Advent Noion

6

she hands her identification to the window, "five-hundred, please."

silence.

confused, she peeks her head behind the empty counter into the abandoned building, "hello?"

she laughs, falling to her knees, "haha! ha, of course! it was all just a scam."

she sobs, "ha, baaahhhh! bahh! baaaa-"

someone shouts from elsewhere, "shut up!"

she shouts back at the voice, "no, you shut up! i'm sad!"

she continues sobbing as another voice calls to her, "this place ain't all that great! ya just get here?"

she looks around, through teary eyes, "who said that?"

the man waves his hand outside a window above her, "up here!"

surprised, she waves back, "oh, hello up there."

the man repeats himself, "ya just get here?"

she wipes at her face, "oh... uh-"

the man starts rubbing his beard, "listen, i'm headin back to my village. ya're more than welcome to come along with me now."

she feels her clip, empty of lak, "i can really come with you, gramps?"

the man lowers the rope ladder down from the spirit-house, "course! come on up and make yaself at home!"

she climbs up and finds herself inside a cabin, "ooh! nice place, gramps."

the man waves away her compliment, "thank ya, missy. enough with the gramps, i go by lepfnanbol, how about ya-"

she bursts with laughter, "haha! lep... lepfla-"

seeing lepfnanbol's upset face, she begins apologizing, "oh, sorry. i was just thinking of something funny. i'm nisida."

lepfnanbol squints his face toward her, "you don't happen to find my name funny now, miss nisida, do ya?

she acts surprised, "what? not at all, lepflanbob is a fine name!"

lepfnanbol grabs his stomach, doubling over in laughter, "haha, ya can't even pronounce it right!"

she joins in, "ha! only because it's so silly sounding!"

he throws her a woven hat, "true, true! tis a silly name. take this and join me for some brew!"

she dons the hat, falling into one of his chairs facing the open porch toward the front of the spirit-house, "thanks! where are you from again, lepa?

he smiles, bringing forth some bottles from the wall, "a lil village way south of midheaven, wait til ya see our groems!"

-

she downs a mug of brew in between laughter, listening to lepfnanbol's stories, "hahaha! and you actually ate all that manure?"

lepfnanbol proudly pounds his chest, "ya bet i did, more times than i'll ever admit, too!"

she kicks her feet up on the table, "haha! you're so crazy, lepa!"

a faint voice is heard, "help! helppp!"

lepfnanbol turns to the porch to listen, "ya just hear somethin now?"

the voice repeats itself, "help!"

she cocks her head, also trying to listen, before getting up, "i think so. let me check."

she opens the floor hatch and sees him below, struggling to keep up with the lumbering house-spirit, "nisida? hey, it's you! help! give me a ride!"

lepfnanbol bumps her shoulder, winking at her, "some friend of yars?"

she plays along, "hmmmmmm, do i know this person?"

he panics, "not funny! please, give me a ride!"

lepfnanbol points down at him, "oh, now look at that! he's got slooches trailin after him!"

she laughs, "haha! slooches, really-"

she continues, "he sure looks like someone i desperately tried to seek help from in-"

he screams, scrambling to distance himself from the slooches, "ah! i'm sorry! please, help me out!"

she grins, grabbing the rope ladder, after looking to lepfnanbol for approval.

-

she reclines on a couch, "a villager? no, he's just a spy."

lepfnanbol scrutinizes him, "hmm, that so now? jfion, the spy..."

he defends himself, looking between her and lepfnanbol, "i'm still a villager though! and i didn't even get to spy."

lepfnanbol nods, "well, what were ya spyin for?"

silence.

she kicks him in the shin, "well?"

he holds onto his leg, hopping up and down, "ow, alright-"

he composes himself before continuing, "a way to process and refine helix, but they wouldn't let neets-"

she interrupts him, intrigued, "you have drills, too? where are you from?"

he crosses his arms, "of course we do, it's not just midheaven-"

he pulls his sleeve up, revealing a raised-tattoo of black wrapped around his forearm, "does this answer your question as to where i'm from?"

she draws a cigarette from her own sleeve, looking at his arm, "no, what is that thing?"

lepfnanbol agrees, "hmm, strange arm ya got there."

he looks at the pair in disbelief, "what! you haven't heard of bolmoa? are you two serious?"

lepfnanbol shakes his head.

she strikes a match, sucking the flame, "wait, bolmoa... isn't that a snake?"

he grumbles, "bolmoa, not boa!"

she shrugs, reclining further on the couch, "eh..."

he continues, "it's my village, though it's small and unable to handle the helix, so it's overrun with those-"

she nods, feeling his arm, "hmm-"

he withdraws his arm, "hey, stop that. i was entrusted with the task of learning the-"

she interrupts with a drawn out grumble, "ughhhh, this is some boring political problem or something, isn't it?

he sighs.

she puffs smoke into his face, pointing her finger accusingly, "i know what you're thinking about... us going on a merry adventure to save your home and along the way-

he interrupts, staring down at his feet, "no, you're wrong. i can't return to my village."

she smiles, laughing at his display, "haha, why's that? afraid of failing your little mission?"

he holds up his arm, wrapping his other hand around the tattoo, "they'll just cut off my arm and send me back to midheaven to try again."

she stares, "oh."

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aan