House 2: Partying with the Patels
After meeting with Roula, the couple felt like their energy had been spent. Roula was somehow the sweetest and scariest woman they had encountered since they had come to Ferdinand. The next house was a large bungalow with a lavish, well-kept garden decorating front yard. The best way to describe this house was large and clean.
A knocker hung from the door, and after Richy rang it, the booms echoed through the building. Fi looked surprised and appraised it, she found that it was a magical knocker that had sound connectivity through the house. She raised her eyebrows and nodded at Richy, her lips slightly pursed, as a sign of approval.
Twelve seconds after the sounds ended, the pitter-pattering of feet could be heard as a young woman opened the door. Her skin was only a few shades darker than Richy and Fi's, but it was smooth like honey and pore-less. She smiled at them and invited them in, the first thing the noticed about this woman was her face, then they noticed how far down they had to bend their necks in order to see her face. Fi and Richy were tall, especially Richy who was 6'5", but this woman was less than 5 feet tall!
"Hello, my name is Anjali Patel and I live in this bungalow with my husband Sanjeev and daughter Priya. You must be the new neighbours, the talk of Ferdinand." Fi and Richy nodded and introduced themselves as the followed the small woman to a neat living area. They sat on a rich brown dust-free leather sofa, one of three in the set. Anjali sat on another chair near them, her small body looking like it was swallowed by the seat.
"The talk of Ferdinand? You exaggerate Mrs Patel, we've only been here a week." Richy's eyes froze but his lips smiled as he responded to Anjali's sarcasm coldly. Richy always knew when people weren't looking at Fi and him kindly, and his tongue was a weapon unleashed on them. Though he could be soft like a plushy, his tongue was a whip when anyone threatened his beloveds.
"Well, when two individuals as... eye-catching as you two enter a small town like Ferdinand, what else could possibly happen? Maybe a small town isn't a great fit for people without jobs that throw around money like children, but we won't see that until more time passes, isn't that right?" Anjali smirked at them and flicked her hair slightly. Fi felt uncomfortable under her gaze, and looked at Richy wondering what this lady meant. Richy's fake smile had widened considerably, his eyes crescents as he looked at the small woman looking down on them.
"Mrs Patel, money is something we have more than enough of, but thank you for worrying. And you're right, we are quite eye-catching, aren't we Fi?" Fi nodded, as Richy's arm held onto her shoulders and squeezed her slightly, she grinned at him and rested her head on his shoulder. They both turned as they heard someone walk in from behind them, a man who also had tanned skin walked in and smiled.
"Hello guests, I am Sanjeev, Anjali's husband. You two must be the new-comers! Kita told everyone about you, Anjali, you cutie, you didn't ask them if they wanted water! Well, I'll bring you two some in a minute. Ooh, are those cupcakes?" Sanjeev was truly a whirlwind of a man, which was why Anjali loved him. He was pure and kind, a bit naive, but stronger than anyone else she knew.
Even in a multi-cultural place like the Continent, people had various religious arguments. Of course, everyone believed in the Goddess, but there were other Prophets and Demi-Gods that had taught different things. It caused disharmony at times, Fi and Richy were Nobles, so they only followed the Words of Her, but many others had other books too. But these different teachings caused great discrimination between the people, some Nobles refused to hire people of specific teachings and even killed them in extreme situations. Most religions were peaceful, and all taught the same basic teachings, but people still find a way to discriminate.
The Patel's followed the teachings of the Prophet Christ, and for them to be as successful as they were under this religion was truly rare. Sanjeev, though jolly, had an incredible amount of power and knowledge, he was able to run his business without leaving the house, similar to Richy and Fi. But he needed to concentrate a lot more and thus had to spend his working hours meditating so that he could use his magic. Anjali was similar, she was as powerful as her husband but she used her magic to make devices. One such thing was the door knocker that managed to be heard from the entirety of the house.
Richy and Fi found out about their powers as they talked to Sanjeev, Anjali simply turned her nose at them. It wasn't unexpected of her to do so, people such as Richy and Fi had been terrible to Sanjeev and her before, while Sanjeev didn't care as much, Anjali had a deep-rooted dislike towards them. But, who could blame her?
After talking for a while more, Anjali become considerably nicer towards Fi, and was having fun exchanges of banter with Richy. Such a thing wouldn't have happened if Sanjeev wasn't there to lighten the mood and show his wife that they were nice people, after around two hours, Richy and Fi left the wonderfully clean bungalow.
"We didn't see their daughter, maybe we'll see her next time?" Richy wondered as he admired the flowers and gardening of the front yard. Fi nodded and frolicked ahead, she looked at the clear sky and thought that she would be able to rise even higher if she worked with Sanjeev. But not yet, trust wasn't earned in a single conversation, eventually they would be friendlier, she promised herself. You could never have too much money, Fi smiled to herself. Richy sighed as he knew what she was thinking, what a devious, money hungry, greedy cutie.