Cairo

Chapter 22: Consequences

The air felt muddy that day as the trio walked through the crowded city. People were cluttered together, shoulder to shoulder, breathing down each other's necks. Cairo, however, was easily able to push through them, moving easily through the massive and cluttered crowd. Cane and Aerie struggled silently behind him until they reached a large building that Cairo stopped in front of with. The words MAIL DELIVERY were printed in large letters above the entrance that oozed out cold and fresh air. When the chilled air hit Cane's face, he couldn't help letting out a contented sigh. His feet moved quicker than his mind, and before he knew it, he was already steps ahead of Cairo in the building. Cairo and Aerie moved slower inside of the building. Their sluggish movements made Cane grown, his arms crossed against his chest, his feet tapping on the floor beneath him. Seeing his friend so impatient, Cairo laughed as Cane went back to walking behind him. This time, however, he was pinned at his side, his wide eyes semi sparkling as he looked around at his surroundings.

"Not that I mind being in an air conditioned building, but why are we at a post office?" Cane asked as they waited for their turn in the front of the line.

"Remember back in Basia when we got the Ruby Jade?" Cairo asked.

"Oh, yeah, we did get something like that. Didn't Dr. Savas take that?"

"He took it to study it for a bit, but he contacted me the other day when we were camping and told me that he was sending me it back. I offered to pick it up from him, but he insisted that it was quicker to ship it here since we were already close."

"Cairo Bareilles," the lady from behind the counter called.

She picked up a small box from behind the counter, setting it gently on top of the surface. Paying the given amount, she shifted the box closer to Cairo with a pleasant smile. He returned the smile, much to the delight of the woman who happily giggled as he walked away.

Cairo paid no attention to Cane as he asked question after question. Eventually, he resigned himself to the fact that he'd never get any answers and followed quietly behind Cairo as they made their way through the city. He wasn't even sure what the city was called since he'd never been out that far before, despite being quite close to Berrgport. If the city wasn't as large as Berrgport, it sure was close. It didn't have the same mysterious and glorious demeanor as as the city Cane grew up in did, but it certainly had its own beauty, to say the least.

Cane tried his hardest to keep his mouth closed as he took in his surroundings, from the colorful clothings and street shops to the gigantic buildings and people. He felt ridiculously small in a city that was reaching for the sky. Every now and then when Cane would let out gasp or small shouts at something he'd seen, he'd hear Cairo's muffled laughter. Despite his initial anger, it was a breath of fresh air, and he'd sometimes catch himself laughing along with his friend.

Eventually Cairo took a turn off the main road that they'd been following for a bit, turning off course to follow a dirt path. After a bit of walking, the foliage of the massive field took over. The grass was as high as Cane's knees. It scratched against his skin in the most uncomfortable way until he finally started picking his feet up as high as he could to walk through the grass. Even then, he was still getting pricked and tickled.

"What are you doing?" Cairo asked, glancing behind his shoulder just as Cane had lifted his foot up. He raised an eyebrow as Cane lowered his leg.

"Um..." Cane shrugged, lifting his foot up again. "It's itchy. I mean, why are we even out here in the first place—rather where are we? If we'd travel on a normal road, I wouldn't have to walk like this."

"We're in a field."

"I know that!"

Cairo laughed, ripping open the box he'd gotten earlier. "It's a deserted field. Back before the Great Fire, this used to be used for cattle and crop distribution. Though, how things are now, the land isn't fertile enough to hold cattle or grass, so the town decided to deserted these old fields. I'd heard there was a plan to construct at least one apartment complex out here, but I guess nothing's been accepted yet."