Alex’s eyes shot toward Anise, hoping she would explain the situation to her aunt, but she was already halfway to the house’s main entrance. His eyes darted back to Janet and her face no longer held the warm smile, instead her light brown eyes looked predatory. Alex considered what he could say, opening and closing his mouth a few times before deciding to turn and walk toward the entrance as well. If there was one thing dating had taught him, it was that there were sometimes no right answer and the best thing he could do at those times was stay silent.
Stopping at the entrance to grab his shoes off the rack he’d left them the night prior, Alex jumped as Janet appeared next to him. He hadn’t looked back when he was walking, but he hadn’t expected her to be so close to him. She didn’t say anything, just grinned at his reaction as she grabbed a pair of white, open toed, four inch heels off the rack. They seemed a bit excessive for the simple white blouse and blue jeans she wore, but as she bent down to put them on Alex followed suit. None of the other shoes on the rack were brands Alex recognized though a few had the same slim design as his skate shoes.
Grabbing the letterman out of his inventory Alex put on the red, white, and blue jacket. It had been a gift from Travis, and an expensive one at that. He smiled thinking back to that birthday party.
“Are you ready?”
“Umm, yea,” Alex looked at the bare arms of the woman and gave her a questioning look. “Are you?”
“Yep, unless you think I’d look better in a jacket?” She did a little twist on one foot and popped her hips out, holding the pose. Alex knew it was going to be a long day; this woman acted just like Riley, always trying to get a rise out of someone. He gave the woman a polite smile, knowing that him responding would only drag this out, and decided to ask a question instead.
“So where are we off too?” Janet gave Alex a flat look, clearly not enjoying his lack of rebuttal. Popping a white puffer jacket into existence she opened the door to the cool morning air. It was sunny with clear blue skies, and Alex got his first real look at the city. As he’d had noticed the night before, the block Anise’s house fell on was similar to the townhouses he was familiar with, if not a bit more extravagant. Instead of the more common brownstone, brick, or limestone, many houses used marble or even what looked to be obsidian as their main building component.
Anise’s house was in the middle of a dead-end which made picking the correct direction easy and Alex began to walk. Janet still didn’t answer, an amused smile on her face as she walked alongside him while he marveled at the magic that intertwined with the mundane looking residential area. On the streets there were vehicles of all sorts with everything from floating carpets to something that looked oddly like a '77 Trans Am. Alex snapped out his reverie as the pair reached an intersection. He wasn’t sure which way to go and threw a questioning look to Janet.
“We're going back to the part of town Anise found you in.” She pointed and Alex made his way down the sparsely populated sidewalk. The people were much like he’d seen yesterday, mostly humans with a few other odd races thrown in. “It'll be a bit of a walk, now is a good a time as any to get talking.”
Alex looked at Janet and gave a weary nod. “I don’t mind, but Anise said it wasn’t good to just speak out in the open like this.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, I know a few tricks that kid doesn’t.”
Reevaluating his assumption that Anise was the strongest in the house, Alex asked what she wanted to know. He had hoped to avoid retelling his story to anyone, especially someone of a likely higher level than Anise. He didn’t know exactly how skills worked but based on the upgrades he was given; it was possible Janet might have a better version of Anise’s lie detecting skill. Even if he told his mostly truthful tale, she might see right through him.
“Anise told me most of it, but I’d prefer to hear it from the beginning.” As Janet spoke Alex felt something appear around them. He couldn’t see it but knew it was there. Alex moved a hand out to touch the space he thought the sphere was only to have it batted away by Janet. Sighing he decided it was best to rip the band-aid off fast and told a slightly modified version of what he'd told Anise.
Janet listened calmly for the few minutes it took Alex to talk though it. She never interrupted him, only walking ahead slightly when she needed to lead them in a specific direction. When he finished, she asked a question.
“Ann said you had some storage mod. Why’d you leave that part out?”
“Gotta keep some of my mystique.” Alex’s response was quick, he’d gotten so comfortable telling his scripted story, he had forgotten who he was talking to. That faux pas was quickly corrected as Alex felt a chill down his spine. When he looked toward Janet, her light smile was still there, but none of the friendliness remained as her eyes bored into him.
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“Not when it comes to an extradimensional storage that can presumably hold anything and be seen by no one.” The pressure began to rise, and fear forced Alex to blurt out the reason he’d omitted the details.
“I didn’t know, Anise more or less said that she was surprised I told her so I was just keeping the detail close to my chest. Aren’t you supposed to keep your abilities secret or something.”
The pair had stopped walking as he gave his panicked response and at some point Alex had shut his eyes. When he opened them Janet stood inches from his chest. She was smaller than him, only coming up to his shoulders, but there was a presence about her that screamed danger and Alex cringed as the pressure she released spiked, then faded. Acting as if that was the most normal thing she had done all day, Janet continued to walk. Alex was thrown a few sidelong glances from the nearby people, and he heard a particularly loud older man say something about young love. The thought was so far from the truth it made Alex smile, even through the fear and currently lose control of his bladder.
Hurrying to catch up, Alex risked a question after reentering the invisible sphere, “Is it completely undetectable? Why is that a big deal?”
“I can’t be 100% sure it’s completely undetectable, but if I can’t find it, then there are only three, no four, other people, in the entire city, who have any chance. The big deal is that you could have anything in there and no one would know. It’s not the most common, but some people with visible storage devices use that unknown component as a threat. There are limits of sorts, on what a person of a certain power can hold easily. Everyone should be weary of a D grade or higher with a storage device, but no one out of the E grade should care that an F grade had something in their storage. Except since you seemingly don’t have a storage, you also might not have the limits. The whole thing is a massive security risk.”
Alex took a minute to mull over the information and Janet let him. The aggression had completely left her, though the friendliness hadn’t returned, Alex was glad. He’d rather know she viewed him as a potential enemy than have her fake friendship. He ran through his options, on the scale from best to worst case there were few points Alex felt comfortable. For the best case he could tell her more, and she would agree to help him, potentially beyond the bookstore and shopping for the day. The worst case was rather simple, he died, either by her or someone else’s hands. As the worst case was definitely going to be here in two months based on his current progress, Alex relied on his luck of zero to help.
“Would it be different if the storage device is a skill?” That made Janet stutter in her steps, then she made him repeat what he said as a statement. “My storage is a skill.” Her eyes crinkled at his words, but she nodded.
“I see. Yea that would probably do it. Never heard of a skill granted storage, but that would make sense. How much can you carry? Any weight limits on items?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I can carry a lot. No clue on the weight limit, the skill was one of the things I wanted to research.” After she had made him repeat his words, Alex decided he wouldn’t be speaking in certainties around anyone, unless his statement was completely true. He didn’t know how much good it would do, but Alex was learning the importance of caution.
“I’m choosing to trust that you mean no harm to Anise or the others; now is not the time to talk about anyone else. I would appreciate it if you could keep me updated if you find any information about this skill of yours, though I doubt you will; I’ve never seen its equal. I will not however force reveal any more of your secrets. Ann and I came to an agreement that we will treat you with good faith until you break it.”
There was a threat Janet left unsaid, though Alex understood it clearly. He had no lie detecting skill, and she hadn’t made an implicit statement, but Alex could feel the don’t truth in her statement about not wanting to break her trust.
The pair continued to walk in silence and Alex soon felt the barrier around them fade. Janet hadn’t exactly been clear about what she planned to do with Alex, but for the moment he’d avoided the worst option.
Eventually the nice polished stone of the marble buildings faded into brick, then finally dirtied combinations of wood and brick. The streets were now fuller, and as Janet led them into an alley Alex noticed someone was following them. He was ready to warn Janet when he felt an echo of the pressure he’d experienced earlier, only this time he wasn’t the target. Alex watched as the person immediately turned, not even trying to argue, only to crumple as Janet’s directed aura hit the woman.
The small bits of residual pressure were greater than that Alex had felt when he had been the target, and he decided to work harder to stay in Janet’s good graces. She hadn't even actually attacked just released something she normally kept controlled, but the lady lay still nonetheless. They resumed their walk, and Alex felt too nervous to ask if the woman was still alive. The pair moved through a few more darkened alleys though no one else bothered them, and they eventually arrived in front of a dingy wooden shop. What looked to have at one point been an awning was now little more than dirtied scrap and Alex could see rot in the wood, he’d prefer not to go in if he didn’t have to.
“Is this the bookstore?”
Janet held a hand flat, palm down, and began to move it side to side. “Ralph is more of a general goods salesman. Like I said a book isn't gonna do much to explain your skill but if there is one, besides the royal family, Ralph is the most likely person in town to have it. Any other questions I can answer, or we can take you to another store if you really want.”
With a brief prayer that the entire building wouldn't fall on them Alex followed Janet in.