Descendants of Gibbous
Chapter 52: Sneaky brat

Chapter 52: Sneaky brat

"Goddamn, it’s freezing out here!" Damien yelled out, drawing the attention of the Vampire couple passing by them as they headed down the plain white road—toward the bank Ahara had pointed at.

He had been so excited about stepping into a world full of snow that he couldn’t help but touch some of it without Ahara and Kingston’s attention. Now though, that little act was the reason why the cold was thawing the insides of his flesh directly from his bones.

"You said you wore everything Charles gave you," Ahara hissed at him, stopping and turning her head to face him.

Damien froze at her glare. Even Kingston who had nothing to do with their conversation stilled.

"I-I did," Damien retorted, suddenly doubting himself despite knowing he was indeed wearing everything.

Ahara sighed and eased her expression. Damien could tell she was on edge because of Kingston. He had seen it far too many times now to know there was something big going on, but like her usual self, Ahara liked to keep everything to herself and not tell anyone about her worries. If only she knew that instead of the desired effect she thought hiding things from him would produce, it made things worse—for both her and those around her.

"Can you give him a bit of your vodka potion?" Her low voice came out as a plea to Kingston.

The wolf immediately swung to action, probably happy that she had finally talked to him for the day.

"Open your mouth," he commanded Damien before dripping a few drops of the liquid into his mouth. "That’ll do it."

As soon as Damien swallowed, the heat radiated around his body like he was sitting around a warmer, burning even his chilly bones back to their normal body temperature.

’Must be a potion from the wizards,’ Damien thought to himself, thanking Kingston as they continued their way towards the bank.

Unlike what Damien had expected—a street full of people and bustling with life-like Fangpeak’s capital city, Vespera—Draconic’s capital was a bit...bland. The boy couldn’t see any building around except for the skyscraper they were heading towards, whose shape reminded Damien of a 3-dimensional teardrop split in the middle—to form a wide carve that showed a smaller building in the middle.

The split provided an entrance leading to that building, a rather sophisticated edifice with architecture Damien hadn’t seen before. It looked futuristic with a unique, curved design that was characterized by its tall, pointed spires. It was symmetrical, with a central tower flanked by two large, curved wings that rose to a point.

The wings are adorned with smaller spires and turrets, adding to the overall sense of grandeur and complexity. Surrounding the structure appeared to be a series of walkways and balconies, which were all supported by delicate, filigree-like details. All in all, the structure was predominantly white and blue, with a subtle sheen that suggested a metallic or crystalline material had been used in its creation.

But that was only the beginning. Damien soon realized that the Draconic region had a unique blend of magic and technology that he hadn’t seen in Fangpeak at all, probably because they didn’t have a bank as big as this one.

"Place your hand on the scanner," a dragon shifter security guard who was showing off his white scales told the family of three about to enter the bank, sitting by the building entrance where a small space that looked like his office was placed, oozing of warm air. It wasn’t just him. Every one of the bank’s entrances had one little warm office placed by it, with a Gibbit or two in it waiting to assist the clients coming in and out of the bank.

Damien was quick to notice how their uniforms had embroidered golden letters written:

RESERVE BANK OF GIBBOUS.

"I’ll go first," Ahara announced, placing her palm on the large block next to the beefy guy’s office and it immediately came to life.

BZZZ-

Damien watched as it flickered a blinding blue before Ahara removed her hand from it and gestured for Damien to follow her lead. He did just as she had done, his heart beating like a drum from the new experience he was about to have.

BZZ-

The block buzzed again, scanning the boy’s palm once he rested it on the large gemstone.

’It works like the oblongs.’

Soon, the three of them were inside the warm bank and Damien could not believe his eyes. Everywhere he looked the walls and pillars inside the bank were covered in shiny material that looked like scales, but it might as well have been pearls from how white and shiny it was. Majestic curved counters stretched across the room, staffed by Gibbits dressed in elegant, ornate black attires—although the majority of them were Dragon shifters.

The floor was made of a polished crystal that highlighted a golden color—a color Damien soon noticed was reflecting from the high-ceilinged wall with intricate carvings of dragons and their elements, although the fire element took the center stage of the design.

’Probably the reason why it’s so warm in here,’ Damien noted.

"Let’s go over there, it’s empty," Ahara told her companions.

Without waiting for the boys, she strutted towards the counter she had gestured towards. Damien and Kingston had to follow her behind until they reached the workstation where a woman whom Damien couldn’t quite tell what tribe she came from was sitting on.

"Morning. We’ve come to withdraw some money. Amaris family," Ahara told the bank teller.

"If you would just wait for a moment ma’am," the lady replied, focusing on her desk.

Like the rest of the technology-coded things in Gibbous, it too was made of gemstone. However, Damien soon noticed that there was a clear crystal on top of it that looked like a tablet the lady was focusing on. The next moment she raised her head, she looked directly at Ahara.

"I’m assuming you’re Ahara Amaris?" She questioned.

"Yes, that’d be me."

"Can I have your ID card, whilst you place your hand on the crystal by the edge there," she pointed at the clear stone right next to Ahara.

Damien watched as his sister followed all her orders whilst the lady worked on Ahara’s ID and scanned it.

"How much are you planning on withdrawing?"

Ahara didn’t hesitate. "Fifty Aurics. Please make two of them Argents and Russets for change later."

Damien couldn’t understand what she was saying so he turned to Kingston who was standing behind him, still in awe of Ahara despite walking all the way from home to the bank with her.

"How much is that?" He whispered.

"Well, Aurics are gold and the equivalent of a hundred dollars in the human world, and Argents are silver and differ in price depending on size, but they range from 10 to 50 dollars. The same applies to Russets, they’re bronze and they range from as little as 50 cents to 9 dollars."

"So if she said fifty Aurics, that means she’s withdrawing 5000 dollars?" Damien’s eyes widened as he made his calculations.

"Precisely," Kingston replied just when Ahara received the small black leather pouch of money from the server lady.

"It was nice doing business with you," the lady flashed a business smile at Ahara.

"Likewise," Ahara replied turning on her heel towards the boys. "Now, let’s go back home and do some shopping."

"Yes, ma’am," Damien and Kingston said in unison, none of them wanting to piss her off any further than she already was.

They walked back to the exit where they got scanned and Damien felt his blood curdling when he noticed a sign he hadn’t seen when they entered written in what looked like Chinese or Korean to him, with a skull on it. The security guard who was scanning the boy was quick to translate it for him in his dead voice.

"It means, beware, stranger, for the sins of a thief are rewarded by a meeting with death."

"Thanks," Damien replied in a sarcastic tone, leaving the edifice as he followed his sister’s trail.

The last thing he expected once he was outside however was to feel hands grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back before someone whispered in his ear:

"Got you, you sneaky brat!"