Rurein, the Border City

A sudden jolt coupled with a loud thumping sound shook Ui awake. She rubbed her sticky eyes with her hand and opened her eyes slowly.

“Wake up, sleepy.”

She was in a slightly warmer, denser green forest outside of the city of Rurein, a city on the border between Uman and Udari territories.

“I’m surprised you managed to sleep through that, Ui.” Prishu started unfastening Ui from her back and giggled to herself. “You must be the first person to sleep during a high-speed flight.”

“I’m just so… sleepy.” Ui’s tiredness came through her voice. In the middle of an awkward silence, her stomach growled too.

Prishu set Ui down and laughed. “Is your brother not feeding you well? Don’t worry. I will.” Prishu winked as she fixed Ui’s clothes.

Ui, realizing Prishu’s attention was on her winter Udari attire, tried to cover herself with her arms.

“Oh please, Ui.” Prishu started walking towards the city. “You don’t have to do the coy act with me. We’ve known each other for so long…”

Ui couldn’t move. “Prishu… how long have you known?”

Prishu walked back and put both of her arms on Ui’s shoulders and didn’t allow her to look away. “Ui. We fought groups of kids together multiple times and you didn’t use magic. Did you think you could hide your strength from me?” Prishu grabbed Ui’s hand and started walking, dragging a hesitant Ui behind her. “Besides, I grew up here. I know what a strong Udari looks like.”

“Prishu… my brother…”

“Right. I guess this must be a little jarring to you. Where do I start?”

They both walked together holding hands through the forest outside Rurein. It was entirely on the Uman section of the island. A pair of girls walking into it, Uman or not, was of no surprise to the citizens.

“The Duke got imprisoned. Yeah, how about we start there.”

“What?!” Ui stopped abruptly, pulling Prishu.

“Relax, relax. It’s all part of the plan.”

“The plan?! And my brother is…” Ui tried to run away from Prishu, but her grip was too firm to let go.

“What are you going to do, Ui? Walk over there, and punch your way through some Royal Mages?” With her first impulse being shut down so directly, Ui couldn’t help but look away, embarrassed. Yet Ui was relieved by the fact that Prishu seemed unaware of her songmagic, and only knew about her Udari past and strength. “They asked me to bring you to a safe place. And I will do that.”

“Who asked you?”

“Miront.”

“Miront?!”

“Like I said, part of the plan.”

“Why is this the first time I’ve heard of this!?

“Well, I know you have a lot going on. I also think you have your own things you have to do, am I wrong?”

Ui struggled with her own thoughts for a few moments as they walked together. What else were they keeping from her? She knew there were things only she could do, but she felt left out of a plan much larger than her.

“You already have a lot to worry about in that little head.” Prishu’s tone was a mixture of scolding and teasing. Prishu patted Ui’s hair and then messed with it with both of her hands. “I do like this color on you better, Princess.” Prishu smiled, looking directly into Ui’s eyes. Ui had never felt that close and vulnerable to Prishu, so she stood there, stuck in her thoughts, and glued to those eyes. Prishu grabbed Ui’s hand and started walking again. “Now, let’s go. I need to introduce you to someone.”

“Who?”

“My brothers.”

“Brothers?!”

“Yeah. I’ve dealt with your obnoxious one for far too long. I need to show you what mine are like.”

The two walked hand in hand into the crowds of the streets of Rurein.

◆

The streets of Rurein felt both odd and familiar to Ui. The sidewalks were made of the same kind of Udari pathstones that made the paths of Aure and other Udari cities. Yet they were dusty and had signs of wear.

The city itself was nothing like Nallient. Despite the same river running through it, the city seemed uniform throughout. There were no tall or fancy looking buildings like there were in other Uman cities.

But Ui’s favorite part was that the city was full of color. The buildings weren’t made of Uman stonework alone. They were plastered with Udari clay, too. Ui was relieved, and even rejoiced, when she saw the mix of Udari and Umans walking around with all kinds of clothes. That’s why Prishu wasn’t alarmed by her past in the slightest.

“It’s not the fanciest… But we’ll treat you like one of our own,” said Prishu. Ui noticed Prishu had stopped in front of an inn.

“AroRuPri… Inn” Ui read the sign in front of the building. She looked back down to notice Prishu smiling with a door wide open, welcoming her inside.

She was still exhausted, confused, and uncertain from the incident in the north, but Prishu didn’t give her a single moment alone with her thoughts.

“Welcome!” The inn had a few tables on the ground floor, with worn out, but still beautiful wooden booths and stools facing a small bar. The place could fit about thirty people, if crammed. The smell of regional drinks and foods flooded the place, if not from the current meal, from the meals accumulated in that place over time. The person behind the bar was an Udari of light green hair like a pale blade of grass in the spring. Ui could tell he was a couple of years older than her.

The moment he noticed Prishu, walking inside in her cloaked uniform, he was startled at first, and then put down the cups he was wiping down and ran straight at her to hug her. “Sister!”

“Sister? Your brother?” Ui looked at them, comparing their features.

“Yeah. You never asked, Ui. Udari dad, Uman mom. Just getting that out of the way.” Prishu explained in a way that felt like she had done this many times.

“You can call me Aro.” Aro examined Ui. “What should I call you?”

“Yeah, what should he call you?” Prishu nudged Ui for an answer.

“You can call me…” Ui stalled for a few moments, confusing Prishu and her brother. “Uisempuli.”

“Ah… Uisempuli, Ui! Pink hair! And she’s so pretty, no wonder you talked about her, Prishu.” Aro seemed excited to have her around.

“You did?” Ui had never imagined this was what Prishu’s family was like.

Prishu shrugged, and looked back towards her brother. “Aro, don’t get too close to her, she has suitors,” she warned playfully before switching to a more serious expression. “I need to head back to the capital. Treat her like our most special guest, got it?”

“You’re going back?” Ui was startled. Being deposited in the middle of the island after everything that happened felt incredibly sudden.

“Yeah, they need me, too. Sorry, I can’t stay.” Prishu hugged Ui for far too long before looking at the clock they had on their wall, and then started heading out. She stopped for a second, looked back, and waved at Ui. Prishu’s slightly saddened look as she turned around didn’t escape Ui.

Ui felt a warm Udari hand on her shoulder, interrupting her thoughts. It was Aro. “Here, let me show you our best room!”