Rest

Behind the lobby of the House, I found stairs rather than a lift. I peeked an eyebrow, but it was also just three floors. There probably wasn’t much reason for extra effort. The stairs went up along the wall on the right to the next floor. After that I saw roughly where the other stairs went, wrapping around the otherside. That meant I’d probably get a street view. Perfect!

Pulling on my pack, I took the two flights of stairs to find the room nearly in front of me like promised. Down the hall there were I think five other rooms. Of the other Houses I stayed in, this seemed like one of the larger ones. Couriers were important, but as far as I’m aware there weren't a lot of us either. We’re fairly rare, which was one reason I was seen as an outsider so quickly.

Perhaps they do more business than I expected. Not sure what that says about Coulen, but that was probably the least interesting question on my mind at the moment.

I put my hand to the handle panel and it lit up after a moment. A chirp of confirmation let it slide open showing me to my new home.

A one bedroom and multipurpose room was pretty standard. This had about that, though it did more to divide the kitchen from everything else. The last place I stayed at it just had a food dispenser and I had to give orders to the owner. Though I didn’t know where they sell food. Real prepared food still had a big appeal, even if it was more time to prep. This’ll be fun!

The door slid behind me once I stepped inside. It had warm neutral creams and blues for the walls, but I saw the interior design panel by the kitchen. So I could change it if I wanted. I normally just liked taking what they gave me since each place was different and made me feel like I’m soaking it all in.

Directly across the long room was a balcony that I didn’t remember seeing from the outside, but I guess I wasn’t looking too closely. I dropped my pack down by the couch as I eagerly went to the door. It had another lock, three floors was hardly a difficult jump to make, so that made sense.

I unlocked it and stepped out to look at the slowly coming dusk of the day. At the top the sun remained, though with a more hazy and stretched appearance than the clear one before. It reminded me of pictures of how it looked at the horizon over the sea. I can’t wait to see what night is like!

Turning to look around the street, finally seeing a better and stable view gave me more appreciation for the layout. The organic shaped buildings separated enough at this height for me to see through them rather than consume my whole vision. Even from here, I could only see the upper parts of the Coulen tower. So close and still so obstructed. Not sure I was ever going to find this without help.

After a good bit of fresh air, I returned and dragged my pack to the bedroom. It was off the left side of the main room. A bathroom looked to be adjoined to it, sensible. The bed was quite massive, more than I needed. Looked like a nightmare to clean and set, but they probably didn’t have to worry about a lot of that.

I dropped my pack on the corner of the bed with a bounce. B jumped out of my jacket while I sifted through my things. The delivery forced me to move things around. But no damage from what I could see. It seemed unlikely, but I wanted to check.

I pulled out some clothes fixing creases. As I went back I felt the bed bouncing a little to see B rolling all over the pillows. “Glad someone’s enjoying the luxury.”

He popped up his head and pulled the pillow down looking rather adorable. “They’re very soft.”

“Yes I’d imagine so. They seem to be doing pretty good business.”

“C’mon, is the town all that really excites you, Heva?”

“It’s a room. I’ve spent nights on the rock hard ground, but have you seen a sky like that before?”

“But it’s fake. This softness is so very real.” He rubbed his tiny hand all over the pillow to emphasize it.

I nodded at him and pulled out a couple of small cases. I kept the cube sealed, but tapped the rectangular box. A soft yellow slight split the lid to form it as I lifted it open. I pulled out the thin tube checking on it while running my finger over the smooth surface. “And I’ll get to know that when I sleep tonight.”

“Such a country bumpkin.”

“Yeah, yeah…” I flicked the cylinder down as it extended sharply to a two meter length. The balance remained perfect without feeling the change in size. “And for someone that everything is synthesized you’re enjoying simulated reactions quite a bit.”

“You travel for the sights. I travel for the beds.”

“Comforts.”

“Same thing?”

I smiled and snapped my wrist to change the device once more. It loosened and whipped around with each sharp motion of my hand. Everything seemed functional. I’ll properly practice later. “Right.” The flexible metal retracted back within its canister.

A brush of my thumb sealed up the weapon. I placed it out on the bed. Generally, it wasn’t something that I needed within a town. Only while on the road did I keep it on hand. For check in at the gate, everything had to be sealed up. Violence should be rare in town. People had better things to do than fight or kill.

But it still happened and I preferred self-defense. There wasn’t anything against carrying something for protection, just not presenting like you’re spoiling for a fight. If they came for me, I’d lay them out.

While I went through the rest of my pack, B looked up from smothering himself in the pillow. “I know you’re excited to go sightseeing, but you might want to reconsider it.”

I paused thinking back to the drunk-sim guy. “The guy was getting off on simulations, not sure he’s exactly a representative of the town.”

“No, but where there’s one, there’s more. I can’t imagine every town is peaceful.”

I gave him a nod as I wrapped up my checks. Putting everything back in my pack, I moved it over to the side of the bed where I’d sleep.

Stretching a little, I finished working out the stiffness from the trip. Over on the wall in the living room, I saw it was coming up to almost six now. “You stay up here. I’m going to see what’s available for dinner.”

B nodded a little while still rolling around in the pillow. If it was any sort of relief, I didn’t have to worry about him shedding all over the bed. And I wouldn’t have to explain oddities to them. I assume they did some sort of cleaning service. I’d keep things in order, but they would come through once a week at least to just do their own checks.

Locking the door behind me, I looked around the hall. There wasn’t a clear sign that there was someone else in the House, but I figured that there was. Though I didn’t know if I would meet them or not. But food and hopefully, not packaged and processed, would be available.

Down on the ground floor, I could see a couple shadows moving around. Probably the family, it’d give me the opportunity I was looking for. As I started to walk down the stairs, I heard a sharp cough that rose up from deep within. They went on for a few seconds, but recovered. Something that they ate?

When I made it down, I found the woman from before along with a young girl about eight. The woman tried to shoo away their daughter noticing my arrival.

“Miss Lacerius! Was there something you needed?”

“Since I came in late, I haven’t had the chance to visit the market. I was looking to get something to eat.”

“I can make some recommendations. We do provide prepared packs at each kitchen.” While she continued to try to provide her service, her daughter poked her head around from behind looking at me. She had a curiosity and glow about her. I certainly wasn’t the only stranger she saw, but that didn’t seem to change things.

I waved playfully back to her. “I’ve been munching on those the whole ride here. I was hoping to get something solid, ya know?”

“Oh of course!” She quietly thought over her options.

“We’re having dinner! Join us.”

“Lousie! I’m sorry, my daughter didn’t mean anything.”

“But mum!”

“A restaurant isn’t bad, but I don’t mind eating in. I am going to be here for a while!”

The mother looked more than a little panicked suddenly getting a stranger for dinner. That worked out better than I hoped. I’d give the little kid a thankful gesture, if the mother wasn’t looking.