Annalee sighed under her breath and adjusted her coat as she walked the downtrodden path of the city. She, like the others, had a few choice words about this city, but after all was said and said, none of them would ever leave because doing so would mean that they finally gave up, and despite its hatred for her and her kind, this city was still their home.
And besides it wasn't as if it would be better anywhere else. At least they knew how to survive down there.
As one of the oldest members of their estranged community, Annalee had witnessed every major progress and setback that they had endured, that they kept enduring because it was the only thing they could do.
All they wanted to do was live semi-normal lives, not at all interested in the faction wars of other mutants that happened up here — that was all they wanted. So it always came as a bitter irony that they – who were arguably the most peaceful and nonviolent mutant groups – were the ones that had to hide most dejectedly.
They couldn't even fight with their heads up high even if they wanted to. The majority of their population had mutations that only ran skin deep, mostly in horrific visual aesthetics. The bare handful of them that wanted to fight for a place to stay aboveground did not have a strong enough ability that would support the bravado.
Even if it were to be considered, as they were a community of homeless vagrants, the children population was stealthily growing larger than the adult's which meant that they had no choice but to focus more on survivability and sustenance than the damaging lust for violence.
Food was already hard enough to get, not only because few people would willingly trade with them, but also because they had little to trade with. They were already an endangered species(she scoffed, because clearly they were still humans) so resulting to small-time thefts, while an unwanted added risk, was a necessary one.
And whenever they had something to sell, very few of them could do it because of their lack of physical mutations and basic literacy. As an old woman, Annalee was one of those people and she took up this duty wholeheartedly because it was the least she could do for her people.
They weren't perfect. Not by a long chance. They were two steps from being outright barbaric, but no one had them like they had themselves.
She ignored the discussions the old drinkers were having about the morning paper. She tuned out the chatter coming out from an old radio as she made her way through the throngs of people that pervaded every square inch of this city.
A frown settled on her face as she remembered how tense the last two months had been for them. Caliban, Plague and Richter had almost been caught the last time they tried sneaking something off the port and with how Caliban told it, the lacking security they had expected had instead doubled in force and were lying in wait for them.
One of their contacts had tried setting them up and while Annalee wasn't involved in any part of the leadership, she'd known them long enough to know when they were worried, especially about their food situation.
It became more apparent the next two times they tried robbing some easy marks but were heavily rebuffed by waiting forces that their info broker failed to warn them about.
Annalee was worried that someone, probably a group, had caught sniff of them and were trying to rout them out. They had lost people when similar things happened in the past and Annalee was too old to see another bloodbath happen in however few years she got left.
The tense spot they'd found themselves in saw their reserve food supply dwindle heavily in the last two months of little to no work.
So here was Annalee, despite everyone being told to remain underground and only send proxies to the surface, out on the surface because she couldn't bear to continue hearing the fearful worries of the children who could only now eat once a day, with half of their normal portions at that.
She still had her wedding ring and bands, the only thing of worth that remained from her marriage after decades of running.
She'd wanted to gift them to her daughter when she got married but sadly, her little Sarah was no longer with her. Now another name among the list of many she'd lost through the years.
She was looking to pawn them off to scrounge up some cash, no matter how small, so the kids could at least eat a full plate of the normal two meals for the next few days. This would remove some pressure off the others so hopefully they could come up with an urgent solution in the meantime.
The frown on her wrinkled face was because of the abysmal price the last two shops had given her. Sure, she didn't know the value of jeweled stones but she was sure that the ring and bands were worth more than a measly $237.
Her dear Frederick had bought them during the advent of the war and she could recall that he'd spent quite a generous amount on them just to prove to her Pa how serious he was with her.
She came to a stop at a red light intersection, slightly out of breath because of the distance she'd walked. Old age had not been kind to her and her hermit lifestyle added to the frailty of her old bones. She was using the seconds left to catch her breath when she felt someone standing very close to her.
She'd tensed up as a flash of panic sent her thinking that she'd been caught, only for her to sigh in relief when she saw that it was just a young child looking at her in worry.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" She smiled as she felt his genuine worry when he placed his hands on her shoulders to support her.
It was things like these, very small things, that made it hard to hate her fellow humans as a whole just because they weren't mutants. At the end of the day, they were still people, good and bad, in equal measure.
"I'm fine, my dear. My legs aren't what they used to be." She said with a hearty chuckle but didn't refuse the help as he held her arms as he helped her cross the road. "Thank you, dearie. Hope I didn't cause you any trouble?"
The delightful young man shook his head, the wave of genuine kindness wafting off him and the smile on his face reminded Annalee of innocent Curtis, her little Sarah's joy.
"Where are you going?" He asked, his intentions pretty clear on his face.
She shook her head with a soft smile. He was a good child. "It's alright. I can take it from here. And besides I wouldn't want your parents to be worried about where you went."
"Are you sure, because I'm sure my Aunt wouldn't mind. I'm Peter by the way." He said with a natural cheer.
He was a sunny little boy, true and genuine in a way that Annalee hadn't felt in a long time.
"You're a good child, Peter dear, and thanks for the help. You can call me Annalee."
"Okay, Nana Lee. So where are we going?"
She laughed. Oh he was a cheeky one for sure. It was a refreshing delight because that was what the kids down at the community called her.
She thought about it and couldn't see why not. God surely still had His eyes on her to send such a helpful child her way.
"I'm looking for somewhere to sell off some old jewelry of mine. The ones I've been to have been uncouth and dishonest." She would have been embarrassed to tell a stranger that she was selling off her jewelry, but like she expected, the young man thought nothing of it and instead became more eager to help.
"Do you know somewhere where I can? I've walked down from the library and haven't found any."
"I know just the place." The both of them laughed as he took her hands in his, acting out the gentleman bit. "Mr. Isaac is pretty honest and he'll buy almost anything for a fair price."
She looked at him with a frown, a playful suspicion flitting around in her eyes. "And why exactly do you know the owner of a pawn shop, Peter?"
"It's nothing like that." Peter groaned. "Aunt May forced me to throw out my collection of… junk spare parts, but I took them to him and sold some of the good ones. It's just around the corner."
She accepted what he said and decided to see this 'Isaac' person, if nothing else than to ensure that he wasn't taking advantage of this dear child.
Junk 'N Stuff.
"Junk and Stuff?" She asked amused and Peter chuckled. Apparently it was a pun of what the store was.
They entered the shop and Annalee looked slightly confused for a second as she felt different foreign emotions coming from the store that didn't feel particularly human but it suddenly disappeared before she could make sense of what it was.
"I'll be out in a sec!" A voice called out as they held shuffling and whooshing sounds coming from the storage room.
Annalee's impression of the store was mixed but now she somehow understood the pun on name. Honestly, she strongly felt that the store itself was trying to show off how chaotically ordered it was. It was a weird feeling.
"Sorry for the wait. How can I help you?" The shopkeeper turned to Peter and smiled. "And how are you doing, kid?"
"Mostly fine, I guess. School's been extra stressful lately because of the exams coming up." Peter replied as they arrived at his counter. "This is Nana Lee. She said she wanted to sell some jewelry so I brought her here."
"Oh he's being modest. He basically kept me company along the way." She remarked, not showing her rising suspicions at the fact that she couldn't feel the man's emotions at all despite standing in front of him.
"Of that I'm sure." He nodded. "My name is Isaac, a Merchant. Well then, Nana Lee, let's see what we are working with today."
She brought out the ring and wedding bands from her bag, folded in a soft cloth as they were, and opened it on top of the counter, her suspicions climbing higher with every second.
"Oh? How surprising." He looked at her in surprise. "It is a very sentimental piece. Are you sure you want to sell it?"
Her frail heart took a pang as she looked at the matching bands and rings. Frederick had always been a clumsy and forgetful sort so she was the one who stored away most of the important things they had, like the rings and the bands.
She didn't want to sell it but neither she nor Frederick would want to hold onto expensive jewelry when innocent children around them cried in hunger.
"Yes." She felt free as she said it. "I'd want him to do the same if he were in my shoes." Peter, that sensitive child, had excused himself to wander about the store the moment she brought out the rings.
Isaac nodded. She didn't react in surprise when his eyes seemed to glow for a bit as that just confirmed what she suspected. He was a mutant. She felt a little bit relaxed with that confirmation.
"How did you know?" She might be an old woman on her last steps, but she wasn't an idiot. He must've known she was a mutant somehow for him to be so casual with that display. He must be like Caliban then, being able to sense other mutants near him.
"Hmm?" He looked up from his inspection. "Oh that? I knew the moment an empath entered my shop, that's why I muted the loud ones so as not to overwhelm you."
She didn't fully understand but she took it as is. She'd have to tell the others about this because if he turned out as kind as he looked then maybe they could use him as one of their suppliers to get the things they needed at camp.
He finally took his eyes off the jewelry, the glow gone, and adopted a smile that was similar to the ones she'd seen on marketers and stockbrokers.
"While the feelings behind these hardly add to their value," she clenched her hands desperately, "the charm stone in it is another story. It's very low quality and there's no magic tied into it but given that these are wedding rings, it's a perfect fit."
"Charm stone?" She looked at the red stones on the wedding bands. She didn't know what charm stones were but she'd thought they were rubies or red diamonds.
"They are the same as other precious stones but they have the ability to store magic. These specific ones are mainly used in weddings, cantric rituals and other such practices. They are basically gifts and heartfelt magic like helping their partner sleep better, making them feel each other's presence more deeply, or low level protection spells are most times imbued into them."
She let him finish his explanation and all she could reply with was, "Magic?"
He nodded with practiced casualness. "The rings and the bands, while basic in nature and make, had the increased value of charm stones. I'll take them for $2,700. We good with that, Nana Lee?"
For a moment she debated against selling them because of their true value but she instantly stayed that thought. She wouldn't let the children go hungry because of magic rings.
"Y-yes. Thank you." She said softly, smiling forlornly as the rings were kept away.
"No, thank you. Letting go of them could not have been easy. I'll try and make sure they go to good hands."
Annalee laughed. How considerate. "I'll be glad."
"Peter dear," she called out to that blessing of a child and gave one last thanks to Isaac. "I have to get back and give those mischievous little ones a hearty surprise."
She'd tell Caliban and Callisto about the store owner and see if they could get in contact with him, but first she had to go to the market.
Peter offered to help with her market trip and while she was beyond grateful, she called his Aunt May first to see if he could, and God bless her heart, she sounded just as lovely as Peter himself.
"Peter, be a dear and…"
––––––
.
Patreon.com/1stDepth
.
––––––