There were a few muttered greetings from the other Colors as Beige approached their group of tables, a wide grin plastered onto his face. His blond hair had an even more disheveled quality than usual, his face covered with stubble. He stopped just short of Olivia, leaning in for an embrace. Olivia took a step back, eyeing the man suspiciously.
"I didn't know you were coming."
Beige's smile somehow widened.
"And yet, here I am! Hah!" He slapped Olivia on the shoulder. "You didn't think you'd go after him without me, did you?"
Olivia brushed his hand off of her.
"So the bribes worked?" She asked coolly.
"Sure did. Hah! Detectives decided I was innocent!" Beige threw his head back in laughter. "Bless the LPI!" He shouted.
The mercenaries at the bar looked over their shoulders to see what the commotion was about. Olivia grabbed Beige by the arm and dragged him into the Colors, shushing him. Still grinning, he looked from face to face, nodding his greetings to each of his former comrades.
"Good to see you all!"
A few eyes were rolled, a few chuckles laughed. Olivia shook her head to herself, wondering what she'd done to deserve two encounters with the loud-mouthed mercenary in such close succession.
The persisting muttering of the Colors suddenly ceased as, in unison, they turned their heads towards the entrance to the canteen. Two men crossed the threshold, one looking like a bear, hair and beard scruff, covered in a heavy coat lined with fur, the other shorter and leaner, clad in tight-fitting black body armor, his dark red hair flowing about his head as though exempt from the laws of gravity. Olivia sighed in relief as Blue and Maroon approached. Some of the weight of leading the band of mercenaries was lifted off her shoulders.
"Sorry," Blue muttered once he was within earshot, "for letting him run ahead like that. He was too excited to walk with us."
Beige guffawed at the remark.
"I'm just glad you made it back in time," Olivia replied gratefully. She turned to face the red-headed man and nodded a greeting. "Maroon, good to see you."
He greeted her in kind, a feint smile on his face.
"It's been a while, Sable," he spoke softly, barely audible over the banter and laughter emanating from the hired guns at the bar. "A shame that it would take this to reconvene us all." He glanced around the group, smiling at each former member of the company.
Crossing her arms in front of her, Amber stepped forward, next to Blue, and turned to face Olivia.
"And now that we're all here, care to reveal your great plan to us?"
