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Camila strolls through Bonesborough Market taking in the sights of the recently rebuilt area. She has plans to see Luz and her girlfriend for dinner later. Until then, she wants to enjoy the warm weather. It will start snowing soon in Gravesfield, but here she can still enjoy the warmth and be comforted by the cool breeze.
The bustling populace of witches and demons, which seemingly come from every fantasy and mythological story she has ever read, still amazes her. She can almost imagine herself living here. If not for the eyeballs. Why are they part of so much of the architecture? And the food? She’s still not entirely comfortable around them despite Luz insisting they are mostly harmless. There’s only been one thing in the Demon Realm that she doesn’t think she’ll ever accept. A certain green-haired witch -- who’s smug voice she can hear nearby.
“You have always been better with abominations than my ex-husband. I would have preferred going into business with you but circumstances prevented it when we were younger. There is nothing to stop us now.”
Camila peers over to see who Odalia is trying to manipulate into working with her. A tall, dark-skinned man with an abomination hair-bun is trapped next to a booth as Odalia talks. Camila recognizes the witch as Hunter’s dad, Darius. They’ve met a few times during large gatherings but have never talked for more than a few minutes. He looks like he would prefer to be anywhere else right now. Odalia keeps moving just enough to prevent him from walking past her. Darius could push her aside, but that might cause a commotion. Which could be what Odalia is hoping for should Darius not agree to join her.
Camila walks towards the two witches. She can see Odalia fake laughing about something while Darius pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Camila calls out, “There you are, mi corazón.” She winks at Darius then brushes by Odalia and slides an arm around his waist.
Odalia’s face scrunches up in disgust. “Why are you here?”
Darius quickly hides his surprise and gives Camila a grateful smile with a slight nod. He wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer. “Sorry, darling. I got waylaid by Odalia’s proposition.” He groans out the last word in an attempt to remain polite, even though Odalia doesn’t deserve the effort.
Odalia’s eye twitches as she glares between the two. “You’re with this human?”
Camila does her best to act insulted while ignoring her desire to reach for the baseball bat strapped to her back. Darius smirks at Odalia. “Is that a problem?” He bends over and kisses the top of Camila’s head. Camila grins, noticing Odalia looks ready to explode.
Odalia scoffs, “No.” She looks away from the couple. “Unfortunately, it’s getting late and I have better people to make this offer to.” She shoots a final look at Darius. “Do let me know if you come to your senses.” Then Odalia storms away.
Once she’s gone, Camila and Darius let go of each other and burst out laughing. Camila wipes a tear from her eye. “I thought she was going to pop a vein.”
“She still might.” Darius chuckles. “I think we ruined her entire day.”
“It couldn’t have happened to a better witch.” Camila grins, knowing how much the green-haired woman is probably upset to be losing someone else to a human.
Darius continues to smile but puts on a more serious look. “Thank you for your assistance, Mrs. Noceda.”
“Just call me Camila.”
“Camila.” Darius hums. “I would have gotten away from her but I didn’t want to rush it in case she was scheming something else.”
Camila nods. “Of course. I don’t trust her any further than I can punch her.”
Darius raises an eyebrow at the odd expression. “Nevertheless. Is there anything I can do to thank you?”
“That isn’t necessary.” Camila waves a hand dismissively. “The look on her face was enough.”
“Yes, well…” Darius glances away from Camila. “I insist on doing something for you.”
“If you aren’t busy,” Camila grins at the abomination witch, “You can buy me a drink.”
“Of course.” Darius smiles back at her. He moves away from the booth and points down the market. “I know just the place.” He offers Camila his arm, which she takes as they walk together.
~~~
Camila and Darius sit together at a café table chatting about their lives. Darius is enjoying his second cup of purple tea. Camila finished her cup of boolong tea a while ago but hasn’t had any interest in getting up to get a new one. Darius has been describing the challenges of creating a new government while learning to take care of a teenager. Camila has offered some anecdotes she learned while being a single mom to six kids.
“It took a week to convince Hunter to stop howling before bedtime.” Camila chuckles at the memory. “I’m glad the neighbors were understanding.”
Darius mirthfully shakes his head. “Unfortunately, Eber has been encouraging him to go out howling at night.” He takes a sip of his tea. “I’m not sure which of them is worse when it comes to learning about wolves.”
“It’s good that he has people that share his interests.” Camila muses. “I prefer him being a kid instead of a soldier.”
“Yes.” Darius nods. “But we’ll be sure to love and protect each other, just as they are.”
“Through supernovas and solar winds.” Camila grins at Darius.
Darius’ face lights up. “H-how do you know that?”
“I’m a Cosmic Frontier fan.” Camila laughs. “I didn’t expect you to be one.”
“I’m not!” Darius looks away from Camila, finding something interesting to stare at on the wall. “I just read it so I know what Hunter is talking about.” He takes a sip of his tea then mumbles, “It’s not like I want to know how the war against the Hem’Jadar turns out.”
“Of course.” Camila makes no effort to hide the amusement in her voice. “Since you don’t care, I could tell you how it ends.”
“No!” Darius looks back at Camila. He quietly coughs to clear his throat. “That won’t be necessary.” Camila continues to give him an amused look. Darius ignores the burning in his cheeks as he continues, “Hunter and I are reading the last books together. I wouldn’t want to accidentally spoil something for him.”
“Sure, sure.” Camila responds, keeping the lilt in her voice. “And have you started making your costume for the convention?”
“I’m not going.” Darius glares at Camila. “That’s a human realm thing.”
“Oh.” Camila smirks at him. “I didn’t expect you to be scared of humans.”
“I am not scared of humans!”
“Hmm.” Camila taps a finger on her chin, never dropping her smile. “Then it must be you’re scared of dressing up.”
“I’m not scared of anything.” Darius crosses his arms. “I’ll take you to the convention and make sure you have a great time.”
Camila grins. “Sounds like a date.”
“Right.” Darius mumbles. He grabs his tea and drinks the rest while looking away from Camila.
~~~
The Connecticut Cosmic Frontier convention has a good turnout. It’s not as big as a New York or California convention but it has filled one of the larger convention centers in New Haven. There are plenty of vendors selling almost everything that can be branded with Cosmic Frontier. There will be some panels later in the day. And there is no shortage of people in costumes. Including Hunter, Camila and Darius. Hunter, dressed as Chief O’Bailey, is visiting every booth to figure out what he wants to get as a souvenir. Camila, wearing a security officer’s uniform, and Darius, as Captain Avery, are casually walking through the convention center. The two keep an eye on Hunter while also admiring the offerings at the booths. Darius mumbles about this not being his scene, but he happily poses for everyone who asks for a picture.
“Just admit you’re enjoying yourself.” Camila grins at Darius after he finishes posing for another picture.
“I will do no such thing.” He replies, offering his arm to Camila so they can be linked while walking around. “I am surprised there are so many people here.”
“I am too.” Camila leans her head on Darius. “I think it has something to do with the rumor of a new movie being announced soon.”
They walk around for a while longer in comfortable silence. Eventually, Darius asks, “Are you getting hungry?”
“Yeah.” Camila stops and looks around then points to the side. “It looks like they are selling hot dogs over there.”
Darius glances over. “If those are anything like not-dogs, I will pass.”
Camila chuckles and continues looking around. “I see a booth based on Hadron’s Bar. We can probably find some overpriced themed food there.”
Darius nods. “Very well.” He leads her over to the booth. The savory smells of spices and fried food increase his appetite. They look over the menu while standing in line. “Do you know what you want?”
“I’ll have a warp wrap with a Rom’s root beer. You?”
“The frontier salad and liquid latinum, if they aren’t too expensive.”
Camila nods. She knows Darius hasn’t figured out how human dollars compare to snails yet. “That will be fine. Should we call Hunter to see if wants anything?”
Darius grumbles, “Do you actually want to feed him or are you just trying to force me to use this communicator?” He points at the insignia on his costume that is made from abomination slime. Hunter is wearing a matching one and when tapped, the abominations can send short messages to each other.
Camila grins. “Can’t it be both?”
Darius sighs and taps the communicator, “Do you want to eat?”
“Be right there.”
Darius smiles when he notices a few people standing nearby staring in awe at the communicator. He looks down at Camila’s grinning face. “You’re enjoying this too much.”
She laughs. “Just admit you’re having fun.”
“Never.” He looks away so she can’t see his blush.
A moment later, Hunter joins them in line. He has a huge smile on his face. “This place is amazing!”
“Good.” Darius pats Hunter on the back. “Pick what you want to eat, then find us a table.”
Hunter salutes Darius then looks at the menu. “I’ll have the Class M pizza and the phaser fire.” Hunter leaves to find a table for the three of them to sit at nearby.
When they reach the front of the line, Darius places the orders and Camila pays. They wait a few minutes then grab the food and drinks and head over to the table Hunter found. Hunter tells them about all the cool stuff he has seen so far. He also talks about some of the people he’s met and the costumes they were wearing. When they all finish eating, Hunter gets up ready to go explore more. Camila stops him before he can leave.
“Have you found any souvenirs you want yet?”
“Um…” Hunter looks over at a booth then quickly looks away. “Not really.”
Camila rolls her eyes. “You’re worse than Darius at hiding your feelings.”
Darius pouts, “I haven’t been doing that.”
“Okay.” Hunter grins. “I did see something.” His smile falters. “But I think it’s expensive.”
“You let me be the judge of that.” Camila gets up, followed by Darius.
Hunter leads them to a booth full of collectibles. He whispers to Camila while pointing at the figure on a shelf. “It’s an original Chief O’Bailey figure, still mint in box.”
Camila smiles at Hunter. “Okay. You boys stay here while I talk to the proprietor.”
Darius watches as Camila talks to someone about the figure. He sees a shocked look cross Camila’s face. He assumes it’s about the price. He puts a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “You better volunteer to do some chores for her next week.”
Hunter nods. “Yes, sir.”
Camila walks over carrying a bag with the figure in it. She hands it to Hunter. “Try not to break it.”
Hunter grins as he looks in the bag. “Are you sure this wasn’t too expensive? I could have gotten something else.”
“Don’t worry about it, mijo.” She smiles at him. “Go on and continue looking around.”
Hunter eagerly nods. “Thank you, Camila. I’ll wash your car, cut the grass and whatever else you want me to do as thanks.”
“That’s not necessary.” She waves him off. “Just go have fun.” Hunter nods again then runs off to see the rest of the convention.
Darius wraps an arm around Camila as he watches Hunter leave. “You didn’t have to buy him that.”
“Of course I did.” She leans into Darius. “Look how happy he is.”
“How expensive was it?”
“I think 5,000 snails.”
“What?” Darius looks down at her. “You really didn—”
“Hush!” Camila puts a finger over Darius’ mouth. “I wanted to.”
Darius takes her hand and holds it in his. “Well, let me at least pay you back.”
Camila glances up to look Darius in the eyes. “What do you have in mind?”
Darius grins. “A date.” He hugs her closer. “Let me take you out on a proper date.”
Camila blushes. “I’d like that.”