Falias, Finias Chapter Eighteen
At the center of the Port Court, two boys sit at a table meant for four players. The blonde stirs the three lumps of sugar with a genuine spoon, while the ginger in the linen shirt fiddles with his Scanner until he settles on his latest scan.
"How did you get a scan of Kamangareth? She's one of those Creatures that attacks first and never asks questions." Reggie takes a sip of his Magmon mocha.
"By getting my first and worst hangover from her hot peach sunshine." Kazdan replies with a wince.
"…Is that an American euphemism?" Reggie waggles his yellow brows.
"I wouldn't wish her on anyone." He snorts. "Hot peach is like a fruit in the UnderWorld, while sunshine is booze, but it doesn't really taste like booze."
"Like a wine cooler?"
"Yeah, but more carbonated and it's a creeper, meaning it'll hit you later."
"I would imagine Perim's alcohol to be far more potent."
"That's probably the case with the other kind of booze; I've only had spiced wine and sunshine. Oh, and that blue juniper drink from the OverWorld barkeep that hates humans."
"I would say most humans, but Krish is polite with me."
"Krish? Would have never guessed that to be his name."
"He would say the same about our long human names." Reggie waves a bot down and places his empty paper cup on the tray; it floats away without a word.
"Do you have any idea where were supposed to meet Accato? Because 99% of the time I never do. Summer's end is fast approaching and we still haven't practiced together as a band." We might be the first human-Creature band, but we're not going to go down in history as amazing. At best, we can only hope for okay.
"Bodal should've added the final touches to the drum kit by now."
"Wait, you got Bodal to make you drums. I'm pretty certain he hates humans more than Krish."
"Simple, I appealed to his ego as an inventor."
"Do you also know how to make yourself deaf? Because his flavor text suggests that he speaks in the Boredom Tongue."
"Oh, please, you just need to nudge him into the right tangents and you'll learn a lot. Like the paradoxical nature of technological advancement in Perim. Some of the devices he used can project holograms, yet he still uses candles as a light source. Apparently, quality light crystals are hard to come by."
"I'd imagine most come from the mines in the UnderWorld, and I doubt Chaor allows the merchants to sell them to the OverWorlders at a reasonable rate." And probably takes a hefty cut of those profits.
"I have a feeling the OverWorlders do the same when it comes to musical instruments. At least, I don't have to worry about paying." Reggie sips the last of his mocha before continuing. "Bodal did tell me where Accato lives, so maybe he'll be there today."
"I'm betting he isn't, but maybe it's an interesting Location."
"Or, it's a bachelor pigsty."
"Or that."
They first end up near the OverWorld Arsenal and from there Reggie leads them to Accato's home. After about twenty minutes of walking south from the Location, they turn left and keep going down the road for another ten minutes before reaching the dead-end where Accato lived. The home is made of a white stone like most of the houses they saw on the way over, but there's brown dust caking the outside like a dust storm blew through.
"This looks like the Flintstones house if it was half the size." Reggie comments and squints through the window.
"See anything?"
"His kitchen is in his bedroom, and I don't see the loo, so perhaps it's an outhouse?" Reggie visibly shudders, while Kazdan snorts.
"He must've paid for this on his own because I doubt his parents would let him live in a studio apartment." I could've sworn that he lived with his parents, but maybe he visits them to do his laundry.
"I believe this is more of a studio house since it's not located in a building." Reggie comments. "Oh, my drum kit is here, so Bodal did finish it last night!"
Kazdan goes to the window and gets his first look at the Bodal-designed drum kit. Blue and green just like the Creature but shaped into four small honeycombs suspended above a giant honeycomb. Glass discuses flank the horizontal ends of the small honeycombs. Kazdan was going to ask about the quality of the sound, but he sees Accato emerge from a door in the far corner of the house. He has bruise-colored bags under his face and looked ready to sink into oblivion.
"Did someone die?" Kazdan whispers, even though he knows that Accato doesn't have H'earring's sense of hearing.
"I believe Bodal would've mentioned if someone had died in Accato's family. Maybe a friend?"
"OR MAYBE YOU TWO CAN COME IN HERE AND ASK, THE DOOR IS OPEN!" Accato shouts at them from inside the house. They both flush with embarrassment and hurry inside. Accato sits on the only piece of furniture in the room: his cot.
"…What happened to you?" Kazdan finally says after rejecting the generic "Are you okay?" and the tasteless "Who died?"
"I want to be happy, and my family won't let me." If he had a bottle in his hand, Kazdan is certain that Accato would've thrown it against one of the gray walls.
"Are they not happy with your choice to be a musician?" Reggie guesses, but Accato shakes his head.
"Oh, they would've been happy if I stuck to being a classical lyrist, but that's not the problem this time."
"…..Is it because of us?" Humans have low reputations in Perim, so maybe his parents found out that he's been hanging out with humans.
"Maxxor would claim that, but really it's Lady Etheno." He says her name like a hymn.
"Is it because of her religious worship?" Reggie puts it tactfully.
"They think she's a whore out to ruin the family." Accato rolls his eyes. "If she was truly out to ruin us, then she would've done so with Rexxor."
Kazdan looks at Reggie who then looks just as confused at him.
"You two wouldn't have heard of him because he's been dead for forty solons now."
"Twenty years." Kazdan whispers to Reggie who nods his thanks.
"He was the last leader of the Tribe and Maxxor's father." He spits out the last word with such vehemence that Kazdan briefly wonders if Maxxor's father was an UnderWorlder.
"Was he not a good ruler?" Reggie intones the neutrality of a diplomat.
"I would say he was a better ruler than a father and a husband. He married, not out of love, but for political gain, going against Najarin's advice. He provided for them, but he didn't love them. Even in his waning years, he'd prefer Lady Etheno's company over them, and I can't fault him for that." Accato mutters the last part with a hint of shame for saying those words aloud.
It must be territory. Maybe some part of the OverWorld that viewed itself as Neutral and Rexxor wanted to peacefully annex them. Or he could've been broke and needed the hard cash that comes with a bridal dowry. But do Creatures have dowries here? I don't think it exists in the UnderWorld because Dairus would've let something like that slip in regards to Brimflame's upcoming nuptials. Kazdan inwardly smiles at remembering how envious Dairus clearly was about Brimflame marrying into an affluent family.
"Are you arranged to be married?" Kazdan inquires.
"Pits no! It's illegal to force anyone into marriage, and those responsible for said coercion get sent to jail."
"Wow, you OverWorlders must believe in true love and all." Kazdan remarks dryly.
"Yeah, if you never been outside your little village." Accato comments caustically.
"Then how would you describe your feelings for Lady Etheno?" Reggie counters.
"….It's," Accato pauses and chews on his bottom lip for a moment, "like music."
"What do you rhyme together?" Kazdan wisecracks, but Accato knits his eyebrows together in confusion. "Sorry, it's an Earth expression."
"Why not just see her incognito?" Reggie suggests, but Accato shakes his head.
"I don't have the gold required to disguise myself masterfully." Accato waves a hand in front of his face, emphasizing the futility of disguises.
"How about getting someone to ferry messages between you and your lady love." It didn't work out so well for Jane Boleyn, but it's not like Accato is a naïve girl-queen infatuated with a servant.
"Like you!" Golden glee pops in Accato's sapphire eyes, and Kazdan resists the urge to sigh.
"Yeah, I don't think the UnderWorld nobleman I work for would be too happy if I suddenly quit to help an OverWorlder out with his band."
"I get you have to work six days a week, but what about at night?"
"Well, I'm typically free but tired after work. But I could just port to Earth and then just port back here, so I can be energized–" Kazdan bites down on his tongue, but it's too late to stop Accato.
"Great! Now, I just need to figure out what to write!" Accato reaches under his cot, searching for writing material.
"Accato, we still haven't practiced as a band, and, if I'm remembering correctly, we have until the end of summer to prepare for the gig." Reggie politely reminds him.
"I nearly forgot about that! We only have about two weeks and a day to prepare!"
Kazdan nearly face-palms and chooses the less painful option of sighing, while Reggie wears an awkward smile.
"Oh, we still have to pick a song and a name for the band; it's a good thing we only get to play one song!" Accato laughs a little nervously.
"I'll help you with Lady Etheno after the gig. First, we need to pick a song that we can all play and learn fairly quickly. Second, we need to practice together. Finally, you need to tell us where the gig is because Reggie and I might need to go and get scans of the Location, so we can actually be there."
"The party is taking place in the Forest of Life."
"Oh, I've got a scan. Reggie?" Reggie nods an affirmative.
"Accato, I will be at your house every night when I get off from work. I suggest you be here." Kazdan looks from Accato back to Reggie.
"I can afford to miss a few matches." Reggie replies with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Then, it's settled. Let's work towards being decent!"
Author's Comments- No links this time.
If there's one thing I learned from the one poetry class I took in college, it's that poetry was meant to be sung back in the day. Also, I inserted a tangentially-related Star Wars joke into this chapter because I just couldn't pass it up.
My goal is to reach season one's first episode before 2020. So I may need to employ a minor time-skip to reach it. The next chapter will be interesting because I have a lot of choices to make; it might be another long one.