"They really do," she laughs. "Wish they ran on something sane like circuitry, then we could just let Ruby rewire 'em."

"Probably they'd get reallllll annoyed about that. Even though they try and do it to us all the time."

"Oh yes. It's only fair to hack people's brains when you're making them normal, don't you know. Giving them the capacity to understand divergent thought is too scary."

"Goddess, yeah. Don't remind me."

She bumps her shoulder against Jinx's and gives her a lopsided smile. "Found family, though, right?"

"Yeah. The good old law of proportional terribleness: 90% is shit, but the last 10% is worth dying for." 

"Damned right, Jinx," she grins. "Hell, that last ten percent is worth living for."

"Damn right."

They emerge from the underground not long after that, on the quiet side of the student hall. Other students pass to either side of them as they emerge from the stairwell, occupied with their own business.

Bustle bustle, little normies. Hailey watches them go by.

And off Hailey and Jinx head to a wrap place.

Jinx goes to the place with the certificate of proper slaughter and gets a chicken wrap with a creamy sweet sauce. There's goat wraps on sale too, and samosas.

Hailey grabs a goat wrap with a sour sauce, and a cup of calvera.