This was normal life.
That's when it clicked in his head.
Stop acting like a stranger, Abuchi.
If no one here found it odd, then neither would he. This wasn't some alien land. He wasn't in a jungle of wild laws and strange people. Okay, maybe he was since Marka had such a reputation. Still he was in Marka. And right now, that made him a Markan.
He adjusted the strap on his shoulder, stood straighter, and pulled his hood down a bit more over his face.
Blend in. Flow with the current. That's how you survive.
Two people ahead of him. Almost there.
He inhaled slowly, then exhaled like he had just reached a mountain peak. Finally.
This line business was... interesting. Not his thing at all, but still, something about it felt oddly satisfying. Like being part of a slow, ticking system where your turn would come, no matter how long it took. There was comfort in that kind of certainty.
