Gold.
Official Moomin Friend
Ryker and Keegan
~
The news reporter’s clear voice blaring from the TV drifted down the hallway long before his eyes met the static stricken screen in the kitchen. Ryker turned the corner to find the kitchen alive and warm as always. The TV was going, obviously, and Nana was seated haphazardly on the old rickety stool where she always sat when she was peeling or mixing things. Sure enough, her weathered hands were deftly removing the brown skins from a basket of potatoes.
Ryker sighed, vacating the mouth of the hallway where he’d been lingering. “Why don’t you watch something else, Nana?” he suggested with a light tone. She’d been flipping through various news channels since that stupid ship had vanished yesterday.
“Are you kidding?” she demanded, cackling. “This is the story of the year! Finally, something damn interesting happening around here! Why don’t you show some more interest?”
He’d already taken more interest in it than she could possibly know. With the ship up in thin air, the fallout was a publicity disaster for Orre, and people in Pyrite Town were freaking out. His home region hadn’t ever been that noticeable before—just a lonely, crime-filled wasteland on the edge of a map no one looked at. But now, with such a high profile incident, all eyes were on the region used to slinking in the shadows, and the denizens didn’t know how to react. Except for Nana, that was. Clearly, she was pleased.
Ryker palmed his keys into his pocket from the hook above the old weathered counters. Behind him, Nana raised an eyebrow. “You going out?”
Out meant out of town.
“Yeah,” Ryker said. “To Gateon. I’m getting the bike part for Yuri.” Nana nodded sagely. She knew Yuri. He came to her shop all the time, and Ryker was pretty sure either way he’d mentioned how Yuri had crashed his bike last week. To fix it, he’d had to order the part from elsewhere, but without a bike, he couldn’t go and get it. So yesterday, Ryker had offered to go and get it for him.
“Good,” Nana said. “Get some papaya while you’re out. And you better not forget it this time or I’ll turn you out on the streets!” You forget your grandmother’s fruit once and then she threatens you every time…
She didn’t mean it though. Even if he forgot the papaya. He knew that.
He sighed. “I’ll get the papaya, Nana.”
As he was pulling on his duster than hung by the door, she hit him with the, “Get on with it then!” Ryker heard the tail-end of an interview on the news as he shut his front door behind him with a soft click.
Outside, the Orre sun was hot and bright as always, and sand crunched under his boots as he made his way across what passed for the front yard. Interest sparked through Ryker when he spied Keegan leaning against one of the twisted metal poles that Nana passed off as a fence. When he saw Ryker approaching, he smiled his lazy smile. “Hey!”
Ryker reached out to take Keegan’s hand over the fence and they did the usual small greeting. “Hey,” Ryker replied to his friend, wondering what Keegan was getting up to. Finding him lurking outside the house was a regular occurrence, but he had the glinting smile and flash to his eyes that meant he was scheming.
“You going out?” Keegan asked, nodding to Ryker’s duster. Out still meant out of town. Ryker pushed open his rickety front gate, starting to make his way along the sand choked streets to the edge of town where everyone parked their bikes. Keegan feel into step beside him, and Ryker took note of the faded leather jacket shouldered over his lean frame.
“Are you?” Ryker asked with a raised of his eyebrow.
“Guess it depends if you are.”
Ryker regarded Keegan’s cheeky smile. They’d been friends for years now, but even after all this time, Ryker still had trouble getting a read on Keegan sometimes. “What are you plotting?”
“Me?” Keegan asked, pretending to be affronted. “Nice try, but what are you up to?”
Despite himself, the corner of Ryker’s lips quirked upwards and he huffed. “I’m not gonna play the you-me game all day.”
Keegan rolled his eyes but seemed pleased with the sort-of-smile he’d earned from his friend. “I heard you’re going to Gateon to get a bike part for Yuri.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really going to Gateon to get a bike part for Yuri?” Keegan asked, scrunching up his nose with a scrutinizing glance. It was all played up for dramatics, which was Keegan’s thing of course. Despite the joking, Ryker got the implication right away.
Keegan really did know him too well.
Ryker swung one leg over his bike, parked next to Keegan’s, and leaned over the handle bars as Keegan waited for his answer. “My grandmother needs a papaya, too,” Ryker said, smirking.
Keegan snorted, rolled his eyes, and hopped on his own bike. “Right, papaya. A top priority.”
They started up their bikes, sending sand flying with a roar. Ryker tugged his sunglasses on from the inside of his coat, and together, the pair went roaring off into the desert.
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