Tuallet

Chapter word count: 3317

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Airot took a step towards climbing the hill.

“Where are you going?” the jogger inquired, puzzled.

“Huh?” Airot turned back in confusion.

“This is our stop,” he pointed to a building on the edge of the street, similar to the restaurant Narro took Airot.

It wasn’t as shabby nor run-down as the one in the southernmost district, but it still paled in comparison to the refined marble palace on top of the hill just a bit away.

“You didn’t think we had permission to go in there,” he nudged to the hill, “did you?”

“Wha— no!” Airot argued defensively.

Airot begrudgingly went towards the building the jogger had pointed at.

Unlike the restaurant setting that Airot had been expecting, the inside was closer to a bar, it even had the same layout as the one Simon found Dolen in.

Without going too far in they were greeted.

“Ah, Haruku, you’re early.”

They went to the bar counter.

“Yeah, ‘cause I had him.”

“And who’s he?”

“He’s…” the jogger trailed off before turning to Airot. “What’s your name?”

“Er— I’m Airot.”

“He’s Airot,” the jogger turned back to the bartender.

“You brought him here yet didn’t know his name?”

“I didn’t have time to ask.”

“Well since you’re here,” the bartender continued on, accepting his answer. “Here’s your ‘everything bars’,” he brought out a dozen wrapped protein bars.

“Thanks.”

The jogger opened one and chomped on it.

“W-Wait, weren’t we here to get a meal?” Airot questioned.

The jogger grabbed one of the snack bars and offered it to Airot while still chewing on his own.

“No, I mean like a full meal.”

“This is a full meal, though?”

“What?”

“Let me explain,” the bartender interrupted, “it’s an ‘everything bar’ because it’s filled with everything the human body needs to function healthily. It’s made by a yapper so I doubt it's a local specialty, I guess you’re from some distant district to not have heard of it.”

“Ah, well, I am new to the city.”

“Oh, you’re a newbie here? Condolulations,” the bartender began to pour a glass for the both of them.

“Oh right,” the jogger turned to Airot, “condolulations.”

The bartender turned to him, “You haven’t told him that yet?”

“I forgot,” he shrugged.

The bartender sighed, “Have you forgotten anything else?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Um,” Airot interjected, “I haven’t gotten your name.”

The bartender side-eyed the jogger, “You haven’t even told him your name?”

“...I forgot,” he stuffed his face with one of his everything bars.

“I’ll go whip up something in the back,” the bartender left the counter, “you two talk with each other.”

The jogger pushed an everything bar into Airot’s hands and said, “I’m Haruku.”

“Airot,” he returned the gesture.

“Yeah, I know, you already told me,” Haruku drank the glass that the bartender had poured in one swift motion. “Well, anyway, I should finish my jog.”

“Wait, what? Weren’t we supposed to talk?”

“We did. Now it’s time for me to run again.”

“You’re just leaving me here?”

“You have an everything bar, so it’s good. Take in the smell when you open it, it’s the best thing you’ll smell here. I can recognize its smell from a mile away.”

Airot looked at the everything bar, it was wrapped in a way that was reminiscent of old snack bars, but it had no words or designs on it. Just the bland beige wrapper.

“Don’t waste it, I’ll personally find you if you do,” Haruku threatened. “Now, bye,” he waved.

Before Airot could say anything else Haruku ran out the door with the extra bars stuffed into his pockets.

Putting the protein bar into the same pocket as his notepad, Airot turned his attention back to the counter.

He picked up the glass that was poured for him. He takes a sip of it.

‘Apple cider… how nostalgic.’

As he sipped his glass, the bartender came back out with a plate of curry and placed it in front of Airot.

“Here you go, it’s on the house.”

Looking at the seasoned curry with a large amount of rice, Airot asked, “Isn’t it still morning? Shouldn’t it be… lighter?”

“Lighter?” The bartender almost mocked. “Listen here newbie, no one but certain yappers can make their own food. Every meal should be overfilling in case you end up skipping a meal. So eat up well,” he patted Airot before leaving the counter to check the tables.

Airot ate a spoonful of the curry.

‘It tastes far better than yesterday’s stew, that’s for sure.’

He continued eating alone while the place got busier as other customers arrived.

He happily devoured his meal while taking time to finish his drink, unlike Haruku who emptied his whole glass in one shot.

As he ate, someone barged into the bar.

“Safe!” He yelled. “Made it on time, boss.”

They headed to the counter and went behind it.

Passing by, Airot could see that they looked younger than himself.

He stared at Airot’s face for a bit.

“Are you gonna be a regular here?”

“I’m not sure,” Airot spoke with his mouth full.

“Well, you should!”

Without letting Airot reply, he left to a staff-only room.

Coming back out he wore a bartender’s uniform.

He returned to Airot.

“I’m Lynn,” he pointed proudly to himself with his thumb. “I work part-time here, but I try to memorize the faces of all our regulars. And I don’t know yours.”

“Airot.”

Lynn’s face showed that he was expecting more from Airot’s introduction.

After recognizing that he was busy eating, Lynn refilled his drink.

“Alright then, Airot, enjoy your meal here.”

He left to attend to another customer who just sat down by the counter.

Airot took a sip from his refilled glass.

‘It tastes different. It’s bitter with a hint of a sweet aftertaste. My tongue is tingly and I feel a slight burn.’

Instead of bringing it up, he kept drinking.

‘It feels… warm, though. I guess it’s fine.’

Airot continued on with his meal.

By the time he finished, there were nearly a dozen customers here.

He got up and planned on leaving but something caught his eye.

“Thank you for your patronage,” Lynn thanked the customer as he held a strange green tube.

The contraption was a small cylinder object that easily fit into a single hand. The bottom of it, which was protruding out of Simon’s hand, seemed to have a spigot attached to it, whereas the top had a funnel. Both of which were relatively small even compared to the object’s size.

“Of course, this place is my favorite,” the customer remarked as he held a similar gadget yet in gray.

The customer held his contraption above Lynn’s with the spigot end directed towards Lynn’s funnel.

They fiddled with some controls on the tube and water began pouring out.

It was pouring out at a consistent pace as if it were a faucet.

Despite its small size it didn’t show any signs of slowing down. It only stopped once the customer tampered with its controls.

They exchanged pleasantries before the customer got up and left the bar.

Airot was initially confused by the exchange, but through the context of the situation he could infer what happened.

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Without pondering too long on it, he got up and headed for the exit.

Coincidently, he was walking with Lynn.

“Alright, I’m off!” Lynn announced to his boss as he put on a backpack.

“Finish up quickly.”

“I will.”

Airot and Lynn stepped outside simultaneously. Lynn took a deep breath before noticing Airot was by him.

“Oh, right. You finished, too.”

“Yeah, I did. Say, where’re you going?”

“A few early errands, y’know, deliver some stuff and pick up other stuff.”

“Okay, I see,” Airot readied to leave.

“Well then, see ya,” Lynn waved.

They took a step in unison in the same direction.

Ignoring it they continued on, taking another and another step.

Lynn twitches slightly.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“I don’t know. Just exploring the area, I guess.”

“New to the district, I see.”

“I’m new to the city in general.”

“Ah, okay. Guess I have no choice then, why don’t you follow me and I’ll show you around a bit.”

“Sure.”

Lynn went ahead down the street but Airot took a look back at the much more maintained road that had a large clearing for that slight hill.

“By the way, what’s that for?” he pointed behind them.

“Which one? The hill? That’s some high-class yapper ballroom,” Lynn answered as he walked further down the street. “The tower behind the hill?” he continued. “That’s the Library of Panceia. You should visit it sometime.”

“I’ve already been to the library, but for the ‘ballroom’, what classifies as ‘high-class’ among yappers?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Lynn began picking up speed. “I’d guess they’d have to be strong or helpful.”

“Alright. But what about the road itself? It’s larger and in much better quality than the streets leading to buildings.”

“Yeah, they’re actually cared for. They’re the city’s major roads, the ‘main’ ones if you will. I guess you’d say they’re the freeways of Panceia.”

“Then where do they lead?”

“Every district, there’s a set around the edges of pretty much all the districts in the city,” Lynn turns to enter a building.

In the building was another lobby, with a small office to the side and an elevator and stairs straight ahead.

The elevator shaft was closed and looked non-functional.

The office was its own room but had an open window to the lobby. It served as the front desk.

“There’s, like, rings of the major roads around the city,” Lynn continued as he headed for the office. “Unit 22. Lynn, food drop off. Main street, eastern bar,” he told the worker.

The worker nodded and began noting something down while Lynn moved on ahead motioning for Airot to follow.

Passing by the elevator shaft they went to the stairs.

“What else is there…” Lynn pondered as they climbed. “There’s also major roads extending from the library.”

“Was there?” Airot followed behind.

“They kinda merge with the normal roads, so they’re smaller by the library, but they should still be noticeable.”

“I see, I’ll take a better look next time I’m there,” Airot responded as they passed a door. “What floor are we going to?”

“The third one. Anyway, that’s about it for the main roads.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah, anytime.”

They reach the third floor’s door and enter it.

“Then, what about—” Airot began to ask before being cut off.

“Actually, not anytime. I won’t be able to finish my work in time if you keep asking questions.”

Lynn marched down the hallway ignoring Airot’s unnerved expression.

The hallway was perfectly linear, with this end having both the elevator shaft and the only staircase, and the other end having a single window.

The hall was fairly large though, large enough to easily move furniture.

There were exactly four doors with equal distance from each other.

Lynn headed to the first door on the left. Its unit number was on the door.

He knocked on it while Airot stayed back.

The door opened after a moment and he pulled a tied bag out of his backpack.

“Your delivery, sir.”

“Yes, thanks.”

They exchanged pleasantries as Lynn handed over the bag seemingly holding food.

As the resident took the bag, Lynn pulled out the same cylinder tool he used earlier.

“Two cups, as usual,” he offered the funnel end yet again.

The resident took out a copy of the tool.

Placing its spigot over the funnel and pushing a button caused water to pour out of it. This exchange was over in seconds.

Lynn pocketed his device and bid farewell then headed back to the stairs.

“Say, what is that?” Airot asked as he followed behind.

Lynn let out a sigh, “Man, newbies…” he groaned.

“Geez, sorry I’m new here and don’t know this.”

“No, I get it, I was in your position too, after all. It’s just…” Lynn stopped himself. He took a few steps down, pondering on what to say, before continuing, “Why don’t you guess what it is?”

“It holds water. And it looks like you exchange water for food?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Glad you can get that. Though it’s not just for food, you see, water is the city’s currency. We all trade in water.”

“So that… device is basically a wallet?”

“Yup! Exactly,” Lynn sounded pleased. “My bad for earlier, I didn’t think you’d easily understand it.”

“No, I mean, isn’t it obvious after seeing it in action?”

“I guess so, but you wouldn’t believe people,” Lynn complained as they reached the first floor. “Like, we have no use for paper currency or even ‘rare’ metals and gems anymore. But everyone needs water.”

They ignored the front office and just left the building.

“I still have a few more deliveries, and then a pickup. So why don’t we pick up our speed?” Lynn suggested to Airot as he begun stretching.

“I’m really going to follow you around, huh.”

“I am giving you a tour, after all,” Lynn started running.

Airot shrugged, “Last city tour I had basically taught me nothing about the place.”

He ran after Lynn as they traveled further down the street.

It took a few minutes before Airot caught up to Lynn, who was still running.

“You’re quite slow, you know that?” Lynn joked.

“It’s my first day on the job,” Airot retorted while panting.

“Yeah, yeah,” Lynn was taking deep breaths himself. “These districts are quite sizable,” he paused to breathe in, “so we should pick up our speed if we want to finish early.”

Lynn began dashing down the street faster.

“Do we have to finish early?!” Airot yelled as he tried speeding up. “We can just take our time!”

They ran through the streets without stopping; only slowing down to take turns but quickly picking up their pace again.

Running side by side, Lynn blurted out, “Right! Tour!” He directed his arm to the buildings they were passing. “Just like the one we were at, the majority of these buildings are for housing.”

“That’s,” Airot panted as he struggled to keep up, “a lot of homes!”

“It’s like that for most districts.”

“Isn’t the population limited, though?”

“Yeah, but most of the buildings are for show,” Lynn took a sudden turn, “a lot of them are vacant.”

Airot didn’t reply as he was focused on catching up.

“You’ll find a place to eat at every other street. Places like inns are uncommon, but they’re there,” Lynn finally began slowing down, and not for a turn.

As Lynn was stopping, Airot dashed with extra intensity as he jumped towards him and hooked him around his arm.

“Hey!” Lynn yelled as Airot tackled him further down.

Landing his feet, Airot prevented them from falling to the ground, but kept his arm around Lynn.

Panting heavily, Airot replied, “That’s for making me run.”

“Haah…” Lynn sighed as he accepted it.

They both hung onto their knees as they took a moment to rest.

Still breathing irregularly, Lynn began to walk towards the building he stopped at.

“This’ll be quick, just wait here for a moment.”

“Alright, then,” Airot walked to a wall and leaned against it.

He slumped down while trying to control his breathing.

Soon after Lynn came out and tapped Airot. He then grabbed Airot’s arm and pulled him back to his feet.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Airot groaned, “Don’t tell me…”

“No, no!” Lynn reassured. “Don’t worry, the next one is much closer. We can just walk there if you’d like.”

Going along once more, they trotted down the street.

Easily reaching their next destination Lynn made another delivery.

His backpack was seemingly empty now.

“Was that the last place?”

“Nah, I got one more, a pick up.”

“Should we run?” Airot asked.

“Oh?” Amused, Lynn smirked. “I thought you didn’t want to be early?”

“I’ve rested enough… I think.”

“You sure?”

“Well, how far is it?” Airot’s confidence in his suggestion began to waver. “If it’s far then maybe we should just walk.”

“Nah, it’s close enough, actually. So let’s just run.”

Without exchanging any other words, they began racing down the street.

Throwing taunts and jeers at each other as they traversed the district once more, they took a few turns and ran through a few streets.

Eventually they arrived. The location was at a sizable warehouse.

There was a guy standing outside with a clipboard.

There were some boxes, crates and luggage stacked around a garage door nearby.

Forcing himself to steady his breathing, Lynn went towards the guy.

“Oh, you’re early,” the man noted as he saw Lynn.

“Yeah, well, I had some issues,” he directed his eyes to Airot. “Anyway, do you have them ready?”

“Of course. We got a package just for you. Full of them E.T. bars,” the man went to open a crate nearby him.

From inside the crate he pulled out a smaller box, packaged somewhat professionally. It was sealed and tightened.

He helped stuff it into Lynn’s backpack, which took up most of the backpack’s space.

“Alright, you know the drill. Ten cups,” the man then pulled out a tube wallet, one in a unique color scheme.

“No problem,” Lynn did the same, but this time hovered his spigot end above the man’s funnel.

Pouring water from one ‘wallet’ to the other took a bit longer this time.

Despite the small size of the gadget, the water just kept going.

It looked as if there was more water than there should be in there.

Once it ended they parted ways as Lynn returned to Airot.

“By the way,” Airot brought up, “how much water can fit in that thing?”

“Oh right, I didn’t mention it. These things were distributed by the high-end yappers, so it’s probably made by one of them.”

“It’s made by a yapper?”

“It’s not confirmed, but probably? Either way, they’re magical like that. So I don’t know their limit, and us normal people probably never will. But it can fit dozens of gallons in it.”

“Wow, that’s… quite a sum.”

“We won’t ever have that much, though,” Lynn let out a disappointed sigh.

As Lynn began walking back, Airot popped another question, “One more thing.”

“Yeah?”

“What’s with the… tube-wallets’ colors? Is it normal for people to customize them?”

“Ah, that. For normal people, no. But I’m pretty sure yappers do. The colored…” Lynn paused for a moment, “tuallets, as you called them, represent their usage. The bland metallic gray ones are civilian ones, and colored ones are for businesses,” he took out his tuallet. “There’s a reason why I’m holding a green one.”

“I… I didn’t say ‘tuahlet’,” Airot interrupted.

“Tube-wallet, tuallet, tuwallet, tualet,” Lynn played with different pronunciations. “Whatever it is, I like it. I’m gonna start using it.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“It’s time for us to return back, now.”

Lynn turned back to retrace their steps.

Airot looked up to the bright sky and the sun still in high noon.

He turned his head down the opposite end of the road and noticed it broke off into the main road.

“We’re done, right?”

“Yeah, so let’s head back.”

“Actually, I have a place near the library. This is the end of this district, right?”

Lynn turned back to look at Airot.

“Ah, I see. Well, alright. We can split up here.”

“Yeah, it’s convenient for me. This is the closest end to where I was.”

Lynn took a step back, “Well, see ya, I guess.”

“Yeah, bye. Thanks for showing me around.”

“Mm, come back to our bar sometime.”

“I don’t even have a ‘tuallet’, though.”

“Ah, right. Maybe ask around at the library, they could probably help you.”

“I’ll do that.”

They nodded at each other and separated ways.