An early summer storm kept Kahli inside her house most of the morning. She stared aimlessly out the window with a warm cup of coffee in her hands in contemplation. She first debated if she wanted to work on her latest commission, then decided the storm was a good enough excuse to take the day off. But after taking care of the animals, which only took her a couple hours, she was left with nothing more to do and no way to really pass the time.
She opted to stand on the front deck, sheltered by the roof of the overhand, and she leaned on the railing, looking out over the fields that marked Sophie's ranch. She supposed she could spend some time at the Round Table. Or, were she feeling ambitious, she could have gone to the ruins to search for some more materials. But she wasn't feeling ambitious in the slightest. She told herself she deserved a day off. Some time to herself. Self care.
But that only gave her mind a chance to reflect on her life. She thought about her mother, her father, her aunt, and for a moment, Arlo, though she quickly pushed those thoughts away.
To her relief, Sam trotted past, soaking wet from riding in the rain, but she paused when she saw Kahli and waved to her.
"Day off?" Sam asked.
Kahli shrugged. "I guess so."
Sam grinned and straightened. "Excellent. Come hang at the Corps. Arlo's on patrol tonight and I'll be there with nothing to do." She looked down at herself and laughed. "Just let me shower and change into something dry, first."
Kahli saluted her and Sam waved once more before pushing her horse back into a trot and toward the center of town. Kahli decided it was as good a time as any to clean in the house, killing another hour, then stopped to have a late lunch. When she was ready, she made her way to the Civil Corps building. Sam was already inside, sitting cross legged on one of the couches, and she grinned at Kahli when she entered. To Kahli's relief, Sam was alone.
"Thank God," Sam said. She patted the open space on the couch beside her. "It would have sucked if I had to stay here all night by myself."
Kahli sat beside her and pulled her knees to her chest. "What do you normally do?"
Sam shrugged. "Usually just take naps." She grinned. "Sometimes I leave Arlo weird notes. I tried to convince him it was a ghost, but he didn't buy it for a second." She rolled her eyes. "He's such a party pooper sometimes. But Remin - now he's fun to prank."
"Sounds like you work real hard," Kahli teased.
"Gotta keep things interesting around here," she said. "I like working with them. We're a small group compared to the other branches. But I like it that way." She frowned. "It'll be super lame when Arlo leaves, though."
Kahli glanced at him. "He's leaving?"
Sam shrugged. "Well, sure, someday, I guess. You know, if he ever gets into the Flying Pigs. But he will. I'm sure of it. This year feels like his year."
"What makes you think that?"
"I dunno," she said. "Just a feeling. I've known him a long time. There's something different this year, about him. He works hard for it, so he deserves it, yanno?"
"Sure." She hesitated. "Why hasn't he joined earlier?"
Sam laughed. "He fails the test every year," she said. She shook her head. "I shouldn't laugh. But I will miss him. Won't be the same, yanno?"
"What will you guys do if he leaves?"
"I guess we'll need to get someone else over here," she said. "We barely get by with the three of us. I don't think we could keep up if it were just Remi and I." She met Kahli's gaze and brightened. "You could join us!"
"I don't think so," Kahli said. "I don't do adventuring."
"You've done more adventuring since you got here than anyone else I know."
"I don't think I'd call it adventuring," she said. "More like being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Happy accidents."
"I'm just lucky the worst I came across were a pack of rats."
Sam laughed. "After all that training you've done with Django? I think you could stand up to a lot more than that."
"You would be unwise to put that kind of faith in me."
"Nah," Sam said. "I usually have a good feeling about people. Just you wait. I told ya this would be Arlo's year, didn't I? Let's see what happens in the fall when he goes to take the test again."
"Alright," Kahli said. "We'll talk about this again in the fall when Arlo fails and you don't need me."
Sam laughed. "Deal." She reached out to the nearby table and grabbed a deck of cards. She smiled slyly at Kahli. "Are you a betting woman?"
If Kahli was good at one thing, it was cards. Over the years, she and her aunt had played many rounds of every card game imaginable. When she was younger, it was easy, childhood games, but as she got older, her aunt taught her the ways of playing her opponents instead of her cards.
To say her aunt had a slight gambling addiction might have been an exaggeration. There were many nights where her girl friends came over, and they sat around the patio table in the hot, dry nights on the back deck in the light of the bug zapper, cigarettes between their fingers and booze on their breath. They laughed loudly as the cards were passed, and coins clanged together as they were tossed into the center before being greedily swiped away by the winner.
Kahli didn't understand it as a child, but in her teenage years, she had learned to keep up with the women, even surprising them from time to time and cleaning their pockets.
Sam wasn't her aunt, but she was good enough to challenge even Kahli, and the hours of the afternoon quickly disappeared as they laughed and joked and gambled playfully. When Remington stepped in that evening, they convinced him to join, but he quickly grew sour when he realized both women were wiping him clean, and the game soon ended with him pouting in a chair.
It was nearing midnight when Arlo returned from his patrol, and he was surprised to see the building occupied when he entered. Three bodies occupied the two couches. On one, Remington was stretched out, his leg draped over the arm, a snore escaping his throat. The other was occupied by Kahli and Sam, each sleeping against an arm, their legs stretched out on top of one another. Sam mumbled in her sleep, stretched her arms, and turned over.
Arlo looked wide-eyed at the sight before him for a moment, then his brows furrowed. "They have their own houses, right?" he said out loud to himself.
Sam woke briefly at his voice. "I'm off duty," she muttered.
"Go home."
"Mm. Couch is comfy."
"Yes," Remington spoke up. "Please stop talking and let me sleep. It's been a long day."
"You have a bed," Arlo pointed out.
"We can cuddle."
Sam snickered. "Shh. Don't wake Kahli."
"Why is she here?"
"Some of us like her," Sam said.
"I tried, Arlo," Remington said. "They tried to paint my nails."
"They succeeded, I see."
Remington sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. It was a dark time in my past."
"You're next, Arlo," Kahli muttered as she started to wake.
"Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged," Sam said with a grin.
"This isn't a slumber party."
"It is," Sam said. "We already had a pillow fight and wrote in our diaries."
"This was not what I signed up for," Arlo muttered.
*****
Remington was gone the next morning on patrol, but to Arlo's dismay, Kahli and Sam remained, their giggles waking him. He trudged out of his room to stare at them angrily, but this only caused them to giggle further.
"Don't you have something better to do?" he sneered.
"Someone's not a morning person," Kahli muttered.
"Oh, I am when it's not being ruined by whatever this is."
"Rude," Sam said.
Kahli smiled sheepishly and held a cup of coffee up. "I brought fuel."
Arlo hesitated, then sighed. "Okay. You are forgiven." He took the mug and sat with them.
"Aw, poor baby," Sam said. "Did little Arlo not get enough beauty sleep?"
Arlo flipped his hair dramatically. "No," he said. "Thanks to you, I'm gonna have bags under my eyes. How will I ever be able to step out into public?"
"Make up," Kahli said. "It does wonders."
"Yeah," Sam scoffed. "It almost makes you look human."
"Hey!" Kahli barked. "You weren't supposed to tell everyone!"
"Are you a troll, then?" Arlo asked as he sipped his coffee.
"Worse," Kahli teased. "I'm... the Boogeyman!"
Arlo blinked at her, then smiled. "You're weird."
Kahli blushed and pulled her gaze away. "That's probably why my father ran off," she said with a grin. "Fuck this crazy train."
Sam giggled. "I like it," she said. "How do I get on board?"
"Tickets ain't free," Kahli said.
Arlo snorted, and Kahli sneered at him.
"Shut up! That's not what I meant!"
Sam laughed. "Oh, man, you make it so easy."
"See if I buy you losers coffee again," Kahli muttered.
"Oh, no, what ever will I do?" Sam said playfully. "Probably just buy myself coffee with all the money I won off of ya."
"It was a draw," Kahli barked.
Sam rolled her eyes. "Next time I'll win."
"You wish." Kahli grinned at her and stood. "I gotta get home. Smell ya later, kids."
She hadn't expected to spend the night there, and she knew she'd have hungry animals waiting when she got home. She left Sam and Arlo alone and hurried through town, pausing only when Nora caught her attention in the plaza.
"Hey, Kahli," she said with a warm smile. "Everything okay?"
"Sure," Kahli said. "Why?"
"Oh. I just saw you coming from the Civil Corps."
Kahli hesitated. "Oh, yeah," she started. "I was hanging out with Sam last night and... well we were drinking and passed out."
"Oh." She was quiet for a moment, then her smile returned. "Are they trying to recruit you over there?"
"Ha, yeah, something like that, I guess."
"Well, they'll need the help when..." She hesitated and frowned. "Would you really consider joining them?"
"I don't think so," Kahli said.
Nora nodded. "It's dangerous work." She forced a smile. "Well, anyway. It's good to see you. Don't lose yourself in your work like higgins."
Kahli's lips pressed together. "I'll try not to." She smiled and hurried out of the plaza. She was certain now that Nora had feelings for Arlo. She hurried home, eager to busy herself with work for the next several years instead of thinking about Arlo and Nora together.