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Hayley was a no-show today – the dutiful, diligent boss she was. Meanwhile, Nick remained in his office, gradually wearing down at his poor, tiny keyboard with every smash of his bulky fingertips, a constant glow of white from his monitor illuminating every rigid, grumpy muscle on his face.

I clocked out and waved him goodbye through the glass screening to which he only briefly acknowledged with a little flick of his gaze. Tried keeping an eye out for that little box, but harry’s present was nowhere in sight near or anywhere around him.

Suppose I’ll probably find out what has become of it by tomorrow’s shift… provided Hayley actually shows up.

When I got back home, I returned to a hero’s welcome – or it felt like it anyway. A feast fit for a king lavishly bestrewed across the dining table. Once again, against her own odds, Ash just kept surpassing perfection beyond perfection.

“We haven’t a proper meal together for far too long already,” She said, her perked, pointed ears in a gleeful wriggle. “I do hope you are considerably famished, Master.”

I actually already gobbled a few cakes and muffins leftover from my shift, but the moment the aroma of Ash’s home-cooked meals wafted into my nostrils, suddenly it was like I’d been stranded on a deserted island for months… and here sails the RMS Eshwlyn in the near horizon coming for my salvation.

A recently awoken Adalia had already brimmed her plate of her favorite pickings and was quietly nibbling away whisked off into an impenetrable world of flavors.

In truth, there was actually something I wanted… I needed to sort out first before anything else – that’s what I told myself on the ride back. But now, yanked and pulled adrift by the smell of delicious food like a tomcat in a cartoon, I suppose it could wait just for a little while.

.....

Plate in hand, I began combing through the Michelin-starred menu, taking my place at random. I noticed the moment I sat down, Adalia stood up – and without a word, she promptly took her dish and slowly clambered herself to the closest chair beside me.

Shouldn’t have desserts before dinner, I knew that. But Adalia was making it really hard not to feel stuffed just by her sugary sweetness alone.

“I am pleased to inform that I am almost finished mending your clothes, Master,” Ash said from right across the table. “I surmise I should have it ready before dawn emerges.”

“Wow, you work fast,” I said, awe-stricken. “I don’t even know how you find the time between this banquet here and everything else.”

“Practice, dedication, a touch of zeal… and as well as your happiness,” She smiled at me. “That is all that I require.”

While it warmed my heart from the cold outside to hear her say that, I couldn’t help but feel a waver of discontent. Lately, it seems all I’ve heard from her is work, work, and just more work – sure, she didn’t mind it – I think it’d be nice for her, and for us, to stray away from the daily routine once again.

There is the convention I’m supposed to take her to soon – the exclusive tickets from Amanda still stuffed securely in my wallet – but that was still quite a ways away. Fortunately, as luck would have it, I already have an obligation I’m supposed to attend that I could turn into another opportunity.

“After work tomorrow, Ash,” I slowly began. “I want you to follow me out somewhere – get out of this house for some time.”

Her ears perked in attention, her gaze rousing and glowing their greenest in keenest. “Accompany you? Of course, Master – I would love nothing more. Wherever may we be going?”

“Another shoot. Filming starts again tomorrow – same place. You’ll get to see Chester again.”

“A lovely prospect, indeed,” Ash chuckled, and it kinda felt like she was bouncing from the inside. “Very well then, Master. If you would have me.”

See, now that’s better. Past her demure and elegance, she was practically bursting with delight.

Suddenly, Adalia slinked into the corner of my sight as she languidly reached for seconds – seeing everything, hearing everything, and yet for some reason not saying anything.

Despite that though, it’s not like I could just ignore her, could I?

“Don’t suppose you’re interested, are you?” I asked her, sliding over the bowl of stew she was struggling to take, “It’ll be loud, but – nothing you can’t handle.”

Adalia slumped back into her seat, her eyes pensively swirling over her half-eaten meal.

“No… not interested…” She finally replied. “And… I think… Ash… would not… like that…”

To that, Ash seemingly wasn’t paying attention to a single word she had spoken, busy with hastily slicing a piece of meat and utterly oblivious to the world. Must be a tough cut too, her face was a little red presumably from her strain effort.

Now that all was sorted, without further ado, I began eating as well – taking my time, and allowing all of Ash’s tender loving care to soak into my tongue. Y’know between Amanda and her, I better take care to watch how I eat… or else before I know it, I’m gonna wind up as a stuffed chicken.

Halfway through the meal, suddenly Ash took pause stabbing a potato with her fork. Her ears lifted at the corners, her eyes darted up, and before anybody else was aware of it, of her, Ash spoke up.

“Good evening, Sera.”

I immediately glanced toward the staircase, catching a flutter of violet just as it landed on the very bottom step. In a stream of purple, Sera glided closer toward the table, her silent intentions quickly made clear, as soon as she seated herself right next to Ash.

Guess someone’s hungry.

Briefly, we locked gazes, and I smiled at her – squinting slightly, momentarily blinded by the bright gold of her stare. Even long after she looked away, I kept my eyes lingering just a little longer.

Just wondering… just thinking… still confused about this whole thing…

“No, I’m afraid we do not have muffins at the present moment, Sera,” Ash said, answering a question that was never spoken and never heard besides from her. “No, unfortunately… no cookies either.”

Sera let out a faint groan of disappointment, and quietly sufficed herself with what was in front of her… as if somehow Ash’s cooking was inferior to what was essentially just suntanned dough.

Let me tell you, man… some people… God…

After a while, Adalia was the first to excuse herself from the table, her plate barren with nothing but bones stripped utterly clean of any hint of flesh, heading back to join the faint imprint of her outline engraved onto the couch like a piece of a puzzle fitting just right.

Second went Ash, preemptively relieving herself to the kitchen to clear the mess. Lastly, Sera stood up not even a minute after, her plate barely touched and left to waste.

Her, I stopped. But not for the blasphemy she just committed right before me.

No, this was for a different reason entirely.

“Hold on,” I said, just before she strolled past me on her way back up the stairs. “I need to talk to you about something for a bit. Do you mind?”

She eyed me, gleaming a gaze bright with scrutiny. Up to down, left to right – her head stayed stagnant in either motion. But she wasn’t growling, she wasn’t snarling.

Instead she continued her way up the stairs, slinking back into the darkness of the guestroom… leaving the door just slightly ajar.

Guess that’s a yes.

After helping Ash clean things up much to her protest and feigned dismay, I made my way up the stairs, turning away opposite my bedroom and forward toward the narrow crack of the guest room door.

I parted it open a little more, allowing a bit of light and some space to squeeze myself inside. Almost at once, I noticed there was a musty smell pervading the room that wasn’t present before… like something old, dusty and decaying was simply left to rot here.

But there was nothing here – only Sera.

At the foot of the bed, the hems of her cloak hovering barely an inch above the ground, and like the beam of a searchlight – her eyes were pointed toward my every move.

“Hey,” I gave her a wave. “Been quite a while since we actually talked, huh?”

No reaction. But I think she agrees, probably agrees – whatever.

‘Anyway, I’ll just get to the point,” I said, strolling over to the window on the other end of the room, briefly wondering if a bit of ventilation might just upset her or not. I ultimately decided against it. “Do you remember the succubus from before? Irene? Y’know, the lady that brought you to stay in the park in the first place – her.”

I glanced back at her, in time to see her eyes furrow in distaste, and her head nodding curtly.

“Well, you see, she kinda needs your help with something,” I said. “A favor, you can call it.”

And that’s when she stopped with pleasantries – signified with a low growl rippling through the silence.

Not a fan of strangers, I take it.

“I’m not really sure about the details yet myself,” I went on. “But if you want my best guess…”

I thought back to our conversation in the cafe, her deliberate vagueness, her avoidance of questions… how pressed she sounded… and the timing of it all…

New year’s…

“I think she wants to talk to Ria.”