Disclaimer: I don't own Bravely Default.

"I recall you once mentioned that frowning causes wrinkles."

Praline elected not to answer to Khint's quip, regardless of how right he was. Her normally serene and bright face was contorted into a dark scowl that held the promise of deep anger lines to come. An aura of fury seemed to ripple around her as she leaned further into the wall by the Florem inn, eyes trained on the slowly growing crowd of girls some few feet away.

While some might expect the reason for her ire was that she wasn't being paid attention to, Praline wasn't so shallow. The driving force of her anger that had gradually developed from mild annoyance was that Jackal was in the middle of that crowd, surrounded on all sides by flashy women tittering over him.

"Vultures." she snapped as Jackal tried to push through the crowd, a fierce look on his face that oddly did not send the girls running for the hills, but somehow only seemed to draw them ever closer. The 'bad boy' look must be 'in' this year. Just her luck.

"I see now why you didn't want to perform here." Khint spoke.

"Just look at them." Praline hissed, an action that made the spell fencer's eyes widen the tiniest amount. "Pawing at him like he's a piece of meat. That's my boyfriend they're fawning over."

"Why do you not act, then?"

Praline sighed and slumped against the wall. "You know what he'd say if I did." Rearing herself up, she twisted her face into a scowl that mirrored Jackal's. "'I can take care of myself, you dizzy bunny! Especially against some bratty, show-offy girls!'"

A chuckle escaped Khint's lips. "That was a fairly good impression."

"Thanks." was her glum reply as she returned her gaze to the crowd. One of the Florem natives was red-faced and cooing as she felt Jackal's muscle, her giggles only increasing as the thief jerked his arm away.

In that moment, Praline regretted her job didn't have any offensive prowess.

"I'm going to scream." Praline growled, clenching her fists.

Khint put a comforting hand on the singer's shoulder, bringing down her anger level some. "Jealousy doesn't become you, Praline."

"I'm not jealous!"

"Forgive me. I often comment on what I see before my eyes."

"…Did you just make a joke?"

"I suppose."

"Will you all just BACK OFF!?" came Jackal's enraged cry, the thief stomping from the crowd, only for them to follow, the hearts in their eyes almost seeming to glow thrice as bright at the bandit's brush-off.

"I'm sure if you were to…'rescue' Jackal," said Khint, having grown tired of this spectacle as much as Praline. "He might be grateful. I would be."

"Any idea how to do that?" replied the songstress. "I don't exactly want to be known as Praline a la Murder."

"I will help you on one condition."

"Name it."

Khint shifted. He seemed almost…nervous? Impossible. He was incapable of such emotion. "My…daughter is a great fan of your music—"

"Done." Praline cut off, surprising Khint. "Tickets for all my shows for the rest of the year, backstage passes, and as much official merchandise as she can carry."

"…Thank you." It was as genuine as it was grateful.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Follow my lead."

Jackal had murdered plenty in his career as a thief. A majority of those deaths resulted from self-defense, while others were because they simply refused to back down from the greatness that was he, the Bandit Jackal. Very rarely has he killed simply due to such a trivial manner as annoyance.

But if these screechy, giggly Florem girls continued to pester him any longer, he might seriously turn the town square into a bloody mess. Why wouldn't they just leave him ALONE?

He froze just as he was about to kick the knees of a redhead who was refusing to give him personal space. He didn't know why he did it, but his instincts had never been wrong before. He put his hands to his ears.

What was occurring, he had no idea, but all around him, the girls were falling to their knees, mouths open, what he suspected were agonized screams emanating from their mouths, if the look of pain on their faces were any indication.

He yelped a second later when he felt strong arms scoop him up and whisk him away from the crowd of girls, their owner moving at the brisk efficient pace he recognized as Khint's.

When he finally set him down far from the town square, he gestured for Jackal to remove his hands.

"What's the big idea, Chief?" groused Jackal. "Granted, thanks for getting me away from those annoying chicks before I did something I'd seriously regret."

"I'm not the one you should thank." Khint replied simply, turning the boy around.

"Hi." smirked Praline, twirling her microphone.

"What'd you do?"

"Khint gave me a quick course in Spell Fencing. Though, without the asterisk, I couldn't do much, but he managed to teach me one spell. Silence."

Jackal raised an eyebrow, turning from Khint to Praline. "You…what did you do, exactly?"

"I used Silence on my mic and muted the girls who were around you. Nothing special."

In that moment, Jackal had never been more impressed, both by Praline's ingenuity, and her skill. "You keep surprising me everyday, doll."

Praline blushed and giggled, sidling up to the thief. "You say the sweetest things. Oh, Khint! I haven't forgotten our deal."

Khint nodded. "Good to know. I'll be off. It's about lunchtime." The Spell Fencer sauntered off, disappearing from sight almost immediately.

"What was that about?" asked Jackal.

"…Hey, how do you feel like a trip to Eternia?"

END