Somewhere Someplace

The foreigner sighed, making way down the street, once again outside in the world beyond. In her hand was a new document…or rather a packet of several documents…this so-called ‘application’ of theirs.

After she had passed that spellcard assessment and having had…quite the long chat with that proctor—albeit she had zoned-out some point in the middle of it—she had then been tasked with returning to the center counter and turning in her document and special card, whereafter she was given this application packet…in addition to the same document and card, both having had received a new stamp. She had been asked to keep these on her at all times and to ‘submit’ them alongside the completed application.

Likewise, she had learned quite a bit about this ‘Collegium’ that she was so attempting to get into. As it turned out…this was no simple process of becoming a recognized ‘mage’…it was a formal training and ‘education’ ‘program’ of sorts, one which not only required three to four years of commitment, but also a total relocation—never mind also needing to pay these ‘regular tuition payments’ and ‘general fees’.

She had not the coin for such payments, but she had been assured that there were ‘scholarships’ and ‘study-working opportunities’, among other such mechanisms of alleviating these payments. Though…the expenses were one deterring factor…the other, and more important one, was the simple fact…that she did not want to relocate. She had become accustomed to this settlement and…likewise, she was rather safe within settlements.

« They do not follow into cities or any heavily populated areas, in fact they avoid them like the plague…right, you do not know what the ‘plague’ is…ahem—anyway: the safest place is not a cavern, but a heavily populated locality, » such was how her former associate had put it.

Indeed, her former associate had seemingly perished while being outside the confines of this city. This apparent avoidance of such settlements meant that…the foreigner had no…real conclusive idea if whether or not she had already been compromised and if they were simply waiting for her to exit so that they could finally pounce in another…ambush.

Yet, even that clear deterring factor aside, then came the whole point of her even doing anything of this to begin with: to pay the rent of that housing unit. Her absence would mean…that she would not be able to do that, never mind not being to able to even afford that rent due to those ‘tuition fees’…truly…to think anything had such a large quantity of coins in value.

She stared at the application in hand…truly all that effort to get this collection of even more documents that she herself now had to fill out now…asking for details such as her ‘year of birth’ and her ‘name’…ugh…as if she had any knowledge of either of those things.

Though, 100 silvers…1 gold coin…she had spent for this; she had even exposed basic aspects of her very own arcanity, something she wanted to keep more secret and hidden…ugh…truly, not even she was immune to such human impulses and moments of irrationality—why did she even do that?

So stupid…in retrospect, she should have simply just accepted the defeat and move on instead of…doubling down and showing those points. No doubt, now she will have an entire primitive community of arcane specialists slobbering all over her in curiosity.

She sighed again, placing the application packet in her handbag; well…she made it this far, no point in stopping now…she had nothing else to do, quite literally. She looked around, evaluating the buildings and streets…figuring out where exactly she even was, for she may or may not have been…simply…walking about randomly, lost in her mind.

Hmm…she had trailed off course a bit, requiring her to backtrack somewhat; not a problem though, for she knew…vaguely at least…where she was.

She looked up at the blue-sky up high, tracking the sun…it was noon by this point, she had plenty of time left in her day. Hmm…well…if she had plenty of time…then she may as well…snoop around again, see if she…could find…something besides this, just one more time. If not…then she will fill-out this…collage of primitive papers and turn it in…tomorrow—or overmorrow…for the application was rather thick and did not appear to be something…completable in a single night…ugh.

She sighed…much like yawning, sighing was all she seemed to do these days. She could only imagine…going back in time trying to explain such things such as ‘rent’, ‘employment’, and ‘coin’ to her past self of only but a few years prior…truly, her past self would have looked at her as if she were some strange contaminated alien.

-||-

“Sorry, not hiring anyone new…or at least not hiring for any roles befitting a lady; you don’t look like someone who can carry heavy crates of shit” so spoke a shop owner of sorts, who sold…many trinkets and local primitive gizmos, one being a rather…interesting…wooden cuckooing bird thing of sorts…one at which she could not help but stare at as it hooted and cuckooed along with dinging clock.

She nodded; “Of course…well, I will take the leave then” she responded, standing up before promptly…and respectfully…departing away, stepping back out into the world and city beyond.

Hours had flung by…with the results the same as before…with little to no deviation. The sun was making way for evening…the sky dimming and shifting yellow and orange. She sighed…what a…waste of time…ironic, for she had all the time.

She looked around…whelp, time to make way for home. Thus, she made way for home. The streets became crowded as all the denizens began to do the same, funneling out of the markets and economic districts and towards their own housing areas. Some streets were clogged and stuffed with carriages and people, other streets…once full…were starting to become completely deserted.

Hmm…strange, it was, since usually it was still rather active well after sunset. Yet right now…everyone and everything was closing-up and shutting-down early…it was not even sunset proper yet…rather strange indeed.

It was probably…yet another one of those ‘holidays’ of theirs, no other explanation could explain this bizarreness…she had never observed such early closures before. She observed; the denizens were quickly making way for their homes in a hurry, eager and impatient almost, some shouting about a ‘feast’ awaiting them or something of that sort; indeed…so it was another holiday, already so soon…after the last.

The sun continued to fall ever-onwards down the horizon, the sky becoming ever-more orange, as she continued to make way to return to her apartment. The streets seemed deserted almost, yet so many noises could be heard echoing from the buildings themselves. Sounds of feasting festives and delight and…what were most likely reproductive activities…rather noisy ones at that.

She was on route to her housing unit, the way becoming very familiar and memorable…for she had traveled this path a plenty. She turned a corner as the streets became narrow, the buildings becoming more squished together…closed businesses and shops scattered around, this area was completely deserted…almost conveniently so.

She turned yet another corner as she began to follow down this rather curved street and path.

Yet suddenly, caw, caw, caw.

So sudden this was, in fact, yet again…she could not help but immediately freeze in startled place as her snapped attention came lancing. Her mask-obscured eyes stared up…at the roof of a building near…as it stared back.

Oh…right…again…just a bird…an oddly…familiar one at that.

Black…or rather a dark midnight-blue sort of color, it was…a ‘crow’ or ‘raven’ or…some manner of corvid…a rather large one at that, almost raptor-sized.

Hmm…odd…corvids were in general…not really that common in this settlement, and those she had seen tended to flock in groups…yet…this one was alone…and…right…only just earlier this day…wait, was this thing following her?

Hmm…well…maybe it was just curious. Animals in general were…by no means her domain…not at all in fact…animals being things she had hardly ever encountered…but she still knew that animals were ultimately…well…animals: there was no point in pondering what could possibly be befalling within that enigmatic mind of its.

Yet…something about this bird of sorts was weird…in more ways than not. It was fixated on her; its eyes…she noticed…had a faint shadowy-blue glowing hue to it…one hard to notice but she could tell…indeed, this was no ordinary animal…if one at all; a chimera probably. If so then that…could be why it was so…curious, her aura could be attracting it.

She sighed, whatever…no use in getting lost in pointless pondering about a bird of all things. She promptly continued to make way down this curvy-turning street of sorts, that corvid following along…trailing her. It was an oddly stealthy thing…suspiciously hard to notice…even if it was in the periphery of her attention-field.

However, she noticed as she walked and strolled…appearing in the distance afar, a denizen dozing off and away…leaning his back against the wall of a random building, waiting seemingly. Once again, that following corvid cawed and cawed away…even louder this time, seemingly waking up that…all too…familiar…denizen…oh goodness.

Her peering mask-obscured eyes…could immediately identify who that denizen was, that tail sticking out from the back of his head was a distinctly him affair, hard to forget even if she struggled with processing faces. She sighed…she needed to walk this route to make it home; there was no other way, thus their paths were going to intersect and it became clear…that he had noticed her immediately, having heard her echoing heels walking closer and closer.

“Hey! Mask-lady! Hahah! To think I’d ever see that sexy ass of yours again!” so blurted out with aloud echoing voice…that denizen…that patron, waving his hand away as he made his many…noises. Seeing her approachment, he promptly departed away from that building’s wall as he began to make way.

Seeing his approachment, she sighed yet again. « …ôh optimë ģe ‹ homo sapiens inodiantissimus › síc approçhat » she murmured faintly to herself; oh great…thus he was approaching. She gripped her handbag tighter as she quickly relaxed her face and donned her usual charming pleasantry and smile; “Oh! Greatly seen, fine sir!” she greeted in kind as he approached.

She was in no mood to deal with this…of all the denizens to run into in this conveniently empty street with no eyes and ears to care to see nor hear…yet likewise, she was in no mood for another incident. Thus…humoring him as she made her way home should suffice, for eventually he ought to leave her alone, surely.

The patron quickly caught up as he began to, unsolicitedly, trail along and follow next to her…rather close at that.

She glared at him as he followed…he was smirking away in a rather specific way, seemingly.

“So, for what reason…do you bring yourself here…in this…empty street, fine sir?” she inquired with a charm.

“I haven’t seen you and that nice body of yours in ages, so glad we bumped into each other just like that haha!” he responded, not answering the question.

“ ‘Ages’ you say…it has only been the week” she replied.

“Yeah well…what can I say, huh? I’m not used to not seeing you and your sexy ass in that dump, so it certainly felt like ages for me teha!” he responded, annoyingly.

“I…see…how you flatter me…so…” she replied, somewhat more awkward and uneased; right…usually a lady being alone with such a man…in the middle of an empty street with no witnesses around to care to see and hear…usually resulted in fear and tension due to the apparent threat of forced reproductive activities and…associated violence. Thus, best to mimic such things; she was, after all, a normal lady…whatever that was supposed to truly mean.

“…ehmm…soo…why must you be following?” she inquired, somewhat more timid.

He cackled up; “Tehaha! I mean, why not? Just two old pals meeting up for the first time in forever…because Gods’ sacred toilet have I missed you…” he said before he, unsolicitedly, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, squeezing her in somewhat.

She sighed in a faint ugh…nothing but a slobbering pest to her, so easy to simply squish beneath her boot if she so wanted to. She was the one in control of this situation, even if he could not see it.

“You know…” he began to…make his many noises, “that old dump isn’t the same place without you…nope, not at all; honestly…what happened that night…nobody blames you, not even those other sweet asses you worked with…”

“…I see…” she responded rather…discomforted, attempting to gently yank herself away but failing…though of course, even this was merely a feint.

“Hahaha! I mean…I mean, even that ass-hat that got his head cracked open…as soon as he came to and was told what happened, he literally said ‘oh Trinity, I must’ve had it coming then’—so even he agrees! Your boss was just a petit-bourgeois ass” he remarked further.

“…oh, so…he lived…then?” she inquired…somewhat softly.

“Huh? Teyeah, of course he did? Life magic is everywhere these days thanks to all those sweet assed freelancer gals…and—Trinity’s Father in Heaven and His Son, King of Earth—do I love those gals…” he responded…with more of his…noises.

“I see…well that is…goodly heard” she replied.

Truth be told…she could not help but feel some sense of relief deep down inside…she did not want to be responsible for that denizen’s death—she already had quite a plenty of forsaken echoes to whom she owed…far too many answers…than she could ever provide. She did not want to add another.

The patron’s grip on her shoulder only tightened as he pulled her closer, hugging her in effectively; she could feel his…sweated figure…ugh. His hand was also becoming somewhat more…touchy, likewise…thus, double ugh.

She finally pulled herself away, though not aggressively or firmly enough to properly yank his arm off, simply enough to deny this…sudden contact between figures. “Well…” she began to say, “unless you have more of the ‘silver’ tips to give me…I ask that you leave me alone, for grace” she stated and requested, bluntly.

The patron chuckled up, his grip only tightening again as he pulled her closer…again; “For you…I’m more than willing to give you all the extra golds you want” he responded.

Her ears immediately caught a certain detail, her mask-obscured ignited eyes glancing with more attentiveness; “…gold, did you just say? Wait…so that is to say…you had given to me the golds…with the intention?” she inquired immediately, her guard rising albeit…still…treating him as a mere local pest.

“Like I just said…I am more than willing to give my favorite lady all the golds she wants…” he replied, his eyes glaring intentively; “especially for…additional services…” he reiterated…with a certain tone in his voice, his hand becoming far more…invasive in its touch.

Yet…hmm…her mind began to wander as she began to cogitate—of course right at the best possible time to do such a thing, as the patron continued to probe and grope as her mind so casually drifted astray. She had ‘lived’ in this place long enough to…understand the underlying…context of what he was suggesting and had been suggesting prior.

She had heard of that…certain ‘profession’ and knew what it was…definitionally and in theory at least. ‘Prostitution’…exchanging reproductive services and activities for coin. She actually began to think about it more properly…in this moment; indeed…it was…a very utilitarian prospect, a rational and logical usage of her humiform in a place such as here where…the locals had a libido and related ‘desires’ and ‘lusts’ and that urge to procreate and reproduce.

She herself, however, had no libido whatsoever, or any such ‘urges’ and ‘desires’ for that matter…nor even any apparent sense of ‘attraction’ —after all, she could hardly differentiate the fine details of faces. Likewise, in her present state she was most certainly incapable of reproduction at all, thus there would be no risks associated.

Hmm…indeed, in a way, as she thought about it…it was rather easy coin. All she had to do was allow this local to slobber all over her while she was zoned-out and poof: gold coins and months upon months of rent prepaid…and if she developed enough of a surplus, she could probably afford to relocate…for that…Collegium affair…thus, such would only be temporary anyway.

Yet…conversely, the more she thought about it…the more she was reminded.

« Listen…I think it is time for…a strange talk: do not let a…specialist humiform touch you like that…if that happens again…break their arm…and, actually, now that…we are on this: do not sell your body for coin in these lands—which is to say, do not ever sell your…biological reproductive capabilities for coin—it may appear like a valid utilitarian strategy and convenient use of your humiform, but…trust me…it will leave a stain. The locals do not have anything pleasant to say about those affairs and will treat you as if you are a trinket on the street to be used and thrown away; and quite frankly…once you begin to see things their way…all of those things will stick with you too…they really will, » such were the words that her former associate had stated after…an incident—nothing major, just naivety of contact followed by confusion.

Even though such an affair made sense tactically and logically, local cultural abstractions and social attitudes…made such a path unviable. ‘Whore’ existed as a profanity for a reason…the denizens in general had rather…poor attitudes and schemas surrounding such a profession.

Usually, only the most destitute and desperate ‘willfully’ went into it, though many did not even have such an illusion of ‘choice’ on the matter. Of course, such an affair was far more complex, but regardless…the point remained: best not bother at all with such apparent socially degradative endeavors.

“…I am not the ‘whore’…so…I must decline” she finally responded before she firmly, yet respectfully, yanked his arm off of her shoulders, finally separating the two definitively.

The patron, however, chuckled away; “…wow that sure took you forever to reply, most ladies would yeep and squeal ‘no no how dare you!’…but you…Gods’ sacred, you were actually thinking of it…weren’t you? Teha!” he said and remarked…in a rather annoying tone; though, her mask-obscured eyes averted away…guilty as charged. “Yeah well…ahem, I was just jesting, didn’t truly expect you to accept haha!” he blurted out as he, rather brazenly, slapped her in the buttocks…before abruptly walking up ahead of her, his back hunched and slouched, his hands slumping into his pockets.

She tsked immediately at this act of sudden hostilities, resisting every urge and impulse to retaliate, ultimately adhering strictly to her engagement protocols and conditioning, for he was still…no threat to her. « Phí…qualem parvulos hemonculos irritantissimos… » she mumbled out rather audibly; still, what an irritating little bug he was.

Truly, this patron out of everyone she had encountered prior…tended to get on her nerves the most deep down within…for many reasons, largely of which were hard for her to truly comprehend or adequately experience in the moment; always foggy and blurry.

Yet…something about this patron…was off, no…had been off…the very first day she had first encountered him all those couple months prior. During her time as a tavern waitress, she had to deal with several acts of intrusions and…antics, but such had never really bothered her in the same way the other ladies had been bothered—not a gross violating molestation of her form and being as much as mere annoying flies landing on her skin.

However, compared to those irritating patrons, this one was especially intrusive and…annoying, almost too much so, as if there were far more controlled intent behind his actions than simple automated impulse.

Indeed…one thing that had always…made dealing with this one exceptionally…bothersome…was the fact that it always felt as though she was…speaking to a…mirrored reflection of her own affect display, in a way.