Matthew brushed himself off as he fled the landlady. Rent, rent, rent was all that ever seemed to cross that woman’s mind. How could you even charge rent to a soul, anyway? It just seemed sacrilegious…Matthew shrugged off the thought and launched himself onto the bustling streets.

            Even at daybreak, Soluna was already frenzied, though mainly with more of the blue things. Hundreds of them soared over Matthew’s head, a few occasionally popping out of walls and streets to join the flood. Others remained on the street level, a few opening shops and inns, while a whole group was blocking the dusted road. Dozens of them bumped and shoved each other to gain a better look. Many were shouting out to get the attention of whoever was in the middle of the circle, occasionally tossing in change of any amount.

           Matthew stepped forward to get closer to the center and felt a queasy stab in his gut. He looked down to see Trevor, poking out of his stomach like he had passed through the door. Matthew watched as he fished in his pocket to pull out a wad of bills. Before he could toss them in, Matthew yanked him by his big black ears and out of his chest.

           “And just what the hell do you think you’re doing with our rent?” He asked as he swiped the wad back from Trevor, who could only look back at the crowd with dismay. He didn’t dare look at Matthew, and only swished his smoky tail back and forth in disappointment.

            “’s just a game…” He grumbled, barely audible in the cheering throng. Matthew pulled him in further away from the crowd- still more gathered now.

            “Right. Now, I don’t know about you, but having to face a landlady that looks like Death is something I only want to do once a month, at the most! We clear?” Another grumble from Trevor was good enough for Matthew, who began walking away from the crowd. Trevor followed after, drifting along until he heard a bell ring out.

            “Hey, Trevor, which way is…” Matthew turned to face Trevor, but he was already gone. He felt another queasy stab, and looked at his hand. Where he had held the wad of cash, he now had a shimmering hole. Behind him, the crowd fell silent as a small thump sounded out, like dice hitting dirt, then roared in anger and delight.

            “That gon’ be all for you, man?” Matthew whipped back around to find Trevor at a small booth plastered up against the wall. It looked like it had been assembled hastily, to take advantage of the sudden crowd- he could’ve sworn it wasn’t there when he had arrived. The booth was assembled from a stack of boards that looked like they’d been dragged from the bottom of a psychedelic woodpile. They were loosely nailed together, were of every eye-scraping color imaginable and looked just as safe. Before Matthew could even say anything, Trevor had already slammed down all of the cash on the rickety orange-and-aqua counter. “Thank you for your business, amigo. Enjoy your Lucys.” The booth-owner, another one of the blue things, tucked the wad away in his long curled beard and handed Trevor a small, brightly-colored bag. The crowd had abandoned their game and lined up behind Trevor, eagerly awaiting another chance to throw their money away. Trevor hurried away from the booth and back to Matthew, eagerly ripping open his bag.

            Matthew stared at the increasing line forming in front of the booth. Even the blue things that had been hurrying overhead were diving down to take their place in line, all to get their hands on those shiny little bags full of….

            “What are Lucys, anyway?” Matthew asked out loud to no one in particular.

            “They’re delicious, is what.” Trevor stated plainly as he stuck his hand in the bag. He pulled out a thin, large crisp, covered in a ghastly pink hue, and flicked it into his mouth. A sickly sweet smell emanated from the bag, reminding Matthew a little bit of candy floss; the scent alone almost gave him a toothache. He looked back to Trevor, who was now stuffing his face in the Lucy bag, or at least trying to- the ears were too large to let anymore of his head in. He stopped for a moment, offering the bag of pink crisps.

            “You wan’ fome?” He asked with a mouth full of Lucys.

            “I think I’ll pass.” Matthew pinched his nose to try and get rid of the smell, but somehow it made it even sharper. Trevor finished licking the inside of the bag and crumpled it up- the bag crumbled like dirt, and scattered to blend in with the road. “Please tell me that one bag wasn’t worth all of the rent.” Matthew said as he watched the group begin fighting with each other- apparently, someone had taken the last bag.

            From out of nowhere, Trevor pulled out a second bag of Lucys, and immediately began devouring it. “Oh, no,” he said in between swallowing, “I bought enough bags to last me the month.” Matthew grabbed Trevor by his hood and drew him close.

            “Listen, you little blue bugger, I don’t care how many of those you stuff yourself with, but if that rent isn’t here by the end of the week, it’s your azure arse that’s going to be mine. Got it?” He let go of Trevor for a moment, letting him stuff his bag away for later. Matthew began walking off again, this time dragging Trevor along with him by the tail. Not even noon and he was already annoyed as hell. He needed more coffee, and lots of it.

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Link to Chapter Six here!