NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64: Scoresby’s Goods & Wares
"Yes, dear?" came the familiar voice of the old merchant from the back of the building. Scoresby himself appeared right after, his eyes instantly going wide. "Korra, you found this place."
"Only thanks to Ria here."
"I see; you have a little guide. Clever. Pleasure to meet you, Ria of...?"
"Ria of Haru," the little kitare quickly clarified.
"Haru? Then, my deepest condolences. I heard the matriarch Kou was the great woman Haru needed in these hard times."
Ears lowered, Ria let out a low whimper. "Grandma's in a better place now."
"Ah, I didn't mean to sadden you little one, nor you Korra. Forgive this silly old man; sometimes, I open my mouth before giving it a thought."
For whatever reason, be it the sorrow of seeing Ria downcast or the memory of my mother, I too find myself stricken with grief.
"And sometimes, you seem to forget to mention a few things, Liam," his wife Marlen remarked, much to his bewilderment, still mad at him.
"Ah, you mean Korra. She's the half-Terr girl I met in Esulmor. Korra, this is Marlen, my dear wife," he introduced us, oblivious to the reason for Mrs. Scoresby's frown, and turned his attention back to me. "Seeing you here, I take it everything went well."
"K-kind of. I am a citizen of the Sahal Empire n-now," I said, not sure if I shouldn't better wait for his wife to say what was on her mind.
"See, I told you it would be fine."
"What you didn't tell ME, though, Liam, is that you spent half the day driving next to a naked girl."
Well, I wouldn't call myself a girl, but she wasn't wrong. More importantly, however, she didn't seem to fault me.
"I didn't? I could have sworn… oh, come on, Marlen, you know I only have eyes for you. Besides, she was covering herself, just like now."
"And that's fine? What if it had been Millie in her place, covering herself with her hands?"
At the thought of his daughter being in my situation, Scoresby immediately paled.
"Yeah, you old fool," Mrs. Scoresby grunted, disappointed, then the hairs on the back of my neck bristled as the old woman turned her attention back to me. "And YOU, have you no shame? Did you not think to ask for a piece of clothing?"
"I… I d-didn't mean to bother," I stammered, racing my mind to find the proper explanation. "I h-haven't had any clothes in over a year, so… I d-didn't mind."
"If you didn't mind, you wouldn't have covered yourself," Mrs. Scoresby grumbled right back with a sigh, brushing a stray strand of gray hair out of her face. "What about in the barracks? You were there, weren't you? Didn't they offer you anything to wear there, either?"
"No." I shook my head.
"Did you ask?"
"I d-did… not."
"For Traiana's sake! Why not?"
"I d-didn't mean to bother and… and I thought that maybe some Terr'dens didn't wear clothes, so..."
"So you thought that we're used to seeing folks walking around naked just because their butts are covered with fur? For Traiana's sake, no. Ask your guide, Ria; even the furriest Terr'dens cover themselves."
"Um-hmm," the little kitare nodded.
"See. Frankly, I'm a bit disappointed - not with you, Korra; I can understand what you've been through, believe me - but that no one had the decency to give you something to cover yourself. Forget my old fool; the city guards, though? If they let you walk around the streets without a piece of clothing, who else are they gonna let flash their skin? Call me old-fashioned, but I don't want to bump into bare-assed companions when I go to market."
No doubt that would be quite awkward.
"No. This won't do. I'll have to go to the barracks and have a word with them," Mrs. Scoresby declared, her determination to go through with it, taking my breath away. She didn't hesitate to confront the city guards, someone like Rayden, to stand up for what she believed in.
'If only I could do the same.'
But sadly, I wasn't like her; I didn't have the guts. Shit, I didn't even have a thing to strive for, a goal. With my freedom back, the only thing left of my dream was getting home. But after listening to Captain Rayden, the journey back to Earth now seemed more distant than ever.
'So seriously, what was I supposed to do now?'
For lack of a better word, I was lost - and the irony of it wasn't "lost" on me.
Sure, there were little things, pressing things, like clothes, accommodation, food, work. But then what? Give up trying to get back home? Ignore all the shit and just live as if nothing happened?
'Why? Why did it bother me so much when it was pretty much exactly what I longed for all along? Why wasn't having a peaceful life good enough for me?’
"Korra?"
Torn out of my lament by the sweet voice of the little kitare, I looked down. "Y-yes, Ria?"
"Mr. Scoresby asked if you had any problems at the barracks."
Did he? Raising my eyes to the old man, I found him standing there alone, giving me a knowing smile, his wife nowhere to be seen.
"Long day, huh? Easy to get lost in thought then."
"S-sorry."
"Ah, it's nothing to apologize for. It happens to me a lot."
"Far too often," came Mrs. Scoresby's voice from the back of the house. The next moment, she walked back into the shop, handing Ria a small basket and me a pile of clothes. While the little kitare excitedly pounced on the sweet buns, I couldn't help but stare at the pieces of clothing in my hands.
"Wh-what is this?"
"Millie's old clothes"
"Our daughter's," the old man added, as if that should explain everything. It did not.
"Y-yes, I know who she is. I mean… what am I supposed to do with them?"
Mrs. Scoresby laughed. "To wear, of course. What else?"
Holding back tears, I looked at them both. "A-and this is all for me?"
"It's just an old shirt and a skirt," the old woman replied with a nonchalant shrug, standing tall and smiling warmly. "Well-worn but washed and still functional. Better to have someone make use of them than to have them sit in a trunk, right? Go on, try it."
She didn't have to tell me twice. After a quick glance around to make sure there were no changing booths, I slipped behind one of the store’s shelves.
"It should fit you. Millie is about your size," Mrs. Scoresby spoke as I moved my stiff wings, and whilst swallowing a whimper, put on the shirt. "You'll have to buy your own chest wraps. Same with the underwear," she continued as I buttoned up the shirt and unwrapped Sage from my waist. "We have some of her old shoes, but she inherited my tiny feet, so… oh, dear. Those are some big tears."
"Is something wrong, Korra?" asked Mr. Scoresby, the worry in his eyes turning to a shock the next moment. When I emerged fully from behind the shelf, my appearance had all three of them, the old merchant, his wife, and my little guide, staring at me wordlessly with their mouths agape.
"Ko-Ko-Korra," Ria stammered, her mouth smeared with sweet bun filling. "A-are you Wierin?"