"Raizen! And the young lady. Wonderful."
"Why are you always everywhere?" Raizen mumbled.
"But I'm always everywhere!"
"Unfortunately, yes - I can see that. I asked why."
"Oh, don't wound me like that! Up, up, come on, I've got eleven minutes!"
Alteea crossed the hall at a pace that made the clerk jog to keep up behind her, took Raizen by the arm without breaking stride, and steered him toward one of the small consultation tables along the far wall as though this had all been arranged weeks ago. The clerk hovered at the edge of it with a slate in both hands, opened his mouth twice, but never talked once.
"Thank you, that's marvellous, go take a small break." She flapped a hand at him. He fled.
Then she sat down — on Raizen's side of the table, hip to hip, close enough that he had to shift over — and left Hikari to take the chair on her own across from them both.
Raizen noticed it. He didn't think Alteea had done it on purpose, which somehow made it worse.
