Aramora

Chapter 7: The City of Thieves

Amazing cover image made by Shreya_VA <3

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Naomi rushes to catch up with the others outside the gates of Ecrin, on the massive bridge that connects the island to the mainland. She joins Lavern and Nesosa where they wait across from Malachi, who still has his nose in his book.

Lavern smiles as she approaches. "Oi, Naomi. Be glad I managed to convince these two to wait for you. They wanted to leave you behind and make you chase us to Balmoral for sleeping in. Lucky for you, I was here to persuade them otherwise." He crosses his arms.

Naomi rolls her eyes. "Oh, come on. We're about to walk for god only knows how long. I feel some rest is well needed ahead of time," she justifies.

Nesosa snorts. "Please, you've got it easy. Just be thankful ye aren't the one tasked with hauling Lavern's arse evry'where."

Lavern laughs. "'Hey, it's a nice arse to haul." He winks. Nesosa huffs and looks away spitefully, earning a proud smirk from the elf.

Malachi grumbles and shuts his notebook, eyeing each of them. "Enough. We need to get moving already. The sooner we can be done with Athemar and his pointless 'quest', the better," he states and starts walking down the long bridge.

Naomi sighs and rushes to catch up, Lavern and Nesosa follow close behind. "So, what's the plan?" Naomi asks.

Malachi shrugs. "What do you mean? We go to Balmoral and convince their leader, Socles Hu-nis'Hanover to give us the fragment. Pretty straightforward," he says and keeps his eyes forward and his face gruff.

Naomi slowly nods and looks down. Malachi glances at her curiously but masks it with a glare. "What? No obnoxious teenager comment this time?" he questions and returns his gaze to remain forward. Naomi shakes her head.

"Nah... maybe later," she sighs and stuffs her hands in her jacket pockets. Malachi narrows his eyes as he studies her, then turns his focus back to the road.

He shrugs. "Well... good. It's about time I get a moment of silence," he grumbles. Nesosa laughs and pats Lavern on the back.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Lav and I are here tae more than make up fur yer lack o' annoyance fur the day," she says with a wink.

Lavern looks forward at Naomi and tilts his head curiously. She's walking with her head down and slightly dragging her feet across the cobblestone bridge and as they step out onto the ground on the other side, beginning to make their way down the path that points north. She did sleep in, so she's probably just still waking up.

They walk for a few more hours, now deep in the great forest that borders Ecrin from Balmoral. As they walk, Lavern notices that Naomi is still out of it. She hasn't even commented on any of the times Nesosa has irritated Malachi, and there have been plenty.

He purses his lips and pats Nesosa on the back before shifting his legs over and sliding down, landing on the ground. He rushes forward towards Naomi and taps her shoulder, making her jump and turn back to look at him.

"Gah!—What?" she gasps.

Lavern examines her face. "Is... everything alright? You've been kinda off today," he asks and they keep walking.

Naomi sighs. "It's nothing... just tired." She shrugs.

Lavern shakes his head. "Naomi, remember that I'm a teenager too. I know those lines. That is code for 'something's wrong but I don't want to seem desperate to talk about it'. Come on, just tell me." He crosses his arms.