Killua blinked himself out of what felt like the deepest sleep of his life. A gentle rubbing on his arm is what had dragged him from rest, and he cracked his eyes open to meet Gon's amber gaze. The horned boy grinned, "Killua! You're finally awake!"
The Valkyrie became fully aware of his surroundings: he was still sitting in the carriage, they were stopped, and- my head is on Gon's shoulder! He sat up, making sure to do so at a normal speed so he wouldn't look weird. Gon giggled and unwrapped Killua's tail from around his waist.
The Valkyrie blushed, I didn't realize I was all over him like that… but that explains why I slept so well. I've been sleeping all alone for the past few nights, sleeping next to Gon always makes me sleep so deeply. Based on the position of the stars, I only slept for half an hour. But it feels like it was for eight.
Gon stood up and exited the carriage, and Killua followed him. Circe was already waiting for them outside. "Sleep well?" she teased with a faint dusting of a smile.
"I suppose," Killua replied with a shrug, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I would have slept better if Gon's shoulders weren't so boney."
"Hey! If anyone has boney shoulders it's you! Mine are pure muscle!"
The two of them dissolved into playful banter as they were led into the restaurant and to their table. By the time they sat down, Killua noticed that he hadn't even realized they had been moving.
The trio had been seated at a round wooden table in the back corner of the room. The restaurant reminded Killua of the inn they had stayed in during their first nights in the Neko-Village. It had a very cottagey feel with lots of dark woods and stones. Several fireplaces burned in various locations, setting the space with a warm orange glow. Garlands of holly were strung from the rafters, and each table had an arrangement of flowers and candles.
It would have been romantic, if not for the decidedly edgy vibe the place and its patrons gave off. Every Neko-Girl in here had a dark, mildly violent air about them. It reminded Killua of the Clawthorne. My kinda place, the Valkyrie thought with a nostalgic smirk.
He instinctively looked over to the far wall, expecting to find a bar with a selkie-human hybrid behind it, judging his every move with indigo eyes. Killua's heart fell once he remembered that this was not, in fact, the Clawthorne, and that Knov, Morel, and Palm were still back at the Hidden Oasis.
Killua shook the cobwebs from his head as a middle aged woman approached their table. "Greetings, my name is Kerrin and I will be your waitress for tonight." Kerrin was tall, and had pale skin sprinkled with various scars. She had auburn hair shot through with strands of silver, and her eyes were a silvery gray. Her ears were dark brown, and her tail was the same color but tipped with snowy white. She was dressed in a black leather suit, and had a decorative white scarf tucked into her collar.
"You are Circe, I presume?" Kerrin asked.
Circe simply nodded, "Allow me to introduce you to Lords Gon and Killua." She motioned to each of them in turn.
"It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Champions," Kerrin told the two of them with a slight bow of her head. "Now, what may I get you to drink?"
"A hot tea," Circe answered.
"Whatever that pink fruit juice stuff is that you have here! It's so good!" Gon exclaimed.
"Water," Killua said.
With a smile at each of them, Kerrin slinked off. She was surprisingly graceful for someone of her age and build. She held herself like someone who knew how to kill. Killua's eyebrows raised. "She's a former Warrior."
"Huh?" Gon asked, turning his attention to Killua as he stopped fiddling with the floral display.
"Yes indeed," Circe confirmed.
"What?" Gon asked again, glancing back and forth from Killua to Circe.
"Exactly what I said," Killua responded. "Kerrin is a former Warrior, she must have fought directly under Domonique considering the grace in her steps."
Gon's eyes widened with understanding. "Wow!"
Kerrin returned, and placed a drink in front of each of them. Killua, however, got two. One was a glass of water and the other was a glass of-
"Blood!" Killua exclaimed giddily. "What kind?"
Kerrin smiled at him, "Mountain lioness, we hunt them for sport around these parts. I had a feeling you'd enjoy some."
Killua picked up the mug and swirled the scarlet liquid around. It was still warm! "Thanks, Granny! You're pretty cool!" Kerrin chuckled, and placed a menu before each of them before she walked away.
With a grin of anticipation on his face, Killua took a deep whiff of the thick concoction. He hadn't eaten anything carnivorous in so long! Everything here was cooked and there wasn't a drop of blood in sight! (Plus it wasn't like he could just kill and eat a Neko-Girl, that would be bad, plus he had broken Illumi's conditioning to just eat random people whenever- now he only ate people if they were good looking and pissed him off). His mouth was watering already!
He brought the mug up to his lips, but froze before taking a drink. Circe and Gon were staring at him with expressions of wonder (Gon) and mildly masked discomfort (Circe).
"What?" Killua snapped, his voice all echoey because of the mug. "It's just blood!"
"My apologies," Circe said. "I know that you are a carnivorous species - and I don't hold it against you, it's just that I have never seen anyone… eat anything carnivorous before."
"I think it's cool when you drink blood and stuff!" Gon exclaimed.
Killua scoffed out a laugh. "Of course you'd think that," he told Gon.
"And it's not that mind boggling," he told Circe. "It's just like drinking that tea. It just happens to be blood." Circe blinked, processed his comparison, and accepted it.
Killua finally took a drink of his blood. He attempted to exercise his self-restraint, he really did! But he swigged half the mug down like it was nothing. He set the mug back down on the table, and licked the blood off his lips. Circe simply blinked, shock still written across her features. Killua felt Gon's eyes on him, and glanced over at the hybrid.
"Wanna try some?" he asked with a cat-like smirk.
"Uh…" Gon faltered. "I don't think so!"
Killua snickered and took another drink.
Soon Kerrin returned to the table and the three of them ordered. The trio participated in casual chatter until their meal arrived, which they ate. Killua found that this was his favorite location in the entire Neko-Village. Not only did it remind him of the Clawthorne, but none of the Neko-Girls inside came to bother them. Everyone minded their own business, and Killua loved it.
As the meal was coming to a close, Kerrin finally pulled up a chair and sat down.
"I assume you are waiting for the information you came for," she stated simply.
Gon and Killua nodded, Killua around his fifth glass of blood. So maybe I have a drinking problem.. I'm starting to see why Palm limited my access..
"I do have the information you are looking for," Kerrin started. "However, I cannot tell you right now. Not with Circe here."
Circe frowned, insulted. "Why not?" she demanded.
Kerrin eyed her apologetically, "I cannot tell you. Not on the life of Princess Domonique. I will be able to tell only Gon and Killua. They can tell you, but I cannot."
Circe sighed in annoyance, "Then I'll take my leave of the table-"
"-No. They will have to meet me somewhere tomorrow. Too many prying eyes."
"But I was sure we had lost them-" Circe started, only to be interrupted once more.
"-They're always around. Camilla has a far greater influence than you realize. Isolde has more Neko-Girls in her ranks that meets the eye. We can never be too careful."
"So how are we going to do this?" Killua asked.
"Meet me in the Sacred Garden at 12 o'clock sharp tomorrow," Kerrin responded. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble getting in," she said with a glint in her eye.
"It won't be a problem," Killua assured. He saw Gon grin that damned grin out of the corner of his eye. So he feels it too. We're getting close.
