Flashback Lessons of the Exotic Kind

[Savio]

23rd of Summer, 509AV Savio laid wide awake in his bed, his eyes opened and staring at the stone wall before him as he listened for the sounds he most wanted to hear; the sounds of his Aunt going to bed. He could hear her busying herself with tidying up her home, which she did every night before she too went to bed since she was far too busy to do it during the day time like normal people. Savio sighed in impatience. She needed to hurry up. A few days before, while watching his friends perform at The Rearing Stallion he came across his acquaintance, Matthew. The two talked for a short while (much to Adean’s indignation) about how things were going concerning to Savio’s attempts to woo Raven. Things were not going anywhere actually since the two men had last met. Raven was nowhere to be seen. It was a rather large kink in Savio’s plans but there was nothing he could really do about it. Before the Matthew left to do whatever, he had told Savio to meet him at The Harold’s Arms tonight. Unfortunately, there was no way in this life time that Savio’s Aunt would allow her nephew to go out at late night to meet Matthew at THAT tavern of all places. So he had to wait until she went to sleep before he could sneak out. Finally, after feeling like he had been waiting forever he heard her start walking towards his door like she did every night. The door opened silently as his Aunt check on him. His back was facing the door, and his Aunt could not see the annoyed expression on his face. It was a shame that she checked on him like that every night while he stayed with her. Then again, it was his fault for getting tossed into the Tank when he and Raven got caught that one night. Once she was satisfied in knowing that he was “asleep”, she closed the door and went down to her bedroom. Once she was out of ear shot, he tossed back the covers and crept to the door to listen for signs that the coast was clear. He was already dressed in a nice forest green tunic, dark brown trousers, and his fancier pair of boots. He had a belt over his tunic that held his coin pouch. Matthew had also told the young man to dress nicely for tonight. It didn’t take too long for Savio to hear the soft snores of his Aunt. The young acrobat in training opened his door ever so slowly, with it only making a slight creak. He paused, listening to her breathing for any sign that she was about wake up again. The young man held his breath as a slowly exited his bedroom, closing the door behind him and tiptoed to the door to exit her apartment. Once outside, he was able to breathe properly before taking off in a jog in the direction of the exit of the Roshin District. Once outside, Savio kept up the easy pace. The night air was warm and Syliras was pretty quiet. Occasionally he would pass by Knights and politely wave to them or give a word or two in greeting. Many of them just reminded him to stay out of trouble, as was expected. In less than twenty chimes, Savio finally reached the large open area just inside the gates where all of the inns and taverns were. He slowed his jog into a walk. To be honest, he was kind of nervous. He had heard many stories about The Harold’s Arms and what happens within its walls. He had never been inside, even though he had legally become an adult last year. He never had the desire to go in, other than to quench his curiosity of how it looked within. As he drew closer, he adjusted his clothes and attempted to fix his hair. He hoped Matthew didn’t have anything too drastic in mind. He finally reached the doors of his destination. With a deep, nervous breath he pushed open the door and stepped inside. At first he had to squint because the light was so bright, and the sharp scent of perfume made him cough slightly. Once he adjusted to his new surroundings he was shocked, but he tried his best to hide his awe. The colors and the people within were so vibrant and exotic. It was far from what he had expected. He felt incredibly out of place. He needed to find Matthew, and quickly.