She didn’t show to any of the con parties last night.
I have the sinking feeling that she might not have been able to sneak away from her work function which is literally across the street.
Three dots appear, then vanish, then appear again. I imagine him in our kitchen (his kitchen, technically, but the possessive feels right after three weeks of shared meals and late-night prep sessions), frowning at his phone, trying to figure out what to say.
Tovek
Do you want me to call her hotel, see if she’s okay?
I ignore my fluttering heart. It’s rare that someone could care so much for a complete stranger.
Mei
No, thank you.
I know she’s alive, proof of life and all.
I just think she didn’t get to sneak out like she’d planned.
Sunny’s the kind of person who throws herself completely into everything: work, play, friendship, the elaborate fictional universe that has become Wyvern’s Dawn. It’s part of why we get along so well. She understands what it means to be passionate about something, to build a world with your own hands and imagination.
Mei
I’m probably just being dramatic.
Tovek
Wouldn’t be you if you weren’t.
Mei
Be at the ready if I for real need you to save a damsel in distress.
Tovek
Always. It’ll be on brand for me.
My cheeks warm. I’m saved from having to respond by my phone buzzing with a new message, this time from Sunny herself.
Sunny
HOLY SHIT I’M SO SORRY. Khanner insisted on having tea with me last night to make sure I wasn’t too sick, and I ended up passing out!! I’m leaving RIGHT NOW
Oh no. It turns out the “call in sick” ruse she devised worked too well.
I text back a thumbs up and a heart, then send Tovek a quick “She’s coming!” before I reach the front of the line.
The registration attendant, a tired-looking man with a lanyard that reads “WYVERN CON STAFF” in block letters, barely looks up from his tablet. “Name and category?”
“Sunny Adlawan. Fantasy. Seria’s Final Battle, Warrior Priestess.”
He types, nods. “She’ll need to be here for judging by 1 PM. No exceptions.”
“I’ll make sure she knows,” I promise, then step aside to let the next person in line forward.
I text Sunny to let her know that she’s got time, I handled her registration.
With the registration handled, I have a little less than two hours to kill before Sunny arrives.
