“Really, how are you?” Em said.

A little too simple, a little too bald. A little too hard to evade. “Been worse?” Orfeus tried.

Em sighed again. “You’re here now,” she said, and shook her head. “Watch your back, Orfeus. I’ll do what I can for you.” She stood up, and frowned around the room. “You’re not a killer.”

Orfeus managed to hide her flinch this time. One person missing, after the fires in Tinctora.

“Knives aren’t really your style,” Em continued. Orfeus didn’t mention Snakebite. Em looked at her, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “If you’d like, I can try to rig you a stun baton.”

“Ooh,” Orfeus said, brightening. “Batons.”

A smile graced Em’s lips, at last. “Ha,” she said tiredly. “Maybe some other tricks. Just send me a message if you need anything special and I’ll get to it as soon as I can.”

“Thank you,” Orfeus said, quietly, at last. Em nodded and went to the door.

As she reached it, she muttered, “I am surrounded by very clever fools.”

Orfeus nodded, accepting that. “You should tell your girlfriend,” she said before Em could leave. Em turned, frowning. Orfeus quickly clarified, “Not that I’m here! Just…that you are. That you do this. Loved ones shouldn’t be lied to.” Her guts twisted at the hypocrisy, and she smiled unconvincingly.

Em sighed. She put her helmet back on. “Honey,” she said, a little muffled. “I love you, but I’m not going to take relationship advice from you.”

Fair enough.

After Em left, Orfeus waited half a minute to let her get a fair way ahead, as it seemed she didn’t want their existing connection to be known. Then Orfeus stood slowly, and wandered her way back to the training room and the others.

Excitable raised voices, when she was still a few metres away from the door. Orfeus paused.

Impulse beckoned and she gave in, pressing her ear to the wall.

Juana’s voice, excited and out of breath from sparring. “But how on Earth does she know the Falcon?”

Orfeus blinked, grinned, flipped her cloak hood up to make things just a little less awkward if anyone came by and saw her eavesdropping.

“Hardly the only unusual thing about Orfeus,” Tai replied, sounding lofty. A mechanical clanking noise; maybe he was working on one of his devices. “But the Falcon’s never even talked to me unless it’s about weapons.”

“She’s never talked to me at all!” said Juana. “I’m my own weapon.” A couple of solid-sounding thumps, as the training dummy took its beating.

A pause, long enough Orfeus considered just joining them. She took a quiet step, then halted as Tai said thoughtfully, “Maybe she’s going to make her something real good to keep her alive out there. Because the Fox is better at magic than fighting.” Tai sounded troubled, but only slightly.