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Cherri, contrary to the popular belief of the media, has a life outside of being a vigilante.
She doesn’t really get why so many people seem to think her entire self revolves around being Phoenix, especially when Phoenix is far from the most active vigilante or villain in the scene and none of her crimes make her money which she (unfortunately) needs to pay bills and survive.
So, yes, despite what random people on the internet think, the vigilante Phoenix does have a day job.
And they enjoy their job! Working at a library is generally relaxing and doesn’t draw too much attention to them while they get to aid in the distribution of knowledge to the public in little ways. They get to wake up, come into work, point children and adults alike to the right places for them to find the books they’re looking for, and then later sort those same books into the places they belong on pretty wooden bookshelves. The fact that their particular library’s basement is also an archive that they have easy access to for sorting and cataloguing various documents—which includes but is not limited to some government records and city blueprints—is just an added bonus for both her vigilante work and salary. They aren’t breaking any rules by snooping occasionally either. All the files in the archive are available to the public, they’re just a little harder for the average person to find. You have know about the archive, then ask to be taken down, then check in, plus the entire time you're down there, there’s a library worker with you. It’s generally just easier to go as part of their job all the time and look for information every once in a while, that way they don’t risk being viewed as suspicious.
All this to say, Cherri enjoys her job at the library. She is enjoying it on this random sunny Thursday as much as any other day, until the front doors open and a tall woman walks in and shes looking up and suddenly…
Why the fuck is the Hero Institute’s prodigy Umbra standing front of them right now.
Well, technically the hero Umbra isn’t standing in front of her, Apo Kuna is. Apo Kuna who is publicly known to be the daughter of Hero Institute head Sal Kuna, and the woman under the mask of the newest hero prodigy.
Apo Kuna, whose hero identity is sworn enemies with Phoenix, Cherri’s vigilante persona.
Once again, what the fuck is she doing at their day job.
They don’t seem to recognize her, which is good. She put thought into her vigilante outfit, having Tinker create the large, bright, fake wings to draw the eye so people would think she’s a pyromaniacal avian and therefore don't bat an eye at Cherri Fire, the random wingless fire elemental who works at the library. It’s worked so far, but shes never had to talk with someone who’s interacted with Phoenix so much. After nearly half a minute of awkwardly staring at each other, Apo still doesn’t seem to notice anything so either her design plans work very well, or they’re a little blind.
(Considering the amount of lamp posts they’ve seen her run into, it could very easily be the latter, but they're going to give themself a little bit of credit)
"Sorry," she mutters eventually, turning her head away in what she hopes come across as embarrassment but is actually just an excuse for Apo to not look too much at the flame over her left eye that looks rather similar to the flames she uses in battle. "I wasn't expecting…" she trails off, trying to plan how she wants to finish the sentence and go about this interaction.
"It's fine!" Apo laughs light and unbothered, "It happens sometimes."
"Right… Well, is there anything I can help you with?" they ask, eye averted and voice low. They play into the shy librarian act, hoping that it will be different enough from their usual demeanor that she won't suspect them of anything, even if she realizes that their voice is rather similar to Phoenix's.
"I was hoping you could show me to the books about avians? I have some research I wanted to do on them." Oh the way Cherri would have loved to throw herself out the window rather than help her enemy try to do research on her. Instead, she nods with a polite smile and walks out from behind the front desk with a beckoning motion so Apo will follow.
The two walk in another awkward silence at first, making their way through rows of bookshelves. They can feel the way Apo's staring at them, her eyes lingering on the wisps of fire that dance over their face. They bury the urge to snap at her to stop staring as they walk up a flight of stairs.
Then, the woman behind her mutters out a sentence that she can't quite hear other than the final word of pretty.
Cherri make's a small, startled noise in the back of her throat, whipping her head around to stare at Apo, perplexed. Despite being a few steps below her, their height makes up for it and leaves her face-to-face with her smiling enemy. "What?" she questions, baffled and in her usual clear and sharp voice, faux timidity and secret-identity-keeping measures be damned.
"Your flame," she clarifies, nodding towards the left side of their face, "it's very pretty. I like the pink, and it lights your face nicely." She smiles brightly and Cherri grunts out a small 'thank you' in return before turning forward again and continuing up the stairs. "Does it ever burn things?"
Cherri bites her tongue so she doesn't start telling them to shut up and focus on researching avians in an incorrect attempt to get to know more about her. Normally she would be much more agreeable when it comes to talking about being a fire elemental, but she'd rather Apo know as little about both her civilian and vigilante lives as possible. "It's uh… the fire only warms things," she mutters, desperately trying to slip back into the shy librarian character. "You could touch it with your hands or hold paper to it and nothing would burn. Though I'd rather don't test it out."
They add on the last bit because they don't want her thinking that she can just touch them and their fire, not because it's a lie. Against their better judgement, they actually gave her a truthful answer for the most part. They obviously don't mention that this technically depends on their emotions and if they're especially angry then the little ember can spread over them, set their hair ablaze, and scorch anything that isn't her in its path. They also don't point out that the statement only applies to the flame over their face, that the rest of their fire can very easily burn flesh and flammable material alike. They don't tell Apo that she actually knows the effects of their fire firsthand.
"Of course, of course," Apo agrees easily, like they wouldn't have tried in the first place. "Still, that's fascinating…" they mutter in what seems to be genuine awe and interest. The two make it to the top of the stairs and Apo moves to walk next to Cherri instead of behind her, their upper arm accidentally brushing against her shoulder in the process. She startles away from the contact and Apo apologizes, before making sure to keep a little distance between the two as they continue towards their destination.
(The gesture is sweet, Cherri will admit that. The entire interaction has been filled with Apo being nothing but kind and they almost feel bad for being so on edge and internally hostile because of a rivalry that the red-haired woman is currently unaware of)
(Almost)
After another moment, the two end up standing in front of rows of shelves lined with books about the biologies, cultures, and other general information about various species. Cherri gestures a hand to a specific shelf full of avian-focused books, then nods timidly and walks away so she can return to the front desk of the library to help others and be away from Apo.
Before they can make it far, Apo calls out to them one last time. They swallow, then turn slowly to her. She looks over them for a moment, then smiles bright and almost blinding. "Thank you so much for your help, Ms. Cherri."
Face a little warm and voice lost from the sight and sound of Apo gently thanking her by name—they must have read her name tag to do so and she briefly but seriously considers throwing it either into one of her more dangerous fires or at their stupid, soft face—she barely manages another silent nod before walking hastily back down the stairs.
(They decide, once they're back at the front desk, that they will settle for punching Apo in the face the next time they fight as Phoenix and Umbra)