Gideon was well into his story when the others arrived. He told the blow by blow of the fight a third time, Hank wanted the details. “So there I was, a guy in front and a guy behind me, trapped in an alley.” he said. He continued and his friends were just as enraptured this time around as the last.
Riley put his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. Gideon looked at him with apprehension. “You almost killed a man! You are suddenly way cooler than you used to be five minutes ago. What do you think Prim, kind of sexy now?” he asked with a wink. Primrose’s face turned bright red. Maybe just a little.
Hank interrupted and saved her the embarrassment of trying to respond. “No way. You know that was a black market? Those are illegal. He is avoiding paying the city it’s due for using it’s market.” Hank told them. “Everything is probably stolen goods too. Be careful or you’ll end up in jail or worse.”
“So you’re saying you don’t want this spacial ring I got for you then?” Gideon held his hand up and a ring appeared in it, pulled from his own spacial ring with a thought. He looked to Hank, who in turn looked to the ring in his hand. Primrose could tell he wanted the ring. She recognized pride preventing him from reaching for it.
“Take it Hank, you’re going to need it.” Primrose said.
“Well I guess we can make an exception this one time. For real though? Seriously? What do I owe you?” Hank asked Gideon. Primrose loved how excited Hank had become at the idea of getting the ring from Gideon. It felt good to be around friends. To see Gideon do something for the sake of friendship alone. Not with an expectation, but given freely. This is where she belonged, this is what she needed to set her life right again.
Gideon shook his head at Hank without hesitation. “Nothing of course, it’s what friends are for, to help each other.” Gideon handed Hank the ring. The smile on Hank’s face extended ear to ear. Hank did the short ritual and bound the ring to himself. Then he began making items disappear and reappear over and over, playing with his new toy. Primrose laughed at the ludicrous use of the ring.
Hank stopped playing with the ring and approached Gideon with a serious look on his face. “This is so awesome. Coming from the lower districts of Rime, you know as well as I, everything is cutthroat for survival. Having friends can be a weakness there, so I always had so few. Over the years some escaped to the upper districts of Rime, but many more than that didn’t survive. My point being, is I would be honored to call you a friend.” He said and extended his arm to Gideon. They clasped forearms and gave a half hug, then with a final pat on the back the ritual was over.
“Men. You guys are all so caught up in this weird dance around each other.” Primrose said as she watched the scene play out. “And they say women are melodramatic. I think those rumors are just to hide this kind of macho idiocy.” They all laughed at her. They shared stories of their adventures and what they bought. Riley’s childlike excitement over the TEK he was able to view in the city was a wondrous thing, one that she hoped she could match someday. The carefree nature of the boy was refreshing. Primrose’s excitement went to a whole other level when she got to tell them about her shopping trip. “You would not believe the pretty dresses. Oh and the book shop was the best. It smelled of musty paper and they had nearly the perfect item I was looking for. Hank was a marvel and really came through for me today.”
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Riley interrupted her story casually, a twinkle in his eye. “Prim, you really just called us melodramatic? Really? Those that live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones. Or should I say.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Women.” Primrose grabbed a sizable rock on instinct and chucked it at the boy. It had the desired effect and shut him up, he was too busy dodging the rock as in arched by his head. As they told their stories, more and more students slowly gathered at the train station pavilion. “Seriously though Prim, I’m glad you found what you needed. It’s awesome that Hank was so helpful. Hank I didn’t think you had access to the upper districts. Didn’t you lived in the lower districts? Did you have a license before your acceptance to the academy?”
“Well, where there’s a will there is a way. Over the years you find ways to sneak about the city. If you’re persistent, getting to the upper districts isn’t too hard , affording anything when you get there is the difficult part. The world of coin is different on this side of the wall.” Hank told them. “Never try to sneak to the upper level though. Big trouble there. If you get caught sneaking into the walls, they’ll just toss you out. The upper districts will be a lot worse for you. That being said, my family has a pass from before we fell on hard times and moved back to the lower districts. It allows us to sell in the larger market for better coin. But it is expensive to ride the train, so I usually take other routes when I’m just visiting. The train is only for business trips for the family.” Hank didn’t elaborate anymore on the subject.
“Well, we’ll have to remember that if we need to sneak around, it’s always good to know the guy with the insider knowledge.” Riley said as he winked to Hank. Hank returned a half smile as Riley continued. “But, we have access so it shouldn’t be an issue.”
The weather had started to cool as the sun lowered toward the horizon. The sixth bell struck it’s first tone, the discordant sounds of earlier were gone as it rang in a nice clear sound. Unlike the fifth bell, there were no ominous feelings of darkness and despair. No cultist came or went, all was normal. The bell struck it’s final tone, as if the song of the sixth hour summoned the train, a light shined from the tunnel and the train pulled in.
Primrose noted the wheels this time, now that she knew more information than she did prior. She studied them for anything new she might see. You never knew what information might be useful once classes started. The train came to a stop and the doors opened.
Professor Hemlock stepped off the train and looked to the students of the incoming year. “Gather around students. I’m optimistic that you were able to get some shopping done. Hopefully you had a productive and uneventful day in the city?” She noticed the professor seemed to look Gideon’s way like he had earlier. I wonder what that’s about? “We have one more trip to make before we can begin our journey on the final leg to the Academy. While not long, the final train ride does take a little time. I’ve been asked to remind all students that there are barf bags under the seats and to please have them at the ready. If you need it and it isn’t ready, you are too late. With that, ALL ABOARD!” the professor said with enthusiasm. “I love this part,” Primrose overheard the professor mumble. She didn’t have a good feeling about what was coming next.