Chapter Text
This was probably a bad idea.
No, this was definitely a bad idea.
After the events of the Bifrost, Lyfrassir Edda had joined up with the Mechanisms. The Bifrost had made them immortal in the same way the Mechanisms were, so they could brave the daily hazards of being in close proximity to them. For a couple centuries now, they’d been running around, causing havoc.
Now the crew had decided it would be fun to lay low for a bit. “Get a change of pace! See if we can observe people! Cause subtle chaos!” as Raphaella had put it. So now, they were an archival assistant.
Lovely.
They’d been going at this for a couple months now, and had developed a sort of friendship with the other assistants. They didn’t get too close. You never got too close to mortals. They were too soft, too fragile. They broke apart in an instant. And even if they didn’t break, they died in just a few decades. Their lifespan was like a tiny blip compared to yours.
So they declined tea with them every once in a while and made sure to not go to their houses, to not get into personal things, to keep it to a strictly professional relationship. So they wouldn’t be upset when they inevitably died.
They had a pretty good setup. The Aurora was parked in a forest somewhere near the city, so they still slept there. Still met up with the crew there. But for most of the day, they were at work.
“Hey, Lyf,” Tim said, leaning up against their desk. “Whatcha doing?”
“Just work. What are you doing?”
“Not work. What you say we swing by that new coffee shop later? I’ve already convinced Sasha and Martin.”
They nodded. “Sure, that sounds great. I’ll see you then.” Tim smiled and left to go bother someone else.
Half an hour later, their phone buzzed.
no marius we cant get mcdonalds
i do: hey guys im going to the new coffee place anyone wanna come
fuck the ship: sure y not
big brain: Raphaella and Brian say yes. There is a 74% chance that Lyf will not reply to this chat until 3 PM.
smoke inhalation: yea sounds fun
TS: I Would Love To!
eye emoji: Sure, does 4 work?
i do: yea
definitely a baron: ill be there
Lyf looked over at their phone, and, upon seeing it was the Mechs groupchat, they silenced it. They could deal with that after work. Right now, they had things to do.
At three, the Archivist and his assistants headed out to go to a new coffee shop.
Tim took the lead, Sasha rolling beside Lyf, and Martin and Jon in the back. They made small talk as they made their way to the shop.
“How about you all get us a table and I’ll order?” Lyf suggested. They knew everyone’s coffee orders by now. “Any food?”
“I’ll take a muffin,” Sasha said, moving a chair out of the way for her wheelchair.
“Sounds good. Anyone else?”
“Hm…maybe a cinnamon roll,” Jon answered, settling into a chair. “Thanks, Lyf.”
“Course. I’ll go order.” They headed up to the counter and were coming back with the various drinks and food when the door opened.
In came nine people.
Lyf froze.
They knew those nine people.