Caldera

____& Buddy

Cal had her spitter out of its holster and in her hand faster than you could say volcanic eruption. She spun on her heels and pointed the weapon expertly at the doorway with her shooting hand, while reaching up with the other to touch her earpiece. She didn’t need to call Buddy until she’d assessed the situation, but if she tapped the tech hard enough then the range increased. Buddy’d be able to hear the whole conversation.

The fairy in the doorway was staring at her with an odd expression and a pair of mesmerising blue eyes. Blue. Cal had heard of blue eyes – more common in the Rock and Swamp kingdoms, apparently – but had never actually seen any in another humanoid creature. Buddy, of course, had electric blue eyes to match his stripes. If she were still a junior officer, she might have been so fascinated by the eyes as not to take much else in; a few years of hard experience, however, had taught her to always see past the first look. A quick visual assessment determined him to be a member of the local force, judging by his uniform and insignia – and probably an experienced one, based on his age and the scar on his face. Presumably, this was either Captain Birch or Captain Flynn.

“What threat?” Cal asked, remembering to use her professional voice. Man, it had been a long time since she’d been in the field. She kept her weapon trained on him as he moved further into the room, but lowered it slightly as realisation began to dawn. “Wait… you mean Surge?” She dropped the professional voice almost instantly, and broke into peals of laughter. “He ain’t real! It’s just a line from a play.”

Amusing as the mistake was, it was hardly likely to win her any friends – especially since she’d just been pointing her spitter at him. Cal turned the point away from him, holding the weapon up clearly. Then, with the exaggerated movements typical of someone familiar with police protocol, she placed the spitter down on the nearest desk and took two steps away from it, keeping both hands in the air in the universal declaration of surrender.

“Don’t knot your tail, I was just goofing around with my aja.” She turned her head sideways and indicated towards the little black box clipped to the helix of her ear. “It’s tech, see? Lets me communicate with him long-distance.”

She turned her head back to face him and made no attempt to hide the way her eyes flicked up and down him. He was very… white. Rock ker were pale, but not as pale as this – at least, none of the ones she’d seen. His uniform looked very posh – more akin to a military captain than a police officer. Cal had worn her own uniform in anticipation of meeting Allianah, but now she felt under-dressed: she only had her leather holster, a collared, short-sleeved white shirt which contrasted well with her earthy skin tone, cotton shorts which were clearly designed for flexibility over style, and open-toed sandals. The sandals were made of a tough woven fabric only found on Xara, layered up to create a sole, and were strapped firmly onto her feet. They were obviously designed for running and climbing in a hot climate over anything else. Only the twos metal badges pinned to her chest – one with the force’s insignia, and one with the Alliance’s – indicated that she held an official capacity.

“So are you Captain Flynn or Captain Birch?” A slightly sly, playful smile was beginning to form on the corner of her lips. “Sergeant Cal, second division of the common force of the Volcano, from Xara. I’ll say nice to meet ya when you put your sword away.”