5 | Job (II)

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
Lunch was held in a large, communal, open room filled with long, wooden tables and backless stools arranged in neat arrays. Xanthy strode inside along with June from one of the multiple passageways just as throngs of people poured from others.
Studying the flow of traffic, food was served from the west end of the hall where a counter made from clay slapped against a hasty foundation stood. Behind that counter were several cooks dressed in the same rose brown attire but with beige aprons atop. 
Cauldrons steamed from being stewed over open fire while bowls made from marquine porcelain were passed around by boys half Xanthy's age. She got hers and she picked at the solidified crumbs left by the previous person who ate on this bowl.
As soon as she and June got their heap of smoking sludge, they sat on a random part of a random table and came face to face with Jarvik. 
"Oh, hey!" Jarvik said a little too cheerfully. The two children, a boy and a girl, at his opposite sides stared at Xanthy with wide, green eyes. "I did not expect to see you again."
Xanthy dropped into her stool and started shoveling the goop into her mouth. It was bland but somewhat edible. The white chunks looked and tasted so much like cleret meat. Her stomach churned as she suddenly missed her ajilte fruits. "Yeah, me too," she replied to Jarvik. "Your kids?"
Jarvik glanced at the children. "Yeah," he smiled. "Marin and Malin. Say hi!"
The children mumbled their greetings and Xanthy chuckled. "Not really into people, are they?" she chomped down on her cleret meat soup. "Which was which?"
"Malin," Jarvik pointed to the boy prodding his stew with his spoon. He didn't look older than eleven. "And this is Marin," Jarvik circled his arm around the girl's shoulder. 
Xanthy resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Jarvik's knack at naming children. "Nice to meet you," she blurted instead. Her teeth were scratchy from chewing so much firm meat. "What do they do around here? They are not in the weaving room."
Jarvik laid a hand over Malin's hair and tousled it. The boy slapped his father's hand away. "They are messengers, delivery personnel, and errand-runners like most children born from parents working here," Jarvik took a bite into his own food and winced. A silver band glinted from his finger. 
When Xanthy studied the family further, she noted that they all wore that same type of ring around their fourth fingers. Xanthy pursed her lips. Probably not her business. 
"Hey, June," Xanthy elbowed her friend who was picking at his own food. "You have to teach me magic sometime."
June looked at her with a twisted expression. "Learn on your own," he snapped. "I have my debt to work for, remember?"
"How about I halve it?" Xanthy challenged. "It seems like I will be shouldering most of the cost anyway with that pathetic pacing of yours."
"That loom is complicated. Do not judge me," June wagged his spoon at Xanthy's face before turning to Jarvik. "Are there any jobs available here?"