Caesar leaned back against the weathered bar counter, her spiked golden shield resting beside her like an old friend. The dull hum of Lumina Square’s nightlife buzzed around her, but her focus was on the frothy beer in her hand. The night was still young, and she was already a few drafts deep, the alcohol warming her from the inside out. Her sage green hair, tied in its usual long, low ponytail, swayed slightly as she turned her head, eyes narrowing at the door.

“About time,” she muttered, letting a warm smile curl her lips.

But behind the sharpness of her words, there was a flicker of relief, one she quickly buried beneath her usual bravado.

As her drinking buddy strode in, the tension in her shoulders eased, just a fraction. Caesar raised her glass in a lazy salute, leaning back against the bar as if she hadn't been waiting, hadn't been thinking about the night ahead more than she wanted to admit.

"Well, look who finally showed up," she mused, her voice low, rough with the whiskey still on her tongue. A different burn from the usual Nitro-Fuel, but she wasn't complaining. "Better have a real good reason for bein' late, or I'm taking the next round outta your hide."