Page 9 of Elemental Affections

Eunny smirked. “Maybe sometimes, but it’s true enough. There’s a touch of the Child left here, and the Valley claims whomever it wants. You either belong or you don’t.”

“But I’m not from here.”

“And?” Eunny indicated herself and their similar Hanyeok heritage with a wave of her hand.

“It’s not the same,” Anadae protested. “Auntie Yerina has been here for years. My parents haven’t. My mother can’t stand the weather.”

“Even people the Valley claims don’t always love the weather. It’srain.Origin doesn’t matter. You belong here or you don’t, you’ll see.” Eunny shrugged.

Anadae hesitated, bursting with questions yet aware of the flicker of melancholy in her friend’s voice. A hint of pain whose edges had been dulled by time rather than any action.

Eunny gave her a sidelong glance, a wry smile curling the corner of her mouth. “Ask, Ana. I’m hardly fragile.”

A truth and a deflection rolled into one. The specter of Eunny’s past, her tumultuous relationship with magic, the why of it all. They were things acknowledged yet never addressed. Not in a direct way. Instead, the friends skirted the topic, admitting its existence without talking about it. And five years later, how could Anadae bring it up now?

She didn’t, falling back to their pattern of moving around and onward. “How did you know the Valley was for you?”

Eunny thought for a moment. “I think I just felt it. One day it all clicked.” She shrugged, the wryness of her smile giving way to something more affectionate. “Helpful, I know. But it’s one of those things where you’ll know it when you feel it.”

With a proficiency in light magic, Eunny had attended Sylveren University for her Initiate degree and the first of her Adept levels. She’d returned to Central District as part of a diplomatic trade delegation near the end of Eylle’s war on Rhell, one which saw the group taken captive. They’d been rescued, but Eunny didn’t speak of it or the fallout she’d had with her mother upon returning home. Anadae … gods all break but she’d been a bad friend. Had been buried in projects for Helm Naval at the end of the war and hadn’t been able to see Eunny as much as she’d have liked. Withering under her own crushed dreams as the reality of her sham engagement pierced the veil of her desperate naivete. Then Eunny had moved overnight, off to visit her Aunt Yerina in the town of Sylvan. A supposedly temporary visit, until the Valley had claimed her. Or, Anadae suspected, Eunny had never planned to return at all.

Despite their distance, Eunny and Anadae’s friendship survived. What had started in the middle schools of Grae Port kept on through secondary educations spent across country lines. Anadae felt as if they single-handedly kept the postal service in business with their constant stream of letters.

“I hope I can recognize it.” Anadae held her hand out again, but the rain felt no different.

“You will,” Eunny said, all confidence.

They continued down the street, Eunny filling her in on some of the town’s basics. Despite not having seen each other in person for the last four years, the conversation flowed easily, each other’s presence a familiar comfort. Though Eunny already knew about the scholarship, Anadae’s unpleasant last day at the Helm residence was new.

“Parental disappointment. I’m sorry to welcome you to the club,” Eunny said, with a touch too much bitterness.

“I’m hoping they’ll come around once they realize I’m serious.”

A few moments passed in silence before Eunny asked, not unkindly, “And if they don’t?”

Anadae didn’t want to think about it. Whether or not they’d been all that close, her family had been her life. A depressing fact, but nonetheless true.

“I don’t know,” she said, bleak honesty weighting her voice. Eunny didn’t press for more.

After dropping Anadae’s bags off at Eunny’s place above her aunt’s tearoom, they took the outside stairway down to the patio behind the Mighty Leaf. The shop had a cheeriness to it, with its warm lighting and hand-carved sign in the shape of a teapot. The windows facing the street allowed a glimpse of assorted tables and chairs and other cozy hollows in which one could settle down. As they descended the stairs, an inviting scent of a toasty, smoky green brew and freshly baked goods floated up to greet them.

Adjoining the teashop was a new addition. Comprised of canvas and heavy rope and a mismatch of wood both scavenged and new, it emerged from the side of the Mighty Leaf like a transgression against every rule of construction. Yet, despite its plain walls and simple furnishing that lacked the ambiance and character of the Mighty Leaf, when Anadae stopped to peer through one of its windows, she saw a variety of papers, small tools, and all the subtle reminders of a well-used space.

Anadae nodded toward the beaten metal sign on the front door. “‘Song’s Scrap.’ It’s very … to the point.”

“It’s a repair café, it doesn’t need to be pretty.”

Anadae followed Eunny through the teashop, a smile on her face at her friend’s gruffness.

Yerina Song-Burl more than made up for her niece’s lack of exuberance, enveloping Anadae in a cinnamon-scented hug same as she had when Anadae had been a young, wide-eyed girl visiting the Valley for the first time.

“Anadae! It’s been too long.” Yerina showed them to a small table near the pastry case and a shelving unit stocked with Yerina’s assorted tea blends available for purchase. “How long are you visiting?”

“At least a year, I expect.” Anadae grinned at Yerina’s squeal. “I’m here for Adept One.”

“That’s so exciting! I wasn’t expecting that. Whatever you want, it’s on the house.”

“Oh, I couldn’t, that’s too—"

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