Elsienette was fuming with rage. Her eyes had widened in fury, and she was slamming her fist against the door. Her grey armor made as much noise as she did.
Els: "VALMON! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GIVING ME ORDERS! WE'RE THE SAME RANK, YOU SENILE OLD MAN!!!"
Elsienette, unable to control herself, actually looked a bit ridiculous. Neim, Duis, and Kelvin couldn't hold back their giggles. Suddenly, Elsienette spun around in anger.
Els: "IS SOMETHING FUNNY, HUH!??"
They all flinched at once and quickly stood at attention, responding in unison.
"NO, MA'AM!"
Elsienette, still furious, turned back to the door when Valmon's voice came from the other side.
Valmon: "Calm down, fireball. All I asked is that you get those kids something to wear, a place to stay, a shave, and teach them the colors and some basic words they'll need. I told them tomorrow, but you can bring them back in ten days. I'm pretty sure they can help us fight the monsters."
Although Elsienette was still angry, the idea of getting help in the fight against monsters eased her mood a little.
Els: "YOU OLD FOOL! YOU BETTER PAY ME BACK FOR ALL THE MONEY I'LL BE SPENDING!"
Valmon: "Of course, of course. Don't you worry about that."
Elsienette turned around and started walking down the stairs.
Els: "What are you waiting for? First, we're going to the barber. We need to fix how you look."
Neim turned to Duis and was just about to say something when Duis spoke first.
Duis: "Don't ask me about what's going on here. I know as little as you do, alright?"
Neim: "O-Okay. Then, Kelvin, can I ask you something?"
Kelvin: "Of course."
Neim: "What's a barber?"
Kelvin: "It's the place where they get short your hair or shave your beard. You don't know?"
Neim: "Nope."
Duis: "Nope. Back where we're from, everyone has long hair and long beards."
Kelvin: "Well, you'll see when we get there."
After grabbing their blankets from beside the door, Duis and Neim stepped outside, but this time, the noise was several times louder than before. Both of them covered their ears. Duis could barely cover one ear with his single hand.
Duis: "What's this sound? It's so... My head is hurting!"
Neim: "Should we just go back inside?"
Kelvin and Elsienette looked at them in shock. Kelvin stepped closer and leaned in right next to their ears.
Kelvin: "HEY, BOYS! YOU'LL GET USED TO IT, DON'T WORRY!"
Startled, Neim and Duis quickly dropped their hands from their ears.
Neim: "Ugh, it wasn't like this before."
Duis: "Nothing we can do. Let's go!"
Amidst all the noise, they walked through the grey streets towards the barber.
● ● ●
When they arrived in front of the barbershop, they stopped.
Els: "I've got something to take care of. I'll meet you later."
Kelvin: "Got it, Commander. Alright boys, let's get you cleaned up a bit."
Kelvin turned towards the barber's door and was about to step inside when Neim's question stopped him.
Neim: "Kelvin, what's that thing over there?"
Kelvin stepped back a bit and looked where Neim was pointing, the sign above the door.
Kelvin: "That's a sign. It shows that this place is a barber shop."
Neim: "What's that thing on it?"
Kelvin: "You mean the writing? You don't know what it is?"
Neim: "Nope."
Kelvin: "Wait, don't tell me you can't read or write? Oh, we've got so much to do. Ugh..."
Kelvin sighed twice and stepped inside.
Ding! A small bell chimed.
Duis: "What was that sound?"
Kelvin, sounding a bit exhausted, answered.
Kelvin: "Door bell. It's there to let the shop owner know customer's come in."
Neim: "What does 'customer' mean? What's a shop owner?"
Kelvin: "We're the customers. The shop owner is the one who's going to get short your hair."
A middle-aged man with brown eyes, a grey mustache, grey hair, and a half-bald head came out while drying his hands. He wore a white apron and seemed like a kind person.
Kelvin: "Hello, Mr. Luma. I brought these two little guys here for a haircut."
Luma spoke in a gentle tone.
Luma: "Oh, welcome, Kelvin. How's it going?"
Kelvin: "We're managing, you know how it is. How's your business? I don't see your apprentice around?"
Luma: "He went somewhere, he'll be back later. I'll handle these two young men, have them take a seat."
Inside the shop, there were two brown chairs facing mirrors, with a long brown table underneath. On the table, there were scissor's and a few shaving knife. Behind the chairs was a long brown couch. The floors and walls were bright white and spotlessly clean, it was clear that Mr. Luma took good care of his shop.
Luma pulled out one of the chairs and gestured to Neim.
Luma: "Come on, have a seat, son. You can leave your blanket beside you. I'll start right away."
Neim placed his blanket next to him and sat in the chair. When he looked straight ahead and saw himself in the mirror, he flinched.
Neim: "Who's that?! Why's he staring at me? Why is he copying all my movements?!"
Luma stared at Neim in surprise. Kelvin slowly got up and walked toward Neim, who was awkwardly flailing his arms in front of the mirror.
"Don't be scared, that's you. It's your reflection in the mirror. It's not alive, it won't hurt you."
Neim: "Really? But how is that me? I don't get it."
"A mirror reflects everything it sees."
Kelvin stepped in front of the mirror and waved his hand.
"Do you see me in the mirror? It shows everything exactly as it is, as long as there's light. It copies it where there is light, but if I go in detail, you might get confused."
Neim and Duis tried to wrap their heads around the concept of a mirror while Luma stood by, mouth agape.
Luma: "Where did these boys come from? They don't even know what a mirror is."
Kelvin: "It's a long story. Just be careful when cutting their hair, they don't know what to do gonna do. Treat them like babies."
Luma: "Got it. I'll go easy on them."
Luma stepped behind Neim as Kelvin sat back on the couch. Duis also set his blanket down and sat next to Kelvin. Luma gently lifted Neim's hair and showed it to him.
Luma: "Your hair's in pretty rough shape. How short do you want it? About three fingers or five?"
Neim, trying to gesture while looking at himself in the mirror, initially pointed the wrong way. After correcting himself, he indicated a length of about three fingers.
Luma grabbed a cloth and draped it over Neim, tying it behind his neck.
Neim: "What's this for?"
Luma: "If your hair falls on you, it'll stick and itch like crazy. It's a pain to clean off later."
Neim: "Got it, thanks."
Luma: "No problem."
Luma picked up his scissors and carefully began cutting Neim's hair. Neim was fascinated by the process. To start a conversation, Luma asked:
Luma: "Try not to move your head, or the scissors might accidentally cut you. By the way, where are you guys from? You seem to know nothing about this place."
Neim: "We came from inside a mountain. Before this darkness lift... um, before this 'mornging'... we had no idea people like you even existed."
Luma: "You mean 'before this morning,' right? How could you not know about us?"
Neim: "We and our grandparents have always been there. Leaving the mountain was forbidden. But we made a mistake and had to escape... that's how we ended up here."
Luma: "I see. That explains why you're like this."
Neim: "Yeah, pretty much."
Luma: "So, boys, do you like it here so far?"
Neim: "It seems alright. People keep staring at us and saying things, but I think it's because of our clothes. I guess it makes me feel a bit bad."
Luma: "Yeah, that's probably it. Once you get used to this place, you'll see it's actually pretty nice. What about you, young man?"
Luma's question pulled Duis out of his daydream.
Duis: "I agree with Neim. It's a bit scary now, but hopefully it gets better."
The three of them continued chatting while Luma finished cutting Neim's hair.
Luma: "Hair's done. Do you want me to shave the beard, too?"
Kelvin, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly chimed in.
Kelvin: "Yes! Get rid of both their beards. I don't want that coming back to bite me later."
Luma: "Got it, no problem."
Luma brought some water and gently rubbed it on Neim's face.
Neim: "What's this for?"
Luma: "So your face softens up a bit, it'll make shaving your beard easier."
Neim: "I understand."
Luma picked up the razor and moved it toward Neim's face.
The moment Neim saw the razor, he flinched and jumped up from the chair, quickly taking a defensive stance and asking seriously:
Neim: "What are you trying to do with that?"
Luma: "Don't be afraid. It's just to shave your beard."
Neim: "You're bringing something that sharp near my face, how am I supposed to not be scared?"
Luma: "Didn't you see the scissors? They were just as sharp. If I wanted to do something to you, I would've done it by now."
Still suspicious, Neim slowly sat back down. Luma carefully shaved Neim's beard, though it took some effort and a few nicks.
When he was done, Neim sullenly sat next to Kelvin, and it was now Duis's turn.
Duis hesitated a bit when he sat in front of the mirror, but he quickly got used to it.
After getting his hair trimmed by two fingers' length and having his beard shaved, they all left the barber shop.
Kelvin: "Let's wait for Els for a bit. If she doesn't come, we'll go straight to get you some clothes, or maybe you'll need a bath first."
Neim: "Why is the bath more important?"
Kelvin: "Since you just had your hair cut, if you put on new clothes now, the hair will stick to them and they'll make us buy new ones again. Waste of money."
Kelvin leaned against the wall and they waited there, standing, for Elsienette to return.