El Tío Bill Burgers
"Here you have three double cheeseburgers, three orders of chips and three large chocolate milkshakes, with a slice of rum cake for dessert."
A young waitress with black hair delivered the trio's food order. It was past midnight, but the roadside restaurant was still open and more than half the seats were occupied.
The neon sign glowed brightly and attracted insects, music played from the jukebox, and the noise from the kitchen and customers eating created a lively scene.
"Why are you so short if you're an adult?" (Girl)
"Fuck you!" (Max)
"Did you just tell a girl to fuck off?" (Andreus)
A little girl stopped right in front of William's table and asked Max, who was not the friendliest person in the world, a question in an innocent tone. Max's response made her run back to her mother.
*Suppressed laughter* (William)
"William?" (Andreus)
"Sorry, it's not funny" (William)
William turned his attention to his burger, having hidden his scale armour once more and put his black leather jacket back on, zipping it up to his neck. His original shirt was full of holes, tears and the odd burn mark; it would be another poor shirt discarded.
William gathered his blond hair with his hands, revealing his blue eyes. The three shiny, delicate silver rings decorated with gems on his hand attracted perhaps too much attention.
"I like your rings. Who made them?" (Max)
"Thank you. They were a gift and don't have the craftsman's name engraved on them." (William)
Max briefly looked at William's rings and bracelet. She was passionate about jewellery and accessories, so of course William's caught her attention.
Max stood up and proceeded to gather her long black hair into a ponytail, revealing the three piercings that decorated her lower right lip and a fourth in her left eyebrow.
"I like your piercings." (William)
"I have more in my ears, they're called helix piercings" (Max)
Max tilted his head towards William, several gold and silver rings covered the edge of his ear, they looked cool and cute at the same time, Max's face hidden behind his hair was very attractive, with delicate facial features and red lips.
"Wow, they're great. Maybe I'll get some in the future" (William)
"You should, they'd look great on you." Max smiled encouragingly at him, looking sexy and attractive in William's eyes.
"Ahem... it's a good burger" (Andreus)
Andreus' cough broke the pleasant conversation between William and Max. He felt uncomfortable being left out; he was not passionate about accessories.
"You shouldn't think about getting a piercing, at least not yet. Catherine wouldn't like the idea" (Andreus)
"That woman is quite scary when she's upset" (Andreus)
The three began to eat. William felt hungry after using his new form, the strongest and largest he had to date. Simply changing for a few minutes consumed a lot of calories.
"You should consider getting a tattoo. You can hide it with your clothes, like mine, one for each prey I've killed with my own hands." (Andreus)
Andreus tilted his head to show the enormous lion tattooed on his chest, which had sharp horns on its head and did not look like a common lion.
"Actually, I already have one on my back, a dragon to be exact." (William)
"Oh, I'd like to see it someday." (Andreus)
(Although it's not a tattoo to be exact, it's more of a symbol.) (William)
William's Drake Scale Armour was a piece of equipment that melted into his skin when not in use. The moment William obtained it from his system, it melted into his body, leaving a symbol on his back: a Silver Drake that looked alive on his skin.
(Luckily, it can be hidden, which saves me a lot of trouble). (William)
The tattoo was not permanent, just like the armour, it could disappear whenever William wanted.
(Looks like I'll have a new one tonight) (William)
William turned his attention to the bright screen in front of him.
[Reward for the Imp King: Piece of Equipment Right Arm.]
[Second reward: Random effect accessory]
(I understand this thing less and less, it seems so capricious) (William)
If William were alone, he would tap the floating screen several times with his fingers, but now that he was accompanied, that would be strange, to say the least offensive.
"Ting"
With the sound of the doorbell, dozens of children dressed as scouts entered the restaurant, and the adult dressed to match the rest approached the counter.
"Give me 20 plain burgers to go and 20 drinks." (Scout leader)
"Sure, give us a moment to get everything ready."
"They don't look too big to be scouts." (Max)
"What did you say, f..." (Scout)
One look from Andreus was enough to shut the young man up. He did look too old to be a scout.
"If it weren't for Toby, we'd be roasting marshmallows over the campfire right now."
"Good day to get sick to your stomach, you idiot."
"My stomach hurts. I want to go home, you damn fool."
Several young people complained about their bespectacled companion, who just hung his head guiltily.
"Enough, we weren't supposed to be in the forest in the first place, it was just a quick outing so it doesn't matter if we finish early today" (Scout leader)
William and the others stopped paying attention to them and continued with their dinner.
"By the way, why does Will look like he just went for a run and the two of us look like shit?" (Max)
Both Andreus and Max were covered in dust, smelled like they had been in a fire, and had scrapes on their clothes, while William looked fresh after wiping the sweat off his face with a handkerchief and fixing his hair with his fingers.
"It must be some kind of object. That's what your family does, right?" (Andreus)
"That's right" (William)
William held his bear-shaped brooch; it was essential to always carry it with him.
"Wait, you're one of the Stones, the greatest makers of runic objects?" (Max)
Max's eyes widened in surprise. He had originally thought that only their surnames were the same.
"You can make something for me!" (Max)
"Max!" (Andreus)
"Sure, what do you want? I'll give you a friend discount." (William)
William took a diary out of his backpack, which contained most of his designs and work from earlier in the year. The last piece of cake disappeared from the plate.
"You don't have to accept, Will. You should be very busy with your studies, just like my children." (Andreus)
"It's no problem. Go ahead, Max." (William)
Max spent a few minutes talking to William about what he wanted to order.
"Here's my bank account for the deposit." (William)
"We'll send your share of the Imp King contract to this account" (Andreus)
"My share?" (William)
"That's right, you saved us from some horrible burns and most of the King's fight was against you" (Andreus)
"I'll gladly accept it, I think it's time for us to go" (William)
24-Hour Shop
"Are you sure you want us to drop you off here?" (Andreus)
"I'll go back to the academy after I pick up a few things, don't worry." (Andreus)
"Academy?" (Max)
"The Nevermore Academy." (Andreus)
"Urgh, that school for rich kids." (Max)
Max grimaced in disgust.
"Okay, Will, see you later, take care." (Andreus)
"Bye, Will." (Max)
William walked to the shop before realising he wasn't of legal age.
"Shit." (William)
"William, is that you?" (Valerie)
"You're the girl from Veleta" (William)
"Valerie, do you want me to buy alcohol for you and your friends?" (Valerie)
She was the attractive girl from the Veleta café in Jericho, the one who gave him her phone number hoping to receive a call from him that never came.
"Why do you think that?" (William)
"Maybe it's because you're here alone in this deserted shop in the middle of the night. I did that too at school, but if you don't want to, that's fine." (Valerie)
"Thanks in advance, here's the money" (William)
"What do you want?" (Valerie)
"Whatever teenagers take nowadays" (William)
"You're a teenager too, give me a few minutes" (Valerie)
Valerie walked away with the pleasant sound of her heels on the concrete and swaying her hips. A few minutes later, she came out with a double paper bag.
"Here's for your trouble." (William)
William offered her some money and took his things. He was a little tired from everything that had happened in one day. It was supposed to be just a quick trip and intrusion into the Sheriff's office.
"Be careful with the police, and maybe later you can call me and we can go out to see a film." (Valerie)
"Maybe another day. Thanks for the favour. See you another time." (William)
"Wait, don't you want me to take you home?" (Valerie)
William disappeared into the darkness of the night without answering, leaving only the sound of his enormous wings behind.