The night air hit colder once they stepped out of the ramen shop, the warmth of broth still clinging faintly to Lucen's throat. The streets were quieter now, lantern lights flickering and a few cars rumbling by in the distance. Their footsteps echoed off the narrow road, Varik steady and controlled, Lucen looser, his hood pulled low again.
Lucen let out a satisfied sigh. "You know… noodles weren't a bad idea. Don't tell me you eat there every night."
"Not every night," Varik said without looking at him.
Lucen smirked. "So what, just when you drag rookies out of burning buildings?"
Varik didn't answer. He never did when Lucen fished too hard.
The silence stretched, broken only by the buzz of an old streetlamp overhead. Then, suddenly, the ground trembled. Just once at first. Then again, harder.
