Kanushin (Starweaver's Tapestry #1)

Chapter 6: Other Side of the Underside

Diah and Zaius slammed into chilled metal walls as they tumbled down the silver chute. Loud pops and thuds reverberated around them, each hit another note in their percussive and chaotic descent.

They rolled through a final turn, hands clasped, and were spat out into an old alleyway in the Underside. The neon-singed walkways and buzzing plasma signs coated every bare space of the buildings around them. Advertisements roared around the air above, a cacophony of jingles and catchphrases.

Diah let out a low groan and untwisted her arm. The pair had landed awkwardly, their bodies individually pretzeled from their tumble. She stumbled as she tried to stand. Dirt and small debris sat nestled in her now tousled hair.

Diah dusted herself off and looked over at Zaius' body, flattened against the alley's ground.

"Are you okay?" She asked, bending slightly to check his breathing.

"Um ood," He responded, voice muffled by the floor.

Diah gave him a small pat on the back and moved to the end of the alleyway. She crouched and observed their surroundings, eyes burning slightly from the neon glow around them. She heard Zaius shuffle back up behind here.

"Welcome to the Underside. Enjoying your tour so far?" He asked with a slight chuckle as he crouched next to her.

"Honestly, it's kind of been a lot," Diah answered, face glowing in the shades of blues and yellows that encompassed her. "I'm not lying when I say it's more excitement than I ever got on Vensha."

She shifted her gaze in his direction as he stood. Zaius smiled and helped Diah back up to her feet.

"Well, no worries. We need to head to the Atometry," He explained. "It's a club deeper in the Underside, but I know the way from here. We should be long gone by the time Areshia and her crew come back around."

"What's at the Atometry?" Diah inquired.

Zaius looked at Diah, locking eyes. There was something different in the way he looked at her.  She couldn't quite place what it was or when it may have happened. It felt more personal, like he was studying every part of her. He inched a bit closer but remained silent, still lost in thought.

Diah panicked slightly and racked her mind. She raised an eyebrow and repeated her question to bring him back to reality. She didn't want to break his thought process, but was nervous about what would have happened if she didn't. Zaius swiveled to the left and looked around. Diah wondered if he was hiding his embarrassment.

Zaius took a small, almost unnoticeable breath.

"My family," He finally responded.

*****

Zaius kicked himself over and over in his mind. A feeling of heat swelled in his cheeks then spread across his face. He wasn't even entirely sure what happened.  

He had meant to answer Diah and tell her about Sky and Gen. When he turned to respond, though, he was struck by Diah's features. The flecks of gray and vibrant violet in her irises sparkled in the ever-changing colored lights around them. They drew him in more the longer he gazed into them. The patterned marks on her face entranced him further as they twinkled lightly. It caused something deep in his stomach to flutter.  

When Diah asked him about the Atometry again, he hadn't realized how much time had passed. The realization hit him like a brick wall and forced him to realign his mind. That spiraled into embarrassment, but he couldn't let her see.

'I don't want her to think I'm a creep,' He thought to himself as he turned in the direction of the Atometry. 'Besides, she's royalty, or at least something like it. I'm just a random human to her. Right?'
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