Chapter Ten - Vim - A Cloak For a Fox

     "Is this the capital?" Lomi asked as we left the port.

"No. Just a large city. There's a larger town, on the coast, a few weeks from here. It even has walls," I said. Great gates and walls were becoming more and more common, thanks to the advancements the humans have made and their general numbers... but most cities were still without.

Lomi walked closely next to me and not just because she was wary of the many people on the road. She was now very conscious of not just her surroundings, but herself.

Luckily she was a small child, and it was still windy. No one would find her odd quirk of constantly checking her hat to be strange.

"This way," I guided Lomi to an alley, and made sure to account how many people were on the streets.

Not many. It was already getting cold enough that people were choosing to stay indoors even during the middle of the day.

The boat ride had been uneventful. Lomi and I had to take refuge inside the boats small cabin, alongside the captain and other workers. Not because the weather was that bad, but because they would have found it odd if we hadn't.

No human father would let their young daughter stand out in a near-blizzard willingly.

Because of that, Lomi had more than enough time to brood over what had occurred this morning. Since we had sat in silence together for most the trip.

Although I knew she'd not forget it, anytime soon, she was young enough to not let it completely tarnish this once in a lifetime trip for her.

"Ho there!" A man greeted us as we passed him. He was bundled up in a larger jacket, which reminded me this was a good place and time to get one for Lomi.

Glancing at her as she studied the buildings we passed, I took note of her hat. It was a little too big for her, thus why it had fallen off so easily.

Yes. Something better was in order. Not just because it was winter, either.

"It is getting cold," Lomi noted, staring at a group of people down the path. They were huddled together, talking about something. Most were wearing cloaks, or large jackets. A few even had things wrapped around their necks and head, to better protect themselves from the chill.

"If only you had fur," I said to her.

She smiled up at me, as if it was a joke she's heard before. One that reminded her of a happy moment.

A gust blew by, causing a nearby sign to creak loudly. Its metal hinges had probably begun to ice over, based off the sound.

The sign told me it was some kind of paper store. Maybe books. But books were still something only the wealthy could afford. Most humans were illiterate, and the common book was still something that took great effort to produce. They were made by hand still.

I knew it'd not be long until that all changed. I knew soon it'd all be different.

"Look, a statue!" Lomi grabbed my hand, to get my attention.

Walking into the center of the city, I allowed Lomi to study the large whale that had at one time lived in the lake.

The people here wouldn't remember, but that whale had been far larger than this statue. So large that it had nearly poisoned the whole lake upon its death, its carcass taking far too long to decay.

But why would they remember? They remembered the legends. The stories. But never what their actions wrought. I knew if I brushed aside the snow and ice, I'd eventually find a plaque that told the story of the ship of sailors who captured the great fish. How the city had only survived the harsh winter thanks to its meat and oil. But I knew it, and the entire town, would never remember the many years after that they suffered from a lack of fish, afterwards.

"Are there really fish this big?" Lomi asked, still studying the statue.

"Yes. Though not here. Not anymore," I said.

"Are those whiskers?" she asked.

"They are. It didn't have any, though," I said.

"Oh?" Lomi glanced at me, and I knew I had said the wrong thing. Sometimes I should just keep my mouth shut.

Before she could latch onto that subject, I pointed at a nearby shop. The windows were one of the few that had yet to be draped over, as to keep the cold at bay. "Let's go there real quick," I said.

Pulling Lomi along, since she still held my hand, I made sure no one in the city center watched us as we entered the shop.

There weren't many people out and about, but there were still a few. Thankfully no one seemed interested in us at all. People were too busy trying to simply get to their destinations, out of the cold.

"Welcome!" A happy voice greeted us as we entered the well lit shop, and I realized why they hadn't covered the large window yet like all the rest had.

There were multiple fireplaces, and all were roaring.

"Oh my! How are you, young lady?" an older woman waved at us from inside the shop. She was standing near a large dress, maybe some kind of ball-gown. It was displayed in the center of the room, and it looked like she had been setting it up.

Lomi shifted closer to me, and I knew the human woman found it normal as she giggled and looked at me. "How can I help you today?" she asked.

"Do you have any heavier cloaks in her size?" I asked.

"Oh sure. We always have many ready for the winter, and there's always leftovers... let me go get a few," the woman quickly hurried off into the back of the shop, disappearing behind a curtain.

Being left alone, I sighed and gestured to some of the nearby clothes. Ones hanging from racks, and on the walls. "Go ahead and take a look," I said to Lomi.

She hesitated, but nodded. Our hands separated as she walked up to the large dress that the woman had been working on earlier.

"It's a ball-gown, by the looks of it," I said to Lomi. I knew she had probably never seen such a thing before.

"How do you wear it?" she asked.

"With great effort," I said.

"Sir, would a fur-lined cloak be something you'd consider?" the woman peeked her head out from the curtains, and I noted the tone of her question.

Could I afford it?

"Yes. That would be preferred, actually," I said.

She smiled, and with a brisk nod retreated back.

Lomi glanced at me, but said nothing. She returned to studying some of the clothing, and I noticed that most of them were... a little too fancy.

Was this maybe one of the nicer stores? It was hard to tell. Surely not everyone could afford such clothes.

Had this town become wealthier since my last visit? I remembered the church settling down here, but hadn't thought it'd increase the common citizen's wealth this greatly. Let alone this quickly. It had only been a few years...

It didn't take long for the woman to return, carrying a bundle of clothes. I noticed two of them, and already knew which one we'd be buying.

The woman happily hummed as she walked over to a corner of the store, where two tall metal poles were. Keeping quiet, I kept my eyes on Lomi as she watched with fascination as the woman went to displaying the two pieces of clothes.

Both of the metal poles had little arms, which could be used to properly display clothes. It wasn't a perfect representation, but it was far better than anything else.

"They're both a little long for her, but I can hem them quickly if you'd like," the woman said, stepping back so Lomi and I could study the two.

Both were probably half a foot longer than what she needed, but I knew that would just make it a little better. A cloak being a little heavier at the ends was sometimes a good thing. Especially when it was windy.

Lomig glanced at me, and I gestured for her to go ahead and touch them. I already had made my choice, but I wasn't going to rob the little girl of the chance to do something like this.

After all, once our little journey ended... she'd never travel again. For better or worse.

"The one on the left is a little old, while that one is new," the woman said, as Lomi touched the one on the right.

Neither looked much different in build quality. Both were better than anything most humans wore, or bought, especially for children. But the one on the left was darker. Not just the leather, but the fur on the inside.

"They seem heavy," Lomi said softly, as if afraid to say anything.

"That's the point. Plus you'll get used to it. It feels comfortable," the woman spoke for me, smiling all the while.

She must have children of her own.

Lomi went to look at the one on the left, and I noticed the way she flinched upon touching it. The woman barely noticed, but I did.

The young girl spent a few moments with it, and then turned to look at me. The look on her face was undeniable.

"We'll take the one on the right. It looks like sable fur, is it?" I asked.

"It is! I'm surprised you could tell without touching it sir," the woman said, genuinely shocked. Her eyes focused on me a little deeper, and I realized I just became interesting to her.

Women were so odd sometimes.

"That'll work then. Mind shorting it just a tad for her, so at least it doesn't drag?" I asked her.

"Of course! Let me just measure you real quick, sweetie," the woman had expected this, and already had her tools ready. A long thin strip of twine appeared in her hand, which she quickly used to measure Lomi.

Lomi went perfectly still at the woman's sudden closeness, and remained still until she was done.

"It'll be three penk," the woman said as she went to gathering the two cloaks off the metal stands.

Doing the math in my head, I realized that wasn't too bad. I didn't know the current conversion rates, but it hovered around fifteen renk to a single penk. Forty five renk for a newly made fur lined cloak was...

"Are the cloaks made here? That seems a little cheap," I asked as I went to digging out the coins.

"They are! We have a hunter lodge in the north forest, where they get the furs. The craftsman building is in the south of town. My husband works there," she said as I handed her the coins.

"I see," I said, and wondered why I had even bothered to ask.

"Thank you. I'll get to hemming it right now; I'll be only a short moment. There's some chairs over there if you'd like to wait," she gestured to the opposite of the room, where there did indeed sit a small table with a couple chairs.

The woman left us alone once again, and I wondered if she was that trusting or if I was seen as less of a threat thanks to Lomi. Usually no one would leave a strange customer alone with merchandise like this so readily.

Although I had just given her a hefty amount of money, it was nothing compared to how much I could steal in a short amount of time.

"I thought money was called renk," Lomi asked, choosing to look at another dress instead of resting at the table. The dress looked made out of mostly wool, and was dyed an odd blue color.

"It is. Penk is a higher valued coin, made of silver. They're all minted in a nearby nation of Lenk," I said.

"Lenk..." she seemed to recognize the name, based on how she said it.

"Did merchants ever visit your village?" I asked her.

"Sometimes," she said softly.

Wonder if one of them had been the cause for the raid.

The churchmen we had seen in that bar had not known anything about Lomi's village. In fact, they hadn't even been a part of that region's abbey. They had been common monks on a pilgrimage.

"There's a church here," Lomi whispered, and I noticed the way she glanced at the door.

Sure enough hanging above the door was the symbol of the human's faith. An oddly shaped cross.

"They're everywhere nowadays," I said gently.

Lomi didn't seem to care for that, but knew better than to voice her grievances. Humans may not hear as well as our kind did, but there was no telling when the woman would return.

With a small sigh I glanced to a nearby fireplace. It was made of stone, and well crafted... the several logs inside were a bright red and popping lightly.

"Let's take a look!" the woman emerged with a loud voice, causing Lomi to flinch. She was simply excited. Maybe she was glad for a sale, during this bad weather, or simply took pride in her work.

"Here ya are," she said, holding the cloak open before Lomi.

Lomi glanced at me, and I nodded and gestured for her to try it on. I knew she was worried that the woman would ask her to remove her hat, but there would not be any real reason to. She only wanted to make sure the cloak didn't drag on the floor, more than anything.

While Lomi put the cloak on, I noticed the way the woman smiled. There was a hint of sadness in the smile, and I realized that she was likely not a mother at all. Or at least, not one anymore.

"Well look at that. Fits you perfectly," the woman said, once Lomi stepped back and studied her new attire.

"Looks good," I agreed, nodding. Lomi looked at me and smiled, as if my compliment made her warmer than the cloak did.

"Indeed it does. Will you be needing anything sir? Your jacket is rather thin," the woman glanced at me, and I wondered if I looked odd or if she was just trying to get another sell. It probably was cold enough that I looked under-dressed.

"I'll be fine. Thank you," I said.

She nodded, and didn't seem too concerned with my answer.

"Let's go," I said, gesturing for Lomi to join me out.

"Thank you," Lomi said to the woman, and it made her smile as she waved goodbye.

"Come again!"

Stepping out into the world, I noticed the chill for the first time. Spending so long in such a place with two lit fires made the difference obvious.

"It is warm," Lomi mentioned, happily enjoying her new cloak.

Grabbing the hood, I pulled it up over her head. It was large enough that it was able to go over her hat comfortably, yet snug enough that it actually was a boon. It'd keep her hat secured that much more.

"Sable fur is one of the nicer ones," I said.

"The other one was nice too," Lomi said quickly, rushing to its defense.

I nodded, and smiled gently.

Yes. Fox fur was nice too. Even if half the price.

"Of course. Probably finer by a great margin. But sometimes simple is best," I said, gesturing for her to join me on the path. We weren't far from the painter building. A few streets down.

"Mhm," Lomi nodded in agreement, and I knew she didn't want to say much more.

"Is it hard? To make clothes?" she asked.

"Some types are difficult, I suppose," I said.

"Think I could do it?" she asked.

"I don't see why not."

The young girl smiled and nodded. Pulling her cloak closer to herself, I wondered if that was a good goal for her.

Everyone needed something, after all.

Plus... "If you do end up a seamstress or something, make sure to let me know. I'm horrible with fashion, so knowing someone good at it would really help me out," I said.

Lomi smirked at me, and I could tell by the way she grinned that even she had noticed such a fact.

Was it that obvious? Maybe that was why that woman had asked such a thing. Not that I had looked cold, but because my clothes themselves were odd.

They were a little old... maybe a few years. Maybe it was time I got a new set. I wasn't as bad as most of our kind when it came to such things, but...

Guiding Lomi to the Sleepy Artist, I hoped she could indeed one day make clothes.

Not just because it was a decent job or because she'd find it fun... but because it was a very human occupation.

A very normal one.

Just like the old goat we were about to meet. He was annoying in his own way, but I praised his ability to adapt. To accept.

He found something that allowed him to blend in well. Something that fulfilled his personal desires and purposes, yet at the same time kept him safe.

I needed more like him. More like Elk.

It was time our kind started to adapt. It was time.

It was now or never.

If they didn't adapt, they'd die.

I knew there were only a few who could. Only a few that would even entertain it... but... What else were they going to do?

Fighting back wasn't working. Running didn't last. Hiding never worked.

And I'd rather have a few very human like non-humans, than none at all.

If only the rest of them could accept that fact.

If only I could too.