Chapter 2 OUT THE BOX

Every single day for an entire two weeks Qamar and Jaime stopped by the store, sometimes without even good reason. Jaime had come back the second day with a rare magic item for them, payment for the silver bullet since they were the only market in town that had them. A potion that wasn't very easy to come across, and Ohanu was more than impressed when he'd pulled it from his leather bag. Wrapped in velvet to shield its content from the world.

This made Ohanu and Jaime a duo that no one really expected. Especially Zira, who didn't really see her brother getting along with many people. They'd exchanged their contact info, and Zira was sure she saw her brother writing to the man almost every morning. She wasn't sure why... But she wasn't going to question it.

Another thing she noticed was that Qamar would tag along with Jaime anytime he came to their store. He wouldn't really say much to Ohanu, and even sometimes ignored his own friend to strike up a conversation with her... It gave her butterflies every time.

One thing she didn't like was when he came to the shop high, his eyes red as the devil and voice slower than normal. He'd chuckle more than normal, and actually get caught staring because of his slow reaction time... It had its pros and cons really. But unlike Jaime and Ohanu, they hadn't exchanged contact info. And him coming to the store was her only way of seeing him and hearing from him. So there was a small part of her that wasn't that upset when they didn't show up on the fifteenth day. Breaking the streak of them coming every day.

Ohanu had come out of his room extra moody, acting like a teenager all over again. And Zira was pretty sure that he and Jaime had some sort of disagreement.

"Ohanu? You good?" She whispered to him, leaning onto the shelf that was in between them so they could talk through it. Her afro prevented her from sticking her head through it, but Ohanu didn't have one so he did just that. He poked his head through the shelf with his lips pulled down in a mix of a frown and a scowl. It looked like he was seriously trying to understand his own feelings.

"No, Zira, I'm not fuckin' good!" He whisper shouted at her, looking like he was about to throw a tantrum. It had her smirking in his face, cocking her hip and crossing her arms over her chest so she could raise her brow at him.

"I'm trynna help you, dude. Don't curse at me." She sassed with a turn of her neck, and he let out a harsh sigh as he nodded.

"Okay, okay! Fine! But just.. Don't... Don't make fun of me, okay?" He suddenly became embarrassed, and she lost her sass to look at her older brother in a bit of concern. Her arms dropping to her sides so she could fiddle at the hem of her robes, a nervous habit of hers.

"I won't, I swear. Are you okay? Seriously?"

"Okay, so like... I kinda hooked up with Jaime. But then he didn't write back this morning... And now he hasn't shown up..." He trailed off, and for the first time in a while... Ohanu actually sounded upset to his sister. Zira pouted at the look on his face, the way his eyes fell to the floor when he pulled his head back from the shelf.. And his lips twitched down into a frown, a hand coming up to rub at his arm like he needed some comfort.

"First of all, if I had known we were on the same team I would've been getting you some play." She said it playfully, trying to lighten his mood. Help him see that if he was embarrassed about being with another man.. She wasn't someone that was going to judge him. How could she? He saw her dating women too. "Second.. You gave your cookie up in two weeks, dude? Now you can never make fun of Odina again for that one time she-"

"Don't bring me up when I'm not around to know what you're talking about!" Odina's voice called out from the back of the store. Both of them cringed, but shook their heads to continue their conversation. Only when they were sure their oldest sibling wasn't coming out to scold them.

"I-It wasn't like that, okay? We.. He wasn't a wolf and his scent was cloaked when we first got here, right? But then we got closer and he started to smell reaal good, and I asked him what he was wearing... But then he showed me his mark..." This time, she watched frustrated tears building up in her brother's eyes. And finally, she wasn't tempted to be nice for once. For once, she wanted Jaime to walk in so she could either curse at him, or just curse him and whatever bloodline he had. Unlike her brother and sister, she wasn't one for violence. They were wolves that were trained to be ready for war, but Zira? She was just an elf. The most her parents could do for her was keep her up to date on her culture and spells. She was strong, yes. But nothing compared to the strength of a wolf.

"His mark? Is he... You guys are mates?" She dipped her head a bit to whisper it, and with a solemn look on his face... Ohanu nodded. If the circumstances were different, she would've been jumping with joy. But... His mate, his so called mate, was intimate with him one day and completely changed shit the next... It wasn't a good sign.

"I don't get why he hid it, Zira. I don't understand why he got so cold when I said something about it... I just... I don't know."

"How about th-"

The bell chimed, and they both cringed at the sound catching them off guard. The apprehensive looks on their faces were replaced by 'welcoming' smiles when yet another new face showed itself. Unlike the last new faces, this one was a female. She looked like a high elf by the extremely pointed ears, the pale skin and almost white tresses that were flowing down her back. Even her green dress that looked to be handcrafted gave her a more... Royal air.

"Welcome to Benally's!" They both chimed at the same time, both giving each other a subtle side eye that the woman didn't notice. And that was fine, because they didn't really feel like helping someone look for anything anyway. Their favorite customers were the ghosts that occasionally stopped, asking to trade ghostly or cursed items for something to make them feel alive....

"Did you try writing him?" She whispered it so fast he almost didn't catch it, but when he did he smiled a bit sheepishly. Shaking his head so his curls fell into his face, making Zira roll her eyes and try to push them out of his eyes herself. He always did that when he was hiding something, and right now? It wasn't the time. "Dude, say yes or no."

"I didn't! But he usually writes me first, so I didn't think I needed to.." He admitted with a sigh, and Zira snorted at that. Eventually anyone would get tired of being the first one to reach out, even she felt like that sometimes. Like when she'd first met her best friend, Selena, and Selena let Zira reach out first for nearly a month. After that month, Zira gave up because sometimes Selena wouldn't even write back. But then she'd shown up to the shop crying, thinking something bad had happened to her favorite wood elf... Well, the only wood elf she knew.

"You dumbass, maybe try writing him first before jumping to conclusions." She told him, trying to sound as warm as their mother did when she was showing them the right way to do something. It was pretty funny to Zira, because only the twins got like that. She was sure it was because of them being wolves, and having more intense emotions. Even if she was raised by wolves, there would always be things that just came to her naturally as a wood elf. Like magic, being able to communicate with plants and animals, immunity to some spells, and her crafting skills. It was a different level of power compared to wolves, and she knew that definitely would win a fight if it came down to it.

But to other elves? She was more capable than others. Some wooden elves didn't have the power she did. She learned that when she was young, when she'd run into the only other wood elf she'd met in her life. She was only thirteen at the time, and had only ever been around wolves, sirens, orcs, and the occasional yokai or some type of shifter.

"Fine... I'll try. But if he doesn't write back in like... five minutes? He's fired!" He put on his 'funny voice', something that always made Zira laugh. And it did, she giggled away with a shake of her head before heading to the register. Ohanu wasn't going ring up the high elf, and Odina sure as fuck wasn't because she hated talking to people at the counter. She preferred helping them in the aisles, apparently she liked being able to see a creature's full body to know what she was dealing with. Whatever that meant.

She'd gotten comfortable behind the register, pulling her robes a bit closer to nestle into since it was a bit chillier today than normal. She blamed it on the small tribe of Yuki Onna passing by, some snow spirit women who usually migrated through the town during this time of year. Migration season.

Finally, the high elf that had once made its way into the aisles had come to the register with some herbs in hand. Zira tried not to focus on her dress, or the golden chains that were hanging from her slim neck. Instead, she held a hand out for the herbs with a grin on her face. Her big brown eyes lit up with well hidden curiosity and some humor.

"Lovely choice of herbs! I can never tell when someone is using them for spells or food." She joked lightly when the high elf dropped the herbs into her hands. Her light pink lips were already a bit thin, but at the sound of Zira's voice they thinned even further into a line before she forced a smile on her face. She blinked fast, her bright blue eyes becoming slits between every blink and looking like she was trying not to roll her eyes.

"Magic herbs, of course. I don't cook my own meals, darling." Her voice was airy, and reminded Zira of windchimes. But it wasn't friendly...So Zira's grin faltered just a bit as she let an awkward chuckle slip from her lips. She subtly glanced down to her own robes, mentally comparing the soft white fabric to the expensive looking silk the high elf was wearing. Maybe she was royalty, and I just haven't heard of her yet. Zira thought, having a mental panic. If she was royalty, that meant Zira was being way too informal. And could possibly be punished for the small show of disrespect. But.. No guards had come in with swords raised, and no royal assassins either.

"Right, of course." She breathed as she wrote down what they were willing to trade for those herbs. She hadn't grabbed a lot, only about four small bags of different herbs. So the price wouldn't be too much to deal with. Herbs were the easiest to pay off, because the family usually asked for food in exchange for those since a lot of people used herbs just for that... Food. But that was usually. This elf wasn't a usual customer. "We usually would take an offering of the food made with the herbs..."

"How about gold?" The high elf pondered, head tilted to one side a bit to look down at Zira looking bored. She was already tall, probably around five foot ten to six foot.. So looking down on Zira the way she was wasn't even needed. But... Zira knew this was what high elves were usually like. They were an uptight bunch, and extremely judgy.

"Gold? For herbs? T-That's a bit much, don't ya think?" Zira reached up and scratched at the back of her neck. Eyes focused on the piece of paper between them with her neat but unfinished handwriting scrawled on it.

"I think too much, Wood One. 'Tis why I'm here." Was the elves retort. And Zira could only swallow her words and nod, eyes widening when the high elf dug into the satchel made of leaves to pull out a small cloth bag. She tossed it onto the counter, right on top of the paper. "Here's your payment."

"A-And what's your name? For me to uh... I have to write everything down for my mom and dad." She explained, gesturing towards the small stack of 'receipts' she had piled up on top of the register since it was full. The elf looked to the stack, and sucked her teeth when she noticed people's names were actually scribbled onto receipts. It probably worked much faster for them in the small town where everyone knew each other.

"Lotus."

Zira perked up at that, she couldn't tell if it was a last name or first.. But she was taking it. The grin that had left her face before had slipped right back on when she jotted down the name. And when she was done, she looked up to Lotus and gave a thumbs up that had her sighing out through her nose.

"You like your job way too much, Wood one."

~*~

Word Count : 2,326

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May 5th, 2025