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"We might need to rethink our strategy," Ryk muttered in a voice too low for the humans to hear.
"Let's talk about that later!" Star hissed, and Ryk went into bobblehead mode again.
"So, drinks! What would you like?" Divya asked, and I pursed my lips in thought. None of us had had alcohol in a long, long time, and from the books I'd read, the drinks had changed a lot in the last few centuries.
"How about I pick some for you?" Dakota offered, and I smiled in relief.
"Yes, please," I said, and he returned my smile as Ryk and Star chipped in with their agreements too.
Dakota got to his feet and then gave Divya a look. "Come on. I can't carry five drinks if they ran out of trays already."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming. Sit tight, guys," she said with a wink before hopping up and following after Dakota.
Turning to Ryk, I raised a brow at him. "You've been unusually quiet. What's wrong?"
Ryk made a face, then turned his eyes on the table. "I'm nervous. I'm worried I'll mess up again."
Star shot me a glance from Ryk's other side, then turned his gaze on him. "If you mess up, we'll handle it, okay? You don't need to stay quiet just because you're worried. It feels weird if you're all silent."
In a second, Ryk flipped around as a wide grin lit his face up. "Aww, Star. Did you miss my voice?"
"Not at all," Star answered in a deadpan voice as Ryk threw his arms around him and started nuzzling his shoulder.
"But you did. You missed my voice so much you had to beg me to talk."
"Stop exaggerating, you little shit!" Star growled, though curiously, he didn't try to push Ryk away.
By the time Dakota and Divya returned with the drinks, Ryk had calmed down a little, though he was still fidgety.
"Star, this one's for you. It's a gin and tonic," Dakota said, sliding Star's drink over to you.
"I picked yours, Ryk. Duckie said you would like something fun. It's called a Witch's Brew," Divya said enthusiastically as she slid a glass of a bright blue-and-purple drink to Ryk.
"Oh my God! It's so pretty I almost don't want to drink it!" Ryk exclaimed as he leaned forward to peek at his drink from all sides.
"I know, right? Luckily, you can take a picture and then drink it," she said, and Ryk quickly pulled his phone out. Of course, he hadn't taken a picture before, so after failing to figure it out—neither Star or I were much help either—he used magic to make the phone take a few pictures.
"Nico, for you I got a screwdriver. It's orange juice and vodka," Dakota said, sliding a glass of orange liquid to me. Divya had a colorful drink like Ryk's, while Dakota seemed to have gone with a simple drink with lots of ice cubes.
As I took a sip of my drink, I realized it was perfect. Dakota had picked well. Maybe he already knew us better than we'd thought.
Star
As we sipped at our drinks, Divya and Ryk struck up a conversation about his art, and once they started talking, it didn't seem like they were ever going to stop.
The bar had gotten more crowded in the past few minutes, and I was starting to feel a little claustrophobic. Leaning back in my seat, I caught Nico's eyes and pointed toward the exit. He gave me a nod, and I smiled at Dakota before making my escape.
The chill of the outside clung to my skin instantly, and I welcomed it wholeheartedly as I leaned against the wall. I'd never tried smoking before, but as I watched a human smoke a few steps away from me, I wondered if I should. It wasn't like it could make me sick, and it looked like a good reason to escape places every now and then.
I heard the door beside me open, but didn't turn to check who'd followed me out. It was probably Nico. How he'd managed to get Ryk to move out of the bench seat was anyone's guess.
"You okay?" a voice very much not Nico's asked, and I turned my head to look at Dakota. Out of the three of us demons, I was the tallest, but Dakota was even taller than me. For some reason, I really liked that.
"I'm fine. Just needed some air," I said. "You didn't have to check up on me."
Dakota shrugged, then joined me in leaning against the wall. "Eh. Ryk and Divya are lost in their conversation, and Nico's completely trapped in his seat."
"So you left him there alone with the chatterboxes," I surmised, and he got a guilty look on his face that made me laugh.
