After leaving the peony field, Dust and Zenith entered the city. Zenith led Dust down a wide stone street toward their destination, making sure to give Dust ample information about the city as they walked.
"Like I said there are 3 cities in Yungzhou. This one is called Saval, it's a port city that thrives off its trade with other civilizations. As a result there's a pretty big consumer culture here."
While walking Dust saw countless restaurants, proving Zenith's point about the consumer culture. They each emitted an incredible smell that tugged on Dust's stomach.
"Hey Zenith, can we grab some food?"
Zenith continued walking forward without even considering Dust's request.
"I didn't get enough sleep while I was sailing the ship. We'll go shopping tomorrow, but for now I need to rest."
... Can't really argue with that.
"Well then how about you let me have some money and I'll go get food by myself?"
This time Zenith did stop to consider the proposition. His navy eyes deepened while he thought.
"Unfortunately that's a no. It's a little too risky for my taste to let you wander on your own."
Pain flickered inside Dust's chest. It made him feel a little hurt that Zenith couldn't trust him to do something as simple as walking around and buying food.
"I thought you respected me?"
The pools of navy that constituted Zenith's eyes turned downwards toward Dust.
"I do respect you, but you're not familiar enough with this city. Even if you're not looking for trouble it'll probably find you if you don't know how to avoid it."
A city of countless opportunities surrounded Dust. After all his perseverance, being told to wait for a reward was sickening.
"Then teach me those customs instead of lording my lack of knowledge over me you ass."
Zenith stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around to look at Dust.
"I think I'm being pretty reasonable here. I'm too tired to take you anywhere, and you're too unfamiliar to not be in danger. When I say I respect you, I mean it. That means I consider what you want just as much as my own desires. And it seems very unfair for me to stay awake longer or put you in danger because you can't keep your curiosity in check for one afternoon. We're going to the inn, that's final."
As much as Dust wanted to protest, Zenith was the one holding the money and no amount of complaining could change that. All Dust could do was bite his tongue before Zenith decided not to take him out tomorrow.
"Fine... Where's the inn."
Zenith looked a little taken aback by Dust's compliance, but he was smart enough not to question a good thing.
"Just this way."
The two walked toward the inn without saying a word. The powerful silence between them left Dust feeling uncomfortable. They walked past a weapon store and something caught Dust's eye. At the far right of the store's display case shone a pristine wooden longbow that piqued Dust's interest.
Back when he'd lived in the Farlands he had become quite adept at using a bow. However that wasn't the reason this interested him. It was just that... There was something so intoxicating about shooting an arrow at an enemy far stronger than yourself and watching it fall. The idea of that sensation made Dust giddy.
I'll be sure to come back here later.
***
They arrived at the inn after another five minutes of walking. Zenith quickly booked a room and dragged himself and Dust inside of it. The inn had light brown pine walls and a smooth snow-white rug. Dust deeply appreciated the homey atmosphere of the inn, Zenith on the other hand walked over to his bed and immediately collapsed.
Dust went over to his bed and pulled himself under the soft covers. As comfortable as they were, it was difficult to fully appreciate it while being pressed down by excitement. All the energy building up inside of him left him with insomnia. Dust stared over at Zenith. He had fallen asleep the moment he hit the bed. Dust lifted the covers off himself and every so cautiously moved over to the other bed. Zenith had left a bag of coins on the dresser next to him before going to bed, likely because the loose bits of metal would have ruined his sleep.
I hate to break his trust but my curiosity can't wait any longer.
Dust quietly grabbed the bag of coins then walked toward the door. Even if Zenith had told him to wait until tomorrow, it just wasn't feasible for Dust to contain his excitement any longer. He walked through the door and prepared to go on a late night shopping spree.
***
To Dust's dismay, most of the shops were closed and their lights were dark. All that was left was the cold night air and a deep purple tint that covered the city. Dust continued to wander around hoping to find anything to satiate him, but every street he turned into was as empty as the previous one.
Guess that's my karma for stealing.
Dust continued wandering, if only to avoid going back to the inn and potentially waking Zenith. He turned right on another empty street and saw a faint orange glow in the distance.
Finally! I knew there was no way everything was closed.
Dust sprinted down the street, the orange light nearing closer as he ran. From this distance he could make out the form of the orange glow. It was a quaint food stall residing just off the stony road. It had a few barstools just outside the serving area for customers to sit. Another customer sat on the furthest barstool but Dust paid them no mind and proceeded to sit down. The chef was preoccupied cooking something in the back but he heard Dust sit down and was nonetheless ready to take an order.
"Whatcha orderin' kid?"
Dust scanned the menu on the counter and realized he'd never heard of any of these meals before. He was totally lost on which one would taste the best. Dust stared at the menu for a solid thirty seconds. In that time, the Chef finished cooking the other customer's food and came to greet Dust face to face.
"Just order somethin' kid. I'm not a big fan of waiting on customers."
Now feeling pressured by the chef, Dust started sweating a little. All the choices in front of him seemed so tasty that it felt wrong to pick one over the other. So what if he didn't...
"Uh, can I have one of everything?"
The chef stared at Dust with a look that could only be described as complete and utter disgust. However the other customer that sat near him started laughing hard enough to slightly shake the stall. The chef shot an annoyed look at the other customer before turning back to Dust.
"Get out. I'm not dealing with funny guys this late into the night."
Probably should've just picked something in retrospect...
Dust heaved himself off the barstool and started walking away from the stall. After being kicked out of what was probably the last open food-joint in the city, he felt like the universe was sending him a pretty clear message to head back to the inn. As he walked he was surprised to hear someone call out behind him.
"Hey! Wait up guy!"
Turning around, Dust saw that the other customer from the bar was standing behind him. He hadn't paid her any mind up until this point, but now as she stood in front of him he could clearly see her appearance. She had short blackish-purple hair tied into a messy ponytail. She wore a heavy black jacket lined with animal fur. Her legs were only protected by baggy shorts, an odd choice to wear during a cold night. Her most prominent feature was her gray eyes that held within them a fathomless curiosity. He felt a little flustered that he'd barely noticed such a pretty girl.
"Um... Do you need something?"
A wide smile formed on the girl's face. It felt very genuine in contrast to Zenith's, which usually hid a malicious glee behind it.
"I have a feeling you weren't joking about buying all the food there. That means you have money to spare, does it not?"
It sounded a little to him like this girl intended to mug him. That being the case he wasn't as scared of her as he would've been Zenith. She was about as tall as him and her stance was far more unassuming. Worst case scenario he could probably take her, which was all the more reason to pry and see if she actually did have something to offer him.
"I have a little bit of spare change. Why do you ask?"
The girl inched a little closer to him.
"I happen to have some wares if you're looking to buy, though I don't sell any food unfortunately. However if you're in the market for a good weapon, I can hook you up... for the right price."
Dust thought back to the bow he saw displayed outside the weapon shop earlier. The thought of once again being able to fire a powerful arrow into the hide of a strong beast swallowed up all of his rationality.
"Do you sell bows?"
The girl grabbed his hand and started dragging him toward her shop before even answering his question.
"Sure do! I'll take you to see my goods right now!"
Great... Another weirdo.