The Six Gods // by BadlandsXiro

II. Startling Presence

   "So, is she coming?" Daiana inquired, stuffing her pack of cigarettes back into her bag. Taking out a bottle of scented hand sanitizer, Daiana used it to clean her hands. Sola knew about Daiana's smoking habit, though she was always surprised as to how she never smelled of smoke. "Oh, another thing," Daiana added as she put the bottle of hand sanitized inside her bag again, rubbing the excess off on her black skirt. "Don't tell Sola that I smoked again, please. I don't want her getting on my case about it." Malakai gave her a half smile, locking his phone and stuffing it back into his pocket. "Don't worry, I won't say a thing. As long as you don't forget about our agreement as well," Malakai responded. Daiana smiled, a chuckle escaping her lips. "Of course."

   It wasn't long until Daiana and Malakai arrived at the restaurant. They thought they would be the first to get there, but to their surprise, Sola was waiting for them already, headphones in ears, eyes down to her phone. Looking at each other for a second, Malakai and Daiana shared a smile, before walking up to her. 

   Daiana put her finger over her mouth, telling Malakai to not make a sound. Agreeing to this, Malakai stepped back and watched. Daiana managed to sneak up on Sola, going right behind her without making a noise or casting any shadows over her phone's screen that might alert her. Sola was usually very alert of her surroundings, regardless of what she was doing. She'd been highly rewarded in school for her ability to multitask. Teachers were sometimes left amazed at how quick she'd be able to give an answer when they thought they'd catch her off guard. Given that, it was surprising that Daiana was able to sneak up on her. Malakai was even shocked. Getting her slender fingers in position, Daiana suddenly latched onto Sola, with a loud "HEY" to add to the shock.

   Sola's reaction bordered on the line between funny and downright concerning. She recoiled forward, falling to the ground, dropping her phone on its back, yet catching herself with her hands. Malakai caught glimpse of her eyes, noticing her pupils going to the size of a dot, her face whitening out like a ghost's. Of course, her scream was loud enough to startle at least 3 passerby's. Seeing Sola on the floor, practically shaking in fear and nearly having a heart attack, Daiana burst out laughing, clutching her belly. "What the fuck?!" yelled Sola, now turning her head to see Daiana. "You almost gave me a fucking heart attack, Daiana! What's wrong with you?!" she snapped, her expression turning into a hint of anger. Seeing this, Malakai crouched down, helping Sola up. "That's Daiana for you. I didn't expect her to sneak up on you so easily." Malakai added, with a tone of semi-concern. Before Sola could defend herself, Malakai interrupted her. "You didn't crack your phone, did you? Daiana's already broke as it is, she can't afford to pay for it, as well." 

   After finishing her laughter, Daiana smiled, helping Sola up as well. "It was funny, come on. Now we'll enjoy our food more, right?" She teased Sola. Adding an apology after that, Daiana took Sola into her embrace, noticing the perfume she was wearing. "Your scent smells good, what is it?" Daiana inquired. Dusting off her shorts, and checking her knees for bruises, Sola replied. "The bottle said it was burned oak and papaya. I bought it last week, but I never got to try it out." Daiana gave her a friendly smile, leaning forward to smell her again, before returning to her standing position. "It suits you, Sola." Caught off-guard yet again, Sola's cheeks turned to a hint of blush, visible on her tanned skin.

   "So, " Sola started, pausing to take a sip out of her tea, "what were you two doing before I got here?". Malakai glanced slightly at Daiana, before reaching into his bag. "We went to a library, a couple blocks down, and got this book." Malakai said, pushing the book towards Sola's side of the table. "The Six Gods? I've never heard of them. Though I have to say, it sounds interesting, I guess." Sola murmured, skimming through the book's pages. Another thing about Sola, is she's a hard skeptic when it comes to supernatural things. She's never been the one to watch vampire movies, or listen to stories about werewolves. Her friends used to call her a party-pooper, but Sola didn't let that get to her...much. That's why it was so weird for Daiana and Malakai to see Sola give this much thought into the book. Raising her eyes from the book, Sola was about to speak, when she was interrupted by a rather loud cough.

   "May I, uhh...take your order?" the voice that spoke was low, enough to almost cause the water in Daiana's water to vibrate, resonating within the glass. In an instant, all three raised their eyes to meet the face of a brown skinned man, sporting curly black hair that was not too short, but not too long either; just enough to reach his ears. His eyes were careless, obviously showing either a disinterest in being there, or an insane amounts of unslept nights. "I'm Wehari, and I'll be your server for today. What do you guys want?" the server said, pulling out a tiny notebook and a pencil from the pocket of his black apron. Daiana came to her senses, getting flustered before speaking again. "Oh, uh, what kind of salads do you guys have here?" Daiana asked, her fingers joining on the table, her hands placed firmly on the table. An audible "Tsk." could be heard, but Daiana didn't comment on it, nor did anyone else at the table. "It says on the menu." All three of them gulped, afraid to speak up, and just lowered their heads. "I'll just have a strawberry milkshake, please." Sola replied, playing with the flowy sleeves of her orange crop top. "And just a glass of water for me, please." Malakai added, slowly raising one finger in the air. Without any more words, Wehari scribbled something down, then left.

   "Jeez...He was scary!" Daiana complained, her voice a bit shaky. "I know! What's his problem?!" Sola revolted, shaking her head. "Come on, guys- maybe he's just had a bad day!" Malakai attempted to defend him. Last summer, Malakai worked in an ice cream truck, and had to deal with countless spoiled children, yelling and throwing tantrums, so his familiarity with annoying customers was understood. Daiana sighed. "I guess...Anyway, what salad should I get? I need to decide before he-".

   "Here's your food." Wehari spoke out of nowhere, placing the food on the table. Everyone at the table got startled, Malakai even knocking over his glass of water over himself. Wehari sighed. "Pay more attention to- Wait...".