The Licensed Mage

13 Trust

        “Mmm. Mmm. This is good. This is really good. You want some?”

        Raven shook his head as Claire held up a fork of her Musho Pork. He quietly ate his Chow Mein as he watched Claire wolfing down her plate. For some reason he couldn’t help but stare in amazement at her and he felt a nagging question at the back of his throat. Finally he realized what he wanted to ask and just came out with it as their plates were cleared away.

        “Why do you trust me?”

        Claire paused as she brought her drink to her lips. She looked at Raven as she took a quick sip and set the glass down with a clank.

        “Well you’re my partner.”

        “Oh bullshit. How can you trust me?”

        She watched as Raven leaned back in his chair, pinning her with a look. She understood what he meant and crossed her arms on the table leaning against them.

        “It’s simple. I’ve decided to trust you. You, Raven. Not your name but you.”

        She waited as her words hit home. The only reaction she got out of Raven was a raised eyebrow. She sighed slightly as she pressed on.

        “So…can’t you trust me and not my name?”

        A small smile played on her lips as Raven spoke, “Your name’s not even a mage name.”

        Her smile brightens as she sat up, “Exactly!”

        At that Raven did chuckle as he leaned back on the table ordering coffee. Claire kept her smile wide as that gave her encouragement. Coffee was brought and she ordered tea for herself as Raven took a sip.

        “I found something on Bron’s online profile.”

        Claire’s eyebrows shot up as her hot tea was brought and she poured herself a cup, “Well don’t hog it all to yourself. What was it?”

        “He was seeing a shrink.”

        “A psychiatrist? He was seeing a psychiatrist? How do you know that?”

        “His profile mentioned going to another appointment. I did some digging and turns out he was meeting a Dr. Crawford. Figured we’ll stop by on the way back to the office.”

        Claire flashed a grin, “We?”

        Raven sipped from his coffee and glared at her from over the rim, “You’re able to detect magic right? Then you should be able to tell if the doc is our culprit or not.”

        “Hmm.” Claire shrugged her shoulders as she stirred her tea, “What was he seeing the doc for, do you know?”

        “That’s what we’re gonna find out.”

        They quickly paid the bill and made their way outside. Raven gave Claire the address and they made their way to the public port. Claire kept an eye on him and silently offered her hand. Raven gave half a thought of taking it but berated himself instead. He walked in the port side by side with Claire. She quickly gave the destination to the fairy and off they went. They came upon a skyscraper of the New York skyline. Claire tilted her head back to look at the tower of windows tickling the sky. Her lips twitched as she thought of the first time she looked down on New York and here she was looking up. Raven called to her from the front door and she sprinted to catch up.