"What do you know?" Lilith murmured, her eyebrows enlarged as they drew in enough to sink below the rim of her glasses. "Magic is just science after all."

It was a poor attempt at playing it cool. The buoyed nature of her mouth betrayed her excitement, enthralled relief twinkling in her eyes as they darted up to meet Micah's. Behind her, Kasper let out a cheer, practically leaping into the air. The light-infested box in his hands bleeped in indignation.

Perhaps Micah would have shared their joy if Lilith wasn't currently poking him in the chest with a suspiciously metal implement. It didn't particularly resemble a pistol nor a rifle -- its shape was more oblong, the only detail reminiscent of a trigger the tiny switches and dials that patterned its surface -- yet he couldn't help but feel a little on edge as she jabbed it in further, his tunic creasing beneath it. The jagged red line the thing's screen displayed leapt in a sharp spike, and a high-pitched whine cut through the air. He winced.

"Or, well, sort of." A delighted giggle slipped from her lips as she yanked the metal thing back, swaying the cord that tethered it to Kasper's box. Eager not to be prodded again, Micah dodged aside, slumping back into the chair.

Maybe he was just bitter about being woken so soon. Kasper had shaken him awake, yanked him upright, and then demanded he stay still as Lilith pressed various flashing devices into the spot over his heart. Couldn't they have just done that while he was asleep? He brought his knees up under his chin, tucking himself tighter to shield his torso.

"Radiation," Lilith added, waving the device in Kasper's direction. "Not enough to be dangerous, but it sure is interesting."

"So you can find the Heart?" Corinne said. She'd skulked out the far corner and now leaned into it, arms folded, eyes darkened by the shadows draping her form. At least she looked no happier about all this than he felt.

Lilith gave a slow nod, turning the device over in her hand. "We might need to make a few altercations to allow us to more easily sense this particular strain, but yes. If his heart emits those waves, it's likely this other one will as well. I'm hoping in greater amounts, if you're right and Asariel is way more magical." She laughed again, faintly, to herself. "Magic radiation, huh? They always did call me a mad scientist."

"Hear that?" Kasper cut in, leaning over the chair's arm to whisper loudly in Micah's ear. He'd given the floor custody of his box. "You're radioactive."

Despite himself, a loose kind of grin flickered to Micah's lips. "That does sound cool, actually."

"So you'll be able to pinpoint an exact location?" Corinne pressed.

"Well..." Lilith tipped her hand from side to side. "So-so. Once I get a signal, it should be easy enough. We'll just have to hope this Heart didn't yeet too far away."

Micah squinted at her, unsure if he'd heard correctly. "Yeet?"

"Yeah, yeet. You know." She flicked the device over and threw it in a high arc in Kasper's direction, leaving him to yelp and rush to catch it. "Yeet."

"Oh." Frowning, Micah considered it for a moment. He couldn't make sense of it, and yet he still tested the word, mouthing it silently to himself. It had a nice ring to it.

"It's really not worth taxing yourself over," Corinne said, striding over to join them. Her gaze slid from Micah to Lilith. "How soon can you be ready to go?"

With a light laugh, Lilith gave her shoulder a careless pat, ignoring the glare she received for it. "Patience, dearest Corinne. You need to relax."

Corinne's eyes remained sharp. "The snake-biters are after this thing too. We don't have time to relax."

"Yes, but we have me." Lilith grinned, spreading her hands in a brief starburst. "We're way ahead of them."

"I'm sure Khalida has her claws in several others like you," Corinne bit back. "You aren't the only inventor in Anhren."

"Scientist. Inventor sounds archaic. And you know I'm the best in the city."

Their words washed over Micah in meaningless streams, not aiding the confused ache already throbbing in his temples. When Corinne hesitated, her lips pressed together, he pounced on the opportunity. "Khalida? Anhren?"

Their eyes jumped to him. Lilith giggled, while Corinne closed her eyes for a moment, sighing through her nose. Rivo leaned forward from his spot on the sofa. "Perhaps we can use the time to get our winged friend up to speed."

"That's smart." Lilith wagged a finger. "Besides, there's no decision to make. I can't clap my hands and magic up a solution, and we all need a little sleep. Our best option is to leave this 'til the morning and yeet to bed for now." She shot Micah a wink.

He returned it. "Sounds good to me."

"Fine," Corinne cut in. Arms folded, she slumped onto the sofa beside Rivo. "Don't say I didn't warn you if she gets there first."

"She won't," Lilith called, already drifting into the next room. She beckoned Rivo after her. He followed, shoving a hand into Kasper's back to drag him away, despite the way he twisted to get a parting glance of Micah. The boy flashed a giddy smile before vanishing beyond the doorframe.

The echo of Lilith's continued string of words merged with their footsteps as they ascended to the upper floor. Micah's gaze drifted back to Corinne. He swallowed, suddenly very aware that they were alone. It felt odd after the chaos of the others.

She merely lay down on the sofa, staring blankly up at the ceiling. He cleared his throat. "So, uh... who is Khalida?"

"Khalida Rajan. The one they all work for." She rolled over so that her back faced him, her coat pinched beneath her side.

"And--"

"And Anhren is the name of our city." A spike of annoyance snapped through her flat tone. "Is that all?"

He shrank back into his chair. "Yes. Sorry." It didn't sound sincere; the word sat too oddly on his tongue. Still, it drew her head up, her eyes sparking briefly in his direction as she turned.

"There are other angels, right?"

A nervous laugh spilled from his lips. "Yeah."

She sat up a little, head tipped to examine him. "Why did they send you?"

"Are you saying they should have sent someone else?" He accompanied the words with a lopsided grin, twining a light thread through the words, but he couldn't deny the way they constricted around his throat. Ghidor would have fought off those men in the street. Nerezza would have been smart enough to avoid them entirely. Even Jinx or Siofra would have found some other way, slotted together the jagged puzzle pieces of this maze of a city, found a way to rise above the fear and face the world alone. If Micah were someone else, he might not be here at all. He wouldn't need to cling to the humans for aid if he was more capable.

And yet Eike had insisted. Maybe the oldest living angel had more faith in him than he deserved.

Corinne merely hummed, dodging the exact answer, although it lay plain in the dark swirl of her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head and lay back down. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. Goodnight."

It took only a collection of minutes before her breathing evened, a fragile sound that didn't succeed in cracking the weight of quiet loneliness. It collapsed in on him from all sides. He fidgeted, his wings fluttering, sandals dragging over the chair. He kicked them off and wiggled his toes. It didn't help.

With a sigh, he twisted around, swinging his legs up onto the back of the chair. Human seating certainly wasn't the most comfortable. Perhaps his brief nap had snatched away the heaviest layer of exhaustion; without it, he was rendered painfully alert. It was impossible to burrow into sleep when his skin felt stretched too tight, an itch skittering its hungry claws up his arms.

Trouble. He dangled his head over the edge of the chair, wings splaying out. Maybe trouble was what he was missing. He ached for the dance, and yet Duine's song was too violent to dare step into.

A creak. He lifted his head, latching onto the tiny noise. It was followed by another, and then the quiet twist of a handle, the muffled sound of someone desperately clinging to the silence like a shield. Someone in fear of being heard. Micah knew it well. It was the only kind of quiet that served trouble.

Throwing himself off the chair, he scrambled out of his tangled heap, yanking his wings in as he skidded sideways through the doorway. It was dark, but the moonlight was enough to illuminate the bright pair of azure eyes that spun his way.

Kasper yelped, his knuckles going white against the handle as he flinched into the door. He panted, his chest heaving even as he summoned a shaky smile. "Hi."

Micah grinned back. Now this was an odd sort of fun. He wasn't used to being the one catching someone else. Arms folded, he leaned back into the bannister. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing!" Kasper squeaked. He clearly wasn't well-versed at this, either. He ran a hand through his tousled hair. "I mean, uh, I was just going out to... to buy some food. Yeah. For breakfast. Because I couldn't sleep, and, well..." He ended the whispered jumble with a shrug.

Even I'm a better liar than that. Micah raised a brow. "Are you really going to make me wake Corinne?"

"No, please!" He stretched out a desperate hand. "I swear, it's just for breakfast. You startled me, that's all."

The words still shook, but he was learning. Besides, Micah was hardly going to stop a fellow troublemaker. He leaned in. "Tell you what. Do you guys have cakes here?"

Kasper nodded eagerly. "Of course."

"Fetch me a cake and I won't say anything." He tapped the side of his nose. "You'll be surprised at my excellent secret-keeping skills when my tongue is tied down by sugar."

Kasper's throat bobbed as he swallowed, but he still managed a weak smile, his head dipping. "Angels... like cake?"

"I've been banned from pudding for quite a while," Micah admitted. Even his grand vengeance plan of swapping in salt had only worsened the problem, entertaining as it had been. Maybe he should start going to feasts again after this. Food was a pleasure rather than a necessity for angels, but that didn't prevent him from craving it from time to time.

"Okay." Kasper straightened, stepping back towards the door. His eyes flicked downwards. "Thank you, Micah."

"You're quite welcome. Just don't forget the cake."

He pulled open the door, then lingered halfway through it for a moment, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his eyes. Then he smiled, nodded again, and disappeared, the door shutting with a soft thud behind him.

Micah rocked on his heels, glee trickling through him in a satisfying stream. "Take that, everyone," he murmured under his breath, trailing quiet laughter as he slipped back into the room. "I can deal with things here my own way."

As he flopped back into the chair, he could almost hear Jinx whisper her reply in his ear. If that way is being dumb, then yes, you certainly have a handle on things.

⋄┈┈┈⋄⋄✧♡✧⋄⋄┈┈┈⋄

Blame Ace and Turtle for letting me keep the yeet. Also Micah because he said make this book dumb and goofy so that's what we're doing.

I also split this chapter from the next, so it's 100% the dumb and goofy parts. But that's okay. The next one will be fun too :D

- Pup