Memoir of Xayah - The lost sparrow and the lonley fox

[29]

She was angry and annoyed, more the second than the first one. And only for that reason she had not bitten Ahri yet. She had to wander inside a human city, but it was not a small village inside the forest. It was an agglomeration of battered wooden houses that tightened some streets full of people and mud.
The smell was nauseating. It was a mixture of manure, smog and sweat, along with the fresh scent of damp earth.
She hoped they would have arrived soon to their object; she was tempted to make her way getting rid of some rude walkers, prone to push her. But she had promised Ahri to stay calm, or she would have ruined everything; two Vastayas inside a city would have been a source of richness for who would have taken advantage of that.
She had decided to follow her only to protect and protect her if something would have gone wrong. Up to that moment, the crowd had ignored them, bowed with dark and sad faces. A few stopped at the miserable stands, where the merchants tried to sell some battered vegetables. Only they looked at them with too much curiosity; they were a source of income way better than their lean goods.
Some dirty children with filthy clothes were looking at those stands famished. The quality of the food would not have stopped them from stealing it. They had not done that yet because of some man. They wore a light and black armour and an oval helmet. On their belt, they had a long curved sword, while they held a long spear that they sometimes used to move the crowd.
They might be some guardians assigned to security. She had seen how they looked at the environment and how they were suspicious when they noticed her.
« Curse it! It was a terrible idea. I thought I got used to this! » Ahri mumbled.
« I've told you we should have stolen it from a village, » she said, careful to not lose her because a walker cut her off.
« No, the villages do not have maps, they do not need them. But we would have stolen it from a merchant if we had met one on our way. Or maybe in a temple... no, temples are well defended. »
She let her babble; she had talked in circles since they had entered the town. Ahri was nervous. After so much spent inside a cave, jumping inside the jaws of a community might worry her. It was a rash move, and she would have remembered it to the Vastaya if she had another brilliant idea.
She raised her face, looking at those narrow houses supported by stilts. Sometimes a woman appeared and poured water on the street, sometimes some elders smoking a long pipe, sometimes some women that dried clothes and chatted loudly with the neighbours. Their faces looked drawn, their clothes were rough, and their eyes looked tired.
Some high-pitched voices gained her attention. She noticed some girls with colourful dresses leaned from a balcony. They were calling someone in the crowd.
Under there were some young/ They looked up at them and smiled, and sometimes answered back.
Other girls were after some of them near the entrance. They had the same colourful dresses and the same vermillion lips, but a detail stopped her. Among the girls, there was one with long drooping ears covered by beige fur, as part of her face and her small snub nose. A long furry tail came out under her dress. She was always moving it, careful not to touch the ground.
She was chatting with a young boy until her dark eyes met hers. Her smile disappeared from her face before she lowered her head. Shortly after the young boy that was talking with her turned her head.
She looked away and moved on, trying to reach Ahri. She did not know if she should felt sorry or disgusted for that Vastaya. That city was rotten to its foundations eaten by woodworms; she could not expect more from a human town that big. It was far from the forest, isolated from magical flows. There was only the void and the corruption that engulfed everyone who stepped inside. Even one of her kind, maybe too weak to resist.
She had heard rumours about some new human settlements and their technologies were infecting Ionia, but she thought they were only fantasies. Even if they could not use the magic of their land entirely, she had only seen villages in symbiosis with the environment. But at that moment she realized that was not one of their bright sides; if they could enlarge, they would have done that without any problem.
Other voices reached her, but they were more harsh and manly. She glanced and located the source. The supposed guardians were rudely asking the presents to move at the sides of the street, blocking them with the spears.
She understood the situation and tried to stay next to Ahri, but one man dived them, and they found themselves on opposite sides of the street. She ended up between two men, one stocky and the other slim, with the face marked by the first wrinkles. She hated, even more, her travelling companion and let her look for her, as revenge. When the Vastaya became quite worried, she raised her hand.
Ahri saw her and sighed with relief, but she was not completely relaxed. Maybe she was worried they would not have been able to protect each other because of their distance.
The guardians were still shouting to make way, and she noticed some more massive steps sharpening her hearing. She did not understand what was happening and hoped that everything would have ended soon.
« It is hard to see two Vastayas here in Kashuri after the war. What has brought you here? »
The slim man had spoken, increasing her irritation. She was not in the mood for a conversation, especially with a human.
« It looks like you are just passing by, and this is even more unusual. »
She did not answer and held back her instinct. She had already drawn his attention. If she had attacked him, she would have all the eyes on her. But she could hit him with an elbow if he had gone on with the conversation.
« Do not try to speak to them. They are so stubborn and proud that they will never answer. My cousin even gained a scratch on his face, » the stocky man said.
She could not hold her tongue, not after a poorly hidden affront. The words came out spontaneously. « Maybe he deserved that, » she hissed, while the steps became closer.
« Uh, so you have a tongue, » the man poked her, leaning so he could stare in her eyes.
« Back we said, are you deaf?! »
An armoured man stopped him and pushed him back with the spear.
She could not answer with the rough stuff, that was the confirmation. The guardians were quick in taking action, and she had to endure those rude comments.
The stocky man grunted, and the slim one decided to talk again.
« I just wanted to be kind and warned you. »
She looked at him suspiciously; why would he warn her about danger?
The man fell silent and turned. Some man wearing thick and coated armours marched in front of them. Their weapons were more refined; they had some spears so lucent that shined when the weak sun rays laid on them. The swords were kept inside some sheath, and only the bronze handle was visible, decorated with a beast head. On the top, they had a red panache that swung at every step.
Disturbing masks covered their faces, placed under the helmet.
After they a palanquin came, carried by two stocky servants, maybe better dressed than most of the population. It was red and made with lacquered wood. It had only a small latticed window, and between its gaps, she could see the figure of a man.
« That is the governor of our region, and it is not unusual to see him here, checking his beloved forges. »
She did not understand the last word until she saw the guards that followed the palanquin. They did not wear armours but tight brown robes and a belt filled with strange metal objects. Even their weapons were not conventional; they were long and big canes that ended with a handle.
She had already seen them; a member of Zakai's gang had one, but it was smaller. They were dangerous, even more than a crossbow or a sharp blade. They could bring more destruction, their range combined with their power could be lethal. She was not surprised that such a city manufactured them and that humans had invented them.
When the guard turned their back on them, the stocky man spat.
« A coward. First, he had sold us to Noxus and then, when Ionia won back some territories, he allied with them and gave them the new weapons stolen from the enemies, » he whispered.
She had a feeling of disgust. Her people would have processed a person like him. A traitor would have never fought alongside his old fellows. Maybe the capacity of those firearms had attracted them. They had sold their pride for power.
« Rumors say that he has even released the Golden Demon to gain more power, a maniac that... »
« I suggest you hold your tongue. I do not think you would keep company to the ones loyal to Noxus on the gallows, » the slim man said.
The other did not answer and grunted before he disappeared in the crowd. Ahri reached her, looking worried at the marching guards.
« As I was saying before, be careful with the governor in the area. »
« What do you mean? » her companion asked.
She was sure she would have replied. She was more tolerant than her with humans.
The man smiled spontaneously and without a trace of malice.
« The city guards would be more vigilant, and it would be possible to see even his guards patrol the city. I suggest you not to do rush actions, sadly Vastayas have a terrible reputation. Now I let you move on. » he concluded before he turned.
« Wait », Ahri said, stopping him, « Could you tell us where we can find a store? »
« You have to go straight, and you will find a square. There you will see it. I wish you a good day. »
He took live with a small bow before leaving them alone.
Even if she had criticized Ahri, her empathy for humans brought them something positive: a location and interesting advice.
« What do we do now? » the Vastaya asked.
She knew they had to change

their plans.
« I think we have no other options. We have to buy that map. »