I can’t help the sudden flash of jealousy I feel as Master Gertruse stares at Lillith’s chest. I step forward and pull her into a hug, spinning her around so he can’t see her breasts anymore. I’m sure his interest is purely scientific, but I still want her to myself. Plus, her blush is really cute. Once she’s in my arms, I relax, even chuckling a little at her red face.
“We are from off-world, yes,” I tell him, squeezing Lillith a little closer to me. He nods, switching his focus to Twila, and I take the opportunity to kiss Lilith on the forehead. She lets out a soft breath against my neck, then squirms so she can tilt her head back. I smile at her, and she reaches up for another kiss. I gladly oblige, kissing her tenderly on the lips. I glance back up and see Master Gertruse circling Twila, inspecting her from every angle.
“Your hips - they are so wide. This is for, birthing? As you say. The egg develops inside you?” He asks, partly to himself it seems. Twila nods and begins patiently explaining. She pauses, looking up at us.
“You may continue exploring if you’d like. I think I’ll stay here with Gertruse.” Lillith squirms around to look at Twila, and I loosen my grip so she can twist in my arms.
“Are you sure? We could stay if you want,” Lillith says, looking concerned. Twila giggles.
“I'll be fine. I’m gonna let him examine me, and Alastor has already assured me of his intentions. You two should go on a date. I’ll meet you back at the hotel whenever you’re done.”
I mentally connect with Twila, reminding her that she can call us back at any time if she needs us, then guide Lillith out the door, nodding a farewell to Master Gertruse, who seems too abstracted to notice. Once outside the library, I ask Lillith where she’d like to go next.
“Well… You did give me an unlimited budget, so I kinda want to go back to the market.” She says, ducking her head with a sheepish look on her face. I laugh and scoop her into a hug, kissing her forehead before I let her go and grab her hand instead.
“Lead the way, m’lady. My purse and I shall stick with you.” She giggles and swings our joined hands back and forth as she walks back to the market.
Lillith browses the stalls for most of the afternoon, handing me the purchases she doesn’t immediately adorn herself with. I have to admit she looks quite charming all dressed up in silken scarves and bright gems. She stops by one stand and pays a young dragon to paint colorful flame designs on her hands and forearms, swirling up to her biceps. I admire the effect as she holds her hands to the light, the gold paint shimmering in the late afternoon sunshine. I find a quiet part of the street, just inside an entrance to an alleyway, and let her hair down, pulling out a beautiful gold chain from her purchases. My AI guides me through the process of weaving it into her hair in an elegant looped style. Once I’ve finished, I send her a mental image of what it looks like, and she blushes and smiles at me.
“Thank you.” She says shyly. “I’ve always wanted to be able to buy pretty things like this and play dress up as a grownup.” I grin at her admission.
The noise of footsteps from the other end of the alley startles me, and I swing around to look behind me. A child scrambles out of the shadows on the other end, looking over their shoulder as they run straight towards us. I reach out my hand and stop them from running into Lillith, frowning sharply.
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The child looks up at me and I realize three things. One, they’re not a child at all, but a young woman, relatively small for her age based on what I've seen so far. Two, she had no idea that we were here, and three, she’s terrified of whatever she was running from. I look behind her, keeping a firm grasp on her arm. I see several other figures come out of the shadows at the other end of the alley. She sees them too, because she starts struggling frantically.
“Let me go, I was going to get away if it wasn’t for you, let me go, please, they can’t catch me,” she says all in a rush, sounding like she’s about to cry. I raise my eyebrow at her before turning my attention back to the people approaching us. One of them raises a hand in greeting.
“I see you found our little runaway.” He says with a chuckle. “I greatly appreciate you holding her for us. Would be such a shame if something happened to her all alone on the streets.” I frown at his tone and prod Alastor to check his thoughts.
“What relation is she to you?” I ask, while subtly guiding Lillith behind me, just in case. I don’t even bother to listen to his words, instead probing the thoughts that Alastor clues me in on from all of them, as well as the girl I’m still holding. It seems they’re a street gang, and she is one of their members. They don’t seem happy with her right now though. I’m inclined to let it go, however. The last thing we need is to get wrapped up in the middle of the street politics of this world. At the same time though…. I know all too well what a group of older and stronger men can do to a young woman… I’m weighing my options, sizing up the group of four men who have now spread a bit apart, when Lillith tugs on my hand.
‘I don’t like them.’ She says into my mind, and I raise an eyebrow at her. ‘I mean, um, we need to protect the girl from them.’ She continues, and I sigh.
‘I thought you didn’t like me fighting?’ I can’t help asking. Her cheeks turn a bit pink, but she tightens her lips.
“Just don’t hurt them.” She says aloud, waving a hand absently towards the men. “I’m sure you’re able to restrain yourself sufficiently.” I sigh, and as much as I’m itching for another fight, I just scan each of the men in turn, putting them under mind control.
I bypass their conscious brains and command their subconscious that they really want to go back to their home and eat some food, and the girl is of no consequence. I let Alastor direct the more subtle parts of the command, such as the interpretation of “home,” but the basic directive stays the same. The men look confused for a moment, and then the leader steps back, motioning to his men.
“Sorry for disturbing you. I’m, I’m quite hungry, and feel I must go find some food.” He says, nodding in my direction before grunting at his men. One of his men is clutching his stomach, and the other two are already backing away. I hear a loud growl come from one of their stomachs, and I hold in my smirk.
“By all means, I hope you can find food quickly,” I say, and Lillith giggles from behind me, sounding somewhat incredulous.
The men leave quickly, and Lillith looks at me with wide, amused eyes.
“Let me guess, you told them they were hungry?”
“Ravenous,” I say, trying to keep a straight face. Her expression quickly melts mine though, and my lips twitch up. I turn my attention to our new companion, who is looking at the two of us with wide eyes.
“What, what just happened?”