The sounds of wood creaking alerted Nidea to the return of the young man.
He had gone downstairs to throw out the two boxes containing the ‘pizza’ they had both eaten, and had now returned. But despite being able to hear him and knowing that he was just outside the door, the door to the room never opened. He was most likely being considerate, giving her time to finish changing, something she gratefully accepted as she continued to struggle dragging her pants up.
The young man—Daniel, had suggested that she used his clothes when heading out. That the clothes she had brought, whether they be the ones she had been wearing or the other outfits she had brought along, would attract attention that they might be better without.
So she had been handed a black t-shirt and some blue trousers. The shirt had gone on her with no issue, and she found the garment and its material comfortable enough. The trousers on the other hand, were a different issue.
They were tight, just barely perfect for her build. But unlike her own trousers that were loose at the waist and could be tightened after putting them on, the ones she was putting on right now did not offer much leeway as far as getting them through her bottom went. Thankfully, after one more tug and little shimmy from her, she was able to get thing all the way up and was able to button and zip the trousers close.
*Knock* *Knock*
“I am dressed, you may enter.” She told him.
Nidea watched Daniel. Watched as his eyes trailed down to her legs, watched as an expression of surprise appeared on his face, and then heard him say—
“Damn. I thought my legs were big.”
“Is there a problem?” She narrowed her eyes at him. It was him who had given her these clothes after all. She was not about to suffer complaints if she came out looking weird due to something he did.
“No, no. Just an observation.”
“Huh…”
“Do you have a toothbrush?” He suddenly asked. “Like they’re these—“
“Yes. I do.” She answered. Of course she knew what a toothbrush was, did he think her to be some sort of savage?
“Oh, alright. Then you can brush your teeth in the bathroom. It’s…right here.”
Daniel stepped out of the room and pointed to a room beside it to the left.
“The toothpaste is right there on the counter.”
She gave him a few nods. And although it might have been proper to ask a few questions about where things were or how they worked for his particular room, but there was something about the tone he had just used when addressing her that rubbed her wrong, so she decided to hold her tongue.
As soon as she entered the bathroom she reeled back for a second. It wasn’t that she was a stranger to mirrors, especially not to ones in a bedroom or bathroom. But there was something about seeing herself in the outfit she had just put on, along with the magic she had applied to hide her ears per Daniel’s request, that made her doubt for a moment if the person in the mirror was really her.
But the surprise quickly disappeared, and she spent a few seconds leisurely checking her own reflection. She looked tense, with fatigued eyes. At least, that’s what her opinion of her own appearance was. She wanted to ask Daniel if he shared the same opinion, because part of the job she had been given was to establish cordial relations and try to gain goodwill with anyone important she met, and one of the things that had been drilled in her head was to maintain an amicable appearance. And if she didn’t look as bad as she thought she did, then she could be glad that she wouldn’t have to force herself to smile or look friendly.
She let out a sigh.
This wasn’t time to worry about such things. Right now, she needed to focus and ascertain once and for all the veracity of the young man’s words.
If they truly arrived at a great city, one worthy of being called The Capital of the World, and she could not find a single person worthy to bring back with her. Then at that point she could admit that all hope was truly lost. But until that moment, she wasn’t willing to deem her mission a failure just from the words of one person. Especially not when considering the ramifications of her being unable to complete her mission.
She reached the counter and stared at the faucet, one with two handles. She turned one and water came out, water that she could feel progressively get warmer as time went on. She turned it the other way and the water stopped. She tried doing the same on the other side, and just like before, water came out. Only that this time, she could feel the water get progressively colder as time went on. She let the water run for a bit, then cupped her hands to pick some of it before splashing it on her face.
A small use of magic later, and she felt both refreshed, alert, and dry.
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Now feeling better, she picked up the only thing out on the counter. A tube that must have been the toothpaste that Daniel had mentioned. She hadn’t heard of something like it before, but the name of the object left little to be wondered about.
She tugged on the cap, then turned it one way and then another, until finally managing to pull it off. She stared at the now cap-less tube for a moment, squished it softly, and then decided to put the paste on top of her toothbrush.
It was minty, the taste and scent of the toothpaste that is. It must have been a way for the humans of this world to mimic what their leaves did for them back in her forest home. It was…a bit nostalgic, if she was honest.
Once finished, she turned the handle that brought forth cold water and rinsed her mouth. After that, she again used a simple application of her wind magic to dry both her hands and her toothbrush.
Daniel had already finished changing by the time she returned to his room. He was wearing, in a rather uninspiring fashion, an outfit that was for all purposes the same as hers; a black t-shirt with a simple emblem on it and blue trousers.
“Let me brush my teeth and then we can leave, alright?”
She nodded at Daniel and watched him make his way to the bathroom.
“You can wait downstairs if you’d like. Or just wait here. Whatever works for you.”
She nodded again, and Daniel disappeared into the bathroom as he closed the door. She stood still, thinking about his offer, before deciding to stay and give his room a quick snoop around. There had to be a reason she had shown up in this particular place after all. Maybe, with a sharper and more focused eye, she could find some clues.
****
Daniel guided the two of them out of his house and towards his car, or more precisely, his family’s second car.
It was an old and simple car, a 2008 Honda Civic. But it was a car that had survived two others and still remained with his family to this day.
He unlocked the passenger door and beckoned for Nidea to enter. Which she did without hesitation.
He went around and entered on the drivers side, then—
“Oh, yeah. Can you put on your seat belt? It’s this thing right here.” Daniel pulled down on the seat belt and locked it in. An action that was soon copied by the elf.
With both of them safe, Daniel took off and made his way towards the train station.
The ride was…disappointing, if Daniel had to be honest. For how much her clothes and the fact that she was an elf—
No, he had never ascertained that she was an elf, he had just as assumed that she was one because of her pointy ears. And considering her deposition, she was far more similar to a vulcan than an elf.
Perhaps, it was one of many wrong assumptions he was making about the girl lazily staring out the window right now.
Although in Daniel’s defense, with clothes and an appearance that seemed straight out of a fantasy novel, it wasn’t too far out there to see why he had made the assumptions he did.
In this case, what was disappointing him was that he imagined her to act like a person from medieval times. Or at least how he’d imagine someone from the 12th century would act when brought to the 21st century.
Instead, she seemed completely disinterested in the wonders of the modern world. And with how she was dressed right now, along with the magic she applied to her ears to make them disappear, there was nothing about the moment that felt ‘magical’. Instead, Daniel felt as though he was simply driving while one of his classmates hitched a ride.
“We’re here.” Daniel told the girl as he parked in the parking lot behind the deli.
“This is New York?” Nidea asked with a completely skeptical look.
“No. This is where we’re leaving the car behind so that we can take the train to New York.”
Again, all he got was a disinterested nod from the elf before she dutifully followed after him as the two made their way towards the train station.
Daniel purchased two tickets from the kiosk that was left outside at the station, then took a few steps before just standing still, keeping his gaze away from any of the other people waiting for the train as he joined them for, what would hopefully be, only four minutes if his phone was to be believed.
As for Nidea, for the first time in a while she had a clear and visible reaction. Although it was one of disgust. He couldn;t blame her, despite not being a particularly bad town, the train stop at his city still looked like, well, a train stop. Dirt and trash littered on the floor here and there, while a man took one of the few available benches for his sleeping place for the night. And taking a glance at her, Daniel could tell Nidea was focusing her eyes on the less fortunate man. When Nidea noticed him looking in her direction, she seemed to catch the unspoken message and turned her gaze away, instead looking forward and staring at nothing in particular.
Thankfully, the train arrived on time, and the two were able to board without issue.
“You want to sit on the top or on the bottom.” Daniel asked Nidea, the train having two floors which passengers could choose to sit on.
And keeping to her character, Nidea just gave him a shrug as she replied, “Wherever you prefer.”
“Up it is.”
After climbing the short steps up, Daniel walked a bit before taking two of the empty seats off to the side for themselves, although he allowed Nidea to take the window seat so that she could see the land she was now in. Once seated, the two sat back and let the fifty minute ride to New York go by in silence.
By the time that they were over halfway there, Daniel felt that It was a shame that it was too dark to properly get a look at the passage, because Daniel felt that Nidea could have really used the distraction.
By that point her expression looked more restless, more on edge, and the little mannerisms that had given away her frustrations had only worsened. She would tap a foot or finger non-stop, and when not doing so, she would start biting on her nails. And she would also constantly adjust her position on her chair.
Daniel knew that there was no way he could understand the kind of emotions the young woman must have been feeling. What disappointments or frustrations could come from arriving in a foreign world, only to find that the reason you had gone there in the first place didn’t exist. And it was because he knew that he couldn’t properly empathize with her plight, that any words of comfort out of his mouth would sound hollow. So he left her alone, to deal with her thoughts in peace as he relaxed for the trip to New York. Where hopefully, one way or another, she could find the answers she was looking for.