"I don't really get why I need to babysit you," Triene said. He and his younger brother Jenare were going fishing. He hadn't really felt like bringing Jenare with him today, but mother had made him. She was going to visit a friend's home today, and father was too busy with the store to look after either of them. So he had been tasked with the duty of keeping company for Jenare.
"Don't always complain, Triene. Mother was simply worried," Jenare answered. That behavior drove Triene up the walls sometimes. Jenare was always so calm, like nothing could affect him. And when he spoke back to Triene, there was always some sense in his words. Triene quite detested it, and recently had taken every opportunity to try to break that calm front. He was sure it was a front, no one could be like that all the time, deep inside. And it wasn't like he hadn't seen Jenare wound up over some issue or another at times.
"Right, right..." They had reached their usual fishing spot. Years ago, the two of them had fished here regularly. These days Triene mostly came by himself if he came at all, and it was at a different spot. A spot he thought better, but there was no need to show that spot to Jenare. One more annoyance for the day. He sighed and started setting up his fishing gear. Not that he had much to prepare, just placing some bait on the hook and casting his line. The two worked the preparations in silence, side by side.
Triene sat down on the edge of the pier and looked out to the lake. He supposed it was a nice enough day, even though there were annoyances. Jenare sat down next to him.
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.
"Hi, guys. Missed me?" Endahren Merchell's cheery voice cut through the general hubbub in the port. It was a busy festival day. The people were cheery due to the Harvest Festival celebrations, but some work still needed to be done. Workmen were loading cargo below at the dock, and behind them came the sounds of celebration from the close-by popular pub Rusty Anchor.
General mumblings to the negative came from the four boys gathered in the alley. It didn't mean that they hadn't felt the lack of Endahren's presence, it merely meant that they did not like admitting it to his face. Triene felt like shaking his head. Sometimes, he wondered why he hung around this crowd. Although Endahren was nice enough when he didn't try too much, he supposed. Not to mention...
"I have stuff for you!" He waved around two bags that obviously included some goodies. The Merchells were by no means poor, and had a habit of supplying their children's friends with some goodies at festival times. Not too many of course, just enough to remind the children where they could get more, and pay for them this time. That's how father put it anyway, and Triene supposed it could be true. Nevertheless, he would never turn down good candy, that would be a complete waste.
"What have you for us?" It was Gell - or Gellenneu, father always said he was too familiar with people who would one day be his potential customers.
"Bubble chocolate!" was Endahren's cheery answer. Everything about him seemed cheery today. And true enough, when Triene looked at the bags more carefully he saw they did not quite appear to be bound by gravity, but floated more this way or that according to Endahren's movements. They weren't in any danger of floating away since the fabric of the bags weighed them down enough, but if left alone a piece of bubble chocolate was quite liable to float away in the next breeze. "A lot of it! Mom said to ask you to take some home, too, for the little ones. I suppose we could eat all of it by ourselves, too, but she would hear about it...so no eating too much, alright?"
Several protests came from the boys, but they promised not to eat more than their share. Sometimes Triene thought that if Endy told them to run in the way of a freaked out chocobo, they'd do it too. Nevertheless, he agreed with the other boy's words. The bags seemed big enough, and Jenare might leave him alone for the evening if he brought home candy. Sometimes, having a younger brother could be so tiring.
Jenare looked around in his old room. It was mostly empty of personal belongings now, he had already packed and taken out most everything. Only some furniture remained, and some old things he would have no need of in his new life. It reminded him of the time Endahren had left San d'Oria to live in Bastok. It had been a similar feeling in a way, although this time it was he himself that was leaving.
He nodded to himself and turned. There was no reason to stay here any longer. If he wanted to, he could come back to visit any time. He wouldn't be going far after all, not at first. He would just be moving out. Nevertheless, leaving the room and his old life felt somehow final. He supposed he could never return to his old life after this, adventuring and making his way in the world by himself was bound to change him somewhat. While it was sad, he was looking forward to it.
His mother Celese was waiting at the foot of the stairs.
"You're leaving now?"
Jenare nodded at the question. "Yes, I'm leaving now."
"I know I've said it before, but do take care." Celese held a hand to her chest. "And remember us too, every now and then."
"Of course I will."
Celese smiled at him. "I know you will, I'm merely worried. Here," she handed him a box. "Your favorite apple pie. It might be a while before you get to eat it again, so..."
Jenare received the box and thanked her. Then they said their goodbyes. Now there was nothing left to do but say goodbye to Triene, his older brother. Jenare opened the door leading to the store. The day wasn't special to the rest of the world, so Triene was working, holding up the store. Jenare smiled when he saw Triene behind the counter, serving a customer. He waited until the lady had left before speaking up.
"Triene. I'll be leaving now."
Triene leaned on the counter and smiled sadly. "I know. We'll miss you." The two shook hands, nothing more was needed. They hadn't always gotten along well, but that was part of being a family. Jenare picked up the box of apple pie his mother had given him, and headed out. The sun shone in his eyes when he stepped out, almost blinding him for a moment. This was the start of his new life.
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