"You're not interested in me at all, are you?" asked Thorin Tanelorn.
"I'm not interested in anybody," Chris told him. That wasn't true, but the person he was most interested in wasn't here, and there was no way he could go back to her.
"Not even your partner?" he asked. "You two seem to have a pretty good vibe going."
Chris turned his head, studied Thorin in his human form: short, wiry, with platinum-blond hair that hung to the middle of his back. Thorin Tanelorn was a perfectly ridiculous choice of names, but it suited him. "No. We work well together, but that's it."
"She listens to you, at least," Thorin said. "Sherri isn't always so good about that."
They were sitting on the edge of the rooftop for the primary RO training facility, overlooking the track and the obstacle course and the other buildings. The gym occupied its own space across from them, a single building three stories high and largely empty, its insides filled with rings and bars and beams and launch pads. They weren't the only ones up there, either; a pair of cats was sitting on at the far corner, ostensibly enjoying the view but too busy kissing to really see it. "Sherri did seem to be a little high-handed," Chris admitted.
Thorin considered that, then nodded. "That's a good way to put it. She's not horrible, but she definitely assumes that she should be in charge at all times. Antoinette seems a lot more easy-going." He paused, then added: "Not a push-over, though. She handled that thing -- and Sherri -- just fine. I'm a little jealous, honestly."
"You could ask for a transfer," Chris said cautiously.
"And risk ending up with someone who is horrible? I've seen magi who just order their ROs around, micromanage them, or straight-up refuse to be partnered with them. Sherri's not so bad, and--" He grinned. "--I'm too flamboyant for her to step on. Might not be true of whoever replaced me."
"All right," said Chris. He looked down and saw people starting to emerge from the gym and head for the classrooms. "I'd best get back to it, then."
"Oh, right. It's that time." Thorin grinned at him, then pushed himself off the roof. He hit the ground three stories below, rolled, and then came to his feet and walked off, waving jauntily over his shoulder.
Chris shook his head and went to take the stairs.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to leave comments; it lets me know that people are actually reading my blog. Interesting tangents and topic drift just add flavor. Linking to your own stuff is fine, as long as it's at least loosely relevant. Be civil, and have fun!