"Good morning Mayor Lavian", I said to the mayor who was currently on the floor and staring at me as I dismounted Rakka. I immediately set upon the task of helping up the knocked over leader figure.
Mayor Lavian was a tall, lanky middle-aged person characterized by a clean shaven face, tired yet kind eyes, greying hair and a lopsided smile.To be honest, I'm not even sure how old they actually are. Mayor Lavian had always looked like this even when I was little...well...their hair was darker back then. Regardless, I couldn't help but notice Mayor Lavian staring at Rakka while I was helping them get back up and dusting off their black ceremonial robes.
"Uh...S-Silvia"?
"Yes Mayor Lavian"?
"What is...this?", they said while gesturing towards Rakka.
"Oh him? He's Rakka. My majimonster...I'm a binder now". To prove my statement, I gestured towards my hunting knife that had an amethyst drajule pommel.
"Do you...want me to recall him?", I asked.
"Uh...yes please", they replied with a hint of nervousness. With a click of my tongue and in the blink of an eye, Rakka turned into several wisps of aether and flowed back into my drajule. Lavian let out a sigh of relief once Rakka disappeared.
"So...I suppose you can guess why I rolled up on a monster right?", I asked a little cheekily to try and lighten up the sudden frightful mood.
"I'll be sure to send a message to the recruiters so that they can swing by here. Is this everything?", they said while looking towards the barrels.
"Five barrels worth of our Infernum spirits sealed in dry wine barrels and five barrels of our summer harvest wild berry honey wine in oak barrels. Just like last year and the year before", I said while quickly looking over the barrels.
"Good, good. Well then, let's getting moving shall we", they said as they began to roll up their sleeves and gesture to two burly-looking men, who then shuffled over. The four of us then began the rather ardous process of moving the alcohol barrels, more specifically, moving the wine barrels into the main hall while moving the strong spirits into a side room. This would normally be boring and painful work, but when you have a curious maji(monster) chattering in your head...well, the work is less boring.
We eventually finished after some time, and the two men that Lavian had assisted us bid farewell so that they could prep for the night. Meanwhile, Lavian and I were rather exhausted so we just laid back against a wall in the main hall and just sat for a bit.
As the Mayor and I were panting from exhaustion, I took out a canteen to take a drink from it before offering it to them. They shook their head in polite refusal before taking in a gulp of air and catching their breath.
"Thanks for the help", they said after a few moments.
"No problem", I replied before getting up to get ready to go hitch up Rakka got he cart.
"Oh wait, before you go", Lavian called out to me before I left, dusting himself off again as he stood up.
"Do you want to go visit Savina with me? I'm sure she'd appreciate a visit from a friend".
My jaw subtly clench as I hesitated to respond.
[Who's Savina and does her name seem to cause you to tense up? I can barely get read on your mind because of it], I heard Voxea ask with concern.
I thought for a moment before responding, "Sure, it'd be nice to see her again".
A sad smile appeared on their face at my agreement, and the two of us walked away from the main hall and down a corridor. As Lavian and I walked down the corridor, Voxea asked, [Uh...shouldn't we be heading home soon? And you still didn't answer my question, well two questions]. I chose not to respond, because the answer to her questions were just behind a door that Lavian was opening right now.
[So are you just gonna give me the silent treatment the whole time, or-Oh].
"Hey Savina, it's Baba. I brought a friend to you see today", Lavian softly said as he walked into the room. No response came, as usual.
The room itself was small, but warm. There was a beautiful mirror attached to a small table, decorated with uncut stones and a vase of fresh flowers. A small window that would normally be open to let in sunlight and fresh air was boarded up today in preparation for tonight. Off to the side was a dresser decorated with the pattern of vines and snowflakes, with a lone drajule lying on top.
The main draw, however, was a bed in the corner and its occupant. The girl was no older than I was, but she was much prettier than I. Her hair and skin were as white as snow, her features were much softer than mine and her eyes were the most vibrant shade of green I had ever seen.
Lavian moved as quietly and softly as possible, until they reached the bed. They sat by the girl's side and gently stroked her head. The girl, in response, just laid there with her green eyes wide open. Unphased. Unmoving. Unresponsive.
[She's why].