“I knew it,” the kin growled, glaring down at us from behind his fringe. I could not tell how much of that statement was real anger or just his usual surliness.
“Ah. Hi,” I grinned stupidly.
“Good afternoon,” Rio greeted without the slightest hint of guilt.
“Why are you here?” Levent inquired.
“Why do you think? We’re here to help you with your errands!” The half-blood lied enthusiastically.
The kin was unimpressed.
Rio pouted. “Okay, fine. We want to know what you’re doing and make sure you’re not murdering people or anything…”
Levent sighed, and then decided to ignore us and continue on his way. He approached a doorway in the side of the building. The dragon-kin lifted the green curtain that hung across the entryway and stepped inside.
Since he did not explicitly tell us to leave him alone, Rio and I followed.
Unfortunately, the kin stopped immediately upon entering the building. I ended up running into his back – the last thing I wanted to be reminded about. The half-blood had enough sense to stop before he smashed into both of us.
Disentangling myself from the kin’s cloak, I peered around the room we just entered. Unfortunately, I could not see very far due to a thick cloud of steam and dust that permeated the space. Where did the kin lead us?
“Excuse me,” Levent called in his diplomatic tone.
The response came in the form of something metal falling over in the back of the room and some cursing in a language I did not know. The whirring stopped. A man emerged from the fog, his dark skin covered in mechanical grease and grime. He looked up at us with bright green eyes, cocking an eyebrow at the kin.
“Hello,” he said simply, then under his breath, “A tall, dark man with horns. I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“Are you Peirwyn Aenlilea?” The kin asked.
The man shook himself out his thoughts.
“Why? I’ve no business with you,” he muttered defensively, running a gloved hand through his thick, grey hair.
“You are the Peirwyn Aenlilea that maintains the skycar to the spire, do you not?”