Chapter 16 - They who knew warmth

The brown autumn fully robbed summer of its lush green and winter was peering over with jealousy wanting to start its own bleak colors. In the peak of such a season, Cestela was drinking pumpkin tea with all its cinnamon sweetness and slight ginger spiciness. Pumpkin tea was a commodity readily available during all seasons but, just as much as Cestela didn’t care about being a novelty seeker, she didn’t mind indulging in the seasonal advertisement. To her, it was a sign of time moving forward... something she struggled with. She closed her eyes trying to enjoy the seasonal treat, but…

“Heyyy, Stel. Can’t I have some too?”

A certain medic supporter of the rank captain was complaining with their cheeks squished on a table.

“Sure, I won’t stop you.”

“But I don’t know how to make tea.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

“Please?”

“You don’t even drink tea.”

“But it’s the season for pumpkin tea.” Julie clasped her hands together. “Please?”

“Like I said go ahead.” Cestela opened one eye. Julie was holding her pouting stance. “…I only bought tea bags anyways.” Cestela shooed her away.

“Oh! I could do that.” The medic made her way to the area designated as a kitchen in the greenhouse humming to herself.

Cestela had chosen an old record for her company that night. It was a record that she did not buy but, rather, inherited. But her unchosen company was humming over the melodies of piano and saxophone.

“Julie.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you have family? Or church duties?”

It was the Festival of Embers, the holiday of autumn. Traditionally, families would clean their brass chimneys by day and light a hearth at night using blessed coal from the church. The day marked the pressurization of heating pipes across Dernier before the winter approaches. Without heating pipes, the metal city quickly becomes unbearable.

Cestela was aware that Julie had many around her. She still lived with her parents and even had a younger brother. Even if she had a fight with them, she was a welcome practitioner with the clergy as most medics ultimately find their faith as the reason behind their abilities. And yet, she decided to make the trek from her home in the Northern District to invade Cestela’s home.

Cestela couldn’t understand.

Julie smiled. It wasn’t quite out of joy. It was more out of sadness but a smile all the same. If anything, she felt bitterly happy about her decision. She hid it with her back towards Cestela as she stirred a tea bag in some water. “Cleaned my family’s chimney this morning and spent all of yesterday helping the church. Who do you think blesses all those coals anyways? The priests? They can’t cast healing aura. If they did, they would be helping us on the fronts. Haha.”

“Does using mana on coals even matter? It’s not like it does anything.”

Julie returned to the table with two cups of pumpkin tea. She placed one in front of Cestela such that Cestela now had two cups in front of her. Of note, Cestela actually only owned one cup. Since she lived by herself, she didn’t need more than one. It was Julie who brought a matching pair of teacups over despite her not drinking tea. As Julie sat down with Cestela, she brought the cup to her face to fully envelop her senses in the pumpkin, ginger, and cinnamon before answering, “It makes them special.”

“But is there really any difference between normal coal and ‘blessed’ coal?”

“That’s the difference!” Julie pointed at Cestela as if her words solved a mystery. “It’s the name.”

“I see…” Cestela began sipping her second cup of pumpkin tea.

Julie deflated. “You don’t understand, do you?”

“Sounds like those church dogma.”

“Heretic.”

“Cultist.”

Julie sighed. It seemed like the classic argument of religion was inevitable during the Festival of Embers. She hoped politics didn’t rear its uninvited face and decided to push off the discussion of religion as best she could. “But Stel think about it. What’s the difference between the regular coals people will burn tomorrow versus the blessed coal people will burn today?”

“The cost?”

It was an unexpected answer for Julie. Cestela was, in fact, correct. Blessed coal was given out for free by the church. That in itself led towards what Julie wanted to explain but it still quite missed the mark. “Hmm… true. Yes, that’s true. But people gather around the first hearth blessed by God- whether you believe in him or not!” Julie quickly clarified.

Cestela tried to speak again, but Julie wouldn’t let her.

“Whether you think God is benevolent or trash!”

Cestela closed her mouth.

“Families and friends come together and spend time with each other wishing for a good winter.” Julie had emphasized the latter group, but Cestela unflinchingly continued enjoying her tea.

“Wishing for a good winter, huh? Sounds like a scam…” Cestela’s own voice trailed off hearing her own words.

Julie was confused at her companion losing the cold energy in her words and was about to inquire until-

Knock… Knock.

Knocking at the door. Or, perhaps, two separate knocks. As if they had to be kept at a specific cadence. Or, perhaps, such a movement by the visitor had to be kept at a specific cadence due to their occupation. Cestela instinctively knew and smirk wickedly.

“Can you get that, Julie?”

“Uhh… sure.” Julie was concerned about Cestela’s unusual smile but obliged anyways. As Julie approached the door, it suddenly swung open. “Ah!”

“Oh sorry. Didn’t think anyone was going to answer the door.”

Cestela brought a hand to her mouth as if to amplify her voice from across the greenhouse but made no real attempt to raise her voice. “Lucian, I don’t think that’s a reason to break someone’s door.”

“Didn’t break it, Stela. It’s a simple three pin lock. I simply unlocked it. Oh Captain Esprit, sorry again.”

“O-oh… no worries, Mr. Acier.” Julie’s face flushed and her eyes were suddenly enthralled with the hem of her skirt. But Lucian paid it no mind.

“Oh, Stela. Where do you want this?” In each arm, Lucian held two parcels but nodded down to the larger one in his right.

“Is that?”

“It is.”

“On this table is fine.”

Lucian cocked his head. “Alright. I personally don’t like work at the dinner table but sure. Captain, request if you can take this smaller parcel from me?”

“S-sure.”

Lucian now freer to maneuver jogged over to Cestela and placed the parcel in front of her. He began unwrapping it but stopped. “Actually, you should be opening it, Stela.”

“What? It’s not like it’s a gift. I paid you for it, after all.”

“It’s about the vibe.”

“Exactly!” Julie chimed in.

Cestela sighed at the newly formed dynamic duo and began unwrapping the paper parcel. Inside was exactly what she expected. What a surprise.

It was the finished hip attachment that Lucian had designed. The base was a leather support that wrapped around the user’s waist and thighs. Two spools were situated on each side of the lower back for a total of four. The threads themselves were wider than the ones Cestela normally used in order to handle the increased tension. Instead of alloy rings to help guide the threads, hardened steel from each spool directed the threads forward from either the waist or approximately the mid-thigh. Lucian had insisted that such balance was required to not throw out the user’s back.

Cestela examined the intricacies of the contraption, mainly the threads and spools. “Looks exactly the blueprint.”

“Of course it does.”

“But you didn’t have to deliver it today.” Cestela set aside the new equipment on the table and picked up her teacup.

“Haha…” Lucian coughed awkwardly, his gaze sliding past the metal rig to meet Julie’s across the table. A quiet, unspoken agreement passed between the blacksmith and the field medic – the silent conspiracy of two people who had both made excuses to ensure a certain antisocial weaver wasn’t sitting alone in the dark on a holiday.

Julie gave a subtle, encouraging nod and cleared her throat. “Mr. Acier, we met once before but you can call me Julie.”

“If that’s alright with you capt- I mean, Julie. Call me Lucian. To me, Mr. Acier is my dad.”

Cestela thought to herself how odd Julie seemed to get over her awkwardness but shrugged it off. “What’s in the other parcel, Lucian?”

“Curious?”

“Not anymore.”

Lucian laughed and Julie passed the parcel to him before taking a seat closer to Cestela.

She whispered, “Stel, you didn’t tell me you were going to invite… Lucian.”

“I didn’t.”

“You should at least tell your guests about the possibility.”

“I don’t remember inviting you, either.”

Julie pouted.

Lucian finally undid his second surprise. “Ta-dah!” Inside was a bottle of spiced wine and another parcel. Lucian had continued his jazz hands waiting for a response.

As such, Cestela wondered whether the bottle of wine was half empty at this point. “… What’s in that parcel?” she asked unwillingly but was unable to watch the man continue with his charade.

Lucian undid the string holding the package together to reveal… coal.

“Blessed coal?”

“Correct.”

“I don’t have a fireplace.”

“Oh.”

“The greenhouse used to be a public garden, so the heating comes from the city’s central system. Saves me some coins in the winter.”

“Well, we can start one anyways.”

“You trying to suffocate us?”

“It’s the Festival of Embers!”

“I don’t want you to turn my garden into one.”

“Oh, it will be fine. Help me out, Julie.”

“S-sure!”

Cestela pinched the bridge of her nose. It was only then that she noticed the phonograph needle was hissing against the empty inner groove of the wax record. The music had ended minutes ago – completely drowned out by the noisy, uninvited warmth filling her greenhouse.