Caldera

____& Buddy

“Oh, nice.” Cal had never thought much about clothes before. Her eyebrows pricked when Whimsy gestured to herself, impressed. “You made what you’re wearing now?”

Most of the agricultural class in the Volcano made their own clothes, spun from the raw materials which they grew themselves. People who could afford it hired professional tailors, but Cal had never met any before and didn’t know much about the profession. She was given her uniform by the force, and her home clothes she bought at market or her mother had made for her. The clothes which people made for themselves in the Volcano were usually simple and dull, and were rarely dyed. Whimsy’s rainbow of colours would have been a sign of great wealth on Xara – or, at least, the sign of a tailor for the wealthy. Cal had to assume that this ‘academy’ Whimsy had mentioned was probably more of a prestigious apprenticeship than a community school.

“Me too,” she agreed. “Costs a lot to get colours on Xara – where I come from – though. I never normally have enough to trade.”

Whimsy’s second revelation was more of a shock. Cal’s face slackened and her eyebrows shot straight up. Next to her, Buddy’s jaw dropped open. Whimsy had to be – what – late teens? How could she be so late questing for her aja? Maybe she was younger than she looked… or maybe fairies came of age later than ker. Or – or maybe Whimsy had had an aja – familiar, whatever – and it had died or rejected her. That last thought was sobering enough to help Cal regain her composure, and she prodded Buddy in the shoulder pointedly. Their companion did seem a little uncomfortable. Buddy belatedly closed his mouth and Cal coughed to cover the silence, which had stretched out for an awkwardly long period. She seized on the opportunity when Whimsy changed the subject.

“I’m trying to get a job,” she confessed, glad to be able to talk about something she knew more of. “I was a police officer on Xara. Apparently they don’t have those here, so I’m in talks with the palace about becoming a royal guard.” She shrugged. “I’m, er… not sure what I would be guarding. What about you?”