Spirits of Mithzara - 2. Life on the Outside

Kyle stood up from his Cube, stretching. He wanted to get another hour in Mithzara, but his parents didn’t like him sleeping in too late. It didn’t matter. By his calculations, he had made almost fifty copper last night. What that meant was uncertain, but he hoped it was good.

He didn’t have any classes that day, but there were a few things he had to do. A loud meow outside his room reminded of one of them.

“Alright Cas,” he grumbled, pulling on a pair of boxers.

A shirt followed, long enough to keep him modest, but not long enough to look like a dress. His parents would be gone already, but he knew they’d be back in time for supper. Sometimes it was a pain to have parents that worked all the time, but he managed.

Opening the door, he stepped carefully around the tortoiseshell cat, knowing that she would take any chance she could to trip him.

“You are such a pain,” he said as she followed him into the kitchen.

Still, he scratched Cas’ head before opening a fresh can of food for the cat. Grabbing a bowl of cereal, he sprinkled it with sugar before drowning it in milk. Maybe it was immature, but he had a sweet tooth and he wasn’t going to deny himself a simple pleasure.

He stood at the counter, eating while watching Cas devour her own food. In under a minute, the cat was ramming his hand, demanding more food.

“Such a pain…” he muttered.

Finishing his breakfast, Kyle washed the dish and went back to his room. He had a paper for English due next week and he wanted to get it done before he forgot.

Cas curled up around his feet as he sat at the computer, her purr shaking his legs. Kyle turned on some music, soft classical, and began typing. Every so often he switched pages, researching a small detail.

It took a few hours, but finally, he sat back in his chair, the first draft finished. It was rough, very rough, but Kyle would give it a day to settle down before he went back through to check his work.

“Well, time to get dressed,” Kyle sighed.

He grabbed a pair of sweatpants, pulling them on quickly.

“All done.”

Striding out of the room, Kyle went around the house, grabbing full trash bags. Hoisting them all in one hand, he tested his strength as he carried the bags outside.

Returning to the house, Kyle started a load of laundry, then sat at his computer. It was time for some research.

The library was quiet, leaving Jacob to reshelve books without the benefit of noise to take his mind off things. It was dull work, but worth it. And he had time to think. About the Healer tomes, for example. He knew there were ten of them in Mithzara. The question was where?

The first would be easy to find, in a bookstore in Lankin. There would be as many copies as there needed to be, and it would serve as a primer for casting support spells. The others, if he had heard correctly, were single copies spread throughout Mithzara, respawning once a week. If you had a copy, you kept the copy. If not, you waited until you got one. It was a rough system, but Jacob relished the challenge.

He would get his primer that evening, and help Gaius decide on which primer the kitsune should get; magic or physical. From there, his path would diverge as he desired, but he’d have a good base of skills.

Of course, they still needed the money for that. But Gaius should have quite a few plants to hand in. Jacob just needed to catch up.

Sliding the last book into place, Jacob checked his phone, frowning. He had another hour to go before he got off.

Jacob made his way back to the checkout counter, sitting in a hard chair.

A black-haired woman approached the man, a smile on her face.

“Hey gorgeous,” she grinned, leaning over the counter.

Jacob chuckled, moving so they could kiss.

“How are you doing Laura?”

“Oh, bored, waiting for my man to come home. He was taking so long I decided to look for him,” she grinned.

“Huh, better not let him see you with me,” Jacob joked. “We’re still on for tonight, right?”

“Hell yeah. At six, I’m picking you up.”

“Great, I’ll have my sword ready to go.”

Laura leaned against the counter, smiling at her boyfriend.

“You started that new fighting sim last night, right? That gives you an unfair advantage.”

“It’s an RPG and it’s just extra training. Nice try,” Jacob laughed. “You know I play support.”

“Hey, you can’t blame a girl for trying,” Laura shrugged. “How is the game?”

“As awesome as ever. I spent last night helping out a noob.”

“That’s my boy,” Laura chuckled.

“I’m a good boy, right?”

They laughed, Laura kissing Jacob again.

“Love you,” she smiled.

“I love you too.”

Kyle walked into the kitchen, sniffing the air.

“Pasta?” he guessed.

“Yep,” he father replied, stirring a pot of noodles.

“Sweet!”

Reaching down to scratch Cas’ ears, Kyle walked through the kitchen, entering the living room beyond. His mother sat at a table, typing away on a laptop, a notepad open beside her.

“Hey Mum. How was work?” he asked.

“Long.”

His mother was an investigative journalist, working for a local magazine, a tabloid that not many looked at for the truth. Slowly Catherine was trying to change that, often working twelve hour days seven days a week to get the truth on any story that she caught. She was the reason Kyle was trying to get his degree in English, following in her footsteps. It upset his father a bit, the chef wanting him to cook instead, but after a while, Stanley had agreed that Kyle should follow his dream.

“Did you get that interview with the dancer… what was her name…”

“Karen,” Catherine supplied. “Yeah, and she was a real bitch about it. No recording, no pictures, had to be after her salad at precisely one in the afternoon… just ugh…”

“Dang…” Kyle sympathized.

“Yeah. Did you get your paper done?”

“I did. Could you look it over and make sure I don’t come across all superior?” Kyle grinned.

“I’m sure it reads great. I’m a little busy now,” Catherine smiled tiredly.

Stanley walked into the room, carrying three plates of pasta in his arms. Sliding them carefully onto the table, he kissed the top of Catherine’s head.

“You know the rules, no work at the dinner table,” he smiled, sitting across from his wife.

Catherine sighed, setting her laptop and notepad aside.

“I can help you after dinner if you want,” Kyle offered. “It’s just copying notes, right?”

Catherine nodded, taking a bite of the pasta.

“Excellent as usual. Kiss the chef for me,” she smiled at Stanley.

“I might need a little help there,” Stanley said.

Conversation ended as the family focused on their food. Dinner was eaten quickly, Catherine eager to get back to work. Kyle wanted to head to bed, maybe read a book before he had to meet Garyn.

Clearing the table, he carried the dishes to the sink, washing them quickly.

“I’m heading to bed,” he announced.

“Huh. Found a good book to read?” Stanley asked as Catherine buried herself in her work again.

“Made a friend in a game,” Kyle replied.

“Ah. Have fun.”

He planned on it.

Laura caught Jacob’s blade, stepping aside as she parried. The two panted heavily, encased in protective gear as they sparred. It was a weekly ritual, a way to relieve stress while spending time together. Both had trained with the longsword, and in fact Laura had met Jacob at a HEMA tournament. Neither were good enough to be in the tournament, but they went regardless, enjoying the sight of masters at their work.

The blades clanged together, Jacob stepping inside Laura’s guard to smack her side.

“Point to you,” Laura acknowledged with a breathless grin as they stepped back.

Dropping into a guard, the two began circling, waiting for the other to strike. Laura lunged forward and Jacob knocked her blade aside, the point of his sword inches from her face.

“Point,” he smiled.

The woman pushed past his blade, reasing her mask to plant a kiss on his mask.

“You ready to call it?” she asked.

“Sure,” Jacob replied, pulling his mask off.

They spent a few minutes removing their equipment. Jacob chuckled quietly, thinking that this wasn’t quite the date most people enjoyed. But it worked for the two of them.

“I made a new friend,” Laura said as they carried the equipment back to her car.

“Oh? Should I be concerned?” Jacob joked.

“Probably not. I’m not planning on going lesbian,” Laura laughed.

“I don’t know, you’re butch enough.”

Laura pushed him playfully.

“Really? You like tomboys?”

Jacob shrugged, gesturing at the short haired girl he called his girlfriend.

“If the plaid shirt fits…”

“Ugh, I would never wear plaid.”

“But you’d look so good in it.”

Jacob shrugged.

“Then again you look good in anything,” he added.

“Aww…”

Laura kissed his cheek before they slid into the car.

“I love you sweetie,” she said, taking Jacob’s hand as they drove.

“I love you too.”

“But I’m not going easy on you next week,” Laura added with a grin.

“You seemed a little off tonight. Is everything okay?”

Laura waved off Jacob’s concern.

“I’m fine. Just having an off night,” she said.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Just being with you is helping.”

Jacob rubbed Laura’s hand with a quiet smile. Laura knew she could count on him to help her with whatever she might need. It was what he did, trying to help those around him. There was already so much pain in the world; he didn’t need to add to it.

Thank you for reading