#spotlesscoat

There is a ringing in your ear. Drab grey street follows drab grey street as you make your way home through the city. The ringing grows louder. A dash of white breaks the monotony: an old duplex house stands on a corner, surrounded by taller buildings. Half of it has been painted fresh, spotless white. Red flower pots adorn its side of the fence; what little grass is there has been neatly mowed. The other half, however, stands in a dire state of disrepair, overrun by weeds, cracks sneaking through the dusty walls.

Being far from the canals makes Klavier a little nervous, but he won’t get any information on the situation by staying in one place. He’s heard there’s a town nearby in Airaisal, but decides to stop for a rest in a clearing before braving the woods.

He’s not alone in the clearing as he pulls out his guitar; there’s another person, obviously another fantasy race, given all the feathers and talons.

There's footsteps at the door, which is closed but not entirely. Through the gap he states loudly "I am busy man, do not bother me if it is not important." His accent was foreign to this world, but what would be most foreign would be seeing Kessikbayev without his helmet. Said helmet was hanging from the coat-rack in the corner. Only tinted goggles and mask remain.

Despite the tension, it seems like people are still capable of enjoying themselves in the oddest of times. A small sort of celebration has broken out, having apparently started from the local tavern, and spilling out onto the street. She hasn’t been invited, but had been pulled in, handed a bit of bread she couldn’t eat, and allowed to intermingle among others. 

Confused and unsure of herself, she makes it a point to look for someone else who looks just as baffled as she does. It isn’t much at first, just strange faces and bright eyes who look happy to be here. No other lost souls. 

The search works out, however, and eventually, she thinks she catches someone’s eye. Shuffling over, she offers the snack that she cannot eat.

Cabanela will be dropped for you.

finding a rental station took a little longer than you would have liked; you'd been under the impression that the bicycle in question was some sort of animal, as opposed to the shiny, white mechanical contraptions all lined up in a row. would this tiny thing... really hold your weight? you're uncertain. a horse would be better.

( you think of your own horse, back in pherae, and have to shake the thoughts away before another bout of homesickness swallows you whole. )

right! onto renting a bicycle! you'd checked the prices before you left - one full day would cost 30... dust, apparently - and poking and prodding at your phone had shown you the amount they've given you, but... you're at a loss as to how to actually produce the money to pay with. tapping through the options produces nothing, and you let out a groan of frustration. why couldn't they have just given out gold proper...?

thankfully, it seems you're not alone. a man in a flowing white coat and red scarf isn't too far away, and likely has a better grasp on this whole phone thing than you do. swallowing your pride you approach, reminding yourself that it's through speaking with others and learning from them that one might better themself.

"excuse me, sir, might i have a moment of your time?"

You pick up a handgun and you can’t stop the smirk from crossing your face. Despite the feeling of permanent static currently gripping your body you can remember how it felt in your hand when you were preparing to shoot.

The original memory you associated with guns isn’t as fun to recall.

You can’t exactly tell by weight alone if it still has bullets in the magazine, so you pull it out to check if there’s at least any at the top. And whaddya know, there are! Interesting. You’ll just take this…