Land of Taria: The Awakening

Chapter 4

Cortulnse is booming with life. Civilians flock the streets and children run through the grass. The group stops for a moment and look around the busy city.
"Welcome to Cortulnse." Jason looks at Ty'Vander, who is nervously glancing at the mass of people.
"Am I allowed to be here?"
The group looks at Ty'Vander, confused by his statement.
"What do you mean, Ty?" Matías wraps his arm around the Korwan's shoulder.
"Well it's just that most of these people have never seen someone like me."
"So?" Jason raise an eyebrow.
"You don't understand because you're human."
Jason stays silent for a moment. He glances up and points towards the crowd of people.
"No one here will judge you. Each and everyone here has their own story and believe that each organic being in Taria is good natured, until proven otherwise."
Ty'Vander looks at Jason, a little relieved by his words.
"Innocent until proven guilty. That's their motto here when dealing with strangers." Jason keeps his head turned away from the group.
"So what are we doing here again?" Autumn asks, tilting her head.
"I have a meeting with the Mayor. You guys go and buy supplies for camp." Jason reaches down to a pouch next to his waist and unties it, handing it to Doruntus, receiving a grunt. It clinks as Doruntus places it in his cloak. Jason begins to walk away, but turns around and faces the group.
"Matías. No stealing." Jason locks eyes with Matías, who chuckles nervously.
"Pffttt. What? I'd never." Matías looks off, refusing to look at Jason, who has began walking away towards a large building in the center of the city.
Jason approaches the steps of the building and looks towards some men doing construction.
"We gotta get this job done by tomorrow or else our pay gets cut in half! Hurry up!" One of the workers says.
"Will you chill? It's just a ramp. We're gonna get it done before then." The second worker snaps back.
Jason looks at them for a moment, sighs, and walks through the doors.
Jason walks through the building and finds himself at a desk. There's a lady sitting there, writing something on a piece of paper. She has blonde hair and has sleek white ears poking through her head. Her skinny tail can be seen swinging just behind her.
"Maybe he'll love me after this letter. Now how to I slip him this without him noticing?" She mutters to herself. Her ears perk up when she hears footsteps approaching.
"Welcome to Cortulnse City Hall. How may I--" She looks up and her eyes meet with Jason's. A chill goes straight down her spine and she freezes. They stare at each other for a moment before she clears her throat.
"How can I h-help you?" She stutters. Jason looks at her for a moment before smiling.
"Is James here?" Jason asks, surprising the girl with his sudden friendly appearance.
"He's been in there all day. Practically barricaded the door and locked himself in there."
"Thank you." Jason turns and walks down the hall. The girl sighs when he's turned the corner, as if she couldn't breathe during their exchange.
Jason walks towards two large doors and stops, staring at them for a moment. He touches the handle and slowly turns it. The door creaks open and Jason walks in. He looks around and sees James at his desk, fast asleep. There is paper littered around the floor near him and the grabage can is empty. Jason sighs and begins picking up all the trash, placing it nestly in the can. Once he's done, Jason walks over to the desk and places his hand on James' arm.
"Hey. You gotta wake up." Jason gently shakes James, but there's no response. Jason does this a few more times before he looks around the room. He walks over to the window and opens it, letting the breeze flow throughout the room. It brushes up against James' face and his eyes pop open. He jolts up, springing from the chair, sending it to the floor.
"Close the window!" James looks at Jason for a moment before sitting down and rubbing his head.
"How long have I been out?"
"Not sure. I just got here." Jason slowly closes the window and walks over to James. "You need a break."
"What I need is to finish my speech. We're celebrating the eight hundredth anniversary of Cortulnse in a few days and I need to make sure this speech is perfect." James begins pulling another piece of paper out from his desk, but Jasom closes the drawer.
"Let's go sit." Jason looks at James, who gives Jason an annoyed look, but stands up with a groan. Jason grabs James' arm and goes to help him walk but James swats him away.
"I can walk on my own." James states.
"Is that why they're building a ramp next to the stairs?" Jason remarks, receiving a groan from the old man. They walk over to the couch and James lays down. Jason drags a chair over and sits down across from the couch.
"Have you eaten?" Jason asks.
"Eating is for the weak." James chuckles.
"Well you're getting weak. So you need to eat." Jason walks over to a cupboard and grabs a fruit. He tosses it to James.
"So what's new with you?" James asks Jason as he takes a bite of the fruit.
"Well I found a Korwan and decide to take him in."
"A Korwan? The hell is a Korwan doing in this part of Taria?"
"I'm not sure myself. He'll tell me when he chooses to. In the meantime, I've been training him to become one of us." Jason leans back in his chair.
"Is that camp still in shitty condition?" James gets a small glare from Jason.
"It's doing it's job for now. We're all perfectly fine with living in our tents."
"Not everyone is used to sleeping in dirt most of their life."
The room goes silent.
"I'm sorry Jason. I'm just tired." James rubs the back of his head.
"And old." The two laugh and look at each other for a moment.
"I may be old, but you seem like you haven't aged a day. You're constantly training and stressing your body, yet there's not a wrinkle in sight." Jason sits up and studies Jason's face.
Jason chuckles. "Guess I just got lucky." Jason looks out the window and spots the group walking around. He sees them laughing and watches Matías swipe a small fruit off a merchants stand and rolls his eyes.
"So, you got a new assistant?" Jason turns to James.
"Ah you mean Polly? She's great."
"Where'd you find a nice Murietta girl who's willing to put up with you?" They share another laugh and James stands up. He walks over to the window and stares out at it.
"I need a favor, Jason."
"Who do I need to kill?"
James chuckles.
"Don't get too excited. You know I don't condone violence, unless--"
"Unless it's necessary or a last resort." Jason finishes his sentence.
"Yes. Well this one is no different. There's someone in the nearby forest that I need you to find for me."
"Ok. Who is it?"
"We don't know. All we know is that she is a Drinoan and she keeps stealing from our supply carts whenever we get our deliveries."
"What's with you and non-human girls all of a sudden? First a cat-person as your new assistant and now a wolf-girl? You're too old to think about such young women." Jason smirks.
"Oh hush. We just want her to stop stealing from us." James turns and sits back down on the couch. "Maybe she can stay with you." James suggests. Jason looks at him and thinks about what he just said.
"We'll see about it. If I feel like she won't be useful, I'll turn her over to you." Jason says.
"She's taken down numerous guards, but never killed any of them. She's skilled. Just be careful."
Jason stands up and looks at James.
"I can handle it. I'll be back before nightfall." Jason turns and begins walking out the door.
"One more thing!" James exclaims and Jason stops, not facing his old friend.
"What was that thing you were gonna tell me last time we spoke? In your letter?" James asks. The room goes dead silent for a moment as neither of the men make a sound. Bird chirps and the muffled chatter of the people outside can be heard through the windows. After a while, Jason turns and looks at James.
"Don't worry about it." Jason says with a smile on his face. He waved goodbye and walked out of the room, disappearing as the doors close behind him. James walks over to his desk and sits down. He looks at the trash can next to his desk and rubs his head.
"Why was there so much pain behind those eyes?"