In Summer's Embrace

by Eltirions

Chapter 3: 13 August 1009

Rio de Jandaia was, after Mount Aris, the largest city Coral had ever been to. It was also the second city outside Aris he’d ever visited; Zapsa held the honour of being the first, when he had stayed at the Guziniad Estate. As heiress to the family, Zerdinit had been able to bring him into the home without many issues; her father doted on her, and her mother hadn’t even taken notice of him at all.

Though if I had intended to stay permanently, there might have been issues down the line. Luckily, that was not my plan.

After a few weeks stay there - also not planned, but he wasn’t going to refuse Zerdinit’s hospitality - he had made his way by train to Hippone and gotten on a boat bound for Rio de Jandaia; Macawia, unlike Colthage, was a free and safe place for him to stay. The Harpies’ dedication to the ideals of harmony and republicanism was renowned across the world for a reason, after all.

And since arriving there and contacting the local government office, Coral had only found more and more proof supporting that reputation. The Macawian government, Tiamat bless them, had set up a fund just for people like him; they called it the Refugee Basic Needs Fund, and it was the only thing keeping Coral from having to use his own meagre funds - limited even with the supplement of cash Zerdinit had given to him - to keep himself afloat. It was just about the best thing he had encountered since leaving Aris.

Even with the fund and his own money, however, he wasn't wealthy enough to afford a home in or near Rio de Jandaia, and there was only so much the government could and would do for any single refugee. So he'd packed his bags - again - and gone looking for housing away from the city. After some searching, he’d come across a real estate company that was offering cheap houses in a coastal town five hours by train north of Rio de Jandaia, called Porto de Bico.

And that was where he was now headed, together with a Harpy from the company who would act as translator and agent both. He was called Camilo Maciel, and he was a bright yellow Harpy with turquoise feathers who clearly knew his job. Without him, Coral would have probably never found the town in the first place!

‘’And here it is!’’ Camilo said as they walked out of the idyllic train station that connected Porto de Bico to the rest of the world. ‘’Porto de Bico!’’

Coral took a good look around. The houses looked rustic, similar in design to Arisian construction but without the inherent design choices made by those who could fly as easily as they could walk; before them was what looked like the town’s main square, filled with Harpies going about their business and market stalls selling wares.

‘’Is there a market on today?’’

‘’There always is, here. Most people prefer to keep their stores out of their homes.’’

‘’I see. And,’’ Coral gestured westwards, ‘’I assume the shore is that way? It must be a major part of the economy here.’’

‘’Porto de Bico is a typical rural town, yes,’’ Camilo agreed. ‘’Most people here are fishers, and some are farmers. But they’ve got a doctor, a school and a police station too. And I think there’s a few other odd jobs around.’’

‘’Is there a local newspaper?’’ I’m going to need a job, and I might as well pick up where I left off.

Camilo frowned. ‘’I don’t know, actually. You’d have to ask a local.’’ He swept his arms out. ‘’But come! Let us head down to the houses!’’

They walked down what looked like the main street and across the main square. Camilo blended in well enough, of course, but Coral stuck out like a shark in a fish school. His Macawian was very basic, but he knew - and could interpret the tone in which the words he didn’t know were said - enough to guess at what people were saying.

‘’They’re intrigued,’’ Camilo helpfully supplied as they left the square and headed further down the street towards the beachfront. ‘’They’ve never seen a Hippogriff before. You’ll get that a lot.’’

‘’I can deal with a few looks and questions,’’ Coral responded. ‘’I’m a reporter, I’m usually the one doing the questions, so it’ll be a nice change to be the interviewee for once.’’

Camilo laughed at that. ‘’Indeed! With that attitude, I’m sure you’ll fit right in, my friend!’’

The street ended as they emerged onto the beach; in fairness, the only distinction between the beach and the street was the fact that there was some pavement on the street. ‘’We go left here,’’ Camilo instructed, and proceeded to do just that. Coral followed him, resisting the urge to head into the sparkling seas just beyond the sands. It had been too long since he’d gone for a proper swim.

They continued along the edge of the beach, before reaching a row of houses facing the sea, all of which didn’t look like they were inhabited. The houses were small, with only two floors including the ground floor, and like the other homes in the town they were made primarily of wood. ‘’Here we are,’’ Camilo said. ‘’All of these are up for sale, and they all cost the same. It really doesn’t matter, unless you really don’t want neighbours, in which case I’d pick one of the middle ones.’’

‘’How come they’re all empty?’’

‘’The rich people from the cities only want to live in their own little communities, in houses that look like they're made from gold. And the locals usually build their own homes. We bought these a year ago, but they haven’t really made a profit.’’

‘’Hence the low prices.’’

‘’Indeed. Shall we head inside?’’

‘’Certainly.’’

Camilo had of course brought a key with him, and the door opened with a click. ‘’Hallway first,’’ the Harpy explained as they entered the aforementioned room. ‘’Those stairs lead up to the top floor, which has the bathroom as well as two bedrooms. Ground floor has the living room and the kitchen.’’

‘’Lovely.’’

The house wasn’t very large, but it was furnished with all the basic necessities; a shower, a fridge, a radio, an oven and some furniture. But more importantly, it was both cheap - relatively - and out of the way.

This is perfect.

Coral knew one had to haggle for these things; but the price was sufficiently low that haggling would probably be insulting, and he was honestly too glad to have a home again to complain about a price that was already low. ‘’I’ll take it,’’ he said after the short tour had been completed.

‘’I had expected that,’’ Camilo remarked, wryly looking at Coral’s packed bags.

‘’I am predictable, I suppose,’’ Coral agreed with a smile. ‘’And I suppose I am easy to convince. But I’m glad to have a home, truth be told.’’

‘’And who wouldn’t be?’’ Camilo said. ‘’I certainly am, just as I am happy to sell this one to you.’’

‘’Lovely.’’ Coral cast a look out the window, seeing the sea again… as well as a fair few curious Harpy children. ‘’We have spectators.’’

‘’So we do!’’ Camilo waved at the Harpy kids, who waved back. ‘’Shall we go outside and greet them?’’

This can only go well. ‘’Sure!’’

They emerged out of the house to see almost two dozen Harpy kids, and a fair few parents, standing before the house. All of them, of course, were looking at him.

‘’How well,’’ Coral asked Camilo, ‘’would it go if I tried to introduce myself in Macawian?’’

‘’Depends on your Macawian. How is it?’’

‘’Passable.’’

‘’Then see what happens.’’

‘’Right.’’ Coral turned back to the crowd, and cleared his throat. ‘’Good day,’’ he said slowly, taking care to pick the right words and tones. ‘’My name is Coral Ridge. I am a Hippogriff from Aris.’’ He turned back to Camilo. ‘’Would you mind telling them that I’m going to live here from now on?’’

‘’Certainly,’’ Camilo agreed, before doing just that in Macawian, which Coral could understand fairly well at this point. The crowd stirred, but most kept silent; except for a few children at the front, closest to Coral, who were babbling excitedly.

‘’What are they saying?’’ Coral questioned - he couldn’t make any sense of their rapid voices.

‘’They’re asking you a great many questions,’’ Camilo said with a chuckle. ‘’Of all sorts; your favourite colour, if you can fly, what your name means, why you are going to live here, and so on and so on.’’ One of the children stuck her - it looked like a her, to him anyway - arm out, pointing at Coral, and then babbled some more - Gods above, he was never going to be able to understand that.

‘’What does she want?’’

Camilo turned to the chick and repeated Coral’s question in Macawian. Her answer came back just as fast as her first sentence to him had.

Camilo chuckled. ‘’She, ah, wants to ride on your back.’’

Coral blinked. ‘’Any reason why?’’ he asked absent-mindedly as he tried to parse that statement into something useful.

He got a shrug in return. ‘’She’s probably five years old. Do kids need reasons?’’

‘’Fair enough,’’ Coral agreed with a chuckle. ‘’Tell her I’d be happy to take her along for a ride, if her parents agree to it.’’

After all, he was going to live here. No time like the present to get started on introducing himself to his new neighbours, no?

And so help me Tiamat, I will learn Macawian before the year is out.