“That’s not a bad idea.” A faint smile emerged as she got up, confident with my frankly obvious analysis. “It’ll be the first time I became a dragon for something other than desperation.” She mumbled, unsure of herself as I reached over and wrapped my arms around her.
“Second time.”
I could feel her smile grow, even if I couldn’t see it.
“Second time.” Her soft whisper turned into sniffling as I felt her beginning to cry. Time to say something embarrassing, or else we were going to be stuck inside the whole day.
“Also, the sun’s setting, so we better get going!” I laughed as I let her go, watching her tear herself off me and press her face up against the nearest window.
“Already?!”
* * * *
“Why did I agree to this?” Aria’s voice drifted into the soft evening air as we walked side by side. The setting sun gave the entire town a maroon tone, sharp reds cutting through the yellows and oranges. Aria looked especially dazzling, her white hair capturing dancing ribbons of fire.
The streets had a somber silence to them as it seemed like everyone had barricaded themselves in. Aria had given me a brief rundown on what happened last night, and now that I was out here, I could see why. Without Aria by their side, they wouldn’t dare move a muscle.
Walking through this place had shot the joy out of both of us. It was a good reminder of the stakes if we failed, but also a grim scene for a first date. I reached out, looping my fingers around hers, but it was met with her yanking her hand away from me.
“You’re no fun.” I stuck out my tongue to tease her. In response my left hand was forcefully grabbed by hers.
“I suppose I ought to do this while I’m on a date, right?” I recoiled momentarily. She was being such a killjoy! I took a deep breath before recovering myself and wiggling my hand free.
“Na, don’t force it. Only rule is that you have to be honest.” I tried to cheer her up with a grin, and she did indeed smile. Just a tiny bit. I could tell that there was still a lot on her mind.
“Okay.” Her eyes flickered again, opening up wide with a soft and curious frown.
“So how does dating work? Are there rules or are we supposed to have dinner and hold hands?” Having her ask that elicited a sly smile from me, which only added to her curiosity.
“It is, but think of it this way. How would we know we make a good couple?” I began as she nodded along, following my line of thinking.
“Well, we’d have to do things together. Dates are us being together, but with the express purpose of discussing what makes us…well us!”
Aria nodded, holding onto each word I said like gospel. She was treating me as the relationship expert, but if she knew how much I was making up, she’d be mortified. Make it up as you go, Charlotte! Make it up as you go!
“Normally, it’s hard to talk about relationship stuff, but when we’re going on a date, that’s kind of the point.” I snapped my fingers. “That’s why I say be honest! It ruins it if you lie about who you are.” As I was talking about it, I could see Aria’s face fill with inner turmoil and hesitation.
“But…what if you don’t like me anymore? Or I mess up the date and…” She began blurting out like a broken record before I leaned down, placing a single finger on her lips.
“Shhh. I’m not going to hate you, no matter what you say. Besides, you can’t mess up a date. Haha, what would that even be!” I was fucking lying. Aria gave me a very concerned look, ever closer on discovering that I too had a secret past life…of unsuccessful boyfriends.
“A lot of embarrassing things, I’m guessing?” I watched Aria’s smile turn into a foxy grin as we approached the restaurant.
If it wasn’t for the sign on the side, we would’ve missed it. It was only slightly larger than the buildings in this district, and much of it was because of its newly-made deck.
Aria gave the door a gentle knock, before pulling out the letter that Buryan sent us. Seems like there was a code word involved.
“Buryan…uuh…speaks?” Aria didn’t look completely sure of what she was saying, but we got our reply.
There was a clicking of a deadbolt being unlocked, then another as the door swung open. The smell of pastries, homemade gravy, smoked meats blasting our nose. I could hear a collective rumble as both of our stomachs groaned in protest, both of us sharing a laugh.
“Oh, Pact Mage! Come right in!” There was the voice of a larger burly man as he held the door for the both of us.
He reminded me of the few loggers we had around town, wearing a striped red and orange shirt covered by a server apron. He was also sporting quite the beard, completing the logger look. Small dining tables and chairs were scattered about, with a setup that reminded me of a bigger version of the bar that we had back in our inn.
The entire restaurant was lined with family pictures, completing that home restaurant feel. The table had actual tablecloths and utensils already laid out, a sign of a fancy place to eat in the Central Tangles. Aria was too busy rushing to the back where the menus were, both of us letting out a chuckle at her childlike behaviour.
“You’re her escort, right?” The large man grinned, offering a hand to shake as Aria chewed through the basket of bread on the counter. The guy was even taller than I was, which was pretty rare.
“Clover.” He nodded as I shook his hand. Always such a tight grip when guys see a girl who can handle themselves, but I’ve learned to give them a bit of a squeeze in return.
“Charlotte, and in a manner of speaking,” I gave a nervous chuckle before continuing, “We’re actually having a date here…” Aria’s entire face flushed. I watched as Clover’s grin drained to an apprehensive frown.
“You weren’t supposed to blurt it out!” she protested as she shook her hands, still trying to look at her menu before her eyes locked onto Clover. He was looking at Aria for confirmation.
“Ya, well I figured they would figure it out sooner rather than later.” I gave a half-hearted shrug as I waited for her to admit it.
“…okay fine. I’m on a date with her. There! Are you happy!” I giggled as her entire face continued to burn with embarrassment. There was something endearing about how her entire face lit up at the slightest provocation.
There was an audible “Aww,” from the kitchen, but the man didn’t say a word. I watched Aria’s ‘I will murder someone today’ eyes emerge from beneath the menu, directed to something just beside me. Oh. I turned my face to see Clover’s look of disapproval, followed immediately by terror as Aria put down the menu with a slam, marching towards him menacingly.
“Do you have a problem with that?” Aria shouted at the man more than twice her size, her normally melodic voice cutting right through the air like a blade.
“Well, you’re the Pact Mage…” He tried to defend himself as I watched her tiny fists drag him down to meet her face to face. He looked like he was going to piss his pants.
“Look here. I know what you’re thinking, and you wouldn’t be thinking what you are if I was dating a cute boy now would you?” There was the terrified shaking of his head, then nodding. I was absolutely resisting the urge to burst out laughing.
“No? Didn’t think so. So smile and serve my girlfriend and I some dinner, or I will freeze you inside out and throw your still-alive corpse into the lake. Where you belong.”
