Artie's hand shot out from under the covers and onto the nightstand. It flopped about there for a few moments before she lifted her head and half opened one eye. With a few seconds, the commlink came into focus and she tapped the screen, finally putting an end to the incessant beeping.
She let her head drop back onto he pillow and lay there. Her eyes opened. Her eyes closed. Her eyes opened. She squeezed them shut and then grunted in frustration, tossing the covers off and sitting up. Looking over to the commlink, she curled her lip and then picked it up.
"What's so important it has to be at six in the morning?" she complained as she checked the message.
>>@Artie [Athos] Hey Artie. Athos here. If you are not doing anything, how about joining Minnie and me at Gino's at eight this morning for breakfast. I am sure that you still know your way there. I will call and have a table for three. Get back to me if it is bad for you. I have a proposition so try to be there.<<
Breakfast at Gino's in two hours could be a good reason to be up so early. She clapped her hands to her face, rubbing the last remnants of sleep away before rising and heading to the bathroom. A proposition sounded like work, maybe. Work was always good. Course, what work could it be if he was dragging the mouse along with him?
Just fifteen minutes was what it took to be out of the house and on the street. Making her way from the Barrens to that part of the greater Seattle Area would take the better part of an hour and a half if she moved so there wasn't time to waste. Happily, a good work out would keep her in shape and spark up an appetite for a big meal. She'd be sure that Athos picked up the tab, to make up for the early wake up call.
He might be up before the sun as a matter of course, but a girl needed her beauty sleep. She spent a few minutes in a stretching routine and with a wave to Old Man Harris at the corner mart, she took off at a solid running pace down the street. Making it to the end, she turned into an alley, leapt onto a dumpster, kicked off the edge, and grabbed the rail of a fire escape at the second floor. She quickly hauled herself up and then ascended the steps to the fifth floor roof.
From there to Bellevue, she'd never touch the ground.
Crossing from the Barrens into Bellevue was never that tough and once on that side, she just caught a ride on bus and let the public transportation system take her the rest of the way.
Getting off the bus, she shouldered her bag and walked briskly to the diner. Her eyes darted swiftly back and forth, she didn't miss much. Athos and Minnie had just stepped in after giving a good once over to a group of bikes parked just outside. Good, I'm not late, she thought to herself as she reached the door.
Opening it, she saw that the waitress was just about to seat the two. Athos gave Minnie the preference of which side of the table to sit on and just as the changeling was about to settle into the booth, Artie vaulted the booth, her feet easily clearing and slipped herself right into the inside position of the booth, placing the glass on one side and Minnie on the other, forcing the mouse to the outside seat and unable to switch seats without making it utterly awkward.
"Heya! Whatcha doin?" she grinned.