Chapter 23 : Afternoon

“Alright, personally!” said Fiona as she led the way through the double sets of automatic doors that separated the mall from the outside world “With a project like this I think it's best to start with the first layer first.”

“First layer?” asked Anton.

“Mm hm, first layer, the one right against the skin.” explained Fiona as she looked back at Mica and grinned “The fun layer that's full of tiny little tight things!”

Blinking, Mica's expression became wrathful as her cheeks began to redden.

“So a lingerie shop should definitely be our first stop.” continued Fiona as she nodded to herself “It'll probably take the longest to get through too, what with all the things we'll need Mica to model for us. So we really should hit it first.”

“Bitch! I am not your damn dress up doll!” muttered Mica “And I'm not modeling shit for you!”

“Heh, silly little Mica.” mocked Fiona “As if it's up to you.”

“Fuck you!” growled the kiochi.

“A lingerie shop isn't a bad idea, actually...” mused Kianna.

“Seriously, you too!?” exclaimed Mica.

“I didn't mean it for you.” grinned Kianna as she absently bumped into Anton and leaned against him as they walked.

Chuckling, Anton wrapped an arm around her waist as he shook his head.

“As much as I'd like that, I think we need to heed the doctor's advice and take it easy on you for today.” he said as they came up to a directory that featured a large map of the multi-story mall “So let's also spare Mica for now, and save that particular shop for our next trip.”

Letting his eyes rove over the categories of listed shops, Anton grinned playfully as he ignored the groans form the pouting dark elves that were glaring at him.

“...So do you have a preference for any of these specific stores, Mica?” he asked as he turned to her “Or will any of them do?”

Stepping up to look over her options, Mica ran her eyes down the list of stores before glancing up at the map above.

“I like Route 9, Dream Like and sometimes Trails has good stuff.” said Mica “They're all to the left from here.”

“Okay...” nodded Anton as he continued to look over the map “We'll need to stop at the Vantage store as well. That way I can get you a new phone and put you on my plan...”

“Oh, really?” said Mica as she looked up at him “You're seriously going to let me have a phone?”

“Well yeah. You're going to need a phone.” chuckled Anton “One that I can set parental locks on, of course. Since we don't need you to be calling anybody that currently wants to kill you...”

Mica grimaced as the dark elves both began to softly laugh.

“Like I'm really gonna do that...” she grumbled as she followed along behind Anton.

Making their way to the closest store, Dream Like, the two dark elves immediately caught the attention of the staff as they entered the store and began to peruse the racks of chic clothing. And it wasn't long before said staff members all disappeared into the backroom and abandoned their clearly uneasy looking manager to man the checkout desk alone.

Following them at a more subdued pace, Mica's tail coiled aimlessly about behind her as she looked out across the expanse of the store.

“For now.” said Anton as he came up beside her “Let's just get you enough clothes to last the next few weeks. I know you'll need a full wardrobe eventually, but if we play our cards right, in the near future, we may have the opportunity to get a hold of all your belongings.”

“Oh, really?” questioned Mica.

“Mm hm. It's nothing to bank on just yet. But hopefully your parents won't mind negotiating a price for all your things.” said Anton “We'll have to wait and see how well things go with the next meeting I have with them though. Whenever that'll be...”

“Oh, okay...” nodded Mica.

“Mica! C'mere!” called Kianna as she held up a bright pink blouse “What do you think of this?”

Grimacing, the kiochi began to shake her head as she and Anton made their way over to the dark elf.

“That's a little bright for my tastes...” mumbled Mica as Kianna held the blouse up to her.

“Yeah...” drawled Kianna “This color doesn't really go with your eyes either...”

“Okay! I've got the first few things you'll need to try on!” cried Fiona as she suddenly bounded up behind the kiochi.

Turning to her, Mica was caught off guard as Fiona abruptly passed her a plethora of differently styled panties. With her hands now full of the incredibly skimpy underwear, Mica's tail froze in place as her face instantly reddened in embarrassment.

“I figured dark colors would probably be the way to go, considering how pale you are...” mused Fiona as she plucked a pair of barely there purple lace panties from the stack and held them up in front of Mica's face “Oh yeah, that'll be a sweet contrast. Can't wait to see how well these babies will look wrapped around your ass...”

“...You! Bitch! Dammit!” grumbled Mica as angry tears of embarrassment formed in the corners of her eyes.

“Okay, that's enough.” said Anton as he shook his head and reached back for his wallet “C'mon, Fiona, we're going to go wait outside...”

“What, why!?” cried Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards.

“Because, Mica has already had a hard enough time lately.” said Anton as he handed Kianna a credit card “And the last thing she needs right now is us ogling her underwear. So c'mon, let's give her some peace and privacy.”

Kianna made a small happy sound as she smiled at the credit card.

“Try to keep it reasonable, please...” sighed Anton as he stared at the credit card “C'mon, Fiona. Let's go.”

Grumbling under her breath, Fiona balled her hands into fists and pointed her ears straight back as she reluctantly followed Anton out of the store.

“...Well that was nice of him.” said Mica as she watched them leave.

“Yeah, he usually is pretty nice. Well, most of the time... Anyways.” said Kianna as she looked over the pile of panties filling Mica's arms “Guess we might as well get these out of the way first. Since we already have them.”

Sighing in defeat, Mica nodded as she too began to look over the items Fiona had picked out for her.

Finding a bench just outside and a little down from the store, Anton took a seat and pulled out his phone to check his messages.

He had been hoping to hear back from an associate of his, the same individual he had messaged about Leopold's sword, who was avid collector of bladed weapons named Alan Mokai.

Having spoken with him when he had first acquired the sword, Mokai had been very interested in seeing the Infernal weapon for himself, but unfortunately he wouldn't be available right away. Instead he had assured Anton that he would let him know as soon as it would be possible for them to meet.

“So is this you punishing me for something?” muttered Fiona as she plopped down next to him.

Grinning as he read through a new message stating that Mokai would be available that following morning, Anton absently shook his head.

“No, it isn't.” he said as slipped his phone back into his pocket “This is really just to show Mica a little mercy.”

“Mercy from what?” questioned Fiona “You're acting like I was about to torture her, when all I was gonna do was play a little dress up with her. That's all.”

“Believe it or not, Fiona.” said Anton around a chuckle “But being stripped nearly naked and then forcefully put on display for the amusement of others is actually considered torture to some people.”

“...Yeah, I guess. I mean it might be at first, but she'll get used to it.” said Fiona in a dismissive tone “I mean, Mica is a slave after all. She needs to get used to having to do things she doesn't want to do. And entertaining us is gonna be a part of that.”

“No, it isn't.” said Anton “Mica isn't your slave, Fiona. And she's not here to entertain you anymore than you're here to entertain her.”

“...I mean, yeah, that's right. But she still needs to get used to doing things she doesn't want to do though.” stated Fiona as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“That may be true, but how that's gone about is not for you to decide.” said Anton “Again, she's not your slave, Fiona. And you need to stop thinking of her in that way.”

Fiona went to speak again but stopped short as she seemed to think better of it. Glancing off to the side, she sighed softly and crossed her legs at the knees as she settled in and began to people watch.

She wasn't exactly sure what time it was in the area they were in but judging from the brightness coming through the skylights overhead and the lack of foot traffic in the sparsely populated mall, she guessed it was likely just past midday.

Bobbing her foot up and down, she let her eyes absently roam from one random person to the next until suddenly her attention was draw to a rather peculiar sight.

A full grown female lamia had slithered into view and was making her way past the bench that she and Anton currently sat on.

Human-like in shape from the waist upwards but possessing a long serpentine form from the hips down, the lamia appeared as a mermaid-like blend of a humanoid and a snake.

Smooth, tightly packed but only faintly overlapping scales encased the entirety of her lower half and these spread upwards past her waist to cover her back, shoulders, arms and clawed hands before growing smaller in size and then tapering off all together as they crept up her neck to her ears and spread out along the rim of her jawline.

The majority of her scales were colored a deep black, but those along her belly paled down to a dark gray. Bright, golden-yellow bands broke up the solid blackness of her body scales as they haphazardly crisscrossed her back. These bands started out as broad blotches at her shoulders and became thinner and thinner as they moved steadily down the long length of her being.

Her skin, in the areas where it was free of scales, such as on her face, torso and palms, was a light gray color that had a slight purplish cast to it.

Her large, inhuman eyes were quite the mesmerizing sight, as they were made up of a pair of black slitted pupils that stood out clearly as they seemed to divide her eyes down the middle, and were surrounded on either side by a gleaming sea of steel green sclera.

Though primarily reptilian in nature, the lamia still possessed enough mammalian traits to make her mixed heritage clear. These included a full head of blonde colored human-like hair, a set of external ears that were sharply pointed and covered in scales, and a pair of ample, well formed breasts.

All these traits came together to form a creature that, although seemingly alien in nature, was still stunningly beautiful to behold.

Wearing a light, white colored sundress and raising her upper half into the air in a manner that was reminiscent of a standing cobra, the lamia gave the impression that she stood as tall as and was no bigger than an average humanoid. This was quite misleading though, as she was in fact exceptionally larger than the average person was, and should she choose to she was fully capable of lifting herself up much, much higher than this.

She would be able to accomplish this feat with the aid of the hundreds upon hundreds of banded muscles that were wrapped around her lower half and ran down the length of her body. These muscles were so tightly packed together that she was still left with a seemingly smooth appearance despite their presence just beneath her skin. This musculature not only assured her a shockingly high level of strength, but also gave her enough power that she could easily oscillate her long body from side to side and use her own coiled sections to push against the ground and sling herself along at a surprisingly fast rate of speed. Moving in this way allowed her to effortlessly glide forward in a graceful and silent manner.

Although the lamia was certainly eye catching in of herself, what made this particular one even more interesting was that she was being accompanied by what appeared to be her children.

Nestled in the lamia's arms was a tiny sleeping baby that was wrapped up in a bright, pink blanket. While cruising along on either side of her were two older lamia girls that were both very similar in appearance to their mother, save for the fact that they were only a fraction of her size and both possessed black-colored hair. A third, much smaller little lamia girl with blonde hair was coiled up and riding on her mother's back as she moved along. Sitting next to this girl, and riding along with her, was a young hobgoblin boy.

Making their way past the bench, the group continued on for a ways before veering off of the main pathway and slithering up to a sweet shack being manned by a male hobgoblin.

Standing at roughly three and a half feet tall, a hobgoblin was essentially the goblinoid equivalent of a halfling in size and shape. Green skinned with sharp features, large dark eyes set in yellow sclera and big, broad, pointed ears, they had the general appearance of a traditional goblinoid. And what set them apart, aside from their size, was that they were on average far more adept at the use of magic than most of their brethren kin.

Unlike true goblins, which preferred to live underground almost exclusively, hobgoblins were more human-like in that they could be found living in a wide range of locales. Intelligent, fairly friendly and outgoing, they were a rather common sight not only throughout the cavern lands below, which was their original home, but also across the surface of Terra as well.

The gentleman hobgoblin at the kiosk had a beaming smile across his face as he watched the approach of what was obviously his family.

Stopping just in front of him, the snake-like portion of the mother lamia remained in motion for a bit as she gathered herself out of the walkway by coiling her lower half up into a large circle. Leaning over the kiosk's counter-top, she and her husband shared a quick kiss before he gleefully lifted a corner of the pink blanket and peeked in on the tiny baby hobgoblin girl who was sleeping soundly in her mother's arms.

Bemused by her parents antics, one of the older lamia girls turned away from them and let her eyes wander aimlessly across the open expanse of the mall. As she looked about, a long, thin, black-colored tongue suddenly slipped out from between her parted lips and hung down past her chin as its forked tip began to flick up and down. Seemingly satisfied with the taste of the air around her, she slipped her tongue back into her mouth and turned to begin chatting with her siblings who were still seated on their mother's coiled back.

Watching all of this, Fiona couldn't help but to take note of how, despite the fact that one of them was an entirely different species, the four children that she could see were all strikingly similar to each other in appearance as they were all sporting a clear blend of their parents features.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Though she was no expert on the subject, she understood that from a purely biological stance, these children would naturally be impossible, as the genetics of a hobgoblin and a lamia would of course be far too different from each other to ever allow a baby to be conceived between them. At least through any normal means.

For couples such as this to have children they would have had to have formed what is known as a “Soul-Link” between them. Which, despite its name, was technically not a link made between their souls, but instead between their mana pools. This link was essentially a magical bridge that was gradually formed by the bond that flowed back and forth between two people. And with its aid a couple comprised of two completely different and normally incompatible species would become capable of producing children together.

How this worked was at the point of conception this link would magically filter, alter and merge their genetic material together in such a way that a baby would form. This process would also ensure that the mother would be capable of carrying the child to term, or in the case of egg layers, successfully hatching them. This often meant that the babies produced via this link would develop as the same species that the mother was and would have a much higher likelihood of also sharing her sex, as said baby would essentially be more of a clone of her than not. This was not always the case of course, and children that were the same sex and or species as the father, although a rarer occurrence, would be possible as well, so long as the mother could successfully care for them during development.

As this link was formed through magical means, it could only develop between sapient beings.

Fiona had learned of all this while in school, and so was not at all confused by the sight of a real world example of it. As she watched, the family mingled for bit longer before the mother and children moved off and continued on their way. As she went to turn away from them, Fiona found that Anton was also absently looking over in the same direction.

“...Is he selling churros over there?” he mumbled as he craned his neck to get a better look “...He is selling churros over there. Oh, I am going to get me a churro!”

“What's a churro?” asked Fiona.

“Um, well, imagine a long, thin doughnut that's been deep fried until it's crispy and then covered in cinnamon and sugar. That's basically what a churro is.” explained Anton as he stood up “Would you like to try one?”

“Uh... No, I don't think so.” said Fiona.

“You sure?” said Anton as he went to move away “They're really good.”

“Nah, I'm good.” said Fiona as she shook her head “Thanks anyway.”

Nodding, Anton stepped away and headed towards the sweet shack. As he made his way along a trio of young children quickly past him up as they gleefully raced to the kiosk.

The children appeared to be some type of feline folk as they were human-like in general form but each sported cat-like ears on their heads, had vertically slitted pupils amid golden-colored eyes and had long, furred tails curling along behind them. They seemed to be siblings as they all had both black-colored hair and similar facial features. The two older looking individuals were a boy and girl, while the smallest among them was another girl. In order to help her keep pace with her larger siblings, the littlest girl was holding on to her brother's tail as they sped along.

As they came up to the counter, the older girl produced a handful of wrinkled dollars and random collected change which she carefully laid out while her siblings excitedly pointed at what items they wanted from the menu that was painted across the front of the shack, just below the counter-top.

Fiona couldn't help but to grin as she watched Anton take his place in line behind the children that had so easily beaten him.

Going over the trio's available money, the hobgoblin's warm smile shifted to a sorrowful grimaced as he began to shake his head and the three children's ears and tails all began to droop as if the metaphorical wind had been stolen from their sails.

Having apparently noticed their plight, Anton took his wallet from his pocket and as both Fiona and the hobgoblin watched, he let a 5 dollar bill flutter away and land off to the side.

Though he was too far away for her to hear him, Fiona could tell that Anton had said something to get the children's attention and as they turned to look at him he pointed down at the money. As soon as she caught sight of what he was indicating, the smaller cat girl's eyes lit up and she immediately pounced forward onto all fours and grabbed up the money. Clearly excited by the sudden windfall, she quickly offered the money to the hobgoblin who then happily produced the cupped sundaes they had originally wanted. With frozen treats now in hand, the three children shouted thank you's to both the hobgoblin and Anton as they sped away.

Watching them go, Fiona sighed softly and settled in to wait for Anton's eventual return. A few moments later her nose was filled with the rich, warm aroma of cinnamon.

“What a nice guy.” said Anton as he sat back down “He made this fresh for me.”

“Oh yeah, that was cool of him.” said Fiona as she glanced at the twisted confection.

“It was.” agreed Anton as he took a bite.

Savoring the sweet treat, Anton took one small bite after another as he fell back into a session people watching.

After awhile he glanced over at Fiona and found her pensively staring off at nothing as a thoughtful expression marred her features.

“...Something on your mind?” he asked softly as he followed her gaze.

Brought back from her revelry, Fiona dropped her eyes to the floor in front of herself.

“Nah, I was just thinking...” she sighed as her ears seemed to droop a bit.

“...Well what are you thinking about?” asked Anton as he took another bite of his churro.

Hesitating for a moment, Fiona sighed again as she looked off to the side.

“...I know that, Mica, isn't my slave.” she began as she glanced over at the store that Kianna and Mica were still in “I know that...”

“...Right.” prompted Anton after a moment of silence.

“It's just...” started Fiona as she seemed to be trying to get her thoughts in order “You, asked before... You asked what I wanted, like, out of life... Remember?”

“Yes, I remember that.” nodded Anton.

“...You wanted to know, what I wanted.” continued Fiona “...Do you still want to know about that?”

“Of course.” said Anton.

“...Well, what if it's something you're not going to like though?” mumbled Fiona “What if, what I want, is something that you think is... Weird, or wrong...”

“...Do you already know for sure that I'm going to think this?” asked Anton as he cocked an eyebrow.

“...Not, for sure. No.” said Fiona “...But you might. And I don't want you to say no...”

“Hm... I see...” said Anton with a slow nod “Well, I'll tell you what, Fiona. I'm not going to promise that I won't say no. But, if you're willing to be brave enough to share this with me. Then I promise you, I will keep an open mind, and even if I don't like what I hear, I will take everything you say into a long consideration before I make any final decisions. I think at this point I owe you at least that much anyway.”

Fiona's ears shifted slowly up and down as her eyes tightened in thought.

“...That, sounds good.” she mumbled softly “I guess I can work with that...”

“Good, I'm glad to hear you think that.” said Anton “So then, tell me, what is it that you want, Fiona?”

Hesitating for a second, Fiona squared her shoulders as a look of resolve spread across her face.

“Remember that night, when I was in your room, and you asked me why I wanted power?” she said as her ears became alert and pointed themselves straight upwards.

“...Yes?” nodded Anton “You told me you wanted power so you could stop people from hurting your sister. You said you wanted to be able to protect yourself and Kianna. And that you didn't want to live in fear anymore.”

“...Yeah.” said Fiona as she took a deep breath “And that's all true... But it's not the only reason I want power...”

“...Okay?” said Anton as he looked over at her “Why else do you want power then?”

“...I, want power.” said Fiona “...So I can control, people. ...So I can control, ...slaves.”

Keeping her eyes averted as she waited for Anton to respond, Fiona tried to remain still but after a long moment of silence she swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat and tentatively spoke again.

“...I want slaves.” she whispered as she laid her ears back submissively “...I want my own slaves.”

Anton stared at her for a moment as he waited for her to continue. When it became clear that she wasn't going to, he again cocked an eyebrow.

“...Okay?” he said in a seemingly confused tone “...Is that all?”

Blinking, Fiona turned to him as her ears once again became alert and pointed themselves straight upwards.

“...Uh, yeah?” she mumbled in uncertainty.

“Really? That's it? Is that really what you were making such a big deal about?” questioned Anton.

“...Wait, you don't think it's weird that I want slaves?” questioned Fiona.

“No. I think it's expected.” said Anton “Honestly, I think it would be weird if you didn't want any.”

“...Wait, are you serious!?” exclaimed Fiona “This really isn't a surprise to you!?”

“Why would it be?” questioned Anton “It's literally what you are, Fiona. You're a dark elf, a natural born slave monger. It only makes sense that you would want to have your own slaves.”

“...Huh.” mumbled Fiona as she blinked at him “...So, you're cool with me getting some slaves then!?”

“Well... Yes and no.” stated Anton “First of all, technically, I'm now responsible for providing for your care and living expenses. Which is fine, I chose to enslave you and as your owner that's part of the deal. That however does not mean that I'm willing to take on the responsibility of feeding every other mouth that you decide to keep as a pet. That responsibility is going to fall on you. If you want a slave, then your going to need to help provide for it.”

“Okay, that's fair!” nodded Fiona “I'm good with that!”

“Good. Then secondly.” continued Anton “You might want to hold off any browsing until you have some money to spend. Slaves are expensive purchases, often very expensive. So don't expect me to go out and buy one for you anytime soon. That's something you'll need to either earn, or buy for yourself.”

“Oh, no. That's cool. I'm not super into just buying a slave anyway. I'd rather find my own.” said Fiona.

“...Hold on. What exactly do you mean by that?” asked Anton as he narrowed his eyes at her.

“Um, I mean that I'd rather find my own slaves instead of just buying them?” repeated Fiona “That would make it more personal. You know? Like I want to make them my own, but not by locking their minds back. More like I want to tame them and shit. And I want to do it myself instead of having somebody else do it for me.”

“...Right. Okay.” said Anton as he nodded slowly “And how exactly do you intend to do that?”

“...What do you mean?” asked Fiona.

“Well, for one, where do you intend to find these slaves?” questioned Anton “Because I'm really hoping that you're smart enough not to think that you can just abduct the next poor girl that catches your fancy.”

“Wha? No!” exclaimed Fiona in affront “No, I'm not gonna just grab somebody like that! ...I already made that mistake once with you... And I'm not doing that again...”

Anton chuckled as he nodded his head.

“Good! Glad to hear that.” he said around a smile.

“Yeah, yeah... But no, I'm not going to kidnap anybody.” said Fiona as her features began to darken a bit and her eyes began to faintly glow “Nah... I'm not going to do that. I mean, don't get me wrong, a poor, innocent little victim would definitely be fun to play with, for sure. But I'm not going to just snag somebody. Because that's not really what I want. You see, what I really want... Are bad girls!”

Anton tilted his head in a thoughtful manner as he felt the nearly visible aura of excitement begin to form around the now wickedly smiling dark elf.

“I wanna find me some bad girls. Like really bad ones. Ones that know they're bad. Ones that want to be bad...” whispered Fiona as she hungrily licked her lips “Yeah, that's what I really want. I really want to find me some really, really bad girls...”

Unnerved a bit by her sudden intensity, Anton stared at Fiona for a moment before pressing his lips into a thin line and cocking an eyebrow.

“Okay...” he drawled in a questioning tone as he eased away from her “And how exactly do you plan to tame these bad girls? Once you have them in your clutches that is?”

The glow in Fiona's eyes flashed in intensity as her smile broadened wide enough to show her fangs.

“Oh, don't worry about that...” she said around an evil sounding chuckle “I'm sure I'll figure out some way to convince them to behave themselves...”

“...Right.” nodded Anton “Hm, well then... As exciting as all that sounds, I do have a few reservations concerning the details...”

“...Okay? What does that mean?” asked Fiona.

“It means, that I'm not necessarily saying no...” started Anton “As I don't want to crush your dreams. But that said, I'm not overly excited about this idea.”

“Why, what's wrong with it?” questioned Fiona as her expression became annoyed.

“Well let's be realistic here, Fiona.” said Anton “You don't have any experience whatsoever when it comes to handling even a tamed slave, you've literally never even had one before, so you have no idea what you're doing. And yet you want to go out and try to collect, contain and control a “really bad girl” all on your own. ...Honestly I don't think I should have to explain how easily this plan could end poorly for you.”

“Oh, well yeah, I get that this could be dangerous.” said Fiona “But I think that you're forgetting that I am a dark elf. Taming slaves is in our blood. I'm literally built for this. This is what we do!”

“Shinoccubi are literally built to kill people. But that fact alone didn't help Mica out very much now did it.” countered Anton “Having all the right tools available to you isn't going to be much help if you don't know how to use them correctly.”

“Well how the Hell am I gonna learn how to use my tools if I don't have a slave to practice on!?” exclaimed Fiona “It's not like you're gonna let me use Mica! And if I can't get a slave without experience then how am I gonna get experience without a slave!? ...Wait, is this your bullshit way of saying no without actually saying no!? Cause if it is that's fucked up!”

“Hey now, hold on just a second. Again, I'm not saying no to any of this. And if I was I wouldn't need any roundabout logic to justify my decision. I'd just tell you no and be done with it.” said Anton “All I'm saying is that I'd like you to get some experience and maybe even a little bit of combat training in before you run out and bite off more than you can chew.”

“...Combat training?” questioned Fiona “Why would I need combat training?”

“Why wouldn't you?” said Anton “You don't actually expect these “really bad girls” to be harmless, do you? Or for them to just give up and come quietly because you're a dark elf. You have to realize that's not likely to be the case. There's no reason to think that any of these beings are going to be interested in doing anything that you want them to, Fiona. No. They are going to fight you, with everything they have. So you're going to need to be able to not only defend yourself, but fight back as well.”

Fiona blinked as her expression became thoughtful.

“...Something that you need to consider, Fiona, is that there are species out there that are not going to obey you unless they know you are capable of forcing them to do so.” said Anton “And actually beating them in a fight may be the only way to prove this to them.”

“...Fuck. You're right.” mumbled Fiona “Shit, I gotta learn how to fight!”

“Yes, you do. Thankfully, you have good abilities for combat.” said Anton “And luckily, we now have somebody that's perfect for you to practice with as well.”

“...You mean Mica?” questioned Fiona.

“Mm hm. This will actually be good for the both of you too.” nodded Anton “So long as you don't go into dark mode and cripple her with fear, Mica should be able to give you a serious challenge. And having to face you will be a good experience for her, since understanding how dark elf abilities work will be useful knowledge for her to have. Especially if we end up fighting with any dark elves down the road.”

“Yeah, that makes sense...” mused Fiona as she rubbed her chin in thought “Mica's got a lot of good abilities, and she can move around really fast... If I can't make her afraid of me then it might be pretty hard to beat her...”

“Yes, I imagine it will be.” smiled Anton as he noticed Kianna and Mica step out of the store and head towards them “Better start strategizing now.”

“Strategizing for what?” asked Kianna as she watched Anton take a bite of his churro.

“Kicking Mica's ass...” mumbled Fiona as she looked the kiochi up and down.

“Huh? Wait, what!?” questioned Mica.

Anton chuckled as he swallowed and turned to the confused kiochi.

“You and Fiona are going to be sparring partners.” he explained as he took note of the large paper bag she was now carrying “That way you can help each other with some combat practice.”

“Oh. So we're going to fight.” said Mica as she looked sideways at Fiona “Okay, I'm good with that.”

Blinking, Fiona let a thin smile spread across her face as she and Mica locked eyes.

“Good to hear.” said Anton as he went to take another bite of his churro. He stopped short as he noticed that Kianna was staring straight at it.

The dark elf stood still for a moment as her eyes followed Anton's churro as he slowly lowered it away from his mouth. Upon realizing that he was looking at her, Kianna quickly moved to the bench and sat down next to him. Ignoring Fiona's protests, she locked her eyes back on the churro as she squeezed herself in between Anton and her sister.

“What is that?” she asked as she leaned against Anton and lightly sniffed at the air “...It smells good.”

“Its called a churro.” answered Anton around a grin “And it's really good.”

“Oh...” mumbled Kianna as she pressed herself against him and gazed at the churro.

Anton's grin became playful as he watched the anxiousness grow in the dark elf's large eyes.

Pressing her lower face against Anton's arm, Kianna's eyes darted from the churro to his and back several times before she laid her ears back submissively and looked up at him.

Chuckling at the cute sight of the silently begging dark elf, Anton lifted his arm up and over her head before wrapping it around her shoulders and giving her a playfully tight squeeze.

“Would you like to try it?” he asked as he waved the churro back and forth.

“Yes, please!” cried Kianna before leaning forward and gleefully taking a bite.

Crushed into the side of the bench, Fiona grumbled under her breath in annoyance as her chewing sister began to make humming sounds of delight.

“That's really good!” exclaimed Kianna as she licked away some cinnamon from her lips.

“Here, you can have the rest.” smiled Anton as he offered her the whole churro.

Without a seconds hesitation, Kianna snatched up the churro and immediately began to devour it.

“Well it's good to see your appetite is back.” said Anton as he watched the churro quickly disappear “Maybe we should go get some actual lunch next.”

“That sounds good to me.” said Fiona as she stood up from the bench and looked around “I think the food courts just a little further down from here.”

“Did you find anything you liked?” asked Anton as he nodded towards Mica's bag.

“Uh, yeah, a few things...” answered Mica.

“Well good, after lunch we'll stop at the next two places and then look for a bedroom set.” said Anton “You'll need it tonight. We're going to go see an associate of mine in the morning and I want you to be fully rested up for this.”

“...Oh. Okay. ...So are we going to kill this guy or something?” asked Mica.

“What? No! No, this is an actual friend.” laughed Anton “He's the one that's going to take a look at your Father's sword.”

“Oh, okay cool.” nodded Mica.

“We'll need to get up pretty early to meet with him in the morning though. He's going to be busy throughout the rest of the day, so that's the only time he can see us.” said Anton as he stood up “So let's get going, that way we can get home in enough time to set your room up for you.”

“Onward then.” said Fiona as she started down the path “Oh, by the way, Kianna! Your Master said that after I learn how to beat the shit out of Mica, he's gonna let me hunt down my own slaves!”

“Oh really? That's cool!” said Kianna as she tossed the churros wrapper into a nearby trashcan “What kind are you thinking you want to get first?”

“I don't know yet...” mused Fiona as she folded her arms behind her head “Probably not gonna go after anything too big. Since I gotta pay to feed it myself... And I think I'd also wanna be able to have it hang it from the rafters in the dungeon.”

“Hmm, that still leaves you with a lot of options.” said Kianna as she came into step next to her sister “Also I agree with not getting anything too big. Especially now that we have Mica around.”

“Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that.” said Fiona “Gotta remember how little she is...”

“Wait, what?” questioned Mica from her place behind the two dark elves “I'm not little! I'm just shorter than you two! That doesn't make me little! And what does that even have to do with anything!?”

“Nah, you're pretty small, Mica.” said Fiona as she and Kianna looked back at the incensed kiochi.

“Yeah, sorry Mica. We're not trying to be mean to you or anything, but you really are little.” said Kianna with a sympathetic look “So we do need to be careful not to get anything so big that it'll be able to squish you, or try to eat you.”

“Probably shouldn't get a demon either. Or really any other Infernal. Since they'll definitely try to bully her.” reasoned Fiona.

“You could still go with another cubi.” offered Kianna.

“That's true...” mused Fiona as she turned to look forward again “Another cubi would give Mica a friend to play with too, which would be cute.”

“Yeah, it would.” nodded Kianna as she too turned away from Mica.

“...You, stupid dark elves!” muttered Mica as she glared at the dark elves that were now ignoring her “You stupid, arrogant bitches! I am not little! And I don't need a fucking playmate!”

Chuckling, Anton gave her a pat on the shoulder.

“Just be glad that they're looking out for you.” he said around a grin “I know it's a little embarrassing, but it could always be worse.”

“How!?” growled Mica.

“Well, for one, they could actually want to feed you to something.” grinned Anton.

“Hmph, like to see them fucking try that...” grumbled Mica as she crossed her arms over her chest and whipped her tail back and forth.

Anton chuckled again as he, the now sulking kiochi and the two dark elves all headed towards the enticing aroma of the malls food court.