"I'm home!" Ordan exclaimed as he pushed open a door.
Sola and the old man walked through the door, letting it creak shut behind them. Ordan set his partisan against the wall and put his patchwork robe on a coat rack. Sola could not help but notice the immeasurable amount of spears all over the room. Pikes, javelins, hastas, yaris, spetums, pilums and all forms of polearms decorated the walls, either leaning against it or pinned up on it. Even the 'coat rack' was an opulent trident.
As they went deeper into the house, a fragrant smell began to float through the air. Sola's stomach betrayed his hunger. Ordan gave a hearty laugh in response.
"Don't worry, you'll be eating good soon enough,"
The two came into the kitchen where the smell had originated from. Cutting up meat in the kitchen was a middle-aged woman with an apron tied around her waist. Her black hair held several strands of grey hair and her dark skin had small wrinkles around the crevices of her dark eyes and mouth. Her eyes immediately shot up on their entry and her face darkened with a smile at the sight of Sola.
"Not another one!" She cried. "What did I say about picking up strays from the street?!"
"Calm down, Adeola," Ordan smiled nervously. "It's not what you think,"
"Oh yeah? Isn't that the same thing you said the last 5 times you brought one of these street rats to our doorstep?!"
"You were one of those 'street rats' before you came here..." He whispered under his breath.
"What did you just say?!" Adeola yelled before proceeding to throw the knife in her hand at him which Ordan narrowly dodged. She turned her attention fully to Sola.
"Sorry about that dear," She smiled. "You look so famished. Have you been eating well? Come, sit down here and I'll get you something hot to eat,"
In a few minutes, Adeola had Ordan and Sola were seated with a plate of rice and beef curry. Adeola's face was a kaleidoscope of mean glares shot at the old man and smiles sent towards the younger man. Sola could not help but be amused at the sheepish and timid Ordan had become in contrast to the drunken form he was when he beat him.
"How did you too even meet up with each other?" Adeola asked.
"I was camping out in the forest when this old fart wandered in and beat me within an inch of my life," Sola replied.
"Dad!"
"It's not my fault!" The old man complained. "I was confused and he wasn't complying!"
"Confused?" She furrowed her eyebrows. "You weren't drinking again, were you?"
The old man avoided his daughter's gaze.
"Oh, you!" She cried as she smacked him across the head. "I thought you said you'd go sober!"
"I never said for how long," Ordan mentioned, earning him another smack on the head.
Sola had to put a hand over his mouth to stop his laughter. Being back with other people was refreshing, no matter how out of pocket the encounter was. While Adeola was beating up Ordan, three people walked into the kitchen. The first was a man in his mid-twenties with a shaved head and stubble on his chin. Beside him was a teenage girl with a brown ponytail and freckles all over her body and a 7-year-old boy in overalls. All three of them froze at the sight of the grey-haired man. The girl and boy became bashful, hiding behind the bald man who smiled at Sola and stretched out his hand to shake him.
"I didn't know we were expecting a new arrival," He smiled.
"Are we ever," Adeola rolled her eyes.
"I'm Fred. This is Yulia and Seth," The girl gave a small wave and the boy simply stared.
"Sola," The grey-haired man replied. "Nice to meet you,"
"The pleasure is mine," Fred said. The three took their seats and were promptly served some food. "It's been a while since someone else moved in. There are never too many people under this roof,"
"I won't be staying long," Sola stated. "As soon as I get all my stuff ready, I'll be out of your hair,"
"Heading somewhere?"
"You could say that?"
"Where are you going?" Seth asked.
"The Moonfall Mine," He replied.
"For work?" The boy continued.
"You could say that,"
"Going to the mine isn't going to be easy," Ordan mentioned. "The mine's a government-owned infrastructure, so you'll have to seek permission from the resident government before you can go; legally that is,"
"Alright then," Sola stood from the table. "I'll head over there right now,"
"Calm down partner," Ordan stopped him. "The government office isn't open today. And even if it was, you can't go to meet the leaders of Minar dressed like that,"
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"The fact that you don't see a problem with it is a problem in itself. We'll get you all polished up, then go get you that permission,"
The five shovelled down their food and were off their separate ways. Adeola took Sola up to one of the vacant rooms while Ordan and Fred went to work and Yulia and Seth went off to school. The woman led him into a small room with clothes and assorted toys scattered all across the floor.
"Sorry about the mess," She apologised, trying to clean up the room as quickly as she could. "If Ordan had let me know we were expecting someone over, I could have prepared better for you,"
"It's fine," Sola said. He bent over and began aiding Adeola in clearing the room out. She gave a smile in response and continued cleaning alongside him.
In a few brief minutes, the room was spotless. Sola plopped himself on the bed and let out a deep sigh. The bed was several times more comfortable than his sleeping bag. He almost fell asleep on contact.
"I'll let you know when to come down for dinner," Adeola said. "Tonight, we're having potatoes."
For a brief moment, Sola did not find himself in the room at Ordan's house. He was in a smaller room with rocker walls illuminated dimly by fluorescent lights. Standing in Adeola's place was a woman who was too blurry to make out. Her voice was fuzzy but he could still make out what it was she had said. It was the same thing Adeola had; 'tonight, we're having potatoes'. The vision and gone as quickly as it had come, returning Sola to the former small room with the former woman.
"Are you okay?" Adeola asked.
"I'm fine," Sola replied. "I guess you could say I'm a bit excited for dinner later. I'll see you then,"
"Alright. Goodbye,"