Aclysia and Apexus made their way to the local church district.

The Church, as the institution, was present as a central building. It had little resemblance to a temple of any kind and it was not either. The block of grey stone had been hastily erected when the Leaf had earned initial prominence and had not been replaced in the 90 years since. It barely had any windows, nothing in terms of decorations, and existed solely for the purpose of administrative duties. In the eyes of everyone, it was a blight on the cityscape.

The district around it was, after all, gorgeous. Wooden, brick, concrete, and stone buildings of shapes engineered and magical stood tall and proud all around them. There was no greater plan to their layout, no symmetry between the stained glass windows and the druidically shaped water basins, but there was a shared sense of beauty in it all.

Around them were not the efficiency-seeking structures of landlords trying to maximize the rentable space nor the selfish display of wealth of merchants who only cared for the looks of their own houses. Instead, they walked through the streets of the priests who had the virtue of living with the community, rather than above it. They understood their duty of spirituality and thus, even without talking to one another, agreed silently where what could stand to create a district of solemn beauty.

It was quiet there. The bustling street life was several streets removed and thus died down to a soft background murmur. Almost, the whispered prayers of the various small congregations overpowered it. Almost.

The air was rich with the smell of various kinds of burning incense. A group walked with purposeful slowness down the street, the priest heading it gently waving a censer, spreading the smoke. Parts of the same procession stopped at elevated stones that framed the walkway, rubbing aromatic oils on the polished rock.

Apexus found that a bit vain, but he left them to it. He did not know what god they worshipped nor what purpose exactly this ritual had. He simply followed Aclysia to the church she wished to visit.

The two-faced mask of Hashahin was painted on the heavy wooden door. Aclysia leaned against it and, although she would have managed, Apexus swiftly came to her aid. Together they entered, finding half a dozen people sitting on the floor of a small chamber. They were watching a performance, a quiet dance by a seventh member.

A quiet dance by a woman clad only in barely opaque cloth.

Apexus knew that the followers of the god of his melody were unique fellows. The God of Art and Actors inevitably attracted the oddballs of society. Aclysia blushed a little bit at the indecent exposure of her fellow worshippers. Quietly, they entered and sat down.

Aclysia was soon enthralled by the dance. The wide and circling motions had a purpose to them, they were all part of a larger story.

Apexus, for the first time in a long time, was happy that his emotions rarely showed on his face. He was confused more than anything. ‘Is this some kind of strange mating ritual?’ he asked himself. For a little while, he continued to sit there, not sure if he was allowed to leave. Eventually, he decided to just do it.

Violating the silence felt wrong, so he quietly found his way out. Aclysia repressed a disappointed sigh. She suspected that this kind of art was not to his liking. It irked her that he left, that he was not sharing her interest, but she swallowed that emotion. She knew what kind of man she loved and he was too practical to find entertainment in art. A smile was what she offered instead. They would see each other again by nightfall.

Apexus wandered the quiet district for a little while before he found a tiny church. The entrance was marked by the sign of the lotus flower. It was that which made Apexus enter. The temple to the Progenitor was empty and quiet. Dust on the floor indicated no one had used it in a long time. A familiar set of symbols in the opposite wall tugged on Apexus’ emotions. Knotted patterns created the décor that had been frequent all over Maltos’ temple.

There was a single elevated spot in the middle of the room. Sitting down there, Apexus stripped off the top of his robes. He placed his knuckles together, thumbs hovering just in front of his stomach. He let all the air flow from his body and closed his eyes. All that mattered was inside now. He emptied his mind and just… was.

Time flowed on.

_________________________________________________________________________

“Boo!” Reysha jumped at Korith.

The kobold leapt in surprise, nearly flinging herself into a passerby in the process. It looked like a startled frog making an instinctive escape. Only one of the reasons why that Martial Art was named the Frog Leap in the first place.

“Sorry! So sorry!” Korith apologized to the laughing passerby, then turned to Reysha. “Hellroots, what did you do that for?”

“Your face!” the redhead exclaimed, laughing loud enough to turn some heads. She slapped the shortstack on the back, causing collective eyes to go to the tightly packed boobs that jiggled from the indirect impact. People had the decency to keep walking, rather than stare. “I knew someone would come after me!”

“I’m just heading in the same direction!”

“Potato potahto.” Reysha waved off. Still giggling to herself she asked. “Any first step you have in mind? Might as well walk together.”

“Not really? I was just going to walk around, see what I can… you know, see.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“With your eyes?”

“Yeah?” Korith pointed at her golden gazers and Reysha giggled some more at her own joke. “Y-you’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”

Reysha feigned an innocent smile. “Who? Me? Never!”

“Well, what are you going to do that’s so great?” Korith wanted to know and began to walk. If nothing else, she could take a little bit of a lead. “I thought you wanted to pick up that book.”

“And I shall do so, squishy,” the redhead assured. “However, playing a little prank on you was too delicious to pass up the opportunity… aww, don’t give me that.” Korith was puffing up her cheeks and pouted. “That only makes me want to bully you more.”

“Could you answer my question?” Korith asked. “Or are you too busy devising your next innuendo?”

“Admittedly, my tongue is always busy with something,” the redhead quipped, much to the kobold’s second-hand embarrassment. “I’m going to pick up that book, then visit someone with scissors. I need a haircut.”

A swift glance up at Reysha’s hair was quickly followed by Korith combing through her own hair. They had similar hair, in that it was gorgeously messy and silky all the same. Came with the territory of their species and the benefits of magic. It was also longer than it used to be, just by the passage of time. When Reysha had first met Apexus, her hair had gone down to the middle of her shoulder blades, just about. Now it was well down her back. If she kept it growing for much longer, it would touch her tail.

Korith’s hair had been longer, relative to her size, to start with and had only grown further in the last few months. It was well down to her own tail, but that did not bother her. Scales were not as sensitive to the touch as hairs were.

“I think I’ll keep it like this…” she said after some thought. “Could you pick up a few hairbands for me though? Might be best if I bind it up…”

“So Master can yank you by the ponytail?”

“Yes… I-I mean no!” Korith stammered. “It’s j-j-just more practical!”

Reysha just laughed and slapped the shortstack on the back again. “I’ll bring a receipt,” she finally said, before splitting from Korith.

The kobold shook her head and walked alone. ‘Feels weird,’ she thought. ‘Don’t have to stick to someone tall, just need to keep dodging the big people.’ She played with the pommel of her new mace. The shortstack-sized weapon hung from her hips. It was a warning that she always carried with her, even now, for any men who thought she was theirs to flirt with. ‘Maybe I should wear something that shows I’m taken like… a collar or something… did I just think that unironically?!’

Korith had to keep the embarrassed scream inside.

________________________________________________________________________________

“There you go.” The bookbinder handed over the finished article. Reysha turned it in her hands. The leather looked pristine, quite a difference from the yellowy pages it contained. She opened it up and flew over the first couple of pages.

The contents were unsorted. The original author had not thought the book would reach another person’s eyes and had been happy to use his own sorting system. The paper was too cheap to write on both sides, so the page count was deceptive as well. There was no table of contents either.

‘That’ll take a minute to get through,’ the redhead thought and closed the book, then put it away. “Thank ya very much,” she purred and wiggled her fingers in goodbye. She stopped shortly before leaving the store and then took three steps backwards. The craftsman looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“Anything else I can help you with?” he asked.

“Yes, actually, if you can believe that.” Reysha turned around to have a normal conversation. “When’s the new edition of the encyclopaedia thingy coming in again?”

“Three weeks minimum. They’re preparing the presses. I’d expect something closer to five weeks from now.”

“Any typo-riddled prototype you’d be willing to throw my way?” the redhead asked.

The bookbinder shook his head. “Those always get swooped up by the collectors on the day of printing. No chance.”

“Ah well, was worth a shot.” Reysha tugged at the tip of her hair. “Any barbers around that can give a woman a decent haircut?”

That the man could help her with. Fifteen minutes later, Reysha was sitting on a stool in front of a tall mirror. A woman rolled over a cart, on it a number of arcane items that Reysha had no idea why any woman would ever need. Scissors and hair clippers were all she needed for this.

“Ears on or off?” the woman asked, to Reysha’s amusement. She was a fellow cat girl, of the common, un-striped, fair-skinned variety. She was also relatively young and unblemished, the daughter of an adventurer who had founded this business after their retirement. “I’ll take that as ears on.”

“Yeah, I’m rather attached to them,” Reysha chatted back.

“Alright, serious question then.” The hairdresser took a gentle hold of Reysha’s hair. “Are we just doing tips? Up to here? Maybe here?” She indicated with her offhand various lengths.

Reysha hummed, still somewhat undecided. She liked her hair pulled as much as the next gal, but recent months really had made her sick of all the side effects. Plus, in a crowded bed, someone always managed to roll into an undesired position. “Let’s do chin length,” she decided.

“You sure?” the hairstylist asked. “That’ll take years to grow back.”

“Gods, I hope,” Reysha laughed.

_________________________________________________________________________

Apexus heard the rest of his party before he saw them again. “That really does look good on you,” Korith said.

“I concur.” Aclysia agreed.

“Stop it... Continue,” Reysha cooed in the tone of the vain.

Apexus did not have to wonder what they were talking about. Once he turned around the last corner, he was treated to the sight of his women.

Aclysia was the same as ever, an eternal monument to beauty in his life. Korith had tied her hair up into a high ponytail. It was a mild change, a cute one at that, and it worked well with her horns. Reysha, however, looked entirely different.

Apexus had only known her with long hair. Seeing that scarlet mane reduced to a length that barely made it past her chin suited her, however. It still had that wildness. Had each strand obediently been straight, her hair probably would have reached her back again. Instead, that messy display curled whimsically, as if the tiger girl had just jumped out of a bush. The pair of feline ears and the symmetrical stripes around her black eyes only added to the feeling.

The humanoid chimera swiftly stepped closer, pulled Reysha to his chest, and kissed her. It was all one instinct, all one motion, and it ended only after a long time of tongue whirling unity. “I love you,” he whispered to her.

Reysha blushed. She blushed all over, feeling a warm tingling go up from her toes all the way to the roots of her hair. “Shut up,” she purred and put her chin on his chest. “I love you too but shut up. I just cut my hair.”

“You look gorgeous.”

“Shut up.”

He kissed her again.

Then they retreated for the night.