The market was crowded and packed with all sorts of human goods that were unknown to the demons. It was a perfect day as well for it being the last day of summer despite it not feeling like it. The day was cool and bright despite no clouds and only a gentle breeze that swept through gravesfield.
Instead of dying from heat exhaustion, many folks were thriving and wearing clothing for different occasions.
Many wore hoodies and sweats while others wore shirts and shorts.
The excitement inside the young Noceda grew while the oldest grew uncomfortable from the large crowd inside the market. Lucia held onto her hyper-sister by the shoulders to prevent Luz from running in and losing her.
"So what's all sold here!" Luz yelled in excitement as the sisters and Owlbert stood at the entrance while Eda had just come back from the entrance ticket booth applying a "vendors" sticker onto her shirt.
"Any and everything of course," Eda said as the children began to follow Eda inside the market.
"Just like your realm's market, humans sell food, clothes, decor, weird things, new things, Any and everything! Human kinds of stuff you know?" Eda said as Lucia started to become interested in her explanation and a small hint of excitement bloomed from within Lucia.
Only within Though, on the outside, she looked annoyed and tired seemingly dreading the next few hours here.
"Everything?" Lucia questioned to herself as Owlbert began kicking his legs frantically while pulling on Her side hair that was out in front of her face.
"Hey!" Lucia yelled as Owlbert let go and instead held on to her beanie but continued to kick.
"Candy!" Owlbert yelled with excitement as Lucia looked over to where Owlbert was looking and saw a tent with random candy scattered everywhere.
"Alright, so while y'all are getting clothes is there anything else you plan on buying ?" Eda asked the two as Lucia thought about it along with Luz.
"I need a house for Blue," Lucia said as she pointed up to the blue jay flying across the sky followed by a bat-like snake that went unnoticed till now.
"Also maybe a table that could fit in that small space in the corner of my room."
"You?" Eda asked as she looked over to Luz as she was still thinking hard.
"Umm... clothes of course.... Maybe a small shelf.. uhh," Luz thought hard as she kept scratching her head with both hands as tho it would help her figure out what else she would need.
"You got peojos ( bugs) or what?"
"Shut up long legs!" Luz yelled back at Lucia's smirking self before she figured out what she needed.
"Oh! I need Azura books!" She yelled as Lucia just face palmed herself causing Owlbert to laugh while Eda just had a confused yet disgusted face on.
"A what?"
"Azura books! You know the one with the green-haired witch!" Luz tried to explain but only made Eda more confused as to what she was talking about.
"You know, the old kid book you read to Luz when she was little and then stole from you," Lucia explained as Luz's face turned red with anger as Eda recalled what Luz was referring to.
"Oh! So a kid's book, hmmmmm......fine I guess," Eda said as she turned her back to the girls and started making calculations in her head.
Luz looked at Lucia giving her a look of "what's she doing?" As Lucia shrugged while holding onto the 4-year-old as he was leaning back with his hands dangling. Eda finally finished calculating by the time Lucia and Luz finished questioning the 40-year-old as she turned to the two.
"Alright," she began as she grabbed her wallet out, opened it, then began counting bills.
"Here," she said as she handed Luz a couple hundreds along with Lucia giving her extra.
"The extras for Owlbert."
"What is this?" Lucia asked as she looked at the 400 she had in hand confused at the currency.
"Money, the green paper from movies. It's those. They just flatter thinner snails," Eda explained to the two as they were about to walk off, more like run for Luz, before Eda pulled them back by the collar.
"Hold on you two, three if I wanted to be exact," she said as the two turned around. "so some ground rules, before I leave you two alone. first Do not get into trouble and if you plan to just don't get caught. Secondly, Go get what you need BEFORE buying junk, and watch out for scammers. lastly, no magic, none what so ever, also don't summon your palismans either, it will make you look weirder and attract unwanted attention. Especially for you Luz with your snake," Eda looked up to Owlbert holding his two shoes, getting his attention before speaking to him.
"Owlbert, I don't want you talking about Luz and Lucia being a witch too, nothing about them okay? I want you to be like this when someone asks you about Lucia or Luz," Eda made a zipped-shut motion with her mouth. "Okay?" Owlbert nodded.
"When your done meet back up here, and don't go wandering off outside the flea market," she said as she was about to leave till Lucia stopped her.
"Wait where are you going?!" Lucia asked as Eda just smiled. "To run my stand. See you three later! Don't lose Owlbert too Lucia!" She yelled before leaving the three alone.
"Already? Guess we'll have to explore the human markets alone," Lucia said as she and Luz stood at the entryway in the middle of foot traffic as they looked out into the crowd and what it had to offer.
Luz POV
"so Lucia, I was thinking maybe we could stay together? It wil-" I turned to Lucia and Owlbert mid-way through my speech but found the spot empty where they had once stood.
"Great, such sister love," was all I could let escape from my mouth as I was now left alone in the unknown market.
I wasn't as mad as I should have been tho. If anything I was kind of happy and excited to be alone. Now I can go to any tent of my choice without dragging Lucia along per usual. It was pretty nice.
I began my journey walking around the large market coming across many goods. Unlike the demon realm, everyone was the same species.
They had no abnormalities whatsoever, besides maybe random wheelchairs with humans on them or some humans with random metal arms or legs of sorts. There were no other kinds of creatures walking around too besides me and Lucia. It was all humans.
Many had different skin colors along with hairs ranging from usual brunettes and blondes to people with orange hair or vibrant colored hair too. Many humans were taller than others and many wore different outfits showing their preferred style or personality.
It was nothing like what I'd seen back in our realm as humans were thought to look alike and have only two skin colors that was either pale or dark-skinned.
Many of the vendors were selling a wide variety of things. From Random household things like dishware, decor, or furniture to foods of all sorts or even old clothing.
As much as I wanted to skip my task of finding clothing and go search for volumes of Azura, I couldn't. Or at least I didn't feel like hearing Eda yell at me for not doing the one thing she asked for me to do or having Lucia tease me more than what I'm used to tolerating.
I began looking in a random section of one of the nearby stalls where many of the adults stood looking. The shirts were either old or new and even then most newer shirts were way out of my preferred style.
I had an idea of what clothing I wanted so I began searching through the small section I was in.
I didn't really like the clothes they were selling at all at the stand, Not one bit. but I was in a bit of a rush. Or at least I was rushing myself.
I began looking through grabbing decent-looking clothes I could wear even tho some of the colors barely complimented each other.
My pile grew as I was about to reach for another before a pale hand swatted away my hand as I was taken back.
"Oww!" I yelled as a burst of unison laughter burst from beside me. I looked over to two identical twins with blond hair and pale gold eyes. they wore the same clothing and had identical birthmarks, moles to be exact, on their cheeks. It was a boy and a girl, both seemed to be much older than me.
The girl grabbed the small pile of clothing I held close as she tossed them into a nearby box.
"Hey!-"
"Sorry but I couldn't bear watching you grab clothes too old for you," the girl said while booping my nose. The boy threw his arm on my shoulder leaning on me while his other hand dropped the bags of stuff they must have bought earlier.
"I'm Edric, Ed for short," The girl did the same thing, leaning in on me as she introduced herself holding her hand out for greetings.
"And I'm Emira, Em for short, cutie," she said winking as a small blush took form while shaking her hand.
"I'm Luz, Luz Noceda. You two live here I'm guessing." I asked the two even though it came out more as a statement than a question. They both laughed which had caught me off guard before they got off me now standing up straight.
"Yeah, lived here for way too long. Your new here right?" Emira asked while Ed picked up all the bags he dropped earlier. I shook my head in response.
"See I told you, Ed," she said hitting him lightly on the shoulder right as he bent back up. "Sorry, it's just we know most kids in town despite how large it is here, we just saw you and I knew you were new," she said smiling before the brother cut in.
"So where did you come from?" He asked curiously as I almost freaked out as to how to reply. The small yet loud voice of my mother began to ring in my head as I recalled what my mother told me, and Lucia, the night of our arrival from when we rode to the hidden island
"Oh, I'm from the Dominican Republic, I'm staying here for vacation at my mom's friend's house," I explained as their eyes grew in awe.
"Your foreign! I would have never guessed! Your English is perfect. No means to offend you though!" Ed said quickly as I took no offense and gave him a smile to show it.
"I love your hair too! It's so soft and curled looking almost maroonish. You should grow it out a little longer!" Em added as she messed with my short hair jokingly.
"Are you here to shop?" I asked as they both had an annoyed expressions now.
"Yeah, we gotta shop for school clothes. Our sister didn't feel like taking us to the mall so we got dumped here. What about you?" Ed asked as he and Em were curious now about my life story and what I had to say next.
I kept all joy from bursting out as my wish for a mall here in town was granted. All the human teen wonders it hold....drama, shopping arc, meeting rival/foe, and Teen romance....
"Oh I need to buy clothing, I didn't pack much so I have to buy a new wardrobe," I explained as the twins looked happy as they threw an arm around me as we began walking out of the tent.
"Brilliant idea!" Ed said first as Em followed on.
" let's shop together! We'll be your wardrobe managers! Come on!" She said as she and Ed dragged me away not caring what I may have to say.
I felt happy and excited though at the fact that I had made human friends already and the humans were showing me all human wonders.
Lucia POV
"Come on Owlbert," I yelled as the little kid was looking at all the toys while I stayed out front holding our, mostly his, bags of candy he wanted along with the clothing I bought.
Surprisingly, It was just like the market back home. Maybe a little bit smaller than ours if I include the night market as part of the usual daytime markets.
Each vendor sold things that were different from each other which was nice for once. But it did feel weird as I didn't have Luz next to me like always which felt kind of lonely. At one point, I mixed the two up by accidentally calling Owlbert Luz. Both are quick to run to whatever catches their eye. Owlbert ran to every candy tent he'd see just like how Luz would run when she'd see a book vendor open.
The thought of the old memories made me smile.
The boy finally picked up a stuffed owl and he showed it to me as I crouched down and smiled.
"Nice, you two have the same eyes," I said as the boy looked at the owl and smiled.
"Is this the one you want?" I asked as he smiled and nodded.
I took the plush and paid for it with the leftover money I had from one of the hundreds I used.
"Here," I handed the plush to Owlbert as he grabbed it and held it close.
"There!" He yelled pointing to a food stall that, of course, sold more sweets.
"In a bit, okay. I have to go and get a birdhouse for Blue," I told him as he looked sad, it made my heart ache at the sight but I knew if I put it off more I'd just forget.
"Come on, Let me go get the house then we can come back. Okay?" I asked him as he nodded.
I opened my hand held out to Owlbert as he held on as I had to lean over kind of just for him to walk normally.
I walked to a stall that had many animal noises coming from it as a tall lady with long black hair and pale skin worked it. She looked different compared to other humans here, foreign probably as her stall contained animals and supplies such as birdhouses I'd been looking for.
The stall was large as the front part where her merchandise/product was took up two whole stall spaces. She had many things from pets to supplies while the back of her stall was covering a secluded section which, from what I assumed, held her storage items and pets which were hidden and out of sight.
I walked in as Owlbert let go of my hand and walked to the animals.
I paid no mind as I went over to the bird section where the lady was restocking birdhouses of all shapes and sizes which overwhelmed me.
"You new here?" The lady asked as she kept stocking the houses.
"Uh yeah, do I look it?" I asked shyly as I looked at the clothing I wore while she laughed softly.
"I can tell who's new and who isn't, a power of mine. I'm yi yi," she said now making eye contact as I saw her red eyes. I was taken back at first till I sensed her and felt no magic radiating off her.
"My eyes no?" She asked in her almost heavy accent I didn't recognize at first till now. I gave her a nod as she laughed.
"I get that a lot, I was born with them. Makes me seem cursed right," she said as I smiled despite how uncomfortable I felt. She felt odd and I felt I knew her.
"Are you in search of anything?" She asked as I quickly came back to reality.
"Oh, I need a birdhouse. A big one if you can that provides enough space for a bird to feel comfortable," I asked as she looked through the large shelf that was in front of us which held the many houses.
"Psst, Lushia," Owlbert said as he tugged at my shirt I crouched to his level and hummed. "There's something back there," he said in his whisper tone as I glanced to the back of the shop that was darker cause of the shade
I felt weak magic radiating from the back as I saw a small dark shadow close to the ground quickly moving away causing a ruckus from the animals in cages.
"Is this good?" She asked as I snapped out of it as I held Owlbert's hand right and I stood back up to the lady.
She held a small house that was made out of some kind of light-colored wood. I looked down to Owlbert who seemed worried.
"Hey owlbert, is this house good?" I asked as he snapped out of his worries and looked up at the house. He gave me a nod as the lady smiled.
"I'll ring you up," she said walking to the register but kept talking.
"Sorry bout the animals there always making noises," she said as I met her at the front.
"No worries."
"It'll be 20," she said as I pulled out the money.
"What all animals do you have?" I asked as I handed her the money.
"Almost every kind, except dangerous ones tho," she said as she went to a nearby table wrapping the house in paper but at one moment she paused taking a quick look to the back in some direction almost looking for something before quickly finishing.
"You own a bird?" She asked as I replied.
"Yes."
"Oh, what kind," she asked as she put the house in a small brown bag handing it to me. Before I could make up an explanation Owlbert cuts in and tells her.
"A big blue jay! he's big, pretty, and has cool-looking wings! his names is Blue," he said as the lady was surprised and seemed shocked at the name.
"I'm fostering the bird until it heals," I quickly explained as I took the bag from her and grabbed Owlberts hand. She eyed me for a second, barely even caught her doing it, before smiling.
"That's nice, I hope to see you again," she said as I smiled and left. But I still felt her eyes linger on me till I fully left her eyesight
I stopped and looked back at the stand as I still sensed the weak magic radiating from there before faltering and disappearing. I wanted to check it out, but I had Owlbert with me.
"Hey, Owlbert do you know where your mom is?" I asked as he thought about it before nodding.
"Can you take me to her?" I asked as he nodded as I let him guide us through the crowd.
We ended up in another part of the large market where vendors mostly sold antiques or furniture. I was looking around as Owlbert held on while also trying to look for Eda. I felt someone bump into me and my instincts kicked in.
"Oi, watch it!" I yelled as the boy and girl who were playing around stood there shocked. As tho they had never been talked to like that.
"S-sorry!" The boy said as I looked at the two blondes.
"You better wa-"
"Lucia!" A small annoying voice came from behind the girl as Luz smiled big while running to me.
"Look I got clothes!" She said shoving the 5 bags into my face.
"I don't care," I told her as Luz looked sad.
"Is she your sister?" The blond girl asked as Luz nodded.
"This is Lucia," Luz said as the girl stuck her hand out.
"I'm Emira, that's Edric. Sorry for his stupidity," she said I couldn't help but smile as I took her hand.
"What all did you get?" Luz asked as I was about to show her before a loud crash of glass and pottery got my attention beside us.
I sensed large amounts of magic from where it came from as Luz did as well. we immediately looked over trying to find where the magic was coming from before my eyes fell onto a stall that had fallen with products and a crowd surrounding it.
A group of people, about six, had fallen with glass shards everywhere along with pottery shards and other debris. Me and Luz, with Owlbert who I carried with my open arm, ran over as
I set Owlbert down before helping the humans up. Luz's friends aided the others as well while the crowd stood aside gossiping about the destruction.
"What happened?!" Luz asked as one of the people was in a state of shock. They appeared as though they were hypnotized and in a state of fear all at once.
"It's going over there!" Some human man yelled as I looked over to stalls shaking with whatever human goods falling as humans were screaming and yelling adding to the chaos.
"Luz stay here and watch Owlbert," I yelled as I gave her my bags and ran off. "Go get Eda, too!"
Following the magic, this creature added to the chaos more as I ran after it. People yelled as some stalls collapsed from whatever demon it was or yelled from what it looked like. I chased after it running over fallen goods as I followed its large magic scent (aura to be exact) before I finally caught a glimpse of the creature.
It was black with a large yet small body and had 6 skinny limbs, its body was like goo as it was small and kept low to the ground. Its magic had the same feeling from before back at the lady's stand except much stronger. Its magic was strong but not strong enough in comparison with me.
The demon took a sharp right out of the flea market's main area and to a whole other part of the market that was out of the city park and in the streets. It took a sharp turn as it entered an alleyway and I chased after it. I ran through the alley as Blue flew by along with Stringbean as Blue chirped asking to be summoned as a staff.
"No, just stay high and follow it," I told Blue as he chirped one last time and flew up. "Stringbean stay with Luz and see for any other demons just in case!" I told the bat-snake as she turned back and flew to the flea market.
The creature kept taking sharp turns and avoided every fire spell I'd cast upon it. The demon caused a lot of ruckus turning many trash objects upside down and trying to get me to slow down.
"Get back here! I got some questions!" I yelled as the demon took a turn out from the long alley and onto the streets, as I was about to summon Blue I collided with someone passing by falling hard onto the floor.
"Oww!" I yelled holding my head that hit against the concrete. "Watch out-" I stopped myself immediately at the sight of this person which did take my breath away, besides being almost out of breath already.
I saw beautiful gold eyes in front of me as a girl with lightly tanned white skin was on her knees holding her head as well.
Holy Fuck.....
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