[b]Before the Blackout[/b] --- Amanda had never been shocked before. Not in the sense that was accustomed to people in general. She had been aghast at Daniel’s or some other poor soul’s incompetence in her line of work, but never had she suffered negative physical symptoms from it. Amanda had troubles breathing. Her palms were sweaty and shaking. The sudden impact of chaos had turned the otherwise high society queen into a disgusting mess. But luckily she had run into Nicole. The woman was Amanda’s best bet of getting out of this horrid situation alive, perhaps even unscathed. Nicole’s lighting reflexes and protective action disrupted whatever sanity there was left in Amanda’s mind. The intentions were altruistic, but nonetheless unexpected. The random explosions did not add much comfort to the equation, to say the least. “Did you have any power? Any news at all?” said Nicole. “Power..? No, I was speaking to…Daniel? I think… and everything just went dark,” Amanda replied with a hesitant and trembling voice. “I… I don’t know what’s going on… I have to get to the studio,” she continued. “I don’t think we should head deeper into the city. Even before planes started falling from the sky, I saw mobs forming. The police are there, but I don't know what's happening now,” Nicole continued. Amanda tore herself loose from Nicole’s protection and retorted in despair: “You don’t understand, Nikki. I have to get to the studio… I don’t care what’s going on, I have to get there,” said Amanda. “I don’t know how much we’ll be able to move,” said Nicole. “We’ll take the backroads. Alleyways. Away from the crowd. Stay with me and keep moving, alright? You okay to walk? There’s a bench over there if you need to sit?” “I can walk, I think. Just help me… bad choice as you can see,” said Amanda and glanced at her shoes. The girl locked her arm into Nicole’s to support and allow herself to trek faster than otherwise possible. Amanda exhaled deeply while staring into the ground before her at a slight angle. “Okay, let’s go,” she finally said. [b]Present Day[/b] --- Amanda flinched slightly at the comment from Nicole which contained erotic undertones of some sort, highly illegal the last time she had to read about them. But most likely the girl simply meant exactly what she was saying: to shut the annoyance up. A modest, yet desperate chuckled escaped from Amanda’s person. “Oh, yes, that sounds like a great idea, Nikki—I’ll try that,” said Amanda. “Don’t listen to her Amanda, Nicole’s not as kind with the children like you are. Probably why she leads grunts like us,” said Richter. Amanda glanced at Richter, who was sitting next to her, and then back to Nicole. “I’m not so sure about that,” she said, “this girl right here got talents, which is why she pushes and orders you guys around,” Amanda continued. While the two soldiers were chatting Horace was kind enough to bring Amanda her late night dinner. He knew that such kindness always netted him a few extra tokens in tips. This night was no different. The plate was nice and clean, the food looked decently delicious, and Amanda was sufficiently satisfied so far. She slipped the man a few tokens and smirked at him. Amanda was a regular after all. Contributing to the food and service was the least she could do. The girl returned her attention to the two soldiers when Richter was about to leave. “Sleep well, Rich,” she said. Nicole’s words were somewhat comforting. She was the only person Amanda knew from before the blackout, which made it even more so important to cherish and heed her words and company. Amanda sighed. While what Nicole said was partially true, Amanda could not help but to feel a bit distraught. She did not know why she felt that way or what she could do to set it right, but what she did know was that just being with and near Nicole made things slightly less horrible. “I don’t know… I guess I’m fine. It’s not like there’s nothing to do. I mean, there’s never a spare moment,” said Amanda and poked at her food before biting off another chuck of the meat. She covered her mouth while she chewed, awkwardly catching Nicole’s gaze with her own. “Well, they seem to enjoy whatever you’d call what we’re doing on Thursday nights. I mean… they’re paying for it, so I must be doing something right. But lately I’ve felt like there’s something missing. I’m not getting a kick out of it as I used to… and I don’t know why,” she said and waved at Horace to bring her a tissue. The girl gently wiped away whatever smudges the food had left at the corners of her mouth. “… It’s all very confusing,” she continued. “But whatever, forget about that. How are you doing, sweetie? You are not going shot at out there, are you?—because I’ll kill you myself if are putting yourself in harm’s way, you know.”