“Hey,” Piero says as he rests his arm across my shoulders. “How about we get you cleaned up, and then we do something fun?” He’s just the right height for his arm to feel comfortable instead of awkward.
I turn my head, looking at him inquisitively. “We’re going to get me cleaned up?”
“Sorry, sorry.” He grips my arm affectionately and then kisses my cheek. “What I meant to say was that you’ll get yourself cleaned up.”
“Better.”
***
Piero waited in the garden while I washed up at my house. He decided to take me into the city center, with the intention of walking around for a bit. As we walked past a lot of shops, I realized just how famished I am.
“Piero?”
“Hmm?” he responds languidly, slowing down beside me.
“I think the training today took more energy out of me than I realized. I’m rather hungry. Do you mind if we get something to eat before we walk around?” I point out a small restaurant about fifty meters to our right: ‘The Tavern.’ It’s one of my favorite places in the city. It’s a staple in Belarin and has been here for as long as I can remember.
The building looks as old as it is, but it’s far from being decrepit. There are vines and bright green moss climbing up the sides of the building, and a few rocky steps elevating the structure from the main ground level: signifying the original owner’s wood and earth affinities. Dangling from either side of the entryway are two metal talismans, paying homage to a god of old. The deity has six arms and a long trunk for a nose — it seems unreal to me, but who knows what existed in this world before us.
As the new owner sees me walking toward the shop with Piero next to me, he waves enthusiastically. He gives off an aura of serenity, which only enhances my memory of him being more peaceful than lethal. He has short blond hair cut very close to his scalp on the sides, and he has multiple metal studs lining his ears.
“Selvyn!” he yells loudly. He pulls me into a hug and pats me on the back jovially.
“Hi, Hunter,” I say, returning the gesture. “It’s good to see you again. How’s your grandfather?”
“He’s doing really well, all things considered.” Hunter pulls away and steps a few paces back, taking Piero’s wings in. “But at his age, he doesn’t want to be tied down here every day. I guess there’s too much in life to see outside of our little shop, eh? I hear that your family is all doing well — Aethyr was in here a few days ago.”
“Yes. We’re all doing well.” Hunter hasn’t looked at me since he noticed Piero’s triple sets of ice wings next to me, and I almost forgot to introduce them.
“Oh, I’m so sorry — I almost forgot that I should make an introduction. Hunter, this is Piero Intessa. Piero, this is Hunter Braylin. His family has owned this place since before I was born.” Piero steps forward and offers Hunter a handshake.
“It’s nice to meet you, Piero,” Hunter says, accepting the formal gesture. “I didn’t know the Ice Tune was in our city.”
“Well, that’s probably because I’m so much more than just the Ice Tune,” Piero retorts sarcastically. Hunter’s eyebrows shoot up. Piero withdraws his hand and offers a smile instead. “Apologies for the abrasive remark, I didn’t mean anything cruel by it. I’m still getting used to being known as the Ice Tune — the transition only happened recently.”
Hunter throws up his hands in a surrendering motion. “No worries at all, man. I completely understand. I would be utterly aghast if I were in your shoes, so to speak. I imagine it being… difficult, for everyone to have an opinion of you before they’ve met you.”
“It has certainly been intriguing, to say the least.” Piero scratches the back of his head absentmindedly. “Anyway… it smells incredible in here. I hear that you’re the cook?”
“Indeed, I am,” he says, walking back toward the kitchen area. There’s no indoor seating, so it doesn’t take him long to reach his destination. He leans over the counter with his head resting in his hands. “So then, what can I get for you?”
Piero looks at the menu and then over at me for suggestions.
“I’ve eaten everything on the menu on multiple occasions, Piero. I can certainly say that any decision you make will be a good one.”
“Well then, Selvyn, I’ll just have to take your word for it. You said you’re buying anyway, right? In that instance, why don’t you surprise me?” He turns back around toward the counter. “So, I’ll take whatever he orders, Hunter. Thank you very much in advance.”
“Alrighty then. Do you want to wait outside while Hunter prepares the order?”
“Okay, and I’ll have some water to drink, if you don’t mind, Hunter.”
“But of course, here you go. You can take Selvyn’s glass outside as well while he waits for the food.” Hunter passes over the two glasses of water to Piero. Piero takes them in his hands and holds one of them up to the light, studying the decorative detail on the glass.
“These glasses are amazing,” he remarks. “Where did you get them?”
“Thanks,” Hunter replies. “Actually, my dad made them specifically for the restaurant. He’s quite the craftsman. He’s a lightning and earth wielder. He likes to work with sand and lightning to make glass, and he utilizes his affinities to create these incredible patterns.”
Piero rubs his thumb over a smooth purple flower etched into the glass in remarkable detail. “How does he —?”
“Ah, the coloring,” Hunter interrupts Piero. “Yeah, he works with different color pigments and mixes them in with the sand before the lightning strikes. Then he just works quickly to make patterns and shape the glassware while it is still hot. As you may be aware, glass is rather malleable when initially being formed, and at the proper temperature, of course.”
Piero mumbles something incoherent under his breath, admiring the beauty of the craftsmanship.
“Ah.” Piero shakes his head inattentively. “Thanks for the information — very interesting. I’ll wait outside, Selvyn.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t know he was here, Hunter.” I walk over to the counter and place our order, getting two of the same menu item. It’s always nice to order the same thing when you’re out with someone.
Hunter starts preparing our food and doesn’t look directly at me, but he continues to address me.
“Well, I did, actually. Know he was in Belarin, that is.” He shakes the pan over the heat in front of him. “I mean, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Everyone knows. I just thought it would be nice for a change for someone to pretend they didn’t know he was here or who he was. For his benefit. I mean… I tried not to make it obvious, but when you see three sets of the same color wings, there’s not much else to do. It’s not like you’re making an assumption at that point.”
“Well, that was a nice gesture. Thanks for that. I’m sure he appreciated it. I don’t think he’s exactly comfortable living here temporarily, or whatever the deal is. Everyone looks at him as if he’s an outsider. He says he doesn’t really care, and I’m not sure if he is phased by it, but it still can’t be a nice feeling either way.”
“Whether he stays or not, he’ll be old news soon enough.” Hunter transfers our order from the pan into two identical bowls and finishes the dish off with a few edible garnishes.
“I suppose you’re right.” I take the bowls from him after paying him. “Thanks for the food, Hunter. As always, it looks great.”
“You’re welcome. Hope you guys enjoy it. Let me know what Piero thinks. It’ll be good to hear a stranger’s opinion for a change!”
“Will do,” I say, grinning before heading out the door.
I take a glance around and find Piero sitting on top of The Tavern, his legs resting over the storefront’s sign. I squat to the ground and then jump up, beating my wings twice to get myself on top of the restaurant to join him.
He takes one of the bowls from me and passes me a glass of water in return.
“Thank you for the food. I appreciate i
t,” he says, smiling brightly. He brings the food up to his face and inhales deeply. “Smells so good.” I chuckle as he wipes a trickle of drool from the corner of his mouth.
I start eating, wondering if I should ask him the question that Hunter made me realize I have been thinking about without intending to.
“This is amazing,” he states in between mouthfuls. “You have excellent taste.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I have something I want to ask you.”
“Sure.” He looks up. “What’s on your mind?”
“Are you comfortable here, Piero? In Belarin, I mean. Do you want to be here? Do you wish our Council would let you leave?”
“Well, those are a few different questions.” He looks at me soberly and then throws his head back and gazes into the sky. “And I guess therefore I have a different answer for each one of them.”
I look at him imploringly, willing him to go on.
“So, first I will say that I still do not feel comfortable here when I am not with you. I’m not trying to put pressure on you — I am saying that this is an awkward situation for me. I’m suddenly the Ice Tune, and I’m in a city I’ve never been in before. I have strangers staring at me every day, wondering if I’m going to do something to hurt them or maybe just staring for other reasons. I don’t know which, but it’s odd. But, being around you makes me feel comfortable, and I feel better about those other things knowing that you’re here for me and want to spend time with me as well.
“Do I want to be here? It’s a beautiful city, for sure. It’s a lot different from where I grew up. I don’t mind being here now, as I’m aware of all the different circumstances that led to my being here and that are keeping me here for the present time. However, I’m not sure if I want to be here forever.” He looks at me gloomily for a moment. “I mean, if anything were to happen between us that would keep me here, then I wouldn’t really have a decision to make, but I’m not trying to rush things between us.” He looks back to the sky and sighs gently.
“But that leads to your other question, and my answer is that, yes, I would like the Council to let me leave. I value my freedom, that’s all. And I want to travel all over the world. I want to be able to explore nature and see how other societies live. I mean, that in and of itself is difficult due to the nature of our cities right now… it’s shitty to think about. Like I mentioned once before, I think that it would be amazing to have a new city to call home. But yes, I’d like to be able to come and go as I please. I guess it will just take some time for people to grow accustomed to me here and accept me, if they choose to at all. And I know that I haven’t known you that long, but I’d like to go somewhere with you. Explore something new together. Don’t you think that would be nice?”
“Oh… I haven’t really thought about that before.” He stares at me, waiting for me to continue. “I mean… I think it could be nice; I’m just hesitant about agreeing to anything. That’s new territory for me, and it’s a bit soon. Don’t you think?”
Piero sighs reluctantly. “I didn’t say we need to go right this second. I’m just talking about making some plans for the future. And everything’s new territory for you.”
“Can you blame me? It’s not exactly my fault I haven’t been involved with anyone before. I’m nervous.”
“No, I don’t blame you. Of course not. It’s just… this is difficult. That’s all.” He sighs again. “Anyway, it’s getting dark… according to your city, I have a curfew, don’t I? We should be heading back.”
“Sure — you’re right. Let’s finish up and then I’ll bring you back to your place.” I fiddle with my food, unsure if I should say anything else.
We finish eating in silence. I bring the glassware back to Hunter, and thank him once more, telling him that Piero really enjoyed it. Then I walk Piero back to his temporary home, neither of us talking the entire way there.
I’m left wondering — is he going to leave as soon as he’s able?
CHAPTER XVII
BLISS IS FLEETING
"Wake up, sleepyhead.” I rub the last remnants of glorious sleep from my eyes as Aislynn wakes me up earlier than I would prefer. I guess there are worse things in life than missing sleep.
“Ugh,” I groan begrudgingly. “What time is it? I wanted to sleep more.”
“Later than Safeyya would like — it’s past nine.” She walks toward the dresser she made and skims her hand along the top. “We were supposed to start training already.”
I yawn and then get up, stretching my muscles. I’m so tired — last night was so emotionally draining. I never knew that this dating thing could be so complicated.
“Sorry — I had a difficult time falling asleep. I’m not quite sure if I got into a fight with Piero. It was a very awkward night.”
“That’s unfortunate, but we don’t really have a lot of time to discuss that right now. Safeyya’s going to be pissed if you make her and Aethyr wait any longer.”
I look over at my sister, and she’s already dressed for training. She’s wearing a pair of metal gloves, and has her hair tied up and away from her face. She tosses my belt at me and walks toward the door.
“I’ll be waiting outside. Get dressed, throw some food down your throat quickly, and let’s go.”
I rush around my room throwing on my accessories, then I go fill them with water and rinse out my mouth to get rid of the gross morning breath that I hope everyone else has, and that it’s not just me.
I scarf down some food and then head toward the door, doubling back once I realized I’ve left my Sais in my room. Once I’m outside and they’re tucked securely in my belt, Aislynn and I fly off toward the training grounds.
Landing soundlessly behind me, she pushes me toward Safeyya and Aethyr and then jumps backward, pulling a handful of earth with her in the process. She rears it over her head and then throws it in my direction — I guess we’re starting immediately.
I stand my ground and draw the Sais of Zulena from my waist, and use them to slash through the mound of earth as it approaches me. It breaks in half, each of which falls with a thud to either side of me. She regains control of them and slams them back up in an attempt to crush me in between them.
Holding the Sais pointing downward, I tap into my wind affinity and gather several crossing gusts of wind and convene them on the tips of my knuckles. I put my fists out to my side and halt the earth in its tracks. The concussive force of the wind creates a hole in the center of earth most near my fists that I then radiate out toward the edges, creating cracks in the structures. Within a few seconds, both mounds of earth fall at my feet like rubble. Dust fills the air around me.
Safeyya copies my act, utilizing her own lightning affinity to gather a large current of electricity in her fist. She pounds her hand into the ground, the resulting force of which reverberates the earth around me as lightning courses in my direction, spreading out like a labyrinth below me.
I jump into the air just in time to watch the ground where I just stood light up as the electrical charges break through the surface and soar back into the sky, the electricity whizzing past my ear. But she maintains control over her affinity and as the lightning bolts rise upward, she curves them back toward my current position and they rain down like an electric shower. I use my wind affinity to push myself back out of the way of my sisters, but end up backing right into my brother.
His open palm meets my back and I’m greeted with a horrible burning sensation as his fire affinity sears the skin in between my wings. The action was too quick to even sense him behind me, and I was more focused on what’s ahead of me than behind me.
Utilizing the remaining momentum I had from pushing myself back into him, I pivot over myself and lash up with my foot as I turn over in midair, kicking him in the chest. The blow lands solidly and he soars backward, clutching his chest in the process.
I land away from the three of them to heal myself. Gritting my teeth, I draw out the contents of one of my anklets, using the water to cover my
back injury and soak away the burning sensation. I monitor my siblings and notice none of them approaching for the time being, but I look down and see Safeyya’s signature target marks on the ground just in time. She unleashes a barrage of lightning bolts aimed around my immediate position, and I dance wildly between the crosshairs as the ground around me unearths as if explosions were emitted just underneath the surface.
Halfway between my evasion dance, I notice the burn on my back has healed, and I’m able to alleviate some of my focus from the injury and turn my attention toward negating her attack. I levitate the same water out in a circle and lower it to the ground, wetting the surface around me. Normally this wouldn’t make a difference to a lightning user, but, remembering her earlier lesson on negative and positive charges, I also altered the positive properties of the water as it interacted with the earth. Consequently, the lightning crackles and sizzles as it dissipates out into the wet mud. Safeyya curses brazenly from afar.
Aislynn takes advantage of the mud and uses the sludge to lock my feet in place as Aethyr flies toward me with his fists aflame. I summon up two gusts of wind and encircle my feet, encouraging the air to spin counterclockwise and solidify the mud. After a few seconds, it works, and I use my blades to break open the hardened mud casings, allowing me to dodge Aethyr just in time.
As he circles back, I siphon the water out of my other anklet and coat my fists, using the remainder to create a rope between them. He rushes into me headfirst and I duck, encircle his hands in mine, and lift my feet off the ground as he flies past.
He unintentionally pulls me with him and I use the opportunity to use my water affinity to extinguish the flames on his hands, and the rest I shove upward into his nose. I let go of him and drop to the ground, watching him have a coughing fit as the water goes down his trachea. He turns in midair to face me, and still coughing, sticks his middle finger up at me as he plows into a tree behind him.
One less sibling to worry about for the time being.
I turn around to face my sisters. My eyes flit back and forth between them as I contemplate my best course of action: Safeyya’s most dangerous from far away, and Aislynn’s more ferocious when she gets into close-range combat, but I’m going to have to deal with one of them in their comfort zone.
Underestimated Affinities Page 19
