The Unknown Alchemist

Chapter 23 - Whose side are you on?

Tobias wandered the streets of Corinth lazily, killing time while he waited for his meetings. The prime from Gallen found the city quaint and delightful but for the snow and slush piled up on the sidewalk. Furthermore, he was dressed to impress and the cold, damp air cut through his fashionable clothing. Gallen was known for its temperate climate and year-round sunshine, so he had on the warmest jacket and pants he owned. Still he shivered and thought of his soft bed and the delicious body that would warm it. He could barely wait to see his lover again, even if meant visiting this frozen city.

The bell in the clocktower rang out and he looked up at its elaborate architecture as he continued strolling down the street. The distraction prevented him from avoiding colliding with a female as she stepped around the corner. She careened right into his chest, her mass magnified by the pile of books she carried. Tobias stepped back but his foot caught a piece of ice under the snow and they both crashed to the ground. Books flew through the air and sprinkled on the ground, their pages absorbing the damp snow.

"Blast!" The female scrambled on her hands and knees to collect the books and brush off the snow, the hood of her jacket falling over her face. "The librarian is going to curse me all the way to the Ancestors!"

Tobias quickly leapt to his feet, silently cursing the female as he brushed dirty water off his fine clothes. "You need to watch where you're going!"

"Same to you!" she retorted, rising to her feet and shoving the hood off her face, exposing her brown hair and simple face. Her golden-brown eyes bore into him and seemed to ignite the red in her hair.

Tobias now stood frozen in shock rather than cold. A human girl was addressing him. A human, in Corinth. He knew Corinth was a more integrated society than most cities but humans were so rare they hadn't even been seen in his own territory in centuries.

The female felt his stare and straightened her shoulders but refused to concede any ground. She raised her chin slightly, exuding confidence. She was not afraid of the sapien standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I have a habit of running into things. Cora says it's because I'm always scheming in my mind, and one day I'm going to daydream right off a cliff. That sounds a bit extreme to me, but now your pants are soaked, so, I'm sorry."

Tobias' jaw mouth hung open. A delivery person pushed by them and gave the human a polite nod. She was known here.

When he didn't answer the human turned away mumbling under breath, "I'm sure you're sorry too," and started down the street. Tobias snapped back into his body and hurried to catch up. He touched her shoulder but she twisted away and pressed her back against a storefront, her eyes wide in apprehension as she clutched the books in front of her like a shield.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, too. I, uh, I'm just surprised," he stammered. "You're human."

She raised her eyebrows. "Yep."

He shook his head in disbelief. "You live here?"

"Yep."

"Well I... How can this be?" he exclaimed.

The girl barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "That's a deeper philosophical question that requires much more time, and alcohol, to digest."

She moved off the wall and continued walking down the street. Tobias once again scrambled to catch up.

"I'm so sorry for knocking you over. I could have broken your leg!"

The girl gave him a funny look. "I'm pretty clumsy, but not made of glass. I think I can survive a head-on collision at a walking pace."