Nearly two weeks passed since the raid, Fei slung a small basket of ingredients onto a counter top. Then, she set her small coin bag on the same, her eyebrows furrowed. Just by sounds alone, she could tell their funds were getting low.
'Hopefully… Noelle keeps her promise.' Fei hoped. It felt as if hope had disliked both her and Lucian. During the latter's recovery their rent was due. As if they were a blackhole, it devoured ninety percent of their funds. Leaving just two dozen copper left.
Despite the absolute tragedy that struck the kingdom, shops still sold fresh ingredients. Cabbage, carrots, a wild range. However, she only grabbed bread, cabbage and carrots. One may ask, why out of this? There is no nutritional value or anything that benefits the body.
"I'll be fine with this." Fei mumbled, she tossed them aside. Her focus turned towards whipping something up for Lucian. Her skillset did not compromise with cooking, throughout her short life, not many things tasted well, or great. Or not at all; with great effort, she managed to concoct her greatest masterpiece.
On one hand, laid a sorrowful platter. Mixed with defrosted veggies, and anything she could think of that might help someone heal. In her other, she held the bread- now dissected in half.
After some struggle, she went inside. Lucian sat on the edge of the bed. So far, it was as much as he could muster. Attempting to stand would send his reeling in agony.
"Um… How- How are you f-feeling?" Fei asked, her voice was filled with worry.
"Other than… Well you know, in pain; I'm alright." Lucian replied whilst forcing a smile. "I didn't want to lay down for so long, the pain's bearable so don't worry, okay?"
"I-I see…"
Moments lapsed by, and Fei sat by his side. With a frown, she handed Lucian his plate. Hidden behind an unconvincing smile, feelings of terror and regret crawled inside his body.
"T-Thanks… You didn't need to."
"I-It's not the, the best…"
"It's the thought that counts-" Lucian reassured her. 'She's not allowed to touch the kitchen again.' He glanced down at his plate, every sense of life drained from his eyes. 'I can't even tell what this is. What is this amalgamation?!' "Uh… Fei- I have a qu- Is that all you're going to eat?"
Fei silently chomped down on her bread, trying to avoid his gaze. The intensity of his gaze caused her ears to go limp and forced her to turn away.
"Fei, share this with me." Lucian set his plate between them. 'She barely eats as is… Is she really going to eat less?!'
"I-I'm fine with this…"
"Fei…"
"..."
Many, many minutes of him insisting passed. Upon the umpteenth time, she finally gave in. Whilst she took a bite, her expression never changed, as for Lucian- Every muscle in his face tried to constrict.
Just the mixture of flavors caused warm saliva to produce in his mouth. Subconsciously he raised his fist to his mouth. Fei side eyed him and lowered her head.
"I-I'm sorry it's not good…" She mumbled.
"Ahem… It's not as bad as you think…" Lucian claimed waving his free hand to dismiss her thoughts. With his fork, he jabbed a few extra bits. "Here, have some more." He aimed it towards Fei.
Soon, their meals were consumed. Yet, they just sat there, quietly.
"I'm sorry, Fei… I shouldn't be burdening you like this." Lucian suddenly said to her. His shoulders slumped, finger tapping on his knee. "Hah… I regret going to do that request."
Her response was just silently staring at him. It wasn't a burden, in fact she wished she could do more. Her physical issues disallowed it- She couldn't carry him, her culinary skills were bottom tier.
"Don't give me that look… I know, it's tough taking care of me."
"It- It's not t-tough."
"Yeah… Yeah."
'Sure it isn't…'
"It isn't…"
"Alllright, allright I believe you-"
Why does he think he's tough to take care of… Fei shook her head, only Lucian could answer that question. She found it nice, she was able to do something for him in return. Aside from shopping outside– Where her only resort was pointing at an item to buy certain items. Is it still bothering him that I'm going outside?
Countless questions entered her mind, but she held her tongue. Over the course of the rest of their mundane day. Rays of sun dimmed through their window. Fei looked at them, and back towards a now sleeping Lucian.
She let out a long, drawn out sigh. Quietly, she left their home. Her hand clamped on her coin purse. One destination came to her mind, Ela's tavern.
With a rather long walk, she made it in the nick of time; just one or two waitresses stood outside, chattering and looking around from time to time.
"Oh, there's Fei over there!" One pointed out, she jumped up slightly with an outstretched arm. "What are you doing out this late? Is Lucian alright where is he?"
"He- He's recovering…"
"Recovering? Did he get hurt recently?"
"Y-Yes… He got hurt badly…"
"That kid- Or well, guy needs to be less reckless haha…"
"Mm…"
"Anywho, whatcha doin' over here? Needa speak to Miss Ela?" Another asked, tilting her head giving her a small smile. Once Fei nodded, they parted their small formation giving her room to get through.
"T-Thank you…"
"Mhm, we'll wait out here for ya."
Ela's voice resounded as she entered. "We're closing, please go from where you came." Following her voice, clinks came. "Thank you for an attempt at getting the last- Oh, Fei! It's been a while, how have you and Lucian been?" Her change of tone caused her to jump.
"We- We've been okay…"
"That's good, that's good! Speaking of that boy, where is he? Did he send you off here by yourself?"
"N-No…"
"I figured, judging by your expression, there's something bothering you isn't there?" Ela inquired whilst leaning over. "Grab a seat, you can talk to me."
Did something good happen? I've never seen Miss Ela like this…
"So, what's on your mind?"
"L-Lucian got hurt… Pretty badly…" Fei started with, she clutched her coin purse even tighter.
"Is he recovering alright?"
"Mhm… There's, there's an issue… What we have saved- W-We're running out…"
Ela sighed, tapped her desk a few times before responding. "So, what you're trying to say is that you need a job?"
"Mm… Y-Yes… If it's possible- C-Can I work here again?"
"...I'm sorry Fei, I can't do that. I already have max capacity for employees. And…" She took a deep breath and continued. "Money's a little thinned out for the moment." Her stern expression turned soft when Fei lowered her head whilst frowning. 'Poor girl…'
"I-I-I see… T-Thank you for listening…"
"Thank you for stopping by. I wish for Lucian to recover quickly."
…
"Wow, did you just come by to say hi? That was pretty quick."
"Shush, look at her. Hey, Fei, what's wrong?" One of the waitresses waved in front of her. "Fei, we've known each other for a long time, you can talk to us!"
…
"...Fei… What happened in there?"
No matter how many times they asked her, she silently stared at the ground. Eventually, they stopped asking her. Thus, she walked away, the air around her at an oddly cool temperature.
What are we going to do…? Fei thought, her ears flattened to the top of her head. In the palm of her hands, fifteen total copper lay. With Lucian's recovery period, it'll take a little more than two weeks. "I don't know what to do…I can't get a job…" Her hand enclosed the coins she took out. "What are we going to do…?"
Unbeknownst to her, a certain individual quietly snuck behind her. Only when that individual was directly behind her, their voice sprang out.
"Your name is… Miss Fei right?"
Within an instant, Fei's entire body shot up, and the fur on her tail bristled. She whipped around whilst taking a couple of hasty steps away. That 'individual' was familiar looking.
"We apologize, it was not our intention to scare you. You might not remember our name, you saved us from those slavers. You can call us:" Haru bowed her body to ninety degrees before giving her name. "Haru, or Koharu, whichever you prefer."
"U-U-Um… I-It's… Nice, nice to meet you, you…" Fei said whilst her entire body trembled. Despite being able to hear a mouse squeak from half a kilometer, Haru's footsteps were soundless. Only now, were the rhythms of Fei's heartbeats booming against her chest.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Fei."
Fei and her stared awkwardly at each other, none were willing to speak up for minutes. Haru's lifeless eyes danced around, eventually landing back on her. "May we burden you for a while? It's the first time in years that we are able to explore the outside."
"U-Um… Y-Yes."
Haru bowed once more with thanks. "This, kingdom… Recovers quickly." Her head raised. Despite the barren area, laughter and cries resounded far from there. "Do you live nearby? Ah. Nevermindo…"
"I-I do…"
"Nevermind."
Haru encircled the area, turning her head, as if she was gauging around.
'Am I supposed- I have to get back…' Fei silently watched her, unknowingly her hands balled. However, she felt an obligation to stay nearby.
"How long have you lived in this kingdom?"
"...M-My entire life…"
"Interesting… It's different than back home. Much quieter, much smaller. Ah, you look… Confused, don't mind us. Thinking about when we were little." Haru waved Fei's questioning look. "Can you come with us, it's easy to get lost here." She turned her head to look back.
Fei quietly nodded at her request. Thus, they started on a random street- Haru aimlessly walking in one direction, both shoulder to shoulder.
Telling the time of day, scarce individuals sat outside homes and shops. Two demi-humans walking caught their attention. Curses and disgust spited towards them- Fei immediately lowered her head, alongside her ears flopping in a try to block out their words. On the contrary, Haru kept her head straight, ignoring all words.
"They're just spiteful wishes, why do you let them affect you? Ignore them, they won't hurt you, Miss Fei."
"S-Sorry…"
"Must have had it easy, huh- Nevermind, were you enslaved like us? Or did one of your friends do that?" Haru inquired whilst pointing towards Fei's ear.
"..." Fei's mouth twitched slightly at her question. Her already intense heart multiplied in pace.
"It's just a question. No need to feel afraido about it."
"...N-No one di- did anything…"
"You're nervous. Someone did something to you-"
"N-No one…"
Haru watched as Fei started to scratch at her own hands. Following in her stead, an intense frigid air exuded from her body.
'We should stop asking.' She sighed, was it really that scary to cause that? Scenarios like that happened many times during her enslavement- Is it really that horrifying to cause an individual to not recount it?
"I-I-I'm sorry…"
"Mm."
Their footsteps stopped when Haru's attention was captured. "Miss Fei, are demi-humans like us not welcomed here?" She turned her head towards a few individuals who stared.
"T-They are…"
"It is weird… They obviously don't like us. Miss Alice, Mister Sai assured us… That they were, they're clearly not welcomed." Haru mumbled whilst shrugging. "No matter… We've been bothering you with questions, do you have any to ask?"
"W-Why do, do you talk like that?" Her only question slipped off her tongue. The manner of speech, how Haru always uses herself, kept bringing questions to Fei's mind.
"How we talk?"
"Mm."
"Is it weird? That's how we talk, it's not different from you and everyone else." Haru shrugged. "Is that all? If so, can we ask you another? You have an odd smell. Are you really a demi-human?"
"W-" Fei stopped in her tracks whilst staring at her. What odd smell?Wh- What is she talking about?!
"If you lived here, you must know that demi-humans can recognize each other by scent… It's invisible to other races, you have a completely different scent. We don't know what it is, but it's something far stronger." She explained whilst standing in front of Fei. "Are you really a demi-human, or are you something else?" Haru leaned in, her eyes showing a glint of curiosity.
"I-I-I'm a demi-human…?"
"Mhm… We guess you are."
She's so… Weird- Fei's previous emotions, and mouth curled into a frown of confusion. Alongside, her head cocked. Am I a demi-human? Her question repeated inside her mind. I have ears like one, a tail… What else makes me seem not like one????
"Ito was just a question, don't bother thinking about it."
"What do you mean by 'am I a demi-human?'"
"It was just because of your scent… That's all, don't hurt your own brain thinking about it."
"..."
Their awkward silence ensued for a few minutes. Fei kept repeating Haru's question even more, drawing further confusion. On the opposing side, she merely glanced at the surrounding buildings, evidently wanting to get past the question.
"We're very sorry, Miss Fei. We had no ill intention, or any intent to confuse you."
"..."
"Is your companion recovering fine? The one that got hurt."
"He's having troubles."
"That's expected, the recovery process for wounds and injuries will take a long time. Especially the severity of his… That's good, he's healing properly."
Just as the sun disappeared over the horizon, they went back to where they met. Haru waved goodbye to Fei, and ran to god knows where.
"What did she even want to do…?" Fei mumbled whilst going through her front door. "What was even the point of those questions?" No matter how she racked her brain, there was no logical conclusion.
Her mind kept going till she undressed for the night. What did she mean by if I'm a demi-human or something else? She eyed her scar with confusion. Why is that bothering me so much…?Could it be because she's the only one that asked that…? Attempts were made to shake that question out.
With every attempt, it grew louder. Alas her eyelids grew heavy, whilst curled into a ball.
What… Am… I?