The city of Marque was jarringly different from Raine's expectations. Given the state of most developed countries in the 21st century, he was expecting something similar in Kosira. Maybe not quaint, suburban neighbourhoods filled with parks and greenery, but at least the modern architecture that most buildings and facilities adopted nowadays.
Instead, a strikingly grey town closely resembling a stereotypical Victorian town during the Industrial Revolution met his eyes. Everything was either made of cobbled stone, rotting wood, or metal frames that were rusted an orange-brown from the sea salt.
Children ran along the brick streets, playing a foreign game unfamiliar to Raine. They were playing outside instead of... uh, whatever kids did these days. Watching YouTube, probably. Raine wasn't really fond of people younger than him, so he wasn't too sure of the popular trends that younger teens followed. Now that he thought about it, it made him feel terribly old, despite only being in his early twenties. Was he really that old? If he was feeling like this so early, he wasn't keen on entering his mid-life crisis.
As the ship — which was in much better condition than Marque — pulled into the docks, Raine spotted some kids staring at him. Even though he was still comfortably seated within the safety of his room, Raine still felt like he was being pierced through with their judging looks.
I'm practically drowning in your melancholy. What's the problem?
I hate kids.
I see where the sentiment comes from.
This is the first time that we've shared an opinion. Shall we celebrate the occasion?
You act so nice and innocent towards everyone, but then you turn around and become a master of sarcasm when it comes to me. Am I the only one who has to suffer from the truth of your devilish nature?
Pfft. I only treat you differently because you're a pain in my side.
...I don't feel that special.
You'll warm up to it eventually, Raine laughed. Oh, I just had a great idea to make you feel at home.
Not again, Nikolay groaned. I've had enough of your ideas.
To make it less obvious of who's in control, we should imitate each other's accents. I'll go first.
Tell me why I have an impending premonition of a terrible English accent.
I have a mean British accent. Just listen, Raine mentally cleared his throat for dramatic effect. I'm chuffed to bits, seriously mate-
That's enough from you, Nikolay sighed. The term 'chuffed' wasn't even slang in the 1600s.
Irrelevant. I'll take any chance to insult the British. And you, obviously.
For the last time, I'm not actually Bri-
You say that in the most British accent possible.
If you had just quoted some Russian proverbs, this would have been a completely different conversation.
Look, Nikolay, I read Crime and Punishment a single time when I was 17. I know nothing about Russian proverbs.
I'll give you one. Иди на хуй means 'the sunflowers turn when a saint walks past'.
Nice try. I have enough non-white friends to know when someone's bullshitting me.
Shame. I was expecting you to be a little more gullible.
The ship, along with their conversation, came to a halt. There was the sound of metal clanking as the anchor was thrown overboard. Nikorai watched through the window as the dock personnel had a conversation with the captain and Navi, while Gull warily peered over at them from behind Navi's hulking figure. Money, documents, and indecipherable words were exchanged between them in a practiced manner.
Navi walked back towards the ship once they had completed the necessary paperwork. Shortly after, they heard a knock at Nikorai's door. They had already packed up Raine's meagre belongings and simply took their backpack with them as they followed Navi to the docks.
Packing Raine's belongings hadn't been a particularly long process, but the embarrassment made up for the straightforward chore. If the involuntary breach of privacy wasn't enough, Raine was forced to endure Nikolay's scathing criticism directed towards all of his belongings. He didn't have many, given that he was only revived in this vessel a few weeks prior to Nikolay. Despite this, Raine had already accumulated a sizable pile of personally important items.
Their conversation often went along the lines of:
Why do you have that? Throw it away. We barely have space in your backpack.
It has sentimental value. Unlike you, I'm not a heartless asshole.
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The worst had been his stack of random paper inside his wallet. It irritated Nikolay so much that he had forcefully taken control of their body to throw them away. Raine never meant to amass such an enormous pile, but it was a combination of anxiety and hoarding tendencies that cumulated into the mess. He had gotten off with a scolding from Nikolay, along with an even more meticulous examination of the rest of his belongings.
When they reached Raine's sketchbook, he hastily shoved it into their backpack without explanation. If Nikolay saw his drawings, he would never hear the end of it. The man barely let Raine breathe without finding something to nitpick about, let alone his private sketches. Raine pilfered the sketchbook from Navi's desk a few days ago, originally intended for detailed sketches of land masses. It was a shame that Raine didn't nearly have enough experience in drawing landscapes to live up to the expectations, because now he felt a small sense of guilt whenever he used up a valuable page.
Thankfully, Nikolay moved onto the next item without much questioning. Raine appreciated the respect that Nikolay showed for his privacy — despite the fact that they were thoroughly inspecting every single item he owned.
Approximately half of his original possessions had been seized by Nikolay and placed into the trash by the end of their cleaning spree. Most of it was useless garbage anyway, but Raine would never give Nikolay the satisfaction of knowing that.
"There isn't much documentation going on in Kosira. Not nearly as much as where you're from, at least. You don't need a visa or anything, so they won't check your personal details at the harbour."
The sound of Navi's voice jolted Raine back to reality, and he looked around at the dock. It was made of rotting wood that threatened to drop them into the water at any moment. The only positive thing was that the water was crystal clear, unlike most docks with large ships. He supposed that having few visitors would reduce the environmental impact.
"So... what happens now?" Raine asked.
"I'll walk you to the exit of the docks, then I have to go back to my ship. I've got a job to do," she joked.
As much as Raine avoided admitting it in Nikolay's presence, he didn't want to be left alone. With Navi around, it felt like there was somebody who knew what they were doing. Between him and Nikolay, they knew about Kosira as much as a newborn baby.
"Uh, would you mind telling us what you know about Kosira before leaving us to fend for ourselves?" Raine asked timidly, attempting to joke away his worry.
"Ha! Of course," Navi laughed. "Though I can't tell you much myself, since I was your age when I last came here. Kosira has two capitals, Marque and Veritas, located on opposite sides of the country. Marque is the West Capital, while Veritas is the East Capital. You'll probably want to visit Veritas as well, since it's well known for its State Library. If you need more information, that library's probably your best bet. Oh, and here's a map of Kosira. Won't be needing it anytime soon."
Navi handed them her map, which was excruciatingly detailed in the routes used by travellers. The map itself was in well-kept condition, to Nikolay's approval, aside from the creases that it had acquired from being folded in Navi's pocket.
"As you might have already noticed, Marque isn't as nice as most developed cities. You'll want to blend in as well as you can; avoid looking too much like a lost tourist. The rule of thumb is to not be nice, basically," Navi said.
"Why do I get the feeling that this is directed towards me?" Raine sighed. "Nikolay will keep me in check, don't worry."
Navi heartily patted Nikorai on the back with an encouraging grin. They lurched forward from the force, inviting a grumble from Nikolay, but they appreciated the gesture.
"One last thing. I slipped some extra cash into your wallet last night. You'd do well without a credit or debit card; people might track you from your purchases. I'm not entirely sure who, but I'm sure that the gods wouldn't have assigned a bodyguard without reason."
The idea of having people after him was daunting. Clearly, being assassinated once wasn't enough. But it was Raine's fault, he supposed, for still being alive after that. He stood about as much chance against his enemies as the first time. The vessel, Nikorai, wasn't particularly strong. In fact, he would even go as far to say that he was probably stronger in his normal body. At least he went to the gym. Sometimes. When he remembered.
His worry must have shown on Nikorai's face, because Navi gave him a comforting smile.
"Don't worry too much. Forget I even said that. Just focus on the prophecy, and you'll be alright," she said encouragingly.
I don't want to go.
He hadn't meant to say that aloud in their shared headspace, but it was too late to take it back. To Raine's surprise, Nikolay didn't immediately jump at the chance to make fun of him.
We all have to leave the nest one day. It just so happens that the fall is much farther than usual.
Wise words, but not exactly comforting. But to be fair, it was already a bit of a stretch to hope that Nikolay would willingly console him.
"Are you leaving now?" Raine quietly asked.
"Yes, Raine," Navi smiled. "Good luck on your journey. Nikolay will be there, so don't feel too alone, okay?"
Hmph. She's placing too much trust in me. Do I look like a skilled babysitter to her?
Babysitter?
True to Nikolay's personality, he didn't respond to Raine's question. It seemed like he only had something to say whenever Raine embarrassed himself.
"So this is goodbye, I guess," Raine stared at the ground, intently chewing his lip.
"Goodbye, you two. Maybe we'll meet again later."
Navi stepped backward once, then twice. Raine waved awkwardly at her, then she turned to make her way back to the ship. They stared at her slowly shrinking figure as she walked towards the horizon.
Unlike what Raine had imagined, it didn't feel too lonely when Navi was gone. Mostly because he could feel the impatience radiating from Nikolay, which gave him more pressing things to worry about.
Hate to break your heartfelt farewells, but we should get going. The daylight isn't going to last forever.
Raine considered giving Nikolay the benefit of the doubt; maybe this was an attempt to distract him from Navi's absence. But thus far, he was still wary of Nikolay's capacity to have good intentions.
Yeah, let's go.
--
Navi stepped back onto the ship with a worried expression on her face. She knew that Nikolay would keep them both out of trouble, but even he was unfamiliar with the land. Her job as a bodyguard had ended when they reached Kosira, but it didn't stop her from worrying about them.
Almost immediately, she noticed the emptiness of the crow's nest. It was rare for Gull to leave his unofficial home. In his place was the captain, who sat on the edge of the platform with her legs hanging off the edge. A lit cigar was dangling from her fingers, the white smoke drifting away in the wind.
"Where's Gull?" she asked the captain.
The captain shrugged in response. "Gone off to Kosira. Said that he was taking an impromptu break for another commitment that he had."
"He just joined the crew though," Navi frowned. "This was only his second voyage. And the first was his training."
"Some people just don't like to stay in one place too long, I suppose. Probably not going to hire him again though," the captain chuckled. "He was pretty bad at his job. Didn't look like navigation was his strong suit."
Navi only gave a noncommittal grunt in response. She wasn't too concerned about Gull; he could help Raine and Nikolay if they ever ran into each other.