BEEEEEEEEEP Click!
Slowly the door creaked open to room thirty-six of the Lyreann MA office. Shouri and Rebecca slid into the room. Shouri crept into the main part of the room, Rebecca behind him carrying a couple of plastic bags.
Pacifica and Taika were snuggled up in bed; Pacifica’s arm resting her arm on Taika, gently stroking her hair, while the vixen lay on the otter’s lap - fast asleep. The television was turned towards the bed, playing a movie at a low volume. The otter perked up upon seeing her friends but made no sudden moves to not disturb the sleeping fox.
“Welcome back,” Pacifica whispered, smiling warmly.
Shouri walked around the side of the bed and sat next to Pacifica’s unoccupied right, while Rebecca set down the plastic bags and excused herself to the bathroom.
“How’d it go?” the water element asked.
“It was a bit touch and go, but we cured her,” Shouri quietly informed the otter.
She chuckled. “Yeah, that sounds like you alright.” With her free hand, she reached out and pulled her Maestro towards her, allowing him to lean on her shoulder. “You did good Sho.”
He didn’t say anything, but he also didn’t reject the gesture. What a long night it had been.
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The next morning, bright blue eyes fluttered open on the morning of July the seventh. Pacifica held onto a content Taika from behind, while Shouri had the front. Rebecca was Pacifica’s opposite, draping herself over Shouri’s back.
All in all, it was a comfy cozy morning. Even asleep, her friends radiated such warm affection towards one another it was almost intoxicating for the emotionally sensitive otter.
Eventually, a majority of the group rose, though Taika remained curled up under the blankets.
“Paci, can you stay here with Taika?” Shouri asked of his otter as she slipped on her sandals.
“Eh?” Her head whipped up in surprise.
Shouri pointed to Rebecca. Pacifica traced where he was pointing, down to the ground and the vixen’s feet. “Ah,” the water element let out.
Once again, Rebecca’s shoes were destroyed, charred to a lovely brown like a well-done steak from the once proud whites and oranges that once made them up.
“I ordered her replacements last night, so gonna go pick them up. They said they’d have them ready this morning,” he said.
“Okay.” Pacifica frowned, removing her sandals.
“You can go tonight,” Rebecca chimed in.
“Huh?” Shouri and Pacifica looked to the fire element.
“She can go with you tonight instead of me. I’ll look after Taika.”
“I’ll be fine!” Taika suddenly protested.
Attention was turned to the fox-girl who had sat up in bed. “Just go. Both of you,” she insisted.
“But-!” Shouri jumped to argue.
“It was fine last night. Paci and I were fine here,” Taika retorted.
“Hrrrrmmm…” Shouri hummed in disapproval. “No Taika," he finally put his foot down. “If Rebecca and Pacifica are willing to trade then Rebecca can stay here tonight and I’ll take Pacifica.” His gaze shifted to the two healthy members of his party.
“Fine by me.” Rebecca nodded, being the one who proposed the swap in the first place.
“I er…” Pacifica fidgeted, averting her gaze from her Maestro. “I-isn’t Rebby stronger than me? She should be the one with you Sho,” the otter chuckled sheepishly.
“Nah, you’d be a better fit out there,” Rebecca spoke up. “I had some difficulty dealing with the Feroce Resonator. You’re better than me on a rhythmic front,” the fire Resonator argued.
Pacifica opened her mouth to retort but didn’t have a rebuttal – given that the otter sensed how genuine Rebecca’s words were thereby proving the vixen’s point. “Fine,” she sighed, slumping over in defeat.
Shouri drew in a deep breath, holding it for a moment before exhaling sharply through his nose. “Now that we figured that out, Rebecca?” He glanced at his fire Resonator.
“We’ll be back,” the fire fox announced to the rest of the room.
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The walk down to the local cordwainer was a quiet one. Fox followed man as the obedient artificial voice dished out directions from Rebecca’s tuner every so often. It was late in the morning, so the hustle and bustle of the small city was in full swing. Resonators cleaning and attending to various storefronts with their Maestros managing them as they did so. They passed by one of the larger cafes in town, which had an outdoor patio to serve the guests who chose to sit outside. A couple of Resonator waitresses served the Maestros taking their mid-morning breaks. Lyreann was such a peaceful place that Shouri and Rebecca couldn't help but get lost in the relaxed ambiance.
“You’ve arrived,” Shouri's tuner chirped, snapping the pair to attention.
They had been brought to their destination, a small shoe store - it was amongst several other small shops along the road. Compared to its contemporaries, it was older, more storied than the other storefronts. The wares on display in the front window were utilitarian, nothing overtly fancy. After a moment of hyping himself up, Shouri took the initiative and stepped into the shop, Rebecca right behind him.
Rebecca stuck close to her Maestro, curiosity running amok as she took in her new surroundings. There were many styles of shoes with all manner of Resonators in mind. Fire-resistant shoes for fire elements, swim shoes for waters, grounding shoes for lightning, etc. The colors they came in were reflective of the styles and whims of the elements in question. A pair of shoes intended for earth elements had stone cores positioned at the heel and balls of the feet to keep the Resonator “in touch” with the ground below them.
There was a certain strange scent in the air, like some kind of chemical. Possibly a glue? Perhaps polish? Either way, Rebecca couldn’t place it one hundred percent. Her ears twitched as she could hear the sounds of banging and machinery humming away in the far back of the store.
They reached the front counter, where no one awaited them. Closing her eyes for a moment, Rebecca could only hear the presence of one person in the back. It was kind of strange that there wasn't a Resonator at the front tending to the counter. All that was there to greet them was a well-worn bell, one which Shouri was more than happy to give a swift couple of taps.
Ting ting!
“I’m comin’ keep yer shirt on!” a voice called from the back.
A couple minutes later an older man came out from the back. “What can I do ya for?” they asked, removing their gloves and quickly examining them for any oil or grease.
“Here to pick up an order for Shouri,” the Maestro in question requested.
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“Ah yes.” The elder man’s gaze shifted to the fire Resonator behind the Maestro. “She’s the lass?”
“Uh, yeah,” Shouri replied.
“C’mere girl.” The shoemaker motioned to a bench near the counter. Rebecca followed the order, sitting on the storied furniture. It was well worn, definitely crafted by hand, with small imperfections showing both a craftsman’s hand and the age of the seat.
The cordwainer pointed at Rebecca’s current, barely functional shoes. “Get rid of those.” He tossed a box down onto the bench next to where the vixen was seated.
Once more, she did as she was told, removing the crumbling shoes from her feet. “Put them on,” another order, which Rebecca followed. She went to tie them up but realized they were missing their laces. It had holes for laces, but none were provided.
“Uhhh,” the Resonator broke her silence, bewildered as to why she was given laceless shoes.
“Stand,” the shoemaker demanded.
“Alright.” Rebecca stood, noting how loose the shoes were on her without their binding string.
The craftsman knelt next to the fox, running a hand over each shoe, feeling how she stood and wore the shoe. His eyes stole a glance at the charred husks of footwear that lay discarded nearby. “This should work.” From his pockets, he drew out a pair of laces and within less than a minute had both shoes laced up.
Shouri raised a brow. The shoes hadn’t been laced in the usual crisscross as was the standard. Instead, the laces went through the first three ringlets before emerging and crossing back and forth to the top.
The elder stood up. “Give them a try,” he offered.
Rebecca bounced on the balls of her feet before taking a few steps around. “Oh?” Her eyes widened. “This feels good,” she noted.
“’s what I thought. Gotta lace ‘em right. Everyone just takes their shoes outta the box and wears them like that.” His gaze drifted to the young Maestro. “Should experiment with different patterns, get more mileage out of yer shoes that way,” he advised.
“I’ll look into it.” Shouri’s eyes were focused on Rebecca, who seemed quite impressed by the replacement shoes.
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“Fuck that was a lot,” Shouri sighed as they made their return trip to the MA Office.
“Sorry, Sho.” Rebecca wilted.
“I mean, it’s the only thing we spend money on is maintaining our clothes.”
His eyes fell once more on the new shoes. They were built in Rebecca’s preferred style, but they seemed much sturdier than any of the previous pairs they had gotten her in the past. Even the fact that the man took the time to custom lace the shoes taking into account Rebecca’s specific foot structure told him that man was a craftsman worth his salt. Or in this case, the massive chunk of notes ripped from Shouri’s bank account.
“Don’t worry about it,” Shouri spoke up.
Rebecca grumbled something unintelligible.
“I said don’t worry about it.” He spoke more sternly.
“But-!” The vixen turned to him. “That thing you said about the car last night!"
“Oh, that?” He raised a brow as they came to a stop.
“I considered it, but I need to look into a bunch of stuff first. Like registration, of course, we both need our licenses and if it’s even feasible to take it with us around the world,” he explained. “It’s a very distant dream at this point.”
Rebecca wilted, averting her gaze. “Oh.”
With a roll of his eyes and a smirk, he drew closer to the fox-girl. With but a single finger, he pushed her chin up. “Eh?!” she squeaked, her face reddening as their eyes met.
“We can always rent cars. We don’t have to own one,” he whispered. The look in his eyes wasn’t one she had ever expected to receive. A look that told her that the longer she stayed with him, the more likely she’d end up spoiled beyond her wildest dreams. She didn’t hate it.
“Y-yes…” she reluctantly agreed as her tail wagged behind her.
He moved his hand to the top of her head and ruffled her hair. “Either way it's not something to worry about at this second. We have plenty of time to think about it.”
Rebecca couldn’t help but smile warmly. “Okay, Sho.”
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The remainder of the daylight hours were as routine as ever. Shouri and Rebecca returned with breakfast and the group relaxed in their room, taking a small nap in the afternoon.
Finally, after dinner, Shouri and Pacifica got ready to head out for the night. Before they were to take their leave, however, a text message came in from Colette, stopping the Maestro in his tracks. Pacifica peered over his shoulder, to see the source of the hold-up.
Colette: “Are you coming out tonight? We have a VIP client tonight.” 8:45 PM
As usual, she said something important but didn’t elaborate, frustrating the Maestro. “What the hell does that mean Colette?” Shouri cursed under his breath. He did not get a chance to ruminate on that further, however.
“Sho, please take Rebecca,” Taika once again implored of her Maestro. “I’ll be fine, I swear,” she continued her plea.
The Maestro returned the tuner to his side to address the ill fox. “No.” Shouri remained adamant in his decision. “Pacifica and I are going,” he looked at Rebecca. “Stay here.”
Rebecca smirked back at the stern order. “Relax bossman, you’re my Maestro, not her,” the fire Resonator said.
Shouri gave a short nod back. “Good.”
“Rebecca!” Taika barked at the Resonator as if betrayed.
“Taika, Shouri is our Maestro, if he says I’m staying here, I’m staying here.” Rebecca glared down her counterpart.
“But-!”
“But nothing. Just lay down and stop worrying about it – you’re not changing his mind.”
Taika ground her teeth, arguing with Rebecca wouldn’t get her anywhere. “Sho! Please! Just take her!” she pleaded, her voice cracking. “Please.” The vixen trembled, fighting the tears of frustration that welled up. She cursed her previous stupidity that led to the Cloudless Day that plagued her.
Shouri opened his mouth, but Pacifica was quicker. “Taika.” The otter stepped towards the bed and sat next to her friend. “You know Sho as well as I do – if both Rebecca and I went with him, he wouldn’t be able to focus on the job at hand; he’d spend every moment fretting about you.” She grabbed Taika’s hands and gripped them tightly. “Please, just trust me, okay?”
“P-paci…” Taika whipped her head back and forth as if looking for an answer, a way to refute her companion’s claims. But none were to be found.
“F-fine,” she finally acquiesced. “Go.” She couldn’t look her Maestro in the eyes, hanging her head in defeat.
“We’ll pick you up some snacks on the way back,” Shouri offered to placate the upset fox.
Taika’s tail betrayed her pout - her arms folded across her chest and turned head were at direct odds with her excitedly wagging tail.
With that matter settled, Shouri and Pacifica finally took their leave for the evening.