The sun continues its crawl in the sun as I walk through the streets, urged to push myself faster through the wave of the crowd. The sun isn't quite at its apex just yet, I think I have an hour or two left before midday, but I'm not gonna push my luck. I breath short apologies to the people I push past, nerves flaring up lightly as my head darts from in front of myself to the sky above, then back again.

'Calm down, you're gonna get yourself hurt in some way. Why are we so worried? We'll have time to spare so long as you're not sidetracked.'

Because we might be late! I don't wanna keep the group waiting, especially Mabel, she does need food, and I promised to get her some meat.

'We'll be fine, stop worrying so much about it, it'll only make the both of us feel worse. Just keep moving forward, dodge to your left by the way.'

I yelp and yank myself to my left side, narrowly avoiding a swinging cart, the wooden handle on the very edge of brushing just over my fur. I take a shuddering breath and mutter a quick sorry to the man shoving the thing, continuing on my path.

Fuck, that was kinda close. Thanks for that.

'We share pain, and you being thick headed doesn't apply to your literal skull. Just keep focus and keep walking.'

Yeah, yeah you're right. I shake my head and narrow my eyes, continuing the brisk hurried walk. Lets get all this done, shall we? I can faintly remember when the man was humming to myself as I passed a corner, this was close to the shop, the area here is definitely a memorable one to say the least. Not exactly a place I can forget easily, fucking magic. I shake my head and refocus myself, my heads been muddled with thoughts far too much lately, I make strides and pass the final corner, finally approaching the open store of the smithy. His side's turned to me as the fire from his forge rages fiercely, hands pressed down on the bellows, stoking the fire ever further. His shop doesn't look nearly as empty as it was when Edward and I visited, sure there's no one currently buying anything, but at least he has something to sell now.

"Ho there, Smithy!" I call out to the man as I approach. I can hear him let out a confused hum as he twists his head, his face morphing into a confused expression, sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Eh? You're still here kid?" He questions as he rises from the bellows, wiping his head before crossing his arms, a hardy stare looking into my eyes.

"Aye sir, I figured that I should visit you at least once, if only just to check up on you." I reply to him swiftly, looking over his wares as I do so. It really is a stark difference from last time, can't exactly have a business with no products to sell I suppose.

"Mn, and why would ya do that kid? I can't imagine a keidran would check up on someone like myself outta the kindness of their heart. What's your deal?" He speaks lowly but clearly, his brows furrowing as he glares down at me. I purse my lips together, ears pressing down on my neck as I let out a heated huff, returning the mans glare with an irked stare of my own. What's my deal? What's this fuckers deal? Why's he being an asshole?

"What? One, I'm a basitin, I told you that before, there's a difference. Two, I earned myself a rip to the Templar Tower itself for getting zapped for trying to help you fix their fuck ups, so it's not like I won't go out of my way for someone. Even if they're a prick like you are, for whatever reason that may be." I bite back as I mimic the man, crossing my arms. The air between us is tense, the presence of the forge filling my nose with its burning ashen smell. The smithy lets out a low chuckle, his body relaxing slightly as the ghost of a grin appears on his face, an amused look in his eye.

"So ya can bite back, huh kid? Here I thought you were just an upstuck priss, maybe ya ain't that much of a push over." The tone he speaks in seems… I dunno, it's an almost proud voice, that amused glint still persisting. Hey, if it works then it works. I sigh a tensely, rubbing a hand over my face.

"Right then, you're welcome you fucker. That's all I came here for anyways, I wish you the best." I bid a curt farewell and turn from the man, retreating back into my thoughts. What else was next? Right, food for Mabel, and other things, I hope the last gold coin I have does the trick.

"Oi! I aint finished with ya just yet kid, c'mere for a sec." He calls from behind. I stop in my tracks and twist my head to look at him, a hand beckoning myself closer. Should we listen to him? He's a bit of a prick to say the least.

'I agree, though there's the chance he could be offering something, turning down payment for our services to him wouldn't help us, and it wouldn't be practical to do so. As loathe as I am to give him the chance, lets hear him out, be wary.'

I nod slightly and re-approach him, stopping just an arms length away from him.

"What is it, sir?" I ask him, sarcasm dripping off of my tongue as I look at him.

"Well, I ain't a man who'd let myself be in debt to another lad, human or otherwise. Ya friend didn't want jack shit thankfully, but I might as well offer you somethin, whatcha think you need from here kid? Nothin too expensive, I gotta make a profit somehow." He explains firmly, his eyes looking over his wares. I blink, processing the information. We're just being given the chance to take what we want? That's rather generous.

'I say it's a trap of some kind, or a bait.'

"Now why would you do that, sir? I can't imagine that's just simply out of the kindness of your heart, hm?" I ask him in return, a smug feeling grin forming on my face. The smugness is quickly dampened by the squint of the smithy's eyes, a frown on his face. Uh oh, too far?

"Listen here kid, I have my pride, your barking's still just that, barking from a dog. Don't test me, just look at what you need, ya ain't gonna get this chance again." He says with a mix of a sneer and a growl, gruffly snorting before turning to face his furnace, tending to it. I let loose a tense sigh, releasing the taut feeling building and clogging up in my throat. Definitely a bit far, shouldn't have pushed too much, better keep that in mind for when I choose my item too.

'I'm surprised he didn't take back the offer to begin with, lucky you. Don't fuck this chance up too much now.'

I hum to myself as I pass over the wares, eyes shifting from bit to bit, it's a fucking armoury here. The man getting his equipment back really did help, there's just so fucking much. Any ideas on what to take?

'Why are you relying on me so much lately? I'm just your inner thoughts that's meant to yell at you for doing dumb shit, I'm far from a good conversation partner right now. Actually look at what's there and take what you need.'

Ah, right. That's a pretty good point. Very well then, what do I actually need? I have a sword that I don't use much, and I'll sooner be going to hell than replacing my cloak for anything. The chain mail I have hasn't exactly seen much use. My left hand twitches as I look over the equipment some more, fingers curling slightly.

Right, I wanted a shield didn't I? I think that works, it's better than trying to dodge everything, or block with a sword. It'll help with taking a hit for someone, too. There's shields here right? I continue my humming and glaze over the rest, though a piece of metal catches my eye, a slightly curved triangle shaped shield, the top shaped into a flat line. A somewhat stereotypical looking shield, but it has a strange lure to it. I grab it with a hand and hold it upwards, the light of the sun shining off of the dull and thick metal, no engravings, but knocking my knuckles against it makes it sound sturdy enough. It is metal after all, not that I can tell the difference between different metals anyways, it seems okay? Fuck, I wish Edward was here to help me with this, I dunno shit bout equipment quality. It's a hunk of metal that can hopefully take a hit.

I flip it to the other side to examine it, the metal on the inside is as plain as the outside, part of it covered by leather from one side to another at a slight angle, of which is held down with metal pins. There's straps of leather attached to the base hide, I assume they're handles for the shield itself? I hum in thought and slide my hand under the straps, the leather of it hugs at my forearm as my hand grips the handle. I lift the shield up closer to eye level as I squeeze the handle, twisting and turning my arm to gauge the feeling of it. It's surprisingly light, but a bit small and admittedly covers my chest area well enough, and I can still twist my arm around if it's needed. It's also a slab of fucking metal, I can probably smack the thing into someones face. It's a pretty good, uh, what type of shield is this meant to be called again? I really don't have a clue, but it seems to potentially be effective enough. I don't want to hang around here for too long, and this should be fine in the end.

I return to the smithy in stride, the shield still latched onto my arm, his back turned as he tends to the anvil, a hammer gripped in his hand striking down onto it. I wince slightly as my ears press downwards, fucking loud noises, hurts my head far too much.

"Hey, I've made my choice." I speak briefly to catch his attention. He hums in surprise and turns to face me, looking to the shield as I hold it up.

"Eh? You want that thing? I should be glad, but I didn't think ya'd take that piece of scrap metal kid." He says gruffy, looking down to it with a keen and curious eye. I raise an eyebrow as I look at him, is he fucking critising my choice of a shield?

"I've made my choice, and I'll stick with it." I reply with a determined tone and fixed stare. He's silent for a moment before chuckling to himself, waving a dismissive hand away.

"You're a weird one kid, now scram before you clog up potential customers." He says with a sense of finality. I guess the conversations finished. I nod and turn, walking aware from the man and his store, the banging of metal ringing in my ears as I do so.

...Actually, I've been wondering.

"Hey sir, what's your name?" I quickly ask the man. I've been calling him 'Smithy' both internally and out loud because of Edward, but surely he has a name for himself right? He stops his hammering as he turns to face me, a stoic look on his face.

"Smith." He answers simply and abruptly, tone as cold as the look on his face.

"...Smith the sm-"

"Finish that sentence kid, and I'll beat you with your own shield. Now scram." I yelp and quickly nod, the bite in his throat as he cuts me off caught me off guard. I make due and jog my way out of the area, gripping my shield in hand as I brush past the crowd. Perhaps some of them is moving to check out Smiths wares? Who knows.

'Heh, Smith the smithy, this place sucks.'

Shhh, it's not that bad, just strange. Right, where to next? Butcher, thing, are butchers here? I'd imagine so, just gotta get food rations for us.

I look to the sky, the suns nearing its apex. One stop left, and times running out. No pressure though, I'd rather get there on time than be even minutely late, best to not disappoint after all.

..

The mumble of the crowd feels sounds dull and muted as I focus in on the market stalls, eyes scanning the products, my head twisting from one side to the other as my eyes flicker alongside it, quickly looking over the presented fruits and other such things.

'Stop doing that, it's making us look like a spastic, can't you just be more normal for once? They're going to notice.'

I can't hesitate brain, I'm looking for something, a slab of meat to be specific, just for Mabel. Wait, I'll need long lasting food for her too right? I'm not too hungry myself, and I should have plenty of rations for a while, so I'll be fine. Keidrans can't eat fruit, they rely on meat products and such, raw meat would be the best. What fucking store here would sell meat? I just see fruits and other piles of garbage that I can't use.

'Right then. Haste may be important, but consider paying attention to what you're looking at?'

Fine, fine, I'm sure I haven't missed much considering what section of the market we're in, I can't imagine that we missed much.

'Thank you, let's keep moving, reject.'

I hum to myself as I shuffle past the lingering bits of a crowd, half distracted by my own musings as I look past haggling citizens. People seem to be selling clothes and such here, maybe I could buy something for Mabel? Sure, they don't need clothes, but still. Hey, for someone who's meant to be my 'inner thoughts', you've been kinda chatty recently, more so than… any time I can remember anyways, have you always been like that? Or did I forget about it in the inbetween?

'..It's difficult to say, I'm you yet not, I've always been with you and I always will. It's just how it'll always be through thick and thin. Though you are correct, we have been having more fruitful conversations than the depths of your memory can recall. Perhaps it has something to do with this world? Perhaps it's due to magic, or maybe you're truly falling into the deep end, who knows?'

I sigh to myself and rub at my temple, soothing the encroaching throbbing in my skull to lessen its inevitable pain. What a fucking confusing topic, to argue with myself over my own thoughts, is there a point to this? Wouldn't this just muddle our- my mind further? I'm still me, right?

'Despite your confusion, the use of we and I can be used interchangeably, just think of me as a… really angry guardian angel cross voice in your head that puts you down occasionally. It's nothing personal, it's just how you think, I'm just bringing it to light. I can feel things around you too and bring that up, just in case you miss something. How convenient for you, right?'

I grumble and run my hand through my hair, the cluttered stench of the humans around here smells… awfuls a good word for it, it's also not helping me think very straight. Well, straighter I mean, same thing. What a fucking mess of a situation, I don't have time to talk to myself right now either. All that aside, back to the reason why I'm actually here to begin with. Actually, why am I wasting my fucking time like this? Why don't I just ask someone? I smack a palm against my forehead and groan, approaching an unoccupied merchant.

"Excuse me sir, can you tell me where one would find a butcher around here? I must be off quickly." I swiftly and clearly ask the man, trying not to slur or mumble over my words as best I can. He turns with a surprised look on his sleek face, rounded and shiny with what seems to be sweat, his golden teeth bared as his lips curl into a smile. The hairs on the back of my neck raise as his beady eyes almost leers over my body, lingering on my bag, of which slid down from by back to my hip, pressing against my leg.

'Trust this man as far as we can throw a bundle of blubber.'

Agreed.

"Welcome, welcome young furry lad! What would you be needing?" He asks, a sickeningly false sweet tone of voice leaking from his tongue as he leans on both hands, pressing against his wooden stall. I grimace and clench my fists, left hands still gripping the shield, which I really ought to find a place to put. I don't like the way he's looking at me.

"I need directions, sir, could you send me the right way to whatever equivalent of a butcher there is? I'm in a bit of a rush." I clarify as I cross my arms, staring into the mans black eyes as my claws clack against the ground. His disgusting smile continues to widen, a greedy glint in his eyes.

"Maybe I know, maybe I don't, I might need a reminder of some kind… Why don't you browse my wares? Perhaps that might ring a bell?" I smother the growl in my throat as he continues to grin, his eyes shifting from bag to face. He's trying to get me to spent fucking money to get information outta him? Fucking merchants. I don't have time for this. I let loose an aggravated sigh and rub at my face, better keep my hands busy so I don't slug one into his face.

"Christ, fine. What do you have then, merchant?" I reply through gritted teeth. The sight of the slimy mans visage is terrible and gross, especially as he excitedly shifts around, I bet he can imagine the feel of my coin hitting his hand. Is there an exchange rate for silver to gold coins here? I hope so, otherwise this is gonna get messy.

"Well, you're a lad right? I'm sure there's a lady you might have your eyes on, perhaps there's something you could gift to her…?" He lingers off as he waves his hand over his merch, drawing my eye to the tinkling gleam of gems and whatnot. I feel mood sour further and further in the presence of this fucker, him trying to push probably overpriced and otherwise worthless jewels onto me doesn't help his case. I wonder…

"Do you sell clothing of any kind, sir merchant?" I inquire, looking up to meet his eyes. Another greedy glint appears as he steps aside, revealing otherwise obscured clothing. Tsk, what's with all the rich looking mercantile class men being so unapproachable? It's kinda gross, and almost stereotypical, it's weird as hell.

"Of course! I've many a cloth for one to wear, both to charm a girl and for a charming girl! Is there any that catches your eye, my good sir?" He speaks in an overly friendly manner, his hands clasped together. Fucker, I know you just want my money, stop looking at me. I hum to myself and take a glance over the clothing, it's somewhat difficult to see from here, but I manage well enough. Nothing catches my eye, not truly anyways, but…

"Do you have anything akin to a banada? A larger one to be specific." He hums himself and rubs a finger against his chin.

"I believe so, but that seems so dull, a simple bandana shant do for a rugged ranger like yourself! What of a proper shawl, or a cloak, fit for a noble woman?" Is he trying to fucking up sell what I want to get more coin outta me? Fucking greedy merchant, what the fuck does he mean by 'ranger? Is that what I come off as? I feel sweat bead on my forehead as a tense feeling burrows into my heart, eyes flickering up to the rising sun. Running out of time, am I gonna be late? Fuck, will they forgive me for it?

'Calm down for a second and breathe, you losing control of yourself wont get us by quicker, as much as we loathe the man, I can't imagine we're allowed to beat the information out of him. Also, they wouldn't be that angry at you for being late, it's my job to put you down dumb ass.''

Yeah, you're right. I subdue a groan and rub at my temple, fucking merchants.

"Fine then, show me what scarves you got." I begrudgingly submit to his less than honest looking man, the greedy gleam in his eyes rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it would've been smarter to just keep bumbling around aimlessly, it'd be less of a headache. At least I can get something for her.

"I promise, I shan't disappoint!" He boasts with a proud and slimy grin before dipping from few, grunting as he kneels behind his stall. I can't hear much over the crowd that surrounds us, but he at least rises quickly, arms stuffed with various colouration and forms of scarves, of which splurges out and over the desk. A nervous noise escapes his throat, along with an equally nerve filled chuckle alongside it as he scrambles to straighten the dropped clothing, presenting them in front of me.

"A-ah, you've my most sincere and deepest apologies sir! Now, I personally believe that this one right here would be excellent for wooing a lady!" He says with a cocky looking grin on his face, hands clenching over a silvery-grey scarf. It shines a glittery sheen in the sun, almost blindingly so. I feel myself frown as I hold back a blanch, the jewels that shine in the tail ends of the thing seems so needlessly gaudy and gross, doesn't help that I probably can't afford the thing anyways. I can't see it suiting Mabel anyways, it's too eye catching with the jewellery.

"Ah, this glorious scarf, a mythical item that was blessed by Nora herself! It's said to be a magical artefact due to her prestigious majesty alone!-" He prattles on and on and on, he's really trying his best to sell this pile of garbage to me huh? There's nothing magical I can feel from the thing to begin with, what a fucking scam artist. I ignore the garbage that he continues to spew from his mouth, it's nothing more than his greed talking. Him focusing so much on 'wooing a lady', given who I actually plan on giving this thing to is really off putting, but I'm not gonna bring it up. Pfah, fuck this dude, lets just ignore him and look over the scarves ourselves. Who the fuck's Nora? Sounds kind of important.

They're all admittedly nice looking, although some fall into the overly gaudy category again, why is it that people love to line everything with jewels? I guess it's a symbol of status, but still, it seems so unnecessary. There's so many colours and materials that these things are made of too, brown to white to gold and most other things inbetween. I hum to myself and scratch at my head, confusion brewing in my chest. Fuck, I have no idea what she'd like to wear, god dammit. I yank a glove off of my hand and brush a thumb over a few of the scarves, some are soft like cotton, some feel as if they're scratching at my hand as I try to touch them. Ich, odds are the ones that don't feel like they're gonna tear the fur off of her are likely cheap as dirt, and the others are overpriced beyond belief.

Yadda yadda yadda, he's still trying to sell that pile of cloth to me. I grimace as I feel my mood sour further, part of me wants to leave already, and yet here I am. I furrow my brow as my eyes fall on another pile of cloth. I pick at it with a hand and hold it up to the sky, the mans continuous chatting finally falling silent as I eyeball the thing. It's difficult to hold it in a hand, so I lay part of it out on my shield, its dark purple colouring is a deep colour indeed, a proper name for it doesn't come to mind, royal purple maybe? It's a single colour, but it's a good colour, the soft feeling of it on my fingers is pleasant and the fur of it is cut short, it drinks in the shine of the sun. It feels similar to cotton, it's nice to feel.

"Ah, have you made a choice, my good lad?" He pipes up with a leering gaze over my bag, his wide grin still in place. I hum and pause for a few seconds, gauging the thing further. It seems nice enough, and it's pretty warm…

'Oh my fucking lord, just buy the thing so we can throw our money at the mother fucking butcher around here already.'

Okay okay! Jesus Christ, don't need to shout at me.

"Yeah, I'll be taking it, how much?" I finally answer the man, his covetous hands wringing against each other, somehow his grin grows further, I feel as if the golden teeth he has might not be entirely from neglect. Are faux teeth even possible here? No idea.

"I see! Well, I shan't be one to deny a sale! If it's what you desire Sir, that'll be fourty silver." He replies rather flatly, his grin wavering ever so slightly. Fucker's probably sad that I didn't spend more cash here. Ah, wait, there's an issue.

"I've only a gold coin to my name, would it be possible to be paid for the excess cost?" I question the man, keeping an eye on his face as a hand rummages through my bag, fumbling around for the coin pouch. I feel as if this man's gonna scam me.

"Of course my good lad! It'll be an excess of sixty silver, of which I naturally have around, would that suffice?" He offers, his lips pursing into a thin smile. I keep a stare on the untrustworthy bastard as my hand grips the loose pouch, yanking it into view. I give the singular gold coin to the man, his hands happily grasping it from my grasp.

"Heheheh, a pleasure doing business with you." He says before reaching down with a hand, the clinkering of coin against coin reaching my ears, his spare hand yanking up a sack, thudding against the table. He pulls my coin pouch from my hands and begins to stuff it with coins, surprisingly swiftly and dexterously too, I watch with a tentative fascination as I fold the scarf, stuffing it into my bag. He finishes himself as quick as he began, handing the sinking pouch over to me, it's heft seems heavy enough for sixty coins, so I'll take it. I secure the pouch and shove it into my bag once more.

"Thank you for your time my good lad, if I recall correctly, the butcher should be juuuuust over there." He says, jabbing a finger behind me. I twist to face the direction, in the far distance, icy wisps flowing from the joint as meat hangs from hooks, lodged into its ceiling. It's not just a stall, it's a genuine fucking store, connected to a building and all. It's also, essentially, within spitting distance, we can see the fucking thing from here.

'I did say to pay attention, there's a difference between looking and looking.'

I bite my tongue and give a stiff nod to the merchant, muttering a quick thanks that he may or may not have heard as I march towards the meat stand.

'You've no one to blame but yourself, really.'

Bite me.

…

The butcher was surprisingly blunt and to the point, leaving little time to actually speak to one another. It's a blessing really, I don't have much time. I did figure out that the store used ice magic to cool the meat, akin to a freezer. They sold enough beef jerky looking shit for me to count as 'rations', I bought a bunch in excess for both Mabel and I. I also grabbed a nice helping of genuine raw meat.

The sack dangles from my hand as blood seeps from the thing, dripping through the shoddy sack and onto the dirt pathway as I march up the hill, ever closer to Erics house. It'll be strange to say my goodbyes to the thing, it feels like I've been here for a long while, but it comes to an end sadly. It's been nice while it lasted, and it's not like the extra time here was entirely wasted. I hum an unfamiliar tune as I reach the top of the hill, Eric already in view, chattering to Kathrin with Mabel herself standing behind the girl. There's a smile on their faces, minus Mabels, the poor girl hiding herself behind Kathrins poofy tail, there's a pep in Kathrins movement that I can see even from here. The lovesick girl, I hope they do well. Kathrin stops mid sentence, her eyes flickering to me as she waves, a bright smile on her face as she does so. Eric turns his head, giving a polite smile of his own. Mabel peaks out from behind the tail, her nervous face turning into a bright and excited one as she leaps out from behind her, the older cat yelping in surprise as she sprints her way towards me. She basically barrels herself into my legs, a small 'oof' forced from my lungs as I chuckle, kneeling down to the girls height. The shield slips off of my arm as I hold her in a one armed embrace, a purr coming from her chest.

"You came back." She says simply, I can almost hear the smile on her face. I smile sadly myself and brush a hand through her hair, scratching behind her ears lightly.

"I made a promise, lass. I also promised you some food, and here you are." She pulls away with a confused tilt of her head, her eyes drawn to the bloody bag. I open it up and hold up the ball of meat, a few remaining blood droplets dripping from it into the dirt. It's not a large ball by any means, but I'd like to imagine that it'd be filling enough. If not, there's always more food. I hold it out to her with a small nudge, her eyes skittishly looking at the offering, hands clasped together.

"Mabel? Come on, it's yours." I say with a frown, nudging it towards her once more. She seems hesitant to believe it, but that's not entirely surprising. It takes her a moment, but she soon reaches her hands out to it, her claws gripping into its side. I smile as I let go, the hunk of meat falling into her paws.

"There you go, eat up la-" I'm cut short by the sudden and ravenous demolishing of the meat, the thing almost immediately vanishing from sight, the only remains being the bloody dripping on the sides of her lips. I look at her and blink, the girl licking off the blood from her claws and lips, golden eyes surprisingly focused as she looks up to me. That look disappears almost as quick as her food did, an embarrassed look behind her eyes as she fiddles with her hands once more.

'That was definitely an experience, might need some more food for her later.'

You don't say.

"I got something else for you too, kid." Her head tilts in confusion as I stick my hand back into my back, her eyes focused on the purple scarf. Her confusion only continues to remain as I wrap the cloth around her neck, looping it again and again around her shoulders before fucking it in and pulling away. It's a decently large scarf, so much so that it almost hangs around her small frame like a mini cape minus the hood, or a robe, it's pretty cute. I think the purple suits her, as does the little extra tuft at the front of it.

"There you go Mabel, just something to help you keep warm, I hope it actually works though. Do you like it?" I ask the girl as I fiddle with it some more, brushing it down and looking to her with a bright smile. She seems tentative to touch the scarf that wraps around her, but I can see her lips curl into a faint smile, a light dusting of red on her face as she looks up to me.

"Thank you." She says simply and quietly, a soft nod complementing it. I hold back a 'daw' as I ruffle her hair with a hand, tossing the empty bloody sack far away from here. Littering's probably the least of this places issues, it's fine. I grunt as I push myself up to my feet, re-grabbing my shield as I continue to scratch her head, the girl latching onto my side once again. Perfectly safe with me, I'll keep it that way as best I can.

"So, you've best be off then, correct?" Eric speaks as he approaches, his polite smile still on his face as Kathrin trails behind him, she'd be attached as his hip if she could I'd imagine.

"Aye, thank you both so goddamn much, on behalf of Edward and myself." I reply with a bow, Eric lightly chuckling as he clasps his hands together once more.

"That's quite alright, Zeke. It was definitely an experience to meet you and the trouble you've brought. Do bring a female next time though, if I've one thing to ask. I do need one for my collection." I bite back a sigh as his polite smile turns lecherous, a gleam in his glasses as he adjusts it. I have no idea how he made glass glint basically on que, but I'll roll with it.

"Thank you for enjoying your time here Zeke, and I hope you bring Mabel with you too!" Kathrin pipes up gleefully, grin still broad on her face as she stands beside Eric. She looks pretty excited to look after Mabel, willing too, sounds like a good mother figure.

"Thank you for assisting me, Miss Kathrin, did you like her too lil Mabel?" I ask the little girl suddenly, a surprised noise coming from her face. She steps from foot to foot as we look to her, but she does eventually nod, though her lips are sealed shut. I rub my hand through her hair and smile regardless, it's good enough, cute kid.

"I think it is best that we leave though, I do hope that we may meet once again, the both of you." It feels bittersweet to bid farewells to them, with a wave and another bow, the latter probably being unneeded. Kathrin seems a little saddened by our farewell, but she still has that childish hopefulness around her, and Eric's Eric, probably wished that I was a chick, weirdo.

I give them a final wave before heading down the hill, the two of them probably heading inside themselves. I feel a sad smile encroach on my face as Mabel grips my free hand, my shield taking up my left spot. I look down to the girl by my side, her focus enraptured by the looming visage of the buildings as we pass them, my hand ever so gently squeezing hers.

'I don't think we'll see them again.'

Even so, we must push forward, we've places to go and people to see after all. Can't keep them waiting.

Authors note: I'm still somewhat sick, so maybe the quality isn't the best, but I hope you all can read through it.

Updating schedule should go back to kind of normal, a bit of a delay.

Hope you all have a fantastic day.

Also holy shit, chapter 30, that's pretty cool.