Nirvana's Noteworthy: Erin O' Maoilriain

'I take things like honor and loyalty seriously. It's more important to me than any materialistic thing or any fame I could have'

~Llyod Banks~

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I stare mournfully at the black, cracked sunglasses laid lifeless in my palm. Loose shards occasionally snap off as the limousine hits a minor bump. I try keep my hand stretched out flat so as not to cut myself on them. Patricio groans beside me. I ignore him, just wanting to be left to lament for my last surviving pair of combat sunglasses. Pat’s groans gain volume until he reaches a breaking point. 

“Dios mio will you stop!?” He growls, snatching the broken accessory from the hands. In my absolute shock I find myself unable to respond for the few moments it takes for him to roll down the window, contemplate tossing the glasses to the road, rolling the window back up, instead shoving them in his jacket pocket.

“Pat why!? That was my last pair you eejit!” I moan. He’s so mean. 

“You’ve been moping about those ever since we left Gehenna. Stop being so sorry for yourself, you did a great job today and they’re just sunglasses, not a big deal” He retorts, defending his actions. 

“You just don’t understand the value of these things you bellend” 

I lean away from Patricio and glare out of the opposite window, my chin propped up by my hand. They feel rough, weathered by the work we had in the city. A few scrapes, callouses and a smidgen of dried blood. Nothing new; we’ve both come out with worse, especially in our early days of the job. Nirvana’s scenery blurs by us in a sea of blue, whites and soft lights. Beside me I can hear Patricio sigh in defeat. He places his own calloused hand upon my shoulder.



“Look, these things can be replaced right? It was kind of my fault these ones got broken, so…I pay for the next pair, okay?" He offers. The way his voices picks up in tone towards the end feels familiar, letting me know I can trust him. The limousine slows to a stop at the traffic lights. The blur outside settles itself. It seems we have made it as far as the shopping district on our way back to the council building. 

The shopping district… 

I grin a grin quite mad. 

Gripping at Pat’s hand on my shoulder, I kick open the limo door with my legs and drag him behind me as I leap out. 

“Erin what-“ 

“I’m going to take you up on that offer dear one!” I interrupt him. 

My boots click clack as they stride across the pavement towards the shops, all the while refusing to let go of the poor Mexican boy flailing behind me. After the chaos of the day, I believe I’m entitled to a little indulgence. We stop in a clearing, encircled by various boutiques although struggling to see them as we become caught up in the mid-afternoon crowd. Patricio stretches out his back, whining as it clicks into place. 

“Well, we’re here Erin. What’s the plan?” He asks, focused. 

It’s amusing the way his eyes scan over the crowd, his posture locking into a combat stance over such a simple mission as replacing a pair of sunglasses. Even more amusing is I find myself doing the same, my back lining up to his. We wouldn’t have gotten as far as we have if we didn’t take every single situation seriously I suppose. I too scan the crowd. The numbers aren’t too debilitating to us. The majority of the civilians consists of elders, parents with young children and those with days off. Still, it will take some exploring to find the right shop in time for us to make it back to the council without Miss Okoye or Miss Jo getting mad at us for being tardy. Either one is scary, both together is a tempest of fury neither myself nor Pat could handle. 

“We’re going to have to split up. Contact me via telepathy if you find somewhere that sells acceptable quality sunglasses. I’ll come to you. Same situation vice-versa” I relay to Patricio. Turning to face him, he responds in kind. He starts bouncing on his feet, ready to shoot off. 

“You got it ma’am” He replies with enthusiasm. The ice picks attached to his belt jingle against his legs as he manoeuvres through the crowd out of earshot. I roll my eyes, hollering at him through his mind as he goes. 

“MAKE SURE THEY’RE ACCEPTABLE QUALITY…you muppet” 

The last part I comment verbally, but there’s some affection behind the words. He’s not the worst partner I could have really. Shaking it off, I make my move towards the opposite direction. 

Straightening the combat bow clipped to my back, I use my training to slink around the human targets with ease, slipping out in front of a curved row of varying retail establishments. Four, five, six shops. I transmit another thought message to Patricio. 

“I’ve got six shops on my side, how about you?”

“I’ve got eight over here, about to investigate” He replies. I find it fascinating how clearly his accent reflects through the telepathy. I wonder if it’s the same with mine on his end? 

No time to waste. 

“Roger that” 

I dash to the first shop and gather a peek at the sign. 

‘Elysium Arcade’ 

There’s no windows, though by the din of digital bullets and techno music I can gather it caters to video game enthusiasts. Not exactly what I’m looking for. I proceed to the next shop. 

‘Dakota’s Discount Den’ 

This could work. I take a gander into the shop. 

An array of accessories line the walls and standing shelves. There looks to be only one other person here besides who I assume is the owner Dakota. She has her feet propped up on the counter, reading the news displayed on a flickering holographic screen. Generic mainstream music plays on low volume from speakers embedded into the walls. The rest of the shop’s décor is fairly unimpressive. In other words, nothing to distract me. I survey the merchandise on the shelves, quickly honing my sights on a set of stock labelled ‘head accessories’. Skipping over, I immediately reach for the most appealing pair of sunglasses for sale. I knew this search wouldn’t take long. Except my expectations were quickly shattered as quickly as my old shades. From just a touch I’m filled with disgust at the distinct feel of cheap plastic. 

Despicable. I put them back and leave immediately. 

Four more shops to go. They all end up useless in my pursuit. 

The following three consist of a high-end tailor, a kitschy knick-knacks emporium and a pet shop. The last one can be forgiven since the puppies were so incredibly cute and innocent and oh my gosh I can’t afford to get distracted right now! 

One more to go. After this I’ll check in with Pat to see if he’s had any better luck. With a heavy heart and low expectations I trudge towards the shopfront and glimpse at the sign. 

‘Blissful Wedding Attire’ 

…Wedding? 

I turn my attention the shop window, peering at and beyond the main display. A line of exquisite mannequins adorns the shop’s interior. By instinct I find my feet shuffling through inside for a better look. Inside many customers are perusing the clothes. Some are modelling their potential outfits, receiving choruses of helpful comments and joyful tears. I’m more fascinated by the mannequins myself. Each one appears to be made of hard light, which allows their appearance to be easily switched up, as I’m demonstrated by the light-skinned androgynous figure on my left morphing into a curvier, dark-skinned woman. Each mannequin appears to appeal to a diverse clientele, sporting figures of a variety of genders, ethnicities and body types. I sport a little smile. In my brief bout of happiness however I’m gently knocked by someone to my left. My combat reflexes, causing me to reach for bow which appears to startle to meek young man standing before me, clinging nervously at the dress in his arms. I move my hand and try to reassure him. 

“I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to startle you…” 

I peer at his name tag. It appears to say ‘Magic’. Odd name but considering the city we live in it’s not a huge surprise. 

“Magic, sir” 

He shakes a little but appears to calm down. 

“I-it’s alright. I-I should h-have been l-l-looking where I w-was going” He stutters, trying his best to spit out the words. I feel really bad now for startling him. He looks nervously around, then back at me before speaking again. 

“U-um, ma’am, I, um, n-need to change the c-clothes on the m-mannequin in front of y-y-you” Magic stutters again. Oh shit I was so caught up in my stupor I kind of blocked the area I was in. I swiftly hop to the side. 

“Oh, I’m really sorry about that, wasn’t paying attention” 

He flashes me a twitchy smile. 

“Th-thanks ma’am, I’ll just f-finish this and b-b-be out of your h-hair” 

I stand by and watch as Magic removes the gothic style suit dress currently enveloping the masculine appearing mannequin, replacing it with a simplistic, white dress. A floral pattern graces the trim. After a little shifting to ensure the dress is nicely fitted, the young man pulls out a small remote from his pocket, pointing it at the mannequin and pressing a button. Its appearance shifts like the one before, though this time to a slender woman who exhibits a classic style of beauty. A very familiar style of beauty. Magic nods at me before shuffling off to fulfil his next duty. I throw him a wave though not a glance. I’m fixated on the holographic woman hovering before me. Ginger ringlets trail down her pale cheeks, entwined with milky flowers, much like the ones from my home town. Her expression of pure curiosity, emphasised by green eyes and prominent freckles, she looks so much like…so much like. 

Rionich. My wife. No. The woman who should have been my wife. But those bastards… 

The longer I stare at the figure the more she begins to look so real in my mind. The setting around me collapses, revealing the emerald sheen of the Irish countryside. The roar of the city hushes, with the occasional distant bleat or whinny from the farm animals. The figure’s face contorts to become more reminiscent of Rionich. She steps down from her invisible pedestal, still draped in the wedding gown. She places her delicate hand in mine, running a finger over the golden ring I’m wearing, opening her soft lips to speak. Eagerly I anticipate hearing the lilt of her tender voice again. However, it ends up sounding a lot more…masculine.

“Erin!"

I’m snapped out of my stupor. Looking around, I’m back in the shop. Great. 

“What is it Pat?” I respond mentally. 

“Lo siento, but I wasn’t able to find any sunglasses from these shops and we’re running out of time. I don’t suppose you were able to find anything?” 

“No” 

“Damn it. Look I’ll buy you some online later, I promise”

I look up at Rionich’s lookalike and breathe a heavy sigh.

“Don’t worry about it Pat, I’ll worry about it another time” 

“You sure? …well anyway I’ll text the driver and have them comes pick us up where we got out earlier. Meet you there. Pat out” 

His voice cuts off. 

I shake my head and dash out of the shop to find him. I don’t look back at Rionich. 

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Character created by D.Horror