Tales of Malaketh: Ritual of the Blood Red Night - Part 1: On The Run

[Xinnidy]

"Ah, ok--" Alex's worries would have been curbed then and there, if it weren't for an incredibly uncanny comment from Almira. "What... WHAT? H-hey, stop right there, you can't be--" Shit, shitshitshit. Almira was using this opportunity to attack Mina? What the fuck? Was Almira crazy... was she deceiving them?! But she really didn't seem... She said she'd never had human blood, for goodness sake! Was that a lie too? Or perhaps a catalyst.

...Nuts to making sense of that. What was true was that something was wrong and Mina was probably having her blood drained. "Okay. Open the door, right now. I don't care if you're not fully dressed, I'm blocking the view... just, what the fuck, Almira?!" She was gripping the handle of her sword now. If any more came from the other side of the room, she'd be breaking in, mirror be damned. She could pay it back with her winnings.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Xinnidy

[Moblin Major General]

Glendwr's nose picked up a strong scent. Coffee. He looked to his left and saw a rather decorative sign saying "Omlette du Fromage." It can't hurt. I doubt it could be a bad thing. I've had to drink worse than coffee without sugar regularly on assignments. Maybe I can forget all of yesterday, too. He walks into the restaurant and sees Misea, Astrid, and Lua at a table together. Do I really want to be with them? I don't want people to get the wrong idea, but I guess it's far too late for that. He walks over to them. "You would not believe the day I've had. I could hardly find anything around here. Since when did shoes and clothes ever get sold in the same shop? Or am I missing something?" He didn't want to go into any more detail than that, but figured it was going to be pried out of him eventually. It seems the other 2 were already doing it to Lua. "Have you ordered anything yet? If so, I'll get my own food, but it'll probably just be a mug of coffee. Or four, I don't know, yet. I'm exhausted." He felt like sleeping right there, but who's to say he'd be woken up by the three women if he did?

[scorri]

Mina's comment made sense to Seph and he realized how long he had been staring at the shirts thinking thoughts he shouldn't be and so quickly muttered, "I'll be back," and darted out of the store. He thought he heard Alex say something as the door was shutting, but he couldn't go back in.

Collapsing down into a sitting position next to the door, he buried his head in his hands. "You're an idiot, Sephtis. She's... Not for you. Too many reasons to say no, not enough to say yes. Just forget the whole thing." And if it wasn't for needing the money, I would almost just say give the money back and leave but... I can't pass this up. Not with everything they've said and everything I need. Sorry mom and dad. I'm going to have to be a bad vampire hunter and son for a while...

[Balcerzak]

Mina sank into Almira's hug, honestly needing some support right now. She felt a little light-headed--not the scary about-to-pass-out kind where your vision dims with static, but a more floaty, fuzzy... almost warm kind. Managing to work some life back into her arms, she reached one of them up the princess's back and grabbed ahold of her shoulder, getting even more stability, as things began to settle back down. Shivering a little as the soft cry of self satisfaction breathed its way past her ear, the teacher curiously touched her neck with her free hand. It seemed any bleeding had stopped, all that remained was a faint trace of the vampire's saliva. It was almost like a mosquito bite, she couldn't help but think--only if instead of unpleasant itchy bumps, mosquitoes left behind a strange rush of jumbled pleasant feelings.

When Almira answered Alex's question as well, and expressly counter to her wishes, Mina felt her heart leap in her chest, accompanied by an uncomfortable squeezing sensation. And of course, the soldier took the news about as expected: upset and worried. Somewhat reluctantly untangling herself from the princess, Wilhelmina wobbled slightly as she made her way to the mirror, opening it a crack and peeking her head out.

"No, really it's fine. Like I said, I got pricked and there was some blood, and she got a little curious," Mina lied, covering for the vampire. Was it guilt, pity, a sense of maternal protectiveness? Did it matter? "Look, the bleeding's even stopped now, and no harm done. Please, just, calm down a little."

Edited July 25, 2018 by Balcerzak

[Nanami Touko]

The store keeper couldn't ignore that outcry, looking past their needles over at Alex. "Everything alright?" Don't wanna have to call the guards...

Why was Mina lying? Had she done something bad? Bad... What had, she... As the instinctual need to bite something began to fade, Almira began to come back in full, regaining clarity enough to realize why Mina was running with this farce. "I-I'm sorry... She smelled so good, and... Well, it... It happened before I could think on it." By the Moon I've bitten a human. Is something going to happen to me? I don't feel different... I can still taste her blood in my mouth, why did it have to be so good... What a mess, what a mess, Mina I'm so sorry!

Almira quickly turned to the clothes, pulling the grey shirt over herself with little issue. It fit well enough, even if it was a tad bland, but she'd been wearing a plain white dress all this time, who was she to talk? "D-Do you mind helping with the bottoms, Mina? Or, I just, s, step into them, right?" Rather than wait, Almira went ahead and did just that, pulling them up to rest just below the shirt. They seemed to stay on... If there was a zipper somewhere, she'd not noticed it.

"T-Ta-da..." It was only then that she realized she hadn't cleaned her mouth off yet, flushing a pale shade of red and wiping her mouth off on her old dress. "S-Sorry..." I need to talk to Misea... Why did this happen? Almira felt herself composing over something that was missing... Rather, someone. "Where did Seph go?"

Edited July 25, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

"Wha...?" Mina was trying to brush it over again, was it really... that? It sounded so weird, when Almira said it, so sudden... Isn't she not supposed to drink human blood anyways? You shouldn't like... let her do that all of a sudden. That was still alarming. Alex tried to peer over as Almira opened the crack... she wasn't hurt, not from what she could tell, even if it only was her face, at least something would should. Doesn't she look paler than usual? Was she being too paranoid?

Almira came out of the room first, wearing skirt and grey shirt. There was a trickle of blood from her mouth, juxtaposing the otherwise adorable revealing act. It really brought to mind again that Alex was dealing with vampires. What am I to do here... Think. It made no sense that they'd attack so suddenly, in the middle of a human town. It could be a misunderstanding... was it?

"...Nevermind, my friend was clumsy, but everything's fine. She just made it sound like something bad happened." Alex turned to the store keeper. No need to alert them, hopefully. She'd still want to figure out all that about Almira drinking human blood so suddenly, however. One more topic to strike with Misea. Almira herself, however, seemed to have another guy in mind, at least momentarily. "Oh, I think he walked away. Said he'd be back. Probably really out of his element here and just found something else to do... but I don't think he'll ditch us like that. Not unless he wants a hearing." Everything was fine... right?

[SB.]

Lua's sense of humour was nowhere to be seen that morning, and instead of laughing like Misea might have hoped, all she did was frown back. "I'm sure that I would have done much better if someone hadn't been trying to distract me the whole time." Her luck had been absolutely abysmal, but surely there was something she hadn't seen. She'd been flustered after all, with a fanged monster coming so close to her neck. She could have died there! It wouldn't have been her first near-death experience with the species.

So of course, when she was asked to divulge more information about herself, the spellcaster couldn't help but hesitate. The other vampires seemed fine at first as well. The doubt showed on her face, but in spite of it, she spoke up. "I ended up here because of... there was an accident in a job. And then I got kind of stuck..." Was she going to admit vampires caused it? Hell no, Lua had no idea what Misea or Astrid would try and do when they found out the truth. If they didn't think that they could win her over because of her past experiences, maybe they'd grow tired of Lua, and then what would they do?

Instead, she quickly tried to switch gears. "So erm, what do vampires do when they're... less, erm, busy with y'know, things like... well, this whole situation we're in." How did they behave when left to their own devices, without any humans to snack on? She was mildly curious (understanding their behaviour a little better could benefit her down the line) but mostly she just hoped they'd drop the previous topic. She didnt' want to have to answer questions on that.

[Nanami Touko]

Almira felt a certain weight lift as Alex calmed down, and things started to sort themselves out. Though, this was far from over, giving an incredibly worried glance over at Mina. What was she going to do? Was she going to tell Misea? She had to talk to Mina, and alone, before any of them got back.

"Mmm... If you say so. Try to keep it a bit quieter, I know no one else is here right now, but if someone shows up, I can't have you lot hurting business by shouting. Your little girl looks darling in that, by the way~ You should pick it up."

"Y-Yes! Please. Uhm. If, you all don't need anything else, that is..." Almira wanted to get out of here, and fast. More clothes could wait. "I'm going to go see how Sephtis is doing... You don't mind paying, do you, Mina? With the money Misea gave you?" Almira quickly went ahead of Alex and Mina, the shopkeep quickly eyeing Mina as the girl left without paying.

"Twenty gold, please."

---

"Hey!" So he was still outside, just waiting for them. Almira let herself sigh, the sun beating down on... No, she felt it even less, already. Was that what this was going to do? Make her more human? She didn't know... She needed to talk to Mina, then Misea, and figure this all out. "Sorry for making you wait... That was probably pretty awkward for you, huh? Shopping, with a bunch of girls... I guess, I... I don't really know how these norms are supposed to work." She felt herself shrug, embarrassed as her lack of knowledge, gently biting her bottom lip.

"Oh, er, h-how do I look?" Doing a little twirl like Mina had, the shirt fluttered gently, while the skirt spun with her, resting against her legs gently after. It wasn't a very complex ensemble, maybe still a bit boring, but the faint pink of the skirt helped to aid in giving it just enough color to be special. "I... I hope, you still think I look, nice."

---

It appears they had another guest. Glendwr? Had he been busy about the day? Misea smirked at the new from the man, surprised he'd went shopping, he didn't seem the type. "When you've got a town like this, I suppose nothing ever changes. Laziest Clothing likely does enough business to scare off anyone else from trying to open up... So they take care of everything, for better or worse. I've ordered for us, yes, so feel free to wander over and find something to eat. If not, and you'd prefer coffee, I'm sure the waitress can bring a fourth cup when she gets back. Sit down, please."

Lua was still avoiding things, how unfortunate. "An 'accident'... How informative." If she didn't want to share yet, maybe she would after a bit more talking. "Well, I'm a knight, and not in just title, so I've been spending the last few decades practicing at that. Weapons training, etiquette, chivalry, the history of my country, horse back riding... Those sorts of things. As for leisure, well... I don't consider myself of one, but I do enjoy painting. I could try to paint you one day, if you'd like, Lua. Though I've only been going at it for around fifteen years, I don't have as much experience as some around the castle."

"Coffee's ready~" Their waitress, Deedee, had come back with three cups, a bit surprised to see another person at the table. "I'll get one more real quick."

"Problem solved~" Misea took a cursory sip from their's, smiling. "Wonderful~ There appears to be cream and sugar set out on the table, if you'd like any... I prefer mine black. Ah, as I was saying, hobbies, I like to dabble in paintings and magic, as well. Not that I can use any, of course, but knowing what's out there, how it works, it's all rather fascinating."

 

[scorri]

Seph jumped slightly at the door opening, someone leaving much sooner than he had anticipated. "Huh? Oh, Almira, done already? I figured you would be getting all sorts of outfits for me to carry, ha..." His forced chuckle trailed off as he stared down at his feet instead of up at her. It was safer but unfortunately ruined by her talking about how it must have been awkward for him and then asking how she looked. "No, it was fine, I just... Never mind, it's fine." Looking up at her, he blinked in confusion for a second. "You look... brighter? Err, nice though. Must just be the colors. Instead of white. It doesn't blend in with your skin, you know? Contrast. Like the black, I mean! Augh. Sorry."

Well that cat was out of the bag now. She had to know that he'd seen her starting to undress. Cheeks flushing, he dropped his eyes back down to the ground and mumbled, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were going to be changing before the door shut and so I saw you start... I should have looked away sooner. That's why I left. It wasn't... I didn't want to cause you three to feel awkward by being there when you were changing. Sorta. Close enough anyways." And that way I didn't need to feel awkward. Too bad that was ruined. Wonder if she's going to get mad at me now... He glanced up at her for a second, cheeks still red, before turning back to the ground, waiting for her to respond to his confession.

[Moblin Major General]

Glendwr sat down. "I've never liked being idle enough to have interests. Hell, I've not even really gone to school because I don't stay idle. I entertained the idea of Mina teaching me after I found her friend, but I have a strong suspicion that probably isn't going to happen, anymore. I can read, write, and do arithmetic, but anything else, especially history and magic, is far beyond my basic understanding. In a way, I'm like a lot of young men, I learned what I needed to, and then I went to work. Though the reasons were, shall I say, more interesting than my father needing an extra pair of hands or more money. The former was certainly true, but it's more complex than that. I will say that I wasn't eager to work, at first, but now I probably couldn't do much else than swing a sword or shoot a gun. I've always wanted to ride a horse, though, but I guess I can't ride our horse if it's pulling us around. Oh well, hindsight is always the best vision you have." Glendwr really wanted that coffee, and soon. He began to sound like his late night, nonsensical self. And maybe he felt a little bit of the mead talking, also.

[Nanami Touko]

"I'm glad you think it looks nice... Like the black? Oh, my bra? Did you want to see that too, or...?" He didn't, in fact he seemed ashamed to have seen such. Almira almost laughed, but that would've been mean, right? Seph was being pretty sincere, after all. She sat herself down next to him, gently resting her shoulder on his. "It didnt bother me, really... In fact, its nice to know you were staring. I... Think you're kinda cute too, so... Its nice that its a, two way street? Or however that stuff is said. S-So you don't have to feel bad, or... Anything. Makes me happier, over anything else... S-Sorry, must be creepy to, hear a vampire say all this. Heh..." Hopefully not, but... She wasnt feeling so hot, after having lost it on Mina.

[scorri]

"I... What?" Seph couldn't have heard  her correctly, right? She didn't... "Ah, I mean..." The gentle warmth of her shoulder was unexpected, and almost caused him to flinch away, but he managed to control it. He didn't want her thinking he found her disgusting or anything. But honestly, how was he supposed to respond?

"I don't... I don't know how to respond to that. It's not because you're a vampire. Well... Not entirely. I mean... Ugh." He couldn't look at her and say all this. Burying his head in his knees, he continued talking, hopefully not muffling things too much. "I've never... Had time for girls. Or had one interested in me if I did. And so I'm not used to all of this. And yes you're cute and very nice and sweet but I'm just... Misea would probably kill me if I did anything with you and my parents... Well they can't kill me but if they knew I was interested in a vampire..." He hesitated, the familiar pain associated with talking about his family starting to worm its way through his chest. He couldn't do this. But she had to know. If she was going to be interested in him, she had to know.

A breath, and then he forced himself to look up and into her eyes. "My parents... My whole family... For generations... My last name is Tahm. While that probably means nothing to you, I suspect it would to at least one or two of the group. You see, my family was the largest and best known group of vampire slayers in the country. Possibly ever. A-and they trained me to be one too. So the fact that... That I'm attracted to a vampire and that she likes me too..." He trailed off and shrugged hopelessly, pain at full force now. Remembering his loss, grappling with how disappointed his family would be with him right now, it was all just getting to be too much.

[Ether]

So she was going to keep things vague, was she? Oh well... with Glendwr sitting down as well, and adding oh so eloquently that he didn't stay in one place long enough to have interests... how typical loner of him, it seemed Astrid was up to the plate to join Misea in actually giving some sort of relevant information.

"As for myself, I'm a Countess. So I suppose my hobbies would include lavish parties and seeking out the world's pleasures~" Astrid noted, visibly looking Lua up and down for emphasis, letting a gentle giggle escape her lips.

"But what of you, hmm? It is poor etiquette to ask hobbies and pastimes of another without volunteering some of your own, Lua dear~"

[SB.]

If terrifying me isn't one of your hobbies, then what is it? A sport? If so, Misea was likely to win any competition that involved Lua. She stiffened at the mention of the 'accident', but fortunately the vampires decided against pressing on it. "Painting...? I'm going to have to pass." That one was a little odd. I... guess when they're alive for so long, they get kind of bored? That part was just another reminder of how far apart humans and vampires were. Their lives were worlds apart. "I um, wow. Fifteen years. I would've been really young then, and you'd just be, well." How old was Misea? Or Astrid, for that matter. It was a little unsettling to know that they could have outlived her granparents, while still looking younger than her father did even now.

In a strange way, she was glad to have Glendwr there now, babbling on about things she barely cared about. Lua even encouraged him with small nods, while she used the distraction to gather herself a little. What DID you do, back at home? The sad truth, she realised as Astrid popped the question, was not very much. "Well... I went hunting and things I guess. I wasn't serious about it, but it was fun. Other than that, there isn't a lot. I tried a lot of things out, but nothing really stuck." she shrugged slightly, moving to sweeten her coffee. This conversation was... manageable. Almost normal, even. She just hoped that it would stay that way.

[Xinnidy]

"Ah, gotcha." That took care of the shopkeeper's concerns... and robbed Alex's attention for long enough that she almost missed Almira making it out of the shop in a hurry. "Oh, dear..." It seemed she was happy with the outfit, but really, after that weird line she'd thrown, Alex would've preferred keeping Almira within her direct line-of-sight for a bit. "Sorry about that, Mina, I'll pay for hers. I'm not really interested in anything, anyways." Alex shrugged, offering a half-hearted smile to Mina, "Your outfit looks good on you, though." She could at least lighten the mood some, after what she did.

...Perhaps, it shouldn't be brushed away quite like that, "We should tell her that, uh, drinking people's blood like that is really unnerving, though. It must have felt weird, right?" Alex couldn't imagine the scene any other way, a little girl sucking your cut finger was far from the normal, regardless. Hoo boy, "Well! If you don't mind, I'm gonna pay for her. Anything else you wanted to get?"

[Balcerzak]

"So much for her helping us pick out something for Astrid and Misea, huh," Mina managed after the vampire princess scampered off after the missing Seph, giving Alex a wry smile. "Though, I think this piece," she pointed to the outfit she still needed to change out of, "Is certainly closer to the countess's usual style than to mine, and we've already learned she's near enough my size to not matter. ...Thank you though, for the compliment."

That just the matter of the bite to address, and finding at least one item for the knight, but preferably a few more for all parties concerned, if Wilhelmina had her way. Sighing, the elephant in the room came first. "You're right, I'll have a good sit down with her about it after we finish up in here. It was..." How could she describe it? Maybe she should just let 'weird' ride. Going into any details might cause her little lie to unravel, either now or later, and the teacher hoped she could keep it in place for as long as she could, for everybody's sake. "Strange, yes. And the way she seemed so enthused about it was a little awkward too, to be honest. Though perhaps it shouldn't have been..."

"Anyway, one moment while I change out of this, and we can get back to work on the rest," Mina explained before retreating back into the changing room, and returning to her regular garb. Since Alex had already covered the shopkeeper's current worry, that wasn't hanging over her head after Almira had dashed out with what had been still the store's property. It looks like basic principles of capitalism might need to make the curriculum as well.

Edited July 28, 2018 by Balcerzak

[Nanami Touko]

He's interested in me? He's ATTRACTED to me???? Hhhhhhhwhwhwhwhaaaa? Almira nearly locked up, turning as red as the blood in her would allow, not sure what to say or how to respond... When he got serious in explaining the situation, it helped her ease out of her worries for a bit. "I, I see. I. That's cool. I mean like I, I'm, uhm, haha. Woo... That's, h'okay..." Words, Almira, words, you know how to speak, start speaking!

"That's... That's fine, i-isn't it? I mean, I helped kill a bunch last night, doesn't that make me a vampire hunter too? Heh. Ahah, I, well I mean... You're not, going to try and kill me, or... Or are you? I mean if you were, you would've, d-d-done it already-- talking sure is hard, isn't it? It sure is hard..." Focus, breathe, focus... Just... Calm.

Almira tried real hard not to lose herself to her embarrassment. She'd run out of the shop because of it, and now she just wanted to run back in. "That's fine. That's fine... And if it means, you don't wanna... G-Get any closer, that's fine too. I can imagine it'd be really a-awkward for you. Me being a vampire! And all... Hahah." You're handling this about as well as a magic tome. He probably thinks you're an idiot.

---

Misea wasn't quite sure what to say on magic, they were a vampire, it wasn't ever a consideration. Horses, though. "Riding a horse doesn't take much skill, just time and patience... And getting the beast to be calm around you. They're flighty creatures, not unlike our Miss Lua. So if they don't trust you, you're in for a hell of a time~" Misea chuckled briefly, sipping their coffee and smiling at the flavor. Black really was just the best... "And really, fifteen years isn't that long. When you've been around for... Astrid, how old am I, one hundred and nine? I haven't been keeping incredibly close track. I know Almira's birthday just passed, and she's forty seven... Well, it's in that ballpark. So really, fifteen is barely anything for me~ ... Though, I do suppose for a human, that would be quite long. You can't be a day or so past twenty, can you, Lua? You're far too beautiful to be anything but young."

Edited July 28, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Ether]

"A huntress, is it? How useful to have around... I may be able to run down game, but if you can manage to fell it with less effort involved, that is always a plus, no? But do go on, what else caught your fancy, even if it didn't remain? I've never been to Katchel, so to hear of such things is quite interesting~" Astrid chimed in, nodding in confirmation when Misea asked her to affirm the knight's age.

"Yes, I do believe it was a hundred and nine, Misea."

[scorri]

Seph couldn't help but smile as Almira was quickly and obviously flustered by what he was saying. The red in her cheeks completed the adorable picture, and for a second it didn't matter that she was a vampire. "Heh, I guess you are sort of a vampire slayer at least. Not really hunter, since you didn't seek them out but... My family... We hunted vampires that crossed the border between our countries. We figured that those that stayed in their land could be trusted at least until proven guilty. But that the ones who came in and attacked or corrupted humans were the monsters..." Like Astrid does I guess... That was an unpleasant thought for some reason. He frowned for a second, before shaking his head.

"No, you're right. I'm not going to try and kill you. At least not unless you give me reason to do so. But I don't want to kill you. It's... Sometimes monsters come in different packages than you would expect. I know that. But that also would mean that innocents and good people come in packages I don't expect. Right?" He had looked away from her, and almost seemed to be talking to himself more than her. "And I do think you're cute. And sweet and adorable and just... I want to get closer to you but I know how my parents would have felt if they'd known but... Hhhh talking is hard."

He turned back to her, a distant look on his face, almost as if he was looking through her. "I don't... I don't know how to deal with my feelings. How to treat them, how to treat you, how to honor my family while still doing what I want..." A quick flash of sorrow passed through his eyes, but when it was gone, he focused on her face. A small smile appeared and he gently reached out, tucking one stray lock of hair back with the rest of her hair behind her ear. His hand lingered for a second against her flushed cheek before dropping back to his side. "I... I know that I do like you. I do know that. Maybe the rest will come, maybe it won't, but I'm not going to let everything stop me from getting closer to you. I don't know where all of this will lead, but I don't want to give up on it before even letting it start." That made sense, right? He didn't sound crazy or anything. She wasn't going to think he was weird or dumb? Mom, Dad... I'll still hunt monsters. But she isn't one. Right?

[Nanami Touko]

Seph just sounded like a normal person trying to keep his country safe. Of course there were bad vampires, but there were bad humans, too... So why wouldn't you fight the bad ones to try and keep them away? This didn't sound like a bad thing at all, to her. And he wasn't going to try and kill her! Even bigger plus. But then it got... Oh, oh stop, oh my gosh, ahhhh...! "C-Cute?" Yeah, he'd already said that, but now with all the addition--

"Kyah..." Not expecting his hand to come close to her face, she flinched at his shuffling her hair, staring at him as everything poured out. How red was she? Did she even realize she'd started blushing, since drinking Astrid's blood? Wide eyes watched Seph for a moment, before Almira looked down at her hands, trying to make sense of how they worked again. "Iiii... I, uh... I, we, I... I mean... That, that's... H-Hah, haha..." Scrambling up to her feet, Almira slid back into the store, before dashing to the changing room and shutting the door on herself.

"W... Wow! Wow, I'm... Ahhhh..." She took a second to squee in seclusion before peeking out and stepping back into the shop. "Uh. Hi! Hi. Uhm. S-So what's next?" Hopefully Alex and Mina weren't... Too weirded out.

Edited July 28, 2018 by SnakeMomMelissa

[Xinnidy]

"Heh, yeah. If you wanna go buy something for the others, feel free. I'm pretty sure I'm not cut out for this." Her fashion sense was pretty basic, Alex reckoned, you'd do better just asking one of the guys... well, maybe not Glendwr. "Well, maybe it fits the countess better. I guess so, I don't know how much you wanna keep your wardrobe diverse. Guess we don't really have a lot to worry about on that end for a while." Traveling and all.

The description of what went down fit pretty much what Alex was thinking. "Yeah, no, she sounded so excited, I was worried she, uh, actually bit you." That couldn't be the case, or else Mina would be bleeding a lot. "Even if it was just a little bit, it's good to have it checked with Misea, though. I agree. I'll go with you." Something unexpected could happen, they said. Alex wasn't having any of it without knowing what they might be in for. "Even if it was just a little..."

Leaving Mina to change out of her dress, Alex started counting the coins she needed to pay for Almira's dress, when the same dashed back in and into a changing room, before coming out after several squeeing noises. "Uh... everything fine?" Was this part of the blood-drinking side-effects? "You're... red like a beet."

Edited July 28, 2018 by Xinnidy

[Moblin Major General]

"If you say so, milady. Personally, if what happened last night is the norm, I don't think I'll be trying to for some time." What Lua said interested Glendwr. "I, on the other hand, haven't really ventured into anything else but my work, probably be most of it reminds me of a life I never had, and possibly never could." Glendwr looks at his pale reflection off the window. "I know I haven't really said much of anything to anyone this past day, but now I don't have much of a choice. To be honest, I only took thie job because the only other option I really thought I had was... vampire hunting. There's no money in that, and no reason, either. I knew it was pointless, but after Father died, I felt like a total failure, like I couldn't protect anyone I ever cared about. So I planned to seek my death in Gorletsia, using my rifle to shoot down any vampires looking for food across the border. I stopped myself in Tarask, though, because finding a reason to die is much harder than finding a reason to live. I've lost many things, some of which were once important, but maybe I realized I had a life before I was to lose it. He wouldn't have forgiven me if I had thrown away the life he saved. So I stayed, until yesterday, that was. That's when you and Almira came to Tarask. I definitely felt better when I took the job, even if at that point I had no reason to suspect a lie. But with what's now at stake, I can no longer lie with my silence. " He turned back to the group. "I know you asked us to stay until we reached Hrolt, but I can't imagine you would want to keep around someone who might've tried to kill your charge, if we'd met in far less fortunate circumstances." He wanted to cry, but he couldn't, because he cried only twice before, and this was nothing like that. He never wanted to feel that ever again.

[Balcerzak]

Barely had Wilhelmina stepped out of the changing room, then Almira came barreling back into the shop, making a beeline for it. And without a new outfit or anything to try on, no less! Maybe she'd planned to put her old dress back on? But the teacher had just carried that out of there, so... Well, it'd figure itself out, hopefully.

Alex had sworn off doing any of the actual shopping herself, claiming to have two left fashion feet. Mina had a hard time believing people were as bad as they claim whenever someone said they couldn't do something, maybe as a result of having to manage a bunch of students who always seemed to want to give up before really even trying. But if the girl wasn't comfortable, well, she wasn't going to force the issue either.

Especially not when she was quickly pushed onto a back foot of her own, with Alex's observations about the incident with Almira scoring uncannily close to the truth. "Haha... yes. Actually biting me. That would be proper cause for worry, wouldn't it?" Hopefully whatever distressed expression Wilhelmina may have been making would simply be attributed to her imagining that uncomfortable scenario, rather than more or less reliving it. "I appreciate the concern," she deflected slightly, sliding back into flipping through the rows of clothing, looking for the next find.

When the princess emerged again, awkwardly wondering how she could assist, Mina sighed, and held out both the white dress she'd came in, as well as the blue one she'd decided would go to Astrid. "Hold onto these and wait patiently," came her reply, a slight bit of edge to her voice. "You've had quite enough excitement already, I think, so... no tasks where you might get carried away."

Edited July 29, 2018 by Balcerzak

[Nanami Touko]

"E-Everything fine? Why wouldn't it be fine? Everything's great! Yep. Totally fine. Nothing's wrong here!" Wow, she a hot mess, right now. At least her hair was still in order, she was just, apparently, bright red. That was a bit shocking to hear, really. Was this because of the blood? And speaking of that, Mina seemed... Upset. Understandably, but she was being rather curt, too. Almira thought on a response, and something similar to courage stirred in her. "Perhaps I wish to get carried away~ And perhaps I will, again." The tip of her tongue sticking out at Mina for a moment, Almira took the clothes and headed just past Alex.

"So. Where to next? We still have to pick up a horse, right?"

[SB.]

Flighty? You lose a bet ONE TIME and they start to think you're completely irresponsible... Lua ran her hand through her hair and let out a disapproving "Hmph." She didn't need that money anyway (yet) so where had the harm been? Just because Misea was apparently over a hundred didn't mean that she knew everything. Lua's father had certainly thought he had, and look where trusting him had landed Lua? Dining with vampires! And Glen, but he was also kind of weird. She sighed and sat up, feeling as though the seat would swallow her if she sank any lower into it.

"It's a little rude to ask a girl how old she is, don't you think?" she grumbled, but she nodded in confirmation of Misea's assumption all the same. "Hunting was more... more for sport, than anything else." Her family would eat well regardless of what she brought back, and carrying bloodied animals home had seemed like a fast way to ruin her clothes. No thanks. "Do you find fishing interesting?" Lua raised an eyebrow at Astrid for a moment, before relaxing slighty. "Because honestly there isn't very much else there. There are small magical schools and things like that, but they're hardly exciting." As a child, she'd always assumed that spellcasting would be a thrill, not something which involved staring at books in a stuffy classroom. That had kind of ruined the dream for her.

Thankfully, Glendwr was around to bail her out of this horrible mess. At least, she was kind of thankful. Lua couldn't help but cringe awkwardly as his speech continued, almost at a loss for words. "...How much has he had to drink?" she muttered, before clasping a hand over her mouth. Y'know, maybe it would've been better to keep your mouth shut for that one... Still, the sentiments were the same. How could he just feel up to volunteering to slay vampires one day, before joining up with them in the next? Even if Lua was starting to feel slightly better about this whole ordeal, seeing him warm up to them and make himself vulnerable like this so quickly... to Lua, it was completely unthinkable. You had to be an idiot to do that.