THE MOMENT
"Vivi, right? Hi, I'm Monday," the rainbow-haired teen introduced herself to the girl with violet hair. Vivi sat behind a desk and a clear pane of glass; today she was on check-in duty for the doctor.
"Hey, I've heard about you. You're Ark's sister?" Vivi smiled and offered Monday a handshake through the small opening; Monday declined.
"And, a Luna," she explained why she didn't want to touch Vivi so she wouldn't get offended.
"Ah, gotcha. What's up?" Vivi asked as she withdrew her hand.
"Can I talk to you privately for a few minutes?" she asked. Vivi looked past Monday at the waiting room half-full of mythical creatures. All the patients had already been checked in and had their vitals taken.
"Sure, give me a sec," Vivi nodded. She turned behind her. "Taking a break, Maya," she said. After the unseen woman replied, Vivi got up from behind the desk and walked through the door. She encouraged Monday to follow her out through another door and into the staff break room. There were two large round tables surrounded by chairs. A large stainless steel refrigerator stood next to a countertop that had two microwaves on it.
"Everything okay?" Vivi asked. She didn't know much about Monday. She was aware of the girl's existence, and knew she was half unicorn and half vampire like her brother. But, she had no idea why Monday would ask to speak to her alone; she guessed it might be something medical considering where they were.
"Yeah, I just wanted to ask if you knew anything about one of the students. You were there when Abby came back to school after she was kidnapped; did anything seem weird? Did you know Abby before that?" Vivi tilted her head at Monday and smirked.
"You're asking about Spider? Yeah, that whole situation is weird, especially the way she reacts if you don't call her Spider," Vivi said. "I didn't know her before," she shrugged. "Wherever she went, she came back knowing how to Traverse. I don't know any other Arana that can do that, that's weird in and of itself."
"Wait...," Monday said. "I don't know anything about Arana's but more than one of the ones I talked to said J.J. could Traverse too?" Vivi shook her head.
"J.J. can only do it with the jacket that Ms. Sharp gave her. Spider can Traverse with spiders. We all know they exist, but no one else has been able to get traversing spiders in their swarm."
"Oh. Do you know where I can find J.J.?" Monday asked.
"Uhh, not right this minute, but I can ask," Vivi replied.
"Please," Monday nodded. Vivi closed her eyes for a moment. Monday glanced at Vivi's wrists out of habit, but she did not see any text being Whispered. She waited longer than she expected; it was almost a full five minutes before Vivi opened her eyes again.
"Sorry it took so long. She wanted to know why you wanted to talk to her, so I told her you were asking about Spider; I hope that's okay?" Vivi asked. Her voice sounded unsure, but Monday nodded.
"Great, so, she said she'd meet you later tonight if you want. She'll be in Atlantis." Monday nodded in agreement, and Vivi continued. "You know, since you brought J.J. up, it reminded me of something Riot mentioned," Vivi paused. "You know Riot?" she asked.
"Calavera, orange hair, your team captain?" Monday asked. Vivi giggled.
"I guess you do. I didn't think of it until just now; but, before Abby came back, Riot mentioned another Arana named Spider. When Riot was little she went to a Sharp school, and one time they toured one of Ms. Sharp's labs." Monday listened intently while Vivi explained her new memory.
"She said that Ms. Sharp told a story of an Arana that pretty much went crazy. Its human body was killed, but Ms. Sharp was able to trap the soul and put it inside a giant spider. Ms. Sharp also mentioned that the poor guy would lose his mind if he wasn't called 'Spider'."
"Wow, thanks," Monday said. "I guess I've got a lead to kill time with until tonight." Vivi nodded.
"Yeah... I wasn't worried about Spid... Abby before. But, now I kind of am."
"I'll look into it," Monday said. She wanted to reassure Vivi; but, at the same time, she didn't know enough about Abby to care. Monday pulled out a black card and threw it on the floor. But, Vivi added one more piece of advice as Monday stepped into the portal.
"Oh yeah. J.J. specified either before twelve or after one a.m.;" Vivi said. "She's playing in the murder mystery on the terrace at midnight."