Epsilon Twilight
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34. Hometown
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 12:42:27 +0000 UTC"So, you lived here?" Xochipilli asked completely unbeknownst to the battle occurring in Aloe's head.
There was something awe-inspiring in the sheer height they found themselves at, but above all else, an intimidating pressure. People were never supposed to be this high up, yet as Aloe stood unfazed, a goddess with the sun and the heavens as her cloak with the wind weaving her dress like waves, Xochipilli couldn't allow himself to portray weakness.
The missionary had always said that in Ydaz weakness was a sin. Not even children and women were exempt from it. So he had to be strong. He had to be strong for his master. For his goddess.
"Yes, a long, long time ago," she mused, her voice a song of reminiscence and a time long past.
"How was the city before?" He could see it in her eyes, it was the same gaze he had when the village had been razed to the ground. The gaze of not being able to recognize one's hometown anymore.
"Sadina was a hub of trade with a size second only to the capital of Asina, but now if you look at the circle made by old stone walls there, you can now see how pitifully small it was."
Sure enough, there was a clear distinction between the overwhelmingly tall buildings like the one they were standing on at the moment and the small ones enclosed in a small circle as she had said. But he didn't think the same thing.
"I don't think the circle is small at all," Xochipilli said. "This city of Sadina is big; bigger than anything else I've seen in my life, but that doesn't make that circle small. It's smaller in comparison, yes, but not small."
Aloe looked at him and gifted him with a warm and sweet smile.
"Ah, Xochipilli, you have a gift with words," she caressed his head and hair with her soft gloved hand. "You certainly know how to win a woman with your words, you will be a menace when you grow up."
"I don't intend to win any woman," he pouted in refusal.
"We'll see, we'll see," the First Druid chuckled.
There was nothing more valuable than those caresses and those smiles. Even the knowledge of magic that she so magnanimously offered paled in comparison to such gestures. There was just nothing greater than them to him. One could say that he was growing… addicted to them.
"I must thank you, Xochipilli," the ivy-haired goddess said after a moment.
"For what?" He expressed his confusion.
"For your words made me focus more on the landscape," she revealed. "If you hadn't questioned me, I wouldn't have noticed how a lot of the landmarks remained after so many centuries."
Centuries? Xochipilli nearly gasped at the long period Aloe was talking about, but then she realized how there was no reason to. She's a goddess, after all. That was justification enough of course a goddess would live for centuries.
"There I can see the pronounced separation between houses that signalizes the presence of the bazaar, or what remains of it." She pointed at the locations. "There I can see the buildings that were the public baths, though I don't know if that is any longer the case. The walls, the palace, the university… There are so many locations that remain – that their essence lingers on – even if their shape has shifted. I guess that in a way, I am the same. I can't help but be astonished by the atemporal sight."
"Yes, the sight is astonishing." The disciple nodded, though his eyes were set on the backlit goddess of the green dress instead of the city.
Aloe took a deep breath, her chest puffing far more than it was humanly possible, but it mattered not because she wasn't a human but a goddess. She was constantly reminded of it, there was no moment she wasn't worthy of a painting at the end of the day.
"Well, I've sketched a picture of the city and our location in my head, so how about we do a bit of exploration?" Xochipilli simply nodded and followed Aloe out of the rooftops.
Descending on the elevator was painfully slow. Whilst there was a feeling of trepidation on the ascension, the same couldn't be said for the way down. If it wasn't because it was less tedious than the stairs, Xochipilli doubted anyone would use them.
The First Druid guided her out of the hotel and into the streets. Unlike the city of Selen, Sadina was an overwhelming place. The buildings were too tall and the people too numerous. Counting all the surrounding villages to his own, they still wouldn't have enough people to rival the single street they were walking on. The train station certainly attracted a lot of passersby.
"Mmm, yes. I can smell from here," Aloe said after sniffing the air.
"Smell what?" Xochipilli asked from her side.
"It's a surprise," she giggled. "Follow me and you shall have the answer."
Whilst he hadn't paid close attention to the layout of the city from their advantage point, Xochipilli soon divined they were heading toward the old city. What used to be Aloe's hometown.
"What are those?" He pointed at some animals pushing a carriage. The wider streets of Sadina allowed for something that Xochipilli hadn't seen in Selen.
"Those are dromedaries," she explained. "Don't confuse them with those other animals from there with two heaps, those are camels."
"The ones with one heap are dromedaries and the ones with two are camels then?" He repeated.
"Indeed," Aloe ruffled his hair in praise. "But they look a bit different from what I remember them, I wonder why…"
"Different how?"
"Well, they are a bit taller, their legs thicker, and their heaps smaller… They almost look like completely different species. I wonder if this is the result of the Evergreen's presence. After all, camels and dromedaries used to live in the desert where food and water were scarce, but the same couldn't be said in this ever-present forest."
"I don't fully understand, but I'll trust your words."
"You should have a bit more of a backbone, Xochipilli. Doubt is not a sin, but a virtue. Asking questions when no one is doesn't mean you are doing something wrong, but that the rest are being complacent."
"Mmm… I see." He truly did, even if his words didn't reveal the extent of his understanding. The words of her goddess were full of wisdom after all.
"But the biggest difference of them I'm seeing is their strength," she continued. "Carriages existed before, but they were for metropolitan transportation at most, for people. But these ones are far larger. Maybe also for the movement of people, but instead of a couple, half a dozen. I guess this is yet one of the other advantages of Cottonpull in play."
"Cottonpull?" Xochipilli inquired.
"The cotton they wanted to make you pick up. The one I showed you before that floats."
"Oh!" He exclaimed in realization. "The one you wrapped me with."
"…Yes," she chuckled. "How amusing that you mention that."
"How so?"
"Follow me," the First Druid gestured with her hand.
No words were needed to realize that they were entering the old city as they passed through an arc that physically separated both cities. Even the pavement they walked on changed with their step.
The goddess sniffed again. Even a gesture as mundane as sniffing she made it into a drawing-worthy image. "Yes, it's right here."
Following some confusing turns through somewhat straight streets, they reached a wide avenue where there were multiple stalls.
"Ah, it certainly soothes the heart knowing that the bazaar still is the bazaar even after these many years." She twirled her parasol in such a way that it charmed his heart.
Nothing could have prepared Xochipilli for the place the goddess had led him to. He couldn't deny he had filled his mind with expectation, yet he felt betrayed when he saw it.
"Oh, come on! What's with that expression?" Aloe held her parasol with her neck and with both of her hands, she forced a smile on Xochipilli's face. "Remove that sad smile, for you are now going to taste one of the greatest meals that have been granted to humanity from the very heavens! Sir, two durums!"
"On it, lady!" The man at the stall shouted and started cutting slices from a roll of meat that he had spinning on a pole.
"Is this durum this great?" Xochipilli expressed his doubt as he simply saw the man place meat and vegetables on a tortilla. It almost looked like cuisine from his homeland.
"That and more!" With a smile she had him dancing on her palm. He needed no divine foods, the goddess' smile was more than enough for him. "Hand me the purse."
The disciple did as commanded and handed a couple of coins to the man and he gave her the rolled meat and vegetables.
"Can you grab them? I need to remove my gloves first; I wouldn't like to dirty them with oil." Xochipilli nodded and grabbed the durums.
A simple action as simple as removing her gloves was nothing short of breathtaking. The whole activity of the avenue stopped just to peer at her goddess. He couldn't blame the people for doing so, it was a goddess they were seeing, but it made him uncomfortable. No one but him should worship her.
After Aloe finished taking her gloves off, she looked around to see the astonished looks.
"Oh, right. I forgot. A woman can't have something nice, huh?" She commented with a tired groan. "Hand me my durum, Xochipilli."
He did and she guided him to a nearby bench, then she took the first bite. Aloe's expression was filled with glee as she savored the food and he swore her ivy hairs snaked around, but even then, her visage seemed… sad.
"Is there something wrong?" He asked his master.
"No, not at all," she responded with a wry smile.
"But you look afflicted?"
"I… maybe I am," Aloe admitted with closed eyes. "My glamour is what allows me to walk between people, but at the same time, if I were to react with unrestricted emotions – for I am controlling my every action every single moment so they may be tame – I fear my beauty may blind them. Though I guess it must sound quite moronic when I am the one saying it."
"Nonsense!" Xochipilli jumped out of the bench. "Your beauty is divine, Aloe! The others are at fault for being unable to control themselves like beasts!"
"What a sweet smooth talker you are, child," she caressed him with the back of her hand. "But eat your durum before it grows cold."
Xochipilli blushed and sat back on the bench before taking a bite of the stuffed roll. A single bite filled his mouth with flavor.
"How is it?" His master asked him.
There was only a single possible answer. "It's shooo gooood!"
Comments
The3rd
Infinite sweets and goodness are here 🍨🍦🍪💖🍫🍬🍭🍮🍯🍰🍩🎂♾️
