The doors were closed this early in the morning, the stretched tower of dark metal towering above her, flanked by gargoyles, one different from those that guarded the Guild the last time she had stood in front of it. Elyza stretched out her hands to push the barriers open, her nerves unwilling to push them, anxiety bubbling within her once again, not unlike how it had ten or so days ago. While it felt like months since she had stood completely free from any threats, and the suffocating crowd would not be a problem in the dusk of the day, she still felt strange entering an area associated with her partner without him. He had helped her stay focused through the noise of innumerable people, but now the concern was of being noticed from a group of few others, especially in the sprawling floor ahead of her.
She cursed Alex, the one who had told her to wait in the Guild after landing, giving her some, but not enough, coins for breakfast while she was recovering from the ordeal of riding a dragon, before he disappeared along with Sarah to act as a witness against Shu. Steeling her nerves, she pressed her hands against the cold metal, her calves, and biceps tensing as they prepared to push the hulking doors apart.
“What are you doing?” Her partner’s voice shot in her ears, causing her to spin on her heels on instinct, the sound jarring her halberd into her hand. Before she could say anything, he put in her hand a cone that felt frigid on her fingers, and extremely thin in her hands.
Alex took a lick from a snow heap in the paper cone, his platinum amulet resting on the folds of his white poet’s shirt, waving at the gargoyles above as he added, “Did you get bored waiting inside?”
The smell of the powder in her hands hadn’t yet wafted into her nose as she replied, “I reached only just now.”
“Ears, I’ve been gone for an hour…” A grin appeared across his face, no doubt already figuring out why she hadn’t realised the passage of time, adding as he took another lick, “At least breakfast was fun for you.”
Sighing her annoyance out, mostly due to the fact he had guessed correctly, Elyza took a smell of the substance in her hands while she remarked, “Did Sarah finally have enough of you? I thought being a witness would have afforded me some moment away fro–”
In the middle of her sentence, her stomach overcame her muscles, pushing the sweet smelling snow in front of her mouth, forcing her to take a lick. Flavour exploded in her mouth, and her words switched to reflect the inner workings of her mind, her breath cold as she inquired, “What is this?”
“It’s called gelato, its flavoured milk frozen while keeping it moving, probably so that the crystals of ice don't become too big or long or strong,” Alex murmured out, his words disregarded for the moment as she took another lick of the ambrosia, which melted into a creamy, tangy, and rich caramelly layer that covered her tongue. The smell of bitter orange floating filling her nose as she took a bite from the milky snow, her partner adding, “Reminds me of the frozen treats I used to have when I was young, though that was just made from ice shavings, honey, and lemon. Milk does make it better, and I believe the flavour to be orange muddled in honey and added to some sort of caramel syrup.”
The nerves in her teeth exploded in numbing pain, before the sensation was overcome by the taste of the gelato, forcing warm air into her mouth as she remembered what she wanted to ask, “What is the consensus the courts reached with Shu?”
“He’s stuck with the worst punishment known to man,” His grin grew wider as he slurped down the last of his treat, “Since his ability or power is so unique and so uncontainable, the court decided that they needed him contained, or ‘under supervision’. Discussion began on how to achieve such a Herculean task, without putting too much stress on the nation’s resources, and they figured since Bee was the one who caught Shu in the first place, she would be put in charge of him.”
“What would that entail?”
“She has a new apprentice to drag around behind her, who’s activities is entirely reflective on her, and now she has to teach him how to not be drunk every waking moment, along with how to be a people’s champion, or a killjoy as I call them,” He was taking enjoyment in the predicament Sarah had found herself in, pulling out a paper slip as he added, “Also got a signed declaration that you were instrumental in capturing the bounty.”
Elyza thought for a moment, using it as an excuse to keep enjoying her treat, when something clicked in her head, “Is that not what happened to the two of us?”
Now it was her partner’s turn to take a moment, humming as he did, crumbling the cone and stuffing it in his pocket, “Essentially… I believe it basically is. However, we’re clearly much more charismatic, and, I apologise if this offends you, made to annoy each other.”
The line forced a chuckle from her, slowing her down from slurping the liquid collected at the bottom of the cone, and when the last of the ambrosia flowed down her throat, Alex snapped his fingers. A loud groaning came from behind her, and glancing gave her a view of the two doors parting for them. Her eyes spotting someone behind the guild desk waving at them, the glimmer of their silhouette under the chandeliers revealing who it was.
Giving a polite wave back to Lati, her arm was pulled down and yanked by her partner through the entrance, hastening their pace as they crossed the barren floor. At least comparatively, only a couple of parties dotting the marble floor, others sitting around the table flanking the room. He let go before she hit the point of yanking her arm back, twisting on his heels, maintaining his pace backwards, before asking, “You have your original notes, don’t you? I know we technically sent the reports already, but I want to ensure nothing can stop this from happening.”
Elyza pulled the string laying across her chestplate, causing the burlap sack hidden beneath her cloak to be pulled around her, allowing her to tug the bag open. Her hands instantly fell around her leather coated notebook, drawing it out, the green ribbon tucked her pencil into the layers of paper. Flashing it at him seemed to satisfy his mind, her partner spinning around again just in time to lean against the glass between them and Lati.
“What’s going on, clamshell?” Alex remarked, giving a wave to the pearlescent clad dragonkin, his words somehow carrying the essence of his grin.
“Nothing much, chucklenuts,” Their perky voice wavered only at the end of the sentence, giving a grin that could match her partner’s in a heartbeat. They were wearing something similar to when she had first met them, except the outfit was noticeably lacking any sort of under shirt, their blue skin on full display, speckled with pearl scales that flowed up between their vest. The vest itself was flashier than last time, curving up from the shoulders to form pointed mountains, hugging to their figure much tighter than before. However, the most flashy change was the red mascara adorning Lati’s eyes, the pools of night sky popping out more, flanked by silver hair snipped into a bob cut.
“I like your hair,” Elyza remarked, standing next to her partner as their representative twirled to show their entire outfit, their tail floating in place as they did.
“See?” Lati said, puffing up their hair, adding, “She knows how to treat a lady.”
Alex simply smiled, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind if I happen to see one. I see you’ve dressed up for your adoring fans today, at the very least we reached before the prostration and biting started.”
The images popping into her head were almost too much to maintain her expression, a smile appearing as she asked, “Could we focus on the occasion at hand?”
“Of course!” The luin exclaimed, flicking her hand to reveal three cards, no doubt hidden behind it previously, “We, by that I mean me, took some time to analyse the missions you were handed to account for the complications and the revelations that came with their conclusions to readjust how much important they turned out to be.”
“That’s a rarity, is it not?” her partner remarked rhetorically, his back leaning on the glass as he clarified, “Normally, the rank given to these tasks aren’t revised unless there were egregious deviations in what was stated by the guild and what the actual circumstances were. Say, just for an example, it was implied that there was a monster den near a town, and it turned out to be the nest of an earth dragon.”
“Oi,” Lati exclaimed, stopping him from fishing for praise, snapping her fingers to catch his attention, “We both know the only reason they bend to your demands is that they’re fucking terrified of the things you might know.”
“Not due to the fact I’m one of only eight to be graced by the position I’m currently in?” He retorted with faux surprise, his smile returning, “I mean, I know for a fact that half of them are absolutely captivated by my charm, and the rest know what I’m capable of.”
Snapping in realisation, they pointed at her partner, but Elyza decided to remind them once again, this time addressing her best friend first, “Thank you for being terrifying.”
“Anything for you, my lovely Ears,” Alex bowed curtly before leaning against the glass again with his hands crossed, letting them continue.
“Here is the certificate for the Bronze rank scouting task, and the whole dragon incident would have bumped it into a Gold, but I decided to tread a bit more lightly since we’ve faced more backlash than usual already,” they handed her a card, its edges painted silver, and a big fancy handwritten ‘Congratulations!’ with a little illustration of Tlānāhuaccatl, the earth dragon they found in the cave, burning a tiny Alex to a crisp.
“Drop it,” her partner remarked, a glance at him showing that he was genuinely recommending it.
Curiosity took over, and the card slipped from her fingers. As soon as it left her fingertips, the paper ignited into a blue flame that radiated no heat at all, but the child-like smile that she saw on Lati cast warmth that rivalled that of a hearth. “You can’t really award the things we do in the shadows with traceable memorabilia, so it's a way for her to show you did an amazing job, she made it herself,” Alex explained, grinning at his handler, but giving her a wink.
Somehow, Lati noticed the gesture, “He helped a bit. You should be honoured, even he doesn’t get them that often nowadays.”
“Persistent excellence is hard to reward,” Alex remarked, earning a jab from their tail in his abdomen.
“Here are the rest:” Lati continued, handing out a similar card with a gold edge, on which a crude drawing of Squid had been drawn next to a ‘Thank you’ from Nadia. The sight flared up a warmth she had seldom felt within her, the feeling making it hard for her to focus on what they said next, “Gold rank task of tracking down the organisation responsible for the disappearance of beastmen along the border, extra kudos by the House for dismantling the same and in turn improving relationship with the North-Eastern Coalition, the Guild is currently employing the victims till a consensus between the nations is reached. Though the disappearance of most of the organisation still worries the House.”
She spotted a sly smile crawl across his partner’s face as the dragonkin added, “Nadia has been sent to the agreed upon location, the rest of the orphans have been adopted by the able-bodied beastmen” the words were directed towards Alex, and she would ask about why later.
“That is good to hear,” The words came from her soul, a thought popping in her head to ask if she could keep the card, before deciding to let it go and watch it dissolve into an inky mist.
“And finally, another Silver card for infiltrating Succellus’ cult, and we've sent over a representative to guide them on the process to be officiated,” The last card had pumpkin vines wrapped around the reflective edge, which melted into a fine mist that gave the aroma of spices and the vegetable dotted around the card.
Claps emanated from beside Elyza, her partner lightly applauding her, commentating, “Time for the main event.”
Lati lifted a small carved wooden box from beneath their desk, opening it as they placed it gently in front of her. The clinking of a chain soon followed, their hand rising with a trail of silver, a dull, brushed golden medallion weighing it down. Offering her hand, the dragonkin laid the pendant in her hand, allowing her to feel the stamped words embedded within it. As she stared at it, Elyza could easily read the words ‘Rank – Gold’ printed upon the gilded metal, but she could feel something else hidden between the letters.
Her ears must have betrayed her, “The word you’re looking for is ‘House’ It's meant to match the adventurer’s rank except that theirs has the word ‘Guild’ hidden within it,” Alex clarified, his thumb delving behind his shirt and hooking his own pendant, which looked like silver with a blue tint shining off of it.
“Gold is best, but this is better,” He remarked before letting the medallion fall down his neck again, that look of knowing superiority flowing over him, the same kind that could make even a priest throw a punch at it, grinning as he added, “Only one holder at a time, and a total of eight in the entire history of the House. No need to bow in awe of my greatness.”
Elyza sighed at his ego, gripping the gold pendant in her hand before chaining it around her neck, adjusting it so it was between her shirt and her chestplate. “Not even if you were a king,” she retorted with a smile.
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He gave a quick glance at Lati, the latter stifling a laugh as his eyes hid the fluster rising within them, her partner quickly turning, his face faking annoyance, his eyes forced to relax as he tried to change the subject, “When can the Council meet?”
“Ah, Mrs. Valeria has passed away,” They stated, some semblance of sadness in their eyes, which was strangely mirrored by her partner.
“Oh,” Alex muttered, rapping his fingers similarly to when he was trying to think of something to say, “That’s a shame… Age finally caught up to the hag?”
“Fighting with a circus of Bruja with her granddaughter.”
“That is…” Her mind flipped through the encyclopaedia of monsters in her mind, settling on vampires that feasted on babies and travelled with dozens of others, “Impressive.”
Amazement flashed across his face, grumbling, “Not bad for someone with more than, pffft, a hundred years on this plane of life. So… I’m guessing they’ll get together only when they choose her successor.”
“Correct. They want to meet you tomorrow, after the Council initiates him. Appears that if the temple of Lady Juno is truly connected as you suspect it to be, they have to discuss what action to take immediately,” Lati relayed, her smile not dropping for a second.
“You have a… name for me?” Alex inquired with a smile.
“Of course I do, but it is not necessary, forty percent is still good enough for them to not act against you, and you can decide when you meet the Council which path you want to take with the newbie,” they chirped out without any semblance of mercy for whoever they were talking about.
Elyza had to interrupt the plans running between the two’s heads, snapping her finger to catch his attention, “I hope we will not be interrogating or threatening anyone today.”
Alex tried to wave her unease, replying with a smile, “I have plans in motion to celebrate this momentous day, Ears, and, unlike last time, there is zero chance we have to torture someone.”
“They also want to meet Elyza,” Lati added, wincing as soon as the words left their mouth.
“Nope, they can fuck themselves,” He responded without a second passing, still grinning.
She was shocked by the tone of his words, sounding fiercely protective and stubbornness oozing from them more than usual, forcing her to remark, “I sense there is some reason for such harsh words.”
“The council and I have an agreement, one written in blood long before you became my partner, I shall follow along with their request as long as they do not concern themselves with my personal life. And I consider anyone I form a partnership with to be part of my personal affairs,” Alex clarified, turning back to Lati, “Unless I, or she, think of it to be necessary, and unless they have reason to suspect Ears of something truly malicious, they can perform elaborate acts of pleasure on themselves.”
Her heart was touched by his protectiveness, but her mind ran through any rational reasons to not meet the Council, if not as herself, then as Penelope. If Alex of all people was taking precautionary measures against them, she had to know the danger they might present to either of them. “I am open to meeting them.”
“Well then, tell them she’ll be there,” His voice didn’t indicate any ounce of surprise at her response, turning back to her, “I think the farmers have set up their stalls on the street above by now, shall we buy some fresh ingredients for the lunch, Ears?”
“Lasagna?”
“LASAGNA!” He exclaimed at the top of his lungs, twirling his cape behind him as he walked towards the doors, causing a sigh to escape her smile as she followed.
----------------------------------------
It was mesmerising to watch. Elyza had barely set the grocery’s onto the dining table, before Alex had dragged Kurven and Adam from their work and tossed them into the bath together, who did not even put up any semblance of confusion or hesitance. He had also stolen a towel to use as a wash cloth, wiping any surface in the kitchen that even mistakenly could get some food on it. Saying nothing, he took out two steel sauce pots and a brazier with one hand, all sharing a magic circle engraved on their bottoms, placing them onto the stove top as his other hand gingerly lifted two cutting boards from the same cupboard.
Her partner gestured towards her to bring the bags full of fresh produce from the market, and she did so without delay, seeing in his pitch black eyes he was fully focused. His cloak was hanging on the hooks at the entrance of the kitchen, favouring an apron patterned by green flowers embroidered upon, donning it with an air of honour, akin to a general with his coat of arms. It always seemed that cooking brought out the serious part of him, but as she saw him flip his prized cooking knife while sorting his pans, she smiled.
Removing the tomatoes, still attached to the vines, and two cloves of garlic, she already knew what he wanted to do, but she asked to be sure, “Should I start on the pasta?”
“Yup,” Alex said, his hand removing two of the red fruit and his knife cutting them in half in a single chop, quartering them in less than five seconds, adding, “Slice up some mushrooms and… spinach after you’re done.”
He had already moved onto the next pair, swiping the chopped fruit to the corner of his board, as he began on the next. “Where’s the…” The words had barely left her mouth before he pointed to the cupboard behind him, whistling a tune as he continued with the work.
Elyza returned with a container full of flour, placing the barrel next to her own cutting board. Pouring about a bit more than half a kilo of the powder, she took out four eggs from the carton, using a bowl to hold the whites as she made a crater in the pile of flour to pour the yolks into. A bang shook the counter top, her partner having moved on crushing the cloves of garlic to separate their wrapping, almost collapsing her volcano.
“Sorry,” he remarked, noticing her glare, smashing the flat of his blade against another group, this time much more gently.
Rolling her sleeves till her elbows, Elyza began to break the flour bowl slowly, cracking the yolk’s sphere as she pushed flour into the molten yellow. The rhythmic shudder of the workplace helped somewhat, loosening the dough, making it easier for her to bring it all together. As her fingers ran over the mass, it started to form a yellowish mound, continuing to knead it till she had moulded it into a smooth ball. She placed it behind them both, covering it with a clean cloth as she pulled out a basket of soil covered white mushrooms and vibrant green spinach.
Rinsing the vegetables underwater was a calming sensation, the sound, and feeling of wiping away dirt from their surface as cold water ran over her fingers. Her ears perked up as the sputtering of oil crackled through the kitchen, soon turning to a roaring clatter as Alex tossed in the half of the garlic and chillies, along with a blob of handmade tomato paste he carried with him everywhere, bumping into her as he escaped the splash zone. As she returned to her chopping board with her glistening produce, she held out her hand, receiving her partner’s knife as soon as her palm could.
Bunching up the leaves into a cylinder, the blade went through like butter, aiding her to speed through turning the spinach into strips that would give a bit of crunch when they were cooked. Giving an approving whistle, Alex took a string of green and lowered it into his mouth, adding, “Cut the mushrooms a tad wider, they’re somewhat soft this time around.”
As she cut through the rest of her vegetables, he tossed the quartered tomatoes into the golden liquid, frying them as quickly as possible, before shifting the red sauce pot to one side. Tossing into the other a thick wad of butter, he stirred the tomato sauce before tossing in salt, black pepper, basil, and his own mix of oregano to simmer before returning his attention to his favourite thing to eat. Elyza swept her greens and whites to a giant bowl, sprinkling in some salt and tossing it to draw out the moisture from the pile.
Wiping the board clean, Adam came into the room, the sound of the door making her glance over, his brown hair still a bit damp, donning freshly pressed clothes. He waited at the edge of the kitchen, taking a sniff of the tangy aroma coming from the red sauce, his cousin busy whisking flour into the butter. “Do you want me to toast some bread to dip?” Adam inquired, his words extra melodic after his bath.
“Yes, please, baguettes are on the table, put some olive oil on them” her partner grumbled out, focusing on pouring in some milk into the roux, quickly adding, “Ears, chop up the CHEESE.”
The seriousness of his voice made her groan, even though she knew he was doing it on purpose. Yet, she followed his instruction, retrieving a block of cheddar and two balls of mozzarella. It would be tedious to chop them normally, so Elyza focused herself, placing her partner’s knife onto his board, tracing out a grid in the air, creating pressure points according to it. As soon as she was satisfied with the size of the cuts, a few taps on the board caused the grid to fall, the air shearing the cheese and dissipating as it struck the board, leaving only pillars in its wake.
“Done,” She stated, sliding the wood towards her partner, her stomach grumbling at the wafting aroma of tomatoes and pepper.
“Efficient as always, my hungry friend. Taste,” Alex retorted, grabbing a spoonful of the red sauce and holding it in front of her, allowing a taste of the almost ready tart, sweet, and a somewhat spicy dip. As she gave him a nod of approval, he licked the back of the spoon, smacking his lips in enjoyment before adding, “Now go sit down and eat an orange.”
She thought for a moment, realising what was missing, “Should I go and call Red up as well?”
“She’s going to whine that she can’t eat it immediately…” he remarked, thinking as he stirred the cheese and vegetables into the bechamel, giving the tomatoes a stir as well, crushing them against the sides of the pot. “We could test the thing out again?” He recommended, his words much more ominous and vague than the phenomenon they were actually referring to.
“It may be interesting to see whether it works with individuals you may consider friends,” she admitted, washing her hands in the sink.
“What are you two kids talking about?” Adam asked, one hand busy arranging slices of bread onto a baking rack, the other brushing on some garlic oil onto whatever he placed.
“Just,” Clearing his throat, Alex started to use his announcer’s voice, “We were talking about how unfortunate it would be that our dear annoying Red is going to miss the feast I’m creating.”
“Ohhhh, that thing,” His cousin commented, putting the last slice on the metal grid.
Her partner continued on with his dialogue, “Too busy in creating, well, to be truthful, useful things for society, or most likely napping. If we don’t hurry to wake her up, she’s going to be late, and she better not complain, because I’m not making ano–”
The door of the kitchen burst outwards with almost comical timing, a purple tinted daemon standing in the doorway in its wake, hands busy drying her silver curls with a ferocity akin to a honey badger’s. “I smelled tomato sauce, how long will it take till I can feast like a KING!” She proclaimed, her orange eyes staring at the ceiling.
Cackling like a witch, Alex had to hold the sauce pots stable as he remarked, “Whoever cursed me with this power is going to get a kick between their legs and a kiss on their head.”
“Absolutely fascinating,” Elyza remarked herself, starting to peel an orange as she sat down on the table, her mind trying to comprehend and imagine how petty a deity must be to give her partner such a strange curse, and it failed to do so.
“The fuck are you two talking about?” Red demanded to know, the daemon accepting the slice of fruit offered by her without thinking. Returning to the door she had slammed open, Red held it open for Adam walking out of the room, before plopping down on the seat next to Elyza.
Her partner waved his friend’s words aside, remarking instead with a grin, “It’ll take half an hour more to bake, think you can wait that long? Or are you going to burn the place down again?”
She actually shivered as she chomped down on the orange, and whether it was due to the sourness of the fruit or because of the memory the words had evoked was unclear, “Let's not talk about this next to someone whose opinion I respect.”
“Just left me from that grand old list, didn’t ya?
“I listen to your opinions, I don’t respect them, big difference,” Red clarified, eliciting a smile from Elyza as she swallowed a carpel of orange, enjoying the wave of juice that flowed over her taste buds.
Alex carefully lifted a dutch oven from beneath the stove, giving her a chance to think about the fact there wasn’t any real fire in the kitchen, working solely from the cook’s mana. A tedious and cumbersome device to operate and take care of, substantially made easier due to the blacksmith and artificer living in the same building.
The moment of eating fruits with those she considered friends was more moving than she thought it to be, her mind finally slowing down from the hectic events of the recent past, letting her think about the things they had done. Taking in a deep breath, staring at her partner carefully layering the sauces and rolled pasta into the dutch oven, Elyza couldn’t think of an alternative path she could have taken than following him into this type of life, especially as her mind finally stopped dwelling on her past.
Unfortunately, the man she considered her partner and dearest friend had an annoying habit, his voice causing her thoughts to ramp up again, “Did you decide what pet you want?
Red’s eyes glowed with almost terrifying excitement, flashing her teeth as she opened her mouth, only to be immediately halted by Alex instructing, “No dragons or wyrms.”
“Damn you,” She didn’t mean the words, smiling as she added, “I’ve decided on a salamander.”
Her mind instantly thought of the brightly coloured tiny lizards she used to find near tiny ponds that formed after the forest recovered from rainy nights, her brain still in the liminal space between pre-Alex, and post-Alex thoughts. She shook out the thoughts of her home, commenting, “While I do find them immensely cute, it might not be advisable to keep one in a room so devoid of humidity or greenery.”
“I don’t think she’s talking about the water loving salamanders, Ears,” Her partner remarked, his arms bulging as his arms’ muscles strained against the weight of the lasagna, pointing his chin towards her and adding, “Orange me.”
Throwing a slice of fruit into his mouth, she remarked, “A fire salamander would make sense for you, it may even help you in your creations.”
“That was exactly my own thinking,” Red proclaimed, clearly pleased with herself.
“Most importantly,” She almost gave an involuntary sigh before he had even said the joke, somehow able to give him the benefit of the doubt, “Since salamanders are adored for their vibrant red skin, be ready to hear me refer to you two as ‘Red and Redder’.”
A bell echoed through the walls, Kurven shouting from below that he’s got it, allowing the daemon to grumble out, “Damn you, that’s hilarious…” her eyes perked up, realising what he actually meant, “Does that mean you–”
“Yes, but you have to be patient, my demonic dumbass, I’ll try to see whether someone I know has come upon a batch of them. It took me ten years to actually start liking you, most bred salamanders don’t live that long.” Alex replied, moving towards the door and kicking it open as he balanced the lasagna between his hands.
Elyza could see the surprise in his eyes, retrieving a knife from her pouch as she leant her chair to peek at whom he had encountered. She lowered the weapon as she saw his features relax, her partner stating, “Hey Mon, confirmed the timings, did you? Go take a seat, I’ll pop this in the oven, and we can talk about what to do next with the rest. After destroying this lasagna, of course.”