Crow's Blessings → Sylus

A Date Gone Wrong

Gattara Street offered a very pretty view. The architecture was left untouched as a majority of them was considered a historical heritage, so it almost felt like you were back in time. Most of the building was made of sun-dried clay, with its surface repainted with earthy tones such as light browns, red-ish browns and several dark greens or navy blues. The only thing that changed was the road, which was made of bio-asphalt.

"There's even a thousand year old tree in the center of the street, which served as a sort of 'God' to the ancestors of the people around this area," Sylus continued explaining as he walked by my side, staring ahead at the particularly vacant streets.

"Have you ever considered becoming a tour guide, Sylus?" I tilted my head to look up at the man with a playful smile. "Cause, you seem to know a lot about this place."

Sylus laughed, amused. "It sounds like a good job, once I retire from being Onychinus's leader."

"Wanna retire early? I can fill that position for you," we stopped at a red light, even though there were very few cars around these area. In fact, it seemed like there were more bicycles and electric scooters passing by rather than cars, which contributed greatly to the fresh air.

"Unless I have a younger wife or a child, I think I'll keep the position," Sylus glanced at me briefly, revealing a lopsided smile. "Are you up for that position?" he turned his head back at the streets in front of us, watching the vehicles passing by.

So, this man loves to mess with me, give me expensive gifts, degrade me (economically), and flirts with me. It almost felt like he's unconsciously giving me different kinds of love languages while keeping it low-key - or, maybe that was just Sylus being Sylus.

Rather than confronting his feelings, which I thought would be too soon into this situationship, I decided to change the subject. "You said younger wife? Are you saying that you like younger women better?"

"You're very curious to know more about me," Sylus continued to walk as the traffic light turned green. I followed closely behind, his long strides complying to my otherwise smaller strides. "I fear that I'll only be trouble, if I ever do get married."

"You're very thoughtful for a villain," the road we were walking through was a steep way down. From this point, I could see the beautiful ocean stretching out to the horizon. "I'm starting to think you're a hero in disguise."

"A hero and a villain is two sides of the same coin," he casually spoke as we walked through a traditional farmer's market. There were stalls on both sides of the street's pavement with an array of fresh goods displayed on the wooden stalls. "Take Arsene Lupin, for example.

"Who's Arsene Lupin?" I stopped walking, a stall of exotic fruits caught my interest. I carefully picked up a mangosteen, turning the fruit around to spot any imperfections.

"A thief that steals for those in need," Sylus stopped, glancing around the stall.

Putting the mangosteen back to its place, I browsed their wide variety of exotic fruits. They were very colorful and I could only name a few; longan, persimmon, pineberry. As I traced my hands over the fruits on display, a sharp, scale-like texture caught my attention. "Excuse me, what's this?"

The stall keeper, a lady in her late 40s with tan skin and a friendly smile, rushed over. Peering over the stall, she responded with a peculiar accent. "It is salak."

Picking up the strange brown fruit, I looked it over. It's circular in shape, with a slightly pointy end. The scales resembled that of a snake's, but sharper, with a dark brown color. "Want sample?" the lady's voice broke my daze, extending her gloved hand to present a white fruit, which I assumed was the salak. Gratefully taking it from her hand, I took an experimental bite; it has a mild sweet, tangy taste and a texture similar to an apple.