Authors Note: Just wanted to say thanks to all of you that have taken the time to encourage me in this current obsession of mine. It really does mean a lot... It is the stuff that more chapters are made of.
Otherworld Year One: Chapter 5
Remie led the way up a short terraced incline behind his house, and onto the road leading into the city... its surface curving up and away to the northeast from where they stood. As they reached the apex of the road, Auron stopped... taking in the panorama before him. The vast metropolis on the water appeared to be organized in clusters, or nodes, connected in places by suspended roadways intertwining like stone serpents among the spires. He could also see small water craft moving between sections far below. But the most amazing sight were the huge arches of flowing water that cut across the cityscape... catching the sun in a dazzling play of light, as they cascaded across the sky. Incredible, he thought. He had never seen anything like it... this made Bevelle look like a simple fishing village in comparison.
Auron looked down then, to see Remie watching him closely, waiting patiently for him to continue on their way. He was somewhat surprised by the calm, quiet way the boy handled himself. He had always thought of children as loquacious, fidgety things... but Remie was neither. If he was indicative of all children, his duties might be less troublesome than he thought... but he doubted it.
They continued down the other side of the roadway, as a cluster of open-air shops came into view... spread out in a large semi-circle along a high wall on the water's edge. Large crowds of people mingled to and fro in the open walkway facing the marketplace.
As they approached the market outskirts, Auron, without thinking, dropped his head slightly... trying to hide his face from the people around him. But as they entered the flow of body traffic, Auron didn't need to look up to know what was happening around them. He could see the crowd before Remie and he parting in a wave, as hushed voices whispered in shocked tones. Auron suddenly slowed, hanging back. He would follow Remie from a distance... it was unfair to the boy to be forced to endure this along with him.
Then Remie's small hand slipped into his, tugging gently to stop his retreat. Auron looked at the boy, his face betraying his humiliation. Remie merely looked back at him, unblinking, then brought his chin up and smiled, as if to say... to hell with them. Auron nodded, and let Remie lead him forward into the crowd... unwilling to disregard the boy's act of courage.
Remie approached a large vegetable stand, and stopped, taking Sahna's shopping list from his back pocket to check it, then beginning to gather up the various items. One arm full, he reached down with the other beside one of the metal display carts, and came back up with a large shopping bag, and depositing the items inside, handed it to Auron. Bright as well as brave, Auron thought, as he gratefully brought the bag up to cradle it in his arms, effectively hiding his face.
"Hello there Remie." The shopkeeper of the vegetable stand spoke, as he took Remie's list from him and added up the items. "How is your mother doing?" He continued, eyeing Auron suspiciously. "She's fine, thanks." Remie replied, as he handed the man his gil. "Does she still refuse to accept our modern life?" The man asked, chuckling to himself. "I guess so." Remie answered uncomfortably. "Well, I've always liked that about your mom, there aren't many old-fashioned folks like her around any more. Tell her hello for me, won't you?" The shopkeep finished, waving a hand. "Sure thing." Remie said, smiling shyly, then turning to walk further along the storefronts... Auron following silently behind.
As they continued their shopping, Auron couldn't help but be amazed at the astounding variety of wares he saw around them in the crowded shops. Every conceivable type of food, clothing, or sundry was here... and a good majority he had never seen before. Machina both large and small, their purpose a complete mystery, lined the shelves and walkways they passed.
Sahna's simple tastes became apparent to him, seeing all there was here to consume. Then a thought occurred to him, and immediately rang true in his head. Sahna was not merely 'old-fashioned' as the shopkeep had put it. She was poor as well. The life-style Remie and she led would have been considered commonplace in Spira. But here, it was a contradiction to the mechanized opulence he saw around him. Fresh shame filled him then, as he realized the sacrifice they were making on his behalf. He must find a way to repay them. He hadn't a clue what he could do in this place to earn gil... but even if it meant shoveling animal dung all day, he would do it.
"One more stop." Remie said, bringing Auron from his revelations. "And not a moment too soon." Auron replied with a smile, his upper body nearly buried in bags and packages. "Onward slave!" Remie exclaimed, laughing brightly, as he gave Auron a sideways glance to make sure he wasn't angry at the remark. Auron answered him with a short laugh, and brought one of his boots up, gently pushing Remie in the rear-end. Remie giggled fiendishly and hurried ahead to the last stop on their shopping excursion.
Auron immediately disliked the shopkeep where Remie had finally stopped. He had an oily, shifty-eyed look about him that made Auron's keen instincts go on full alert. Auron observed the man carefully from behind the screen of bags at his face... his eye narrowing. The man handed Remie the cleaning supplies he had asked for, then took his gil from him. Auron watched as the man then proceeded to try and short-change the boy, intending to return only half the gil he had coming back to him.
"I would advise against that." Auron said, stepping forward. Then he raised his face to the merchant, the man recoiling in shock and fear. "Uh, sure, sure thing. Here ya go kid." The man babbled, handing Remie all his gil and quickly stepping back, then turning to scramble away. Remie looked up at Auron in confusion, then shrugged, as he shoved the gil into his pocket. They turned together then, and retreated back down the walkway toward the market entrance.
They were almost back to the entrance, when Auron felt a hand brush against his shoulder... "Excuse me." Auron wheeled to face the person, almost dropping the bags to free his hands in anticipation of the fight... his warrior reflexes momentarily startling the woman behind him. "Please excuse me. I own the wig shop just over there and wanted to inquire if you would be interested in selling me your hair. It is quite remarkable." Auron looked back at her in utter astonishment. "You wish to purchase... my hair?" He asked incredulously, wondering what kind of depraved practice this female was referring to.
Remie, stepping to his side, explained... "Some people like to wear not real hair on their heads, to cover up if their bald, or to make themselves look prettier, or something like that, right?" He finished, looking up at the woman. "Yes, exactly." The woman nodded. Auron wasn't sure he fully understood what they were talking about but replied politely... "I'll consider it, thank you." The woman smiled then and handed Remie a small piece of paper. "Here's my card, for when you make up your mind. Please do consider it... I would pay well for that gorgeous mane of yours." And with that she turned, walking with an exaggerated sway, disappearing into the crowd.
Auron breathed a sigh of relief when they had finally left the marketplace behind them, walking down the road towards Sahna's home. He was feeling the effects of the day's multitude of indignities... the pain in his wound beginning to throb badly, his head throbbing along with it. As they approached the house, he saw that Sahna was waiting for them on the front porch, trying to appear as though she wasn't... rearranging the flower pots.
"Everything go alright? No trouble?" She asked, trying to sound casually unconcerned. "Well, hardly any." Remie replied in simple honesty. "Everyone was a little freaked-out when we got there, but we fixed that, then Auron got ticked-off at that creepy guy at the last shop and scared him so bad I thought he was going to wet himself, then Auron almost decked a lady who wanted to buy his hair... and that's about it, I think." Remie said, skipping up the steps into the house.
Sahna and Auron looked at each other, blinking. "Hmph" Auron snorted, walking stiffly past Sahna and into the house. Sahna should have been angry with Remie, the way he had told it was rude, but she couldn't help herself as she began to laugh uncontrollably... staggering around to the side of the house so Auron wouldn't hear her, gasping for air, as tears of laughter streamed down her face.
************
Auron lay on his back on the front room couch, his arms laced behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. It had required all his negotiation skills to convince Sahna to switch sleeping arrangements with him. But he had finally managed to convince her that his well-being would not be jeopardized by sleeping here, rather than in the bed. He could have explained to her that wounded or not, he had spent a good deal of his life sleeping under the stars... anything less than the ground he considered a luxury.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present for a moment, he rolled off the couch and stood, walking to the window, to look out in the direction of the city. It glowed with an eerie, incandescent beauty against the dark sky. In Spira, he had rarely gone out in populated areas at night. Only if he was on guard duty, or returning home late from training during his time as a monk in Bevelle. His comrades had often tried to get him to go after-hours pubing, but he had always refused to join them in their quest for reckless inebriation... he found the lack of control distasteful. And during the pilgrimage, it had been Braska's habit to retire early whenever they had been in a city... his duty never allowing him to venture further than earshot from his charge.
He felt his heart clench in his chest at the thought of his Lord and closest friend. Braska had been the only human being that he had ever truly been at ease with. He missed him... he missed him so very much.
He leaned his arm up against the window frame and squeezed his eye shut, forcibly willing himself back from the grief and regret that wanted to wash him away. 'Get your sad, dead ass in gear Auron...' he told himself in Jecht's voice. Thinking of the arrogant, disrespectful Blitzballer and what he would have to say at that moment, effectively clearing his head.
I know now, how you felt my friend... being alone in an alien world, he thought, as he quietly slipped out the front door.
************
Auron strode down the road to the marketplace, the brisk night wind catching the folds of his robe and whipping it around his legs, his unbraided hair moving like a dark stormy sea around his head. The city truly was beautiful at night, he thought, and he felt much less conspicuous in the shadowy darkness it provided. The few people he had passed on his way had hardly given him a second glance.
As he entered the brighter light of the marketplace, he moved to the furthest side of the walkway, avoiding the brightest illumination just in front of the shops. Stopping for a moment, he pulled the card the woman had given Remie from his robe and turned his head slightly to squint at it, trying to decipher the location of the woman's shop from the writing there. He walked further along until he estimated he was getting close, then stopped to scan the shops across from him. There, just up ahead, was a gaudily lit sign that read 'WIGS - Ready Made and Custom' in extravagant colors. Waiting until the passers by were scarce, he quickly walked forward and entered the shop, stooping under a low canopy at its front.
Thankfully, the shop was empty except for the proprietor, who sat at a worktable, her back to him... laboring over a headless fall of hair as it sat on top of a metal form of some kind. Ghastly, he thought, still not able to comprehend why anyone would want to wear such a thing on their person.
The woman turned, feeling her breath catch at the sight of his exposed face, then managing to control her reaction... the result of long experience in dealing with customers less fortunate looking than most. Besides, it wasn't his face she was interested in.
"So, you've returned." She purred, standing to walk toward him, eyeing him greedily. Auron would have preferred not to deal with this forward woman, but he had little choice it would seem. "Yes, as I have decided to accept your offer." Auron replied, in a carefully reserved tone. "Excellent." She said, reaching up beside his head to run her hand through his hair, her eyes closing momentarily in pleasure. "If you don't mind, I would prefer to expedite this transaction with all due haste, as I have business elsewhere." Auron said, coldly. "I don't mind at all." She replied, slowly lowering her arm, appearing unaffected by his rebuff. "I am prepared to give you 2,000 gil... a handsome sum, more than I customarily offer, but you are an exception I think." The inflection in her voice filled with innuendo. "Unacceptable." Came Auron's blunt reply. If he was going to endure this indignity, he was going to wring every ounce of gil possible from this woman. "I will accept nothing less than 6,000 gil."
"I have never paid that amount to anyone, and I won't pay it now, not even for your glorious locks." The woman said, eyes flashing in momentary anger, then quickly reverting back to their previous calculating coldness. "As you wish." Auron replied calmly, turning to exit the shop. "Wait!" The woman hissed, clearly angry now. "I will go as high as 4,000... but that is my final offer." She was unable to see the smile that touched Auron's mouth then, his back to her. "Offer accepted." He said, turning back around. She glared at him, but did not speak, merely motioning toward a chair next to the worktable, instructing him to sit. Auron did so with regret... turning his back to this creature was an uncomfortable proposition at best.
She walked up behind him with her cutting tool and languidly pulled his hair through her hands, gathered it together at the nape of his neck, then unceremoniously lopped off it's length and placed it on the table next to her. Auron started to rise from the chair, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Just a moment, allow me to do something a little less severe with the rest. I do have a reputation to uphold." Auron considered for a moment, then nodded his consent, lowering himself back to the chair. She began to cut layers into his hair then, moving around his head expertly, short strands of hair falling into Auron's lap as she worked. More than once, she had purposely leaned forward, pressing her breasts against his back, but Auron had refused to acknowledge her obvious seduction, remaining stock-still in the chair.
Apparently satisfied, she stepped back from him and he rose from the chair, turning to face her. "Here, let me get this hair off you." She said, trying one last time, stepping close to him, and starting to reach down to the front of his pants to brush the hair from him that had collected there. Auron brought his arm up and moved hers aside, his patience with this at an end. "My gil. Now." The woman, no longer bothering to remain composed, stalked over to a shelf at the back of the shop and counted out the gil from a box there. Turning, she walked to him and roughly slapped the payment into his outstretched hand. Auron turned and exited the shop, not bothering to speak.
Back outside at the edge of the walkway, Auron turned to the water and brushed a hand down his front, getting as much of the hair from himself as he could. Then he raised his face and inhaled deeply of the cool night air, then exhaled slowly, his eye closing... cleansing himself of the experience and the woman. He turned his head slowly from side to side, the sudden loss of the weight of his hair making it feel oddly light. Then looking down at the gil in his hand, he tucked it into his robe and continued down the walkway. He had a few purchases to make before returning to Sahna's couch for the night.
Otherworld Year One: Chapter 5
Remie led the way up a short terraced incline behind his house, and onto the road leading into the city... its surface curving up and away to the northeast from where they stood. As they reached the apex of the road, Auron stopped... taking in the panorama before him. The vast metropolis on the water appeared to be organized in clusters, or nodes, connected in places by suspended roadways intertwining like stone serpents among the spires. He could also see small water craft moving between sections far below. But the most amazing sight were the huge arches of flowing water that cut across the cityscape... catching the sun in a dazzling play of light, as they cascaded across the sky. Incredible, he thought. He had never seen anything like it... this made Bevelle look like a simple fishing village in comparison.
Auron looked down then, to see Remie watching him closely, waiting patiently for him to continue on their way. He was somewhat surprised by the calm, quiet way the boy handled himself. He had always thought of children as loquacious, fidgety things... but Remie was neither. If he was indicative of all children, his duties might be less troublesome than he thought... but he doubted it.
They continued down the other side of the roadway, as a cluster of open-air shops came into view... spread out in a large semi-circle along a high wall on the water's edge. Large crowds of people mingled to and fro in the open walkway facing the marketplace.
As they approached the market outskirts, Auron, without thinking, dropped his head slightly... trying to hide his face from the people around him. But as they entered the flow of body traffic, Auron didn't need to look up to know what was happening around them. He could see the crowd before Remie and he parting in a wave, as hushed voices whispered in shocked tones. Auron suddenly slowed, hanging back. He would follow Remie from a distance... it was unfair to the boy to be forced to endure this along with him.
Then Remie's small hand slipped into his, tugging gently to stop his retreat. Auron looked at the boy, his face betraying his humiliation. Remie merely looked back at him, unblinking, then brought his chin up and smiled, as if to say... to hell with them. Auron nodded, and let Remie lead him forward into the crowd... unwilling to disregard the boy's act of courage.
Remie approached a large vegetable stand, and stopped, taking Sahna's shopping list from his back pocket to check it, then beginning to gather up the various items. One arm full, he reached down with the other beside one of the metal display carts, and came back up with a large shopping bag, and depositing the items inside, handed it to Auron. Bright as well as brave, Auron thought, as he gratefully brought the bag up to cradle it in his arms, effectively hiding his face.
"Hello there Remie." The shopkeeper of the vegetable stand spoke, as he took Remie's list from him and added up the items. "How is your mother doing?" He continued, eyeing Auron suspiciously. "She's fine, thanks." Remie replied, as he handed the man his gil. "Does she still refuse to accept our modern life?" The man asked, chuckling to himself. "I guess so." Remie answered uncomfortably. "Well, I've always liked that about your mom, there aren't many old-fashioned folks like her around any more. Tell her hello for me, won't you?" The shopkeep finished, waving a hand. "Sure thing." Remie said, smiling shyly, then turning to walk further along the storefronts... Auron following silently behind.
As they continued their shopping, Auron couldn't help but be amazed at the astounding variety of wares he saw around them in the crowded shops. Every conceivable type of food, clothing, or sundry was here... and a good majority he had never seen before. Machina both large and small, their purpose a complete mystery, lined the shelves and walkways they passed.
Sahna's simple tastes became apparent to him, seeing all there was here to consume. Then a thought occurred to him, and immediately rang true in his head. Sahna was not merely 'old-fashioned' as the shopkeep had put it. She was poor as well. The life-style Remie and she led would have been considered commonplace in Spira. But here, it was a contradiction to the mechanized opulence he saw around him. Fresh shame filled him then, as he realized the sacrifice they were making on his behalf. He must find a way to repay them. He hadn't a clue what he could do in this place to earn gil... but even if it meant shoveling animal dung all day, he would do it.
"One more stop." Remie said, bringing Auron from his revelations. "And not a moment too soon." Auron replied with a smile, his upper body nearly buried in bags and packages. "Onward slave!" Remie exclaimed, laughing brightly, as he gave Auron a sideways glance to make sure he wasn't angry at the remark. Auron answered him with a short laugh, and brought one of his boots up, gently pushing Remie in the rear-end. Remie giggled fiendishly and hurried ahead to the last stop on their shopping excursion.
Auron immediately disliked the shopkeep where Remie had finally stopped. He had an oily, shifty-eyed look about him that made Auron's keen instincts go on full alert. Auron observed the man carefully from behind the screen of bags at his face... his eye narrowing. The man handed Remie the cleaning supplies he had asked for, then took his gil from him. Auron watched as the man then proceeded to try and short-change the boy, intending to return only half the gil he had coming back to him.
"I would advise against that." Auron said, stepping forward. Then he raised his face to the merchant, the man recoiling in shock and fear. "Uh, sure, sure thing. Here ya go kid." The man babbled, handing Remie all his gil and quickly stepping back, then turning to scramble away. Remie looked up at Auron in confusion, then shrugged, as he shoved the gil into his pocket. They turned together then, and retreated back down the walkway toward the market entrance.
They were almost back to the entrance, when Auron felt a hand brush against his shoulder... "Excuse me." Auron wheeled to face the person, almost dropping the bags to free his hands in anticipation of the fight... his warrior reflexes momentarily startling the woman behind him. "Please excuse me. I own the wig shop just over there and wanted to inquire if you would be interested in selling me your hair. It is quite remarkable." Auron looked back at her in utter astonishment. "You wish to purchase... my hair?" He asked incredulously, wondering what kind of depraved practice this female was referring to.
Remie, stepping to his side, explained... "Some people like to wear not real hair on their heads, to cover up if their bald, or to make themselves look prettier, or something like that, right?" He finished, looking up at the woman. "Yes, exactly." The woman nodded. Auron wasn't sure he fully understood what they were talking about but replied politely... "I'll consider it, thank you." The woman smiled then and handed Remie a small piece of paper. "Here's my card, for when you make up your mind. Please do consider it... I would pay well for that gorgeous mane of yours." And with that she turned, walking with an exaggerated sway, disappearing into the crowd.
Auron breathed a sigh of relief when they had finally left the marketplace behind them, walking down the road towards Sahna's home. He was feeling the effects of the day's multitude of indignities... the pain in his wound beginning to throb badly, his head throbbing along with it. As they approached the house, he saw that Sahna was waiting for them on the front porch, trying to appear as though she wasn't... rearranging the flower pots.
"Everything go alright? No trouble?" She asked, trying to sound casually unconcerned. "Well, hardly any." Remie replied in simple honesty. "Everyone was a little freaked-out when we got there, but we fixed that, then Auron got ticked-off at that creepy guy at the last shop and scared him so bad I thought he was going to wet himself, then Auron almost decked a lady who wanted to buy his hair... and that's about it, I think." Remie said, skipping up the steps into the house.
Sahna and Auron looked at each other, blinking. "Hmph" Auron snorted, walking stiffly past Sahna and into the house. Sahna should have been angry with Remie, the way he had told it was rude, but she couldn't help herself as she began to laugh uncontrollably... staggering around to the side of the house so Auron wouldn't hear her, gasping for air, as tears of laughter streamed down her face.
************
Auron lay on his back on the front room couch, his arms laced behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. It had required all his negotiation skills to convince Sahna to switch sleeping arrangements with him. But he had finally managed to convince her that his well-being would not be jeopardized by sleeping here, rather than in the bed. He could have explained to her that wounded or not, he had spent a good deal of his life sleeping under the stars... anything less than the ground he considered a luxury.
Bringing his thoughts back to the present for a moment, he rolled off the couch and stood, walking to the window, to look out in the direction of the city. It glowed with an eerie, incandescent beauty against the dark sky. In Spira, he had rarely gone out in populated areas at night. Only if he was on guard duty, or returning home late from training during his time as a monk in Bevelle. His comrades had often tried to get him to go after-hours pubing, but he had always refused to join them in their quest for reckless inebriation... he found the lack of control distasteful. And during the pilgrimage, it had been Braska's habit to retire early whenever they had been in a city... his duty never allowing him to venture further than earshot from his charge.
He felt his heart clench in his chest at the thought of his Lord and closest friend. Braska had been the only human being that he had ever truly been at ease with. He missed him... he missed him so very much.
He leaned his arm up against the window frame and squeezed his eye shut, forcibly willing himself back from the grief and regret that wanted to wash him away. 'Get your sad, dead ass in gear Auron...' he told himself in Jecht's voice. Thinking of the arrogant, disrespectful Blitzballer and what he would have to say at that moment, effectively clearing his head.
I know now, how you felt my friend... being alone in an alien world, he thought, as he quietly slipped out the front door.
************
Auron strode down the road to the marketplace, the brisk night wind catching the folds of his robe and whipping it around his legs, his unbraided hair moving like a dark stormy sea around his head. The city truly was beautiful at night, he thought, and he felt much less conspicuous in the shadowy darkness it provided. The few people he had passed on his way had hardly given him a second glance.
As he entered the brighter light of the marketplace, he moved to the furthest side of the walkway, avoiding the brightest illumination just in front of the shops. Stopping for a moment, he pulled the card the woman had given Remie from his robe and turned his head slightly to squint at it, trying to decipher the location of the woman's shop from the writing there. He walked further along until he estimated he was getting close, then stopped to scan the shops across from him. There, just up ahead, was a gaudily lit sign that read 'WIGS - Ready Made and Custom' in extravagant colors. Waiting until the passers by were scarce, he quickly walked forward and entered the shop, stooping under a low canopy at its front.
Thankfully, the shop was empty except for the proprietor, who sat at a worktable, her back to him... laboring over a headless fall of hair as it sat on top of a metal form of some kind. Ghastly, he thought, still not able to comprehend why anyone would want to wear such a thing on their person.
The woman turned, feeling her breath catch at the sight of his exposed face, then managing to control her reaction... the result of long experience in dealing with customers less fortunate looking than most. Besides, it wasn't his face she was interested in.
"So, you've returned." She purred, standing to walk toward him, eyeing him greedily. Auron would have preferred not to deal with this forward woman, but he had little choice it would seem. "Yes, as I have decided to accept your offer." Auron replied, in a carefully reserved tone. "Excellent." She said, reaching up beside his head to run her hand through his hair, her eyes closing momentarily in pleasure. "If you don't mind, I would prefer to expedite this transaction with all due haste, as I have business elsewhere." Auron said, coldly. "I don't mind at all." She replied, slowly lowering her arm, appearing unaffected by his rebuff. "I am prepared to give you 2,000 gil... a handsome sum, more than I customarily offer, but you are an exception I think." The inflection in her voice filled with innuendo. "Unacceptable." Came Auron's blunt reply. If he was going to endure this indignity, he was going to wring every ounce of gil possible from this woman. "I will accept nothing less than 6,000 gil."
"I have never paid that amount to anyone, and I won't pay it now, not even for your glorious locks." The woman said, eyes flashing in momentary anger, then quickly reverting back to their previous calculating coldness. "As you wish." Auron replied calmly, turning to exit the shop. "Wait!" The woman hissed, clearly angry now. "I will go as high as 4,000... but that is my final offer." She was unable to see the smile that touched Auron's mouth then, his back to her. "Offer accepted." He said, turning back around. She glared at him, but did not speak, merely motioning toward a chair next to the worktable, instructing him to sit. Auron did so with regret... turning his back to this creature was an uncomfortable proposition at best.
She walked up behind him with her cutting tool and languidly pulled his hair through her hands, gathered it together at the nape of his neck, then unceremoniously lopped off it's length and placed it on the table next to her. Auron started to rise from the chair, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Just a moment, allow me to do something a little less severe with the rest. I do have a reputation to uphold." Auron considered for a moment, then nodded his consent, lowering himself back to the chair. She began to cut layers into his hair then, moving around his head expertly, short strands of hair falling into Auron's lap as she worked. More than once, she had purposely leaned forward, pressing her breasts against his back, but Auron had refused to acknowledge her obvious seduction, remaining stock-still in the chair.
Apparently satisfied, she stepped back from him and he rose from the chair, turning to face her. "Here, let me get this hair off you." She said, trying one last time, stepping close to him, and starting to reach down to the front of his pants to brush the hair from him that had collected there. Auron brought his arm up and moved hers aside, his patience with this at an end. "My gil. Now." The woman, no longer bothering to remain composed, stalked over to a shelf at the back of the shop and counted out the gil from a box there. Turning, she walked to him and roughly slapped the payment into his outstretched hand. Auron turned and exited the shop, not bothering to speak.
Back outside at the edge of the walkway, Auron turned to the water and brushed a hand down his front, getting as much of the hair from himself as he could. Then he raised his face and inhaled deeply of the cool night air, then exhaled slowly, his eye closing... cleansing himself of the experience and the woman. He turned his head slowly from side to side, the sudden loss of the weight of his hair making it feel oddly light. Then looking down at the gil in his hand, he tucked it into his robe and continued down the walkway. He had a few purchases to make before returning to Sahna's couch for the night.
