Borealis Eight - Coy Crossings

     "Show me where you found that bottle of champagne," Ember said to Aurora as she lifted the girl back onto the rooftop. "You're not supposed to have that. No one's supposed to have that, but, yet, you have it. Or, rather, you had it."
     Aurora noted a slight flicker in Ember's eyes that denoted interest and glee over the curt, half angry tone the girl was using to address her. When Aurora first found the bottle of champagne the day before, she had known that it was going to draw her some unwanted attention, nothing she couldn't have handled, she'd thought, but certainly not this much attention.
     Sitting on the roof now, Aurora made herself comfortable and rested her hands in her lap. "Well," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose I could show you."
     "Good," Ember said. "Then, let's go."
     "But..." Aurora stood up. "As you suggested, I know not of who you are, nor do I know where you come from." She began to slowly walk a circle around the strange blonde girl. "You have an odd way of conducting yourself, and none of your motives are apparent to me. Do you even know why you threatened to drop me off the side of the building?"
     No response, only a stare that followed Aurora without blinking.
     Aurora stopped. "You are odd."
     "And you're a healthy looking girl that's never seen an ounce of trouble in her life." Ember smirked, breaking from her serious tone. "And you're as dumb as a rock."
     A smile worked its way onto Aurora's face. She liked this girl. She was not boring at all. What a breath of fresh air. Aurora was so used to the way the people of the four factions always dealt with her, directly and obviously. Ember liked Aurora, too. It had been quite a while since she had come across anyone who was even remotely intelligent. She just hadn't expected Aurora to sound so smart. There were no schools, let alone teachers and books, on the city's outside, after all. Flummoxed, both girls stood in amazement of one another, wondering what the other was going to say or do next.
     Meanwhile, the sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky by this point, and the city's lights were beginning to flicker on. Below, factories were growling their way into animation and the streets were gorging themselves with the pollution that would later float its way into the night sky. It wouldn't be long now before the factions rested their dirty heads on the concrete of Borealis and took their leave of the day, and the Business Types would soon begin lifting their heads from their criminally soft pillows only to drone their way into their night's day. How funny it was, then, that Ember suddenly had to stifle a yawn as Aurora simultaneously widened her eyes in response to the energy rising up inside of her.
     The irony of the situation was not lost on the girls. So, Ember cocked her head to one side and said, "Friends?"