Lucas
24th of April, 649
Lucas heard Ceres sigh as she looked up at the cloudy afternoon sky. She'd been doing that a lot lately with him, but he knew she was probably just stressed out about school, or at least he thought. It'd been Lucas' idea to go on a walk down to the Cygnus marketplace in the town plaza, and she, after much prodding and a promise of sweets, begrudgingly accepted.
At least it was pleasant outside. Lucas unzipped his jacket halfway as the afternoon sun filtered through the trees. Springtime in Cygnus was much different than those in Mormont, and he rather enjoyed the lack of snow. Springtime is also when you were left on the roadside. The harsh cold of the night air surrounding you.
Lucas zipped his jacket back up with a shudder.
"You doing alright?" Lucas asked, trying to distract himself, and Ceres grunted. He took her hand in his, to which she did not protest.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thinking about too much, like always. I know finals are going to be a cakewalk, but you know me," Ceres shrugged. She really did worry about everything too much. "I don't really want to talk about that right now, anyway, I just want to try and have some fun with you. What about you? Mom's been talking about how excited Dad is to have you working with him."
"It's only been two days," Luca shrugged. "I think I'm doing okay? I don't get a lot of what we're doing, but I'm trying at least."
"That's good. It'll be good experience for the future, you know?"
Ceres pressed a button on a lamppost and the two crossed over into the plaza. The shops in the plaza buzzed with people milling about as strands of holiday lights crisscrossed the road. Cygnus may’ve been but a blip on the map, but it was one of the last major settlements before Great Tansarian Desert. Traveling vendors and merchants tended to stop in town before the desert crossing, and as such the selection of goods was often pretty good.
Merchants. Always a risk coming here. Will that bastard Jeremy be here today?
He took a deep breath as they continued on. Ceres stopped, peering into one of the shop windows. Lucas joined her, squinting at the array of jewelry on display.
"It's a little too gaudy, but I like that one pair of earrings."
"What's gaudy? Oh, those? You like the sapphires in them, don't you?"
"Of course. You know me."
"They'd match your eyes," Lucas said, and Ceres blushed.
"Oh, stop it. We couldn't afford something like that, anyway. That's got to be at least a full paycheck from the workshop. You haven't even gotten paid yet, have you?"
Lucas shrugged but didn't say anything. He'd been planning in secret something exciting for Ceres' birthday, even though it was three months' time away. He briefly considered buying the earrings but decided against it.
"Don't do it," Ceres cautioned, winking.
They walked further into the marketplace, its bustling rows of stalls, trucks, and trailers always a source of excitement and paranoia. There was a decent amount of people in the plaza today, and crowds were another source of anxiety for Lucas. He could feel his heartbeat quicken as he looked around at the line of merchants and quicken further as he eyeballed one trailer in particular - a strange one that brought back all the panic and pain of having been hurt - Ceres squeezed his hand knowingly as he stopped in his tracks at the sight.
"Lucas," she said, putting her face close to his to approximate what he was seeing. "If you're thinking what you're thinking, it's not him, okay?"
They'd been through this twice before the previous year - Lucas had thought he'd seen Jeremy, but it'd been someone else entirely. It's been five years. Why can't you let it go?
He left you to die.
"How do you know it's not?"
"I don't. But the odds are good that it's not, alright? C'mon, let's go down another way. I heard that the guy with the baked goods from Larnell was here, and you promised me sweets. Can we could get donuts?"
"We should leave."
"I'm not going. It's not him. I need you to listen to me, Lucas. Even if it was, we're in a crowded public place, okay? Nothing bad is going to happen."
Lucas turned to Ceres, who gave his hand another reassuring squeeze. "If it's him, Cer, I'm gonna kill him."
Ceres pulled Lucas over into an alcove between stalls under an acacia tree.
"No, you're not," she said gently. "That's so unnecessary. Besides, what's that going to do? They'll just lock you away. You don't want that, do you? What about us? Our future?"
Lucas held his tongue.
"C'mon, let's go check it out."
"You're not serious, are you?"
The look in Ceres' eyes was warm but steadfast. The world around seemed to spin around Lucas. Left to die.
"It's not going to be him. Do you trust me? You can't always be afraid of this, and I'm here for you. We can face it together."
"What about facing it with fury?" Lucas asked, and Ceres squint smiled. The Falco Fortis series of movies had been a favorite of theirs, and it had been something the two had bonded over in their earlier days of knowing one another. Now, it formed a place of comfort - they were prone to conversing in nothing but quotations from the series, much to Espee's chagrin.
"Of course," Ceres nodded. "And look, I don't mean it in a way to offend you, I don't. I... I understand that what you went through wasn't easy, and you know how I've done everything I could to help you with those feelings. But not every silver trailer is going to be that guy, alright?" She kissed him on the nose. "This isn't the roadside and you're not alone. Besides... you've got me." The warmth of her words filled Lucas with confidence.
"For all you know, he's dead. Wasn't he old? Drunk? Don't all the old drunks go down to the casinos in Gronby and just die there?"
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Death would be too kind for that piece of shit.
Lucas laughed, and Ceres put her hand gently on his cheek.
"Nothing to be afraid of, Lucas. But if you still want to leave, we can go home."
Face it with fury.
"Let's go check it out."
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The stripped silver and red paint on the trailer gave Lucas pause as they approached it. At one end there was a large navy blue van, which Lucas did not recognize - and as they stepped underneath a canopy that had been set up alongside it, he took a breath of relief. The faint, acrid smell of cigar smoke wafted through the air as they got closer.
"Hello?" Ceres called as she picked up a small box from one of the tables under the canopy. "Anyone here?"
"Why hello there," a voice said as a tall, heavy-set man came out from behind the van. His beer belly jutted out from above his belt, and wisps of black hair desperately tried to crisscross across the top of his head. His face softened upon seeing Ceres and Lucas.
"Huh, sorry about that all. You'll have to excuse me, y'know how nature calls 'n such. Sometimes when you're runnin' this kinda thing by yourself you gotta just take matters into your own hands... anyway, where are my manners?" He chuckled as Ceres and Lucas shared a glance. "Welcome to Traveling Saiph Sundries. Name's Erdrick, how can I help you two today?"
"Just looking around," Ceres said quickly. "We weren't sure if you were still open or not, so we weren't planning on staying, so..."
"Well, you two are considerate, ain't ya?" He yawned and sat down on a folding chair. "Have at it! I'll be here 'til the moon's up, maybe later if business is good. Tend to sell out pretty quick most of the time, today's just been kinda slow."
Ceres half-smiled. "Thanks."
Lucas' previous hesitation had largely melted away as he and Ceres browsed through the boxes. He hadn't brought much cash, but he knew he needed to do something for Ceres' birthday, which, while still three months away, seemed to weigh heavily on his mind. Ceres had always made such a big deal of it, given how so many of her younger birthdays were spent in the absence of Joel. She always seemed to be making up for lost time, and sometimes it felt like a little too much for Lucas.
But you love her, he thought, running his fingers over a smooth stone embedded in a jade brooch.
"From Sha'ul," Erdrick said, nodding towards Lucas. "Some Erzulián jewelry, or somethin'. They sure know how to craft stuff."
Ceres looked over at Lucas, who gently set the brooch back into its box. The way she looked made him feel uneasy, as if she had some kind of expectations for what he was going to get her.
Something loud cracked from Erdrick's direction, startling Lucas.
"Whoops," he laughs. "Just candy, don't worry. These things are a favorite, but ya gotta go all the way to the western part of the Empire for 'em."
"Are those Mormints?" Lucas asked, and Erdrick smiled.
"Yeah! How'd you know that?"
"Used to live out there," Lucas said.
"Hm. Well, if you want a few for the road I'll throw 'em in with anything you buy. How's that sound?"
"I'd like that," Lucas said. He remembered how his mother would leave bowls of them on the living room coffee table for guests. Those days were more than a decade ago now, but the sound still rang clearly in his head.
"Ooh, Lucas, these are pretty," Ceres said from across a few rows, holding up a string of Pulse lights. They glowed a faint shade of blue as they cycled along the string. "Looks like the batteries might be low, but don't you just love the color?"
"Yep, you'll need to find a way to charge it up separately," Erdrick said, walking over. "I don't think I've got a charger anywhere 'round, so you'd need to come up with something." Lucas noticed that he smelled vaguely of spiced meats. "Maybe a 35P cord, 50P if you want the thing to charge up real quicklike. But hey, that's your choice."
"Hm, I like it a lot, but I'm not sure I have a need for it," Ceres shrugged as she hung it back on a hook. "It sort of looks like it should go on a car. Maybe I'll sleep on it and come back tomorrow after I've decided. What do you think, Lucas?"
"Hate to interrupt ya, young lady," Erdrick said, setting his jaw and giving his rear a scratch. "But I ain't stickin' around til tomorrow. Heard up in the bay they're doin' all-you-can-eat surf 'n' turf starting in a couple days, so I think I'm gonna wander on to Cape Hale and get my fill." He scratched his stomach and guffawed. "This old bear's comin' out of hibernation."
"I can buy it," Lucas said, even though he wasn't quite clear on what he was going to do with it. If it made Ceres happy, that was enough.
"No, don't spend it if you don't have to," Ceres urged.
"I want to, though."
"But what would I even use these for right now? I don't even have a car yet."
"I'm sure I'll figure it out. Just let me hang onto 'em for a while."
Ceres glowered at him, but Lucas just smiled.
"Fine, fine. But when you figure it out, will you tell me?"
Lucas shrugged and Ceres narrowed her eyes at him. As Lucas paid and Erdrick bagged up the lights, Erdrick looked at him thoughtfully.
"So, you two are a cute couple, huh?" Erdrick said. "Always nice to see young folks gettin' on so friendly."
"Sure, I guess," Ceres said, and Erdrick just laughs.
"Ain't no need to be shy, huh? Ol' Erdrick don't bite. I mean I might make a dumb joke here 'n' there but other than that... anywho, what're your names?"
"Lucas."
"Ceres."
"Of few words, huh? Well, nice to meet the two of ya." He handed Lucas the bag as he came back around the counter. "Name's Erdrick Miller, owner and proprietor of this here little slice of Elysium. Been sellin' for about 40 years now, ever since I could convince my pops to let me drive. You two local? I'm gonna be back in town sometime in mid-May before cutting back north to go home."
"No," Lucas said, shaking his head. "I'm from out north, from Noctavia, actually."
"Heh," Erdrick said. "You're a long way from home, ain't ya? Me too, actually, but I'm from Elegir originally." He saunters back to his folding chair and stretches. "Summers down here are way too hot, ya know? Ain't nothin' like a nice, rainy day in the summertime."
"Tell us about it," Ceres said. "We've been here five years now; I'm still not used to how dry it is. I'm from Alaeris, it's always so much nicer up there."
"But the thunderstorms," Erdrick shrugged. "I dunno 'bout those. Too much hail, too much rain. Sure is blazes on the van," he said, gesturing at a number of dings on the roof and side of the vehicle. "Give me a little bit of rain and some heat like a nice summer day in Saiph."
Ceres wasn't amused by that, Lucas noticed. Lucas didn't know what it was exactly about Erdrick, but he liked him and felt relaxed in his presence. The big man scratched the stubble of his five-o'clock shadow.
"Oh, I don't mean to offend," Erdrick said, noticing Ceres' irritation. "Just sayin'. I've seen a whole lot of Terrah and there sure are a lot of beautiful places in Alaeris, too."
Ceres seemed content with that.
"How 'bout you, Lucas? You said you're from Noctavia? My ma was born out in Sarrata out there. What city you from?"
"Mormont," Lucas said. It wasn't too often strangers asked where he was from, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he could trust Erdrick with just about anything. It was a weird feeling.
"Mormont, huh? I've been there. Lots of trees. More trees than people, I bet. Y'know, I think I got an extra bag of those mints 'round here. Let me grab that for ya real quick-like and y'all can head on out if you want. Nothin’ like home, huh?"
"Thank you," Lucas smiled, and he noticed Ceres wasn't. It was a recurring theme with her - if something positive was happening to him, she seemed almost jealous of it. He didn't understand quite how she could vacillate so freely between being so kind and gentle like a half hour before when he'd been nervous about the trailer to feeling negative things about him for things he couldn't control.
Be in the moment, Lucas.
"Heck, if you kids are still here come early summer, like sometime in June or July, come back and find me. I'll make sure to snag another bag or two for the two of you. My treat."
"That would be great," Lucas said. He wasn't sure if they'd still be in Cygnus then, but the idea of it made him happy, nonetheless.
"We gotta go," Ceres said, tapping her foot impatiently. "My mom's gonna wonder what's taking us so long."
"Take care out there, Erdrick," Lucas said, and Erdrick smiled with a wave as Lucas and Ceres headed back out into the plaza. Ceres bit at her cheek, and the quiet discomfited him.
They continued down and away from the plaza, back towards the house. Ceres seethed quietly.
"You okay?" Lucas asked. He felt like he said that a lot.
"I don't like him. Did you hear what he said about Alaeris? Totally arrogant. And the price on that shitty string of lights? Guy was a swindler."
"What? Why? What'd he do? I thought you liked the lights?"
"Did I tell you to buy them? I told you not to, Lucas. Jeez, were you even paying attention?"
"What? Why would you say you like something if you..."
"Are you doing this again? Seriously?"
"Doing what?"
"Doing this. The thing where you argue over literally anything you can. Why are you starting a fight?"
Lucas said nothing. He realized how hard he'd been gripping the bag in his hand and loosened his grip. The whiplash from the kind, gentle Ceres who'd convinced him to go check out the van was too much for today. Some battles just weren't worth fighting.