The Life of Okkun Resteravi - Part Two

Edited the last part and ran out of characters, so I had to change the point at which it ended. 

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At Ravi's persistence, Okkun finally went into Miss Elvakan's room. She had left it all for him. He'd put it off for long enough.

  He consulted the chest.

The things in the chest told him a lot. There were clothes that were only a tad too big for him, with his name carefully sewn into them and a set for any weather. A note told him about the different luxurious furs used as Elvakan always knew him best. The rocks on the tops of the shoulders were carefully picked, notes tucked inside that gave them meaning. He picked up a coat and watched the paper fall to the floor. He glanced at it. The crackly red stones were for confidence and clarity in merfolk culture. His mind fell back to the stories Miss Elvakan would tell. He could almost hear her voice. That was so long ago, now.

A plethora of strange items sat about the chest, as well. There was a big backpack with lists of items he'd need if he decided to travel. The booklet that those lists came in were full of witty remarks and offered examples of how to speak to certain people to acquire whatever he needed. There were other books in the chest, too, like some novels he remembered Elvakan being particularly fond of. She had told him he was too young when he said he wanted to read them,  but here they were now, at his disposal. There were books on culture. There were books on the history of the Guardians. There was a book specifically on Puyawe.

More importantly, there was a book specifically on Aewlt. He set that one aside to read later, feeling inexplicably drawn to it. There was a book on business Elvakan had written on the cover of. She wanted him to read that one first. She wrote all throughout the margins, adding information he had never been told of his mother's business.

Alissi and Nev took care of the house and cooked as he spent the next weeks reading everything in the house. Ravi smiled at him, took a swig of his late mother's best Dwarven ale, and started packing everything in the house up when he wasn't too busy chopping down trees.

The book on Aewlt explained the most. Miss Elvakan had shoved bonus pages written in her own hand between the sheets, explaining how his mother had met his father on a business trip in Neutral, amongst many other men she had slept with. According to what she told Elvakan, she tried to sleep with mostly men under Puyawe in case she did conceive, but people under Aewlt did it so much better.

Okkun didn't know how he felt about that.

The book also went forth to explain how the differences between Mother and that man affected him, detailing an assortment of complications that might arise in him. It explained his lazy eye and his comprehension issues. It explained that it was quite likely he would die far before the age Roundears usually did. It explained that magical itch under his skin. The blood of those under both Aewlt and Puyawe battled inside of him. The law could not hear of him, lest it require his life. With the great power it bestowed came great difficulties he’d have to endure. He was a Hybrid. Miss Elvakan believed that no matter what, he was capable of great things and always had believed in him.

She complemented the black hair he had that Mother didn't. She complemented the big blue eyes Mother had shared with him.

When he got so sad, at moments like these, the itch would leave just for objects to hover above their tables in the corners of his vision. He was a Hybrid under Aewlt with everything it implied.

Ravi handed him some wine when he came downstairs. They spent that night drinking together and talking, and Okkun felt like he had grown up more in the past month than he had in the rest of his life. He smiled. Ravi took to calling him Hybs.

He woke up the next morning with a dull acceptance of his early death. He still hadn't left the house since he watched his mother's pyre. He didn't know how to bring himself to do that. He was going to die and didn't know how to pass the time. That would be fine until he finished all the books in the house. Fine, until they ran out of food stores.

He spent a few nights sleeping away under the window, soaking in the quiet light of the moon.

More people came by to try and sell him things. Ravi made sure he didn't buy anything without his expressed consent. He had Okkun call him a family friend in front of others. Soon, they started having more meager meals. Okkun liked the way hunger sat in his stomach. Ravi started drinking things more sparingly. Okkun never thought it would have been possible to make a dent on his mother's liquor store.

Luckily, there was still food left when Okkun had finished reading all the books in the household and had taught the other three a bit more about reading, too. Ravi had packed almost everything up now, aside from the furniture. Nev had found some fabrics and was often seen sewing. Alissi, a quick learner, absorbed many of the novels once Okkun helped her out. They never seemed nervous anymore. They had never talked to him too much when Mother was around, aside from the stories the elders would allow him tom but now, he realized they were quite friendly.

Without any more books to read, Okkun was at a loss of what to do.

"Let's see... ya could go out and buy s'more books." Ravi offered in his rasp of a voice over a glass of some alcohol he didn't know how to say the name of. "Or, perhaps, you could make use of the nice clothes Elvakan left ya, and we can get outta ‘ere."

Okkun couldn’t remember the last time he had really been away from the plot of land. Ravi threw an arm around his shoulder and told him he'd watch over him every step of the way. He could go wherever he wanted to.

Okkun remembered how he always wanted to travel when he was younger and how Ravi would always talk about some place called Neutral when he was drunk. That's where his mother met his father, too, if he remembered correctly. He thought the place sounded too good to be true.

Alissi overheard Ravi talk about leaving the place, and offered her own two cents. "Just up and leaving might not be the best idea, Ravi. Give him a bit more time to adjust. We could really go for some produce and the like. It might be a good place to start. We can't sit here forever."

Nev was surprisingly efficient tailoring some warm, nice looking clothes to fit the lanky digitigrade man. It didn’t matter the They left the house next week. Okkun couldn't stop quaking and staring at all the different sights around him, leaving him to constantly stumble over his own feet.

Ravi slipped a coin over the counter at a cozy little cafe and turned back, offering Okkun one of two cups of sweetened, warm milk that they sat near the window to drink. His wooden chair creaked as he sat down. "I can't believe your mother really never let ya leave the house. It's not like the guards are scannin' everyone."

"Scanning?" Okkun asked, raising a brow. Miss Elvakan never mentioned that.

Ravi sighed. "The guards have this little doohickey that'll tell people what Guardian ya were born under, Hybs. I look nice and have another nice-lookin' person with me, so I haven't even had to admit to bein' a slave yet, so long as I don't get too close 'n personal to the guards. People don't take too kindly to Hybrids like yourself... but really, they ain't even looking well."

"Huh." He remarked, looking down into his milk. "The world is so much bigger than I could've imagined."

"That's not what I was talking about, but. Hybs be Hybs." Ravi snorted. "It sure is a big world. You've only jus’ left the house, so don't go gettin’ sappy on me yet, 'kay?"

Okkun finished his milk off in silence, mind reeling, trying to process all of the different sights he had seen already and how no picture or explanation could have prepared him for this. Ravi stared at him, calculatingly. He couldn't say he was without hope. The kid had just been more than a little... overstimulated, lately. But, he supposed he had to find a way to get the kid used to that. His life had been so quaint before he wasn't sure he could adapt. He’d seen him grow, however, and knew his passions. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Not… not yet. For now, he could do this.

"There's no milk left in that cup there, Hybs."

"I know."

He had to give him some credit, he supposed.

Soon enough, they left the shop, and continued down the chilly street. Okkun wrapped his scarf tighter around his mouth as they meandered down to the business district. A few people Okkun distantly remembered from his mother's parties waved. He stared. It took a subtle elbow in the gut from Ravi for him to remember to wave back.

They approached the first stand together, Okkun gawking as Ravi somehow managed to convince the shopkeep to lower the price a bit. Ravi grinned as they walked away, his spoils of fresh meat wrapped up in his arms. His expression was softer than Okkun had ever seen him manage before. "I can teach you hagglin' sometime. It's a good skill to have."

The second stand sold dairy and other farm byproduct, and with a pat on the back, Ravi directed him away. "You go buy some drink over there. Just one bottle; still have your ma's stuff, 'm just outta the Dwarven stuff."

"W-what?" Okkun blushed. "I can't do that. That's alcohol! And people!"

Ravi rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me ma didn't let you drink, either. You've drank with me. Go on, be a man. Buy a thing. Ask 'em how much it costs, count out that much, fork it over, and walk away with your spoils. Simple. I'll be right over here and keep an eye on yer back."

And with that, Ravi shoved Okkun in the direction of the stand with his free hand. Okkun stared back at him, looking shocked and perhaps betrayed, and Ravi grinned.

"Go on, Hybsie! I'm sure ya ain't as pathetic as ya look somewhere down in there!"

Apparently, that was the encouragement Okkun needed to finally approach the Dwarven girl at her stall. She was a redhead with a sweet smile just like his mother used to have, he noted as she finished off with a prior customer. He shivered and wondered how anyone could be out in this cold.

"What're you looking for, sweetie? My, what big blues you have." She chuckled and gestured to the assorted bottles decorating the table. "You look like you like the sweet stuff. I have a really nice wine today, just like drinking candy--"

"Uh! Um... no. Sorry." He stammered and blushed, a hand nervously finding its way to the back of his neck. How was he supposed to do this? He had never left the house before, much less bought anything! He felt like he might just pass out on the spot. It was not as easy as Ravi said. He could feel himself shaking for more reasons than just the cold. "I'm looking for... something Dwarven? Uh... um... yeah. Just something Dwarven. That'll be all."

"You look a little slight for that, but I suppose I can't say much to a customer," She grinned, easily, and he wasn't sure he could even imagine this woman without one. "There's many kinds. Got one in particular you're looking for? Most aren't that sweet."

"Something... heavy, I suppose? I- uhm- uh.... this one?"

She chuckled. "I thought you said Dwarven."

Okkun blushed bright red. Oh no. Was this considered suspicious behavior? Was naming alcohol incorrectly a taboo? What if she reported him? What if he got Scanned? What if they Scanned Ravi? Oh no, this was it. This was the end of him. Meeting his end after failing to buy a single bottle of ale--

A hand slapped him merrily on the back, making him stumble forth a bit. "Resteravi! Working hard on gettin' me my ale?” He looked around, glancing over the bottles not even long enough to read it, “Mm, this one looks good, I'll take it, thanks." He said, pushing the bottle forth and opening up his coin pouch.

"Three nxliy, that is."

He smiles. "Mn, that’s a fair price ya have there. People must revere yer stand," He laughs, handing over the silver pieces and picking up the bottle. "Cheers!"

The Dwarf laughs right back, Okkun's transgression apparently forgotten. Okkun lets out a long, tense breath he didn't know he was holding. "Nice taste, Canyo. Roundear, a Resteravi, huh? Your mother was a good woman. Bought a lot of that here. My family helped serve at the company sometimes."

The memory brought some nervous color back into the Hybrid's face. "Mother always did love the ale."

"You should've said you were buying something like she would've got. I would have had the best lineup for you."

Okkun couldn't really say he had much interest in his late mother's alcohol taste, and all he had to do was look in the cellar or at the growing pile of empty bottles Ravi was accumulating to know what exactly it was that she turned to when she was unsure. He supposed that the spirits did indeed help her find something. She never wrote her correspondences when she drank, leaving the two of them to play assorted games around the house and occasionally discuss books. Miss Elvakan and him would put her to bed easily when her words started to slur.

Ravi and Okkun soon left the stand, and after a few more stops where Ravi resumed doing all the talking, they started the trek back out of town and up the snowy hill to the large house that was all Okkun knew well until today. Alissi and Nev took the groceries right from their hands, and took immediately to putting them all back to where they should be. It really was a strange thing of all the carefully preserved foods that had been in the house before; he supposed his mother did have some insight as to how he'd take her death.

Ravi gave him a pitying look and told him that even if he didn't succeed at buying things today, he had still left the house. He promised to not shove him towards the alcohol again. It had sounded funny at the time.

The next time leaving the house went considerably better. Okkun had seen the place once, so there was a little less gawking and a lot more learning going on. The third time, they went to a different district, and Ravi stood proudly at Okkun's side as he stumbled through his first purchase.

It was only a little box full of sugar cubes, but Ravi couldn't convince him to put it away into his pack for the life of him. Okkun continued smiling the entire time, and when they got back, the four of them all had some tea with his sugar cubes. Ravi asked him what he planned to do next, now that he had conquered the great outdoors for as much as he'd like to believe, and Okkun's smile never faltered as he said he'd try and see the state of his mother's company.

Ravi thought it was good that he wasn't already saying he'd take over it and lead it after all of his one interaction with a stranger. He figured that his late mother had given the company away already. At Alissi's offer, the two of them tackled writing the letter. Okkun was still a far better reader than any of the slaves, but Alissi had a keen sense of formality due to her 'occupation.'

Okkun accompanied Ravi as he went to drop by the painstakingly written letter at the communications office with all its magical bells and whistles, and by the time they had gotten back from a luxurious dinner that Ravi reveled in, they had gotten a response. He wouldn't doubt that they had a communications officer in their head building.

As it would turn out, Ms. Resteravi had in fact given the company away, but not without keeping a stake in the company for Okkun that would keep on giving for years to come. It wasn't much in Okkun's opinion, but Ravi knew that it was truly no small sum. They dropped by the Dwarven woman's spirit stand on their way home, and they all drank until they blacked out that night. By morning, Puyawe’s statue was missing a finger.

A month of revelry passed as Okkun acted as Ravi's attentive student on how to be a functional member of society. Okkun never questioned Ravi's knowledge, but Ravi surrendered the thought of his many escapes anyway one drunken night. Okkun gave him a look, and Ravi was happy to see that not only did he realize how easy it would have been for Ravi to leave here, but mindful enough not to mention it.

Though, Ravi figured that the last few shots might have put him at his threshold for reliable memory, and therefore, could not be counted.

There were more than simple outings to shop or get groceries, however. One day, Ravi took him down to the Conjoined Temple of the Elements a few streets away. It was beautiful, he would admit. Ravi smiled at him and they went inside.