~I know it's been ages since I last posted. I've been very busy with work and life in general, though it seems to have stabilized somewhat for me. Looking back on what I wrote, I no longer believe it holds up to my standards, so I will be restarting the story. I won't delete the old stuff, though it will now be considered non-canon. Thank you all for your patience. As always, I appreciate feedback and character suggestions. This chapter will mostly be exposition and setup. Also, I'm used to first person, so I may struggle with third person at times.~
Ever since the portals opened up, humanity hadn't had a break. First there was the war with the monsters, then there were the peace talks, which were almost more painful and time consuming than the war, and now we had to completely rewrite society from the bottom up. But, Ira mused, at least it was being rewritten for the better, for the most part. More focus on equality with a concerted effort to remove systemic issues. Joining two worlds together wouldn't be without its issues, but thankfully it seemed to be benefiting both humanity and monsters. Though it seemed that the term monsters was losing favor to the term Others, as a way to refer to those who aren't human.
All in all, Ira much preferred the post-alliance world. It almost felt like he had stepped through a strange portal and entered a fairytale, like in a pre-alliance book, yet everything was beautifully real. Many issues that had plagued humanity were cured through magic, and Ira had found out he had quite the talent for it. Food and water were no longer scarce, and the one issue that groups were still trying to fix was a lack of space for everybody to live. However, progress had been made on dimensional apartments that took up less space than they should, so Ira expected even that issue to resolve soon.
Overall, he thought, he would never want to return to the old world. He loved others, there were so many different kinds and individuals that he never got bored of people watching, watching streams of humans, fairies, orcs, felids, dragons, and numerous others walk past the window, almost completely packing the street outside.
"Ira!" A voice shouted, shaking him out of his reverie. Ira turned away from the window, looking further into the dusty building he was in. Shelves of books lined the walls, and seemed to go on as far as he could see. This was theLast Page, a bookstore that Ira had been working in for the last few months.
After the worlds had been brought together, human currencies started to lose their value, as magic and the advances in technology made moves to make capital somewhat obsolete. However, many of the systems enabling this remained in place, so a shaky compromise had been reached, at least for now. All currencies had been merged into one, the universal Credit. However, most individuals dealt more in barter, favors, and negotiation, with the Credit typically being used for official or large transactions. Ira's payment from theLast Page didn't amount to many credits, but he had been able to negotiate room and board as part of his compensation, living in a surprisingly spacious room upstairs.
"Ira!" The smoky voice called again, and a sinuous woman slithered out of the stacks of shelves and into Ira's view. She was a tall woman, with long black hair, coffee colored skin, and full lips. Her eyes were gold and seemed to see right through a person, and she always looked like she was smirking. She had on a light gray t-shirt withMuse printed on it, pulled taut over her rather large bust. Below the waist, however, she was technically naked, slithering on a long, green snake body, with sharp, shiny scales, pushing her height to well over 6 feet, even with most of her tail behind her.
"Ira, really, you must pay attention!" She said, her smoky voice lilted with an accent Ira could never quite place. "We have customers up front, and where do I find you? Daydreaming. Again." Ira couldn't help but be slightly aroused every time she spoke, her voice itching at the darker, hidden corners of his primal mind.
"Sorry, Lucia, sorry, I promise it won't happen again." Ira said, making a pleading gesture with his hands. "I just can't stop thinking about everything that's happened, especially while I'm waiting to hear back from Lustermore." Lustermore Academy was the premiere magic university in the sprawling city, known around the globe for educating individuals who would go on to change the world. Ira had recently gone through its rigorous placement exams, and was nervously awaiting results.
Lucia's tone instantly went from irritated to motherly, as she said, "Oh, it's no problem honey, I'm sure you made it in. We both know how well you'll fit in." She clucked her tongue at Ira, and then slithered back into the stacks, as Ira watched her smooth, silky hair cascaded down her back. He sighed, crossed his fingers, and followed her into the stacks.
After quite some travel time, Lucia having quickly outpaced him, Ira finally made it to the cash register, where a short catboy was standing patiently. He had short black hair and poofy clothes, and he quickly placed his book in front of Ira. Ira scanned it, barely reading the title, and accepted the man's proffered Credits and placed them in the register as the man quickly left the store, again leaving Ira alone with his thoughts. As cushy a gig as this was for Ira, he was really hoping he could make it into Lustermore. While he knew enough about magic to help with everyday tasks, he greatly desired to know more, to understand magic on a more fundamental level and how it could help him and those around him. Plus, he thought, who doesn't dream of learning magic?
The rest of the work day passed in a blur, as people slowly filtered in and out to purchase whatever caught their fancy. After work ended, Ira made his way upstairs to his room, glad he had the day off tomorrow, and stepped into his room. It was surprisingly sizable, with a twin bed, a kitchen and bathroom, and even a nice space where he had placed a comfy couch and a tv. Waving his hand lazily, he opened the fridge with a thought, and began preparing dinner, a simple casserole. One of the many advantages of the treaty was that magic made the creation of food simple, ensuring even the poorest of people would never go hungry again. Before the war and everything, a post-scarcity world could barely even be imagined, and now it was reality, Ira chuckled to himself.
After eating, he cleaned up with another quick spell, and took a nice hot shower, before removing all but his underclothes and lying in bed. Today, he thought, was just like every other day. Work, eat, sleep, repeat. But, he smiled to himself, tomorrow could be the start of something completely new, a new chapter of his life. And so he slept, dreaming of magic and new experiences.
~
