11 Outsiders.
Torches at every corner provided with the light that the night had taken away. Inanna's streets were like no place William had been before, making him stroll next to Artur like a curious yet cautious child. His vision could not hold a target; everything was new and eyecatching for his young and outsider mind.
The double-floored houses at both sides of the street were made of hexagonal, sand-colored blocks, their doors and windows having the same prismatic shape. Strange characters were carved at their margins, and various animal figures were carved at the center of each honeycomb-shaped brick.
Most of their roofs were conical shaped, made of colorful materials painted with spiral patterns of magenta, crimson, cyan, yellow, or green color, making them look like giant caramels. Ropes extended from both sides, triangular paper and cloth decorations in the same colors hanging above the street and dancing with the wind.
The place was lively too; people roamed everywhere, their stares at both William and Artur holding both curiosity and disgust before they continued on. Their clothing was also different, they all dressed in white or sand-colored shirts, tunics, or robes of saggy sleeves covered by decorative knitting in warm and dark colors.
They wore simple sandals, and their legs were covered either by their tunics or soft colored skirts: William and Artur were the only ones dressing pants. Most Oksidi carried loose scarves of their typical colors like Miris Ates.
Their features were also those of her like and the guards they met before; olive-skinned, black hair —which all the males had— and slanted eyes.
Giant land lobsters slowly marched, carrying food or other item stands where people conglomerated. Children ran by and observed both William and Artur as if they were looking at the attractions of a circus.
"What do you think, Will? Do you like this place? Wanna try out the sweetened frog kidneys over where?"
"The what?"
"I'm messing with you, heh. Frogs have become an expensive delicacy ever since those giant clouds covered the sky. Many animals and plants began to die ever since that happened, though I'm sure we can get you a frog later on when we visit the swamps."
"Eh… I'd rather eat something else. What's eaten here?"
"All kinds of stuff, though it's better to save your stomach for when we get to my friend. Did you see those crop fields beyond the town when we were on our way? They are all blue wheat or food for the giant crabs, the moths, or the monitors. The lack of sunlight has made it that very few crops want to flourish… most Oksidi food is gathered underground, by the way, but I'm sure this crisis has affected the Uchim up the north. But don't worry about that. We're no longer in Sunia and much less those stinky ships. Say goodbye to the hard bread, vinegar, or those sardines that smell worse than the unlovely parts of my Sunian ex."
William chuckled. "...That food would have tasted like glory back on those ships, huh?"
They continued down the street, receiving more stares, observing the different food stands around or hearing gossip behind their backs until they reached the end, a perpendicular street just as animated.
The giant magenta tree at the heart of Inanna was visible half a kilometer from their position. It was like a giant shadow reflecting the lights of the town around.
Artur stopped next to a two-floored house with a crimson hexagonal door, a grey wooden sign above that put 'Onissa's'. "C'mon, this is the place. I'm sure Oni will be glad to see us."
The building was decorated a little differently from the rest; Orange, pink, and yellow paper balls of hanging blue, green, and red threads hung above the door, covered by silver glitter. Lanterns with pink and green fire rested next to the door. Was that magic? William couldn't put his eyes off their glow.
Artur was about to open the door, but it spread by itself as two Inannan guards of red leather vests and skirts came out. They ignored both, looking frustrated yet aggressive.
"Stupid cat," cursed one of them. "Why's it running a business and not working in the truffle mines? I swear these stupid outlanders think they are worth something. Should send it back to that stinky swamp where it came from. Dirty savages."
"I know, right? Our ancestors would be ashamed of us… I swear Oksid is going to hell even more every day."
Something changed on Artur; an expression of anger filled his face. Both guards noticed them, and one of them spat at their feet. They chuckled and left.
William took a step ahead, feeling adrenaline beginning to flush, but Artur grabbed his shoulder as he breathed deep and turned back to the crimson door.
"Relax, Will… It's not worth it."
"Are you gonna let them make fun of us like that?"
"Let it be. I'm sure I told you how nice Reniramians can be," he sighed sarcasm out. "This is not our territory, and I don't want to get Onissa in trouble. She must have already her own bag full of crap."
William only stared at both guards as they left, blending with the multitude around. Bastards, he thought. But it was better, for now, to be cautious, especially being in a place he didn't know and was unarmed. They wouldn't win anything by fighting those two guards in a town they didn't belong to, full of natives that didn't like foreigners.
Artur spread the door and both entered. The place reminded William of the room where he woke up for the first time on Reniram. The sand-colored walls, ceiling, and floor illuminated by a fireplace at the bottom right and some candles on the left gave the place the same romantic and safe aura.
No more than six tables separated them from the bottom of the room, where a bar rested before various shelves filled with all kinds of multicolor bottles.
"Onissa? Are you there?"
"Artur? Here I am. Come by," responded a feminine voice with a raspy and relatively high-pitched tone. She was nowhere to be seen, though it came from below the bar.
Artur head-nodded at William and both continued until they reached her location. They were the only people inside the pub.
"Those guards insist harder every day," said she without showing up. "they are trying to catch some serial killer and it's us the non-Oksidi who they're taking as suspects. They almost tried to vandalize my supplies just to make sure I was not hiding him. Idiots."
"Yeah, we heard them saying very nice things about you back out there," responded Artur. "By the way, I've tagged a friend along. Can you get that stove on? We're hungry."
"Yes, I'm just checking out something… those guards said they saw some stranger carrying a putrid body two weeks ago. They think I have something to do with it!"
Artur traded looks with William. "I didn't know about that. There are sicker psychos every day, right?"
"I just hope that serial killer doesn't go after me or my business. Outsiders are an easy target. As if the guards and the local governor weren't already after us…"
She rose up from behind the bar, her head going first, but the first thing that came out made William think they weren't dealing with a human being, but rather some wicked creature or an alien.
Her hair was not of any normal color, but rather silver-white. A pair of fluffy, triangular cat ears rested on her upper skull. Her skin was tanned like a farmer, and her enormous eyes had honey-colored irises and vertical slit pupils. Her cheeks had three pairs of thick white whiskers, and tribal tattoos extended from her neck down below to her saggy Oksidi white dress.
She wasn't tall, barely reaching 1.5 meters in height. Her nimble body made her look more childish compared to the Oksidi women out in the streets, though William didn't have a clue about what could be considered normal in that humanoid creature.
He instinctively took a step back as her glowing eyes stared at him and her fine lips formed a grin. He remembered what Artur mentioned back on that rotting ship; the cat people from Reniram. Listening about it was one thing, but seeing one in person was another story…
"What's wrong? Are you stunned by my beauty?" she mocked. "You brought another one of you Sunians here to Oksid, Artur! What are you up to this time? I thought all ports were closed."
"...eh, it's a long story. Will, this is my friend Onissa. But it seems like you've just seen a ghost."
William shook himself, regaining conscience. "Oh, 'I'm sorry… I'm William Amber. Nice to meet you."
He extended his hand across the bar. She didn't shake it; instead, she engulfed it with both of her tinier hands before letting go. Maybe handshake greetings weren't known in Reniram…
"Onissa Kal-Si," she pronounced. "You're either eating me out in your mind or you have never seen a Katosi before, judging by the way you look at me, boy."
"I'm sorry," William shook his head and looked down. "...I'm new to Reniram."
"You don't say," replied Artur. "As I told you before, William, the Katosi are the cat people from Katos, Eastern Reniram. But who am I to speak when you have one of them in person in front of you?"
"Yes," spoke Onissa. "Katos is my home, a land full of the most majestic mangroves and swamplands, where the tallest trees grow and giant orchids cover our homes. There we Katosi live close to nature. From tree huts to hollow fungi and boathouses, we live to our traditions under the blessing of Yakka, the great cat god who gave our ancestors home."
"That sounds.. amazing," said William, imagining her descriptions.
"Ain't it?" said Artur. "Reniram is so crazy that you can feel in two different worlds just by going from west to east. Gotta say you can't die without visiting Katos. Though you've already done so— never mind. Ignore that, Oni."
"Heh, you and your weird ideas. You're always out of your mind, Artur," she said. "How do you expect William to survive here with someone like you guiding him?"
"Well, I'm sure not gonna survive here much longer with an empty stomach either," he replied. "Bring us on the menu, Oni. Will here hasn't eaten anything worthy of being called food in at least two years."
"Of course! If you don't like the crab roe, I'm sure you'll like the stuffed locust with fried glowing mushrooms and fermented moth milk sauce. Don't worry, Oksidi food has gotten something for everyone…"
