The town, as it turned out, was called 'Ganred' and as soon as Hani took his first step inside the gates he knew there was something off about the place. There was a stale smell in the air and most of the lit up buildings appeared to be drinking establishments.
"What else were you expecting?" Levi snorted, obviously noticing the look of distaste on Hani's face. "These isolated inner desert settlements are all shitholes for the scum of Nagimiotani.”
"You'll fit right in then," Hani joked but it came out as rather half hearted as a group of inebriated men tumble out of a tavern door in front of them.
"Watch yourself!" Levi exclaimed, quickly reaching to pull Hani out of the way, having the effect of him somewhat stumbling into the older man.
"I am capable of using my own legs," Hani muttered, grimacing in disgust as one of the men swerved to vomit dangerously near their feet.
"Do you think they even stock non-alcoholic supplies in this place?" Hani enquired drily as they continued to make their way down the lantern lit street.
The burning road-side light sources were 'dragon lamps'. Forged metal dragon heads welded to the top of tall bronze poles. Oil was poured into their gaping mouths and set alight at night. This had the rather impressive effect of making it appear as if the dragons were breathing fire up into the desert's night sky, the smoke pouring out of tunnelled nostrils.
It was architectural features like this that told Hani that this stinking cesspool of a settlement was probably once a thriving desert trade town. However, many of the old trading routes had fallen into disuse, causing pockets of Nagimiotani civilisation like this one to become nothing more than dried up hives of criminal activity.
The metal of the dragon lamps had tarnished and soiled to a near black, reminding Hani painfully of Muna's conjured obsidian dragon when she had been fighting for Levi's freedom.
"We need to find some stables and a room for us to sleep," Levi stated, breaking Hani suddenly from his reverie. "Getting the lowest price for each means they might not necessarily be part of the same establishment," Levi murmured thoughtfully.
"Yeah but in a place like this wouldn't it be sensible to not stay too far from our only camel?" Hani asked, wrinkling his nose and nimbly stepping over a pile of...something. "Plus do we even have any money for rooms?"
A sly smile crept over Levi's face, obviously choosing to ignore the barb about the camel shortage. "Actually kitten, I was rather hoping we'd find some old landlord who only requires a quick kiss from you to pay for rooms."
"Fuck off," Hani blushed, "I should never have told you that story."
Levi chuckled lightly but went to pull a small coin purse out of his pocket, "Relieved a rather large gentlemen of his unwanted loose change back in Moldecs," Levi winked.
"Could you not have 'relieved' a slightly wealthier gentleman?" Hani sniffed as Levi rolled his eyes.
"Really Hani, you're turning into rather a nagging wife."
"I don't think I could ever picture you married Levi," Hani commented wryly as they started to turn down a quieter street with slightly more promising taverns and inns. "You don't seem like the type to settle down."
"Actually, I've always wanted to settle down," Levi replied brightly, startling a genuinely curious look out of Hani.
"Oh," Hani frowned.
"I'm not saying I want a nice little townhouse somewhere with a wife and four screaming brats," Levi snorted. "I just always somewhat fancied running a bookshop of sorts."
"A bookshop," Hani stated disbelievingly.
"I'll have you know that I was a scribe in another life," Levi retorted, "I used to transcribe ancient manuscripts."
"Transcribe my ass," Hani scoffs, "You mean you produced illegal forgeries and sold them on for a fortune?"
"Yes, well," Levi sniffed, "I rather prefer my more elegant way of phrasing it."
"I guess being a shape shifter is the perfect magic for a criminal," Hani noted, gesturing to Levi's currently original form, or at least Hani guessed that was what Levi normally always looked like. "Must make lying low pretty easy?"
"Not as easy as you'd think," Levi muttered darkly. "There are several powers that can unmask shifters, and I can only keep up each glamour for about an hour before needing to switch back to my true form."
"Hey, there's an apothecary," Hani pointed out, nodding to a pale green and currently darkened shop front. He attempted not to smile as he continued talking, "They probably sell pills that could help you with 'keeping it up'."
"Oh he does have a sense of humour!" Levi exclaimed with a half offended, half delighted expression. "And here I was thinking that you, Hani, were the only prude left in Nagimiotani."
"I'm not a prude!" Hani protested indignantly.
"Hani you refuse to look me in the eye when I don't have a shirt on," Levi snorted with a highly amused expression.
"Well maybe I'm looking elsewhere," Hani snapped petulantly before realising his mistake and seeing the resulting triumphant look on Levi's face.
"Not at you!" Hani added hastily, but it was too late and he could already feel his cheeks burning incriminatingly.
"Hani kitten, you never have to explain your hobbies to me," Levi grinned.
"Oh fuck off you smug jerk," Hani huffed before stopping outside a rustic looking stables. "What do you reckon Ethelred?" he asked, turning to look at the camel that Levi had been leading along with them by the reins.
"Ethelred?" Levi exclaimed, sounding outraged.
"What?" Hani shrugged. "You named your camel."
"Yes, but Ethelred?" Levi repeated in an affronted whine. "That's just disrespectful Hani!"
"Don't be such a drama queen," Hani rolled his eyes and tried to bite his lip to stop himself from smiling. "It's remembering and honouring her sacrifice."
"My ass it is," Levi grumbled as they move to further inspect the stables and prices tacked to the wall. "You just want to use every opportunity you can to remind me that you're an insufferable little know it all."
"Well, there's that too," Hani smirked as Levi shot him a dark look.
As it turned out, the stables were able to be haggled down to a reasonable amount for the night. Hani had to admit that Levi was just as skilled at bargaining as Muna even was. Both of them had the same sparkling charm, something captivating in the eyes and laugh that put the seller under some sort of spell.
Hani waited quietly in the background. Ever since losing his magic he felt even more self-consciously dull. He had often found it hard to believe that he and Muna were meant to be twins. She had always seemed older, more creative, more exciting, more alive.
Not anymore, Hani thought grimly before hauling himself back from that dark well of thoughts.
By the time they finally found an inn with a passable and affordable room, they had only ended up about three streets away from the stables. This pleased Hani as he knew he would be able to nip back after they ate in order to check on Ethelred and maybe give him some treats. God only knew the poor animal deserved it after putting up with a bickering Hani and Levi on his back for the last few hours.
The riad-style inn with walled courtyard was a rowdy affair. However, years of pent up curiosity meant that Hani experienced a strange sense of gritty satisfaction at finally entering one of these places.
"Smells like home," Levi announced happily as they made their way through the mingled fumes of alcohol and shisha smoke. "If I had one that is."
Hani drew to a pause, staring at a wizened old man hunched over a particularly fruity smelling bubbling pipe. The aroma reminded Hani of the apples him and Muna used to steal from orchards, bursting with white, ripe flesh.
"Don't breathe that one in, kitten!" Levi stated hurriedly, suddenly gripping Hani's shoulders and steering him away from where the younger man had been inadvertently straying towards the apple scented shisha. "That one's a tad mind-altering if you catch my drift," Levi added with a frown back in that general direction.
Eventually, the two of them managed to navigate their way up two flights of stairs to a gallery level with several rooms around it.
"Two headed cobra," Levi noted, nodding at the painted emblem on one of the doors. "That's us," he held up the single heavy key that the landlord had given them that also bore the same engraved motif.
"Bit pretentious for a place like this," Levi scoffed, jamming the key with force into the evidently rusted lock.
"I think this used to be a trade town," Hani supplied as the door cracked open to reveal a sparsely furnished room with a lone single bed.
"I Knew that toothless slimeball was ripping me off," Levi growled. "I've got half a mind to go demand some of our money back."
"Oh let him keep it," Hani said, shivering as he noticed that instead of a window, they simply had a bashed through hole to let in the cold night air from the street outside. "So long as he doesn't spit in our food - I'm fucking starving."
"The special tonight is snake flesh soup," Levi stated, frowning as he went to sit on the bed and it lets out a disturbingly human-like moan.
"I've eaten worse," Hani admitted, "and snake can be quite tasty."
"No arguments from me," Levi sighed.
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