(Oh by the way, I finally found my Flynn's Arcade tee!)
"I hope so too," Nora said. She stayed very close to Cor as they went back through the Siren room, eyes half-closed as she followed him. The wind was howling outside; it would probably storm soon.
(Yay!! Glad to hear it!)
Cor nodded slightly and gave her hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze as they walked through the Siren room. “We should probably hurry.” he suggested in response to the sound of the oncoming storm.
(It had somehow gotten into where I keep my pyjamas 😆)
"We should," Nora said quietly. She was trying not to look around. Part of her was worrying about how they would get back. She assumed they would use the trucks, but they were slow, and she wanted to get to Cor's as soon as she could. She wanted to relax, to forget about all of this for a moment.
(Oops!!! 😆)
Cor rubbed his thumb across her knuckles as they approached the same door they used to enter the building. “Let’s see how bad that storm is then we can decide how to get out of here.” he told her. Depending on the weather, they could either use his lightcycle to try to beat the storm to his place… Or they could hitch a ride in the trucks and stay dry.
The doors were still open, and Nora shivered as a blast of cold air came ripping through it, whipping her bangs around her face. Bit tumbled in the wind for a moment before finding shelter behind Nora's back.
"I can ask Achilles if they still need the trucks," she said.
“Good idea.” Cor agreed quickly as he braced himself against the strong gale. It was definitely not good weather to even try driving a lightcycle.
"The sooner we get these trucks back to the city, the sooner they can get back to Edison," Nora said, hunching slightly in anticipation of the wind and stepping out of the room. She hated being in the son of a glitch's debt, and seeing the trucks was a reminder that, sooner or later, he'd call and ask a favour of her. No matter what he said, he always made sure she paid him back. Always.
Cor nodded, assuming that Edison was the contact who had supplied the trucks. “Then we should hurry. Hopefully, one of the drivers won't mind making a quick detour.” he managed to smile at her though he wasn't too sure of his own words. Especially if Edison had worked with the original owner of Nora’s bar…
"I don't think they'll mind," Nora said, shivering softly in the cold as the doors closed behind them. "And I think it's a good idea to hurry. That storm isn't very far away."
The wind was playing with her bun, which looked dangerously close to coming out. The trucks weren't far, three hulking, boxy shapes in the midst of the cold and wind.
Cor instinctively pulled Nora close to his side as he noticed her shivering, placing his arm around her shoulders. “Then let's go.” he smiled at her as he felt very relieved to be out of that building. He was actually tempted to pick her up and run towards the trucks but… it didn't seem like the right time.
Nora leaned into him, grateful for his support. There was a weight off of her shoulders now that they were out of the arena.
A sudden gust of wind whipped across them, untangling Nora's bun completely; her hair came streaming down her back, a ribbon of pink.
"Oh, stars," she muttered, reaching up to fiddle with her ponytail.
Cor almost felt the wind push them back as the cold cut into him. Glancing at Nora he couldn't help but laugh a little as she fussed over her hair when it came loose. Honestly, he liked how her hair looked when it was free… Though he understood the professionalism of having it tied back. “Come on. You can redo your hair in the truck… Or at my place.” he smiled again, gently urging her onward.
Nora smiled at him, letting her hand drop back to her side. Before long, they were at the trucks, and it was only after Nora had clambered in that she realised they still needed to talk to Achilles.
"I need to ask Achilles if we can use these," she said, making to clamber out again.
Cor raised a brow at her comment but helped her back out. “Do you want me to come with you?” he asked, admittedly curious as to why she felt she needed to ask him.
"You can if you want," Nora said, clambering back out again; the wind promptly blew her ponytail into her face, her hair going into her mouth. Making a face, she brushed her hair out of her face. "I just need to make sure he and the other medics are done. I don't want to make them drive lightcycles back to the city in this wind."
Cor bit his lip at her expression and gave a brief shrug. “That’s fair. I don't think anyone should be on a lightcycle in this.” he agreed, nodding. “Alright. Let's check on Achilles and the other medics.”
Nora shut the truck door behind her, curling her fingers into Cor's. Bit stayed in the truck. The arena doors were still open; a ghostly bluish light shone down on the empty space.
Cor gave her hand a gentle squeeze as their fingers were entwined and walked with her towards the group of medics, doing his best not to look back at the arena.
Nora scowled as the wind blew her hair into her face again; shoving it obstinately out of the way, she walked up to Achilles. "Are you guys done?"
"Yeah, we've got all of 'em in," Achilles said, motioning to the other medics to join them. "Me and Serena here can take one truck back, Claude and Cipher can take the other if you guys grab the third one."
"That sounds good," Nora said. "I just wanted to make sure. We need to get back to the Grid soon before the storm hits."
Achilles nodded and glanced up at the clouds nervously. "I'd hate to drive a lightcycle in this. Let's go."
Cor almost laughed again at Nora’s stubborn expression but didn't interfere. With her or her hair. Though he did try to make a mental note of all the medic’s names as Achilles agreed with their plan.
“Yeah, it's way too risky.” he nodded.
"Let's head back," Nora said, reluctantly letting go of Cor's hand and going to the arena doors, using the palm scanner and shutting them. Achilles and the other medics started heading for the trucks.
Cor watched the other programs get into the trucks as Nora closed the arena back up, glad they all had worked out a plan to get away from here but admittedly still a little worried about the storm. Hopefully everyone would make it back safely.
Nora came back to Cor and took his hand, starting to walk towards the truck. "You can drive."
Cor raised a brow, unsure if she was teasing or not as he held her hand again. “Ok… but how is Eddison going to get his truck back if we take it back to my place?”
(So my brother found this at RC Willey today)
"He'll send someone to get them," Nora said, but the truth was, she wasn't entirely sure. The trucks were most likely from one of Edison's outposts in the main city, so if she was the one being forced to return them, she probably wouldn't have to see him. Either way, she didn't have to deal with him directly. Hopefully.
(That has to be the coolest arcade game and cabinet I've ever seen!!!!)
Cor nodded slightly, accepting the answer though he was still a bit confused. Edison probably has a tracker on each of these trucks anyway. he assumed brushing away the rest of those thoughts as they approached their truck. “Let’s get out of this weather.”
"He'll know where they are," Nora assured him as she clambered into the truck. "He has a tracker on all of them, and eyes everywhere. I don't think Achilles and the other medics should worry about it either… actually, I should tell them that…"
Rolling down the window, she shouted to Achilles, who was talking with the other medics, "Can you leave the trucks at End of Line?"
Achilles nodded and yelled something back, but a sudden gust of wind tossed his voice away. Nora retreated back into the safety of the cabin, rolling the window back up.
“That doesn't surprise me.” Cor admitted as he climbed into the driver's side of the cab. He managed to get the truck running and let out a slow breath. Of all the vehicles he's driven, a truck was not actually on the list… But he didn't think it would be too hard.
Nora looked at him as she started rearranging her bun. "Have you ever driven one of these before?"
Cor felt a blush rise to his face as he was caught. “Uhhh… Honestly, no.” he admitted, shyly. “I did drive a lightrunner before… How different can it be?” he shrugged. “Other than the height and length, I mean.”
