New Beginnings (The Arcana)

Romeo and Juliet

Claire used to say that the Rowdy Raven had the best Salty Bitters. And, as I thought more about it, I remembered that the bar was somewhere in Vesuvia.

Feivel turned to look at me, wiggling his nose with adamant curiosity.

My gaze shifted to the cinnamon-tinted creature, whose soft coat of fluff showed more in its familiarity the more time I spent with him. I scrunched up my nose and let out a joking squeak, as a response, and Feivel turned away.

I laughed a bit.

I scooped the mouse up with cupped hands and placed him in my satchel, finally taking my leave from the street. I narrowly avoided pedestrians as I made my way down the street, and hoped to find my destination soon. Truthfully, I had no idea where I was headed, but there were only so many places in this city where the Rowdy Raven could be located. From what little knowledge I gathered on the Devorak ship, I had mapped out a small mental diagram of where not to go during my stay here. I was sure that, to my left, was the Flooded District, the Temple District, and Ash Beach. And to my right, a complete mystery.

I stopped and scanned the area around me.

I've always been terrible with directions. Personally, I like to think that I have pretty good pathfinding skills, but I relate more to a broken compass than anything actually useful.

When I was nine years old, Mama and I took a trip to the market for our designated "grocery day". This was long before Pa died, and the weekend was a time when we'd sneak out to the bakery whenever Mama wasn't looking. So by my standards, I would have said that I knew the marketplace like the back of my hand.

Nine-year-olds don't have great judgement.

Mama stopped to look at the produce vendor after a solid thirty minutes of being at the market. Naturally, I was a bit bored having to stand there and look at plants for so long, so she allowed me to wander while she checked the cantaloupe they had in stock.

Of course, this was years ago, so I don't remember every detail, but somehow I ended up being chased down the street by a pair of great danes. They didn't plan to hurt me, I don't think, since they only took the bread I was holding and ran, but I was pretty traumatized for a few months afterward.

* * *

By some miracle, I had found myself on the complete opposite side of the city; The South End. It was much darker than the other parts of the city --more spooky in nature, though I couldn't deny myself a sucker for mysterious atmospheres-- , and held an eerily beckoning nature to it. Perhaps it was just me.

I strolled quietly through the cobblestone streets, observing the district with a keen eye. My gaze flitted to the canal between the two sides of the street, and to the dark navy waters below. Fluid motions coalesced in the canal's depths, and I silently wondered what ungodly creatures it harbored.

I cut the corner of the street, not particularly heading towards a specific goal, until I found myself standing in front of the --speak of the devil-- Rowdy Raven.

It, too, was a cobblestone-built structure, though it looked much more loose in design in contrast to the practicality of the apartments and shop venues beside it. The sign on the front was painted with a small icon, which was a raven, tankard in hand, sitting on a small moon.

It fit the theme, I supposed.

What caught my attention in that moment was the glimpse of someone's pink-blue faded head, along with the red curls of someone familiar as they walked towards the Raven.

Julian and Ezra.

I sort of froze, save for the small wave of a greeting I gave to Julian's outburst of realization. The tall man smiled wide, letting out a very enthusiastic "Nova!" in response to my presence.