Chapter 16:

Lady of the Blue Uniform

A small number of people were waiting outside when Hezcann opened the Sea Bee’s door, their chatter subdued by the promise of food and drink. “Good morning everyone! Welcome, welcome!” He waved them towards the inside of the building, Taccilas and Izuchi waiting inside.

As he greeted the clientele, a friendly smile showed on Taccilas’ visage- nothing uncommon for him.

Izuchi, on the other hand, was having enough trouble functioning alone in this environment, she didn’t concern herself with whether or not she was showing a smile to the clients.

The radio offered a warm welcome to the guests too, resuming the tones and music that had before captivated Taccilas to a dance.

The morning went on, their job intensifying as lunch hour approached. Many different people came to the Sea Bee to have their fill.

Taccilas served scrambled eggs to an old lady of gray hairs and her granddaughter- also of gray hair.

Izuchi handed the menu to a young man who’s right arm was made out of metal tools. She had a few questions about how the man was supposed to eat, but it turned out that a fork and knife were among the tools incorporated into his arm.

Another girl came in, and she had two cat-like ears poking from her head- a tail from her back as well. Unsurprisingly, she ordered fried fish.

But the restaurant was never at high capacity, and by extension, Taccilas and Izuchi never found themselves lost in the clamor. Hezcann had kept an eye out for them as he cooked, but never was it necessary for him to intervene.

Contrary to his expectations, Izuchi hadn’t lashed out at anyone- besides Taccilas, that is. Early into their shift, a kid came by and entered the Sea Bee.

“Excuse me, miss?” Bubbled the boy, a basket with fruits on his hand.

“Hm, yes?”

“I know you’re busy, but you’re really pretty!” Thus the kid went down the road, not waiting for a reply from Izuchi.

When she returned from the entrance, Izuchi had a soft little smile.

Hezcann mentally thanked the kid for his contribution, for it seemed that his gesture had been enough to soothe the temper of-

“What are you doing?! Get out of the way?!”

The sound of stone plates, wooden glasses, and utensils clattering on the floor rang out. Although, the Sea Bee’s guests seemed unconcerned with the source of the noise.

“But Izuchi, you ran into me!”

“You should’ve moved!”

Hezcann emerged unimpressed from behind the black curtain that separated the kitchen and the dining room. Izuchi and Taccilas were getting back on their feet- Hezcann could’ve been blind, and he would’ve still sensed that they were on the verge of tearing each other like rabid dogs.

“Taccilas, keep attending to our customers; Izuchi, clean this mess.” Sighed Hezcann as he wiped his caramel hands with a towel.

“But it was his fault!”

“I’m sure it was, please clean it.” And he was gone behind the veil again.

“Y-You! Ugh!” She stomped off in search of a broom and mop, every step louder than the last. “That guy is such a BOTHER.”

But Hezcann didn’t respond to Izuchi's attempt at a provocation.

The bar man kept all cleaning items in a small room under the stairs, Izuchi smashed its door open, still failing to turn any eyes, and ran through the items.

“Seriously, what’s his bloody problem?” She whispered; towels, dusters, and sponges her only listeners. “And then that other moron just keeps screwing me over. First, the crew, then this stupid stealing plan, what’s next?! How is he gonna keep making my life miserable? Am I being punished?!”

Once Izuchi obtained the items she seeked, she closed the door and groaned. Every step on the way back was loud, but Hezcann still refused to fall to her provocations.

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Instead, he found Taccilas kneeling on the floor, quietly picking up the plates. Her eyes gently widened at his image, she wasn’t sure what she was expecting from him, but it certainly wasn’t this.

Not a word left his mouth- his expression as peaceful as the night sky.

“...What are you doing?” Proded the purple-eyed princess.

“Cleaning.” And that was all he answered.

Upon seeing Izuchi arrive, broom and mop in hand, Taccilas moved the fallen kitchenware out of the way. Leaving space for her to clean the drinks and food that now dirtied the floor.

The princess did nothing more than clean the floor.

The boy silently washed the dirtied dishes.

Izuchi felt words stuck in her throat, but that was all that was said about that incident.

For the clocks ticked on, never to turn back.

And so the day went on. The morning’s breeze made way for the noon’s warmth, which in turn left and let the afternoon’s lukewarms in. The sun was setting and the radio let loose a harmonious and playful tone to accompany it in its descent.

Izuchi and Taccilas ran to and fro to attend the increasing number of clients that the night was bringing with it. At the back, Hezcann cooked like his life depended on it, preparing as many drinks as he was preparing meals.

When the sun met the ocean, a young lady walked in. Blonde hair like golden cords flowed elegant as a river over only her right shoulder- wide braids knit with delicacy brought the golden river down to her chest. An earring with a shooting star dangled on the other side.

Her fair skin gleamed in the flame of sunset, and her glasses covered her emerald eyes from the fire on the horizon.

She didn’t look for a table to sit at, instead her steps took her straight to the counter. Fact which would’ve been unknown if one didn’t observe her, for her steps were as serene as they were quiet and graceful- Perhaps as a beautiful ghost dancing under the eye of the Moon.

“Hezcann!” She called out. Her voice was soft, only capturing the attention of her objective. Yet it had a euphonic quality to it, that which only the deep purr of a cat could hope to replicate.

“Suisse? Just one moment, please!” He replied from the kitchen, emerging after making the young lady wait for no more than a few seconds.

“Good evening, Hezcann.” She smiled when she saw her.

“And good evening to you, Suisse.” Hezcann greeted her by bowing his head. “The usual?”

“Yep!” Cheered Suisse, brushing her hair behind her ear.

“Coming right up.” And he disappeared back into the kitchen.

Taccilas observed her- a young lady wearing a blue uniform that covered her from calf to collar, black belt around her waist and black boots protecting her feet.

Although her uniform seemed a bit loose, it was clear she was with the armed forces, even if she didn’t have any insignias on her chest.

He stepped at her side, barely reaching her shoulder. “Miss, can I offer you anything?”

“Oh, why a glass of water, if you don’t mind.” A comforting smile rose on her face.

“Sure!” Taccilas remembered Hezcann’s instructions-

-and chose to ignore them altogether.

He walked behind the counter, grabbing a small glass and filling it with fridge water.

“Haven’t seen you around town before, are you new here?” Guessed the girl of braided gold.

“Yep, our ship crashed at the beach yesterday.” Taccilas placed the glass before Suisse.

“Oh, that’s unfortunate… You must’ve gotten hit by that eclipse storm.” She lamented, and with a-“Thank you.” -she took a sip of the water Taccilas offered.

Taccilas tilted his head to the side. “Eclipse storm…? Ah, now that you mention it, my friend did call it something like that.”

“I heard on the radio there was one to our west.”

“But what is it?”

Suisse took a seat and rested her head on her left hand. “It’s… Hard to explain…” She began. “The short version is that the Sun gives our world life, but sometimes stuff, like the Moon or an asteroid from the Sun’s Rings, will get between the Sun and us and block the Sun for certain places. That creates a vacuum which the rest of the world tries to fill by… Well… Basically, throwing whatever’s available into the void… And that creates the eclipse storms!”

“So… A bunch of things mixed together because the Sun got blocked from us…?” Taccilas headtilt increased by a couple degrees.

“...Yup, that’s it… If I’m being honest, I have trouble understanding it too. Pagiatta could probably explain it better.” Softly chuckled Suisse, thereafter downing her glass of water.

“Pagiatta? Who’s that?” His head tilted even further, a degree of 45 angles was achieved.

“A friend of mine and a member of our garrison. I could introduce you to her, she lives in the fortress with us.” Suisse raised her head and straightened her back. “Oh, that reminds me, do you have somewhere to stay?”

“We can stay on our ship!”

“Didn’t you crash?”

“Uh… Yep.”

“Then, come with me and stay at the fortress, we have plenty of room!” Suisse beamed.

“Please, that’d be great!” Rejoiced Taccilas, a smile conquering his visage from ear to ear.

“It’ll be a pleasure to have you, my name is Suisse Meyraion.” With that, the lady with the earring of the shooting star stretched her hand-

“Taccilas, thank you and at your service!”-And Taccilas shook it.

Gold met emeralds as they smiled at each other.

But a man emerged from the curtain behind, a menacing aura emanating from his presence. Taccilas could feel his eyes piercing his back like bullets in the dark.

“Taccilas… I thought I was very clear about the counter.”

And so Hezcann began his scolding.