Chapter 62: Not all Runes are Bad (Patreon)

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Chapter 62: Not all Runes are Bad

"Can I ask?" Halfway through the entrance lobby of the City Hall, Ria turned on her heel, walking backward while avoiding everyone inside with more finesse than I, with all of my weaves and senses up.

"Sure."

"Why do you keep your tail wrapped around your waist?"

Red as a tomato, I cast a glance around in hopes that no one was paying attention to us. The increase of uneasiness at the back of my neck, however, told me otherwise.

"C-can I tell you outside? It's too noisy in here."

"Is it? My mom says so, too, but I don't think so," the little kitare spoke her mind and turned to face the exit, quickening her pace.

'Definitely a city girl.' I thought to myself, and afraid of losing her, I did the same.

My fear, however, turned out to be unnecessary. The little munchkin kept her eye on me the whole time, making sure I was on her tail. Simply incredible. And so, whhile admiring her skills and dedication to her job, I found myself outside, basking in the relative quiet of the Seeker's Square. No question, the place was incredibly noisy. Yet compared to the inside of the City Hall . . .

"This way."

Obviously not one to waste her customer's time, the little kitare strode confidently across the square, off into the city brimming with joy, even bouncing a little as if untouched by any of the dangers lurking in its streets and the worse of the world out there. Quite a heartwarming thing to see, but in star contrast to me. As soon as we stepped out of the City Hall, the feeling at the back of my neck got a lot worse. I shuddered all over and almost let out a growl. Someone was watching me, and not in the way like before: a curiosity, a rarity, a wild, dirty woman. No, this feeling was different, more intense, more intentional - for the lack of a better word.

"So?" asked Ria, as we exited the square into one of the many streets, doing her backwards walk.

"Your tail? Why wrap it around your waist? Is it because it's dirty?"

'Damn, this childish honesty really hurts sometimes.'

"My mom says it's important to keep your tail clean - and your fur. She also says it's silly to name your tail. You think so, too?"

"No," I said truthfully, but regretted it immediately. I wasn't exactly the shining example of a half-Terr'den that a young girl like her should aspire to. Heck, I didn't know anything about how to take care of the fur or the tail, let alone know any of their customs.

"You don't?" she beamed, excited, immediately shortening the distance between us, eyeing my tail. "Did you name yours? This is Lia, by the way."

"Oh. Nice to meet you, Lia," I responded by waving to her wagging little tail, drawing a giggle out of Ria. Then I motioned for her to give me her ear and whispered: "Keep it a secret, but mine is called Sage."

Giggling again, she gave me an understanding grin that quickly turned to confusion. "Why keep her around your waist, though - or your wings on your chest? The aviers I know flap them around all the time."

'Shit!' 

I guess it was too much to ask that she let the issue go by telling her the name of my tail. Did she really not know the reason, though? Every Terr'den that laid eyes on me seemed to see that I was walking around butt naked. And she saw it too, otherwise she wouldn't have asked.

'Ah, clever.'

You could see it in her eyes. The munchkin was dying to know why I was walking around in my birthday suit. She just didn't want to say it out loud, whether it was out of respect for her elders, customs, or me being her client. Instead, she played it smart.

'As curious as any other kid.' I sighed to myself and eventually admitted the obvious, whispering, of course.

"Well, I have no clothes."

"Oh." Ria feigned surprise. "Did you get robbed? I hear it happens a lot outside the city."

"No. No, I didn't." I lied, not really wanting to explain that I had been robbed of my freedom, my life - and actually of my stuff, too. "W-what about Castiana? Should I be afraid of getting mugged?"

"Only if you're not careful - or you wander off to the wrong place. But don't worry; I know where not to go," she pronounced proudly, in fact, matching what the maybe-elf told me about the city. Despite Captain Rayden and her city guards doing their best, there were places more dangerous than others and people looking to take advantage of you.

"What are you looking at, Lady Korra?"

"Oh, nothing," I lied again, rubbing the back of my neck. "And please, just Korra. I'm no lady."

"All right," she beamed without breaking her stride. I, on the other hand, couldn't help giving one more glance to the shadows of the streets behind us, the source of the chill in my body.

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"This is where we cross the 5th Street," Ria informed me moments before we entered the city’s wide, busy artery. Once again, the vibrancy of it left me in awe, one thing standing out to me more than the others. Two, actually. The disturbing feeling at the back of my neck got less intense and . . .

"Ria? What are those magical signs?"

"You mean the diaglyphs? They didn't have them where you came from?"

Back on Earth, every city had an eyesore of billboards and neon signs, but the city glowing with holographic projections remained a work of science fiction. Never did I think I'd see a street where the shops drew the eye with projections of soaring swords, boiling cauldrons, or dancing gowns, here in, for lack of a better word, a "fantasy" world.

"N-no, they did not."

"And how did you tell the time?" the little kitare asked, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a small metal bracelet. As she touched it, a hologram, well a diaglyph not so different from the dial I knew, at least at first glance, popped up above her wrist. Pretty damn cool, if I might say so.

It even made me wish I had one, despite it being another rune-covered circlet. Actually, a bit of a reminder to me: 'Not all runes are bad.'

"Well," I replied, scratching my head, trying to figure out how to explain to her the workings of a mechanical watch, let alone a digital one, without having a clue myself. ". . . by the sun."

"The sun?"

'Shit! Did that get translated wrong?'

I didn't mean to use it as a name, so . . . what did they actually call their sun? Wait! Was there only one sun? Is that why she was confused? Much like the little kitare, I raised my eyes to the sky. In that cursed cellar, I didn't get to see daylight at all; in Esulmor, the sky could only be seen in those little patches of vines reaching down to the ground, and when I traveled with Scoresby, I was too overwhelmed by the sheer vastness of the world to pay attention to what warmed my cheeks.

'Only one.'

A bit disappointing, but better than none.

"I don't see any time," Ria frowned after a moment, rubbing her sore eyes. Thankfully, not seeing what wasn't there didn’t ruin her spirit. Remembering her duty as a guide, she straightened up and pointed down the street. "If you want to see more diaglyphs, I can take you to the center of the city. The closer you get to Labyrinth Square, the more of them you'll see. The whole place literally glows at night."

'The Labyrinth Square again.'

There was no denying - my curiosity was piqued.

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