Home.
Home. Home. Home.
“Home,” he sighed, wishing that however he communicated with the force within him, it could be more articulate than it had so far managed. “Xanthia.”
He heard nothing else as he washed, lathering his body in the rich, spa-scented soaps provided by The Rinniel. He rinsedthe suds from his thick, dark hair, which fell in front of his face as the last of the bubbles slid over his body.
Switching the shower off, he stepped out, grabbing a towel from a nearby rail and wrapping it around his waist. He collected his thoughts, going over what he had experienced since he arrived in Porthan.
He arrived on a beach and shifted in to his human form. West Beach, apparently. Apt.
He was found by Alianna and her dog. She took him to the hospital, or accompanied him there.
He left and roamed Porthan, looking for accommodation. The Rinniel seemed to be one of the finer establishments, and there was a room available.
He walked through Porthan at night and came across Alianna and her friend. He walked them as close to her home as, he now realised, she was willing to let an unknown male get. Sensible girl.
He had walked aimlessly around Porthan again today, stopping for a drink, and found himself at the café Alianna worked in.
Rionan’s brow furrowed in realisation, as the recurring theme from the last two days became apparent.
Alianna.
Perhaps if he was going to find answers, he would have to spend more time with her. At least he would no longer need to feel selfish for enjoying their conversations or appreciating the way she looked. He would need to be subtle, or this could very easily go wrong.
He redressed himself once dry and put some clothes back on, postponing his plans to rest.
Rionan was going to buy himself a mobile phone.
8
An Exchange
“There’s somebody outside who has asked if you could be his server today,” Tom said as Alianna exited the staff room after reapplying her lipstick.
“Has he now? What’s wrong with you doing it?”
“Not sure. Maybe my hair isn’t as shiny as yours. Maybe my boobs aren’t big enough.”
“Tom!” Alianna laughed, not taking these comments as anything other than a joke, having spent enough time with Tom over the years now that she knew what his humour could be like. “It’s probably because I can’t remember the prices of the specials, and if he’s been here before when I served him, he might have saved himself five marks.”
“Yeah, to be fair, you are hopeless with that.”
Alianna made a vulgar gesture at Tom while she remained out of sight of the customers who were sitting inside. She picked up a menu, notepad, and headed out to the front of the café, plastering her server’s smile on her face. Her smile faltered in shock as she saw Max sitting at one of the tables, leaning back, smirking at her.
“Hi, Ali. Look what I went and got. Just for you.”
She peered at his table, realising he was pointing towards a mobile phone.
“I told you I wasn’t lying. This one is brand new. If the offer is still there, I would very much like your number.” He unlocked the phone with his fingerprint and pushed it across the table towards her, intimating that he would like her to input her number herself.
“You really didn’t have one,” Alianna muttered, picking up the phone. “So, you got this today?”
“I did. I did not have a need for one before, but things changed.”
Alianna smiled but didn’t reply as she typed in her number and named herself simply in his contacts: Alianna. She handed him his phone back and watched him pocket it carefully.
“You know that I’m not from around here. I was thinking, maybe you could show me around Porthan. Clearly, I have been to West Beach – I presume there is an East Beach. If you wanted to, we could…”
