Tying the Knot?

Posted on Sat 23rd Nov, 2019 @ 9:44pm by

505 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Pale Moon Books, Riverfront Village
Timeline: MD 2, 11:30

From where he stood in the stacks, pulling books for the correspondence order he held in his hand, Kenichi MacBeth heard the bell over the door ring. Before he could call out a greeting, a heavily accented voice called out, "You are open?"

"The doors of Wisdom never shut," Kenichi called back, walking to the front of the store. "But our hours are..." he trailed off, looking at the woman standing by the front sales counter. A Lamian, like his daughter's girlfriend, Yucholl, but an adult. If Lamians aged as Humans did, she was somewhere between thirty and forty years old. He cleared his throat. "Open. Yes; we are open. Welcome."

The woman glided toward him. She had yellow-golden scales, white hair gathered in dreadlocks and tied in a knot behind her head. Her long tunic glittered in the midday sun coming through the shop windows. Sequins? No; crystals. Tiny crystals that refracted and glittered. "I seek Kenichi MacBeth."

"You've found him," Kenichi answered, moving around behind the sales counter. He bowed respectfully, and offered, "Kenichi MacBeth, of the Clan Fujiyama, Neo-Aomori sept. I have the honor and privilege of owning this bookstore." A part of Kenichi wondered why he'd given his full, long-form introduction; the rest was busy noting the woman's blood-red gaze and her inquisitive -- perhaps judgmental -- glance around the shop.

"You are the responsible parent of the child Aiko?"

"I am," Kenichi answered firmly. The rational part of his mind wondered what she'd done to bring this woman down on him; another part wondered how she was affecting him so strongly. Certainly he'd never felt this kind of... wariness... around Yucholl.

"I am Yulin Engrl," the woman announced. Yucholl's mother. I've come to meet the parent of the girl who gave my daughter a betrothal gift."

When Yulin said the words 'betrothal gift,' Kenichi's eyes widened dramatically. "Who said what, now?"

"Your daughter gave mine a present which contained biomatter from her own body. A present of DNA."

Kenichi's brain scrambled. "But... I mean... the relevant anatomy... it's... wait, what?"

Yulin couldn't keep a straight face any longer. She began laughing, a deep, belly laugh at the expression on Kenichi's face. "Hair. She gave Yucholl a bracelet made from her own hair. In our culture, giving such a trinket indicates a desire to be knotted together."

"Ah," Kenichi said, and he too gave a laugh, though neither as long nor as deep as Yulin's. He thought about the rather enthusiastic snogging he'd seen, and the possible connotations of 'tying a knot' might have to a race of people with the long, flexible bodies Me'du Sa'id possessed. "I'm fairly certain that desire does actually exist. But I'm equally certain Aiko didn't know she was making an offer." At least, he certainly hoped she didn't.

Yulin nodded. "I figured. But I also figured it was time we met. Our girls are spending a great deal of time together, after all. We should agree on rules and boundaries. I suggest...."

 

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