The bell above the door of Lucky Snips chimed as Edan pushed open the door. The sound was so familiar he barely even registered it nowadays.

“Mum! I’m back!” He called out as he stepped aside to let Lorien in.

Lucky Snips was a small double-storied building made of worn wood and chipped stone. Time, and a sea breeze, had turned the red paint job that was meant to be eye-catching into a comfortable pastel pink with age. Wide bay windows ran along the wall facing the street and the occasional passerby would stop and peer into the store. No doubt the field of mannequins and reels of fabric lining the wall would do more to advertise the wares than the sign suspended by chains over the door with its scissors and ruler branding.

Stratta had started small. More of a Merchant Hub, really. It was safer to transport goods down the Kentushi River than it was to brave the wilds that separated Cities and Settlements. It was also close enough to the capital city, Solaris, that sailing along the western coast could get you there in under a week. Less if you hired a boat with a Captain and sailors of the right Profession.

As trade grew, the merchant hub became a town, and eventually a City. The isles dotting the river mouth didn’t have enough land to house the growing population and buildings began to pop up along the Kentushi's banks. Merchants and the wealthier families were quick to grab the best spots, their estates spilling into the water in the form of long jetties and stone ramps.

The Western bank became more popular with the wealthy, if for no other reason than its closeness to Solaris. At least that’s what Harvey had told Edan, though Edan thought it sounded incredibly stupid.

Lucky Snips was located along the Eastern side of the river and quite a ways away from the actual water. Traffic along the road outside wasn’t heavy and more often than not the store would be empty of customers.

Reema and Sanik didn’t mind. The store only needed to look the part. It wasn’t the family's only source of income.

“I’m in the back!” came a feminine voice, muffled by distance and a wall.

“Give me a sec?” Edan said to Lorien before gesturing at the wall of fabrics and the many mannequins standing around. “Feel free to look around. I’ll let Mum know you’re here and interested in the new stock.”

Edan had taken a couple of steps away when he stopped and turned back.

“I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t mention the little incident with Ass-uhh, I mean Aser.”

Spinning back around Edan hopped the counter and opened the door to the back room. Reema called it her workshop. Large scribed lights hung from the ceiling and along the wall, lighting up the spacious open area. Long tables of heavy wood took up most of the space, random pieces of fabric covered almost every surface and spilled onto the floor in piles. Tools had been left haphazardly in the strangest places. A needle, as thick as Edan’s finger and as long as his arm had been stabbed into the surface of one bench, red string hung from the loop at the needle's end with the rest of it disappearing under a pile of rainbow-colored feathers. The stone floor helped keep the closed space cool.

Edan stepped over a stack of hard leather plates and looked at his mother.

Reema was bent over a bench, her dark curls falling down and hiding her face. She wore a black vest tucked into denim shorts. The muscles on her arm stood out in sharp relief as she strained to cut a piece of fabric as thin as paper and white as bone.

“What’s that?” Edan asked as he approached.

With a disgusted huff, Reema threw the scissors down and turned to regard Edan. Warm brown eyes under dark lashes turned into crescents as she smiled at her adopted son. Pushing the curls from her face, Reema stepped forward and engulfed Edan in a hug, one he was happy to return.

“That is your father's problem now. I can’t cut the blasted thing.” She gathered her hair together and tied a messy bun. “The seller said it was high F-grade material, but I’m betting it’s low E.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Better material?”

“Not if I can’t work it. But enough about that. How was school?”

“It was fine,” Edan gave a carefree shrug, his eyes flickering about the shop. He disliked lying to his parents, but he hated worrying them more. “I actually brought a classmate back. Lorien, not sure if you re-”

“Friend of Cassie’s right?” Reema asked, opening the door.

“Hiyah Mrs. Santry!” Lorien called as soon as Reema came around the counter.

The young girl had been busy feeling the different fabrics, running them between her fingers and brushing them against her forearm when the mother and son came back.

“Reema. Just Reema. How can I help you?” Reema took a second to glance back at Edan and give him a wink. She whispered. “classmate, aye?”

“No, mother. Just…no.” Edan had to stop himself from slapping his own head. “I’m heading upstairs. Dad, home?”

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“Yup. If you could be a dear and tell him about the fabric that would be great.” Reema waved dismissively as she started a conversation with Lorien.

Edan didn’t stick around to listen. He took the door to the workshop, then hugged the left wall, avoiding the clutter. The stairs to the second floor creaked under his feet as he ascended. The stairs led to the living room of their small, two-bedroom, home.

The living area was comfortably decorated with a thick carpet covering the wooden floor and an overstuffed couch and chair combo taking pride of place in the center of the room. There was a fireplace against the far wall, though Edan had no idea why, as the climate around the Kentushi River was warm. In place of logs, the fire pit was full of old books, the mantle was likewise burdoned. In fact, much of the open space was used for books or parchments.

The cultivation books mostly belonged to Edan, something he took great pride in. They were hard to find, as the Four Star Heavenly Sect monitored Cultivation Resources strictly. A few of the puzzle books were also his, used and discarded as they had served their purpose in increasing his Mind level.

The rest belonged to Sanik, Edan’s adoptive father. He had a special interest in architecture and history and most of the remaining clutter were old history books on Terra back when it was called Earth. Sanik had tried explaining technology to Edan once, but it was just confusing.

Speaking of Sanik, the man himself was fast asleep on the couch, an open book on his chest as he snored softly. His blonde hair had escaped the ponytail he usually kept it in and had gotten tangled in the wiry whiskers of his beard. One scarred hand held the book in place while the other hung over the side of the couch.

Rolling his eyes as another low snore ripped through the air, Edan made his way to the washroom. He pulled his shirt up and looked at himself in the mirror, ignoring the way his bones pushed against his skin, making him look malnourished. Other than a slight red tint to the otherwise pale skin on his chest, there was no mark to show for his after-class tussle.

“Tussle,” Edan muttered in disgust, letting his shirt drop. “What tussle? You got your ass kicked.”

Shaking his head, Edan used the toilet and then splashed water on his face. Exiting the bathroom he cast another quick look in Sanik’s direction but the man remained asleep. Closing his bedroom door with a gentle click, Edan reached under his mattress and pulled out a leather pouch.

A small pile of Star Tokens fell into his hand. A majority were silver, but there were a few coppers and gold tokens mixed in there as well. Counting quickly Edan pulled another 2 silvers from his pocket and added it to the heap.

I still need to pick up my pay from Harvey, for the job last night. Edan thought, putting the coins away. So with that, it would make…4 gold, 8 silver, and 3 copper Tokens.

Edan would still need another 1 gold, 1 silver, and 7 copper to reach the 6 gold price of the Book of Professions he had been eyeing. Part of Edan knew Harvey would be willing to cut him a discount, but that same part of Edan refused to accept it. Maybe it was pride? Maybe it was a determination to prove himself? Maybe it was just Edan being a stubborn ass and refusing to take the easy way out? The reason didn’t matter though, all that mattered was Edan needed a little bit more money.

With a thought, Edan pulled up the Foundation System available to him. Ignoring the sheet with his stats on it, his eyes flickered to the time. His eyes then flickered to the window, taking in the angle of sunlight filtering through. He still had a few good hours of light. More than enough time to head over to Harvey’s to pick up his pay. Maybe he’d get another job.

Mrs. Cinnaburn had mentioned practicals tomorrow. Edan would need his rest. It took a lot of energy getting your ass kicked by everyone in the class.

So maybe that would be a no on the job.

Edan left his room. Ducking into the kitchen he opened up the cool box. The scribe work along the rim of the box’s lid was starting to look dim, as the Vitalis it pulled from the surrounding air to power itself also wore it out. They’d need to renew it at some point. Grabbing a jug of juice, Edan poured himself a glass and drank it at the sink as he looked out the window at the street below.

Pouring one more glass, Edan put the juice back and walked into the lounge. He kicked the couch by Sanik’s head gently.

“Oi, Dad, wake up.”

Edan knew he wouldn’t need to speak loudly. Sanik's high perception would hear his words regardless, his wisdom would understand the words were directed at him, and his intelligence would decide he needed to wake up.

As if on cue, Saniks eyelids blinked open, his light brown eyes centering on Edan. His nose twitched and his eyes fell on the glass in his son’s hand.

“Reema didn’t catch me, did she?” Sanik asked as he shifted to a sitting position, The leather vest he wore over his white shirt twisting stiffly.

“Nah.” Edan handed over the glass of juice. “But there is some fabric she can’t cut that she wants you to handle. She thinks it’s early E grade.”

“Ahhh, she needs Bi and Cep.” Sanik flexed one bicep, then the other, making sure not to spill his drink as his shirt grew tight. He bounced his eyebrows at Edan. “Can’t say I blame her. Not many problems they can't fix.”

“Daaaad! Mum said you aren’t allowed to keep calling them that!” Edan winced in secondhand embarrassment.

Sanik chuckled. “Fine. Thanks for waking me up. I told Reema I was studying, Bi and Cep wouldn’t have saved me if she found me asleep.”

There was a pause as Sanik looked at Edan, a cheeky smile pulling at his lips.

“I would have had to pull out Pec and Pop to help!” Sanik made his chest bounce in time with the names. Edan almost grabbed the glass from his father, just so he could throw it at his head.

Desperate to change the topic Edan quickly asked “Do you two have a job coming up?”

“Yup. Old Reforged Sect Warehouse down on the West side got sold a while back. Crafters Guild moved in and repurposed it or something. Apparently one of the Senior Sect members forgot to tell the movers about his secret stash and now he’s worried the Crafters Guild is going to stumble across the hidden pocket space.”

“And he doesn’t want to try to get it himself because the Sect and Guilds hate each other. If he was caught snooping around…” Edan trailed off, nodding his head in understanding.

Sanik tapped his nose and pointed at Edan. “Right, you are, oh son of mine. We’ve got the key to the pocket space, but I was meant to be reading up on them just in case. Looks bad if we report back that the client's items got eaten by a black hole or something.”

“Heading out tonight?”

“Nah, your mum wants to have a nice family dinner tonight. You are going to be home right?” The last part was said with squinted eyes.

“If mum's cooking, sure. If you’re cooking, I’m busy.” Edan ducked the half-hearted swat from Sanik. “I’m just heading over to Harvey’s to pick up some pay he owes me. I’ll be back in time for dinner.”