Nova and Bishie walked down the halls, their footsteps echoing with every step. The rhythmic sound was interrupted by a stomach growling.
"Nova, is there anything to eat around here?" Bishie asked.
"Obviously. This is a god's domain, so of course there's a cafeteria," he replied.
Bishie's stomach growled again. "Can you just take me there, please?"
Nova sighed. "Sure, but don't overeat."
"I'm pretty sure that won't be a problem."
Nova laughed genuinely. "You haven't tasted the food yet."
They made it to the cafeteria, a bustling place with mages in colored cloaks similar to those at Grimsnow, give or take a few shades.
Bishie sheepishly trailed behind Nova, which caught Nova's attention. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," Bishie said, trying to fuse with Nova's backside.
"Bishie," Nova grabbed him by the collar and pushed him forward. "Stop being weird and go get some food."
"Can you at least go with me?" Bishie pleaded.
Nova looked around the room for a free table. "No, but I know who would." He took Bishie to a random table in the corner where two mages were sitting.
"Do you guys stuff your faces wherever you go?" Nova asked.
With a mouthful of food, Gala said, "Maybe."
Sam laughed at the interaction. When he stopped, he asked Nova, "Why are you guys here? Do you need something from us?"
"Bishie was hungry, so I brought him here, but he won't go in the line by himself. I need you to take him," Nova explained.
"Yeah, alright," Sam said, pushing himself up from the table. "Let's go, Bishie." He guided him to the line across the cafeteria.
Nova took a seat facing Gala. He spied a pole next to her with the top wrapped in cloth. "Is that the new staff?"
"Oh yeah, it is," she replied, giving a shady smirk towards Nova. "Since we're here, I might as well not pay for shipping. Wanna see it?"
"You know we're not supposed to brandish arms indoors… but unwrap it anyway."
Gala took the cloth off the staff's head, revealing a long, unpolished carbon steel rod, not too heavy but sturdy. Its most prominent feature was the star-like dodecahedron serving as its top piece. The dodecahedron was made of a crystal-like blue matter, encasing a core with a striking blood-orange marbling pattern. The marbling was vivid, resembling swirling molten rock with shades of orange.
"Is that a planet trapped in the top piece?" Nova asked.
"What? No, it's a star," she pouted.
"Oh, it looks… pretty, I guess." Nova didn't say what actually came to mind.
_It looks like suspended blood._
A murmur rippled through the nearby tables. Nova pulled his attention from the staff and looked around to see a crowd of other mages watching them.
"Is that Gala?" one whispered.
"Yeah, but who's with her?" another asked.
"I don't know. Can we go up to her?"
A group of three girls approached Gala, completely ignoring Nova's presence. They wore matching purple, pink, and green leather jackets with an insignia of a green cross on a yellow patch.
"Umm, hello?" Gala said, trying to be polite.
"Oh my gosh, you're the Star Skater, right?" the girl in the pink jacket asked excitedly.
_Star Skater?_ Nova thought. He was sure they'd said _Star Surfer_ before.
"You must be new, so you don't know," the girl in pink said to Nova, before pointing dramatically at Gala. "_That_ is our hero, the Star Skater, Gala. When we were starting out as new members of the medical staff, Gala saved us on our first mission. We were separated from our team and got stuck in a muck trap. She pulled us out one by one. By the time she got the three of us out, she hopped onto her staff and lit up the night with her manick ability. Those small orbs of fire burned like stars in the night sky, so our team was able to find us, letting us carry out the mission successfully." The girls all gawked at the story, seemingly in a daze just from remembering the moment.
"Anyways," the girl in pink continued, "I'm Cheri, the one in green is Lili, and the other in purple is Katie."
_Sounds redundant,_ Nova thought.
"Even though you've done so much for us," Cheri said, speaking for the group, "could we please get a picture with our savior?" The three of them clasped their hands together, pleading.
"Sure, I guess," Gala said, slightly put off but still willing.
"Oh my gosh, thank you from the bottom of our hearts," they all said in unison, shaking Gala's hand one by one.
Lili then turned to Gala with a question. "So what's your next mission, and where's your team?"
"My team?" Gala repeated, confused and almost taken aback.
"Yeah, your team, since you are the sect leader," Lili clarified.
"Umm, I'm not a sect leader," Gala replied.
The girls drew confused expressions on their faces. "How could that be?" Katie asked. "You're one of the most talented mages in here."
"I may be talented, but by no means am I capable of leading. That would be him," Gala said, pointing beyond Nova and the girls, revealing Sam standing behind them awkwardly with Bishie.
"Yes, that would be me," Sam said, holding his hand out for a greeting. They exchanged gestures as Bishie sat down.
"So you're the leader who taught Ms. Gala?" Lili looked him up and down. "I'd assume you'd be… older."
"If you're done sizing me up, I'd like to sit down with my friends," Sam said, gently pushing past them to sit next to Bishie.
"If you're the leader of the sect, would you be willing to answer a few questions about Gala?" Katie asked, holding a pen and notepad.
"If you want to talk to our _actual_ leader, then speak to him," Sam said, pointing at Nova, who had lost interest in the conversation a while ago.
The girls looked at Nova, then at Bishie, then back at Sam and Gala, scoffing. "Okay, we might not know much about Grimsnow, but we know all of you wear cloaks as your shared attire," Lili said pointedly.
"My cloak is in the shop," Nova said flatly, not even looking at them.
"If you are the leader, how come we don't see you around here, like, at all?" Lili pressed.
"This place isn't fond of me, and I'm not fond of it," Nova said, finally meeting their eyes.
Gala quietly wrapped her weapon back up while Sam focused on Nova's conversation.
"Do you need something, or do you just want to be annoying?" Nova asked the girls.
"I think you know you don't deserve to have Gala in your ranks, so I'd like to know if you'll accept a trade for her." The voice, sharp and condescending, came from above. A young man who looked to be in his late teens stood on the table, moving with an unnerving, arachnid grace. His slicked-back white hair and tailored gold and purple suit were offset by the four additional, spider-like appendages that sprouted from his back. Sleek and chitinous, they shifted restlessly behind him. From one of his normal hands, a thick strand of silk dangled.
"Why is this place so damn eccentric?" Bishie said out loud.
With a flick of his free hand, the man shot a string of silk, silencing Bishie's mouth. Bishie muffled and grunted, trying to pull the sticky substance off, but only got his hands stuck in the clump.
"Asher," Gala said, her voice devoid of energy.
"Gods," Nova sighed.
Asher settled his polished black dress shoes more firmly on the table. "Hello, Grimsnow. I see you have a new member," he said in a snobby tone.
"Not again," Sam sighed.
Asher struck a pose, crossing his spider-like appendages while placing his human hands on his hips. "I challenge you to a trade."