Casey had stayed up all night watching another Nairin show. It was Wise Word. It followed a young man doing espionage in different countries, for his home, Nairin. His name was Justin, and he was a very talented wizard. The show had some of the most beautiful locations he'd ever seen; from nature reserves like the Maw-sit-sit bay, to bustling cities. It was totally enthralling.
And so he got a cover from his room and thumped back down the stairway, and eventually he fell asleep.
Casey woke up to a screen that flipped through content. He smiled. It probably had a 'Continue Watching' icon at some point, he just hoped that it hadn't played too many episodes before he'd gotten up.
Casey stood up out of the chair, when his neck just suddenly started hurting. He scrunched his face. Sleeping in a chair probably made it worse.
He folded his blankets and went upstairs. The house was quiet enough that he heard his dad moving around. He'd probably just gotten back from church.
Casey slept through it all. He yawned, he would owe his dad some company for next Sunday.
The brown glossed door to the right swung open and his dad had a small wooden box, without any finished work done to it. It looked dry and untreated.
"Case, you're up." His dad looked a little nervous. "You missed service, but you can come with me on Wednesday to word study, right?"
"I think I can. What's in the box dad?"
His face took on a thinking look, and finally settled on a smile.
"It's something for Rico. It's hard to explain everything, but it's an heirloom from his father."
Casey's eyes popped and his mouth hung wide open.
"You're telling me you had that for eighteen years and you didn't mention it?"
His dad sighed. "Here's the thing… I'm not supposed to give it to him if he didn't inherit the Lucayans' genes." John took out a key and locked his room. " By the way, that's what his dad was."
"Most of the time they have elves as kids." He noticed the blanket. "Case put away the blanket, and get dressed, please? This is gonna be a rough day for me."
Casey shook his head knowing that his father deserved it.
"Where are we going dad?"
"To the business district. And to my favorite restaurant."
"What's a Lucayan?"
"I'll explain on the drive there."
.......
The Right Flavor was a small bar. Not really a restaurant. They had white tents in Marathon square; Marathon square itself had white thick stones. They were all laid out in a simple pattern around a massive wishing well. A mermaid held a pot in its center. There were other small places like it open, but The Right Flavor had the second best food to Casey. Only behind High Tide.
Seagulls squawked overhead, and some were in the fountain bathing beneath the mermaid. The crowds treated them no differently than the locals, as they would visit Old Providence around this time of year for the regatta. That would be in a month or so.
Clouds were sparse. Too sparse for rain, and only lent a coolness to the breeze.
Casey clenched his jaw in frustration. It was always strange to see the world move without consideration for how you felt at that present moment. He thought it through. This would be a shit show. But these were his shitty people, and he'd keep them together.
His father actually ate right now. Clams and linguine at a time like this. Casey sighed.
The parking was off to the left, just over John's shoulder, so saw the sedan pulled in. And he felt a nervous feeling in his chest. That was his heart beating faster.
Rico came over. He played with the car keys on the way.
"Did he tell you what he did?" He spoke to him, and ignored John. That was the first time he'd seen Rico angry.
"Yeah."
"And so do you think that's alright, Case? You know this wrong in every way, right?!"
"Calm down Rico."
Somehow no one looked at them. He noticed John's eyes were glowing green, and felt that that must've been why. It sent a shiver down Casey's spine. He didn't even feel the mana in the air. His father's power was different. Very different from anyone else he'd met so far.
John sighed, and closed his eyes. Slowly rubbed them until the light dimmed completely.
"Rico. I only agreed because he would've left anyway and I never liked him."
"But, all of the time you've known me have you ever thought of saying something? Something to make things easier!?" He was visibly shaking.
John shifted his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then he stayed quiet.
Casey wanted to jump in to calm things down. He felt protective of his father but also felt terrible for Rico. The situation left him empty inside. After all, Casey had lost his mother at seven. He hadn't opened up since. He'd try.
"Rico can you sit down, please? You know he isn't a bad person, right? Just give him a chance to explain himself. Just do it for me?"
"I'll stand. If he has anything to say, I'm right here waiting on him."
John sighed and shifted in his seat to face Rico. To his credit he looked slightly upset now.
"I've done somethings to help you. I didn't just let him leave either. When you meet him, if you meet him, he'll tell you that."
"The fact is, Rico, I'm old. I try to be… understanding to what's new but I'm not from these times. I thought I could help and I tried to… I'm sorry if I did it wrongly. But I did something."
"Yeah in a selfish way." Rico said. But his face softened at John's words.