Chapter 3 – Aahz
We walked in silence. I lead the way through the crowd, weaving around the slower ones. She stayed behind me, never losing place. I occasionally felt her hand at the small of my back, and when took a look, found her staring at some spectacle we were passing, using her fingers to keep contact and not wander off. The map from the other day gave the probable fact that she was new to the Bazaar, and the gaping at the various events only reinforced that.
I lead the way to nowhere for a while, walking until I could decide where to take her. I leaned heavily towards Gus's…then wondered just where she was from, and what food she was used to.
I'd heard rumors of a dimension called Selee, where the locals were blue skinned and vicious. She was blue, but vicious? She'd yet to exhibit that trait, if she had it in her blood at all. She ignored the rudeness of the fellow walkers, bouncing off them when they bounced off her. She barely seemed to register when she clipped someone's shoulder…that wasn't quite vicious, but maybe a bit nasty.
Selee, as I had heard, was an ocean dimension, nearly completely covered in water. So…seafood? She's be used to fish, right? Octopus, and sea horses and such. Gus's was more into junk food, so the Yellow Crescent Inn was out. Maybe that sushi place down the street…damn, we'd passed that ten minutes ago.
Right when I was beginning to despair, rapidly racking my brain for a nearby place to eat, the scent of Pervish cooking hit my nose. I involuntarily stopped, and felt again the hand on my back as she followed suit.
"I smell food."
I glanced down at her in surprise. No one I'd met, besides Pervects that is, label our local delicacy as food. It was surprising for someone not of Pervect heritage to recognize the smell as something edible.
"Right. It's Pervish. Want to try it?"
"Smells okay."
I figured that was a yes, and began leading the way, following the strong scent. The stronger it got, the less traffic there was, and we ended up side by side again. I slowed to a more comfortable walk, glancing over at her occasionally. There was silence for a few minutes as we made our way down the street.
"I'm Adelaida."
I glanced over at her. She was looking ahead, picking out the Pervish restaurant from the others around it. A few other green-scaled people were heading in, and a few out. She slid me another sideways look, held it for a second, and then looked back in front of her.
"I'm Aahzmandius." I offered my full name without a second thought. Most people I meet I give them only 'Aahz', which I almost prefer, and have no reason why I'd told her my full name. I dropped half a step behind her as we neared the front door. "That's a nice name," I added.
"Thanks."
She pulled to a stop at the door. I pulled aside the covering for her, and then moved into the darkness behind her.
We stopped inside, allowing our eyes to get used to the dimness. I became aware that the din fell a few decibels as people noticed our entrance. I glanced around, confirming my suspicions that the restaurant goers were all Pervects. A few I even recognized from my home dimension, others were just travelers. Not many made Deva their home, as I had, and therefore I knew barely any of residence here.
Adelaida, as I knew her now, moved before I did, weaving through the tables effortlessly and oblivious to the stares, and right up to the counter. The restaurant was one of the order and take a number varieties, and our luck had landed us in one with no line up.
I cautiously followed behind her, watching the reactions of the diners. There were a few whispers, and looks, but no one had moved towards us; most returned back to their meals and conversations. I won't lie, I'm not the buffest Pervect out there, but I'm in pretty good shape. My years with the kid have let me go a bit, but I can still hold my own against most other Pervects. I wasn't too worried if someone got the thought in their head that Adelaida didn't belong here. I needn't have worried.
Adelaida stopped at the counter, glancing past the plump Pervect in the white hat at the menu, which was written entirely in Pervish. She waited for me to stop another half step behind her before looking back at me.
"What's good?"
I scanned the menu, picking out a few familiar items. I rattled a few off to her, emphasizing the Combo #4. She nodded, and moved her eyes to the Pervect.
"Two number four combos. To stay."
He maneuvered the toothpick in his mouth to the other side and gave a shrug, punching two buttons on the register. "Fifteen gold, two silver."
I reached for my pocket but Adelaida was quicker, pulling out another coin from…I'm not sure where, and slapping it on the counter.
The Pervect leaned over and pulled it over to him, inspecting it as the Deveel had. He showed more surprise though, eyeing it carefully and then turning that gaze to Adelaida. Behind her, I gave a large smile. It works like a charm on non-Pervects, but he was nowhere near impressed.
"This real?" He scrutinized her carefully, eyes traveling over her.
I felt myself bristle, and moved a little closer to her. His eyes shifted for a split second to me, and the careful placed sneer on my mouth sent my message across.
"Selee, huh?" He glanced again at me. "Interestin'." He opened up the register. "How do you want your change?"
"Gold."
The Pervect gave another shrug and proceeded to count out the change for us, which turned out to be almost three times as much as I was currently carrying on my body. I leaned down, whispering in her ear.
"What's the exchange rate for Seleen currency?"
She scooped some of the gold into her hand and turned, sliding it into my pocket as she answered. "Four gold to one manka. That coin was a hundred manka."
I gave a low whistle of appreciation as the change on the counter continued to grow. "Wait," I said, it suddenly dawning on me, "you gave that Deveel back there four hundred gold for this bag?"
She gave a smirk. "One lokeen is nothing to me. I've got millions of lokeen at home. No worries."
I shrugged and scooped the rest of the change into the bag with the gimmicks, already feeling weighted down by what was in my pockets. "Money is still money, and being ripped off is still being ripped off."
She returned my shrug with one of her own, an act which turns out to be quite enjoyable to watch. She turned back to the counter, watching the Pervect in white slip into the back to prepare our meals. She opened her mouth to say something when a slap and a voice behind us interrupted her.
The slap turned out to be the open handed slapping of her rear, as the shocked, indignant look on her face showed. I turned to face the Pervect that had moved up behind her, while she stayed facing the counter as he spoke.
"Wah-ell, Aahz! You managed to hook up with quite a looker this time! Talk about feelin' blue!" The Pervect gave me a bawdy wink and I recognized him as Tobin, a classmate from school so many centuries ago. He was rather huge now, his buttoned down shirt stretched across his large gut and his oversized pants were held up by suspenders. His four chins jiggled as he laughed and leered at the back of Adelaida.
The fact that I even remembered his name gave me the unsettling feeling that I remembered it for other than good reasons. He continued on, rubbing his hands together as he sealed his own fate.
"You don't mind dropping her off at my place when you're done, do ya, old buddy?" He gave a laugh. Adelaida's shoulders tensed, and I stretched out a hand to ease her.
"Tobin, you aren't…"
SLAM!!
I jerked my hand back as if I was the one that had received the punch.
Tobin's head snapped back, his nose exploding in a gush of blood. He staggered backwards into the table behind him, grabbing it for support. I stared in open amazement and once more found my jaw at my knees.
Adelaida pulled her hand back, and glanced down at her knuckles contemptuously. She closed the few steps to Tobin quickly, and wiped the back of her hand on his shirt, scornfully looking him over. Tobin stayed still, reflecting my own wide-eyed amazement as blood dripped unnoticed past his mouth and down his chins.
All talk in the restaurant had died the moment she punched Tobin, and the silence only thickened as she spoke.
"Only in your dreams," she whispered harshly, her voice full of all the malice she could muster. "And when you dream of me, you remember those childhood stories, and don't you ever forget this day."
The old story came back to me at the moment it did to everyone in the place. Being tucked into bed by my mother and being told the stories of old. Of nasty blue skinned soldiers who hunted down bad little Pervects and used them for fish bait. "That's why you go to bed early every night!" my mother had always warned me. "Otherwise I'll summon some nasty Seleen and he'll cut off your head and feed it to his fish!"
I snapped my jaw shut from its slack position. Those memories had been stored away and forgotten. After all, we were Pervects. Nobody could beat Pervects! …and besides, weren't they only stories that were told to scare little kids?
The Pervect that had taken our order appeared beside us. He held out two plates of food as he glanced between the three of us, then over the rest of the restaurant. "You can eat outside," he said curtly, handing us the food, turning and disappearing into the back again.
Adelaida took her plate and walked past me without a second look to Tobin. I watched her go, then looked to Tobin and gave a shrug.
"Not only a looker, eh Tobin?" I gave a bark of laughter, and walked out.
"Good food, huh?" I mumbled around a mouthful. I slurped up the last of it off the plate and the dumped the dish into a passing garbage bin.
Adelaida was right behind me, swallowing the last of hers and following it with some water we'd bought on the way.
"A lot different than what I'm used to."
"That would be seafood?"
She nodded, wiping away some crumbs from her lips. I picked at my teeth with my tongue, taking the offered bottle of water from her.
"Mmm hmm," she nodded. She looked over at me with a small smile, her face lighting up with the simple act. "Fish is boring after a while."
I grinned in understanding. "I've got an excellent selection of wine at home, if you'd like to come back."
The ensuing grin almost matched mine. "Really? I love wine!"
We lapsed into silence for another few minutes, walking slowly through the crowds as I guided us back home.
"So where'd you learn to punch like that?" I asked after a few moments, genuinely interested.
"My brothers," she said flatly. "I'd wake up covered in bruises, so I had to learn to defend myself."
"You learned well," I laughed. "It's not everyday you see someone take out a Pervect."
"It's not everyday you see a Seleen."
I nodded in agreement. "True. And I hadn't matched you up with the horror stories my mother told me."
"I don't match the death-bearing-child-eating-monster image that we try to give off. At least, I don't think so."
"No no!" I replied, almost too quickly. I received a sultry smile in response and she stepped close enough to link her arm through mine. I felt the back of my neck heat up, and if I could, would have blushed. My smile doubled in size, which I'm sure showed both my nervousness and happiness at once.
"You aren't scary, you're…not scary at all…. Pretty, you're very pretty and…pretty…." I died off into a mumble, finding myself at a loss for words, something which anyone who knows me well can say doesn't happen often.
She laughed, evidently finding my embarrassment very enjoyable. "Don't talk. Just bring me home."
We walked in silence. I lead the way through the crowd, weaving around the slower ones. She stayed behind me, never losing place. I occasionally felt her hand at the small of my back, and when took a look, found her staring at some spectacle we were passing, using her fingers to keep contact and not wander off. The map from the other day gave the probable fact that she was new to the Bazaar, and the gaping at the various events only reinforced that.
I lead the way to nowhere for a while, walking until I could decide where to take her. I leaned heavily towards Gus's…then wondered just where she was from, and what food she was used to.
I'd heard rumors of a dimension called Selee, where the locals were blue skinned and vicious. She was blue, but vicious? She'd yet to exhibit that trait, if she had it in her blood at all. She ignored the rudeness of the fellow walkers, bouncing off them when they bounced off her. She barely seemed to register when she clipped someone's shoulder…that wasn't quite vicious, but maybe a bit nasty.
Selee, as I had heard, was an ocean dimension, nearly completely covered in water. So…seafood? She's be used to fish, right? Octopus, and sea horses and such. Gus's was more into junk food, so the Yellow Crescent Inn was out. Maybe that sushi place down the street…damn, we'd passed that ten minutes ago.
Right when I was beginning to despair, rapidly racking my brain for a nearby place to eat, the scent of Pervish cooking hit my nose. I involuntarily stopped, and felt again the hand on my back as she followed suit.
"I smell food."
I glanced down at her in surprise. No one I'd met, besides Pervects that is, label our local delicacy as food. It was surprising for someone not of Pervect heritage to recognize the smell as something edible.
"Right. It's Pervish. Want to try it?"
"Smells okay."
I figured that was a yes, and began leading the way, following the strong scent. The stronger it got, the less traffic there was, and we ended up side by side again. I slowed to a more comfortable walk, glancing over at her occasionally. There was silence for a few minutes as we made our way down the street.
"I'm Adelaida."
I glanced over at her. She was looking ahead, picking out the Pervish restaurant from the others around it. A few other green-scaled people were heading in, and a few out. She slid me another sideways look, held it for a second, and then looked back in front of her.
"I'm Aahzmandius." I offered my full name without a second thought. Most people I meet I give them only 'Aahz', which I almost prefer, and have no reason why I'd told her my full name. I dropped half a step behind her as we neared the front door. "That's a nice name," I added.
"Thanks."
She pulled to a stop at the door. I pulled aside the covering for her, and then moved into the darkness behind her.
We stopped inside, allowing our eyes to get used to the dimness. I became aware that the din fell a few decibels as people noticed our entrance. I glanced around, confirming my suspicions that the restaurant goers were all Pervects. A few I even recognized from my home dimension, others were just travelers. Not many made Deva their home, as I had, and therefore I knew barely any of residence here.
Adelaida, as I knew her now, moved before I did, weaving through the tables effortlessly and oblivious to the stares, and right up to the counter. The restaurant was one of the order and take a number varieties, and our luck had landed us in one with no line up.
I cautiously followed behind her, watching the reactions of the diners. There were a few whispers, and looks, but no one had moved towards us; most returned back to their meals and conversations. I won't lie, I'm not the buffest Pervect out there, but I'm in pretty good shape. My years with the kid have let me go a bit, but I can still hold my own against most other Pervects. I wasn't too worried if someone got the thought in their head that Adelaida didn't belong here. I needn't have worried.
Adelaida stopped at the counter, glancing past the plump Pervect in the white hat at the menu, which was written entirely in Pervish. She waited for me to stop another half step behind her before looking back at me.
"What's good?"
I scanned the menu, picking out a few familiar items. I rattled a few off to her, emphasizing the Combo #4. She nodded, and moved her eyes to the Pervect.
"Two number four combos. To stay."
He maneuvered the toothpick in his mouth to the other side and gave a shrug, punching two buttons on the register. "Fifteen gold, two silver."
I reached for my pocket but Adelaida was quicker, pulling out another coin from…I'm not sure where, and slapping it on the counter.
The Pervect leaned over and pulled it over to him, inspecting it as the Deveel had. He showed more surprise though, eyeing it carefully and then turning that gaze to Adelaida. Behind her, I gave a large smile. It works like a charm on non-Pervects, but he was nowhere near impressed.
"This real?" He scrutinized her carefully, eyes traveling over her.
I felt myself bristle, and moved a little closer to her. His eyes shifted for a split second to me, and the careful placed sneer on my mouth sent my message across.
"Selee, huh?" He glanced again at me. "Interestin'." He opened up the register. "How do you want your change?"
"Gold."
The Pervect gave another shrug and proceeded to count out the change for us, which turned out to be almost three times as much as I was currently carrying on my body. I leaned down, whispering in her ear.
"What's the exchange rate for Seleen currency?"
She scooped some of the gold into her hand and turned, sliding it into my pocket as she answered. "Four gold to one manka. That coin was a hundred manka."
I gave a low whistle of appreciation as the change on the counter continued to grow. "Wait," I said, it suddenly dawning on me, "you gave that Deveel back there four hundred gold for this bag?"
She gave a smirk. "One lokeen is nothing to me. I've got millions of lokeen at home. No worries."
I shrugged and scooped the rest of the change into the bag with the gimmicks, already feeling weighted down by what was in my pockets. "Money is still money, and being ripped off is still being ripped off."
She returned my shrug with one of her own, an act which turns out to be quite enjoyable to watch. She turned back to the counter, watching the Pervect in white slip into the back to prepare our meals. She opened her mouth to say something when a slap and a voice behind us interrupted her.
The slap turned out to be the open handed slapping of her rear, as the shocked, indignant look on her face showed. I turned to face the Pervect that had moved up behind her, while she stayed facing the counter as he spoke.
"Wah-ell, Aahz! You managed to hook up with quite a looker this time! Talk about feelin' blue!" The Pervect gave me a bawdy wink and I recognized him as Tobin, a classmate from school so many centuries ago. He was rather huge now, his buttoned down shirt stretched across his large gut and his oversized pants were held up by suspenders. His four chins jiggled as he laughed and leered at the back of Adelaida.
The fact that I even remembered his name gave me the unsettling feeling that I remembered it for other than good reasons. He continued on, rubbing his hands together as he sealed his own fate.
"You don't mind dropping her off at my place when you're done, do ya, old buddy?" He gave a laugh. Adelaida's shoulders tensed, and I stretched out a hand to ease her.
"Tobin, you aren't…"
SLAM!!
I jerked my hand back as if I was the one that had received the punch.
Tobin's head snapped back, his nose exploding in a gush of blood. He staggered backwards into the table behind him, grabbing it for support. I stared in open amazement and once more found my jaw at my knees.
Adelaida pulled her hand back, and glanced down at her knuckles contemptuously. She closed the few steps to Tobin quickly, and wiped the back of her hand on his shirt, scornfully looking him over. Tobin stayed still, reflecting my own wide-eyed amazement as blood dripped unnoticed past his mouth and down his chins.
All talk in the restaurant had died the moment she punched Tobin, and the silence only thickened as she spoke.
"Only in your dreams," she whispered harshly, her voice full of all the malice she could muster. "And when you dream of me, you remember those childhood stories, and don't you ever forget this day."
The old story came back to me at the moment it did to everyone in the place. Being tucked into bed by my mother and being told the stories of old. Of nasty blue skinned soldiers who hunted down bad little Pervects and used them for fish bait. "That's why you go to bed early every night!" my mother had always warned me. "Otherwise I'll summon some nasty Seleen and he'll cut off your head and feed it to his fish!"
I snapped my jaw shut from its slack position. Those memories had been stored away and forgotten. After all, we were Pervects. Nobody could beat Pervects! …and besides, weren't they only stories that were told to scare little kids?
The Pervect that had taken our order appeared beside us. He held out two plates of food as he glanced between the three of us, then over the rest of the restaurant. "You can eat outside," he said curtly, handing us the food, turning and disappearing into the back again.
Adelaida took her plate and walked past me without a second look to Tobin. I watched her go, then looked to Tobin and gave a shrug.
"Not only a looker, eh Tobin?" I gave a bark of laughter, and walked out.
"Good food, huh?" I mumbled around a mouthful. I slurped up the last of it off the plate and the dumped the dish into a passing garbage bin.
Adelaida was right behind me, swallowing the last of hers and following it with some water we'd bought on the way.
"A lot different than what I'm used to."
"That would be seafood?"
She nodded, wiping away some crumbs from her lips. I picked at my teeth with my tongue, taking the offered bottle of water from her.
"Mmm hmm," she nodded. She looked over at me with a small smile, her face lighting up with the simple act. "Fish is boring after a while."
I grinned in understanding. "I've got an excellent selection of wine at home, if you'd like to come back."
The ensuing grin almost matched mine. "Really? I love wine!"
We lapsed into silence for another few minutes, walking slowly through the crowds as I guided us back home.
"So where'd you learn to punch like that?" I asked after a few moments, genuinely interested.
"My brothers," she said flatly. "I'd wake up covered in bruises, so I had to learn to defend myself."
"You learned well," I laughed. "It's not everyday you see someone take out a Pervect."
"It's not everyday you see a Seleen."
I nodded in agreement. "True. And I hadn't matched you up with the horror stories my mother told me."
"I don't match the death-bearing-child-eating-monster image that we try to give off. At least, I don't think so."
"No no!" I replied, almost too quickly. I received a sultry smile in response and she stepped close enough to link her arm through mine. I felt the back of my neck heat up, and if I could, would have blushed. My smile doubled in size, which I'm sure showed both my nervousness and happiness at once.
"You aren't scary, you're…not scary at all…. Pretty, you're very pretty and…pretty…." I died off into a mumble, finding myself at a loss for words, something which anyone who knows me well can say doesn't happen often.
She laughed, evidently finding my embarrassment very enjoyable. "Don't talk. Just bring me home."
