Another cold night arrived, barely any clouds in the sky, allowing the crescent moon to illuminate the town.
CLICK
"Who goes to sleep when their door's unlocked?"
An old man walked into the house. He snapped his fingers, and a spark grew into a small flame, illuminating the room.
He entered the kitchen. Not much was different from how he left it, except for a pot he found on the stove.
He opened it, a frown forming on his face.
"Don't you know how expensive rice is around here?"
He turned to face Ria, who stood behind him.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"This is my house."
He turned on the stove.
"I should be asking you that."
"Asteria."
"Aashex. I suppose this is edible?"
He pointed to the inside of the pot.
"Yes," Ria replied, her gaze drifting toward the ball of fire hovering close to the ceiling.
Aashex served it onto a plate and sat by the table.
The ball hovered above him, highlighting his gray hair, which contained patches of dark brown.
The man took a bite.
His brows furrowed.
It's decent, he thought to himself.
"Did you make this?"
He turned to Asteria, who studied him from the kitchen.
"No, Fae did."
"And where is this... Fae?"
"He should be asleep by now, or at least something like that."
The man looked at her skeptically.
"And you?"
"Not in the mood."
"For sleep?"
He chuckled, coughing a bit.
"If you say so."
She returned to her room, leaving the old man to have his meal.
***
The morning came like any other, sunlight creeping in through the window as Faelan lay in bed.
They were ragons. All of them.
His mind drifted to the people he'd seen, the marks on their bodies.
Did Jarek know?
He sat up.
He should have told me.
Could he not? Then why tell me to come here in the first place?
Faelan walked over to the window.
He looked outside.
It was a narrow alleyway between the two buildings, barely wide enough for two people to pass without brushing shoulders. Pipes and cables crossed between them, some hanging low enough to duck beneath. The walls of the buildings were a mess of old concrete, exposed brick, and sheets of mismatched metal.
Did he not want to tell me?
I wouldn't tell me either.
An aroma drifted Faelan from his thoughts.
He approached the main room.
An old man was in the kitchen, his sleeves rolled back as he kneaded dough. Ria leaned against the counter, watching him.
"Good morning, Fae."
Ria turned to him.
"Good morning," he replied, his eyes drifting toward the man kneading the dough.
"So you're Fae, huh?"
Aashex placed the dough in the oven.
"It's Faelan, actually."
His eyes landed on the mark seared into the man's neck, his expression darkening.
"You can call me Aashex."
The man brought out a thick wooden bowl, filling it with soaked peas. He handed Faelan a cylindrical stick to match.
"Crush these for me."
Faelan collected them reluctantly.
"What's with the look? Wake up on the wrong side of the bed after cooking some of my food yesterday?"
Faelan stiffened.
"Sorry about that."
He began crushing the peas.
"Don't worry," Aashex replied, washing his hands. "It's not the first time. The last person that came here almost burnt my kitchen down."
"How does that happen?" Ria inquired.
"I'd be lying if I said I knew how."
He chuckled.
Aashex opened an overhead cupboard, removing a small jar with grey powder inside.
"Anyways, I should probably tell you about a few things."
He walked out of the kitchen and settled into a chair.
"This is a special kind of housing arrangement. The fact that you're here either means you're somewhat important or have deep pockets. You can stay for as long as the boss says is okay. You can use whatever food you find in the kitchen, but if it runs out, you're on your own until I'm ready to get more."
He poured some powder onto a piece of paper and rolled it up, putting one edge in his mouth. The other edge glowed a bit before producing thin lines of smoke.
Faelan's eyes narrowed.
"What else..." he continued after taking a breath. "...You steer clear of my room, do chores around the house and..."
He paused.
"Can't think of anything else, but for now that'll do."
He turned to Faelan.
"Are you done with that?"
He gestured to the wooden bowl, now containing paste.
"Yes," Faelan replied.
Aashex got up. He placed the paste into smaller containers, then boiled them in a larger pot.
Not long after, he removed the dough from the oven. He cut the bread into three pieces, turned the stove off, then brought the containers out.
The paste had solidified into a pink, spongy block.
"There's your breakfast," Aashex remarked, taking his share back to the table.
Ria did the same, a puzzled look on her face as she sat down. She took a bite of the spongy block.
A smile spread across her face.
"This is really good."
"Glad you like it," Aashex replied. "Found the recipe in a small town far south. Low effort for how good it is."
"I agree," she replied, having another bite.
Faelan studied their exchange as he ate in the kitchen.
It's okay, I guess.
***
A man in his late forties sat by the window of his two-storey house, taking sips of tea. His glassy brown-orange eyes scanned the town, illuminated by the morning sun.
KRRRRR
His eyes snapped towards the machine producing the sound.
A dark gray, wall-mounted box. A small glass square glowed on its side, beneath it were buttons, and a slit beneath produced a piece of paper.
He walked to it, tearing the paper out.
It contained a grainy sketch of a man in his early twenties, with the following printed beneath it.
GENERAL BROADCAST
WANTED: Alive
Reward: One million Rells
When found, bring to any of the following:
27.0350° N, 14.4289° W
12.3700° N, 5.2600° E
27.9881° N, 86.9250° E
34.0253° N, 118.4950° W
Other details:
Hair color: Dark brown
Eye color: Gray
Height: 175–185 cm
Refers to himself as 'Faelan'.
Currently Unbranded.
"Interesting..."
The words escaped his lips as he looked through it.
Not my problem though.
He crumpled up the paper, throwing it into a corner.
He returned to his seat by the window, sipping his tea.
***
"I'm heading out," Faelan said, wearing his jacket.
"Where are you going?" Ria inquired.
"I'm just taking a look around."
Niri padded by his legs.
"You shouldn't take that thing around town. She might get lost or cause trouble," Aashex interjected.
"She wouldn't cause trouble." He looked down at Niri, petting her. "But if you say so." He sighed. "Stay here," he whispered.
With a silent click, Faelan shut the door behind him.
He looked through the streets. He could see people passing by and the occasional vehicle. He turned right and started walking.
He passed by shops selling home appliances, various communication devices, food, drinks, and weapons. He noticed an unhealthy amount of shops selling all kinds of weapons.
Sometimes he came across alleys filled with children, thin and sickly, some having the marks on their hands. Most stared at him warily.
I don't blame them, I wouldn't have come here if I knew.
A girl bumped into him.
"Watch where you're going next time," she retorted.
He watched her walking away.
He squeezed the coin in his hand.
Did she just try to steal from me?
He felt her hand slip into his empty pocket. His eyes stayed on her for a while before moving on.
He noticed a missing person poster. From the description, he could tell it was a child.
Another one, huh?
It wasn't the first one he'd noticed. He understood it wouldn't be the last.
It's not really a surprise.
He arrived at a tall stone structure. It was bent, its surface covered in lumps and dents. There was a short wall built around it, nowhere near tall enough to conceal it.
Faelan approached it. Its distance from the wall was barely an arm's length.
He reached out.
It looks like the one from back then.
His hand touched it. The stone was vibrating, producing a subtle hum.
"You shouldn't be touching that."
Faelan turned toward the direction of the voice, removing his hand from the structure.
A woman in her late fifties sat on a nearby bench.
"What is it?" Faelan asked.
"What it looks like, a strange rock," she replied. "You're new in town, aren't you? Keep an old lady company, would you?"
She tapped the seat beside her, a mark present on the back of her hand.
Faelan hesitated. He looked around; there was barely anyone else around.
"Are you scared of me? Or is it that you wouldn't want to be caught having a conversation with me?" Her glassy lavender eyes locked onto Faelan.
"It's not..." He moved to sit at the edge of the bench.
The woman gave a polite smile. "Wonderful weather we're having, isn't it?"
The weather...? he thought.
"It's a bit hot, to be honest, especially for somewhere that should be close to a sea."
"A sea? Of course not. No one in their right mind would live close to the sea." She chuckled.
"Then why is it called Veictrid Harbour?"
"I personally don't know, but there is something close to a sea that we have nearby. Levid."
"Levid? What is it?"
"You could call it a sea of sand, but it's just a fancy desert."
"Ohh."
A sand harbour then?
"Do you mind telling me what a handsome young man like you is doing out here?"
"Just looking around town. What about you?"
"I'm waiting on my grandson."
"Where is he?"
"On his way here. He'll go get some things we need around the house. I thought I'd see him whilst I'm on break."
"Break? Do you work around here?"
"Yes." She gestured to a building across the street. "As a doctor there, although I can't say it's a hospital."
"Did you use to work in one?"
"Yes, but that was a long time ago."
Her gaze was drawn to a teenage boy passing by. He had glassy gold eyes, his black hair blowing softly in the wind. He waved at the woman.
She stood, waving back.
Faelan looked at her red hair, with speckles of gray cascading down her back.
"Why didn't his parents go?"
"Because it's just us. He's not exactly mine. I don't know what happened to his parents, neither does he."
She turned to Faelan.
"I'll be leaving now. Thank you for keeping me company. My name is Akedi, by the way. What's yours?"
"...Faelan."
"Goodbye, Faelan. I hope you don't end up at my workplace." She laughed.
Faelan stared at her leaving.