“And where do you think you’re going?”
He winces at the sound of Laulis’s voice. Qixa. His body swivels around, nearly knocking over the vase on the window sill in his hurry. “I, uh,” he stutters, hands steadying the vase as he laughs nervously, “just this and that. You know. Things for the boat.”
“Back on the boat again?” Laulis asks, one brow raised. Shrugging, Naoki moves to rummage through the aisles. He did think about bringing something other than fish this time. Maybe Ilaes, or some Onu; definitely Bemoaes, taste slowly changing as the weather turns, he thinks, picking up one after the other.
“Naoki,” Laulis scolds. It takes him a moment to remember what she asked just seconds before.
“What? Oh, yeah,” he says, “Yeah I am.”
“Good,” she says, clasping her hand onto his shoulder, “you can do something for me then.”
“What—,” he stumbles, Ilaes almost falling out of his hands, “now?”
“You got any other plans then?”
“I mean…” trailing off, he catches himself looking longingly at one of the Bemoaes. What if it’s gone tomorrow, disappeared forever because he didn’t come to visit it today. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees one of the white figures drawing closer, too close. They can’t find out. Clearing his throat, he forces his voice into a monotone. “I guess there’s nothing. As usual.”
Laulis attempts to catch his eyes. He ducks into the next aisle.
“Naoki,” she sighs after a moment. He feels fingers brush his hair from the back. “Can you pull Kanai’s crates in for him?”
“He can’t do it himself?” Another flash of white. He grits his teeth.
“Naoki,” she says, hand slapping against the back of his head, “don’t be rude. I told you about this last month. He’s out to pick up—”
Naoki can’t bring himself to listen. Not with them this close to his family. Ducking behind another aisle, he attempts to catch a glimpse of the intruders in his aunt’s shop. There’s not much he can see with them angled away from him like this; only the stark white of their uniform, darker cloth peeking out from under it, the silver hair. Has he seen this person before? When he turns back to his Cytau, she’s still talking. “What are they even doing in here, Cytau?”
She blinks, not even surprised by Naoki’s lack of tact. “They’re paying customers.”
“Yeah,” he says and lowers his volume at his aunt’s disapproving look. Scoffing, Naoki leads them back to the counter; away from them. “Because a few pieces of fruit will be able to pay back all that they’ve cost us.”
“That new bridge they’re building might.”
He tuts; yeah right. Leaning over the counter, his eyes wander over the assortments of tumbled stones, sorted neatly and by colour into different compartments. His fingers tingle as he picks one up, shining amber, dark swirls covering its edges. He remembers this one. But back then, he didn’t expect it to remind him of a head peeking out over rising waves.
He shakes his head, fingers fiddling still. “The one that’s only in the way ‘cause we still can’t use it?”
Again, Laulis shushes him with a wave of her hand. Naoki snaps his mouth shut. His fingers dig into the stone. He doesn’t care; let them know how much Aixewos isn’t welcome here. With another scoff, he flicks the stone into the air. It drops neatly into one of the other compartments.
He looks up, expecting a scolding.
But his aunt’s focus isn’t on him, eyes flitting between him and the group of people at the back of the store. His muscles tense. There’s something more in her face, the almost carefree smile belying the nerves that are gathering in the lines on her skin. He’s just about to ask when she clears her throat and focuses back on him.
“Naoki,” she sighs, picking up an order receipt from the counter, “can you please just pick up the crates.” Dangling it in front of him, her smile grows sharper. “There’s money in it for you.”
He perks up.
“Money?” His hand shoots up in an attempt to grab the receipt from her, but she jerks back at the last second.
“Of course,” she says, “only if you want to.”
Tugging the order from her fingers, he stuffs it in his pocket, picks up the groceries, and turns towards the front door.
“Naoki,” he hears her laugh behind him, “I’ll take that off your pay!”
His lips twitch; mind already mapping out the route to Kanai’s docks. If he hurries, he can still make it out into the ocean later. As the door swings closed behind him, Laulis’s laughter dies out. Her fingers twitch.
“Grown into such an independent boy these days, hasn’t he?”
“Oh, you know,” Laulis says, finally facing the person approaching from the back. Their hands come to rest on the counter, blackness of the gloves striking against the white of their uniform. “Is there anything else I can get you?”
“The Bemoaes out here are always so much better than the imported stuff we get back in Gos,” they say, languidly brushing their fingers over the wood. Laulis watches with baited breath as their hand hovers over the stones Naoki just abandoned, picking up the amber out of the sea of blue. For a terrifyingly long second, the stone rests between their fingers. “Other than that,” they continue, neatly placing it back where it belongs, ”we’re just here to make sure everything is in place.”
“Oh, yeah,” Laulis laughs, fingers picking at the flyers stacked up on the counter, “the bridge is coming along nicely then?”
“Of course, all on schedule,” they reply; smile friendly. Then, their eyes flit to the side. “And all done before your little festival. That’s great news for you, I’m sure.”
Snapping up, Laulis drags her hand from the flyers and forces her lips upward. The hammering within her chest is ringing in her ears. “Wonderful news. Great for business.”
A laugh rings out, body righting itself. Swallowing, Laulis squares her shoulders as they look down upon her. “I’m glad, Xa. Laulis. This is what we’re here for, after all.” The smile on their face grows. Their head tilts. With careful precision, they pick up the stone once more. “On that note,” they say, observing the way the light reflects off shining amber, “I’ll make sure to support Naoki’s little business here as well.”
The bell rings as they leave.
Comments (0)
See all