Memory Bonds

The rest of the work day passed much like the start, with a bit less talking. Harmoni scrambled to work, mostly to clean pools and keep sand off the ground. Udo and Aqua talked with the customers, brought the dragons anything they needed, and helped clean them. She saw Udo use that rough brush, that looked like it was for scraping rust off metal, on a dragon's scales. Ferren worked, but she also kept an eye on Harmoni and Fleck. She mostly cleaned, like them. But she also went to the spa's various closets, dragging Harmoni along, and talking to her about taking inventory. Harmoni followed along as best she could.

Ferren concluded that wherever she came from, she wasn’t a spoiled brat who’d never done work in her life. She did have some skill in cleaning. Ferrent also concluded Harmoni was clumsy and jittery, and was ruining her own efforts because of it.

Still, it wasn’t a complete disaster. When she headed for the exit after noon, Udo smiled her. He even briefly squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry about Ferren. I know she’s a bit . . . difficult. She’d just been alive a very long time. It makes her a bit out of touch. She’ll warm up to you.”

Harmoni wasn’t too sure about that, but she appreciated the gesture. At least someone was welcoming to her.

Udo continued with a smile. "And where would I be without her? She helps make soap and is much more organized than I am."

Then it was time to get back to Udo’s house. Because they’d started late, they were also ending late. But not late enough that Udo and Aqua were done. When they were, they'd come back and cook dinner, and Harmoni and Fleck would join them for that. But Fleck was pushing her to eat lunch.

He was certainly going to.

So Harmoni spent the rest of the money she’d had in her pocket on food, but she felt alright with that. She had someplace to stay, and someone to stay with. Well, multiple someones. And Fleck helped her pick out good food using his sense of smell. Which was a good thing, because she wasn’t sure what a lot of these foods were.

The two headed back to Udo’s house. Harmoni knew the way from here. It was only about a street away. But if she did somehow manage to get lost, Fleck could also find the home with his sense of smell.

He knew what Aqua and Udo smelled like.

Witnessing a dragon’s sense of smell like this was truly something. Harmoni could smell, of course. She could tell when someone needed a bath, and could probably guess what food she was holding in her hand by smell. But Fleck took it to another level. He could pick out individuals like Aqua and Udo. He could guess what species someone was, because all of them had distinctions in their scent. It was remarkable.

They reached Udo’s house quickly. Harmoni opened the door, and brought Fleck up to her room. They ate something small, not long until dinner now.

It took an embarrassingly long amount of time before Harmoni remembered she should take the food down to the kitchen. It probably wasn't hygienic to keep it all up in her room, and it wasn't like Udo was going to steal it. Was he?

Fleck sincerely doubted it.

So Harmoni took the bags, and opened the bedroom door. And immediately stopped. She heard voices downstairs, and it wasn't like Udo would be talking to Aqua.

“What were you thinking?”

Harmoni tensed, shoulders going towards her ears. That was Ferren. She wasn’t yelling, but Harmoni heard the disapproval oozing off her.

“I was thinking of being helpful to a homeless young girl,” Udo replied calmly.

"Did she mention she has amnesia?"

A pause. "No. She didn't actually. But I guess that makes sense."

“Makes sense? You have no idea who she is, or where she’s from. You don’t even know if she’s telling the truth. She didn't tell the truth about her memories. You could be putting yourself in danger.”

“And what should I do instead? Advertising I have a lost child to everyone is asking for trouble. There aren’t really any authorities who could help. I could look for someone who can break amnesia, but it will take time.”

Ferren made a sound Harmoni couldn’t really make out before speaking again. She sounded less angry and more exasperated now. “OK, let’s say that logic is sound. It’s not, but let’s suppose it is. Why is she working at the spa? You have a jumpy girl who’s afraid of her own shadow, who’s not an adult by half elf standards, and who seems bad at talking to people. You put her to work? Isn’t that a faulty plan?”

She was pretty sure Udo sighed. “I think you know I can’t afford to just help everyone who needs it. And even if I could, you’ve seen her. I don’t think she’d take free help. Besides, this is long term. It's more stable than anything else I could do for her. And she’s only working part time. Plenty of teenagers do that. So I don’t think it’s particularly morally questionable.”

It was silent for a moment. “I can see I’m not going to change your mind,” Ferren eventually declared. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone. I’m going home. You can find me there if this falls down around you.”

There were footsteps coming closer. Ferren was leaving.

And they should leave too, before she looked up and saw them staring out the door.

Harmoni slid backwards, away from the door. Her carpeted floor meant she wasn't making a sound.

They both waited, keeping breaths silent, as the footsteps passed. There was the sound of the door closing a moment later.

Harmoni slowly lowered her head, digging her fingers into her hair. It was more than Ferren disliking her. She didn't trust her. Harmoni had been so worried about herself, she hadn't considered the other two might feel similar about her. This was all too much. She wanted to go home, but she didn’t know what home was.

This place wasn’t home for Fleck yet, that was still the underground caverns. But in terms of people, he felt more at home with Harmoni.

Yes . . . yes that was true. The feeling was mutual.

And he could smell food down the hall. Udo must be cooking. They’d feel better after some food, he thought.

That . . . was probably also true. Now that Harmoni was paying more attention, she could hear his footsteps as he moved about the kitchen.

Personally, Fleck was more insulted that Udo thought they needed that much help. He was going to have to prove they didn't need that kind of hand holding.

Harmoni just shook her head. She took a deep breath, and went to see if she could help with the cooking.

~~~

Harmoni and Fleck went upstairs to their room, Harmoni closing the door behind them. Harmoni had had dinner with Udo, and Fleck had done the same with Aqua. Though their meals had been . . . fairly different.

Fleck climbed off her shoulders and started looking around, sniffing the bed and the closet. He’d lived in a cave his whole life. While he had two sisters who lived with riders, they usually visited him, not the other way around. Being in a house was new.

Harmoni, meanwhile, dropped face first onto her bed. It was nice. She lay like that and might have fallen asleep if Fleck didn’t jump to the window ledge.

The view was amazing!

Harmoni lifted her head up, blinking a few times. Curious, she got up and joined him. She could see the desert from this window, hills of sand rolling out in front of them. But on top of that, the sun was also setting. Clouds were stained pink and purple, with the sky above them dark. Meanwhile, the rays of the sun turned the ground red, orange, and yellow. The pale sand did little to dull the vibrant colors, like grass might. And OK, that was pretty impressive.

They both watched the sun set in silence. Harmoni scratched the back of Fleck’s head, right by the neck.

The sun sank lower, making the clouds hard to see, and turning the sand blue.

Fleck turned to Harmoni, putting a claw on her wrist. ‘Harmoni? Can I ask you a question?’

Well, asking was sort of a moot point, but she nodded.

‘Why haven’t you looked into your amnesia? Like, if there’s something you can do about it? Isn’t that important?’ He thought people would want to know, in situations like this.

Harmoni tensed. She could feel her eyes bulge a bit as she looked out over the desert. ‘I woke up in a town full of slaughtered people. What good memories could possibly come from that?’ She knew she might not be part of the slaughtered town. They might not be friends or family she grew up with. But no other explanation for how she ended up there was any better, was it? She dug her free hand into her hair again. ‘I don’t want to remember. And I don’t need to.’

Fleck tilted his head, considering. Not the amnesia thing. When she thought of it like that he understood. ‘So, what’s your plan?’ That was the only thing he wondered. ‘Are you just going to . . . stay here with Udo forever?’

Harmoni’s distress stopped spiraling, and she slowly lowered her hand.

Which was good. The reaction had seemed kind of extreme and he was glad to distract her.

Yes. She could tell the stress hadn't been nice on her stomach or head, but it was only because she'd been under so much stress lately. Maybe if things could calm down for a few minuets, the building feelings would stop.

But back to Fleck's questions.

‘I’m not sure,’ she admitted.

It was only her first day with Udo, after wandering the city and the desert before that. This was the first time she was really settled someplace.

‘I don’t think I should decide yet,’ she concluded. ‘I’ll see what working with Udo is like, and what else the city has to offer. And maybe a plan will present itself.’

But she was OK with it if that didn’t happen. Besides, she and Fleck both had pretty long lives. They didn't have to rush anything.

‘Now, let’s get to bed.’

Harmoni wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was dark, and it had been a long day, and there would be more work in the morning. She dropped to the bed, Fleck curling up at the foot of it, and was asleep in seconds.