I said Imona might be- I was just worried, okay.”
“About me or her?”
“Both.” Their ears fell. “Imona’s an unknown, Gi. I really hate those.”
He looked up at Tea. The brains of their operation. It was true they always had a pension for information gathering. They never picked jobs the pixie wasn’t already well researched in. Or went anywhere Tea didn’t know about. It was how they stayed out of trouble. Tea always knew what they were getting into. Tea always knew what they were talking about. At least, that was how it must have been in their mind.
As much as he wanted to growl at them. To tell them how Immy was innocent. How he could feel it in his gut they were wrong, he knew the words wouldn’t resonate. Because he was just as much an unknown as she was.
“Does that mean you hate me too?” he asked. “Not like you really know me either.”
“You know that’s different, Gi.”
“Why? I was unknown when we first met. Immy’s unknown now. What’s the difference?”
The pixie didn’t respond. Giu wanted to push further, but he stopped at the sound of mechanical whirrs overhead. Smoke billowing from the clouds, along with a low-pitched horn. The Tour De Villa had finally arrived. Tea’s gaze fell, silence returning as the train landed. Giu sighed, wordlessly climbing aboard.
***
Somehow, there were even less people on the train ride back. 
Save for the voice of the conductor, there wasn’t a hint of another soul. Giu glanced over the aisles, spotting the charred spot where a man had burned alive hours before. A sign was placed over it warning people to watch their step.
“Attention, passengers,” the conductor’s voice came. “Affective immediately, the Tour De Villa will be temporarily offline. All passengers bound for Tullula are advised to remain in the city until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”
He raised a brow at the news. Offline? He looked to Tea, but the pixie still wouldn’t meet his gaze. Not directly, at least. He caught them glancing in his direction whenever they thought he wasn’t looking. He never pointed it out.
When the train finally landed again, it was to a heavy retinue of paladins lying in wait. They pushed for IDs almost immediately.
“Did we miss something?” Giu asked, taking out his.
“Apologies, sir,” one of the paladins explained. “Tullula Villa is under temporary lockdown. Only authorized visitors allowed.”
They handed back their IDs, Tea immediately flying ahead, though Giu lingered near the soldiers. Clearly, this wasn’t something as simple as Syd tensions if the capital was getting locked away. The Villa had never been both so quiet and loud at the same time. All the chatter of locals was being replaced with the clatter of metal boots. The waving of flags. The honking of trumpets.
“Any chance you could tell us why?” Giu asked.
“That’s above my pay grade, sir. Captain’s orders.”
He nodded. So it’s Anome, then? Great. He decided against pressing further, moving to catch up with Tea. The pixie was even more eager to get home than he was. It wasn’t until they were inside that he found out why. Tea fled to the bedroom, coming out minutes later with two cloaks in hand. They’d returned to tall form.
“Gi,” they said. “We have to go.”
They tossed one his way, of which he threw back immediately.
“Go where?”
Tea tossed it again. “No time to explain. We have to get moving.”
“Then make time then.” He threw it back. Tea smacked it away.
The pixie was rarely one to get angry. Not overtly at least. The one time he could remember was when they’d gotten sold the faulty bottle. They never did find that weasel’s body. For some reason, seeing Tea smack the coat away reminded him of how the pixie had been back then.
“I’ll explain later,” they said. “Just take the cloak and come on.”
“Not til you fill me in, T,” he said. “What’s got you so raring to go you can’t spend 5 seconds to explain?”
Tea didn’t respond, only seeming to fume more at that. It made him more uneasy than anything.
“What’s going on with you, Tea? It’s not just about Immy, is it?”
The pixie drew back their lips. Though they lacked fangs, the snarl only confirmed his suspicions. Tea always was good at information gathering. But when it came to sharing that intel…
“Talk to me, T,” he said.
It was something he didn’t expect to sound so desperate. Almost like a plea. It surprised them both, Tea’s anger faltering for a moment. He took a step towards them, picking the cloak off the ground.
“I thought we were partners,” he said. “We are, aren’t we?”
Tea didn’t respond. He looked down at the cloak, taking a small breath.
“If you wanna go, I’ll follow you,” he said. “I’ll trust you, T. Just wish you trusted me.”
He waited for a reply, but again only received silence.  Yeah. Guess that figures. He slung the cloak over his shoulders, the brown fabric surprisingly light and warm. Tea had their own as well, drawing the hood over their head.
“We should hurry,” they said.
The pixie flew over to the grandfather clock, a paw dragging along the wooden base. It lit up as they whispered an incantation, clock hands freezing as the entire frame slid to the side. A long passage slowly revealed itself, the inside a mass of darkness. Tea looked back at him, Giu obeying and moving towards it.
“I’m sorry.”
His ears twitched, the words said so quick he wasn’t sure he heard it. He didn’t ask Tea to say it again. As soon as they were both inside, they whispered the incantation a second time, the clock sliding back in place with a click.