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“Ana?” Ax asks after only a second, coming up behind me. My head hangs into the toilet, my hand holding up my forehead as I look up to him.
“I’ll be fine, just the wine made me a bit nauseous. Go get me some water, will you?”
He nods but the frown doesn’t leave his face. I hear the door open and him shout something down the hall. A minute later another voice replies, and the door shuts again. By the time my face and mouth are washed, Ax is dressed and holding out a cup for me. The jug of wine is nowhere to be seen.
“Here.”
I take the cup gratefully, sipping it slowly. He takes the cup away, stepping up to me and lightly taking my face to look up at his.
“Better?” he asks, looking into my face.
I nod. “Yeah, don’t know where that came from.”
Ceyda’s comment from yesterday rises in my mind, but I push it aside.
He searches my face a moment longer before nodding.
“We should get you some real food. I still have plenty of money left, I didn’t waste it all on whiskey. Let's go find the others and get something to eat.”
I debate for a moment giving him shit for the whiskey thing but decide it isn’t worth it. Stupid as it was, I can at least somewhat appreciate the novelty of freedom, much less having his own money to spend. I nod and go to put on the new clothes he bought for me, smiling as I realize he sized it perfectly.
Early as it is, the tavern is still bustling. A smell of porridge wafts through the corridors and my stomach flips, not having decided if it's settled yet or not. It takes a moment but does decide it’s settled and grumbles lightly at the smell of melted butter.
“Over here,” Ax says, leading me toward one of the corners where Papi and Luis are sitting.
“How are you two even standing right now?” I comment as I sit, eyeing their cheery faces with displeasure. If I drank a fraction of that much I’d still be puking. My stomach turns at the thought of puking and I quickly grab a cup of water in front of me and take a tentative sip.
“...Brutus out front,” I hear Papi finish telling Ax as I set the cup down. Axle gives me a wary look but dutifully responds to whatever the first part was. I look over to a nearby table where a group of men are talking in what I think in Turkish. So many speak English now since the Split, but I do regret not learning more languages in my travels. Sure, I learned pieces here and there but not enough for most conversations. The animated gestures of the men somehow enthralls me and despite not being able to understand I watch with interest until a hand snaps in front of my face.
“You okay, Ana?” Luis asks, the three of them looking at me with concerns. Frowning, I push back from the table to stand.
“Totally okay,” I lie, not wanting to admit how distracted I was. “What’s our plan? We need to figure this shit out, fast.”
I stay standing, hand on my hip while the three of them continue to stare at me. After a moment, the discussion starts up again and I have to hold back from sighing. I don’t know what's wrong with me lately, but today in particular I feel really off. I can't focus and feel vaguely ill. It's a strain to concentrate when Axle begins speaking.
“I can break him out,” Ax clarifies, and I dart a glare at him, immediately picking up what I missed.
“Yes, I’m sure that would be real subtle and totally successful,” I retort.
“Well, what do you suggest?”
“While you were all dicking around and getting drunk yesterday, I actually took the time to find out a bit about this place,” I reply smartly, receiving an eye roll in return. Papi and Luis exchange a glance but say nothing. “Tekir—that’s why this place is called by the way—is actually a pretty cool little place. It’s been here since before the Split, used to be a part of Turkey.”
Ax is sitting back watching me with an expression I can’t quite figure out as he takes in this relatively useless information. It’s a bit cocky—not a huge shocker—and more confident than I’d expect. I redebate giving him shit about last night and that ridiculous drunken display. I’m feeling more and more like I missed a lot yesterday though, or more than I thought at least.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Luis asks and I pause, not quite sure what to suggest at this point.
"Surely there's got to be a better way than—"
"No plan then," Ax interrupts and I narrow my eyes at him.
“Let’s at least find Sammi before you do anything dumb, okay?”
“The Watch could be here any time.”
“Not like Ethan is going to leave without her anyways, so we may as well go look for her.”
He raises an eyebrow at me, sitting back in his seat. The others watch us silently with interest.
