[zapdragon555]

[Story contents - Jawan —> Nu'san —> Craiss]

[Aesop]
^[#1D72BE]

[Apisto] | [Astrochelys]
^{[#BD4136] | [#B094E2]}

       They were behind schedule. Apisto had been meticulous, near obsessive about counting the days they were at sea, thinking with perhaps more worry than deserved about the brewing potions that he’d set his student to watch over in his absence. They were a competent young person, yes, but the balance of wolf’s milk fungus and bloodroot was extremely precise, and if Apisto had made any mistakes in his rush to pack his things, it could result in disaster. Or wasted materials. He wasn’t quite sure which was worse.

       “Watch your step,” Astrochelys’ voice floated dreamily from somewhere beside him at the exact moment Apisto’s boot caught a loose plank of the dock. He snarled as he caught himself, adjusting his cloak where it had gone askew, and fixed the horticulture professor with a scathing look. They sat comfortably atop their beastchair, light glinting off its copper joints as it stepped carefully over another warped piece of boardwalk. “You’re not the daydreaming type.”

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“I wasn’t daydreaming,” Apisto griped, tucking the scheduling book he’d been scanning over beneath his arm. “The ship was three days late to arrive at Jawan—don’t you find that the least bit worrisome?”

Astrochelys could tell that Apisto was seeking some form of validation, but they simply couldn’t muster it. They tilted their head instead, blond locks falling about their face as they smiled warmly. “I don’t believe there’s any rush. Aesop called ahead and requested the device be held for us. I don’t think anyone will buy it before we can get there.”

“That’s not—the Academy, Astrochelys. Your students?” Apisto bristled. Astrochelys thumbed their chin, humming soft in thought.

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“Plants aren’t particularly volatile… and for the few that are, in my care, I put a simple temporal spell over them. If I’m a few days late, they’ll only be a bit wilted, and the rest, I left a list for my students to follow.”

“You trust them that much—wait, temporal?” Apisto cut off with a small jolt, catching a spark of mischief in the other’s eyes. He was relieved as they stepped off the boardwalk and onto flat pavement, no longer needing to watch the ground so much. He adjusted his wizard’s hat about his long pointed ears. “Time altering spells are forbidden.”

“When used on sentient beings,” Astrochelys mused. “Besides. I trust you not to tell.”

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Before Apisto could open his mouth to answer, outrage building inside of him, it fizzled out with a squeak as the ship they’d just stepped off suddenly let out a mighty bellow from its foghorn. Apisto straightened up to glare up at the ship, spying a familiar blue cloak fluttering about from the captain’s cabin before stepping out onto a front deck and waving lightheartedly at the two headmasters on the ground.

“I’ve always wanted to do that!” Aesop called down after them, cupping hands around his mouth. Apisto didn’t hide the sharp roll of his eyes, muttering curses under his breath as he slipped the schedulebook properly into the inner breast pocket of his cloak.

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Astrochelys was gently rubbing the inside of their ear with their littlest finger, a squint in one eye the only indicator of their disconcerted reaction to the noise. “At least he’s in good spirits,” they murmured, nodding at the ship’s dismount ladder as Aesop strolled down it, en route to join them. Apisto grunted noncommittally. It was harder to work with Aesop when he was in a depressive episode. Some amount of levity meant they would actually make strides in their goal, today.

But it also meant…

“First order of business!” Aesop chirped, walking between the two of them and reaching out to place a hand at each of their backs. Apisto leaned away while Astrochelys simply smiled. “Let’s find our inn, and a nice spot for dinner, hmm? The captain said there’s a gourmet seafood shop just across from where we’re staying!”

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Apisto’s traitorous stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten anything in the past day, the stress from their tardiness combined with the rocking of the ship making him too ill to try any of the ship’s food. “It’s a good idea,” he muttered. “Lead the way.”

“He also told me that there’s a theater not three blocks away from the inn—they’re showing a play tonight that we must go to.”

“We aren’t here to sightsee,” Apisto snapped, as his stomach made another hollow noise. At least they were walking, now. He lowered his voice to a murmur, leaning closer to Aesop as he eyed a passing group of fishermen suspiciously. “And we shouldn’t waste any time in tracking down that pawn shop.”

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“Oh, come now. We have plenty of time—the hold is set to last five days, and we made it here in four! We’ll pick it up first thing tomorrow morning.” Aesop grinned, letting go of Apisto’s cloak to flourish a hand in the air. Apisto took the opportunity to dart a few paces ahead, out of the mage’s reach. “I think you’ll like this one, Apisto, dear. It’s a beautiful tragedy.”

The long-eared man grimaced, the tips of his ears angling downwards as he glared over his shoulder. “Don’t pretend you know what sort of plays I would like.”

“Then you do like plays?”

Apisto clicked his tongue in irritation and stormed forward, leaving the other two behind. He’d find the damn inn himself—he vaguely remembered the directions, and as long as he could still hear Aesop’s carefree chattering from behind, he knew he was headed in the right direction.

[zapdragon555]

[New Posting Week July 11 - July 18]

The inn was irritatingly modest, but Apisto was too prudish to complain. It was practical and inexpensive, which soothed over some of his shattered fantasies about room service or ordering food. He reminded himself of the seafood market and tried not to feel too put out about it—and then promptly remembered that they really, really weren’t here to sightsee. Hang the market—the pawn shop was far more important, whether they had a hold or not on the item. This town wasn’t without thieves…

“Let me know if you need any help getting into the bath, Astrochelys!” Aesop chirped through the closed door, voice raised loud enough over the run of water to be heard.

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“None needed—thank you!” came the dreamy voice from inside, and then a quieter, “do sit down, you should rest your feet, too,” to their beastchair. It had no such abilities to feel tired, unless a mechanical device could grow tired, but Astrochelys seemed to prefer to treat it as a feeling thing. It put a smile on Aesop’s face as the mage hummed his way over to the single, queen-sized bed that Apisto was slouched on, a sour expression on the other man’s face.

“Now, Apisto. This was the most inexpensive room I could get… I figured you’d like my thriftiness…” He tapped his index fingers together with a puppy-eyed look in his eyes.

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Apisto snorted derisively. “Just keep your cold feet off of my legs,” he muttered, as he removed his hat for the moment and set it on the sheets.

“No matter, we’ll put Astrochelys between us,” Aesop suggested, delighting in the bristle of the other. Apisto looked rather cute without his hat—smaller, and less threatening, long ears tipping with embarrassed red.

“They’re worse—they cling to me in the night and drool. Drool!” Apisto hissed, bursting Aesop into giggles.

[zapdragon555]

It was somewhat of a long time before Astrochelys emerged from the bathroom, bringing with them a cloud of steam and long, light hair dripping wet. As their beastchair carried them over to the bed area and crouched down, folding its metal legs, the other two men stared for a beat, somewhat enchanted. For all of their spacy attitude, Astrochelys was a lovely creature, and it softened Apisto just a bit to see. “Feeling better, now?” Aesop asked.

“Mmhm… the bath is nice, and big. You two should take one, before bed,” Astrochelys murmured, stretching their arms behind their back with a sleepy smile. “Ahh, speaking of… only one bed. I can sleep in my chair, if you like—”

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“No, that’s terrible for your back. Absolutely not,” Apisto butted in, bristling once more albeit now for the botanist’s wellbeing. “You’re sleeping in this bed. We’ll find a way. We’ve dealt with worse.” Aesop and Astrochelys exchanged a glance, an affectionate glint shared between them. Apisto seemed to catch on that he was being observed, and worse, known—he hurriedly flattened his feathers and cleared his throat, fighting off a light pink to his cheeks. “So, dinner…?”

“Dinner!” Aesop cheered, then paused, glancing back over at their sleepy third. “Hold on… here, let me dry your hair a bit. Wouldn’t want you to catch anything.”

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“Mm? Mmmh… I don’t get sick,” Astrochelys mused, but easily relented as Aesop wove a spell to coat his fingers in shallow, but resilient barriers of warm air. He began to comb slow and careful through Astrochelys’ hair, and Apisto watched with a softening peace in his face. A part of him wanted to help, but he would just get in the way with his fire magic. Not much good it did for hair.

They made quick work of it—helped Astrochelys to get dressed in something just a bit nicer than the pajamas they’d changed into after bathing, with only minimal complaint and a statement that restaurants should allow pajamas in their dress code. Apisto let Aesop lead the way, once more plunged into the noise of the city, though it was far more bearable now that the sun was starting to dip in the sky and many of the vendors and buyers alike had dispersed.

[zapdragon555]

“I dare say, Apisto,” Aesop’s playful voice was a rude interruption to the absolutely heavenly scallops that Apisto was enjoying. He paused in slicing one with the side of his fork, looking up with a warning stare. “If I didn’t know any better,” he continued undeterred, “I’d say you’re enjoying this little mini vacation of ours.”

“Vacation! Ha,” Apisto griped, sticking the half-scallop into his mouth and chewing, unable to keep a scowl on his face with how delicious it was. “We’re here on business... but there’s no sense in spurning the finer things,” he muttered, eyeing Astrochelys as the botanist’s eyes shone in amusement over a forkful of seafood pasta.

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“Relax, my friend. Dinner, a play, consider this my treat for causing you to leave your brewing for so long,” Aesop lamented theatrically. “And by tomorrow, we’ll have our device, and on our way… I hope you can forgive me for dragging you all this way—”

“Aesop.” Apisto jammed his fork towards the man’s food, stopping him mid-sentence. “It’s getting cold. Eat.”

Aesop’s posture slackened, an easy smile spreading over his face as he settled down and tucked into his food. Tonight, the play… and tomorrow, the device. Things would go smoothly, he just knew it.