An earthy sweetness wafts in from the outside. In enters the blatantly-foreign Ke’tlan, holding a few different bags on his arms and eating a fruit pastry with his only open hand. Skylar goes from friend mode to business mode in 3 seconds flat, patting Valdas softly on the back. “Welcome to Daedalus’!” he shouts with a smile, walking briskly towards the blond with clasped hands. “Are you looking for anything in particular today?”

“Ah, no,” Ke’tlan stammers, “I am just browsing. Second day in the city, and I am sight-seeing to my heart’s content.” Ke’tlan looks over to the redhead, who stands frozen at the basket stand. They give each other a familiar glance, and Valdas recomposes himself. “What kind of wares do you sell here?”

“Automotive parts and the like,” Skylar says in peak customer service form. “If you have any questions, I’m all ears.” Near-instantly, the questions flow, and the ginger starts to trail on about the various goods and services that his business employs. Ke’tlan gives him his utmost attention, soaking in all of the information he is being given and providing follow-up questions.

As all of that is going on, Valdas stares intently at the blond in front of him.

The smell, the glow, it all feels familiar to him. He rubs his forehead and starts to approach Ke’tlan, who, having finished his snack, is being lectured about the proper way to maintain a sky ship. When dead air starts to settle between the two of them, Valdas interjects: “Hey. Have we met before?”

Ke’tlan turns his gaze in the direction of the redhead. As the blond hums to himself, Skylar immediately reads the room. “Pardon my interruption, but I have to check inventory,” he says, still upholding his business enthusiasm. “If either of you need me for anything, give me a call.”

Upon hearing the word “call”, Ke’tlan digs into his pocket to take out his brand new phone: rose-gold in color, it’s wrapped with a thin, transparent case. A sole charm hangs from the case: a triangle, two-toned in blue and yellow.

Ke’tlan looks down at the home screen, then looks up at Valdas. The blond tilts his head to the side, thinking. “Were you the person who nearly hit me with their bike?”

“No!” Valdas shouts, then reconsiders the validity of the statement. “...possibly, but, have we met someplace else? Like a bar?”

Ke’tlan’s brows raise, and he clutches the phone to his chest. “The businessman…”

“Ah, yeah… that’s me,” the redhead responds, scratching the nape of his neck. “Sorry, but I forgot most of what happened last night.” He does a slight bow. “I’m Valdas, and you are?”

“Flattered, clearly…” Ke’tlan trails off, still taken aback by the redhead who stands before him. “Tis Ke’tlan. Hard stop after the Ke, the t is mostly silent. Ke’lan is fine.” His manicured fingers gently grasp Valdas’ jowl, who flinches in response. “But how are you so different from before? I understand the hair coloring, but your eyes… they have shifted hue.”

“C...contacts,” Valdas stammers, gently grasping onto the blond’s pale wrist. He gingerly pulls the hand away from his face before releasing his grip. His eyes become fixated on the blond’s blue pair, which seem to churn and glisten like whirlpools. The energy they seem to envelop is heavy, and seems to pull him in. He steps back, breaking direct eye contact. “Have you never seen them before? I thought they were commonplace worldwide.”

Ke’tlan sits up properly. “Hm, possibly. How do these ‘contacts’ color your eyes?”

“You place them directly on the eyeball.” Ke’tlan twitches at the thought, though Valdas continues: “No-no, it isn’t painful if you know how to do it correctly. There is a distinct ring on the contact itself that colors the iris, and although they come in many colors, your mileage may vary. Since you’ve seen me in glasses, I’d like to inform you that they can double as glasses too.”

The blond’s lips purse. “Interesting.”

After doing an inventory and perimeter check, Skylar walks back over to the duo. “Is everything working fine for you two?” he asks in a professional manner. The blond and redhead turn to face him. “I’m closing up shop in a few moments, so any final purchases should be brought to me before I close the register. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Yes, right.” Valdas makes his way to the purchase counter, and both Skylar and Ke’tlan follow suit, Ke’tlan trailing behind a bit. “Gotta do my routine maintenance for Arion soon or else she’ll start to get mad at me.”

“You really haven’t checked her out since you last visited?” Skylar gasps in shock. “That bike is your only mode of transport, man, you can’t neglect her like that.”

“Well, I haven’t had the time to since I got promoted to lead. It’s far more work hours than I’m used to, and I still haven’t adapted to it.” He places the basket on the counter. Skylar wraps around to the back and starts scanning the contents of the basket in no time at all. Valdas reaches into the underside of his jacket and pulls out a large, woven bag, seemingly out of nowhere. “Don’t think I forgot to bring a bag this time.” He opens it and places it on the counter.

Skylar smiles and starts packing the bag with Valdas’ haul. Ke’tlan approaches the counter and looks at the amount of stuff that Valdas has purchased. “How are you going to travel with all of those things on your person?” the blond asks.

Skylar looks at Ke’tlan, then Valdas. Valdas gives him a nod, and the ginger responds in kind: “Val is a very close friend of mine, so whenever he buys from me he hitches a ride on my truck. I pack his bike in the back, and he puts his bags in the back seat. Gives us a bit more bonding time, as we don’t see each other as much as we used to.” After the bag is finished being packed, Valdas hands Skylar his unlocked phone. “It sucks that we don’t have conventional meetups, but, hell, nothing about us two is conventional.”

“You could say that again,” Valdas sighs, taking his phone back after having it scanned. His gaze lands back upon Ke’tlan, who briefly looks through their phone until the redhead gets his attention. “Hey, you’ve got a lot of bags on you as well. Did you want to hitch a ride with us?”

“I would very much appreciate it,” Ke’tlan responds with a smile. “I spent so much time walking that I ended up getting myself lost. Thankfully, I now have a phone to help me get places, but I highly doubt that I can get back home on foot from here before midnight.”

“Well, we’ve got a bit of daylight to burn,” Skylar yawns, stretching his burly arms. “And I’m not expected to be home tonight, so I’ll gladly drive you home. After dropping off Val, of course. With him neglecting his bike I’m pretty sure he’s swamped with other house chores.”

Valdas huffs exaggeratedly and grabs his bag full of bike stuff. “Did Kat tell you or are you still really good at guessing what I’m thinking?”

Skylar laughs, slapping the redhead on the back. “Maybe one, maybe both.” He pulls out his keys. “Val, meet me out back with your bike. I gotta lock up.” Ke’tlan’s eyes meet his own. “Ah, yeah, and make sure you have our blond pal follow alongside you. Don’t want ‘em getting lost just ‘cause they don’t know the area.”

“Roger dodger,” Valdas says with a straight hand to the forehead in salute. The two friends laugh, and all three of them head towards the door. Skylar holds the door open for both Ke’tlan and Valdas, giving them both a nod as they head out the door. He pulls down the metallic blinds from inside, and then steps outside to lock the front door. Waving, he drops the outside blinds and locks them in place before circling back.

Valdas walks to the side of his bike and pushes it up with his hip, kicking the stand up and rolling it back before turning and walking it alongside with him. Ke’tlan stares curiously at Valdas. “How long have you known him for?”

“Nearly my entire life,” Valdas huffs, trying to keep the bike’s balance whilst holding his shopping bag on the other arm. “Went to school with each other, often found each other hanging out in the same places when we were kids, and, hell, we even lived with each other for a bit until he left to get his own place.” He turns another tight corner with his bike, and continues to push forward. “I’d be lying out my ass if I said that I didn’t miss him constantly.”

Skylar pulls back from the rear employee parking lot in his large, red truck, and turns it so the back is lined up with Valdas’ bike. He parks the truck and walks toward the back of it, dropping down the tailgate and sliding down the half-ramp, securing it in place.

Valdas hands off the bag to Skylar, who puts it over his shoulder, and helps him push the bike the rest of the way. When they meet the truck, the two of them grasp the bike and gently pull it up the ramp and into the truck bed. Ke’tlan glides his fingertips against the metallic chassis of the truck as he walks towards the passenger door.

“Wanna sit in the back?” Valdas asks, climbing up into the truck bed and snapping the front wheel of his bike to the wheel chock Skylar prepared for him ahead of time. “It’s a far different experience than sitting in the front seat of a pickup.”

Ke’tlan watches curiously as Valdas secures his bike to the truck bed. Sweat permeating his brow, Valdas tugs at the ratchet straps, making sure they are in place, and meticulously ties up his motorcycle like a parent wraps their child up in its blanket: tight and secure, but with care. Skylar pops open the passenger’s seat from the inside, startling Ketlan. “You go on ahead, you can put your stuff on the floor here. It’ll be nice and safe here, I can assure you.”

Ke’tlan smiles and nods, placing his bags inside of the truck and closing it with a loud clunk. He walks to the side of the truck once more and sees that Valdas has finished securing his bike-- he even secured the ramp to the truck bed. A hand is offered to the blond, and he generously takes it, climbing into the truck bed. Valdas pulls the tailgate up and climbs over the ratchet straps, sitting atop a wheel tub. Ke’tlan parrots him, sitting on the one across from him.

“Hold on tight, fellas”, Skylar shouts from the window. “It’s gonna be a bumpy ride!”