ALL NOVEL 27: Starry Ocean Views
Making their way through the ringed streets of Marcen’s Cliffs, Astrid and Valencia climbed higher and higher until they arrived at the outermost ring of the city. Of course, the height difference wasn’t anything near actual hiking though. Each ring was only half-a-story higher than the previous ring.
Taking a more relaxed pace through the city, Astrid and Valencia made sure to stay on the well-lit streets after the dinner fiasco. The lighting, though, did aid in Valencia’s continued tour of the major buildings they passed by.
Astrid, with her eyes peeled and ears open, tried to take in as much as she could, but there was... a lot.
She was noticing a bit of a trend as they made their way up the rings. As they advanced forward, she couldn’t help but take note of how increasingly avant-garde the architecture became.
Asking Valencia for an answer, Astrid shook her head in exasperation as Valencia gave her best guess at an explanation. Valencia, tapping her chin as she pointed to an outrageously ornate church, lamented, “I think it's just the major organizations having more money. These organizations came into the city quite early, right when they were expanding and creating the rings.”
“And these organizations are the weirdly named ones, yes?” Astrid clarified with a half-smile, “The ones we kinda made fun of for their middle school–level naming sense?”
“Yeah, those,” Valencia snorted, cackling in her mind at how those leaders would react if they knew. “So, the ring expansion actually took place over hundreds of years. Thus, by the time the final ring was being built, these organizations were very well-established and had the money to commission these crazy structures.”
Murmuring an “uh huh” with an unimpressed nod, Astrid furrowed her eyebrows as she studied the crazy futuristic building they were now walking past. “It just seems like a half-waste of money, you know? I do love seeing cutting-edge technology for sure, but for a building like this to have five sliding doors in a row... it just seems a little excessive.”
Squeezing Astrid’s hand and giving her own murmur of agreement, Valencia leaned forward and kissed Astrid. “Let’s not worry too much about it. I see you’re getting a little chilly, do you want to walk a little faster?”
“... Sure,” Astrid shrugged after pondering for a moment, unaware as Valencia broke into a wide smile.
Valencia, ignoring all of the bystanders also walking down the street after their dinners, hoisted Astrid up into a princess carry before leaning down and giving Astrid another kiss. “Hang tight then, my dear!”
Leaping forward, Valencia broke into a sprint, disappearing from view before anyone could react.
Of course, unbeknownst to Valencia and Astrid, some of the more sharp-eyed bystanders would’ve sworn the purple-haired woman’s soles seemed to glow a faint purple. But without a proper look, they could only dismiss it as just another “physically gifted” resident of the city who had capabilities bordering on monstrous territory.
It wasn’t great for someone’s life expectancy to care about other people’s business while living in Marcen’s Cliffs after all.
Back with the running couple though, after pushing all the hair out of her mouth, Astrid clung on as Valencia blitzed her way through the streets. Thankful for the fact Valencia was using her powers to block the wind somehow, Astrid leaned in close to Valencia’s ear. “I thought we were going to ‘walk faster’...”
“Is this not faster?” Valencia grinned, leaping off a light pole to turn the corner at breakneck speeds.
“It is faster, but it’s not walking,” Astrid retorted as Valencia leapt above a small party of people walking towards them. With a smug smile appearing on her lips as Valencia couldn’t think of a response, Astrid leaned forward once more—against the will of her core muscles—and gave Valencia a peck on the cheek. “It’s fine though, just make sure to stay safe and not hurt anyone, okay?”
A couple minutes of (probably) safe high-speed Valencia transportation later, Astrid was let down as they came to a stop before a metal, almost fortress-like building. With a large “Library of Truth” logo emblazoned on the side of the building and each of its glass doors, Astrid took a moment to process before turning to Valencia. “Are you sure this is the right place?”
Pulling a keycard out of the wallet in her bag, Valencia just walked forward and buzzed in as the doors slid open with an imperceptible hiss. “Yeah, just come on in.”
Unable to hold back the laughter as Astrid’s jaw dropped, Valencia beckoned her forward. “Come on, it’s heated in here. I don’t want you catching a cold on your first day outside.”
Walking in, Astrid marveled at the gleaming interior as the doors closed behind her. Taking Valencia’s hand as they began walking down the empty halls, Astrid raised an eyebrow, “What is this place? If it was any less well-maintained I would be afraid I had just walked into a horror movie...”
“It’s kinda complicated, where we’re going specifically is just down the hall. I’ll need to explain it, but it’s hard without you seeing it. So, just sit tight until we get there.” Valencia hugged Astrid close. “Now that we’re inside though, you’re warming up quickly, so that’s good. Even though your hands are still ice cubes as always.”
Laughing and returning the hug, Astrid squeezed Valencia closer while pressing her hands against Valencia’s cheeks. “Let me just siphon a little more heat from you to warm up my hands then.”
A couple minutes of awkward middle-of-the-hall hugging later, Astrid and Valencia continued down the hall.
Unlike all the other doors labeled with numbers, Astrid and Valencia came to a stop before the door labeled with just a “V.” Opening the door with the same keycard as before, Valencia stepped to the side with a flourish, “After you, my love~”
Faking a curtsy, Astrid laughed and nodded before walking in, “Why thank you, my dearest~”
Entering the room, Astrid froze in surprise as her head turned on her neck like a robot with rusty sockets. Valencia came in, closing the door behind them. Astrid just nodded as Valencia hugged her from behind and asked, “Is everything alright?”
Following Valencia into the center of the room, Astrid flopped onto the movie theater–style seats while admiring the rest of the room.
Well... perhaps ‘movie theater–style’ wasn’t the most apt comparison. It was a reclining seat similar to some of the couch and bed fusions found in movie theaters. Yet, this one in particular also had blankets and was more like a queen-size bed...
Yet, the rest of the room was far more impressive. In fact, one whole wall was just... GONE!
Without even a layer of glass, the side of the room faced the open sea. Providing a clear view of both the night sky and the ocean far below, Astrid couldn’t help but just... admire it.
The rest of the room included a door labeled restroom, a pair of heating lamps often found at restaurants, and just some other small pieces of furniture: a mini-fridge, a couple of low tables, a couple of padded chairs, and a beanbag.
Flicking off the harsher blue-white lights and turning on a couple of the softer lamps, Valencia took a seat next to Astrid. “Well, I felt like it’d be easier to explain what this place was once we got here... Where to start, though?”
