Chapter 10

“We are going to the market, do you want to come with us?”

“The market?”

“Yes!”

An'Ri smiled, her tail swinging from side to side with excitement.

“We can buy tea and trade some food we got. You never know what you will find.”

She paused and looked at me with anticipation. I sighed. There was no reason for me to go, but with nothing to do, staying in my flat seemed like an even worse option, so I agreed.

I watched her happily run back to her flat, and I put on my still-wet jacket. Even during the war, all sorts of unofficial markets were tolerated, and on more than one occasion, we had traded our canned chocolate for a sort of homemade drink there. They had become part of daily life, so I doubted that the civis government would try to get rid of them anytime soon.

They waited for me in the stairwell, wearing those weird baggy trousers and something that resembled a mix between an oversized scarf and a jacket. They looked like one of those cringy cartoons from the Unity site. I guess it was their traditional clothing, but this was the first time I had seen it. When I’d gone to the other side with my squad, I’d had different things on my mind than admiring the local fashion.

Mai’Ri glanced at me. Was I supposed to give her that weird greeting? Was she expecting it by now? It was fine to do it with the girl, but with her… I glanced at her. Our eyes met, and she stepped towards me. Fuck. I wanted to look away, but you were supposed to look at each other, at least that’s what the cringy website had said.

Awkwardly, I extended my arms, and she took my hands in hers. They were warm and soft. It felt so weird… I stepped closer and pressed my forehead against hers. Suddenly, she pulled away, burying her face in her shoulder, her tail swishing with agitation. An’Ri chuckled. Fuck, what went wrong this time? Coming with them had been a bad idea from the beginning.

“You shouldn’t rub your nose against hers”

I blinked and looked at An’Ri.

“What?”

“Humans touch mouth-to-mouth, we rub our noses”, Mai’Ri said quietly without looking at me.

Fuck.

“S-sorry…”

I looked away, but she just shrugged and started walking down the stairs. It could be worse, and anyway, it was probably the first and last time we did that weird thing. It wasn’t something I would miss…

It was raining outside, but they didn’t seem bothered by it. Another weird thing, considering their clothes didn’t offer any protection. At least I had a hoodie, and my jacket was waterproof. Like always, they walked barefoot. Apparently, it helped them use Tau, or magic, as they called it. Maybe it did, but the tech in my suit compensated well for any disturbances in the flow, and its polymer composition could stop shrapnel or small arms fire, so even if it made you slower at summoning the Effects, it was a fair trade.

The streets were almost empty as we made our way to what was left of Goryokaku Park, where the market was held, so our unusual group didn’t draw too much attention. I really didn’t want to make it into the news again. She hadn’t said a word since the incident, but I saw her glancing at me on a few occasions as we walked. At least no one had died, it would be fine.

The market lay far from where we lived, almost on the other side of town, but on weekends, public transport was almost nonexistent, and there was virtually no chance of getting a lift in weather like this, so in most cases, walking was the only viable option. Private cars were rare at best.

Despite the weather, the market looked busy and much bigger than I remembered. Many stalls had small tents erected to protect the traders from the rain, and those who sat under their umbrellas had small tables displaying their goods. Definitely not something you could run away with if the MP decided to make a raid. Back then, even if tolerated, markets like this were theoretically illegal, and raids, though rare, still happened from time to time.

We walked through the bustling crowd. At least there were enough people in uniform, so I didn't really stand out. By myself, at least. Our small group got a few curious looks, though. People and Ta’al tended to keep to themselves for most of the time, from what I could see.

I watched them making their way through the stalls, stopping every so often to exchange a few words with some sellers. I stayed behind, not wanting to do anything weird again when they tried to make some friends. I guess that’s what they were doing, at least. The cringy website had said that community was important to them.

Suddenly, An’Ri ran over to me and pulled my hand.

“Come, we can have some tea!”

She pulled me into one of the tents. Mai’Ri was squatting at the entrance, chatting to a family sitting around a teapot. I sighed. Did they already know each other?

Everyone looked at me curiously, and their glances stayed on my face. At least my presence didn’t terrify them, but I felt really out of place. I squatted next to her, and An’Ri squeezed in between us. An older man passed me a tall tea glass, still warm, and I took a sip. At least no one tried their weird greeting on me…

I tried to follow their conversation about food cards, work allocations, and their time in the camp. It seemed like she had met some of them there. I got lost pretty quickly. Most of it felt alien and absolutely irrelevant to me.

“Do you think they could receive the extra food you got for us?”, Mai’Ri asked, looking at me.

I blinked.

“Not sure, I can check it with my superior”

I pulled out my notepad from my pocket and looked at the man who had served me tea earlier.

“Where do you live…?”