The grip on his wrist tightened and the young man panicked but didn't show any sign of it on his face. Instead, he began to goad the other woman, thinking that it would insult her and leave him alone.
"Using violence to on innocent people? Hah. What are you, a monster?" he said. He expected the woman to feel shame but instead, she let out a huff and smirked.
"Hah. That's right," Tala replied, voice dangerously low. As if she was staring at the prey she had caught. The grip tightened once again as she continued, "In fact, I believe you've already heard rumors about me."
"R- rumors?" the young man repeated. What did she mean by rumors?
Wait-
Rumors... Monster... Don't tell him... That this was the so-called 'monster' of the infamous mountain shrine? The one who even made his senior, a famous babaylan of the Capitol city, run down the mountain stairs in fear and with a beat-up body and left the barangay as quickly as possible?
That monster?!
The young man paled and started to shake. Horrible things flashed before his eyes as he nervously anticipated what was going to happen to him. Seeing his reaction made Tala 'smiled' wider, her face becoming darker at each second.
"Yes, rumors. I'm sure you've heard countless of them. Isn't that right?" she taunted.
The man gulped and hesitantly nodded his head.
"Oh, so you know what's going to happen then?"
The man panicked. "Please don't hurt-!"
Before the young man could finish his sentence, the shop's door opened with a loud 'creak' and jingling chimes.
The young man quickly turned his attention to the figure at the doorway with a hopeful expression. 'Finally! Someone help me-!'
"Oh dear," the 'new'-comer sighed as he first looked at the man on the floor... Then to his shopkeeper... and then to the children- who were still frightened of the crawling leeches. Disappointment crept to the man's face at the sight of his shop, even more so as he looked back to the one who was supposedly managing it while he was out. 'Honestly, I leave for five minutes,' he thought, 'and look what happens.'
Tala, seeing her employer's displeased look, pursed her lips before reluctantly letting go of the customer. Mang Ulan's look still didn't falter, and Tala- unable to keep eye contact with him- just clicked her tongue and turned away.
"I'm gonna clean up the leeches," she said, grabbing the broom next to one of the shelves.
The older man sighed once more then walked over to the customer to help him up. "Forgive my shopkeeper. She can be a little... Hot-headed at times," he tried to explain.
But the young man merely frowned, roll his eyes and let out a 'pah!'.
The pig leeches were put in another jar and the broken pieces of the old one were thrown out. The children managed to get what they were looking for- with the help of the angry-looking Tala- and went to the counter to pay.
The young man, on the other hand, dealt with the shop owner. Tala had informed the babaylan about the issue but the old man just waved her off, saying he had this covered. The young man leaned against the counter like before as he began to boast his achievements while the older man rechecked the items he ordered. The woman frowned.
For some reason, Mang Ulan- even though he was more experienced in dealing with aswangs and healing rituals- simply went along with the young man's stories. Tala didn't understand why he would. Especially since half of what the young man was spewing was too exaggerated to be even considered as true and all of it was so inaccurate it would make his teacher weep.
She felt annoyed. This old man was too patient, she thought, watching the old man receive payment from the customer.
The young man turned to leave the shop, but not before throwing his attacker a glare as he passed by.
Tala shot a look back.
Mang Ulan cleared his throat. "Dear guest, thank you for coming by. We hope to see you again soon," he said.
The other replied with a scoff. Then the door swung, and the chimes jingled.
The shop was quiet again.
Tala went to put the broom back in its place but before she could, her employer called her over. "Tala, come here," he said from the back of the counter.
The woman put down the broom and headed over with a bit of hesitation. Despite their large differences in height- with Mang Ulan barely reaching above the woman's hips- she was still intimidated by the old man.
Most people would once they realize that the old man was more than what he let on.
The man's innocent smile felt like it could burn a hole on her face if she looked directly at it, so like a stray dog, she kept her eyes glued to the floor as she stood in front of him.
"Come closer, come closer," the old man said, motioning her to get down on his level. Tala swallowed the lump on her throat and knelt until she was face to face with the man.
They stared at each other for a good few seconds. Then Mang Ulan reached over and pinched the woman's cheek, stretching her face like a kid.
"Oh, Tala," he sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to hurt our visitors?"
"..." The woman pursed her lips.
"At this rate, people won't come here anymore and this shrine will be deserted." Pinch, pinch, pinch. Tala's cheeks felt like bread dough.
"Wouldn't that be great..." the woman mumbled narrowing her eyes away.
The fingers on her cheek pinched harder. "Hm? What was that?"
"... Nothing."
The old man's facial features softened as the grown woman sulked. Like a puppy being reprimanded, he thought with a laugh then let go of the cheek. The hand he used to pinch her moved over to her head.
Pat. Pat. Pat.
"Such an unruly child, this one," he said, ruffling her hair.
"I am not a child," the woman said defiantly.
The old man then playfully whacked her head. "Then stop behaving like one," he replied. "Those kids were terrified because of you."
Tala clicked her tongue. "Well, if that babaylan wasn't being rude and actually knew what he was doing, they wouldn't be," she retaliated. "Speaking of which, that man's order-"
"I told you, no need to worry," the man replied, waving her off and walking over to the shelves adjacent to the counter. "I switched the amulet with the right one without his knowing since I figured he won't notice the change."
'Of course, he didn't even know the difference between a tagaliwas and tagabulag in the first place,' Tala thought sarcastically. The woman stood up and brushed the dirt off her knees and skirt.
"Anyway, where is Amihan? The string beans are ready for harvest and I can't reach the ones at the top of the pole," the old man asked.
"I told her to go buy some fruits for a salad." Tala sat down on the stool with a displeased expression. "But knowing her, she's probably off poking her nose in some other people's business."
The old man hummed in amusement as he checked the items on the shelves. "Did she say something to you again?"
Tala's lips twitched down.
"... She asked me to teach her how to fight."
"Oh."
"I declined." The woman stared at the dark spot on the floor. "She's not ready."
Mang Ulan hummed once again.
...
"You know, Tala," the old man began. "It wouldn't hurt if you tried to open up to the girl, at least a little bit. She looks up to you a lot. And she is your blood after all." He picked up a foggy jar from the shelf and rearranged it with another.
"... I know."
"You should try to talk to her more."
"I know."
"You hardly know a thing about each other."
"I know."
"You should also teach her at least basic fighting techniques that way she wouldn't annoy you as much."
"I know..."
...
Wait.
"Did she tell you to tell me that because she knows I can't say no to you?"
The old man chuckled.
"That cheeky brat."
After saying that, a certain child sneezed while paying for her groceries.