Beneath the Waves

Armin & Apophis

Ria's plan was simple. Contact Armin, the man who got them the Painite, and then the old man from the witchy shop and then somehow ask them if they are also what she is and THEN convince them to share all of their old man information with her. Easy peasy.

She was nervous when she dialed Armin's number. She was freaking out when the phone rang. And when he answered she almost passed away.

"Ello" came Armin's voice

"Hello, sir... I ... I don't know if you remember me, but you... I bought Painite from you"

"Ah, the young lady with the girlfriend, I remember. I don't do refunds you know" he said quickly

"No... I don't want a refund, the Painite was perfect... I ... there's something that I would like to talk to you about... but I don't want to do it over the phone. I was wondering if we could meet up at that shop in town. Apophis I think it's called"

"This is a very strange request from a girl I do not know at all"

"I promise I'll explain everything. Please... I... I need your help"

"Well all right. I can meet you there tomorrow at noon."

"Thank you so much, really thank you"

With that he hung up the phone, no goodbye or anything. She got the idea that he wasn't too keen on this meetup, but she hoped it would pay off. She didn't want two confused AND pissed off old men to deal with. She hoped her hunch was right and that this whole thing would pay off. It just had to. She sat down, pulled out the Book of Dragons and started reading. She reckoned she had better know what she was talking about if she were to try and coax a secret this big out of two old dragons.

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She walked into the shop at 11:55 and saw the old man behind the counter. He greeted her the same way as last time, not looking up

"Welcome to Apophis'" in his grumble of a voice.

"Hi...sir... I ... I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"

"We don't sell weed"

Ria laughed at that, she wondered how many kids came in asking for weed that his mind went straight there.

"No... I'm not looking for weed, sir"

"Name's Appo, stop with the 'sir' please, know I'm old but that makes me feel much older"

"Sorry si...Appo" she smiled

Just as she was about to start talking, the bell on the door dinged, the sound of someone entering the stoor. She swung around to see Armin standing in the doorway.

"Appo" he said, nodding in Appo's direction, "Young lady from the phone" nodding again, this time in Ria's direction.

"Wait, you two know each other?" she asked, surprised

"Yeah we go way back" said Appo from the counter, winking at Armin.

"Stupid old man. We're married" said Armin, raising his hand to show his ring. One of the most beautiful bands Ria had ever seen. It was onyx laced with something red. It looked like lava flowing, visible between cracks of volcanic rock.

"That's beautiful" she said, in actual awe

"I think so too" said Armin, this time winking at Appo

"How long have you been married?" she asked, genuinely curious

"Coming up on 46 years now", said Armin with a smile in his eyes

Ria hoped that this is what it would be like for her and Chris in the future. That they could resolve everything and live a long and happy life together. And she said as much,

"I hope that will be me and my girlfriend one day"

Walking over to the counter Armin said "I hope that for you too, young lady. Now... why did you summon me here?"

"Oh...well... I guess it's a bit of a weird topic. I'm not sure if I'm guessing right... but... I... uhm where are you from originally?" she asked nervously "have you heard of the islands of Jebel Zubair?"

The two old men looked at each other, brows raised, then back at her.

"Why that's actually where I got the rock for Armin's ring from" said Appo "why do you ask? That's a very specific question child"

Ignoring the question, she continued "Is there anything else that's special about that place? Why choose rock from there?"

"It's the land of our ancestors" replied Armin, unbothered, Appo elbowing him in the ribs. Armin gave him a 'what' look as if Ria wouldn't know what that meant.

At this point she was pretty sure and she had come prepared. She had learned the word for dragon in their native tongue (thank god someone scribbled the romanizations of all the names in the books).

"Aghesto" she whispered

Both old men's heads whipped to the front, looking right at her. "What did you just say" asked Appo in his grumbly voice.

"A...Aghesto..." she repeated

"Where did you learn that word?" asked Armin

"Who sent you here?" Appo followed, his eyes a darker amber than before

"Nobody sent me... I... I'm one of you... sort of, I am Glitha" she said, using the word for what she was in the language of her people.

"I thought you were extinct" said Armin, walking around the counter towards her.

"I think we might be... except for me" she said.

Armin hugged her as if she were a long lost daughter. His eyes shining with tears. She guessed they probably didn't meet many originals these days. It was then that he noticed the bruises on her neck.

"Who... what did this to you?" he asked, concern staining his voice

"It's... it's complicated..." she replied, pulling at her turtleneck to hide her bruises

"Chayal" came Appo's voice from behind Armin "that's the mark of Chayal"

Armin looked like the word sent a shiver down his spine, his whole body shook for a second, "I hate that name... the memories it brings..."

"You faced a Chayal and lived? You must be one strong little sea monster" said Armin with a giggle.

"Like I said... it's complicated... which is why I hoped you could be of some help"

Appo walked over to the door of the shop, and flipped the 'enter' sign to 'do not enter'. He squeezed her shoulder as he passed her on the way back, 

"come in the back, I'll make tea. You can tell us all about your complicated situation".