BXBX NOVEL Chapter 218 217: Night Escapade
When everything was finished, I grabbed the wine bottle and poured Jahi and I a drink, instantly downing my glass before pouring another.
Sighing, I placed the bottle in the center and sat down to eat, picking at the food in front of me; like most cooks, my joy came not from eating my own cuisine, but watching others enjoy my dishes, the widening of their eyes and happy moans as their tastebuds were assaulted with flavor being my own sustenance.
And yet, two plates remained untouched, spoiling any appetite I could have.
Jahi noticed that, sighing slightly before she stabbed her fork over into my steak, grinning at me as she stole the rest.
Giving her a dry look, I rolled my eyes as I spiraled some of the noodles around my own fork, the rich, yet bitter sauce tasting wonderful on my tongue.
Paired with the actual red wine in my glass, I felt more like I had just three or four years prior; alone with decent food and some wine, but-
"Kat, please stop this self pitying of yours; it doesn\'t suit you."
Hearing Jahi, I glanced up at the frowning Demoness, her head tilted as she stared intently at my face.
Raising a brow, I remained silent as I took another sip, watching as she sighed, her amethyst eyes filled with slight worry as she reached across the table, her large blue hand enveloping mine.
Squeezing it gently, she started rubbing the back of the ring I wore, her smile gentle as she whispered "They\'ll get over it eventually, Kat... they\'ll have too, since you\'re so damn stubborn. Besides that, you should know that they both love you so much..."
I nodded, the warmth from her hand easing my aching heart slightly.
"Yes... I know... It\'s just..."
She nodded, and her smile made me smile in turn.
The rest of the meal was finished in silence, which spoke more than a thousand words ever could.
All we needed was the warmth of one another\'s hands as we ate, the occasional squeeze or rub making the other smile.
When the meal was over, I stacked the dishes in the sink before making my way to our room, where I changed from my maid dress to my leather armor, which made me frown.
I...
Had no other clothes.
Blinking a few times as I looked around, I sighed before grabbing my coin purse, the gold coins jingling around inside the pouch as I tied it to my belt.
Doing the same with my dagger, I nodded as I double checked myself, making sure I had everything.
Walking back out, I saw Jahi look me over before asking "Do you not have-?"
Shaking my head, I was about to follow her out of the cottage before I turned back around, moving towards Anput\'s room.
Not hearing anything inside, I frowned as I knocked.
When I didn\'t get a reply, I sighed, wondering if this was how parents felt with a rebellious teen.
"Anput, Leone... foods on the table; Jahi and I are going out now..."
Waiting another moment, I sighed again when I heard nothing.
Making my way over to the exit, I followed behind Jahi as she led me out of the gated area of the cottage and down towards the bustling city.
As we walked down towards the crowded streets, Jahi asked "How do you plan on training your stealth here?"
Looking around, I took in the difference of the city now compared to the mornings, everyone laughing and walking around from store to store, merrily grinning at one another.
"Mainly just working on making my movements quiet for now. That, and to use you as a visual distraction, so that no one focuses on me."
She gave me a side glance, her amethyst eyes unamused at her new role, only to sigh as we entered the sea of people.
Making sure she was always in view, as well as responding to the tug on the bond between us, we made our way through the city slowly, walking around and taking in the sights.
Some of our classmates were in the crowd, and whenever they saw Jahi they would either give her a wide berth or try to talk to her, which would give me a good opportunity to \'hide\'.
Since my skill was currently low, I wasn\'t truly able to do the sneaky fantasies of those who\'ve ever played Creed of Assassins or other stealth games, but you had to start somewhere.
So we waded through the large crowd of people until we reached one of many squares inside the city, with numerous shops lining the edge and stalls filling the middle.
People sat on rolled out blankets peddling their wares, while others stood behind simple stalls laden with goods, calling out to the passerby\'s in an attempt to sell their goods.
As for the shops on the edges, people filtered in and out of each store, items in their hands as they talked to family, friends, or lovers.
Standing beside Jahi, we glanced around the congested square, before I saw a clothing store.
"There?"
Getting her attention, I gestured to the sign that had a shirt painted onto it, runes etched into the wood.
Shrugging, she grabbed my hand and said "Since it\'s so crowded, just stick together for now... you can keep your \'training\' going when we get back onto the roads..."
I nodded, walking beside her as we cut through the crowd, people stepping aside as the large Demoness strode confidently forwards.
When we reached the store, we walked inside to see dozens of people wandering around, sifting through the folded clothing and holding it up to themselves, seeing if it would fit or looked good on them.
Leading me around the store, Jahi started holding outfits up to me, her lips pursed as she slowly went through shirt after shirt, dress after dress.
Seeing her dedication to attempting to create me an outfit was warming, and I had to hold in chuckles as she selected odd combinations; a pink long sleeved shirt with a knee length grey skirt for one, and a floral yellow dress.
Gently reminding her to try and match color to my features, which was mainly reds, browns and oranges, she frowned before returning to the shelves, her puckered lips and concentrated features appearing cute to me, but...
Well, the store wasn\'t as full as it had been when we entered...
Holding in another chuckle, I stared at the three things in her arms; a simple red dress, a black knee length skirt, and a black shirt that had dark red roses embroidered onto the back.
The shopkeep was staring at us with mixed emotions; she was annoyed that we had driven most of her customers away, but she was also afraid of this obviously powerful and important person.
There was also confusion in her eyes as she saw Jahi fawning over me, who, while beautiful, wasn\'t as impressive or imposing looking as the Demoness.
While Jahi continued looking around, I selected clothes of my own, going for a dark gray pair of pants and a shirt, both of which were able to be adjusted to fit my figure more.
This would be the outfit that I traveled out with, since black was actually not that useful of a color to sneak around with; if you weren\'t in pitch darkness, the darker the color you wore the easier it would be to notice that something was off.
You would be a dark shadow moving around in a dim area; something that those with any training would be able to spot.
That was why camouflage was something most militaries used instead of pure black clothing; the mixture of colors helped make you apart of the landscape or buildings, instead of a shadow.
And, this city was made primarily of dark gray stone, black stone, or reds; it was also well lit, but...
Well, the gray worked well enough.
Along with that, I looked around at the shoes section, which was a small corner.
Checking each, I sighed as I didn\'t find what I was looking for, deciding to just adjust my own soles; it would be cheaper that way as well.
When we had finished picking out the clothes, we approached the shopkeeper and laid everything out, the woman sorting through them before telling us our total, which was 3 Gold 74 Silver.
Handing her the coins, I folded everything and held it in my arms, following Jahi back out into the square.
"That was more of a date than the first..."
Hearing me mutter something, she glanced down at me and frowned, her head tilted to the side as she asked "Really?"
Giving her a dry look, I walked beside her as we made our way through the streets, walking towards the house; neither of us wanted to leave the others alone for long...
"Yes, really... a date is supposed to be something fun and enjoyable... going out to eat, shopping together, walking together..."
Pursing her lips, she tilted her head the other way as she muttered "That sounds... boring."
My dry look returned, and I sighed as I said "Not everything needs to be about sex, Jahi..."
"Why not?"
Sighing again, we slowed down slightly as I tried to instill a sense of normalcy into the Demoness, our talk eating away at time as we eventually reached home.
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Stealth will be a gradual, slow increase for now; more so just her learning how to do each part before putting them all together.
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