A gorgeous array of oranges and yellows streak across the morning sky.
Dust particles dance in the trickling sunlight. The smell of dew encases the wooden building. Dry hay seems to dazzle.
Amber eyes gently open to sunbeams poking through a wad of golden straws. It's bright. Sirius brushes off piles of forage from his curled body. He sits himself upright, squinting his undilated pupils.
The setting around him takes shape. Morning has never felt so saturated.
He quietly props himself onto his feet and sweeps stray straws off his clothing. A deep yawn bellows from his mouth, leaving his eyes watery.
He makes his way over to the stable door. His eyes slip to where Korlin lay the night before.
Still there. The sleeping boy hugs the furry mammoth like a teddy bear.
-It wasn't a dream...
Exiting the stable, his eyes once again need adjusting. It's so bright.
The trading hub is quiet. Only a select few wander the area. Another yawn slides out as he rounds the corner. The man who lent them the stable is walking toward Sirius.
"Oh, hey, I was just coming to get you guys. How'd ya sleep?" The man is wrapped in a blanket. He seems to be in a good mood.
"Great, actually. What time is it?"
"Time?" He seems a tad confused. "It's just a little past dayrise. The morning is still young."
Sirius nods, his head is still groggy. He's never been a morning person.
"Oh- Did you have any breakthroughs with the hoodie?"
"I wouldn't say breakthroughs, but I think given some time, I can start trying to replicate it. And hey, I hope you don't mind, but I cut off a piece of it."
From under his blanket, the man unveils the hoodie. The bottom half of the right sleeve is gone. He hands the amputated hoodie over to Sirius.
"Uh, no worries... Thanks, I guess."
"I assumed you wanted it back, so I thought I'd just keep a little part for myself to study."
"Right..." Sirius nods reluctantly. It was, in fact, not a little part.
"Just so you know, I was thinking... If I figure this whole wool thing out, and it gets big, I could give you a share of the cut."
Sirius' eyebrows raise. That's not at all what he expected to hear.
"Really? That's awfully kind of you... Are you sure you don't want to just keep the whole thing?" He offers him back the hoodie.
"Ah, don't worry about it, I drew a whole bunch of sketches last night. I got the whole thing laid out to sew."
The man pulls out what are essentially schematics for a hoodie from beneath his blanket. The drawings are very detailed and precise... it's kind of scary. Strange symbols and lines run across the papers, which are likely measurements.
"Woah... these are really good."
"Haha, I appreciate it. If I had enough material, I would have already started on it."
"Well, I wish you good luck. If you ever need to borrow it again, I'll gladly let you."
Sirius slips on the freshly washed hoodie. His right forearm sticks out, still feeling the crisp air. The two of them share a warm smile.
...
They trek back to the stable, and the man swiftly yanks open the door.
"Awww, would you look at that? Gary made himself a friend."
Indeed, he did.
Korlin's body is completely submerged beneath the giant. One of his arms flails about, trying to swat Gary off. A muffled voice cries for help.
The man claps his hands, waking the sleeping beauty. Gary rolls himself onto his feet and merrily trots over to his owner.
Korlin gasps for air.
"Oh my gosh, I-I thought I was going to die." He wheezes, sitting up to see two amused faces. "You- You guys suck..."
*****
"Thanks again for letting us crash here."
"Ah, don't mention it. Think of it as the start of a wondrous business venture."
"Alright, I look forward to seeing you replicate it." Sirius gives him a subtle smile.
"Before you head off, may I ask something of you both?"
"What is it?"
"If you find any material resembling 'wool', would you mind letting me know? I'd go and search for it myself, but... these old bones have their hindrances. Of course, I'll be doing my own research and digging, but if you find anything, please let me know."
A sound request, especially if a future business is at stake. With that reasoning, they both agree.
"We're on it, sir!" Korlin declares from atop the manfi.
"I appreciate it," he solemnly smiles. "In my lifetime, I've had countless business ventures fail. Despite my skills, I've never had a steady income. So, if this works out..." the man's voice croaks. "Maybe I can make my momma proud."
"We'll do what we can. I promise, your momma will be one happy lady!"
Korlin's remark erupts a burst of laughter from the man and a small chuckle from Sirius.
"By the way, I don't think I caught your name?" Sirius mentions.
The man leans against Gary, who is now attached to a carriage filled with fruits.
"Name's Gary."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... Anyway, you ready?" Sirius asks.
Korlin leaps off Gary's (the manfis') back.
"Yep! Let's roll!" he does a little twirl. "Thank you, Gary!"
"Yeah!" Gary waves. "Be careful out there! This city ain't too kind to Witch Spawns!"
"Hm?" Sirius is surprised. "You knew we were Witch Spawns?"
"Of course! I just couldn't care less!"
Gary gives the boys a cheesy grin. His fanged teeth radiate jolliness. If Santa Claus were a lumberjack, this would be him.
-...
They say their final farewells and depart from Gary and Gary. The man's kindness lingers in the back of Sirius's mind.
...
"Where are we heading anyway?" Korlin asks.
"...I was following you..."
"Oh, right... Well, based on all of the media I've consumed... We should have ran into the main heroine by now... And she should spark our journey."
"Huh...?"
"But since one hasn't shown up yet... It's time to do a lore dive!"
"...Meaning?"
"We need to wander around and learn more about this world," the boy is exceptionally excited. "We should find a map to figure out where we are, learn some of the language and culture so we know what not to say, and maybe work for some NPCs to get some money..."
"Makes sense, we don't know much of anything right now. I'm surprised, I figured you'd say something more along the lines of-"
"We also NEED to learn magic as soon as possible."
"...Yeah, that too."
"Alright!" Enthusiasm takes his reins. "Let's do this! What should we do first...? Oh! Should we get paper so we can take notes?"
"Are you going to use a shit feather again?"
"..."
Korlin stares blankly at him, his look the very embodiment of "shut up".
"It is a good idea, though. I don't think people use pencils or anything, the lady at the clinic was using a claw to write with, so we'll need one of those."
"That's so cool..." His spirits immediately reawaken. "Guess we'll add that to the list of things to get. Should we split up?"
"Sure, when should we meet back up?"
Korlin pulls out his watch.
"Hm... man, what kind of clock is this? We can't actually tell time. Our watches only show pictures of some flowers."
"True..."
Currently, the hour hand rests slightly past a flower in its bud. Next in the rotation would be the fully grown flower. Then, the decaying flower, and then the roots.
"Um... Let's just meet around here when the sun is straight up. At noon, basically."
"Roger that," Sirius agrees.
"Alright! I'll go find magic! You find paper or a map or something, I don't care! Dismissed!" Korlin salutes and scurries off for information.
Sirius sighs and takes a look around.
-Where to go...
...
He wanders around the capital maze, searching for a store selling anything useful.
Along his travels, he does as any man would do... and admires the architecture.
The buildings feel like walls of a fortress. Their stonework is marvelous; flawlessly sculpted stairs, pillars, and statues are everywhere he turns. While everything is crafted out of varying shades of gray, inhabitants breathe more than enough life into the streets. Plants, trees, and murals are dotted throughout, adding even more diversity and color to the city.
-Paper... paper...
Entering a plaza, he spots a small building with a large, wooden sculpture of a book above the entrance.
-A bookstore?
He strolls inside the cozy shop, the scent of paper nestling his nostrils.
-Definitely a bookstore.
Behind a desk sits a mature-looking woman with coffee colored hair and glasses.
-How do prescriptions work here?
Sirius inches over, making sure his footsteps are quiet.
"Hi... Do you have anything that I could use to write in? Like an empty notebook or something?" His question makes her glance up from her book.
"Of course," she smiles politely. "There should be some journals near the back."
"Thank you," Sirius gives her a quick smile before heading towards the back.
Rows of tall bookshelves line the small store. Despite the rocky exterior, the inside is entirely comprised of maple-colored wood. A shallow mossy-colored carpet spans across most of the store.
Turning into an aisle, a girl with purple, shoulder-length hair scans the shelves. If her braids were a shade darker, they'd be considered black.
Given the size of the shop, the aisle is narrow. Sirius almost turns around to avoid an encounter, but is stopped by the girl's hopping.
She bounces up and down, trying to grab a book barely out of reach. Her outstretched hand repeatedly taps the book, unable to grasp it.
Sirius embraces his inner romance protagonist.
He approaches the bouncing girl. Noticing his presence, she halts her hopping. She isn't even much shorter than Sirius, just poor at jumping. She's seemingly the same age, too.
Sirius stands on the tips of his toes and manages to slide the book out of its socket. He plants back on his feet and offers her the maroon book. He can't read its title.
She wears a light gray knitted sweater, the sleeves draping over her slender arms. Her violet eyes glisten like amethyst. She's very pretty.
She peers down at the book over her button nose.
In all other cases, this would be a wholesome moment. And it is... Except for the fact that she looks absolutely revolted at the sight of what he's done.
She slowly grabs the book and pulls it away from Sirius.
She nods to herself, trying to process the situation. Without a word, she turns around and power walks out of the aisle. She disappears behind the bookshelf.
...
-Was it really that awkward?? Damn... This is why I don't interact with women.
Unable to shake the sense of embarrassment, he makes his way to the back of the shop.
He finds a bin leaning next to the wall, housing a pile of empty journals. He rummages through the container, trying to find one with blank pages. Eventually, he finds a compact, leather book. The journal has a tiny strap to keep it closed and a built-in placeholder ribbon.
He finds another one for Korlin, this one rough-textured and light blue.
A tiny tag sticks out from both journals, and they have strange symbols he assumes to be the price.
He heads back to the front of the shop and walks up to the lady.
"Do you have anything I can write with?"
She sets down her book and scours beneath her desk.
"Yes, there should be an ink-claw or two around here..." Sirius waits patiently. "Aha!" She bangs her head under the desk. "Here you are."
She offers Sirius two fist-sized claws. The claws are an off-white tinted yellow, the tips stained a jet black.
"Thank you..."
"Will those journals be all for you today?"
Sirius is unsure where to store the claws, his pockets are full of nem and the watch. "Uh- Yes, please." He slides the claws into his remaining hoodie sleeve.
"Alright, that'll be twenty-two nem please." She smiles kindly, rubbing where she hit her head.
-I hope I'm right about how nem works...
Sirius sets the journals down and grabs two red and two green gems from his pocket. He hands them over to the lady, and she accepts them.
It worked. Sirius feels a brief sense of pride.
"Oh, what about the claws?"
"Oh, you can keep those for free." She tidies up behind her desk. "We've got loads of them." She settles down and opens up her book.
"Thank you," Sirius grabs the journals and heads out the store.
...
Treading over into a desolate alleyway, he plops onto the ground. He sets down his journal and opens it to the first cream-colored page. He positions a claw into his hand as he would a pencil.
-How do I even write with this thing?
He presses the blackened tip of the claw onto the paper. Lifting it off the paper, a tiny dot of ink rests on the page.
-It works.So it's literally an ink-producing-claw. Is it infinite ink? No, that wouldn't make sense...
He has never been so impressed by a pen.
He jots down his understanding of nem and latches the book shut.
-Now to find more stuff to write down...
Meandering through the bustling streets, he happens to spot a group of merchants. Figuring they'll know what is for purchase around here, he approaches them. Sirius throws on his clueless face and greets the merchants.
"H-hey, I'm not from around here. You're merchants, right? Do you guys know what's for sale around here? Or anything else about the market here?"
Though it technically isn't a lie, he still feels like he's deceiving them.
Surprisingly enough, the merchants act like they've waited their whole lives for this moment.
They eagerly explain the economy of Auretta in immense detail. Remembering what he can, he jots it all in his journal...
[Auretta, the capital of Lunalir, is the largest trading hub in the world. People come from far and wide just to sell their products here, so the goods are very diverse. The country of Lunalir is teeming with farmland. Most of the locals sell their crops and cattle, which makes up the majority of the market. Other products come from as far as "Aeonice", which I assume to be the name of a country. Apparently, their ice is quite popular. Though I can't help but feel like they were joking when they said that...
The capital also houses lots of underground markets, but the merchants I asked wouldn't give me many details. All they said was: "A young fella like yourself shouldn't worry about all that." Apart from the market, the merchants started talking about the capital's relations. Supposedly, Lunalir isn't on the best of terms with its trading partner to the south, Alsi. When asked about Alsi, they replied: "Those squallers can piss off with their snow and herbs." Not quite sure what that means, but that was all I could gather for now.
Side note: The merchants of Auretta are weird.]
...
Sirius continues asking around for tidbits of information. He asks about his watch, only to get looks of either confusion or concern...
Rephrasing his questions to be about time itself, he manages to scramble up some answers. Though none answer anything about the countdown...
[Clocks do not exist, at least not in the traditional sense. Things like sundials exist, but watches like mine appear to be a rarity. Hours, minutes, and seconds are not important when it comes to telling time. Unless it is along the lines of "Meet back here in a few minutes" or "Go play for an hour." Even then, the terms are used loosely. There is no specified length of an hour or minute. The concept of one o'clock, twelve o'clock, etc. is instead broken down into four sections of night and day.
Day is from the moment the sun rises (I heard this referred to as daybreak, day-rise, day-start, and sunrise, though the latter is less common) to when it sets (referred to as day-end, day-stop, day-gone, day-set, sometimes nightfall and sunset/sundown, though again, less common). The concepts of morning/dawn and dusk remain.
This day period is split into two sections divided by day-peak, which is the equivalent of midday or noon. Though the terms 'noon' and 'afternoon' don't seem to exist. The section from sunrise to day-peak is referred to as Budding Time/Period. The section from day-peak to sundown is called Blooming Time/Period.
Night works similarly, as it is split into two by the night-peak. From sundown, or when the moon rises, it is regarded as night-rise, night-start, and sometimes moonrise. The period from moonrise to night-peak is called Wilting Time/Period. When the moon sets and the sun is about to rise, this time is called moon-fall, night-end, night-set, night-gone, night-stop, and even day-fall. Night-peak to night-end is called Rooting Time/Period.
Basically, time is split into four sections. There is no real telling of time; instead, people just use the sun and moon. Midnight does not count as the start of a new day; sunrise does. The names of the sections explain the floral imagery on the watch.
I'm sure there is more I don't know and forgot... My wrist hurts.]