Ther vermilion haired goddess currently sat cross legged on the coffee table in the living area of her old Familia home. Chewing on her thumb as she looked down at the paper that she had written her newest child's status on. Everything was in the general area, after all everyone started at zero and the first status jump from zero was bound to happen to accumulate to the owners already existing abilities. While not the highest she had seen, it was at an average level. However the Endurance state was the highest she had ever seen upon the first status update.
Her reference to him being hit by a giant may not have been far off, he had just laughed it off when she had prodded him on how his endurance state had risen so much. Knowing she could get the answer out of him, after all a child couldn't lie to a deity, she let it idle for now it wasn't causing trouble so best let sleeping dogs lie, if things persisted she would require an answer.
Since the very first Child had joined her Familia, never had she seen such a large jump in such a short amount of time. Placing her arms on the coffee table behind her she leaned back on them to support herself as she looked up at the ceiling. Something had to be up, right? This wasn't normal. All his other stats were in the general area, his agility was slightly above average for this early on in the game, but still not shocking like his endurance had been. This kid had yet to stop surprising her.
If she was honest with herself, she would have just let him join the numerous nameless faces that made up the brunt of her Familia once the Expedition made its way surface side. Sure at one point or another she knew their names but other than the higher ups in the familia she tended to lose interest in those that didn't hold her attention. Call it obnoxious or whatever, the Gods descended on Genkai for entertainment, not much else. She wasn't the only one who did this, hell Soma probably didn't know more than three of his child's names and that was pushing it.
Since the moment he picked up the axe, Loki knew that this kid was going to be different, eventually he'd join the ranks that she was so familiar with. It might take him a while to reach the levels of the leaders of the Loki Familia but she had no doubt that he'd reach them eventually.
There had been no real reason behind why she had done as the half-elf suggested, simply wanting to kill the boredom a little. The kid was as innocent as they came, the moment she laid eyes on him the vision of a lost rabbit popped into her head and she was set on making some fun for herself. The premises of him being her little secret came from that, to run a few laps around her Familia members. Now as she sat here, more ideas of how this little secret might come to benefit her in the long run. Of course eventually it'd come out, Riveria and Finn would need to know as soon as they were top side, unless she get constant lectures from the Mother Elf and it might soothe Bell's mind a little to get acquainted with a few members of the Familia.
The image of him crying on her shoulder after she had given him her Falna resurfaced in her mind, the kid was lonely, just form that instance she could tell. Recalling the conversation on the way back from Melen wasn't hard to tell that his Grandfather had been his only family, no mention of siblings not even of his parents. From what she was guessing, his Grandfather had passed away by how he spoke of him. With the grace of a cat she jumped from the table and folded her hands behind her head.
"Good work today Little Rabbit, I'm heading out for a while I'll be back later, rest up for tomorrow." Loki called out to the kitchen.
"You're coming back tonight Goddess?" Bell asked in surprise from where he stuck his head out from the kitchen area of the house.
"Yeah, the brats at the Twilight Manor barely noticed I was gone." Loki grinned as she turned and headed for the front door with a wave. That had been a blatant lie. The night Bell had joined the Familia Loki had stayed at the old Familia house with him, members of the Loki Familia had sent search parties out all over Orario believing something bad had happened, the last thing they had been told was she was heading to the guild, then only to find out from members of the Ganesha Familia that she had left the city the next day had caused turmoil and panic to spread throughout the entire city.
Despite this, there wasn't a single Familia member in the city that could lecture her to the same extent Riviera did, thus giving her the freedom to do what she pleased until the Expedition came back.
Exiting the home where her Familia once started she stepped out into the entertainment district, already alive with numerous cat calls and sounds of pleasure emanating from the brothels that now surrounded the Famila house. The sun's rays barely peaked over the building's as Loki walked through the numerous patrons looking for a good time. Loki never bothered much with Ishtar, the Goddess of Beauty was to obsessed with beating Freya it boarded on insanity.
"Loki, don't bother Ishtar, you'll start a war that could bring Orario to collapse." Freya's words came back to her as a grin spread across Loki's face, she was tempted to, just to torment Freya. At the thought of Freya Loki's gaze drifted upwards to the tower of Babel, undoubted the Queen of Orario was sitting up on her throne. A frown came to the Goddess' face as her eyes squinted open slightly.
"Is she watching me?" The moment she sensed Freya's gaze it was gone, just like that. "What's she up to?" Honestly, it could have just been Freya swinging her gaze across Orario, perhaps checking on what Ishtar was up to as their confrontation was inevitable, however a gut feeling told Loki otherwise. Ignoring the Goddess's gaze for now Loki continued on her path, heading through and out of the Pleasure Quarter and onto the main street. Bars and Taverns were filled with noise as she passed them by, knowing exactly where she wanted to drink tonight. Finding the familiar building she grinned, hoping up the steps and into the cheery atmosphere of the Hostess of Fertility.
"Welcome nyaa, oh Lady Loki." Aryna Fell greeted the Goddess before tiling her head and looking down at the reservation book. "Did you have a reservation tonight, nyaa?"
"Nope, just coming by for a drink with Mama Mia!" She declared with a grin passing the cat eared girl with a wave and heading into the tavern. A grin was on her face passing patrons and waitress alike, Mama Mia the dwarf was behind the counter serving out plates upon plates of delicious delicacies to the waitresses. Taking a seat at one of the bar stools across from Mama Mia she grinned at the dwarf before a large tankard of beer was placed before her without her even needing to order.
"You need something?" Mia questioned not stopping her work as Loki rose the tankard and chugged half of it down, letting out a large breath of relief.
"Just killing time Mama Mia!" Loki declared. "What's new with you?" The night drifted on as their conversation added to the noise of the crowd in the bar, Mia begrudgingly entertained Loki as she drank, although not for a moment did she stop her work.
"I'm tellin ya Mama Mia." Loki slurred her words slightly causing the dwarfs eye to twitch. "The Little Rabbit, just about the cutest thing I ever saw." For a while now Loki had been going on and on about some kid she supposedly saw, or knew? With Loki's telling of the situation it was hard to figure out what she was trying to say. "H-He doesn't even care about breast sizes." Loki added, placing her hands on the counter and leaning over to Mia who used a large hand to push her back into her seat via a face push. Mia groaned as the goddess rubbed at her own non existent breasts.
"Stop being so indecent." Mia growled as Loki looked up with a sheepish expression on her face a drunken blush on her cheeks, the other patron's turning their gaze away as Mia glared across the bar at those with wandering eyes.
"He's just a kid though." Loki added laying her face down on the bar. "Not old enough to know the joys of breasts." A pair of black cat ears twitched across the bar as a waitress, Chloe Rollo, had been going back and forth had picked up some of Loki's slurred conversation, now her interest was peaked. Chloe never hid the type of men that she was interested in and the one Loki had been describing ticked all the boxes.
"White hair, red eyes and cute like a rabbit." Chloe thought to herself as she wiped down a table that a few customers had just left. "I'll keep an eye out." A smile was on her face, when was the last time someone had caught her eye?
Bell climbed up the stairs to the entrance of the Dungeon. His day had started off early, wanting to spend as much time as possible down in the depths below Orario. He may have even pushed it a little considering that the sun had sank behind the walls of the city leaving an eerie blue light behind as night began to take over and the magic stones around the city were already on, illuminating the streets with their glow. He grimaced slightly at this, with how late it was, it was going to be troublesome getting home. For the most part he had ignored the Entertainment District as much as he could considering he lived amidst it all, but now that it was opening time for most brothels, he doubted he'd make it home without going red in the face.
He had spent the day hunting monsters down on the second floor of the Dungeon, goblins, kobolds and even dungeon lizards. First he had gone to the spot where the strange man, whose name he still didn't know, had trained with him. He waited for a while but after realising that he wasn't going to show he went about hunting for monsters. He was already feeling antsy and wanted to go down to the third floor, however didn't want to upset Eina by doing so.
"Have patience." The half-elf kept reminding him to take it slow, to feel comfortable before moving on. While Bell was appreciative of her help, he wanted to do more, he was finally an adventurer he just wanted to rush into the Dungeon's depths and as his Grandfather might say, chase after the butts of women. While his encounter with Naaza had been sudden, it hadn't gone the way that his Grandfather said it would.
"Maybe Miss Eina is right." Bell spoke up while taking on a thinking pose as he headed for the Guild. "I need more experience." Nodding his head at his thoughts, one would just think that he needed more experience in combat, what Bell was thinking about was having more experience having encounters with girls in the Dungeon. Entering the guild it was eerily quiet, most Adventures would have already finished by now, a few stragglers were wandering about, but most were on their way out of the Guild as he entered.
Not seeing Eina at the usual post, he figured she had probably finished her shift at the Guild some time ago and quickly made his way over to the exchange booth, hoping he could exchange his items before they closed for the evening. Emptying the bulging pouch of its contents into the tray, he had been forced to leave a considerable amount behind seeing as he couldn't carry it all in the small pouch, only trading smaller fragments for the larger ones and doing his best to keep as many drop items as possible, knowing he could get more money if he did so.
"Maybe I should get a bigger pouch?" He questioned himself eyeing the small bag that was used to house his rewards. It was nothing special and a little on the small side.
"2800 Valis." The voice from behind the desk came back making Bell smile, he was making more money every day, even if it was by a little margin the increase was there showing his own growth.
"Maybe I should buy something for Goddess, as thanks." Bell mused, she had done so much for him, got him a one of a kind shield and an incredible axe but most of all allowed him to join her Familia. He had to do something for her, but all that he knew she liked was alcohol. He didn't know all to much about his Goddess. Deciding to start saving his money for a present he headed towards the exit of the Guild.
"Bell." A soft voice reached him making him stop and turn to see Naaza raising up from a waiting bench, her eyes looked tired as they always seemed to do. She approached casually with a welcoming smile on her face.
"Miss Naaza." Bell greeted with a smile of his own before looking around slightly. "Were you waiting for me?" He asked.
"Yes, don't worry yourself too much about it. I haven't been waiting long." She assured him. "I finished work and came to the Guild only a short while ago." Bell nodded in understanding and the two fell into step as they headed out of the Guild. "There was something I'd like to discuss with you, do you have time now?"
"Yes, of course." Bell nodded, he didn't know whether Loki would be at the house or not but figured she wouldn't be waiting on him or anything. Deciding to go along with Naaza she led him through the city, only a short walk away and took him into a small restaurant. It wasn't anything fancy and was mostly empty of patrons with only a few demi-humans working. They sat down and a waiter approached, giving their orders the waiter left leaving the two.
Bell was slightly nervous, his mind running rampant. Was this a date, no she had something important to discuss. But eating alone with a mature woman was making his cheeks heat slightly as his heart hammered in his chest, she couldn't hear it could she?
"Bell." Her voice made him sit up straighter, peering across the table at Naaza her eyes held a strange look to them. Now fully open no longer droopy as was the normal for the chienthrope. "I'd like to become your supporter." Bell blinked a few times as the request bounded in his mind a little. He knew what a supporter was, Eina had explained the position to him during her first few lectures. They helped Adventures carry items, pick up drop loot, a main necessity for a party formation.
"You really want to be my supporter, Miss Naaza?" He asked carefully as he eyed her. She had been attacked just the day prior and now she was offering to be his supporter? "I'm just a rookie really, I can't offer much." Naaza shook her head.
"That doesn't matter." Naaza said softly, raising her hands and placing them on the table. "Honestly, I'm being selfish in requesting this of you. Yesterday, I didn't want to be in the Dungeon and if I hadn't been so afraid I wouldn't have needed saving." She took a deep breath as she began to remove the glove covering her right hand.
Bell watched until the glint of silver caught his eye, her hand was entirely prosthetic, beginning to roll the sleeve up he saw that it was more than just her hand.
"I was in an accident, it cost my my right arm." She said softly, Bell's eyes widening. "Ever since I made it back to the surface, until yesterday, I hadn't stepped foot in the Dungeon." Lowering her sleeve to cover the silver arm she pulled the glove back on her hand. "I was an Adventurer once, and I'm currently at Level 2." This surprised Bell once more, he would never had guessed she was a full level above him. "I don't know why, but seeing you down there yesterday, how you saved me." She smiled at him. "It made me want to go on an Adventure."
In front of a certain tavern early in the morning a young woman with black hair and cat ears dressed as a waitress in a green dress with a matching apron leaned on a broom, half asleep. Chloe had been tasked with sweeping the front of the store, or as she and her fellow co-worker. Arnya, called it, nap time. What was the point of sweeping the front of a store when it was on the main street of Orario, it was just going to get dirty again. So it was designated as slack off time by the two cat-girls from the Hostess of Fertility.
The small amount of traffic that was made up of early morning adventures gave her a wide berth, already aware of the laziness of the two particular girls belonging to the tavern workforce. It wasn't until an unaware rookie, running down the street ready for his first trip into the Dungeon with his new supporter came racing into the scene, the unsuspecting waitress barely knew which way was up as the white haired teen crashed into her.
"Guah" The shout from Chloe echoed in the street bringing the nearby adventures to a stand still at the scene. Chloe let out a groan, the throbbing from the back of her head that had hit the cobblestone road ached considerably, the broom she had been leaning on currently rested beneath her back causing much discomfort in the position she was laying in. The weight atop of her was irritating to say the least. Opening her eyes, wincing at the sun overhead shining in her vision before she lowered her gaze to a mop of white hair, face buried in her less than average size bust.
Anger only a woman could muster at such a perverted action began to rise up within her, every fibre of her being that had been trained as an Assassin begant to swarm, fist's clecnhing at her sides, nearby adventures feeling the presence of a Level 4 adventure began to disappear from the area as to not be a witness to what was about to happen. Then Bell rose his head.
Red eyes meet green and there was silence between them before the boys face began to deepen in a shade of red at the understanding of where his face had just been buried, not to mention the rather crude position that they were in. He hadn't been paying attention while rushing down the street, pushing his way through a small group of people he had completely not been expecting the snoozing cat-girl in the street.
"I-I-I-I-I I'm so sorry!" Bell cried launching himself off the ground and several feet away from the waitress. Chloe on the other hand hadn't taken her eyes off the boy, green eyes taking in everything about him.
"The one Loki mentioned." He mind wheeled as she tracked his movements never would she had expected to run into the boy as soon as this, she figured she would have had to look for him herself. The boy was circling her making excuse upon excuse for what had happened, scratching at the back of his head as she hadn't made a single response as she now knelt before him, eyes taking in everything about the boy.
"I-I'm really sorry." Bell apologised again. "But I really have to go." He continued, backing away slightly still not receiving any kind of answer from the waitress, he turned and began to head back down the street taking off at a light jog, he missed the lewd face on the cat-girl as he caught a glimpse of his rear.
No longer capable of holding it in, a geyser of blood shot from her nose and she collapsed. Hearing idle footsteps she looked up to see her fellow waitress, Ryuu.
"Who was that boy?" The elf questioned looking off after the retreating figure, Chloe giving her a grin.
"My future boy-toy." Ryuu sighed, grabbed Chloe by her collar and began to drag her back into the Hostess of Fertility, Chloe just looked off in the direction the boy had run. "I want to rub my face against his butt." More drops of blood fell from her nose as she laughed like a perverted old man. Bell was completely unaware that he had gained the attention of a former assassin, who just happened to be a shotacon.
The courtyard before Babel tower was brimming with people, despite the early hour of the morning. This was the general meeting area of parties of adventures before they headed down into the Dungeon, all sorts could be found here. All kinds passed the chienthrope as she sat by a fountain, the designated meeting spot. She had only been here a short while and sat with a large shoulder bag by her side, it would be large enough to carry the amount of items she and Bell would collect on the upper floors and if needed she could easily ditch it if something happened.
"No, don't think like that." Naaza berated herself, her nerves had been getting the best of her since her conversation with Bell over dinner the previous evening. She had informed Bell of her trauma and had made him understand she wouldn't be able to help him fight, she honestly didn't know if she could or not but had brought her bow and a small blade just as a precaution. Better to be prepared.
Yet despite learning all of this, he had agreed to make her his supporter.
"He's not like other Adventures." She thought fondly, knowing just how selfish Adventures, especially those of a higher level could be. Bell had agreed to her terms as a Supporter also, she couldn't work every day considering she was still needed at the Blue Pharmacy and they had set out that she would be a supporter four days of the week, the other days would be her days at work.
She had originally opted for a thirty/seventy split in Bell's favor but he quickly shut that down, and said that they would split the loot evenly. The only thing he asked for in exchange was a slight discount at the Blue Pharmacy which she complied too. If things worked out, their profits from the Dungeon would be more than triple what the Blue Pharmacy earned in a day and if their partnership continued on and they made it to the lower floors the debt for her arm would soon vanish. While hopeful she knew they were nowhere near close enough to achieve that yet, but the prospect was there.
She found that there was a lot of mystery surrounding the white haired boy that had saved her in the Dungeon. He had avoided telling her who his Familia was at first, but after a little prodding she discovered that his Goddess had sworn him to secrecy.
She could tell, just by looking at him if she kept enquiring she would undoubtedly get it out of him but didn't want to ruin what was becoming a friendship between them. Despite the four year age difference between the, Naaza was becoming quite fond of the boy. Simply ending the conversation of his Familia with a "we're nothing but playthings to the Gods."
"M-Miss Naaza." Bell's ragged breath reached her making her turn to see Bell with his hands on his knees bent over taking in deep breaths. "S-Sorry I'm late." He apologised as he rose his head up with a smile.
"It's okay." She said as she rose to her feet bag slung over her shoulder along with her bow as her blade was sheathed behind her waist and a quiver at her hip. The two exchanged a few pleasantries as they headed for Babel where the Dungeon entrance lay. When they reached the platform that looked over the entrance to the Dungeon, Naaza requested for them to stop as she peered over the edge.
It was strange, unlike two days prior she had stood in the same spot she had been filled with a range of emotions that she didn't have now. She was calm as she looked down into the darkness that swallowed up the stairs. Turning to Bell, he had a concerned look on his face before she offered a smile.
"I'm fine. Let's go." Bell nodded and the two headed down the steps. Naaza let Bell take the lead with his axe, she was curious about it as well as his shield but didn't want to ask, thinking she may come off as rude. It was certainly a weapon embedded with magic but not in a way the usual magic weapon came across. Magic Weapon's tended to break after a few uses but his axe had seen constant use as they delved into the Dungeon. Just where had he gotten it from?
Mindful of her duties as a supporter she kept a lookout for any enemies that Bell might not have noticed and alerted him to those most probable to cause trouble for him. It may have been a long time since she had been in the depths of the Dungeon but she still had her prior experience to work off of and so far was proving useful to her new comrade.
Freya watched from atop Babel tower a glass of wine resting in her hands as she swirled the contents gently watching the boy that had caught her eye. She was impressed by Ottar's initiative and gave him free reign to train the boy as he saw fit, however away from the prying eyes of others. Even her other Familia members wouldn't know about it. Hearing the door to her chamber close she didn't have to look to see who had entered.
"Lady Freya." Ottar began. "The Chienthrope is a member of Miach's Familia." Freya's eyes puzzled slightly, the girl that was now beside the boy was a fluctuating purple in her eyes.
"Wasn't she…" Freya trailed off.
"A severe accident claimed her right arm some time ago." Ottar nodded. "Since then, she hasn't gone into the Dungeon at all. The boy saved her before I made contact." The glass in Freya's hand began to crack somewhat at the pressure growing in her grip. That's why the colour was fluctuating, something only her eyes could pick up.
A spark of affection.
"Any news about the boy from Loki's end?" She questioned, turning and placing her cracked glass on a nearby table as she faced Ottar.
"Nothing." The boaz confirmed. "It appears Loki has her own agenda concerning the boy, I don't believe her Familia is aware of him." Freya pursed her lips slightly glancing over her shoulder at the view only she possessed in all of Orario.
"What are you up too, Loki?" Her mind wandered to her fellow Goddess's plans but sighed and turned to Ottar. "The way the beast girl is now, she'll hinder him." She spoke firmly. "Fix it."
"As you wish, My Lady."