Chapter 228: Conversation

The violin ended up sitting in its bed of velvet pillows for the next few minutes. Noah had taken extreme care to make sure that he set it down safely, even with Moxie’s assurances that it would survive more than he would.

But, there was only so long that Noah could ignore it, even with the developments it had wrought. Moxie seemed equally eager to have him use it, so they ended up standing side by side at the bed, looking down at the violin together.

“You don’t even know everything about me yet,” Noah said. “Are you sure–”

“Nobody knows everything about anyone else. I know enough of what matters, and you can fill me in on the rest later. You felt the violin, didn’t you?”

Noah’s neck flushed and he cleared his throat. “Yes. I did.”

“Then that should be enough.”

As much as he wanted to take that at face value, Noah made himself step back. He put his hands on Moxie’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “You’re certain? There’s a lot of things I’m caught up in. You know most of them now, but this isn’t exactly safe.”

Moxie matched his gaze. “And I’m stuck working for Evergreen against my will. We’ve both got our problems, but that doesn’t change anything in my eyes. I’d initially planned to wait until I eventually got out from under Evergreen’s thumb before letting myself risk living for myself, but I can’t do that anymore. I’m more than aware of all the shit we’ve both got to deal with, but waiting for everything to be perfect just isn’t going to happen.”

“You also know this isn’t technically me, right?” Noah gestured to himself. “It’s Vermil.”

“I don’t care about what’s on the outside. What made Vermil repulsive was his personality, not his appearance. Besides, you’ve put on some muscle anyway.” Moxie gave him a wry grin, then flicked him in the chest. “I can make decisions for myself, Noah. I’m not stumbling into this like some starry-eyed child. I wasn’t exactly planning to act on it yet, but the cat’s out of the bag. Stop trying to stuff it back in.”

Noah laughed and pulled Moxie into a hug. He’d done his due diligence. As long as Moxie was fine with it, then he was as well.

“I just wanted to make sure,” Noah said. The excited tingles in his stomach made him feel like a teenager in school, which wasn’t a sensation he thought he’d ever be feeling again. “You said that the violin has Imbuements, right? What are they?”

“I don’t know. Arnold said they’d eventually show themselves. I imagine you’ll figure them out as you play it. And, speaking of that, are you going to try? I want to hear.”

“Let me practice just a bit first. I’ve never used an instrument like this,” Noah admitted. He released Moxie, somewhat reluctantly, then looked to the violin. “It’s got seven strings, and I’m used to four. I can’t wait to see how much more I can do with it, but I want the first performance to be something I can be proud of.”

“If that’s how you’d prefer it, then I won’t argue,” Moxie said. “Just don’t make me wait too long.”

“I think some of my impatience has rubbed off on you.”

“More than that, I think,” Moxie arched an eyebrow, her eyes flashing in amusement. “Just make sure I get to hear the violin before we get back to Arbitage, okay?”

“I will,” Noah promised. His gaze felt like it was split in two. Half of him wanted to look at Moxie, while the other half was trying to stare at the violin. He ended up just positioning himself better so he could look at them both – a move which Moxie noticed, judging by the smug grin she was giving him.

She certainly knows how to give a gift. I’m going to have to figure out what to get her in return.

“I should give fair warning that I’ve never dated anyone before.,” Moxie said, her cheeks reddening slightly. Noah blinked in surprise and Moxie narrowed her eyes, her cheeks slightly flushed. “What? That’s what we’re doing, isn’t it?”

“It definitely is,” Noah said hurriedly. “I guess that makes sense. To be honest, I haven’t either.”

It was Moxie’s turn to stare. “Aren’t you functionally centuries old?”

“Nobody was dating in the afterlife,” Noah said irritably. “Don’t look at me like that. All my memories of it got bundled up and squished, and I was just as tied up on my previous planet as you are here.”

“Fair enough.” Moxie inclined her head. Then she pulled her eyes away from Noah to look around the room. “By the way, where’s Lee? She isn’t here, is she?”

I certainly hope she wasn’t. That would be awkward.

Noah looked around, then shook his head. “She must have headed out at some point in the night. She does that pretty frequently. I imagine she’ll be back soon. The sun isn’t that far from rising.”

“We should go get some breakfast when she does,” Moxie suggested. “And make sure she knows that the violin isn’t edible.”

“Noted,” Noah said.

I do wonder what Lee is up to. Probably chasing squirrels or something.

***

Lee tilted her head back, sniffing at the air as she strolled through the streets of Dawnforge. The mixture of scents swirling through the city was strange, but she could still make each individual one out easily.

There were all the people. Some smelled good, some bad. Most didn’t smell like anything at all. Then there was the magic. The powerful beacon in the center of the city, and all the smaller pieces scattered throughout it. Interesting, but not particularly appealing at the moment.

There was food, of course. Quite a lot of it, and in all shapes and forms. That was much more appealing than all the previous options, and it was what had lured Lee out in the middle of the night.

She padded through the darkness, following one scent for a few minutes before getting distracted by another and changing course. It was difficult to actually make it close enough to any of the things she smelled to actually eat them – there were just too many other things calling for her attention.

But, as Lee continued deeper into the city at the behest of her nose, a different scent caught her. One of excitement – and fear. It was sudden and sharp, and it was accompanied by the patter of feet.

She stepped around the corner of the tight street right as a man sprinted straight into her. Lee didn’t even budge, and the man’s dash drove Lee’s unmoving shoulder straight into his stomach.

He doubled over with a grunt, dropping a bag to the ground with a clang and stumbling backward, coughing and sputtering. He stood several feet taller than Lee, with broad shoulders and a black cloth that obscured all of his face other than his eyes.

“Hello,” Lee said. “You should probably watch where you’re going.”

“What in the Damned Plains is your problem?” The man coughed into his fist, then drew a long blade from his side and pointed it at Lee. “Get out of my damn way.”

Lee scrunched her nose as it picked up a scent from within the bag.

Jerky.

She knelt by the bag, ignoring the man entirely. It was tied at the top by a thick grey rope. As she reached for it, the man’s blade flashed. Lee blurred, moving out of the way of the blade. Her hand shot out, ripping the sword from the man’s grip as she spun it around in her hand and drove it into his stomach.

Lee’s other hand rippled, forming claws. She dug one of them through the cloth, ripping it open at the bottom. She spotted her target, and plucked the small pouch of jerky from its resting spot. “Can I have this?”

The man clutched at his stomach as blood wet his shirt, blooming in a flower around the blade protruding from him. Something echoed in the darkness behind them. The man spun, then let out a series of pained curses.

He grabbed the bag from the ground, now one pouch of jerky lighter, and staggered off into the night. Lee watched him leave, her brow furrowing. Then she shrugged and pulled the pouch open, pulling out a piece of jerky and popping it into her mouth.

“I think that counts as giving me the jerky, right?” Lee asked herself. “If he wants it, he can come back and get it.”

She chewed and swallowed before pulling out another strip of jerky. It wasn’t anywhere near as good as the stuff that Noah carried around, but that was mostly because it was his.

Another echo rang through the darkness.

Lee paused, glancing up from her meal. She didn’t smell anything new other than the man who had just run off, and the sounds were coming from the wrong direction.

A young man stepped into the alley. He didn’t look much older than Todd or Isabel, but his features were so beautiful that they almost felt like they belonged to a woman. A soft smile rested on his lips, which had a small toothpick pressed between them.

Two short, plain swords rested at his sides and a purple cloak hung from his neck. He paused as he spotted Lee, a flicker of confusion passing over his face.

“Who are you?”

“Lee.” Lee held up her bag of jerky. “Want some?”

The man blinked, then let out a melodical laugh. “Pleasure, Lee. My name is Tillian. You’re out at an odd time.”

“I was hungry.” Lee took another piece of jerky from her bag and chewed on it, studying Tillian with a slight frown. He didn’t have a smell. Not a single part of him. “Is that why you’re out?”

“I suppose you could say that.” Tillian flicked his cloak back and struck a pose. “Hungry for justice.”

Lee gave him a blank stare. Tillian cleared his throat and lowered his hands, returning to a normal position. “Right. That didn’t work.”

“Jerky?” Lee held out a strip.

Tillian took the meat from Lee and gave her an appreciative nod. “Thank you. I was feeling rather peckish, actually. I’ve been having a bit too much sugar and a bit too little real food.”

With a flourish, Tillian pulled the toothpick out of his mouth. There was a small ball at the end of it that looked to be made of some form of harden sugar. Lee eyed it.

“Did you happen to see someone running past here a few seconds ago?” Tillian asked as he took a bite out of the jerky. “I’m after a criminal.”

“Oh. Was he bad?” Lee asked. “He gave me this.”

“The jerky?”

“Yeah.”

Tillian blinked in surprise. “He didn’t strike me as the type to particularly enjoy sharing. Maybe there was some good in him.”

Lee nodded in agreement. “He gave me the whole bag!”

“And then you gave me a piece as well. Very generous of you,” Tillian said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out another toothpick. This one was wrapped with a thin layer of waxy paper at the top. “Would you like one?”

“What is it?”

“Candy. You make it by melting down sugar and mixing it with some fruit oil. It’s a little sour. I quite like it.”

It doesn’t smell like food.

“Why doesn’t it have any smell?”

Tillian tilted his head to the side. Then his eyes lit up and he chuckled. “You must have an interesting set of Runes. I’ve got a few that help keep me hidden. It’s hard to sneak up on evildoers when they know I’m coming, and smell is one of the things I hide. I promise that this is just a normal piece of candy. Completely safe and completely delicious.”

He held the candy out. Lee took it from him. As soon as the candy left his hands, its scent burst into existence. It was sweet, with a hint of lemon. Lee tucked it into a pocket to save it for later. She still had a fair amount of jerky to go through.

“You don’t need any help, do you?” Tillian asked. “It’s a little late for a girl to be out at night. Dawnforge is a good city, but it’s not that safe to be out alone, especially in this part of town.”

“I’m fine,” Lee replied with a grin. “I just wanted to get some food. Now that I have it, I’ll head back home.”

“Are you sure? Your home isn’t in the direction I came from, is it?”

“Nope. It’s back there.” Lee nodded over her shoulder. “Why? What’s back there? Something fun?”

“No. Nothing fun,” Tillian said sternly. “Dangerous things. Nothing for a girl like you to be running into this late at night. Are you quite certain that you don’t need an escort?”

“Nope! I’m fast. Weren’t you chasing after a bad person, though? They’re getting away.”

“Ah, right. Eh. I’ll catch up to him,” Tillian said, waving a hand dismissively. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Lee. Take care on your way back, and thanks for the food.”

“You too! And thanks for the candy. I’ll eat it later.”

Lee gave Tillian a cheerful wave and strode back into the darkness. The sun was already starting to rise over the rooftops, and it was about time for her to get home and have breakfast with Noah and Moxie.