The city pulsed with a kind of life Ezekiel had never known. Not just noise or movement-but a deeper current, like magic laced into the wind itself. Every breath he took was full of something electric, like the moment before a storm.
Velmira was more than just a city... It was alive.
Winding streets wove between slender towers of blackstone, their windows aglow with soft amber light. Storefronts spilled warmth onto the cobblestones, and the air was thick with scent-rich brews, fire-roasted spices, and the sweet scent of fresh bread. Steam drifted from mugs clasped in mittened hands. Lanterns strung between balconies, dancing in the breeze like captured stars.
A bakery with unique oval-shaped windows caught his eye. The line curled around the corner. A girl near the front bit into a steaming bun, her eyes fluttering shut and her face melting into an expression of pure bliss.
It must be good. Zeke thought. I'll come back here later.
When he turned the corner, color exploded around him. A market unfolded like a living tapestry-stalls brimming with glowing fruits, fabrics that shimmered like moonlight, trinkets etched in moving runes. The scent of roasted chestnuts mixed with honeyed pastries and something sharp-cool, like crushed mint leaves in winter air.
A man passed by, balancing five wooden crates filled with all sorts of things in an insane show strength, while a floating cart zipped overhead, a translucent delivery notice trailing behind it like the tail of a shooting star. Street performers juggled flames that flickered like fireflies. A musician played a stringed instrument that sang with crystalline clarity, his melody echoing out through the plaza.
Zeke paused near a small stall, eyes glued to the tiny cakes that floated inside rotating glass orbs, each one turning slowly like miniature planets suspended in orbit.
"You should try the lemon-fire ones," a voice said behind him. "They burn your tongue, but it's worth it."
Somewhat suprised at the random comment Zeke spun around.
The speaker was a tall guy with warm tanned skin and a grin too wide to be innocent. His dark hair was a tangle of lazy curls, and his hoodie, unzipped despite the chill in the air. He radiated a 'special' kind of energy... like someone who made decisions faster than they could think.
Next to him stood a girl, long, deep-bronze hair braided over one shoulder. A small bird tattoo peeked from beneath her collarbone, the ink dark against her copper-toned skin. She carried herself with a kind of grounded grace, like she was used to walking through fire and not getting burned. A worn leather satchel hung from one shoulder, its brass buckle shaped like a crescent moon.
The third figure lingered just behind them, silent and still. A boy-sharper, leaner. His dark eyes swept the crowd like a blade slicing through fog, not paranoid but alert, calculating. He had the same high cheekbones as the girl. A scar curved faintly beneath his jaw, half-hidden in a shadow.
"First time in Vel City?" the tall guy asked, amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"…Yeah," Ezekial eyed the smiling boy warily, a little pissed off that someone ruined his train of thought, "Why the hell are you talking to me, you ruined the moment.".
"I knew it!" The guy spun to smirk at the others, oblivious to Zeke's internal monologue. "Told you he was a newbie. Probably here for the entrance exam too. Just like us."
Before they could respond, he turned back to Zeke with a grin.
"I'm Rian. That's Tala, and the brooding scarecrow behind her is Kaito. They're twins. And yeah-we're all here for the academy too."
"Ezekiel," Zeke said in responce, a tone of indifference but nodding slightly as he continued. "Nice to meet you."
He turned back around to face the stall, hoping that this 'Rian' took the hint and stopped talking to him, mentally, he sighed. "Of course. A loud one."
Kaito who was standing behind tala studied him with a calm gaze. "Ezekiel, huh? Cool name. Bit long, though. Let's go with Zeke," he said in a low voice before nodding, as if he just acomplished something incredible.
"Sure, I guess," he said, shrugging. "That's what my family calls me anyway."
Rian clapped once, delighted. "Perfect. Zeke it is, lets get going,"
Before he could think to protest, Rian waved him forward. "C'mon. If it's your first time in Vel City, you have to see the rest of the market, and also, being by yourself in a big city is kind of dangerous dude."
Sighhh.... "Okay" after releasing a heavy sigh, Zeke decided to just go along with them, they probably know all the good spots around here anyways, besides whats the worst that could happen.
The crew began walking through the market weaving between the crowd as they went past stalls full of weird and odd objects, Rian who was beside Zeke grabbed skewers of glazed meat from a nearby vendor, offering one with a casual tilt of his wrist. Zeke shook his head but Rian, being the oblivious fool that he is took another one from the stall and passed two to Zeke.
"I gotta get away from these guys."
"This area's called Mira's Row," Tala said, drawing his attention back to the market. "It's always like this." She gestured to the crowd of people walking around, going back and forth between stalls, kids laughing with their parents as they ate candied fruits from a nearby store. "Wait till the sun drops though, the store owners light up lanterns that hover around the market, its beautiful."
Kaito scoffed quietly. "These people eat too much sugar and grease tho. How do they expect to live long and happy lives if they eat so much rubbish."
"Spoken like someone who's never had fun," Rian retorted, giving Kaito a look that said "Dude your killing the vibe".
Kaito looked at Rian before flipping him off. "I've had fun. I just remember eating the food you bought for me and spending the rest of the day in the bathroom."
That made Zeke exhale, something close to a laugh, to be honest he was still overwhelmed from all the new sights, having spent most of his life in the suburbs and away from the city everything here was a new experience.
They kept talking-bickering, joking. Zeke just watched on as they continued to talk, guiding him through the market. He observed the ease in how they moved, how they filled space like they belonged in it, something he wanted to learn as ever since he stepped into the city he felt like he was out of place.
Seeing that Zeke wasn't talking much Tala slowed again, walking beside him. "Did you come to the city alone, or is your family somewhere nearby?"
"Nah, just got here this morning by myself on the train, my parents were working so they couldn't come, as for my siblings, the older ones? i'm not really sure about them, haven't seen them in years, the rest are all younger so I couldn't bring them, wish I could though, this place is beautiful."
"Thats cool, they would probably love to see this, your parents must be really busy if they couldn't make it to the orientation, its a pretty big day."
Zeke's gaze drifted to a vendor selling enchanted wind chimes, the glass flickering with pulses of light. "yeah, something like that."
She looked at him with a questioning gaze, picking up on the underlying tension in his words but didn't press further, mainly because they only just met.
The group continued walking past stalls, the crowd began to thin as they walked into a quieter street, at this time of day the sun wouldn't reach in between the buildings so the stall owners lit up lanterns, Zeke guessed that these were the ones Tala was talking about because they really did make the view more magical. The glow reflected in the small puddles underfoot, turning the cobblestones gold and red. A mural stretched across the brick wall: a girl reaching toward the moon, her fingers brushing its edge, evoking a strange feeling within whoever laid their eyes upon it, a sense of longing, for what? Zeke wasn't sure but he thought there was definetly something magical about it.
"You guys felt it too right? When you looked at that picture? Velmira is very strange," Rian said, tossing his skewer into a bin. "But kind of amazing. This old districts feel like those stories coming to life, its a mix of old and new architecture yet it blends together so well. Just wait though, apparantly the Academy looks way better, maybe we should check it out later today."
"Yeah that sounds good, I'll ask a friend to take us there later." Zeke replied, in his head he was cussing though because he would have already been at the academy if he wasn't forced to walk with these guys, it wasn't that bad though. He turned back to the others, "How long have you been here?"
"Only a few days, maybe three." Tala answered, her eyes burning with curiosity. "Orientation's in two, honestly, it's kind of scary, I wonder what the test will be on, will the teachers be nice? what if the higher years bully us?."
"We only came early because we wanted to explore the city," Kaito added. "If those upperclassmen even try to look at me weird i'll challenge them to a duel to the death, as for the test, who cares, the strongest wins and I doubt there are others even half as strong as me." His eyes were burning, a hint of battle lust flashing through them.
"Hmmm, What do they test for, I just got here today, I haven't studied for anything?"
"No clue," Rian said. "It changes every time, last year the academy had the students fight eachother in a free for all arena type of thing, must've been pretty fun to watch."
"All we know is it's brutal," Kaito said. "A lot of people get sent home, all their hopes and dreams for a better life get thrown in the bin."
Zeke didn't flinch. The idea didn't scare him. In some way, it comforted him. If he passed, it meant he deserved to be here.
They walked around a corner and ended up in a wide plaza where the market opened up. Lanterns swayed above the plaza like fireflies setting the market in a golden glow. A bard played by a fountain, his voice silver-bright and clear as he strummed his oddly shaped instrument.
Then Zeke felt it. A shift in the energy. A feeling that something annoying was coming along to ruin is first day in this new world.
He scanned the plaza, his eyes locked onto a cluster of older teens loitered near a stall with cheap charms and decorative blades. One of them, who was standing with his nose pointed in the air, the typical "I'm better than you" kind of look met Zeke's gaze, his face curled into a permanent sneer stepped into their path. The others fanned out beside him, half-laughing, like this was routine.
This isn't a movie, Zeke laughed bitterly in his head. Just walk away.
He glanced to his left and saw Tala was still admiring the plaza, eyes bright hidden beneath thin-framed glasses, the lanterns floating around the plaza gave her a golden glow as if she were an angel, the bird tattoo above her collar bone peeked above her clothes, drawing attention to her slim neckline giving her a scholarly and mature aura. combined with her red li-"WOAH WOAH WOAH GET BACK ON TRACK ZEKE, DON'T GET DISTRACTED"
AHEM...But, damn, of course.
He sighed heavily, this is just a cliche waiting to happen.
The wiry teen's voice cut through the plaza like a rusted blade.
"Well, well. Didn't think I'd see a face like yours this far from the noble courts. Sure you're in the right place, sweetheart? Maybe you took a wrong turn on the way to the dance hall."
The crowd slowed. Watching.
Kaito's shoulders tightened. A smile tugged at his lips, sharp, anticipatory as if he were waiting for something just like this to happen.
"What did you say to my sister?" he asked, his voice soft on the ears yet full of power.
"Did this idiot just say noble courts???"Zeke almost laughed, then he turned his attention to Kaito. "This guy has been waiting for a fight all day, why did I have to get dragged into this weird group"
Tala stepped between them, one hand held out in an attempt to stop her brother from making a move.
The smirking teen stepped forward and spread his arms wide, eyes still locked on to Tala. "I don't care whose sister she is. In fact I'll take all your sisters, to go. thanks."
His voice echoed in the growing hush. Faces twisted-some in discomfort and disgust, some in interest. Meanwhile Zeke's head was spinning at double speed. "I have two options here, one, let this soap opera play out, two, I can have a little fun, Shittt what should I do." Zeke looked from Kaito who was ready to make his move and the wiry teen. "AHH Fuck it lets do something fun"
"You know," The teen added, "if you're tired of walking with these losers, I could-"
Zeke stepped forward.
Before he realized it, his voice reached the ears of everyone in the plaza-low, steady, slicing.
"Listen, dude, you're like very, extremely ugly... I can't tell if you're flirting or having a stroke. Please, do everyone a favour and leave this plaza."
For a second, everything stopped.
A collective gasp sounded through the now silent plaza but Zeke wasn't done there.
"Infact, your so ugly that you should be paid to stay at home, actually no, maybe you should be hired to sit at a dating bar so that when couple's walk in and see your ugly face, the women will look at their boyfriends with appreciation, happy at the fact that they don't look like your sorry ass."
He just kept going and going, beside him, Rian's mouth fell open in shock. Tala blinked as if trying and failing to process what just happened. Kaito, standing beside her who was previously ready to fight, had his hand over his mouth, trying to hold back his laugh.
The previous heated atmosphere dissipated, leaving everyone feeling awkward, and shocked at the words Zeke just said, some even looked towards the wiry teen with pitying glances.
The wiry teen who was grinning like a fool now stood frozen, face red burning with rage, and just like that, Zeke realised, that maybe, just maybe, he took it a little too far.