The night was already strewn with stars. The moon hung low in the sky, a fine crescent disappearing every now and again behind veils of clouds. All around, the city was a puzzle of lights and domes and temple roofs. But as peaceful as it looked, it was by no means quiet. Strings of twenty-somethings were taking to the streets, loud college students chatting excitedly as they hit the bars and started going out. Friend groups bumped into each other. Laughs echoed every now and then.
The six girls were sitting on the rooftop terrace of Spencer's new flat, a small but flashy studio in the heart of New Rome. The terrace had columns at each corner, linked by a wooden pergola covered in greenery. A warm brazier was lit to the side, carved with images of Fortuna and Victoria feasting at a banquet - an entire month of savings went into that little piece but Spencer liked investing in pretty golden things. The flames of the fire cast flickering shadows on the couches and beverages, dancing over their laughing faces. It had been a while since the Hunters had been in the vicinity of New Rome, so of course Spencer had asked them to come spend the night in civilisation. They had to make the most of it, who knew when they'd get another chance? The girls had met at the battle against the forces of Tarquinius a while back and kept in touch ever since. Well, met. They fought off dozens of undead in the streets of New Rome together. You could call that bonding.
But currently, they were in the middle of a big chat about the pros and cons of the modern world. The Hunters might not live amongst mortals but they did witness the destruction of wilderness firsthand, and the younger recruits kept up with the news enough to give the rest of the Hunt a general idea of what was going on in the world.
"Look, I'm not saying it was better back in my time," Louise-Françoise said. She was sitting in an armchair with her feet propped up on the armrest, sipping a lemonade. "The variety of stuff you have here? The accessibility? Insane. The mere concept of supermarkets is something I still can't quite grapple with."
"Really?" Tiberia frowned, amused.
"Yeah! You mean to tell me you can just walk in somewhere and they'll have like. Food. And drinks. And fresh fish. And chargers and candles and bedding and medicine?? Seriously you used to have to run all over town to get everything together, often you had to go see specialists or go to specific farms for certain dairy products, and you people just stroll into a big store and have everything there. I mean you have fruits and veg from all over the world. Do you know how hard it was to get an orange back in the day? A goddamn orange?"
"Actually I have a question," Spencer said, putting down her beer. She cracked her fingers slowly, looking from one Hunter to the next. "What is the biggest thing we in the world of today take for granted? Like in terms of things we don't realize are actually a huge deal. According to you. "
The six girls were sitting on the rooftop terrace of Spencer's new flat, a small but flashy studio in the heart of New Rome. The terrace had columns at each corner, linked by a wooden pergola covered in greenery. A warm brazier was lit to the side, carved with images of Fortuna and Victoria feasting at a banquet - an entire month of savings went into that little piece but Spencer liked investing in pretty golden things. The flames of the fire cast flickering shadows on the couches and beverages, dancing over their laughing faces. It had been a while since the Hunters had been in the vicinity of New Rome, so of course Spencer had asked them to come spend the night in civilisation. They had to make the most of it, who knew when they'd get another chance? The girls had met at the battle against the forces of Tarquinius a while back and kept in touch ever since. Well, met. They fought off dozens of undead in the streets of New Rome together. You could call that bonding.
But currently, they were in the middle of a big chat about the pros and cons of the modern world. The Hunters might not live amongst mortals but they did witness the destruction of wilderness firsthand, and the younger recruits kept up with the news enough to give the rest of the Hunt a general idea of what was going on in the world.
"Look, I'm not saying it was better back in my time," Louise-Françoise said. She was sitting in an armchair with her feet propped up on the armrest, sipping a lemonade. "The variety of stuff you have here? The accessibility? Insane. The mere concept of supermarkets is something I still can't quite grapple with."
"Really?" Tiberia frowned, amused.
"Yeah! You mean to tell me you can just walk in somewhere and they'll have like. Food. And drinks. And fresh fish. And chargers and candles and bedding and medicine?? Seriously you used to have to run all over town to get everything together, often you had to go see specialists or go to specific farms for certain dairy products, and you people just stroll into a big store and have everything there. I mean you have fruits and veg from all over the world. Do you know how hard it was to get an orange back in the day? A goddamn orange?"
"Actually I have a question," Spencer said, putting down her beer. She cracked her fingers slowly, looking from one Hunter to the next. "What is the biggest thing we in the world of today take for granted? Like in terms of things we don't realize are actually a huge deal. According to you. "