Page 55 of Heartless Heathens

I rolled my eyes with a heavy exhale, lifting my gaze up to take in Romina and her new garbs. She wore a shiny black leotard and a black mesh tunic that went down to her thighs in a jagged hem finish. Fishnet stockings peeked through the top of the knee-high old-school Dr. Martens layered with buckles all the way to the top. A silver chain cinched her waist, and a similar chain decorated her neck in a chokehold.

Fuck.

She didn’t look like a little sheep, that was for sure.

But she still wore that innocent expression and the illusion shattered once you examined her face up close. I admired Dera’s work. Her eyes had been painted with dark eyeshadow and her lips adorned a lipstick so black it shined with a hint of blue.

“I’ve got all the bags with the rest of the clothes for you, and some makeup and other things in there so she doesn’t ‘stick out’.” She air-quoted with an eye roll. “Where’d you find this one anyway?” she asked and I cut into her with a look that reminded her to stay in her place. She didn’t fight me on it.

“Leave them by the door, I’ll grab them when we're done down here.” I told her.

“Let’s go,” I called out to Romina and as if I’d picked out the perfect nickname for her, she sheepishly made her way over to my side before we exited Dera’s boutique.

We passed the next few shops and she seemed disinterested in any of their exteriors, still admiring the clothes that had been draped over her. I turned a sharp left into the next vendor and pulled her inside with me. Silver had the best collection of handmade knives on our side of the planet. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was the maker but for all the years that I had known him, he refused to take credit for the work.

“Corvin!” He greeted me before I had a chance to fully step into the small space that was his shop.

It was barely a hundred square feet, but he didn’t need more than that to get his point across. The glass cased cabinet showed an array of handcrafted weaponry that would make any violent fucker smile with glee. Brass knuckles with diamonds lining the edges of the metal, making sure that each hit would not only break but slice as well. Machetes with blades so sharp they could cut air if you tried.

But that wasn’t what I was after.

“Silver,” I greeted him accordingly.

He eyed Romina, but unlike Dera he knew better than to poke into affairs that didn’t involve him.

He was a smart man.

“What can I do for you my friend? It’s always an honor when an Escura choses to spend their time and fortune on my collections.” He grinned, fanning his hand out over the glass case.

I glanced over it trying to find exactly what I was searching for, when it suddenly stood out to me in plain sight. That’s when I noticed her eyes were fixed on it as well, and my decision was made.

“That one,” I told him and he laughed a greedy sound out that let me know I’d picked up something that would feed him for a long time.

It was a beautiful knife with a handle carved out of the purest looking black opal I had ever laid my eyes upon. It gleamed with speckles of red and blue through its dark reflection in the most dazzling way and the blade itself spoke of hundreds of hours of labor under the forging heat. He held it up under the dim light of the shop, twisting it in his hold as each crimson sparkle in the opal reflected off the bulb.

“This is my avatar. Know what I mean?” he explained as he pulled the knife away from my reach before I could grab it for myself to admire.

“No, I don’t,” I said, not bothering to hide the annoyed tone from my voice.

“I spent a long time perfecting this one. It’s special to me,” he said, nearly breaking his arm as he tried to keep it as far from me as possible.

“I thought you didn’t make these?” I asked with a smirk that he returned twice fold.

“Corvy baby, come on.” He winked at me, and I handed a fat stack of cash to pay for the knife.

“You didn’t see me today.” He nodded in agreement.

“I never see you brother. In fact, I don’t recall ever meeting you once in my life.” He laughed and clapped my shoulder hard.

“Let me know if you’re struggling with anything.” I reminded him as I always did when I came around.

I could say it a million times but it wouldn’t matter, the folks around these parts were too proud for any sort of handouts or charity. They wanted to make it through life knowing they could handle whatever was thrown their way, despite what obstacles they had to conquer.

“You’re too good to us as is, Escura. The wife wants to thank you with a meal soon,” Silver said and I nodded an agreement even if he hadn't given me a date for his invitation yet.

I’d been coming by to buy some sort of blade or weaponry from him a few times a month since I’d met him. I knew he didn’t want my money unless it was transactional, so instead I began collecting his collection from him. It was all I knew I could do in terms of helping someone I cared about.

So far he hadn’t turned me away yet.