•70•

                                    

                                          
"Let's make it quick," Vic sighs as we enter Pyxis' office. 
                          
We salute at the commander and then explain how everything went down. He takes our statements and dismisses us soon after. 
                          
I walk back out of the Garrison HQ and run into Reece who is standing with Kaia and Mary. He spots us and waves enthusiastically.
                          
"Sophie! Long time no see sweet thang!" 
                          
"Nope," I shake my head. "No nicknames." 
                          
"What?" He frowns. "You're no fun." 
                          
Kaia approaches me with a gentle smile on her face. She stands a couple inches shorter than me which is funny since I'm already pretty short. 
                          
"I'm so happy to see you again," she beams. "Are you leaving now?" 
                          
"We just got done with the our meeting with commander Pyxis," I smile. "My business is done here."
                          
"Awww," she frowns. 
                          
"How about we make plans to hang out later though," I pat her head. 
                          
"Me too!" Reece chimes in. 
                          
The two of us look at him with our eyebrows raised, shaking our heads. He lets out a heavy sigh and holds his hands over his heart. 
                          
"Get over it," I roll my eyes. "Anyways Kaia, how about you stop by later today and we can go get tea or something." 
                          
"Yay!" She cheers. 
                          
"I'm going to walk back to HQ now," I take a few steps away from everyone. 
                          
"You're not wanting to ride back with us?" Elias questions. 
                          
"No, I think a walk sounds nice. The weather is clear and it's not too busy out," I smile. "See you guys later!" 
                          
I send them a little wave and jog out of the main gate, rounding the corner to walk down the street. I pass by a couple people, giving them a small smile to be polite. 
                          
"Sophie wait up!" I hear some call from behind me and I turn around to find Reece running up to me. 
                          
"What do you need?" I question suspiciously. 
                          
"Nothing," he shrugs. "I'm heading to a book store this way, so I figured you could use some company." 
                          
"Oh thanks," I turn and continue walking through the city of Trost. "What are you getting at the book store?" 
                          
"A book, obviously," he laughs. "Silly goose."
                          
"Even a couple years later I still want to punch you in the face," I kick a pebble on the ground. 
                          
"Calm down Jeager," he smirks. "I'm getting a book on the Physics behind some medicine." 
                          
"For what?" 
                          
"I'm trying to learn more about medicine, I'm thinking about switching into the medical department of the Garrison." 
                          
"Oh really?" I say with a surprised tone. "That's impressive."
                          
"Well I'm not just a pretty face," he turns to look at me with a grin. 
                          
"I see," I look up at the clouds and watch them move along with the wind. 
                          
"Well this is me," Reece stops walking and points at a small shop. "Nice chatting with you Soph. See you around!"
                          
"You too," I wave. "Bye bye." 
                          
He goes through the door and I continue on with my walk. There's not a lot of people on the street, just a couple kids running around, a guy sitting reading a newspaper and a man who just stumbled out of a bar.