Chapter 6
It was about 4 months since the incident had occurred and over that time my jaw had completely healed, I moved out of Eris' home and got myself a small apartment, not that she agreed, and found myself a stable job doing carpentry. Safe to say my life was getting back on track, but I knew that my time was coming to an end here at the Eagle Spires and I would need to leave. I had a feeling that it wouldn't be the last time I would see the group those intruders belonged to. It wasn't a last-minute decision on my part, I've had these thoughts ever since I first arrived here, I'm a wolf in a place where I shouldn't belong. The locals try to act nice to me, but I know that they are scared because of their history with the wolves. The hard part is going to be how I can break the news to Eris.
I was making some ham and eggs when I heard a knock sound from my door. Finishing up my breakfast, I placed it on the plate and walked over to a series of more knocking coming from my door. "I'm coming, would you calm down!" I yelled making my way over to the door and opening it, coming face to face with a familiar face, "Oh, hello Eris. What brings you to my humble abode?" I questioned the avian in front of me. "What, can't say hi to a close friend, Wilkins?" she teased. There it was, my name, well last name, specifically. "Oh, no that's fine, usually people call before coming over to someone's house" I told her, trying to make her feel guilty about disturbing my breakfast. "Well, you should always expect the unexpected when you're dealing with me, it'll save you in the long run." I couldn't help but laugh at that. "So, would you like to come in?" I invited, to which she nodded. I led her through the short foyer, past the bathroom and into the main living area. "So, what actually brings you here Eris?" I questioned again, beginning to finally eat my, now, semi-warm breakfast. "Well, I wanted to check up on you and see how you were settling in." She told me, truthfully but I could tell there was more that she wanted to say. I gestured her to continue with her train of thought. She started to shift around nervously "I was also w-wondering, since we don't know that much about each other, that we could…we could, ya know" She trailed off, looking embarrassed as I was trying my best to hold my laughter in. I failed to do so. "Eris, if you're asking me to go out with you then I would be pleased" I told her, letting some more chuckles escape. "OH, ok that's great!" She seemed to brighten up at that and started to laugh at how easy it was. After calming down I looked back at her and asked "Well, when and where do you wanna go? I've been here for several months but haven't really been exploring. Besides it helps that you've been here your whole life, so you know all the best places." I wanted to give her the choice, mostly because she would be most comfortable with what she chose. "Oh, well there is this cool place called 'Chick's', the owner is a family friend and it's got some of the best food on the spires." She said, getting more and more excited as she went on. "Great, seems like a nice place to go have a talk. So, the question is now when?" I asked, hoping to be as prepared as possible. "Oh, meet me at my place tonight at, let's say, 8:30. Does that work for you?" That was a perfect time, in between work and getting enough sleep for the next day. "Yeah, that works out for me." I told her, locking in our time. "Great, oh, and wear something nice, it's pretty fancy." She told me, walking towards the exit and leaving. Once I heard that my ears drooped, and I became immediately worried. "Great, I have to play dress up, I hate dress up."
The day went on semi-normal; I got half the day off considering we didn't have that many orders come in for something to be built or repaired. I spent the other half looking for a nice suit, coming across a store with the name of 'Wing and Bling'. 'Huh, seems promising', and promising it was. The whole store was stacked with great looking outfits, from blazers to full on tuxedos, there was something for every occasion. "Hello, welcome to Wing and Bling, we're here to help you shine. I'm Erika how may I help you?" A voice from my left sounded and I turned to see the worker smiling at me. "Hello, I'm looking for a nice suit for tonight. One that isn't too showy, or a tuxedo." I told her, hoping she would be able to help me out here. "Oh, what's the occasion, sir?" She asked, "A friend and I are going out to dinner at 'Chick's' and I wanna look nice for it, ya know." I said, but she was looking at me with a grin of knowing. "You do know that 'Chick's' is a place for romance, right? It seems like your friend is wanting more than meets the eye." She giggled at that, or me, considering I was trying my best to turn inside out at the moment. "But I can help you with your outfit. 'Chick's' is very fancy but luckily not restricted to tuxedos. Follow me" She brought me over to some of the blazers they had and picked out a burgundy one. "I think this will look really good with you, especially the velvet." She told me. "Well, if you say it's fine then I can't argue, can I?" I chuckled, while she seemed to cherish in the appreciation and continued to the trousers. "For the rest of the outfit we'll be going with black, as it fits the best with any shade of red. Can I get your waist size?" She asked, kindly. "Oh, uhhh, 34?" I said, unsure of myself. She looked at me and giggled, "It's ok, you'll get to try it on before we actually sell it to you" We picked out the trousers and got the rest of the outfit gathered up and ready to be worn. "Ok, we'll need to see how it fits on you so o into the dressing room and I'll wait out here for you." She told me, pointing towards the stalls, I chose the closest one and went in, locking it behind me. I stripped myself down to my boxers and looked at my clothes before picking up the socks and putting them onto my back paws before grabbing my trousers and starting to put them on, getting stuck at a certain part. I didn't see a button anywhere on these trousers. "Uhhh, Ms? I can't seem to find the button on the trousers." I called out, hoping to get some assistance. "Oh, I forgot, it should be on the inside of the flap." She called back. 'Flap? What flap?' I thought looking thoroughly for the flap trying to find it. "Uhhhhh, I can't seem to find it." I called back embarrassed. "Ok, is it fine if I come in?" She called back. "Yeah, no harm done with a little help" I said as I unlocked the door. As I did, she looked me up and down and said, "Isn't she the luckiest girl, now let's see what the problem is." She said as I began to tell her what my problem was. "Ah, I think I know, take off your trousers." She told me, nonchalantly. "WHAT, WHY WOULD I NEED TO DO THAT?!" I screamed, not at her, but just in general. "I need to cut the liner that hides the button from view." She looked at me, slyly. "What'd you think I was gonna say, that I want to see what you're packing? Sorry, but I'm not a homewrecker, now trousers please." She said holding her hand out. Slowly but surely, I took off my trousers, watching her every movement, especially her eyes which kept themselves locked with mine. At least she was respectful. I handed her my trousers while I stood there nearly naked as she too out a pair of scissors and cut a thin piece of lining that revealed a little compartment where the button was housed. "…thank you, and sorry" I said, ashamed I jumped to conclusions over someone just doing their job. "No harm no foul, but she IS a very lucky gal. Not just from how you physically are but morally, as well. Wish I was in her position. I'll leave you to get dressed." With that she walked out and closed the door behind her. Was she right, was I a perfect partner for Eris? Why would Eris like me, though? I'm sure there are others that catch her eye just as well as I did. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and continued to put on my outfit. With it fully on I looked at myself in the mirror and boy did I look GOOD. I walked out to Erika looking at her phone. When she looked up at me, she was in awe "So, how does it look?" I asked her. "Honey, keep her close because the ladies are gonna want a piece of you." She told me, which, admittedly, brought my confidence up a ton. "Thank you for the compliment, you've been great at helping me out." I told her, to which she laughed "It's my job, now let's get you checked out and to your woman" We walked over to the register and as she began ringing me up, she looked at me and said "So, we have a discount for new shoppers here and for shoppers that are going out to events. They are stackable and I was wondering if you would like them on your order." She said, telling me about the deal they had. "Yeah, I'll take a discount any day. How much do I save?" I asked her, wanting to know the hit my wallet was gonna take. "Hmm, let me see, it seems that with those you saveeee, 400 dollars off your order, which makes your total come down to 358.98. Now, will you be paying with cash or credit?" She asked. I began finalizing my purchase and swiped my card through the card reader. "Thank you for shopping with us today, Mr. Jasper, and we hope to see you again. Now, go get 'em tiger." She told me whilst I was walking out the store, eliciting a chuckle from me. As I walked home, I thought about what Erika called me, Jasper. That was my first name which no one knows, except her considering it was on the receipt. That also means I never told Eris my actual name. Tonight, is going to be one of those nights, I can already tell.
WOOOOOOOO, I'm finally back with another chapter. Geez this took a long time to come out with, mostly due to training and classes. This was meant to come out a lot sooner but life happens and that's the only real excuse I have for this. I'll have the next chapter out next week and hope that you guys haven't thought I gave up on this story. Hope to get some feedback from you guys so I can see how you perceive the story so far.
Sincerely,
Jay