The next morning I awoke to the sun streaming through the now opened curtains. Damien was standing by the window, peering out into the streets. It was also very cold since he had also opened the balcony doors. Shinso awoke beside me, rubbing his eyes as he let out a low groan.
"The hell?...."
Damien, clad in loose pajamas, turned back to us with a small smile. The short boy with white hair walked over to the bed, shaking my shoulders.
"Wake up! There won't be any breakfast left if we don't get moving!"
At this moment, Shinso groaned again as he sat up in bed, grabbing his discarded shirt from the floor and slipping it on over his head. He looked annoyed to have been woken up at the crack of dawn, but in a sense, he was relieved to not miss breakfast. Me, on the other hand, slowly stood out of bed and approached the open window.
"You didn't have to freeze us to death though," I said with a small, deprecating smile as I closed the open doors.
I suddenly felt a pair of small hands wrap around my horns. Damien had crawled onto my back, latching onto my horns to stabilize himself. I let out a small scoff, folding my arms over my chest.
"The horns are new." Damien smiled, running his hands along the rough surface of them.
"Where'd you get em'?"
"Doesn't breakfast close in fifteen minutes?" I changed the subject, making my way towards the door.
"Can you find some chicken for Mishu?" Shinso asked, changing into some fresh pants.
"Mishu?" I turned to face him, arching an eyebrow.
He pointed to a small black cat sitting in the corner of the room, its large amber eyes fixed on the indigo-haired boy. It suddenly looked in my direction, but hissed the moment it caught sight of my horns. It reacted just like Shinso's cat in our original reality—showing some kind of fear towards me.
"Sure." My smile twitched as I turned away from the feline, my hand already wrapping around the door handle.
As the three of us stepped into the hallway, the smell of breakfast already permeated the hallway. If we were on the second floor and could smell whatever was downstairs, it either was really strong, or the insulation and framework of this apartment didn't look as good as it did on the outside.
Ayumi sat across from me during breakfast, her attention bee-lined to the horns on my head. Ever since the Blood Moon, she had always seemed to have some sort of curiosity regarding my appearance, whether it was the horns or the wraith-like wings she had only seen once. Everyone else at the table also seemed curious about them, as I had gained them just last night.
The bell over the front door rang as Catherine, Carter, and Aaron stepped through. The duo immediately looked at me, Catherine's expression sharpening. On the other hand, Carter looked more curious than anything.
"I know, I know...the whole Blood Moon thing has changed me or something," I chuckled, futilely attempting to divert all the attention on me.
"Are you alright?" Catherine sat down beside Ayumi, her expression never changing.
"I'm not feeling sick or anything, and I slept quite well," I replied, a small smile twitching up the corners of my lips.
"He came to be at one in the morning, wanting to talk to me about his dreams." Mr. Ryujin bit into a fried egg, speaking slowly as he chewed.
"Aren't you supposed to be on parole or something? Don't the Pollinators want to charge you." Aizawa arched an eyebrow.
Catherine let out a low sigh as she stirred her curds, bringing the spoon to her lips. Carter was silent for a few moments before speaking up.
"That's still happening, but they don't confine us to a cell or something, as they want humility and freedom to be the most constant symbol of this kingdom."
An almost mocking smirk formed on his face. Judging by the way Carter explained it, he didn't feel resentment by this philosophy.
Hearing this, Ayumi almost spit out her coffee, attempting to suppress a laugh. She struggled to swallow, but after she did, she immediately laughed.
"That's stupid, is it not? They let criminals run amok because they're pacifists?"
Both Catherine and Carter chuckled with Ayumi, but they both pulled up their sleeves in unison to reveal illusory green sigils engraved in their forearms. Upon seeing these symbols, Shinso seemed to immediately recognize them. They were the symbols of Mother Nature.
"These restrain our powers for the most part," Carter explained, huffing as he rolled down his sleeve.
"You guys are both skilled in your own right, don't they know you're talented even without your abilities?" Shinso arched an eyebrow.
"The government enacted a new law that allows vendors to fend off stealers and thieves with ...violent means." Carter shivered, running a hand down his other arm.
"Pacifists, am I right?" I chuckled, biting into a fluffy pancake.
"Lately it's been like that a lot. Ever since the Blood Moon, the council of Seraphis Kingdom's been rolling out more acts than any in the last twenty years. The one I just mentioned happened only a few nights after the Blood Moon," Catherine explained.
At this moment, Shinso seemed to remember something. He stood up, grabbing me by the arm and walking towards the door.
"Where do you think you're heading off to?" Aizawa barked from the table, crossing his arms.
Shinso's body froze as he turned back, gazing at the man with a slightly pale face. "We need to buy chicken for our cat."
"You have a cat now?" Ayumi asked, rolling her eyes.
"That's not important, we just need to buy some chicken from the market to feed it."
"You can, but you're not going alone." Aizawa stood up and pushed his stool in, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his trousers.
"The last time Isaac here wandered off, he was captured by a demonic creature and had to be hospitalized. You joined an organization and almost had Catherine and Carter sent to prison. If you're going anywhere, you'll need adult supervision from now on."
"Goddamnit," Shinso grumbled.
...
The market district wasn't as crowded as I would usually see. There only seemed to be half the patrons, and half the stands. The snow crunched underneath our boots as we made our way through the snow. On both ends of the streets, there were a few feet in between each stall, which sold items like bread, milk, and vegetables.
At this moment, Aizawa pulled out a list from his pocket that only stretched a few inches. On the list were a few items written in neat handwriting. He scanned over them for a few moments before looking back at us.
"We need bread, peas, and tomatoes."
"Alright." Shinso's hands remained in his pocket as he scanned the market for items to purchase.
Among the regular amenities like food, there were also homemade crafts, porcelain artifacts imported from a different empire, and even a few exotic animals. One of them looked like a mixture between a spider and a scorpion, with eight legs, a cephalothorax, an abdomen, and a scorpion's tail just above the spinnerets. Another was a small white fox about the size of an apple.
Though, these animals sold for prices as high as five-hundred Lumin, which made Shinso's stomach drop. He felt a pang of curiosity as he approached the peculiar stand, arching an eyebrow.
"Where'd you get these animals?"
The vendor, an odd-looking man with curly hair, a stubble, and dark eyes, replied with a smile that showed all his yellow teeth.
"They come from the forests outside the Indun Empire."
Shinso turned towards the small white fox. The animal was locked inside a cage, only given a bowl of water and some chicken, which it had already eaten down to the bones. Though the animal looked healthy and plump, its wide black eyes told a different story. When the vendor moved to pick up the cage, the small fox whined as it retreated to the farthest corner, its ears dropping down.
"This is a Rykon Fox, native to the forests and mountains of the Indun Empire's territory. At one point in time, an accidental convergence in energies merged both the humans that lived there, and the Rykon Foxes, birthing a new, exotic breed of human-hybrids."
He continued to speak, swiftly opening the lid of the cage and scooping the animal out with his burly hands. He held the small fox in his tight grip while the animal writhed and whimpered. When it opened its mouth to bite at the man's hand, Shinso saw it possessed no teeth.
"We selectively bred them so they wouldn't possess teeth," he explained with a smile.
Shinso looked back at the discarded chicken bones and scoffed, folding his arms. "Then how do they eat?"
The vendor reached under his stand, taking out a small apple slice. He held the apple slice in front of the Rykon Fox. At this moment, the animal's mouth opened, and a flurry of tentacles burst forth, coiling around the apple and dragging the fruit down its throat.
Shinso watched the entire scene, taken aback. "W-what did you breed that thing with?"
His face paled as he took a step back, his stomach lurching. How could such a cute and adorable creature have such an intimidating—almost disgusting features within its anatomy.
The curly-haired vendor fell silent, scooting back in his chair. He put the Rykon Fox back into its cage and whistled softly. Another animal emerged from under the desk, dripping wet with a viscous fluid. It looked like a mixture between a squid and a fish. This hybrid animal could survive on land, as Shinso spotted the lung-like organs within its semi-transparent stomach cavity.
""This species of aquatic creature is native to the Pliniege Sea. It possesses these tentacles due to evolution. Over thousands of years, fish and octopus have been native allies, helping each other by fending off each other's enemies."
Shinso was somewhat familiar with this concept. He had learned about mutualistic relationships in his biology class.
Before the vendor could keep speaking, Shinso was abruptly grabbed by his collar by Aizawa, yanking him away from the stand. The man's gaze was assertive, but it lacked any malice behind it. I walked beside them, carrying a single loaf of bread.
"Only one?" Shinso scoffed, looking back at the stand which slowly faded amongst the others.
"The prices of bread have skyrocketed from what I've seen. It now costs fifteen Lumin to purchase a single loaf; it was only three Lumin just two weeks ago."
"Damn ...did you get the vegetables and fruit though?"
I shook my head, running a hand through my hair. "For some reason it's also expensive. Some strange price-hike has affected everything in the kingdom from what I've seen."
A man suddenly ran past us, carrying a dozen loaves of bread in his arms. It didn't take even a moment to realize that he had stolen some bread.
"Get that bastard!" A vendor cried.
Before they finished their sentence, Aizawa was already on the move. He ran through the market faster than the eye could see. After landing a precise kick to the back of the man's knees, he tumbled to the ground, scattering the loaves of bread.
"W-what the hell?" The man, a skinny man with multi-colored eyes, a scratchy yet high voice, and tattered clothing stood up, facing Aizawa.
"I was just trying to feed my family!"
Aizawa shook his head, rubbing his glabella as he sighed in annoyance. "But you didn't have to steal to get it."
"I-I got nothing, you hear me? The grain's run so low we can't afford any bread!"
Aizawa looked back at me and the loaf in my own arms. I habitually clutched it a little tighter as I remained in my spot.
At this moment, the entirety of my vision turned a deep crimson red, almost like blood. I could see the man's lower regions—though blurred, and it crackled with malevolent crimson energy.