Citlali handed Aether the key to her house. As their hands touched, she mentally thought, "Feel free to come visit me. Especially at night. When I'm lonely. If you get my meaning." Judging by his wide eyes, he did understand. She cut him off before he could blurt out something to expose her in front of Paimon.
"Here's my key. This way, you don't have to knock next time."
With that, Citlali hurried away, hoping Paimon didn't suspect anything.
When she got home, Citlali shut the door and released the breath she'd been holding. In all her life, she'd never done anything so scandalous. Well, aside from that time, she came onto Aether when she was drunk. But that shouldn't count since she could barely remember anything! Honestly, how did Aether have this effect on her?
She hoped he'd come to visit. Oh, she really hoped. It alarmed her how much she wanted him to visit her. Of course, they couldn't do anything until that stupid bird gave her an invitation. Citlali wandered into her closet. The unused lingerie she had bought to wear for him still hung on the rack.
"Grr, stupid Tubby," she grumbled. "Why are you taking so long to interview me?!"
Back in the Masters of the Night Wind, Aether and Paimon were at the table snacking on Saurian crackers. Suddenly, Aether bolted upright.
"Oops. I forgot to give her a Realm Dispatch…"
Paimon shrugged. "It's fine. Let's just have Tubby give it to her later. She's got to interview Citlali at some point anyway."
He got a very alarming mental image: Tubby visiting Citlali's house, opening the door, and finding the shaman wasted on the bed. That probably wouldn't make for a good impression. Or worse still, what if Citlali was prepared for him rather than Tubby? Tubby would open the door and discover a house scented with Sumeru rose petals and candles, leading to a lingerie-clad Citlali. She'd go mute with embarrassment. Tubby would take one look at the immoral granny and leave without another word.
"I think I'll deliver it to her myself," he murmured. "Just to be safe…"