The Origin of Roh-Shan

Scam Alley

The streets were empty, save for the occasional buzzard wasp carcass. And the air was still thick with the mixed scent of various things burning at once. It smelled a bit like corn. The bright afternoon sun still shone, though the smoke-tainted air was starting to drift down towards the bay.

As soon as Kota was out of the bar, she quickly scanned for another building to hide in, before realizing the wasps were down and the shelter-in-place siren had stopped. Small white flakes of ash fluttered through the air and landed on her skin and hair. She heard Roh call after her and decided her next move was to hide, fast.

She ducked around the first corner and slipped into the back alleys, planning a roundabout path to get home and avoid the main streets. She was also afraid anyone might see her and connect the dots about the fire.

She forced her mind to suppress the thought that her best friend had just completely betrayed her. Despite trying to keep any part of the last conversation from coming to mind, she felt tears sting her eyes anyway. She wiped hard at her eyes. Why is she crying if she hasn't even thought about it yet? Turn off, brain. Focus on something else. Like that rock on the ground.

It was no use. No matter how hard she didn't think about that, sourceless tears fell anyway. They kept coming and blurred her vision until it was actually impairing her ability to walk straight. At the next small alley between buildings, she stopped and ducked into the shadow, leaning against the building until the tears would pass.

"Feeling down?" A voice came from further down the alley.

Kota jumped, her brain so used to pumping adrenaline to a body that didn't use it. She saw it was just a boy and tried hard to settle down again, pissed that this kid had startled her like that. She fought through the wave of dizziness that usually follows a shot of adrenaline.

"Try your luck at cups! I raise you one copper bit, first wager." The boy flipped a cheap clay cup in his hand, and kicked a small blue marble with his foot, catching it in the cup. "I'll also take wagers in the form of food."

"Shut up." Kota grumbled, trying to regain her composure enough to keep walking.

"Find the marble, one in three chance of winning! Unless, of course, your eyes move faster than I move the cups." His tone was chipper but his voice sounded a little weathered, despite the youthful charm.

She finally looked back at the boy again and realized his ploy. He probably convinced a lot of people to play his game, thinking they had the upper hand, literally, considering the boy has no right arm.

"One copper bit?" He offered again.

"I don't have any money." She said. "Why don't you get a real job?"

"Still in school." He grinned innocently.

She took a closer look at him. "Hey, don't you go to my school? What was... Raider? Or something?"

"The name's Haider." He emphasized, taking personal offense. "Yeah. And aren't you the girl the bends green fire?"

Kota swore under her breath. Apparently a lot more people knew about her than she'd thought. "You're a little young to be swindling people on the streets."

"Fifteen. About to graduate. I was only one year behind you, remember?"

"So again, why are you out on the street trying to get money and food? Why don't you just go home?" Kota remembered him, he was one of the kids who lived up at the orphanage. Her family's taxes paid for his meals, so he should be grateful for every bit his guardians gave him. She narrowed her eyes, daring him to bring up the orphan thing so she could shoot it down.

He flipped the cup again. "Why don't you just go home?"

She opened her mouth to say she was headed home, but the words didn't come. He wouldn't have said that if he didn't know she had a reason not to go home, somehow.

"I see we've reached a stalemate." He smiled like it was funny.

A comeback was on the tip of her tongue when suddenly the light from the main road darkened, and a creature nearly as tall as the buildings themselves thundered through the street and turned right down the alley they were in, fear in its eyes.

The boy took cover behind a trash bin as the blue and white wolf barreled down the way-too-narrow alley, its webbed paw nearly missing Kota, who stood frozen in fear.

Beyond the alley, the wolf dashed over the wall separating the town from the forest, and took off into the trees.

Shouting voices from the main road grew louder, following the path of the wolf.

Kota and Haider briefly made eye contact one last time, before they both took off away from the street. Haider jumped the wall and dashed into the woods, while Kota continued her previous path through the winding backstreets, headed for home.

~//~