Atalanta

Part 3

• JIMIN •

Each day in Atalanta that passes, Jimin finds to be very much the same.

The heat is scorching; it is the throat-parching kind which crinkles the air as it rises, stark from the ground. It is unlike anything Jimin ever experienced in his native city of Kom – a Province so named for the deep hole it possesses, one of the six Noble Sights. Exhaling wearily, Jimin disturbs the dust in his throat and nearly sends himself into another coughing fit.

His perch is just out of view from the street; a second story window above the infamous Tavern Inn. Infamous both for its nonsensical name and the brawls which occur there. At night, one is as likely to get oneself thrown out as let in; by day though, Jimin finds the place rather peaceful. At least, it is peaceful if you are clever and able to navigate the shadows well.

Jimin is proficient in both things.

Chewing absently on the rind of an apple, Jimin's eyes flutter, one hand splayed on the ledge. This is what he enjoys most about Atalanta. The stone of the city is a living thing in itself; a thick, golden dust stamped into bricks which eagerly soaks up the sun. This feeling translates into all the city's inhabitants; they are a languid, dusty people, Jimin has found. Yawning out loud, he stretches himself out like a cat.

Which, speaking of – Jimin opens an eye. Nox should be around here somewhere. Peering at the bustling street life below, Jimin fails to note any sign of the beast. Nox is, in all technical definition of the word, a panther – although Jimin has always considered her more human than not. Nox is not keen on the concept of ownership, at least not in the way most pets are owned by their humans. This suits Jimin just fine, since he does not consider himself to have the right countenance to be an owner.

Slouched in the shade of his window, Jimin squints at the sun. Since he arrived in Atalanta, some two years ago, the sky has not rained. Well, that is not true. There has been rainfall, but no rain. No torrential downpour which washes its people, its streets and the world all anew. In Kom, there was rain – great, heaving seasons of it; people prayed to whatever god or goddess they fancied, all in the hope of new starts and beginnings.

Since coming to Atalanta, Jimin has not felt this newness. He would trade an eternity of sunshine for a single day of monsoon. Heaving a sigh, Jimin slumps so far off the sill that, were anyone on the street to look up, they would see the weathered soles of his boots. But no one ever looks up, and so it does not matter.

Staring at the square, Jimin analyzes his surroundings. The day is busier than most, due to a princess' arrival from neighboring Dietas Province. From what Jimin heard in the square, the princess is here on a diplomatic mission. What that means though, Jimin has no idea.

Jimin is skeptical of things involving the word diplomatic while still containing the word mission. The two seem oddly disjointed; at odds with one another.

Pale silver flags have been hung in her honor. They drape limply over the squall of the crowd; merchants hawk wares from street corners, convincing commoners who pass of their value. Of course, anyone who lives in the city will warn you never to buy from the market. Merchants rip tourists off with barely a thought – they will force you to pay double what you can at the docks.

Luckily, Jimin is not new to the city. It has been two long, hard years of living in squalor – longer, since he left his home back in Kom. Home is a small, weathered cottage set in the foothills of the mountains. Home was a place filled with love and laughter, but it no longer exists there for Jimin. It has not since the war, which robbed Jimin of everything and gifted him a new descriptor of sorts – orphan.

Since then, Jimin has sought a new place to call... well, home-like. All he has to show for it is a small, dingy apartment and the clothes he is wearing. Oh, and Nox. As though called into being, the shadowy cat leaps onto the windowsill. Settling beside him, she nuzzles his thigh and Jimin reaches down to scratch behind her ears.