Thoughts from the Otherworld

 
 
It was morning, the air wasn't too hot even for the time of the day. Calvier nervously leaned against the fence of the small but reputable chocobo stables in the Markets area. While most travelers would prefer to use a bigger one, his future - he supposed now current - employer had chosen to arrive at this one. He sounded like a person who didn't like wasting time on trivialities, this Endahren Merchell from San d'Oria.

Calvier quickly straightened up when he realized what he was doing. Said employer was standing only several ilm away, making small talk with one of the stable boys. He was a curious sight here in Bastok, a blond elvaan in a country where elvaan were rare enough. A foreigner who wanted to set up a business in this city of opportunities. Calvier supposed he should be thankful that he had been judged good enough to be brought into the position of this man's helper, thankful that a cousin of his had relations to San d'Oria. More than anything Calvier wanted a stable income now, to be seen as a respectable man by his own right. This was his big opportunity, and he wasn't going to make it disappear.
Endahren walked to him, brushing his forehead. "Quite hot in here this time of the year."
"Not particularly," Calvier responded. He wondered how much colder it was in San d'Oria. It was a late-summer morning for sure, but this was Bastok and San d'Oria was quite a way north from here. Calvier was born and raised in Bastok, even though he was an elvaan. He supposed it was uncommon, to be a Bastok-born elvaan. He didn't recall ever meeting another one, although was sure they must exist. But rather than being an oddity himself, the odd one was Endahren in Calvier's eyes, this future husband of a cousin's former student who adamantly wanted to play merchant in Bastok.
"So. I hear you have it all set up for me and waiting."
"Yes. I checked the premises myself before signing the preliminary contract, they are in good shape and the location satisfies your demands. I do think we got a good deal with that building." Endahren nodded to his response thoughtfully.
"Well, that remains to be seen. We'll check the paperwork once I've actually seen the place. From what I understand it's not too far from the markets district?"
"Yes, although like I notified you earlier there would have been chocobo stables closer to the site."
"That's of no consequence. I need to check out the Markets district right away, and I can't really do that lugging a wayward chocobo behind me. Let's start walking."
Calvier felt like sighing. This energy, this dedication wasn't something he was too used to. But this was his big chance. That's what he kept telling himself anyway.
 
 

There were no new books in the shop's selection. All the books in the selection now he had not yet read were the kind that always went a bit beyond him if he tried reading them. Jenare sighed. It wasn't like he hadn't known that even before he'd looked through them, he would have noticed if Richille's Wares had received a new shipment. It was too early for the Starlight Celebration rush, though. Maybe in a week or two, but not yet.

The door to the shop opened, bringing in cool air from the street. A cheery voice greeted him. "Hullo! Oh, you're Triene's brother, right? Is he home?" Jenare turned around, finding a blond Elvaan youth walking in. He was maybe several years older than he was, and suddenly Jenare felt a lack of words. He had seen this boy around his brother at times, they seemed to be good friends.
Sometimes, his brother would bring home sweets, saying they were from this cheerful apparition.
"Yes, he is home. Should I go fetch him?" He felt a bit simple, asking for that. It was polite, but why would someone ask for a person and not want to see them afterwards?
"Nah, it's alright. I'll go grab 'im myself." With that, the boy rushed past him towards the door at the back of the room. It lead to the family's living quarters.
"Ah..." He wasn't supposed to let people behind the counter, and the door was there. But he didn't quite dare to say it, and when he had gathered up his courage the boy was already gone, on his way to find Triene. Jenare sighed dejectedly. He supposed this was one of the reasons why his father did not want him to help too much with the store, when Triene was helping out all the time. He made a decision for what seemed to be the hundredth time, to be more daring.

He was still brooding over it when the boy returned with Triene, scaring him out of his thoughts. "There you are. Don't mope around alone like that, nothing good ever comes out of such a thing." The boy stared at him frankly, and red flooded Jenare's cheeks. He had never thought his well-doer who always sent him sweets had a personality quite like this. Weren't well-doers supposed to be polite? Was he completely wrong? "You know what, you should come with us today. We're going over to the port."
"Oh, I couldn't. Father asked me to watch the store until he comes back."
"That's quite alright, Jenare, you can go now." It was his father, who had just walked in. "I won't be needing you for the rest of the day. Although Triene, you should come back by early afternoon, I have work for you."
"Yes, father."
"That's such a shame! We need to hurry, then. Come on, you two." The blond boy hurried out. Jenare and Triene followed, the latter glaring murderously at his brother. Triene, while largely resigned to his position as the heir to the store, still wasn't quite docile enough to forgive his brother for going free when he had to work, not to mention interfering his time with his friends.
"You were Jenare, right? Triene's mentioned you a couple times. I'm Endahren, nice to meetcha!" Jenare nodded and confirmed his name. This was looking to be a long day, and although in truth he had a previous engagement with his friends for today, he was still somehow looking forward to this. He would of course have to apologize later. He continued walking after Endahren, vaguely hoping that they might meet his friends somewhere along the way so he would not have to apologize.