A line of bells traveling from line point to line point jingled the middle of the afternoon, and with it, lunchtime for most of the Caer’s citizens. Some spent it with a lunchbox, others with home-cooked meals at ceramic stoves, or grills that anyone could use. Those in the mood for a faster deal, though, would always hit the stalls from the Clover Arena; Besides a good meal, they would be sure to also find some to eat with, chatting or otherwise.
Lian, after much deliberation on what to do while she was staying in the city, decided on nothing per se and a whim took a role helping out around the arena in the end. Today she was tasked with cutting slices from a blue, puffy bread and filling them with a red paste from a labeled bottle.
-“Yap, we make our own ketchup here”, replied Arim who came to visit by himself. He was still upset with Zinc after the underground incident and decided that the two needed a pause. “ I left him with the coral sister who works in the library. He seems overly enthusiastic about bossing people around, like where to put books and stuff. Eh, the girl also had no issue with him, so I guess it’s fine.”
Lian -” Aha”, only glanced at him, waiting to see if he would bring up the topic of Ogda, or if she had to. She felt a bit ashamed and antsy asking about him, but she was still a bit curious about it. “So…how’s Ogda’s training going?”.
Arim -” Oh, that. Well, I think he calmed out a bit and grasped something about his abilities. Mostly thanks to Giol, the two seemed to have hit it off somehow. But…”
Lian -” But?”
-” In my opinion, he’s dealing with some things. And he won’t tell us what.” Arim then told her the entire story of what happened in the underground, and she reacted a bit differently from how he expected. Lian dropped her knife, put both of her arms on his cheeks, and gently turned his neck to the left, then the right to see the burn marks he was hiding under his turtleneck.
Lian -” Are you…ok?”, she asked in a low voice, to which the boy said nothing, and just blushed. Lian then realized how close she was to his face, noticing the scars on his nose and light green spots in his otherwise green eyes. His blushing made her react the same and she quickly let him free. “I’m sorry, my mistake, I forgot to ask you…”
-” It’s fine”, he replied with a shaken voice. “ It’s fine”, Arim repeated a few more times before a customer gave them enough time to shake the entire ordeal off. His eye color, though, reminded Lian of something else to ask about, something she learned recently. “ Hey, so do you also have…the dot?”
-” Thee…dot?” Arim didn’t know if she was serious or trying to clumsily move to another thing, and he tilted his head confused about what she meant.
Lian -” You know…for the powers?”
-” Theee…powers?” he asked, with a forced pause and a slight, squeaky increase to his last word. Lian didn’t laugh or find it particularly funny, but a smirk did find a way to her face.
Lian -” Yes, yes, the mighty people's powers”, she replied with a smile. Arim was contemptuous to see her like that but then realized that he had to answer. Truthfully. He fidgeted his fingers and raised one corner of his mouth, then the other.
Arim -” I have something to admit”, with a seriousness that made Lian stop her preparation. She turned around and guessed what it could be.
Lian -” You and Zinc aren’t pact partners, right?” Before Arim could ask more after confirming it with his shock, she continued- “ When I used my ability, besides the ocean, I saw something else…strings? Yes, let’s just call them strings. Anyways, all of us whose strings linked to that place aren’t…or can’t become pact partners. That’s been my theory for a while now.”
After telling him everything, she confessed that she kept to herself because of fear, which made Arim realize how Ogda and Lian are more alike than they realize. “ He kinda said the same thing. Ogda. He’s also weirded out by the whole situation, believe it or not. And it kinda makes sense, neither really know who you are, so it makes sense to trust others that easily.”
Lian just stared, with half of her hidden in her palm, with an acrid look in her eyes. “ I don’t…why are you like this Arim?”
Arim -”...Experience. With Zinc, and some stuff with my parents while growing up. But like I said to Ogda, this place helped me, and I guess I’m just trying to imitate that…If that makes any sense?”
The girl didn’t know what to say anymore, and for the moment decided to do the first that felt right. “ I’m gonna need some help with the bread, can you give me a hand?”, to which he nodded and silently and peacefully cut tens of misshapen slices for that day.
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