The Meeting

Katolis left the faded apartment building through his window, as usual, not wanting to draw unwanted attention. He dropped onto cobblestone, in a narrow dark alleyway, and reached into his pocket, drawing out a piece of neatly folded, slightly crumpled paper, and checking it once more. It read:

Luath Rose. 28 Canal Street, Royal Oak Inn, room 8. Scrawny boy, 12-14, dark skin, glasses. Alive and unharmed.

Katolis read it over one last time, memorising the details, and ripped it up into tiny shreds, throwing them into a puddle. He set off, strolling casually down the streets of Kensmire, down bustling streets and empty alleys. Toward Canal Street.

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Luath was on his way home from another unsuccessful day. He only had enough gold to pay for another week at the Inn, and that was without food. He felt hopeless, certain that he'd die alone on these filthy streets. He let out an unwelcome sob of defeat, before quickly stifling it.

He'd been out all day, and had managed to obtain a map of Kensmire, which didn't help at all. He'd stayed in a crowd of filthy-looking refugees searching for work, like him. He probably looked the same; he hadn't washed in days. Several people had approached them, examined them like cattle, and selected a few of the stronger ones. At the end of the day, there were only a few scrawny, defeated kids left.

Luath's feet ached, and he felt like he'd just been trampled by a crowd of horses. He pulled his hood further down over his ears, and carried on down the cobbled streets. He ran his fingers self-consciously over the bruise on his cheek, where he'd been punched a couple days ago. A gaggle of brutish teenagers had jumped him, apparently, taking almost half his remaining gold, and his bag of fried potatoes. Luath's stomach rumbled at the thought.

Just get to the inn, you can eat there. He told himself, and quickened his pace. He imagined the warm meal waiting for him, trying to ignore the nagging thought, that he wouldn't be able to rely on that for much longer. And though the walls were dirty and the floorboards creaked, his tiny room was a comfort. His bed was still warm, and the four walls kept danger out. He told himself to think positive.

Suddenly, powerful hands seized his shoulder, and he was forced sideways, into an alley. Before he had time to react, he was pressed up against the wall, the cold press of a dagger at his throat.

Time seemed to freeze.

Luath was face-to-face with a very bored looking boy. He had hazel eyes, the colour of honey. His jet-black hair was styled neatly, except for a strand that fell across his perfect skin. He was wearing a coat made of some scratchy black material. And his face was inches away from Luath's. He felt his cheeks heat, before he remembered the knife at his throat and came to his senses.

Without thinking, on pure instinct, he threw his arms forward, and a gust of wind blew the boy backwards, so that he hit the wall behind him with a sickening thud. Luath stood there trembling, like a frightened rabbit.

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Katolis gasped as he was lifted into the air. His mind was suddenly whirling, but he'd realised what had happened before he hit the wall. He slid to the cobbles, knife still in hand, and looked at the idiot that had fooled him.

"You're an airigoer." he said simply, hoping his shock wouldn't show.

This seemed to trigger something in the kid. His face contorted into a mask of terror as he realised what he'd done. He opened his mouth, closed it again, then looked frantically around. Katolis had known something wasn't right about him, but he'd just assumed that he had wealthy parents or something. He'd not considered all possibilities, and that angered him, but he forced himself to think logically. igoers weren't something you came by often.

He stood up slowly and stretched his back. The kid took a step backwards. Katolis pointedly put his dagger away, making sure to leave it in an accessible spot. "I'm not going to harm you."

Luath seemed to gain a little bit of courage. "You were just holding a knife to my throat." He didn't waste any time. "I'd been tricked. Someone wanted me to bring you to them, but they clearly hadn't read my terms." there was a pause. "..Terms?" Katolis dusted off his soot-coloured coat. "Did I stutter? They paid me to retrieve you, but I clearly stated in my terms that I don't get involved with igoers." the boy's gaze shifted to his feet.

"You'd be a valuable asset to me, Rose. I heard you were looking for work?" Luath nodded eagerly, eyes brightening. Katolis resisted rolling his eyes. "What are you, twelve? Say something." "I'm sixteen." he insisted. "Uh, how much is the wage?" "Depends on how good you are. Follow."

Katolis strolled swiftly down the alley, not looking back to see if the boy was following. Their footsteps echoed off the cobbles, and a raindrop splashed onto his nose. "Where are we going?" "Your new home." "But I left my stuff at th-" "Someone's already fetching it." "Oh, okay. Wait- who's fetching it?" "An associate." "Did you hire them, too? Wait- what job am I doing? You haven't told me. I don't want to kidnap anyo-" Katolis whirled around, and Luath nearly crashed right into him. He loomed over the kid, his face dark. "If you don't keep your mouth shut, I'll finish what I started." he threatened. Luath's eyes widened, and he nodded quickly. They carried on down the alley.

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Luath stood in a room similar to the one he'd slept in the previous night. Although this one was cleaner, and considerably quieter. Here it was eerily silent, except for the distant rumble of crowds and music.

About an hour earlier, they'd arrived in a small building, coated with faded white paint, and from there the boy had silently gestured up the stairs, then stood there, staring at him with that expressionless face, as Luath made his way to his room, where his few belongings waited for him. His room wasn't much, but at least the bed didn't have those horrible scratchy colours, and at least there wasn't that annoying drip in the corner. He took a shaky breath.

A knock sounded on the door, making him jump, and he quickly rushed over to open it. He was met with a terrifyingly scarred face, which made him stumble back a few steps. The face belonged to a tall, lanky girl with long, braided mouse-coloured hair, that looked almost as shocked as he was. She had firm muscle, and looked like she knew a thousand different ways to kill him.

By this point, Luath had figured out that the work he'd been hired to do way by no means legal. These people were criminals. But it wasn't like he could just... leave. No, they knew so much about him already, he'd be dead by morning.

"Sorry to disturb you," the girl spoke, in a clear, melodic voice that didn't seem like it belonged to someone that looked as tough as her. "We're having dinner, if you wish to come." Luath nodded, and the girl walked down the hall. He gathered himself, and followed, going down two flights of stairs, into a room he'd passed on his way in.

It was very cosy, with a low ceiling and walls that weren't quite upright. There was a large, circular wooden table in the centre, with chair surrounding it, and an unlit fireplace with a couple of armchairs close by. Heads turned as he came in. There were seven seats around the table, but only four were filled. The boy sat in one, concentrating on a leather-cased book he was reading. Was this it? He'd expected at least twenty people, and Katolis certainly had enough room.

The girl pulled out a chair and immediately began a conversation with a huge, ginger-haired boy with a plait, and a smaller-looking freckled kid, about Luath's age. He approached the table tentatively, and sat down a seat away from the girl. He gave a little start when a hand clapped him on the back. "Toast to the first newbie we've had in six months!" cheered a voice, belonging to a very handsome teenager with coffee-coloured hair holding a glass of who-knows-what. These people can't be any older than seventeen, thought Luath. The trio to his right gave a whoop, grinning at him. He couldn't help but smile back.

"So, what's your name, kid?" the brown-haired boy asked. "I'm Luath," he replied, starting to relax a little. These kids weren't hostile at all. "Very nice to meet you," The boy's grin widened. "I'm Larch, nice to meet you too." "I'm Flora," said the scarred girl, before nudging the guy with the plait. When he didn't speak, she continued "This is Caraway. He's not much of a talker, but he's a big softie really," Caraway smiled, amused. She gestured to the freckled kid "This is their little brother, Dill." Dill gave a little wave. "And I expect you already know Katolis."

Their gazes turned to the boy reading the book, who took no notice. The room went silent. Then there was a loud ringing, coming from a doorway behind Larch. Caraway leapt up, cursing under his breath, and rushed toward the sound. Luath could smell smoke in the air. He shifted in his seat, ready to run if he needed to. "It's just the food," Larch told him. "This happens a lot, especially when you leave Caraway in charge of dinner." he made a big show of sighing and rolling his eyes, before the ringing finally stopped. Caraway came back a few minutes later, carrying a tray with six plates of over-cooked fish and vegetables on it. Luath winced. Maybe Katolis didn't know everything about him.

Everyone except Katolis gave their thanks to Caraway, and they settled down to eat. "...Erm," Luath started. He didn't know how to put this without sounding rude. "It looks lovely, but... I don't eat meat." Oh God, he thought, They're going to hate me. But all they did was exchange concerned glances. "Oh, we're really sorry, we didn't know." Flora apologised, "Are you alright eating the vegetables? You can have some of mine if you'd like?" "Or mine," Dill chirped. "Oh- yeah, I'm fine with that, th-thank you." he stuttered. Flora scraped a load of her food onto his plate while Larch got rid of the fish. Caraway stopped Dill from giving Luath some of his, muttering "He's got enough, eat them." Dill groaned.

They finished their meal, and it was the best meal Luath had had in a while, despite it just being carrots and potatoes, and gathered around the fireplace to play a game of cards. Katolis had retired to his room, of course. They stayed up late, and laughed away, until their eyes grew droopy, and they couldn't stay awake for any longer. They climbed the stairs, passing the odd empty rooms, and bid each other good night.

Luath closed the door, and grinned. He'd only been there for less than a day, and it already felt like home. He collapsed into bed, not bothering to change into his bedclothes, and curled up in the thin blankets. For the first time since he'd arrived in Kensmire, he felt safe. He felt warm. He felt happy.