Where was Vim…?
It was ti for bed. Actually… it was way past that. If I wandered around for much longer, there'd almost be no point in even getting a few hours of sleep. That was how late it was.
Yet… still I could not track him down. And I'd been searching for well over an hour already…
"Vim…?" I whispered his na… and hoped, like many tis before, it would cause him to just magically appear.
It didn't. I slowed to a stop in the random hallway I was in and frowned worriedly as I looked around.
Really, where was he? I'd checked everywhere! All the usual suspects… Oplar's mailroom, Links place, Hands and the kitchens… the mansio, the hallways of visitors, even the archives and tombs! I had even checked the hallways with the statues and the baths! He was nowhere to be found! And not just that, no one else seed to have any clue where he was either!
I'd think he had gone missing, sohow, if not for the fact it was clear he had been active today… Hands had told he had showed up to help him do sothing, and then he had said soone in the mansio had requested his presence so I had tracked him there afterward. From there I had gone on a, what at the ti had felt like a fun adventure, as I went from person to person following his footsteps. He had helped well over a dozen people today, ranging from simple little things like fixing a bed to things so personal the individual he had helped didn't want to tell any details of what he had done for them… much like Harly's request from earlier.
So I knew he was here, or at least had been here, in the Cathedral. He'd been here all day, helping the many mbers of the Society… but…
I sniffed the air, and not just in a sorry attempt to sll him. I genuinely felt like crying at the mont.
Really. Where was he…? I had wanted to sleep with him, since I knew any day now we'd return to the road… and would likely be on said road for so ti since he had so much to do in so many different locations. This had been one of our last chances to have a mont together for what I figured would be maybe even many months… since so many people seed intent on joining us on this next venture. The ducks wanted to go to their extended family mbers, to Nasba at the Weaver's Hut, which ant they'd be with us for nearly the whole trip…! And as much as I knew I'd enjoy their company, I also knew it ant his and my alone ti was going be… well… rare.
"Really…" I grumbled and wondered if he was avoiding on purpose. Maybe he thought, since I had spent half the afternoon spending ti with that tiny cat in my arms, that I'd be… frisky, as he called it? Did he not realize that I had no plans to do anything for now? Or even try? I didn't want to do anything here, even if our bed was comfortable and didn't sll already thanks to his ability eliminate slls.
Off in the distance so lights flicked and appeared, and I recognized the style of it. It was the gleam of one of the little lamps that those who lived here carried in the night. I wasn't sure if it was one of our mbers, or just one of the random guards or churchn, so I decided to avoid them and head down a different hallway.
Maybe I should just give up…? I wasn't really tired, of course, but in the off chance that we did end up leaving tomorrow maybe I should at least go and rest a little…? Even just a few hours for was enough nowadays…
Plus, if Vim really didn't wish to be found… there was really nothing I could do about it. I an, for all I knew he wasn't even here but had left the Cathedral or maybe even Telmik completely. I'd like to think he'd not do so without first letting know, like he usually did, but… sotis circumstances forced his hand…
Feeling conflicted, I sighed as I headed for the nearest stairwell that led downstairs. I wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing but thanks to how often I'd been here, and how often I've wandered around aimlessly… I basically knew every nook and cranny of this place now.
In fact the only places I'd really not explored yet were certain sections of the upper levels and the deepest ones. Down below there were so hallways that were so dark that even I didn't feel comfortable in them, even with a lamp or torch.
"Huh? Renn?"
I slowed and glanced behind , finding the source of the voice. A few dozen feet behind , having co from around the bend of a hallway I'd just passed, was Riz, the cal who had co to Telmik from the south early for the vote as to find a husband.
"Hey Riz," I greeted the cal as she picked up her pace and hurried over to . As she got closer, I noticed an odd scent lingering on her.
"Were you praying…?" I asked. She had the scent of those candles the church folk burned when praying.
"Huh…? Oh, no. I fell asleep in one of those cubby rooms above the service place, I fell asleep listening to their hymns… why?" Riz frowned as she spoke, which told she couldn't sll what I did.
"I slled the candles on you. That makes sense… though really? Falling asleep like that, in such a place? What would your grandfather say?" I teased. Mordo had seed, at first, like the type to be a stickler for rules and stuff but he had actually ended up being very easy going and understanding. He had co with Riz, as to protect her and help her find a mate… and was even trying to help her in any way he can. He had even supposedly been bringing people to et her randomly, and not just n either.
"Oh. Right… and is it that weird? Their singing is actually really soothing in that big room, what with the way their voices echo," Riz said.
I nodded. "I know, I was just teasing you… I might try that myself later, I bet Vim would love it," I said.
Riz smirked at that. "Ah, so you just want to tease him do you?"
I did. Especially since I was annoyed at him right now. "So…? Heading back downstairs then?" I asked, did she want to go down there together?
"Eh, maybe. I was actually thinking about going to find sothing to eat. Think the kitchens might still have sothing to pilfer?" Riz asked as she gestured down the hallway I'd just co from. The main kitchens were indeed that way, the ones that they used to make the food they handed out to the needy. The ones that the dog family were in charge of.
"Hm… this late, maybe not… but the ones down below might? We seem to have a lot of mbers here now that are the types to be active during the night," I said. I'd t more than a few lately that genuinely slept through the day, to the point it was a little odd.
I myself didn't mind the night… and at one ti even liked it a lot, but lately I'd grown to not like it much. There were too many important things to focus on that only happened during the dayti for to prefer any other option. My friends and family were awake during the day, so I wanted to be too.
"Maybe… by the way, Vim ntioned so kind of pig place? Where's that at?" Riz then asked.
Oh…? He hadn't ntioned that when we had all been together, so that must have been so other ti. "The Walking Pig. It's not far, a few streets away… but they're only open during certain tis. I'll draw you a map, if you'd like," I said. And I'd give her so coins too, since it was spendy.
Not that she needed them… she, like all mbers of the Society, basically could get as much money as they wanted from their stipends… but I knew she, like many of our mbers, half the ti didn't even pay attention to how much money she had in her pockets. She was young, but thick in the blood and it showed… in that kind of way, at least.
Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.
"Hm… is it any good?"
I nodded. "Yes. Very much so."
She smiled and nodded. "Then please…! I'll take gramps with !"
Oh…? "I've never seen him eat," I said.
Riz shook her head. "He doesn't. He doesn't eat or drink or sleep anymore, or at least doesn't do so beyond a few sips or tiny bites here and there. But he likes to participate all the sa… and since I don't have anyone else to invite yet," Riz shrugged with a sigh as she spoke.
Right… "Still no luck, huh?" I asked.
"Not even a chance! I'm actually starting to wonder if I'm ugly or sothing… am I Renn?" Riz asked with a worried frown.
I shook my head. "Not at all! You're very adorable!" She was not soone with great beauty like Kaley or Pram, but she was far from ugly. In fact she was very good looking, to the point it was shocking she was having as much trouble as she was. Especially since her personality was one of the better ones. She was cheerful, honest and a hard worker… hard to ask for more, really.
She sighed at . "I shouldn't have asked you, you think everyone is…"
Well… that wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't far from the truth either I guess… "Did you talk to the boy that Link recomnded?" I asked. She had ntioned him the other day, that Link had suggested she go talk to one of the young n who had ca back from the other continent. So kind of horse.
"He's stupid, Renn… the fool can't even do basic math!" Riz said angrily at , as if it was all my fault.
"Oh…! Uh… what?" I frowned as I tried to understand what she had just said. He… was stupid? As in, literally? Or…?
Riz sighed and crossed her arms, rather flamboyantly. "I an… I don't expect brilliance! But we're dye makers, Renn… you need to know how to calculate the right amount to mix, how much ti to let stuff boil or settle and stuff… you gotta have at least half a brain! If I married so idiot unable to even do simple arithtic what would happen to our family's dye house? It'd fall apart! It'd be one thing for him to be stupid, but what if he passed on his stupid to our kids? Then we'd really be screwed!"
Oh my… she was being serious. This wasn't her being noisy and upset just because she was, or because she had been slighted or sothing… she was not joking at all. "I uh… I see… so you want soone smart," I said.
"At least soone able to do simple addition!" She nodded, forcefully. Her voice had risen a bit during her tirade, and it was a good thing we weren't around any of the private quarters. She'd have woken people up if we were.
Still… Wonder if I was able to do this so called simple addition she spoke of…? Was I possibly stupid? "Well… I uh…" Hm… it was too bad Hands was already taken…
"Honestly at this point I would even take a donkey," Riz complained.
I wanted to smirk at that, but didn't. She again had not been joking… "Well… there are hundreds more mbers coming between now and the vote… I'm sure you'll find soone," I said. Hopefully.
"I better… else I'll never hear the end of it from my stupid brother…"
I nodded, and made a silent promise to help her out. I'd not been very active lately in my quest to help people find partners, since life had been so drastically busy lately, but… it was ti I stopped letting the world distract . Especially for her, for Riz. For her it was more than just my desire to help… it was also sothing far more personal.
She had loved Brom. The erkat. The one who had died protecting .
I owed it to her. To at least try my best to… aid in any way I could.
But really, who would fit her…?
"Does it have to be… uh… well, a horse type of person?" I asked, unsure of what other word to use for it. She was a cal, and her father a horse, but… did it matter? Really? If not then…
"No? I'm already a mix, Renn… any children I have no matter how pure the bloodline of the father it won't matter. So other than just defaulting to such a thing, no I'm not being that picky. I even spent the afternoon yesterday with a duck, for crying out loud!"
A duck…? "What was wrong with the duck?" I asked, interested.
"The feathers. I didn't like their sll."
Oh…? Funny, I actually found the sll of their feathers to be pleasant. Or well, it made hungry… so maybe not pleasant but sothing else…
"Other than the sll…?" I asked, gently. Maybe she could get over the sll if she tried? Because at the Weaver's Hut there were quite a few n there, though so had feathers.
The dye making cals and the clothes making ducks would be a great fit. They already had a connection, in a sense, since they always shipped stuff to one another…
"Hm… he wasn't too bad, but he turned out to be a lot older than I was told. He was born after they left all those years ago, but not too long after. I guess that doesn't really matter, in the grand sche of things… but I don't know if I want to settle down with soone old enough to be my father. Especially when I still have options, you know?"
Oh boy… I nodded at that. "I… understand," I said. I'd forgotten she was actually not as old as she seed. Mid twenties or thirties, if I rembered correctly. Young by non-human standards.
Still, that didn't rule out the ducks yet did it? Though many had been more human than not, thanks to the thinning bloodlines, there had been several that might work out if we had a chance to let them et…
"Plus I didn't really like his interests. He didn't like art or paint or anything! He liked working with tals. tals… pfa!" Riz shook her head, as if offended.
I smirked at that. "The nerve," I said.
"Right…!"
Still… so for her, like many of our people, it was more than just… a person's personality. Or maybe it was better to say that it was simpler than that. She had written him off because of his sll… or at least, the sll of his feathers. Many of our people were like that. So it wasn't a surprise… but it did make it difficult for her, or at least more difficult than it needed to be.
She needed soone who didn't have too odd of a unique sll… could do math, I guess, and at least had so inclination for the arts? So he could be comfortable and happy working with her at the dye house…?
Regrettably, other than maybe the ducks at the Weaver's, no one imdiately ca to mind… Especially since he had to also be around her age. Most of the n in the Society I'd t were far older, which was odd now that I thought of it.
"It does seem like most of us are won, huh," I said as I thought of all those I'd t since arriving here in Telmik. It did seem that the vast majority of those I'd seen and talked to weren't n… Even most of the babies I'd t lately had all been girls! Was that on purpose or…?
"Though gramps says it's fine, I don't want one Renn. I want children," Riz said plainly.
I smirked at her. "I didn't an it that way. I'll be heading to Lun with Vim shortly… want to keep an eye out for you? A lot of us went there too," I said.
"Would you!?" Riz asked, stepping forward as she did.
I nodded, unafraid to agree. I'd basically already agreed to help the other day, just not this directly. Plus it wasn't hard to do, especially since I had a list of others looking too. Though so, like Fly, I had decided to not look too heavily just yet for. As Vim had said, she still needed a few years. "Of course. Though uh… like here, the ones I might find could also be those of the cloth. Is that an issue?" I asked. She had not said so yet, but I'd wondered if that was one of her criteria too.
"Hm…? Oh. I don't mind that, as long as they're willing to go back ho with . I know so of the church folk don't like leaving their churches, so…" Riz shrugged as she spoke.
Right… "Ever consider doing your dye stuff elsewhere?" I asked. Her mother had done the sa, she had left her ho to find a husband… she had even joined Vim along his little route for so ti as she did. But once she found him she had dragged him back ho right away. It seed Riz had the sa plans… and that might complicate things.
A lot of our mbers didn't like leaving their hos, or their families and friends. She was not just looking for soone to marry and partner with, she was looking for a man who would basically abandon everything for her… did she really realize how rare that was?
"Elsewhere…?" Riz asked with an odd look.
I nodded. "I don't an here… but say, for instance, just… another town? Would you be interested in doing your dye work say, wherever your potential husband lived? As in, what if he didn't want to move south with you and instead stayed wherever he was from?" I asked. "What of the north?" I then added, thinking of my own future ho.
She gave a look of utter disgust. "No chance, Renn!"
"Noted."
I'll add it to the list. Maybe by the ti I'm done it'll be longer than Vim's…!
Speaking of Vim… where the heck was he?
Reviews
All reviews (0)