“onee-chan get me snacks pls”
(Featuring @mercyrius ‘s Rhichan!)
"And will that be all fer ya?"
Nenini Neni fell out of her fugue to look at the Roe woman who had just finished wrapping several pouches of herbs and spices up. The pungent scents warded away the ever present smell of salt that wafted from the ocean. "Oh, yes! Thank you," she gave the tall woman a smile and quickly counted out the gil to hand over to the woman. "Have a lovely day."
The merchant nodded and turned her attention to the gil as Neni walked out of Hawker's Alley with basket in tow. The warm sun fought against the breeze of the ocean. Her basket was full of foodstuffs, stacks of cornbread from the Drowning Wench, numerous slices of fish that had been carefully wrapped and marked, cabbages and other vegetables sitting under the spice pouches. It weighed heavily, pressing into the bandages that covered her ever-harmed arm. Neni had no experience in raising children but she was sure the hefty basket's contents would be enough to keep a growing boy fed for a few days.
She mumbled the directions he had told her to herself as she followed the bridges that connected one building-swarmed rock to another. It was easy to get lost in Limsa Lomnisa, she had learned. Her eyes swept slowly across the people she passed. The chatter around mixed with the sound of the waves below. The smell of salt, the distant scent of fire... if she thought too much on it...
Neni took a deep breath and rolled those unpleasant memories out of her head with more pressing considerations. Obviously she would need to figure out what to cook first, what to preserve. He had asked for snacks as well. Maybe she could use some of the more leafy vegetables, thin slices of the fish. She wondered how much vinegar was in his home. She had already made sure there was plenty of salt to cure what would not be eaten soon enough. The ever quiet... servant... had been helpful in lugging the heavy pots to the kitchen.
Maybe she could see if there were any berries to make a compote with.
Neni wished she had her father's note filled cookbooks. It had an extensive section on Vylbrand cuisine, especially the kind that the people of Limsa adored. Besides fish and popoto chips, Neni herself was not a large fan of the food to be found.
She came to a stop as the sunlight dimmed above her. The young woman turned her head upwards to see thick grey clouds consuming the sun allowing only pitiful shafts of light to filter out. "Oh no." She had to hurry! She began a light jog across another section of plankwork that rattled unnervingly beneath her feet, then followed the curling white stone ramp that led below to another section of the city where she continued to mutter the directions.
She was beneath the Drowning Wench, where three men lingered beneath the ramp, vaguely yeasty smelling barrels sat atop boxes that had been left in place for so long that some sort of mold was gathering around their bottoms, and hushed conversations drifted about with no source in sight. She was not entirely certain she had followed the directions right but at least she ended up close to the meeting spot.
Neni had an awful feeling about responding, but her manners would not let her leave. "Yes?" She turned to see the three men had turned their attention to her.
"You look like the hardy sort," one man, a Roegadym, said. "Are you lookin' for a job?"
Neni shook her head, "oh no. I'm actually sort of doing one right now." She gestured to her basket.
"Ah being an errand girl doesn't pay well does it? You got any skills besides carrying a basket?"
She tipped her head, wondering if she was being insulted. "Well I do conjury work in Gri-" The Roe's eyes went wide.
"A conjurer!?" He gasped.
"Are ya a free one, lass?" One of the men besides the Roe asked. "Any ship would be more than grateful to have a conjurer on board!"
She placed her free hand on her hip. These were sailors looking to recruit it seemed, "well I would not use the word 'free'. Also I'm afraid I don't have much of a stomach for the sea."
"Aye, same for most," the Roe shook his large head. She heard footsteps, many of them, coming up behind her. "But a few moons out and it'll be as though you were born in a storm! Why, even my first mate spent most of his first journey heavin' over the side."
"Mayhaps one day I'll be brave enough to join a crew," Neni said with a smile, "but I'm already rather content with my current forms of employment. Thank you for your offer though."
The Roe sighed, shaking his head while the other man spoke, "lass, I don't think yer understandin' the situation yer in. We ain't givin' a choice."
Pirates. She had been trapped by a group of pirates. She cursed herself for not politely excusing herself earlier.
Neni felt a heavy hand squeeze her shoulder. Knots looped into her heart and her flesh felt cold, her hands going slack as she turned her head just slightly so she could peer out of the corner of her eye at a scarred Midlander man. "Don't touch me," she hissed through a strained grin. The knots in her heart undid themselves as the ambient aether around her exploded into a whip of water that sent the man fulms backwards.
"Now, now, there's no reason to be violent," the Roe said gently as the tossed man was helped back to his feet by a dozen other people that had stood behind her. "But, we can do this the painful way, if you were wondering. I just prefer to recruit with minimal fights."
"I have made my decision clear," Neni insisted. She brought her free hand to her arm, fingers pressing to the bandages that hid the torn flesh from view. Her heart was beginning to drum, and she could smell fire and salt again. "I do not wish to join, and I have somewhere to go."
"Painful way it is I guess," the Roe sighed regretfully.
Every head turned to a cheery looking white haired miqo'te boy that stood beside the ramp leading upwards. His mouth broke into a wide smile while he held a grimoire in one hand. Neni took a few steps forward, ready to set the basket down and toss herself at the pirates if they showed even the slightest intention of hurting M'rhi. She would not allow it. Even without her staff she refused to let it happen. She was not powerless, she told herself.
"M'rhi Tia!" The Roe took a step back in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Captain Blauwyrnm, why haven't you paid the 43,428,393 gil that you owe to Melvaan's Gate for the sixty three tonze of hidden cargo you had forgotten to put on your manifests for the past three years?" The miqo'te asked cheerfully, as if he was simply speaking of an interesting fact. A few of the pirates were beginning to unsheathe swords or axes, but the boy seemed plainly unperturbed. Indeed, it was the captain who was turning pale. Neni reached into her boot, eyes locking onto one of the pirates who was closest to M'rhi, an axe in his hands... his back was turned to her...
"Look, it may have slipped my mind a few times..."
"If I were you, I would quickly go to the Gate and explain the situation." M’rhi was still smiling.
Silence settled for a moment, before Captain Blauwyrnm began walking forward. Neni felt his massive hand grab her arm nearly jostling her knife into her ankle.
"Just you and your crew are needed, Captain Blauwyrnm," M'rhi spoke.
Blauwyrnm stood still, staring down at the miqo'te boy.
"I'm not against doing this the painful way, if you were wondering," M'rhi said with the same happy tone, echoing Blauwyrnm's own words with a smug grin.
Neni felt Blauwyrnm's hand release her. "C'mon then. To the gate!" He barked at the other pirates as he stomped away. The other pirates cast glares at M'rhi and Neni but obediently followed their captain.
She quickly ran over to M'rhi, setting the basket down and placing her hands on his shoulders. "Rhi, what were you thinking? They could have hurt you!" She said, breathless as terrible 'what ifs' filled her mind. Her hands tightened slightly around his shoulders as her imagination conjured awful images. Too much blood.
M'rhi stared at her for a brief second before turning his gaze down to the basket. "Oh! Cornbread!" He said as he reached down to snatch a loaf from the basket. He broke off a small bit and stuck it into his mouth, his ears perking and tail swishing while he took off another chunk.
"Rhi, listen to me, those men could have k-" Neni's words were silenced by a chunk of cornbread M'rhi stuck into her mouth.
"It's really good! I don't want to eat it down here though..." He said while taking her hand and tugging so that she would follow him. Neni bent down to pick her basket back up and allowed M'rhi to pull her to the Drowning Wench.