The sun was passing over the mountains in the distance, the mid-afternoon heat burning my skin. We decided to go to the tavern/inn across the town, far away from the one I happened to commit a crime in. My nose still burned from the punch I took earlier, and there’s nothing like taking a good long rest to heal. On our way, we passed the mayor’s house, and there we saw an ungodly tall figure talking to the guards.
I did a double-take, releasing the red french braids belonged to Elizar. I tugged the girl, and we came up next to her, not interrupting the conversation.
“-and what do you know about shadow people?” Elizar asked. Shadow people?
“Oh, them…” one of the guards growled. “They cause trouble every so often around here. I don’t know much, though. There’s this girl at the library, Jinora, she’ll know more. Her sister was obsessed with the dark arts. If she doesn’t have what you’re looking for, I’d ask Venna. She was Elphira’s handmaiden before, you know…”
Elizar nodded. “Alright, my gratitude for your help. I’ll start at the library.”
“No, don’t go to the library yet!” I inserted. Surprised, she spun around.
“But-”
“Let’s go to the tavern, we are headed there now…” I trailed off as I noticed the absence of a certain maniac. “Where’s Sybil?”
Elizar’s face hardened. “The police took her in when we got to the tavern. I told her not to go.”
“Oh, fu-no!” I corrected myself, more out of habit than anything else. I considered the situation. “It’s only petty theft, I’m sure they’ll let her out after a day or so.” She seemed grateful we didn’t blame her. “Anyway, tavern? It’s been a long day.”
Elizar looked me over a couple of times before shutting her eyes and sighing. “Fine,” she relented.
I shot a genuine smile her way before turning back to the other girl, but she was staring wistfully back the way we came. I raised an eyebrow and grabbed both girls by the hands, pulling them towards the tavern.
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“The Black Squid? Dumbass name,” the chestnut girl muttered as she opened the door.
“Anything’s less hassle than the Black Cello,” I told her, stepping into the tavern.
It couldn’t have been past three-thirty, but the tavern was still relatively packed. Over a spread of ten tables, more than half were full of patrons, drinking and eating. Muddled conversations made the bar feel more alive than the one this morning had.
“Is that a whole barrel of alcohol?” the chestnut girl asked, amazed. “Hold on just a minute.” She speed-walked through the tables to a black Dragonborn at the bar. She did have a barrel of ale, but she seemed reserved, almost melting into the shadows of the room.
I glanced up at Elizar. Her eyes narrowed at the girl, and as I pulled her after our companion, I saw she wasn’t interested in our companion, but in the Dragonborn. She seemed bothered, but I couldn’t tell why.
The first thing I heard as we approached the bar was, “no, you can not bathe in my ale. Wha-why would you even want to?!” The Dragonborn protested, and our friend just shrugged.
She waved down the bartender, sliding in next to the Dragonborn. “Can I get a grilled cheese?”
She turned back as the sandwich was delivered in front of her. “Can I at least drip my grilled cheese in the barrel?”
The Dragonborn gave her an exhausted look. “Fine.”
I snickered as I slid in across from the two. I caught the bartender and ordered a chocolate milk. I expected Elizar to join me, but she was focused on the Dragonborn.
“How tall are you?” Elizar asked, and I realized what was happening. She was sizing her up. Oh, that’s hilarious. The Dragonborn was definitely tall, muscular as well. She glanced at me, red eyes burning into me, and I gasped. Her scleras were black. I liked her already.
She stood up but fell short of Elizar’s height by maybe four inches. Despite the difference, she was still confident in her words as she spoke. “I’m 6’1.”
“Ha, short.” Elizar looked down at her, a smirk reaching her features. She shot a glance at me. I’d never seen her act like this before.
I looked up at both of them, glass to my face, and drank my milk, greatly amused at this unnecessary display of dominance. When you get to their heights, it doesn’t even make a difference to me. Even so, despite both of their size, they held themselves in very different ways. Elizar, like her gray skin would suggest, stood tall and strong, like an immovable boulder. This new girl, however, felt much more fluid, like she could melt into nothing in an instant, which was amazing given her size and stature.
I cleared my throat, and just as soon as it had come, Elizar’s expression melted back to her un-moving self. She sat down next to me, and the Dragonborn slid in across from her.
The chestnut girl, who had not given a single shit about what just happened, finally looked up, mouth full of grilled cheese. She went to dip it into the barrel again, which earned a pained groan from its owner, but she didn’t stop her.
“What’s all you guys' names?” Elizar asked, and I froze. I mean, I guess it was a fair question, she was surrounded by people whose names she didn’t know, but nonetheless, my heart stopped.
I glanced at the chestnut girl, but she didn’t seem too bothered, although hesitant. After a minute’s consideration, she shrugged. “Aella,” She told us before taking another bite.
“Ziera, pleasure to meet you,” the Dragonborn drawled, then tilted an eyebrow up at Elizar.
“Elizar.”
Ziera and Aella dived into a light conversation, but Elizar’s violet eyes locked onto me.
“What’s your name?” She asked again, and I shifted as her eyes bore into me.
“Uh, I, I don’t have one,” I told her, and I heard Aella give a slight snicker. Elizar narrowed her eyes.
“I doubt that.”
“I, uh…” I trailed off, racking my head for something to say. My head flashed to the stories I’d heard when I was little. This girl had wronged the gods, so they cast her away to a deserted island. Hidden away, cursed to lose everyone she loved, she was named-
“Calypso…” I remarked hesitantly. “You can call me Calypso.”
Aella looked suspicious but didn’t question it. “Great, we can all be friends now,” she said.
“You did give me a pebble earlier,” Elizar reminded me.
I laughed, the memory of sliding the pebble to her at the bar resurfacing. “Do you still have it?” I asked her.
“Of course.” She pulled a small pebble out of a pocket, although its blue hue was gone, magic was never permanent.
“Oh, that’s adorable! That’s how penguins mate!” Ziera exclaimed, clapping her hands together.
“What?” I asked.
“Yeah, they give each other little penguin pebbles and that’s how they mark who their mate is!”
I raised my eyebrows, looking at Elizar. She was making an equally amused glance.
“Guess we’re engaged, then,” I said, a smile pulling up my lips at the joke.
“Apparently so,” Elizar agreed. I raised another eyebrow, but there was no malice in it.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ziera chugging the gallon, much to Aella’s dismay. She slammed the barrel down on the counter.
“I’ve got about 20 minutes before this kicks in, who wants to go hit on hot girls?” She asked, and I burst out laughing.
“I’m gonna have to go with no on that one, sorry,” I told her after recovering from my laughter. I looked at Aella. “We were gonna split a hotel room…” I paused waiting for her to give a nod before continuing. “You all are welcome to share it with us?”
“I’m gonna ask around the bar for any information about Alfira,” Elizar admitted.
“Well, when you’re done, feel free to come up,” I told her. I stepped forward. “You could join me…” I bit back a laugh. Elizar gave me a smirk before nodding.
Aella and I got up from the bar. I turned back to add, “We can go out at night, look around. The truth comes out when it’s believed to be hidden.” Swirling towards the stairs, we paid for our room and collected our keys. I tossed one at Elizar before moving up the stairs.
The room was a reasonable size, a queen bed, twin bed, and couch taking up most of the space, but it was really all we needed. I jumped onto the queen bed, and Aella crashed onto the twin. I was used to sleeping alone, but this companionship was actually comforting. Without more than 20 minutes passing, I was out cold.
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