Chapter Six Part Two

A few Mavi’s that passed by us stared at me as if I was a specimen on display at a museum. I looked at Mike with a puzzled expression. He looks back at me. “You have red eyes.”, he indicated by pointing at my eyes.

“Oh.” my mouth forming an ‘O’. I hadn’t realized until now that everyone in here has blue eyes. I instinctively looked down, now conscious about my eyes. I heard Mike chuckle beside me.

“Don’t worry, they won’t bite. We just don’t see red eyed guys like you in our place.” He assured me. But I don’t know if that really did assure me. “And let’s get you dry clothes first before I explain to you why Leah brought you here.” He pointed with his thumb towards a stall down to a few tents. I could see the various colourful clothes that hang outside the stall. Two women came and traded a large piece of meat for a clothing.

I looked at Mike. “I don’t think I have a piece of meat with me to trade for clothing.” I sheepishly smile.

He chuckled and walked towards a piled up wooden boxes and fished out a large leg of meat from behind. He glanced at me and smiled widely. “I got you covered, princess.”

I pursed my lips, keeping myself from smiling at how adorable he looked with his overcoat a little bit crooked around his shoulders and his round rimmed-glasses on top of his wavy hair, slowly slipping down on his forehead. I glanced down on the ground, the Doc Martens that Leah gave was soaking a bit, holding my smile.

“Let’s go?” I heard him say. I nodded his way and followed him towards the stall as he carried the huge meat.  The meat was almost the size of half of my body, I was amazed how strong he is despite his skinny features. I quietly walked behind him as passersby looked my way.

“Are red eyed guys like me really rare in this area?”, I shyly asked Mike.

He hummed, “Yeah, Zonculi’s are proud people. They’ve got a bit of a temper,” he shrugged one shoulder. “I mean, their elements speak for themselves.” He turned his head to one side to take a peek at me. ”But, it might be different for you since you weren't really born and raised here.”

“I see.” Pursing my lips, I held my head high and ignored the gazes everyone shot my way. There were things that made me think and wonder about this place. I breathed in the fresh air and looked at the Mavi’s doing whatever they were doing. There were things that made me want to stay here despite the differences of our eyes and powers.

Upon arriving in front of the stall, I could smell the fresh baked bread beside it. My stomach grumbled, realizing I haven’t eaten anything since I left the cave. I blushed, hoping he wouldn’t hear my stomach grumble in hunger. But unfortunately and embarrassingly, he did hear it. He turned his around to glance at me and chuckled.

“We’ll eat after we change your wet clothes.”, he continued to smile amusedly as he talked to the shopkeeper. Meanwhile, I looked around the place. My face probably looked stupid to them with my face all haggard. I wouldn’t blame them if they laughed at my face for looking like an airhead.

This world, I exhaled, was made by my parents. This huge dimension that stretched out hugely as a country, a continent. Just how powerful are they? Leah told me earlier that my powers could destroy this world – but why and how? If my parents created this world, then why does their child have the power to destroy it? Shouldn’t I have the same powers as them? To create dimensions and things? How was I the opposite of them? I pursed my lips in wonder, a habit when I’m thinking. I watched as a few kids splashed each other down the hill using their powers, giggling happily. Why did Leah bring me here anyway? Shouldn’t we be in the East? I mean, to my understanding so far, Zonculi’s have the element of fire and I should learn from them. I sighed for the nth time.

“Hey,” a not so deep voice called from behind. I turned around to see Mike with his arms full of clothes. He smiled, “Didn’t know which you’d like so I bought various ones that I think you would like.” He walked towards me and handed me the clothes he bought. “You were kinda busy looking stupidly at the view. Not that you look stupid, you just kind of did at that moment.”, he shrugged his shoulders.

My face turned beet red, embarrassed that he saw me look stupid. I hid my face slightly in the clothes he bought for me as we walked back towards the tent. Why couldn’t he just have called me over? He didn’t have to buy me this much clothes.

Upon entering the tent, Leah stood abruptly as she saw me. I looked at her weirdly and ignored her once again.

“Right,” Mike placed his hands on his hips. “I’ll be outside waiting.” He nods his head and exited the tent, he considerately fixed the flaps to a complete close. I smiled at that.

I glanced at Leah before placing the clothes down at the other empty small table. I started lifting up my thin shirt over and noticed Leah turn around behind me, tensed. I thought nothing of it and continued unclothing, placing the boots Leah gave me to the side and turning it upside down to let the water run down out. Rummaging on the clothes Mike bought. Among the pants he bought, there were plain blue jeans, a white short shorts and a coffee-colored cargo pants. Not much but enough. I looked over the shirts and saw a white button-down shirt, a printed black top, light pink sweatshirt and a plain blue shirt. I stood there half naked with my hands on my chin, deciding which to wear. Even a girl teleported somewhere needs a moment to think what to wear.

“You should go for the cargo pants and the black top. They look good on you.” I heard Leah behind me. I glimpsed over, her head slightly turned towards me, her body tensed once again when she noticed me looking at her and she quickly turned her head over. I could see her ears turning red. My brows furrowed, is she okay?

I shrugged and looked back at the clothes. Cargo pants and the black top. I hummed. It did look good together. I picked up the two clothes, pausing for a second to look at the sweatshirt and thought about the cold freezing forest we just went through. I think I might need something warm for this journey. One may never know if we’d go through some place that's freezing. I picked up the sweatshirt and pushed the other extra clothes aside and began changing. I could smell the old smell of the black top as if it was placed in an old grandma’s closet for years. I looked down at myself and thought, this is nice. I smiled to myself, satisfied and thankful to Mike for having a slight taste in women's clothing. I turned around to Leah – who still has her back turned to me. “You can look now.”, I called her. “Not that you needed to turn your back on me.” I mumbled.

Her shoulders eased up a bit and turned around, she cleared her throat. “You look nice.”

I glanced down at myself, “Thanks, it’s what was available in the few clothes Mike bought.” I picked up the slightly wet boots and wore them, albeit feeling the cold wetness in my feet.

Leah saw me and approached me – crouching down.

“Hold your feet up.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Do you really want to wear wet boots and let people hear squishing sounds as you walk?” She looked up at me with her brow raised.

I shook my head no and offered her my leg. My breath hitched up as I felt her soft cold hands on my leg. I looked down as she raised her other hand. Gawking at her in interest, her chestnut-colored hair fell loosely on her shoulders. Her emerald eyes shone brightly under the dim light of the tent. As I laid my eyes on her I felt mesmerized and attracted to them. The greenness in them and how calm it made me feel when I look at those emerald orbs.

Suddenly feeling a cool air brush my legs, I peered over to what made the cooling sensation and saw her hand cast out a small air onto my boots – beaming over her as she dried it instantly. A smile came up to my face as she proceeded to grab my other foot – shifting my weight to the other side for her to easily dry out my other still wet boots. “You’re a Flihths.” I stated. Surprising myself for knowing which power users were which.

She shortly looked up before looking back to casting air on my boots. “Yeah, I am. How did you know which kind I was?”

I shrugged. “I just knew.”

She hummed in response. “There, all dry.” She stood up , grabbing the light pink sweatshirt on the small table and tied the light pink sweatshirt around my waist. I shivered lightly when her fingers brushed my exposed stomach as she tied the sweatshirt – I was startled yet didn’t push her away. She breathed in relief and gazed at me with her emerald eyes, I shied away my gaze and looked anywhere but her.

“So, what are we doing here?”

“We train you.” Leah walked out the tent, leaving me to follow her. Mike was nowhere to be seen when we went out. He must’ve had somewhere to go.

The sight never ceases to amaze me once again as I exited the tent. My stomach grumbled once again, this time around it was loud enough for Leah to hear a few feet away from me. She immediately looked at me with a smile she tried to hide. I avoided her gaze. “What? Never seen a woman hungry before?” I bit my lip hard from embarrassment.

“Come on,” she grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a shop down the hill. Passing through various stalls and tents on the side – I could smell fresh milk and pastries along the way, making my stomach growl in protest once again. I gulped at the meals set out in front of the stalls for hungry customers to salivate in. I was hungry.

Leah chuckled. We stopped in front of an old shop that smelled of meat. I moaned at the smell, my mouth salivating. She opened the door for me, and as we entered the shop, a wave of freshly cooked well-done meat, with roasted potatoes on the side wafted through my nose and into my grumbling stomach. Leah steered my body to an empty table in the corner and ordered the meat I smelled – there were only a few customers who sat on the many tables laid out in the store. It was quiet yet cozy. My body defeatedly lumped on the seat as I continued to smell the scent of meat and potatoes.

“Are you really that hungry?”, Leah asked amusedly at me.

I hummed airily at her. “I haven’t eaten since I came here.”

She nodded in understanding. “No wonder.”

The guy who took our order came back with the meat in his hands and set it on the table. I smiled happily at the heavenly meal before me and ravaged it as soon as he set my own plate down. I moaned. “Oh God. This meat,” I took another bite at the juicy meat along with the roasted potato beside it. “Is heaven!”

Leah stared at me with a hint of amazement in her eyes. She picked up her fork and started eating as well. “Enjoy the food I guess.”

I gulped down the third meat in my throat and looked at Leah who was still gazing at me amusedly –  feeling my cheeks reddened, I steered my eyes on her shoulders. “So, why am I here exactly?”

She licked her lips before she answered. “As I said, we’re here to train you and not get you destroy everything with your ‘destructive’ powers.”

“But shouldn’t I be training over in the East? I mean, that’s where fire users are, right?”

She nodded. “Yes, but you can’t put out fire with fire, right?”

“Oh.” I pierced the potato with my fork on my plate and ate it whilst nodding slowly. “Makes sense.”

“Exactly.”, she looks down at her plate as she cuts the meat into pieces. “Mike will be there to put out your fire.” I could almost hear a hint of jealousy in her tone when she said that. Her emerald eyes didn’t shine brightly as it did when she held my leg. Why was she jealous? At least she didn't have to burden herself with me. “But you’ll meet with Tyson. He’s a brother of Mike and a fire user like you.”

I imagined Tyson as this skinny guy like Mike, with wavy longer hair and tied to the back and emo-like features.

As if Leah knew what I was thinking, she said, “Tyson is the complete opposite of Mike. He’s much more…”, she paused, looking for the right word. “Muscly, and champion like” She squinted her eyes thinking it wasn’t the right word at all. “No, rather buff?”

I giggled at her choices of words. “Okay, I get it. He’s the complete opposite of Mike who’s skinny.” Talking to her like this made me forget about what she did to me in the Neverwhere.

If the world I live in was this peaceful, I’d stay in there.