Crow's Blessings → Sylus

Antiques Memento

The newfound knowledge of my evol was... Surprising. To be honest, I didn't even understand half the things the shopkeeper said with Sylus. But, long story short, it sounded like they were trying to make me a living experiment, what with the weird occurrence of that Auxesis phase they were talking about.

It gnawed my mind throughout the drive back home. I didn't even bother complaining that I had my body pressed against Sylus as he drove the motorcycle to who knows where.

"What's that Aether Core you're talking about with the shopkeeper?" my question was slightly muffled with the helmet on, but glancing at the rearview mirror, I saw Sylus looking back at me with his usual stoic expression.

"Rule number one, don't ask too many questions," his voice sounded irritated for once.

"Sorry," I was silent for a moment, but the questions began to swarm my mind. "Wouldn't it be better if I knew though? It might help me understand my evol better."

Sylus was silent, didn't even bat an eye on me. I took it as a warning and kept my wandering mind at bay, instead relishing on the panoramic view of the ruined city.

I'm guessing we're in the shopping district. Small stores lined up either side of the streets, the tall buildings of the entertainment district straying farther away from my vicinity. Compared to the entertainment district, this area almost seemed like a more inappropriate place to live, even though it's clearly more populated. I caught sight of some of the passersby throwing side glances my way, as if they knew I didn't belong here.

The motorcycle slowly came to a halt in the parking lot of what seemed to be a pawnshop. "Come," was all Sylus said as he took off his helmet and began walking towards the shop.

I tailed behind Sylus, but instead he slowed down, so that I was standing by his side. He looked calm, his strides long and relaxed as if we didn't just catch sight of three men tailing behind us after we parked the motorcycle - they're probably trying to steal that bike at this point.

"Don't overthink it. You're safe, as long as you stay by my side," he finally spoke whilst opening the glass door of the pawnshop.

I hesitated a nod as we entered the shop. The interior was no better than the shop we visited earlier. Everything was slightly scattered, but most items were sorted out on shelves and baskets that formed a messy line. The wall's paint was chipped, the tile floor was stained with grimes and dust.

"Mr. Skye, welcome!" a gruff voice came from the side. A big man came into our line of sight, his untamed beard and denim outfit was torn and unkept. "I just had a new batch of items in stock for you! Feel free to look around while I fetch 'em."

As the man disappeared to another part of the shop, I looked at Sylus curiously. "Skye?"

The tall man turned to face me, a lopsided smirk tugged on his lips. "Just a fake identity to pass the N109 citizen's radar," he walked towards one of the shelves, grabbing onto a vintage looking box to inspect.

I raised both my eyebrows in a way to say 'of course'. Looking at the dusty shelves, I indulged myself with the array of vintage items on display. A particular rectangular item caught my attention.

Sylus's footsteps walked past me. My eyes followed his movement as he stopped by the counter, where the big man from earlier seemed to offer Sylus something inside of a wooden crate.

Turning back, I took the rectangular item in my hands. It was a portable radio, a pocket sized device people would bring everywhere to listen to live broadcasts of news and sometimes music. The cherry red paint was slightly chipped and there were scratches on the edges of the radio.

"It still works, you know," a voice croaked. A man, probably in his late 50s, stood by the shelf with an uncanny smile. "I'll give you a fair price if you're interested."

While I didn't come to shop, the radio definitely caught my interest. "How much?" I flipped the radio in my hand, inspecting it for any other defects.

"300 and you're good to go," the man spoke without hesitance.

I scoffed, "There's lots of scratches on the edges and the chipped paint looks awful. I'll give you 150."

The old man hissed and made a face similar to disgust. "Sorry lass, I ain't doing half the price. How about 275?"

"200, end of bargain," I eyed the man with a confident look.

The uncanny smile faded as quickly as he appeared. "265, last offer," he spoke. I noticed his left arm slowly moving to his back and I was about ready to run if he pulled out a weapon.

"Here," Sylus suddenly appeared by my side. Extending some bills, he shot a glare at the old man. "That thing better be in good condition as you said, or else."

The old man evidently looked worried as he chuckled, taking the cash from Sylus's hand. "Oh, my bad! I didn't know she was with you, Mr. Skye. In that case, here's an extra battery for the radio!" the man handed four pieces of batteries in return of the cash. "Nice doing business with ya!"

Sylus merely hummed as he turned on his heels, his eyes met mine as it returned to it's usual nonchalant expression. "Let's go."

Hastily following Sylus's brisk pace, we walked out the pawn shop side by side. "You know 300 is overpriced for a worn radio, right?"

"I know, but 300 is a good deal for a life," Sylus put his helmet on, throwing me my own helmet afterwards.

"Huh?" I hesitantly wore the helmet as I looked at him in confusion.

"Make sure that radio still works when we get home. Otherwise I'll have that man return my 300 by any means," he hopped on to the motorcycle, heating the engine with several pulls of the throttle.

Was he hinting on killing that man just for a broken radio? Whatever he meant, I didn't really put much thought on as I hopped on the motorcycle's passenger seat. "I'll pay you back, I promise."

"Consider it a friendly gift. I'm pretty sure you still need to pay rent with your minimum wage salary," he spoke with so much arrogance in his voice. That man was speaking facts, but it still offended me badly with how he said it.