The Huntsman | A&B
@venandi
There weren't many people left in the world that she cared about. And maybe that was by design, but the names on that too short list meant more than the world to her. She'd do anything for any of them, like drop everything and come running with nothing but a phone call. Or maybe that was just him. Braeden didn't catch the earliest redeye and hightail it thousands of miles for just anyone, after all.
Not without charging extra, that is. But for him? Gratis. With their history, it was the least she could do.
Strolling the halls of the NOU campus, she casually observed the various awards and accolades that decorated the walls, mild interest in her gaze as it passed over trophy cases and faculty portraits, donator plaques and other circle-jerk memorabilia. She might've been an NOU alum, but she'd never been one for "school spirit." Leave that to the Zeta Delta Douchebags and the like.
The path down memory lane ended with an office guarded by a lone secretary's desk, which currently sat empty. The door behind it was open just a crack, barely enough to hear a familiar voice on the other side. Braeden didn't wait for Horn-rimmed Barbie to finallt stumble upon her and announce her to the room. She stepped around the desk, toward the office, and pushed the door open far enough to lean her shoulder against the frame.
Arms folded, ankle crossed over her leg, a warmth in her gaze that didn't quite make it to the lines of her expression, Braeden silently watched as Alarc Saltzman spared her a meaningful glance before wrapping up his meeting with his secretary. When the pencil skirt shouldered past her with a polite, "Excuse me," and less polite disapproval in her eyes, she nodded an acknowledgment of the woman before pushing off the doorframe into the office and closing the door behind her.
"My, we are important these days," muttered Braeden, inspecting the various, now familiar, knickknacks on the shelves in Ric's office. Impassive as the words were said, the joke was in the truth of them. Alaric was important. Every day. Not just these days.
Still perusing his stuff, as she did on most visits to this office, she mused, "You wanted to see me?"