Felinis: I hope you all have a wonderful happy turkey day tomorrow. I'm kind of impressed with myself for being able to keep the pace up on these chapters. Enjoy this chapter.
A young Felinis sat at the bridge again waiting. He'd be coming back soon. This time the job was only to Capua Torim. A much shorter distance, but a distance all the same. This would be his second job with the guild that would take him past city walls.
Talented.
The word rang in her head. He was so talented. She was older than him and taller, yet he was already so far ahead of her. They'd started their apprenticeship two years ago. It was nothing but practice and training for Felinis. She wasn't a proficient fighter, yet. Her healing artes were coming along. She finally could cast first aid without chanting when she wasn't sparring. Maybe he'd be proud of her.
He casually strolled down the road waving his hand in the air. Felinis ran up to him and pulled him into a tight hug. He let a small "oof" from the impact. "Good to see you too." The bell on her wrist rang and he pried his head from her chest. He hadn't gotten tall yet. Back when he was small Felinis felt like she could be a protector. She was big enough to shield him from the world with her hugs.
What a silly thought. Felinis wasn't tall. She was small even as a kid. He'd just been inches shorter. He'd just been a few months younger. Such stupid thoughts.
"What was it like?" She asked and pulled him along. "What kind of monsters did you fight?" She pulled him to their spot looking over the river. She asked him every question on her mind. And then she started taking about local events. He listened. "So, Miss Louis and Mister Rieg are getting married. Mister Rieg showed up with this huge bouquet of flowers and I thought since Miss Louis and him always fight she'd beat him up. But, she took the flowers and there was a ring in the bouquet. She said yes, but I think she was embarrassed." She stopped and looked at the water. "It feels forced. I think she said yes, because everyone was watching."
"He's an ass." Felinis grinned at his statement as the boy watched the city with her.
"Yep, a real asshole." Her legs swung back in forth over the river. She shivered a bit. The fall air was getting nippy. He pulled her into a hug and in her joy, she sat on top of him. He wasn't that warm and the position was slightly uncomfortable.
"Fel, get off me!" He complained but she stayed put and leaned into his back. If he'd been tall it wouldn't have been as awkward. But, Felinis hadn't cared about things like that back then. He tried to get her off, but eventually gave up. They stayed like that until it became clear that it was too cold for them to lay about.
She should run now.
The thought felt sickening in her throat. She usually ran because of a mistake she'd caused. Felinis wasn't running away because she caused the guild trouble. This was just self-preservation. There was also some sense of cosmic fuckery to all this.
Fuck. Just Fuck.
She should run. But, she couldn't now. If ran just after something like this she'd be suspect to any number of accusations. Felinis was a coward, but she wasn't stupid. She knew what running entailed and she wasn't up for that. She was stuck in the middle of a soon to be war zone now. She let out a large huff of frustration. Shit probably wouldn't hit the fan for some time. If the enemy was still organizing, then she had time. There was one thing she could think to do in a moment like this.
"Judith wanna go shopping?" She asked.
Clothing stores in Dahngrest were an interesting thing. They were one of the few groups that didn't operate by normal guild logic. While there were guilds for seamstresses and tailors they only crafted the clothes. Stores were independent for the most part and just sold clothes with brands. The store they were in was one of Judith's favorites. "No. No. No." A hand rifled through all of Felinis's clothing tossing them aside. "These will never do!"
Felinis sighed and picked up the clothing she had chosen from the clothing racks. "Remind me again why I go shopping with you?" The two had gone shopping a few times before for fun. Usually, Judith bought something and complained about Felinis's taste.
Judith smiled that cat grin of hers and pulled out a red dress that would probably be a top if she wore it. "Stop being stubborn. Now, put on this."
Felinis grimaced. "Are you sure? It's not my style."
Judith placed a hand on her hip. "That's why I'm certain it'll actually look good on you."
"I hate you." Felinis hissed as she took the red dress and went to the dressing room. "My wardrobe is amazing."
Judith was probably grinning widely. "Yes, so amazing that you look like you still shop from the kids' section."
She slipped the fabric over her head. So what if she did? It was cheaper and suited her. "I know I look like a doll, but that doesn't mean you can just dress me up when we go out." She said stepping out in a tight red dress that clung to Felinis's curves and flared out at the end around her mid-thigh.
"It's a waste really." Judith said eyeing over the manager. "There are many people who'd appreciate a sight like this."
Felinis folded her arms and huffed. "Yeah well, my job doesn't require me to show myself off." She didn't mind the brazen outfits or the colors. In fact, Felinis did have outfits that were more on sexy side than the cute dresses she normally wore. But, she had resigned herself to cute till she turned thirty. On the plus side, these days she had to put effort into looking twelve now she was commonly mistaken for fourteen.
Judith cocked a brow. "Isn't there anyone you want to notice you?"
Yes. "No." She wanted so much to be noticed that it was killing her inside. Boys didn't seem to fall for Felinis. They always went for the people around her. She could think of only two times that hadn't happened. Ugh, those had been some of the worst mistakes in her life.
And considering everything she'd ever done that said a lot.
But, fuck dealing with the problems. Better to hide inside a shell and let her emotional turmoil eat away at her.
Judith rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine. But, when you're ready to start dressing your age, tell me."
Children should learn to respect their elders.
"And, when you decide to stop dressing like a stripper, tell me." Felinis changed into another outfit. Something closer to what she liked. This was a marine spaghetti strap top with a large pale rosy bow on in the center with white lacy bloomers that barely brushed past her thigh. She blushed. Even with it being closer to something she'd wear it was far from decent.
When she walked out of the dressing room Judith's eyes lit up. "That's perfect. We'll take this." She called out to the shopkeeper who joyfully readied the purchase.
Felinis's eyes widened in protest. "I can't buy this." She tried to think of an excuse. "It's way too cold for anything like this." But, why would Judith care? Judging by her wardrobe the woman didn't even experience cold. "And I didn't bring enough gald." Yes, bring up finances. That usually never works.
Judith obviously didn't care. "That's fine. We never had a welcome party so think of it as gift." Judith looked at the jackets on the rack and found a nice one that matched the bow's color. "And this should keep you warm." She tried to worm her way back into the dressing room only for Judith to drag her along outside. Well, shit. Looks like Judith would force her to actually wear this.
Why did Felinis think that blowing stress by shopping with Judith was a good idea? The Krytian woman caused her so much stress. Felinis was certain that Judith got a thrill out of teasing her. Window shopping was fun and could relax her when she was stressed. And god she was stressed.
Her mind was riddled with horrible memories tied with Leviathan's Claw and Blood Alliance. She didn't want to think about them at all. But, her mind kept sinking back to those eight years. And then further. Man, it really had been a long time. She felt old and a little tired. Not in a worldly way. Just that her soul felt drained. Judith pulled her from her thoughts and the two went about with their browsing. Before she realized it Felinis found herself being dragged to a bar and forced to socialize with other patrons as the sun set.
It was fun.
She hadn't wanted to admit it, but it had been fun. That is till she saw a flash of someone familiar. Someone she was running from.
Felinis didn't give any warning other than telling Judith she had to go. She ran. When she final felt safe she took a closer look at where she was. There were many places Felinis had managed to get herself kicked out of over the years. Be it guilds or pubs Felinis was not welcome in there. Thankfully, Dahngrest was a very large city where she had the luxury of not having every person recognize her on site. No, she was spared from that.
Unless she went to the north-eastern district.
Fuck. BoobsMgee strikes again.
Felinis knew not to blame Judith. There was no way she could have known this was one of the areas where she avoided heavily, because well… make a long story short her attempt once to follow in the footsteps of another friend's method of pursuing men failed spectacularly. This one of the few cases where Felinis wasn't entirely to blame. It was also one of the few times somebody filed a restraining order.
Still, she wasn't infamous. Not everyone knew her immediately, but this was where she had done a lot of guild jumping early on.
"Felinis?" she heard someone call. She knew that voice. Shit. She turned to look at a decent looking man with chestnut hair and smiling eyes. This person she could handle. Sort of.
"Gil! Long time no see." She smiled. Please leave quickly. Gilgamesh was a crush from when she was just starting to run. He was a good guy if not a bit blastia crazy. He was from the Spark guild that specialized in engineering and innovation. The loss had hit them hard, but they had never focused just on blastia. They were making way with different methods.
He walked up and shook her hand. "Yeah, it's been what five, six years?"
"Seven, actually."
"Wow. That long"" He smiled reminiscently. "It's too bad you left so quickly. We only got to have you around a few months." She laughed and did her best to make small talk till finally he walked away. "Felinis, promise you'll come by sometime? It be great for us to hang out."
No. "Sure." He walked away and she huffed a large breath in relief. She leaned against the wall of a nearby building. Felinis got caught in her thoughts and worries again.
"Who was that?" the sudden voice of Judith startled her making her jump and sling out a large chain of swear words. It was a very eloquent moment.
"When did you get here?" she gasped.
"A while ago." She was giving that smug grin. "Who was he?"
"Just an old friend." Judith let out a small 'oh', but didn't try to press further. She was waiting for Felinis to cave and spill her life story in dramatic fashion that would likely result in hijinks. Well, jokes on her. She was telling shit. "Let's go home."
Felinis: May your turkey be moist and you fanfic ring true