After having seen his mother getting knocked to the ground, even blood coming from her nose and making a mess, it all happened far quicker than he, or especially they, expected. Just as his father went to pounce on Shiela, Rou had leapt over the wall and kicked off the stones to grab him, promptly scruffing him with his whole hand and slamming him nose first into the nearby wall of the building.

"Wait, stop!"

Suddenly Shiela's voice seemed panicked as Dominic struggled in vain and confusion as she forcibly stuffed herself between him and the other, taller Red Panda who had clearly (somehow) witnessed everything.

"You're misunderstanding things!" she tried again to intervene, even reaching for his hand and struggling to make him open it. And failing rather miserably as she found herself unable to match his grip strength, which surprised her. As of the moment, she hadn't realized who it was.

"How can I possibly misunderstand things?! I just watched him punch you in the face!" Rou half shouted, in utter disbelief that his mother was /defending/ the man who had just attacked her. Had she been abused so often and so badly that this was what was going on?! Just as he was about to break his own father's neck out of pure rage, Shiela screamed out, "We were flirting! That's just how we play around!"

"..."

–

Rou had let go of Dominic after a moment of confusion and Shiela was tending to the man, casting healing magic on them both as the would-be savior looked to be lost, between thinking it was a lie and utter disgust. The fuck?! Flirting! How is punching someone in the nose flirting!

"Look, whoever you are… thank you for worrying but really, we just… play rough." Shiela sounded horribly embarrassed admitting that, not even looking at Rou. "We used to be a Fang and a Claw respectively. When we were younger, we were both trained to fight with our fists and… let's just say we were competitive. We'd fight often and given I can use light magic, I'd heal us after. We fought a lot to see who was superior during training, and in private most days. And eventually things got heated after a fight and… well eventually we got married. But we never really stopped… y'know, getting physical in that way. It's a bit of a joke between us by this point."

As Shiela and Dominic finally turned to look at the one who intervened, they got to see a look of absolute what-the-fuck and disgust on their now-grown childs face.

"...Rou?"

–

What followed was an extremely awkward family reunion. When he had expected hugs and tears, instead he got to see his mother getting smacked around and learn about his parents rather… violent foreplay habits. Poor Shiela was mortified and Dominic was a bit amused but also still sore. Shiela hadn't realized it, but Dominic knew just how close he came to being paralyzed. If Rou had tweaked his neck a bit further in the right direction, they would have had to find a full on oracle to heal that injury, if at all.

"It would seem that crystal you were messing with all these years did something for you." Rou's father finally spoke up. "You nearly took my head off. I… guess I'm happy you grew up strong even if this is all a bit odd."

Shiela hadn't really let go of Rou since she realized it was him. She'd been clinging to his arm and hand like she was worried he'd run off for another 15 years again.

"Yeah…" Rou said softly, "I didn't really expect to get trapped there. I didn't expect to be there more than an hour or two at most. Maybe a single night, and I'd be done long before you two even got to meet back up, let alone get back to the capital from wherever you went to. I'm sorry you two lost so many years in being able to raise a child, that was my fault."

He wasn't wrong, they all knew it. Dominic was a bit less upset than Shiela had been. He'd kind of made peace quite a while ago that Rou's life was probably going to be different, but poor Shiela. Despite trying they never could have another child and for some reason, the Gods didn't see fit to grant her another.

Of course his mother was beyond happy to have him back, and had gone back to her old ways of wanting to hug him and not let go and sleep with him and bathe him and cook for him and stare at him while he ate but even she knew it just wasn't the same anymore. Rou played along of course and Dominic said nothing to the contrary. But eventually they let Shiela get it out of her system, resulting in her finally coming to the realization she was never getting back that lost time. It took her the better part of a day to stop crying after finally reaching that point and it almost looked to age her a few years from that alone.

–

The awkwardness that came from it all remained far longer than Rou would have liked. Long enough that even his father suggested he take a break for a few days and he'd reach back out whenever things were a bit better on his mothers end. As for how he'd reach out… he'd just go to a church and ask for Affection to relay a message. It shouldn't be that difficult all considering.

That meant Rou, who had felt so much guilt, simply wandered out of the home not even wearing the clothing his mother had made him.

In the few days since, Rou had went and bought a few changes of clothing and had switched into them. An ankle-length weighted skirt of sorts that was made of a thick cloth. Underneath that was a simple pair of socks and boots, a pair of leather gloves on his hands, a belt around his midsection and a loose cotton top. He'd tried various pants in this world but they were all a bit too tight for his tastes, or just were not his style. Sure, in his old world such things were more womens clothing but given all the different bodies and tails… it wasn't uncommon, from what he saw, for anyone to wear skirts for function and for enjoyment.

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And given his unlimited mana pool, it didn't take Rou terribly long to figure out how to produce inverted dark crystals of his own. Having asked his mom and dad to show him, it was a nice distraction briefly, and he quickly used his knowledge of basic crystals to refine more and more potent ones that eventually allowed him to enchant even his current clothing. What he didn't realize as a kid was that this method really could enchant anything, but the denser the material, the larger the surface area, and how resistant it was to gravity and weight required exponentially more crystals. So he couldn't really enchant a castle to float like that, as there might not be enough aether in the world to account for that exponent.

Of course, he had to make arrangements so they didn't simply flop around and cause issues for him. Thus he decided to go with a stitched loop of firm leather around the base of the skirt that prevented it from just… floating up and flopping around easily while he hopped about. The rest he didn't really care to customize.

Though as he wandered around town on his first day of 'exile' from his family, coincidentally Rou came across Celia again. She noticed his rather dour mood and approached him quietly. Following him at first without speaking before finally walking to his side to make herself known and ask, "Didn't go that well?"

His ears perked slightly at her presence, offering a weak smile. "Quite awkward all told."

"Want to talk about it?"

"...yes but I wouldn't even know where to begin. Even thinking about it, it all seems like a drug-induced fever dream."

Celia chuckled gently and asked, "Want some company?"

Those same words she used when they first met.

That same weak smile remained as Rou offered his hands towards Celia. She took them only to squeak in surprise as he tugged her close and used one arm to hold onto her hip, leaping rather promptly onto a rooftop and taking a seat.

"Next time warn me! Geeze!" Celia was clearly quite frightened by that.

"Consider it revenge for kissing me like that last time." She promptly noticed him sticking his tongue out at her.

The two stared at each other in silence only for the tension to be broke when Rou finally asked, "So… you're not a whore. But you asked if I wanted company. So I do not make an ass of myself, were you just looking for someone to go on a date with, or were you actually offering sex?"

Completely unabashed, Celia mentioned, "Sex." right in turn. The ease in which she said that broke the tension and Rou laughed again, causing her to puff up. "What's so funny, jerk!"

"Just… it's twice now that I've come across you and haven't been in a good position to really… take you up on it." Rou laid back and stared at the sky, in a bit of disbelief at the bad timing these two had.

"And why is it that you're not up for it?"

Celia's voice was quite close as she had crawled over him and sat on his stomach, staring down at him from that position. Both ignoring anyone who was watching from the marketplace beneath.

"Because I can't imagine you'd get much out of it if I just laid there moping about my mother being sad, or that apparently my parents chose violence as foreplay twenty year ago and now regularly beat the fuck out of each other to decide who gets to be on top."

"..."

–

Yeah, Celia couldn't argue with that. That was pretty fucking weird and even she couldn't help but laugh, breaking the tension once again. But as people on the street were staring, the owner of the building they were on yelled at them to move elsewhere, and they obliged with an apology from Rou. Now the two had since moved and were now in an inn room that had a balcony that they had snuck into from above, locking the door to afford themselves privacy.

Privacy meant that they had since gotten undressed and got into bed and Rou'd actually fallen asleep, without anything having taken place outside of light conversation and a few kisses. It left Celia feeling rather awkward. Normally she'd have gotten laid and been on her way, but she couldn't help but feel a strange interest in this fellow. Maybe it was the repeated bad timing that left her wanting to 'conquer' him. But he was a bit pathetic somehow, more so than the normal pathetic types she hooked up with and ditched. It wasn't all bad with him of course, he didn't want anything of her. In fact, both times she had approached him he'd turned her down, so she could hardly blame Rou for his going ons.

She just couldn't bring herself to take advantage of his state-of-mind and ditch him.

"I'm getting soft." Celia laughed at her own mistake, realizing she was treating him like a stray pet beast.

–

Later that evening, after it was already dark, thankfully no one had knocked on the door or tried to get in. Thus Rou was able to take a much-needed nap. As Rou finally woke up, he noticed a pair of eyes looking at him quietly in the unlit room, still on the bed beside him. "So you're still here?" Rou inquired lightly.

"Mm, I am." she responded, tugging Rou into a kiss. Only this kiss was very much on her terms, and for her desires.

–

"Really, your first time?" Celia snorted, annoyed. Time had passed. Ten minutes at best, probably closer to six or seven. Rou laid in bed, still reeling from how quickly that all began and ended. He felt a bit used. Was this how a lot of women felt when men finally got what they wanted and went to leave after?

"You didn't ask before it all happened, what are you mad at me for!" Rou balked.

"I'm not mad! I'm just disappointed. You could literally put a drawing of you next to the phrase in a textbook and use it as an example of what it means." Celia had never been more… disappointed. This attractive, well-built, emotionally needy fellow… was about as inexperienced as anyone could be and she pretty much got exactly what she might have expected if she'd thought to ask on his experience beforehand. Ten seconds of glory and a lackluster finish.

"Then stay the night?" Rou tried to offer peace, thinking maybe she'd give him a second… or third chance to make amends. "I would appreciate the company."

"Sorry Rou, but I don't… date. I have no interest in a relationship." Her words kind of stuck him right between the ribs. "That's… that's alright." he said, and added, "I could always use a new friend too. Surely that's not asking for overly much?"

"Quit being pathetic. You just had sex, you're a man, enjoy the treat and don't embarrass yourself."

Celia's rather harsh words twisted that proverbial knife hard. And it used a phrase he hated in his previous life. 'You're a man. Suck it up. Deal with it.'

"...right. Don't embarrass myself…" Who knew it was embarrassing to feel especially grateful for someone to listen to what was upsetting him, keep him company, help him feel warm and not alone and even make him feel alive again.

Then again, he knew going in, it was a transaction for her. No money of course, but a transaction all the same.

She watched him quickly tie the skirt around his waist, tug his shirt on, grab the socks and shoes and promptly jump out the window to leave her putting herself together in the quiet room.

What Rou didn't know, though, was she actually felt awful about it. Rather reactively she laughed in his face for his inexperience leading to things being painfully quick, only to feel stuck on having to play tough once her pride got in the way. She 'didn't date', it was 'just for fun' for her. It was an attitude she'd had for years. And here she was, being pointlessly cruel to someone who certainly didn't deserve it.

"...I'm such an asshole." But by the time Celia tried to run outside and find him again to apologize, he was nowhere to be found.