Exill was setting the dinner table when he looked up to smile at his two favourite women climbing up the stairs together. “You’re back early Envy, I’ve just started heating the water so it might take a while. As for you, let’s dig in, I’m hungry!”
Tsarra sat down with a relieved sigh at the table, nervously fidgeting with her ring. She was fairly certain the Vampire had not seen her red citizen’s token. The succulent aroma of fowl mushroom soup wafted in the air, and she made tiny squirms of delight every time the dunked bread entered her mouth. It was too delightful! Exill smiled warmly while enjoying the meal with her by flickering candlelight.
“Wait a second, we’ve got dessert.” He held up a finger when the insatiable Maiden finished before him, as usual. Standing up, he walked over to the open window in the kitchen to bring back a fluffy egg tart, sweetly glazed with honey. He spoke in hushed reverence.
“This is a little treat to celebrate the recovery of your hand. You’ve been studying and working hard so let’s have a little celebration.” His hands shook slightly while dividing the tart in two. This was as much a treat for him as it was for Tsarra. The two closed their eyes in ecstasy when the first forkful of sweet delight entered their mouths.
“Did you receive your weekly paycheck from Bola today?”
“Um… yes.”
“I heard from Bola that you were itching to go see the new comedy at the Arena, any plans on who you’re going to bring, or will you watch it alone?”
“Um… no.”
Tsarra grew increasingly flustered when Exill’s questions became more specific and centred around the grill stall owner Samson. She didn’t know what lies Bola had told him, but it was quickly growing out of hand. She quickly excused herself to do the dishes.
“Hey, there’s no reason to be embarrassed! In fact I have a little gift for you, it’s a shame to blow your week’s wages on a single date, so… here it is.”
Exill patted her head while slipping two clay tokens into her apron pocket. She froze in place, her hands immersed in dish water as slow indignance began to ignite within her.
“Master Exill, I am five years older than you, and I would appreciate it if you stopped treating me like a child.”
The Witchdoctor froze in surprise as he stopped drying the dishes for a moment. He bit his tongue, trying to contain the smile that threatened to overwhelm him. Exill didn’t want to ruin the first time the Dwarf-maiden had stood up for herself.
‘But she is so adorable even while angry!’
“I apologise, it appears I crossed a boundary. It won’t happen again.”
They continued to clean up after the meal in awkward silence, until Tsarra excused herself to study downstairs. Exill took the warm basin of water off the stove and knocked prior to entering Envy’s room.
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She had her back to him in a state of undress, topless, her hair cascading down like a crimson waterfall. Exill lowered the washbasin and made to leave when Envy stopped him.
“When were you going to tell me Tsarra is free?”
Exill slowly turned his head to face the Vampire who stood confronting him, arms crossed while her pitiless eyes dressed him down. He tried to ignore her ample bosom as his mind raced, even activating [Haste] to buy precious seconds. ‘When did she find out? Am I going to die?’ he thought to himself.
“I had no intention of telling you, of course I wanted to free you first.”
In the end, he resorted to the truth, and Envy examined him for a while before slowly approaching, her body pressing against his. She whispered sensuously into his ear.
“It appears you’ve forgotten something crucial because I’ve been so nice to you, going so far as saving your life…” she circled behind him, her footsteps barely audible, “I’ve murdered my previous master and can do so again. Remember that next time you go splurging money on dinner parties, gifting her expensive rings, and trying to crawl into the pants of that innocent girl - when you should be working hard to free me as promised.”
She sniffed his terrified scent before turning around to wet the bath towel, effectively dismissing him. Exill closed the door behind him, both confused, and strangely aroused.
‘Where did she get the impression I’m into Tsarra, and was that a hint of… jealousy?’ He shook his head while picking up the rune throwing bones to consult their guidance. The divination tools were like a bad habit. After all, it had nearly got him killed to a Behemoth. However, it didn’t seem so bad when applied to low stake advice such as this.
Half an hour later, Envy opened his door abruptly while drying her still wet hair. Her thin tank top clung tightly as she casually sat on the edge of his bed. It hadn’t been that long since she had threatened his life, and it surprised him that she was in the mood to feed when blood potions were readily available. He warily moved back to make room for her.
The damp hair felt unpleasantly cold against his tunic as she lay down… and after a few minutes of silence, wrapped her lips around his forearm. The fact that she was acting like nothing had happened made slow indignation reverberate like a quietly waking dragon.
“I don’t appreciate you threatening me. I thought we were beyond that, especially after all we’ve been through.” Exill angrily patted her wet hair with a towel as his outrage grew stronger. Like a fool, he had believed there was a measure of trust between them, a silent camaraderie beyond what a contract could enforce. It was the main reason he had never followed up on the Jurisconsult – if you ignored the estimated 6,000 Denar cost.
He pouted while continuing his tirade, “I’m not trying to crawl into Tsarra’s pants… what kind of logic is that anyway!? Why would I free her when I could have better manipulated her as a slave if that was my motive?” While his reputation was questionable… he had believed Envy knew him better than anyone else in this world.
Envy slowly detached from his arm and yanked the towel angrily from his grip. She hadn’t been able to properly feed because he was too rough in drying her hair. In truth, she had come to apologise for her earlier actions, but had changed tack when the silence grew to an untenable pause. In the meantime, her master continued venting, caught up in the unfairness of the accusations.
“I mean… if I didn’t know any better… I would say you are acting jealous right now.”
The beautiful, yet murderous woman swiftly elbowed him in the side, then turned to face him, eyebrows furrowed and inches away from his face.
“You think I am jealous… of her?”
Exill gulped as he stared into her passionate eyes, noticing her soft lips stained in his blood, and the warm breath against his chin. It felt like slow minutes crawled by until the fire in her eyes faded back to embers. Eventually, she turned away to latch back on to his arm, but before doing so, a barely audible whisper drifted back to him.
“Stop flirting with vulnerable women…”