A Hand-Woven Universe 103 102. Urchin?

"So, how'd it go?" Raelith was sat on a bench outside the front doors of the building. The entire exchange took close to ten minutes, giving her time to sit and relax.

"Good. The woman inside gave me a coin pouch for the copper." Noone lifted it in his hand, causing copper pieces to shift and jingle.

"Alright. Let's go to a tailor then. That sack is made of simple cloth, and it wouldn't hold up in battle. One wrong move and all of your coin would be scattered across the floor." Raelith stood up stretching her legs. The spear on her back moved easily into place as natural as a stick floating on water. "Although that might serve as a nice distraction in battle." She mused to herself. Noone smiled wryly, wasn't money too important to be used like that?

"Raelith, how come you are a cleric instead of a paladin? It seems like fighting is much more up your alley?" Noone asked casually, watching her easily slip through the crowd.

"Hmm? Oh. Well, it just kind of worked out that way. I happen to be really good at and enjoy combat quite a bit. But really, I am quite adept at healing spells and miracles. It runs in my family." Her voice was bright and seemed to not mind his questions.

"Ah."

Noone scanned the crowd as he and Rae weaved through the people. It was a never-ending stream of life that Noone found extremely curious.

"You said we are going to a tailor next, right?" Noone asked, scanning the clothes of the various humans and other he passed in the crowd. No two people wore the exact same cloth. Various colors and styles adorned people's bodies. Everything from simple shirts and pants to more expensive and complicated outfits.

Most interesting of all were the adventurers who were scattered throughout the town. Each one wore complicated pieces of leather and metal, covered in numerous pockets which seemed to store everything from knives to kindling to food.

Noone could recognize them immediately based on how they carried themselves. Unlike the people who lived in the town, their eyes stayed high, staying aware of everything around them just as Noone was.

"How come you don't wear clothes like the other adventurers?" Noone asked. There was a distinct difference between the clothes what the clerics and paladins he had seen wore, and those of the common adventurers.

"Well. In a way we do." Raelith followed Noone's eyes to see what he was looking at. "The reason we don't wear quite the same thing though is because it is important, we are recognizable based on our classes. Especially those belonging to organizations like us. If someone needs healing, then it becomes extremely important to be able to recognize a cleric on sight." She touched her finger to her chin, thinking. "Part of it also has to do with tradition. I suppose. Most people adjust their armor and clothing to suit their own personal tastes." Raelith pulled at one of the many small cords which hung from the hem of her shirt, revealing a small pouch tied onto it which had been tucked into a hidden fold. It was a personal addition she had made and was quite proud of.

Noone nodded, continuing to observe the people around him.

"Should I…" Noone looked down at his own clothes. Hand-off's from Tobias, he wore very simple pants and a tunic style shirt. Despite their simplicity, they felt very weird on his body. The pants especially, were nothing like those of Tapestry.

In that moment, Noone decided he would try and recreate the clothes of his home with the help of the tailor. With any luck they would come up with a close approximation.

Suddenly Noone stopped walking, the person walking behind him nearly ran into him before cursing and walking around. Raelith turned around and was about to ask Noone what was wrong, until she noticed he was staring off to the side.

Exactly three meters away, Noone was staring daggers at a poor man with a food cart. More specifically, he was staring at a purple spiked object which sat on top of a coal-heated grill

Raelith wore an odd expression. She couldn't understand why Noone would react so intensely. "Are you hungry, Noone?" She asked.

It took Noone a moment to react. Finally, his eyes refocused and he looked at her. "Hungry?"

"Well… yes." Raelith walked towards the food cart followed by Noone.

"One urchin please. Skewered twice." Raelith handed over three copper pieces, to the man who nodded and quickly removed one of the purple spiked urchins from the grill. Steam rose from it in steady wafts.

Noone's heart beat with memories of a bad time. When he had first arrived at the bottom of the cliff a long time ago…

A shudder ran through his spine. He remembered being tossed and manhandled by an uncaring and cold ocean, swallowing mouthfuls of salt water at a time.

He recalled the feeling of taking a misstep and suddenly sinking ten feet, dropping into underwater crevices which were peppered across the shallows.

And... he remembered this stone. Noone's eyes were sharp as he stared at it, being handled by the cart-owner.

It had caused him no small amount of pain, stepping on it caused the needle thin spikes surrounding its body to pierce directly through his foot.

He had kept the stone after this point, planning to modify it as a trophy or some such. Really, he didn't know why kept it, it was a decision made of anger and pain.

But not even a day later it had disappeared.

By then Noone had forgotten about it. But suddenly seeing more of them brought the memories of this bad time flooding back.

Noone was surprised to see the man cleave open the 'urchin,' revealing delicate steamed meat inside.

It was alive? Noone thought. His eyes wide.

The man dug out the meat from the shell, carefully working around the spines on the outside. He handed Rae and Noone a skewer with the meat stuck on each.

They left the cart and continued walking through the streets.

"Have you never seen an urchin before?" Rae asked, she noticed an expression on Noone's face, something even she was unable to interpret.

"Something like that." Noone bit into the steamed meat, with a vengeance, enjoying small thoughts of payback.
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Raelith chose to say nothing, and merely led them to the tailors shop she had visited last time she was here.

Chapter end