I don't think I've ever had a real friend. I mean, I try to be friendly to people, and some people try to be friendly to me, but that mutual friendliness isn't the same as a true friendship, right? I'm not completely sure what's triggered these thoughts; maybe the summer heat combined with working in the markets is getting to me; it might even be my age; what sort of young adult doesn't have a circle of friends to do stupid things with? Me, that's who.
It's not like I don't get it; being a half-Noxian, half-Ionian guy in this small war-ravaged hick town of Tevasa, I stick out like a sore thumb, and to make matters worse, almost all the townsfolk despise Noxians, and that includes even those of us who are only half Noxian. Though I'd like to think the Ionian half of me offsets some of the scorn I receive from the townsfolk. It's these woeful thoughts that keep me company during these hot, boring, long workdays. Days so hot that people fear to leave their homes for fear of melting into a puddle of muck after a few moments in the sun. I do wish I was inside right now; I don't have that luxury though, I need to work, I need money, I need to pay rent, I need to eat; I guess I save some money by not having friends to hang out with. The glass is half full.
"Hey!" A voice booms into my ears, disrupting my little depression session. "Our fishing charter is almost in port! "Get over there and do your job!"
"Yes Sir! "Mr Oliver, sir!" I reply with gusto, trying my hardest not to look like I was sitting around doing nothing. Mr Oliver is a good man; he's the only person in town that didn't immediately shoo me away when I was making the rounds for a job. Although I do wonder as to why he hired me. I mean, it's basically social suicide to be seen in public with me, and yet he's let me work at his fish shop for almost a month, even though the Tevasa community is constantly trying to get him to fire me. Although I don't help myself in that regard, truthfully, I'm not the best employee, not for a lack of trying but, I'm pretty awful at socialising and more importantly, I really, really hate fish.
As I was walking towards the port, lost in my thoughts, a conversation between two women creeps into my ear. Despite their serious bodily expressions, their discussion seemed to be filled with sensational gossip. One woman, who appeared alarmingly large, claimed that a dangerous Demon Fox was seen near the town for the first time in many years. The other woman, worryingly thin, added that she heard that this same woman had a history of seducing men and women and robbing them blind. The gossip continued as they accused her of being a murderer who uses her magic to ruin the lives of the common man. Suddenly, their conversation shifts, they began to discuss how a certain woman named Zhao used subpar garlic in her pasta, even though she claimed to use only the freshest ingredients. Both women were appalled by this revelation.
The two women continue shifting between topics, gossiping about genuine nonsense, none of which strikes me as worthy of eavesdropping on other than their comments regarding a 'Demon Fox'. I haven't lived here for very long, so this is the first I've heard of it, and there's no way something like that can be real. If there was a creature manipulating people and ruining lives, surely some higher authority would take care of it, right?
My internal musings continue until I make it to port, where a large man is waiting for me with two barrels of fish, clearly upset that I'm a couple of minutes late.
"This must be that Noxian punctuality I've heard so much about." He scoffs.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again," I say apologetically.
"Whatever, just get these into Oliver's freezer as soon as possible, okay, kid?" He barks as if he's reprimanding a child.
"Yes sir!" I salute as I walk towards the barrels of fish.
"Stop calling me Sir, you weirdo!" The man shouts, " You do that every time you pick up an order; I'm only a bit older than you, dammit!"
"Understood Captain!" I salute again, causing him to cringe. As I lift the two barrels and turn to leave the port, I notice something peculiar; it seems like an argument between a fisherman and... a woman dressed in a red and white outfit, one far too stylish for this hick-vile town accompanied by…a tail?
And Ears on top of her head.
What.
Is this the person or thing those ladies were chatting about? From what I can see, though, it looks like the fisherman is trying to get rid of her while she's trying to explain something. Her body language looks very defensive, her hands are up while maintaining some distance and keeping her voice down. Whereas the fisherman is guarding his body with his arms and exaggerating his movements while raising his voice. To be honest, this is probably the most interesting thing I've ever seen. My curiosity getting the better of me, I head over to better scope out the situation, and as I get closer, I begin to discern what they're talking about.
"Please, Fishman, I mean no harm. I just want to buy a fish or two, and I'll be on my way." The woman calmly explains
"Get back; I know what you are; you just want to use your witchcraft to kill me! And I'm not a freaking Fishman!" He shouts, raising his fishing rod as if he were readying a sword, "Don't make me use this!"
Stifling a laugh at the fishing rod being used as a weapon and at the lady trying to be polite by calling the fisherman a Fishman, I interject, worried as things seem to be getting weirder and more dangerous, "Hey, are you guys alright?" I say in as friendly a tone as I can muster, interrupting their conversation and setting my barrels down, "It's too hot a day to be arguing, isn't it?"
The two turn to me, both a little confused. The man turns his attention to me, and upon recognising me, he lowers his 'weapon' and begins walking away, muttering, "Great, two freaks on my wharf; what did I do to deserve this?"
"Well," I sigh, "I can't say I didn't see that coming, but I have a solution," I say, turning my attention to the lady with additional appendages, "If you want to buy some fish, I've got barrels of 'em. I can't make the sale as it's not my jurisdiction, but if you'd like to come with me to the store, my boss can sell you some."
"I'd like that very much, but... are you sure you want to be seen with me? I can follow you from a distance; that might be better." The woman says earnestly, which honestly depresses me.
I pick my barrels back up and muster up the most reassuring smile possible. "No, that's okay, you don't have to do anything like that, it would creep me out to be honest. Let's go, I can't let these barrels get any warmer."
She turns her head, checking to see if anyone is close by as I start walking back to the store. "Are you sure? People might start avoiding you if you're seen with me." She says, clearly still slightly reluctant.
I can't help but chuckle at her social forecast for me. "So, you're saying that nothing will change, that's good to know," I say. She smiles slightly at my remark, her worried expression softening into something slightly more cheerful laced with a bit of pity. Reluctantly, she relents and begins walking with me.
As we make our way towards the market, traversing through many different streets, all of which are adorned with colourful stores and stalls bustling with business and chatter. As we continue, we both notice glares, and comments, feeling the disdain that's aimed at us from the townsfolk. It felt physically heavy, forcing my feet to drag and my head to stay down and stare at the gravel road; yes, the barrels of fish were heavy, but this felt as if something was pulling me to the ground.
As I glance over at my companion, I can't help but notice her demeanour: a slight slump in her posture, her feet dragging, and her eyes cast downward. The snide remarks being made are weighing heavily on her mind too.
"So, what brings you into town?" I ask, trying to distract us from the awkwardness and gossip. "I've only lived here for a few months and I haven't seen you around; do you live near here?"
She seems to perk up a little in response to my question. "Yeah, I live in the forest at the moment; I just came back to Ionia a couple of days ago, so I need to pick up some supplies."
"Supplies?" I repeat, glancing at her empty hands, "But it doesn't look like you've bought anything."
"I didn't have any luck with the shopping," she chuckles her ears drooping in disappointment, giving away her true feelings. "It's happened each time I've tried to pick up supplies recently, no matter which local town I try. But I guess I am the big bad scary monster, right? I can understand why people would want to avoid me if they're afraid." She finishes with a wry smile, masking the hurt behind her words.
Hearing this, my heart sinks, I thought I had it bad, being called a freak and whatnot, but she has to go through that AND be denied her means of survival. The townsfolk are scared of her, sure, but in my brief exchange with her, she doesn't seem so bad; actually, she seems quite nice. She's also ridiculously good-looking, and disarmingly beautiful in fact, under more normal circumstances, I'd probably be too nervous to form a sentence, but I know she needs a normal conversation just as much as I do, and this is as close as we can get.
"Have you maybe, considered a disguise?" I ask genuinely with slight sarcasm as I'm sure I know the answer to my question. "If you can find something to hide the tails and ears, people probably won't bother you."
Upon hearing the question, my companion tensed up even further. She appeared serious, even determined, as she spoke with an earnest tone, "I've been hiding for too long, scared of how people might perceive me. But I'm not ashamed of who I am anymore, and I'm tired of hiding." The air around her seemed to shift, conveying the weight of her words.
"I get that," I say turning my head to her and matching her earnest tone, "I don't have many memories but I've been trying to be more authentic to myself too, I've got a long way to go to be honest."
She turns her head, lifting her head slightly. Her eyes seem curious, but they carry a gleam of hope. "I'm sure you'll get there, we both will."
Two excruciatingly long seconds pass as I look into her amber eyes, in addition to curiosity they seem dark and intense, her eyes belong to someone who has been through hell. That's my limit. I quickly turn my head and clear my throat, I'm okay with a conversation, but I'm not ready for eye contact yet. "Sorry, I'm not particularly good at socialising, let alone eye contact."
"That's okay, I'm kind of relearning how to socialise too," She says, a hint of melancholy present in her expression. "I guess this is good practice for us both." Her needing to relearn how to socialise sparks my curiosity, her phrasing suggesting that she was capable of socialisation at some point. I decide it's best not to delve into that. Although it does explain the 'Fishman' comment.
A few awkward but refreshing moments of conversation pass, and we arrive at the storefront of Oliver's fish shop. My arms are sore and ready to give out. "Okay, I'm going to quickly get these in the freezer, then I'll grab Mr Oliver and he'll help you out," I say as I turn towards the woman.
She nods, taking a seat on a conveniently located bench. "Okay, I'll just wait here, I suppose."
"Also, do not, under any circumstances, call Mr Oliver a Fishman." I try to tease as I make my way inside, leaving the woman to wonder what was wrong with the word Fishman.
As I deposit the fish into the freezer, I make sure to follow protocol by tossing the empty barrels into a vat of cleaning chemicals to get rid of the foul odour, as I do so, Mr. Oliver appears around the corner, checking in to make sure the collection went smoothly. While he inspects the newly stored fish, I inform him that a customer is waiting for him at the counter. But instead of heading straight there, Mr. Oliver surprises me by saying, "I think it's time for you to serve your first customer boy."
"But, sir, are you sure?" I reply, completely bewildered—not even in my wildest dreams did I think he would let me serve a customer.
"Don't talk back to me, boy, and get out there; she's waiting!" He orders, causing me to snap into action.
"Yes, your right... Wait, how did you know it was a girl? "You couldn't have possibly seen us enter." I speculate.
"Don't sass me, boy. Go." He replies coldly, not liking that I'm making a customer wait.
I make a hasty exit from the back of the store and quickly position myself behind the counter. Just as I'm about to call the customer over, I realise that I have no idea what her name is. Panic sets in as I frantically search for a solution to my problem. This could be my big moment to shine behind the counter, and I don't want to blow it.
Then it hits me: I need to get her attention with something specific to her and her order. So I shout out, "Hey! Big Ears!, It's fish time!"
The woman turns to me, clearly embarrassed but amused while I cannot believe the words I just said came out of my mouth. With a grin on her face, she makes her way over to the counter "I thought Mr Oliver was going to serve me? Did you get a promotion or something?" She jokes.
"I suppose so; I guess I'm moving up in the world," I reply, smiling bashfully as the pressure of serving my first customer beings to mount. "I-I hope you can do me the honour of being my first customer. I haven't done this before, so I hope you don't judge me too harshly," I say nervously.
She giggles at the idea of something like this being so formal. "Sorry, but I'm a harsh critic."
"Maybe that's a good thing, it'll be a good learning experience," I reply, pre-emptively rationalising the potential criticism to come. "So, what can I get you?"
She ponders dramatically as to what she wants. "Hmmm... I think I'll get two fish, any two."
"Daring today aren't we? Two fish? I can't believe it, you must be rich!" I joke as I grab two fish, parcel them up, and hand them over as she pays, the two of us giggling like children at our silliness. "So, how did I do?" I ask
"Well, aren't you just a model employee?" she quips, with a twinkle in her eye. "I mean, your eye contact has already improved from just a few minutes ago, you kept a good mood, and you even managed to get my change right. Looks like Mr. Oliver might have a future star on his hands." I can sense the sarcasm in her voice, but her comment is delivered in a good-natured tone that makes me chuckle.
She thanks me and turns to leave, and in the afterglow of my first happy customer, I almost forget to ask her something very important, her name.
"Hey, before you leave, I never did ask what your name was."
She stops and turns towards me, wearing a sad yet serious smile. "My name is Ahri. I appreciate your help but you should stay away from me. At least for now. Sorry."
Before I have a chance to say anything else, Ahri jumps on top of a nearby roof in one clean motion. I am stunned at how graceful and powerful her movements are as she continues, dashing across rooftops until she is completely out of sight.
"So cool… Dramatic, but cool. I should be kinder to the fish; they did help me meet someone very interesting." I mumble as Oliver turns the corner, "Boy, stop staring into space; you have 10 kilos of fish to fillet."
Never mind. Fish suck.