A Feather Stolen
Wait for Me
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She was hesitant to do anything at first, likely reeling back in disbelief before her blue eyes glanced to the long list of meals and drinks she had at her fingertips.
And for a moment, Anoel wasn't sure if Lylac was going to order anything at all.
"It's alright to get whatever you want. I don't think he minds whatever you choose, just so long as you like it," Anoel tried to offer. She was hoping Ly wasn't trying to get out of this somehow.
"That's not it…" she whispered in reply, still staring at the menu. "I don't… know what I want…"
This was a bar, so there weren't many options to begin with. But Ano couldn't help but frown a little at that.
"Okay. How hungry are you?" Anoel asked lightly.
Ly's hands naturally placed themselves on her stomach, her eyes following them before turning her gaze to Ano. "I… don't remember the last thing I ate…"
A sharp pang slipped through Ano's chest as she looked at the hungry, confused face Ly was giving her.
It hurt looking at it and hearing what she said.
"We can get you just about anything then," Anoel voice softly, turning her gaze back to the menu in a pensive stare. She didn't want to overwhelm Ly, but she didn't want to get her something small either.
She needed something in the middle.
"Do you just want fries and a burger? And something to drink?"
The young thief nodded, going along with the suggestion without a second thought.
"You can have anything you want to drink with it. E-Except alcohol. I don't think that'd sit well… or end well." Or that it was a good idea in general, really.
"I don't think I'd like that…" Ly replied timidly, shaking her head. "I'm happy with bottled water most of the time."
Ano slowly nodded to that before glancing to Niro's dad, watching as he filled a patron's glass before turning away and went to work preparing a few things behind the bar. She never really paid much attention to the ingredients he gathered.
Looked like he heard the order, though.
"He'll have it prepared in about ten minutes, I think," Ano said, swiveling in her stool to face Ly again.
She took a few seconds to try to see how Ly was taking all this, but overall, it still looked like she was in disbelief.
"Don't let him scare you. When he says business, it's probably just going to be a pretty simple talk then a deal."
Ly's lips parted to let out a shaky breath as her eyes trailed to the idol sat in its glass box. "I just want the lien… I… need the lien."
"I know you do…" Anoel spoke out in a soft breath, holding herself back from just giving her some of her savings back in her room. "He'll probably offer you a lot. I want him to. And he's throwing in the food too. I just… hope it'll help."
Ano rested her hands in her lap as she leaned forward, peering at Ly out of the corner of her vision.
"How long can you stay?"
"Maybe the night… if I'm lucky…" That last part left her mouth in a mumble, Ano just barely able to hear it.
"What do you mean by if you're lucky?" Ano asked slowly, bringing her gaze back to Ly.
The girl rolled up her sleeve, maintaining eye contact with the wooden, winged figure on the bar, if only to avoid making eye contact with the young info-broker. Ano could see a whole bunch of angry, red marks and fresh cuts all across her forearm.
Anoel's gaze only lowered again after seeing it.
She carefully reached over and rolled the sleeve back down, resting her hand back into Ly's own to squeeze it. "You're staying here tonight. With me."
It was worse than last time.
"Some of them were accidents, but… the others..." Ly trailed off when she tried to explain.
Ano already knew where it was going.
Ly sighed before her blue eyes fixated on the idol again. "I don't want to overstay my welcome."
Ano's eyes only closed tightly as she squeezed Ly's hand harder. "I don't care what they are. You're hurt, Ly. Let me take care of you… those cuts are pretty bad."
"It's… not that simple…"
A sigh broke out of her as her head turned to the side.
"I-" she paused, looking unsure of whether to continue. "I-I'm not the only one… who gets punished…"
Watery blue eyes turned back to Ano, dread settling into the broker's pained heart as Ly swallowed heavily, fighting back the urge to cry.
"I'm just the punching bag…"
Anoel's eyes grew pained, seeing the tear jerking sight of Ly's blue eyes glistening over, her own blinking hard as she took a small, shaky breath.
She wanted so bad just to promise that she'd be okay. To promise her that she'd be fine.
But Ano felt short of breath as she felt her heart ache. She knew better than to think that.
"Then keep coming back here. If other people are getting hurt, I can show you how to take care of them too."
Ly wiped her eyes against her coat's sleeve, drying them as she sighed again. "This place is the only option I had left… I… I'm trying to figure it out… how to get out of this."
Anoel's hand opened up in the grip she held Ly's with, squeezing her eyes shut again as she interlaced their fingers. It felt reassuring, but she didn't know who she was trying to reassure anymore.
"Figure… what out?" Ano asked. She'd been trying to avoid that question. She'd evaded it every time her curiosity tried to pull her toward it.
But she couldn't help her until she knew. She had to know.
She could feel Ly's eyes drift away again, Ano trying to follow it with a hazy gaze.
"How to save us from being controlled…"
Controlled…
Anoel desperately wanted to just keep Ly here, but she knew there were others involved. She didn't know how many.
But there were enough.
"C-Can't you just… stay here?" Ano asked quietly, turning her gaze away. She looked back down into her lap, her other hand grabbing a fist-full of her shirt.
It almost sounded selfish… the way she said it.
It probably was.
"I want to…" Ly replied, immediately glancing to Ano, "but not without him… he's too young to deal with this by himself…"
"T-Then what can I do?" Ano asked pleadingly, willing her eyes to look up again and lock with Ly's. "You asked me to help you, but I don't know how to do it. D-Do you need lien? Clean slates? Transport? I-I can come back with you if yo-"
"Time…" Ly interrupted Ano abruptly, forcefully. But the girl still held her gentle gaze. "I need time… I-I'm going to disappear again… but I just need you to wait a little longer… please."
Anoel held her lips together as she took a shaky breath, blinking heavily again once her vision got too hot and blurry to see.
W-Why was this always a waiting game…?
Ano finally reached her hand up to start wiping at her eyes and cheeks, getting the water out of them as she silently nodded.
She hated these games.
"We can help you figure it out… if you still need."
Ly shook her head slightly, turning to the idol again. "It's my cousin… he says he has a plan... It's the reason I keep stealing things… we need the lien to make it work."
"Then we can at least help you with that part." Anoel's breath was coming back to its even state, the shortness of it finally going away. But the pounding in her chest didn't. "Your idol, it's worth a lot. I'll make sure we pay a lot for it."
"Thank you…" Ly whispered. "He says he's nearly finished, but needs expensive things that I don't understand…" Ly's voice finally calmed down to its usual quiet tone too. "When we're free… I'll find you…"
Ano brushed her slim thumb over the back of Ly's hand, turning it over to softly graze her knuckles as she met the girl's gaze again. "It sounds like he's building something."
And once they were free, Anoel would still be right here.
If Ly couldn't find her… Ano would be the one to go searching instead.
"It's big… I know it is… but I don't know how long it'll take to finish," she replied with a small nod, then a shrug. "I don't know if it'll work either… but I need to have faith."
"I'll have faith too then. It'll work," Anoel reassured, squeezing Ly's hand again. For whatever it was worth. "But you can still stay the night, right? You won't get punished for staying away too long again?"
"I don't care if I do."
Anoel's gaze softened as her voice quieted. "I do…"
"I didn't run here worrying if it would get me hurt, I just wanted to get away," Ly murmured, closing her eyes as her empty hand clenched slightly. "If my cousin's plan works it won't matter anyway."
"Then I won't let you leave here until I know I've done all I can do to help you," Anoel replied firmly. "Starting with feeding you."
Ano's eyes turned to see Ly's burger just finish getting plated, fries following closely behind it before Niro's dad brought the food over.
He set it down carefully in front of Ly with a cold glass of ice water to go with it, straw resting down beside it if she wanted one.
Mainly because Ano always did.
"I'll wait until you're done eating before we talk," he said evenly again.
He was always so straight forward with his words. Ano wondered if he just didn't want to waste the breath speaking more than he had to.
Ly's eyes scanned over her food and drink, looking like she was struggling to make up her mind on what she wanted first.
The girl soon picked up a fry though and began nibbling on it until it was gone, soon her hunger driving her to nibble another, and then another. Taking the same care with the rest of her food. Occasionally sipping her drink through the offered straw.
"You eat in small bites," Anoel commented distractedly, both of her hands back to herself now as she watched her.
Ly finished eating another fry before nodding and picking up another. "I need to take my time. It's so I don't make myself sick…"
Ano pursed her small lips as she nodded. Ly could take as much time as she needed to finish. "I think it's cute."
The info-broker wanted to get Ly's mind off of everything that was happening. So, she figured this was a nice distraction.
Ly paused right before she took another bite, eyes quickly shying away as her cheeks reddened a little.
Too cute.
"When you and your cousin get out, I'm getting us some ice cream. I think you'll like it," Anoel said calmly, keeping her eyes on Ly's averted face as she ate.
She wanted to see how she'd eat the ice cream.
Maybe in little licks.
That'd be cute too.
"I haven't had ice cream in a long time…" she timidly replied, soon returning her gaze back to Ano's. "I'd like that."
Anoel smiled softly when Ly looked her way, a gold shimmer coursing through her eyes. "I would too."
Despite taking her time, Ly finished her food rather quickly, not before shyly asking for another glass of water though.
When she got it, Niro's dad took her plate away for his son to clean.
Like the good little boy he was.
Then made his way back.
"Niro, watch the bar. I'm meeting with a client," he stated behind him, loud enough for the boy to hear before he stepped out from behind the counter and headed off toward a private booth in the corner.
It was separated from the rest of the booths around it, and it was the same one Ly hid under when she first ran in here.
It was always empty because it was reserved for meetings like this.
Anoel couldn't help but smile to herself though as she dropped to the floor and helped Ly down too. He was treating her like a grownup.
He was already sitting down when Ano and Ly made their way over, Anoel letting Ly in first to take the inside of the booth while Ano took the outside.
She prefered the outside. It stuck her between everyone else and the person at her side.
Made it easier getting in the way.
When they were settled down, his gaze fell to Lylac expectantly. She brought the glass encasement out under his attention, gently resting it on the table in front of her before letting it go.
"650,000."
She hadn't even retracted her hand before he named his price, her eyes going wide in shock as she processed what he said.
Anoel put herself out there too, to try to raise the price. "750,000."
She could feel Ly's gaze snap to her as she stared across the way to Niro's father, the man's eyes turning to her's slowly as her words lingered in the air.
Ano simply adopted a competitive gleam in her eyes.
Deal with it, old man.
Fight me.
"800,000."
"850," Ano retaliated. She had the lien. She could afford that, and he knew it.
But that was all she had… So she really had to sell it that she'd go higher, narrowing her gaze in the hardest way she could.
He was cracking. She knew he had to be.
"You can have it then."
Ano's mouth fell open as her entire being shattered. "W-What?"
"You're willing to pay for it, aren't you?" he asked evenly, unfazed by any of this.
Of course he wasn't!
D-Did he know?
"Y-Yeah. Yeah! I am. If it's for her, I am."
She was the one who broke.
"Good," he spoke slowly, calmly. As if his totally legally adopted daughter wasn't internally depressed. He turned his eyes back to Ly in her little corner, the girl's face stuck between confused, bewildered, and in disbelief.
She looked more lost than she'd ever looked so far.
"900,000. I'll pay you upfront, in full. So long as I don't have anymore competition."
His gaze turned back to Ano and she immediately shrunk into her seat, giving a tiny little nod.
"Do we have a deal?"
Ly, in her own little lost state, could only nod in acceptance.
She just looked happy she was getting any amount of money for it.
He got up as soon as she nodded, gesturing for the two to stay put as he made his way to the door behind the bar. He disappeared for a few minutes, Ano and Ly just sitting there in comfortable silence before he made his way back.
Nine wrapped and neatly stacked lien cards were placed on the table and slid Ly's way, each one displaying their worth partially hidden beneath the wrappings.
100,000 each.
He then dropped an empty pouch onto the table alongside them.
"There's the lien and somewhere to put it."
His eyes fell to hers again as he waited.
Ly nodded her thanks and slid over the idol in return for the money, looking content to get rid of it.
He carefully swiped it from the table and turned it in his grasp, giving her a small nod in return. "There are more of these out there. If you find any, feel free to take them back here. You'll be compensated in full for each one."
Ly stared at the idol for a couple of seconds before turning a serious gaze to meet his. "How many?"
He kept turning the idol between his fingers as he brought his gaze back down to it. "Currently, only seven were known to have been shipped out from Kerillor before it fell. It's rumored there were eight, but nothing conclusive has been found to prove that."
"I'll try to spot any… and bring them to you."
"I'll keep you paid then, for each one you bring me," he replied.
He was… giving her a job. If she wanted it.
Once he was done, he made his way to the back again and disappeared. Coming back out a few minutes later without the idol to pick up where he left off behind the bar.
"It's a job for you. Once you get free," Anoel clarified, resting her arms on the table now as she looked to Ly beside her.
Ly looked down to the lien on the table, still untouched after Niro's dad placed it down in front of her.
There was something happening in her eyes that Ano hadn't seen yet.
They had a little more shine to them now as they gazed at the nine cards in front of her, but… they changed too.
They were pinker.