"The problem with a beautiful city is that it always attracts the worst people. The poor, the lost and the hopeless. All drawn by the allure of success and wealth of feelings. " The man glanced at me as he spoke, his eyes taking in the chunky emeralds repeatedly
"Take those ruff-feathered folks from AugursTwin. Pity what happened to their planet but their moving here is only going to make the problem worse, can't start feeding those people enough so quickly. Poor souls."
He waited expectantly as I ignored him, what was I supposed to do or say?
Sighing exaggeratedly he flew off, leaping off in a true Fourcorner jump.
I squatted on the meagre ledge, it was just wide enough to follow Roost specifications without being actually inviting. Down under, tiny people walked under a sky turning the red of dawn even as a not so distant part was still the purple-black of night. It made for an interesting reflection on the sea, and when I looked at it I could see why there were so many paintings of it. Sliding my eyes away I looked to my right instead, West Cote was as imposing as always, a round, open spiral that wound itself all the way up.
It almost seemed like a finger poking a cloud in the eye. I could imagine Mother making a quip here, the arrogance of youth or something similar. Flaring my wings brought such a strong wave of her scent that I almost flinched, I glared at the emeralds that formed the lower points of a diamond-topped kite. The gemstones, embedded on the inside of my left wing, were more of a formality now than actual heraldry. I took off towards West Cote, swooping down through the skywell that opened up the school, I smiled in relief when I spotted the heavy traffic moving through the school, assembly was over.
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A torturous winding staircase coiled around the well, it was merely a flat strip of metal planted over with grass but it served as the only walking path, intersecting with balconies. Nobody ever used it, why walk when you have wings. Even the skies were crowded at this time and I was forced to push through large crowds heading upwards. The ground floor was just as crowded but that was a good thing. I scanned the classroom plaques. 72-B. Perfect. Ducking in was uncomfortable even with my wings folded. From there on it was mostly habit. Lift the board, push the loose brick, walk through.
The only other road to the chambers were the sewer pipes. Unless someone bored through the school's bedrock foundation. A solid foundation. I thought That would have made for a good advertising phrase. As if West Cote needed one. She wasn’t there when I walked in but I knew she would be waiting. A hundred flaps later and she walked in.
“Do you have it?” I asked, she did of course but asking made me sound desperate and she liked that, people were merely a series of goals and motives, and hers were embarrassingly clear. It didn’t even have to do with me actually.
“Well, that depends.” she winked and giggled “Do you have it?” I shrugged off my clothing, this was a bad idea on many levels but that was what made it qualify as the best, if the punishment was the same there was no reason to be moderate.
“Crystal Sea, not so fast” she interrupted, “You’ll have to work for it, your reputation precedes you Mere. Where’s the infamous volcano I’ve heard so much about.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Entertain me,” she said “Make me want it.” Disingenuous.
When it was over, I held the map. The title was simpler than I expected, The many kingdoms of Earth. It was incomplete but that didn’t matter, the coffin was ready and I knew the correct calculations.