Well shit, this could have gone better, she thought as her powers flared around her. Her bodyguards had shifted and spun around to guard her back while she faced the very pale human male she was currently suspending about a foot off the ground. To his credit, he wasn''t freaking out like many others would have in his situation, Infact, as she focused on his face, he seemed to be smiling, and were his eyes sparkling?


    She pushed him back a bit further from her, his unexpected reaction unnerving her. The sudden movement seemed to upset the raccoon people, but she paid it no mind. Saav and Durg would keep them occupied and off her back.


    “What are you?” the male asked as stared down at her, curiosity and not anger or fear in his voice.


    HIs question, and specifically the tone, stopped her whirling thoughts dead. Fear, revulsion or anger were the usual responses to seeing her powers, or even worse, jealousy or seeing her as a tool.


    She closed her eyes for a moment, focusing her thoughts. She needed to take control of this situation before it got even more out of hand.


    Inhaling slowly, she opened her eyes and released the breath and began to speak in her best imperious voice, “That you have never met one of the touched, i am not surprised, but to have never heard of us?” she said, “you must have spent your whole life in isolation”


    She looked over her shoulder to assess the situation, the raccoon people had flipped tables over to create makeshift barricades and were brandishing spears and knives at her protectors, who were doing a find job of looking menacing, but obeying her orders to not engage. She sent a mental tug to both as a reminder just in case, before turning back to the human male.


    “Now tell your mutant raccoon people to stand down, we did not come here to fight.” she said.


    The male was staring at her, assessing and observing every movement with a wild look. It unnerved her and caused her to lose her train of thought momentarily, and then she realized he was saying something.


    “..nanite control?” he shook his head, “cant be, Alice would have locked down the building and activated the defenses, maybe…” he seemed to trail off in thought before his eyes somehow went even wider and he began to thrash excitedly.


    “HOLY SHIT YOUR PSYCHIC!” he shouted and began laughing like a madman, and then the questions began pouring out like a flood.


    She stood there stunned as she wondered how her simple plan had gone so far astray. The male was speaking so fast his words were blurring together and just turning into excited noise as they washed over her. She could sense agitation through the connection to her bodyguards and sent them a calming reassurance, and she was pretty sure even they knew it was false, as much for her own state of mind as it was for theirs.


    A loud cough pulled her attention to the makeshift barricade. One of the raccoon people had stepped out from behind it, with both its hands held out to show they were empty.


    This one showed the proper amount of wariness and fear, or maybe just anger that she was more used to. It stopped just past the barricade, leaving plenty of room between it and her protectors before it began to speak.


    “Who are you? Why did you come here with those?” it asked.


    She smirked at the creature, feeling for the first time that a conversation in this place was going where she expected.


    “Well mister raccoon” she said with a hint of question in her voice, she couldn’t tell if it was male or female, and had no plans on physically checking, “to answer your second question, you don''t expect a girl to wander these ruins unprotected do you?” she chuckled softly and continued, “and isn’t it rude to ask someone''s name without stating your own first?”


    The raccoon person just gave her a flat stare before rubbing the bridge of its muzzle and muttered something about only meeting strange humans.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    “My name is Delvik,” it said a bit stiffly, “May I know what name you are known by?”


    She gave a big smile and bowed with a flourish, “A pleasure to meet you Delvik, you may call me Sera” she said, before pointing to the two hulking Arvo, “and these are Saav and Durg, my loyal bodyguards.”


    Now this was fun, she thought to herself. She could almost see the frustration in the face of the raccoon thing. Finally, someone who would rise to her bait.


    Pushing her two bodyguards to the side, she stepped forward to face Delvik. She could hear the human male behind her, still babbling questions and trying to get her attention. She was honestly tempted to gag him, but that may be pushing things a bit too far. She didn''t want a fight right now.


    She was confident that she could handle anything they had, even that metal suit, but it was much more fun to push things to the brink, to push and see what she could get away with, and pull back just before open hostility. It was a skill she had worked hard at her whole life, when she lived with the tribe.


    “So Delvik, are you a boy raccoon thing, or a girl raccoon thing? I honestly can not tell” she said, speaking slowly, enunciating each word.


    Delvik bit back a snarl of outrage at this human''s words, “I am a male. Do Human females make it a point of being as irritating as stepping on a spike vine?” he replied, letting some of the anger he was feeling show in his tone.


    Sera’s eyes seemed to twinkle in the artificial light, and she drew back, placing one hand over her chest.


    “My deepest apologies Mister Delvik, I meant no offense, just simple curiosity.” she said with mock sincerity.


    Delvik just stared at her, his mind racing and trying to figure out what game she was playing. She was clearly provoking him, but he couldn’t figure out why. He looked past her and saw Thomas fiddling with something in his jacket. He was probably fine, whatever powers she used to lift him off the ground and hold him in place didn''t seem to be harming him, so he turned his attention back to the female, to keep her talking and distracted.


    If she wanted to play games with words, he would be happy to play along.


    Straightening up, Delvik ran his paws over the fur on his head, as if slicking it back like he had seen a human on one of those shows that Thomas liked to put on the TV in the lounge, noir punk or something like that.


    “No offense taken,” he said while giving an exaggerated wink, “but I gotta ask, what brings a feisty firecracker like you to a place like this?”


    She nearly lost her composure, and mentally, begrudgingly, gave Delvik a point. Well played raccoon man, she thought. Well, if he was going to play, then she would make the most of it.


    Sera held her hands out, as if to encompass the whole room, “why to check out the newest, hottest place in the region, my good raccoon. My people told me it had gotten a bit lively here lately, and when they told me about the sign, well I just had to check it out.” she replied.


    “Was I wrong?” she asked as a follow up.


    Delvik opened his mouth to reply, but she staggered forward a step as a blinding pain erupted in her head and she felt her power recoil in shock.


    “NO!” Thomas shouted as his feet hit the ground, the last bits of purple electricity seeming to be absorbed into his strange white jacket.


    Saav and Durg both reached out quickly to steady or catch her if necessary, but she waved them off before quickly spinning around and pointing an accusing finger at the human male.


    “What did you do?” she shouted angrily as fear and confusion whirled in her mind.


    Thomas straightened his lab coat and looked this Sera lady straight into her milky colored eyes, smiled his most winning smile and answered her, “Science!”.


    Delvik fet his paw slap his face in disbelief, and from the sounds of it, he wasn''t the only one. Even the two Arvo seemed stunned at his answer, but the Human female, she seemed to be shaking in rage until a laugh slipped out, high pitched and clearly from her.


    Thomas watched her face, saw her shift from what looked like fear and anger to confusion. Then her lips twitched, her hands immediately moving to cover her mouth as her shoulders began to shake. She fought valiantly, but in the end her laughter echoed in the bar.


    “Shall we re-do the introductions?” Thomas asked when she seemed to be regaining her composure and she nodded,


    With a flourish of his hands, he pointed one hand towards Sera and the other to the bar and cooling tray of stir fry, “Welcome to the Post Apocalypse Bar and Grill, where all are welcome as long as they come in peace, My name is Thomas” he said as grandly and with as much showmanship as he could manage.


    Sera nearly snorted at the show. Well played, she thought, before reaching out to shake his outstretched hand and replying, “Thank you for the welcome, my name is Sera, and I believe we have some things to discuss.”