"Celia, please, will you not stay home today? You go out so often, sooner or later you might hurt –"

"Mother, please, I know my place. I… will not do anything untoward."

Untoward. It wasn't quite the proper word, but as Celia stood in the doorway to her parents home in the simple area of the commoners district, she idly fiddled with her hair using a comb, tail fairly still behind herself. Her clothing as simple and flattering as it ever was on any other day. She made efforts as usual to take care of herself.

"...very well Celia."

The defeated tone of her mother was tangible and Celia simply nodded, turning to leave as she grabbed a bunch of grapes from a bowl near the entryway. The quiet walk through the morning fog in the capital wasn't unusual at all, venturing towards the markets and the nearby waterway that led to the river area further downstream closer to the port.

By the halfway point she'd finished the grapes and discarded them into a nearby cart that was used as a receptacle and shortly thereafter reached the river area that was used as a communal bathing spot. The river had been adjusted manually long ago and bricks and stone lined the portion of the river, shallowing it out a bit and widening it greatly. A bit crowded as ever, there was no real compunction regarding dressing or undressing, simply pick a spot, grab a cottonfluff stalk basket and deposit your clothes before going about your business.

Theft was naturally against the law, but even moreso here, a would-be thief would be harangued and beaten soundly, publicly, by the whole. Who wants their clothes stolen while they bathe? No one. So if someone else suffered the same, all would act accordingly. Thus no one really worried too much about would-be problems if you simply left your clothes on the shore in a basket.

But something had changed in the last several months.

Anti-gravity magic.

It had become so commonplace, so wide-spread, that it had even become a way to earn extra money. Offer mana to help form crystals from those who are capable at designated location, and earn some extra coin. Naturally these crystals could then in turn be bought or were used for general purposes. One of them… enchanting baskets so the things inside can float. Silly and unpractical as it was, someone had the idea of 'taking their clothing with them' into the river, and soon not only clothes floated atop the water in baskets, but shampoos and soaps and drinks and snacks and by this point, what was once an area to simply visit and leave became a bit more of a leisure spot.

The changes, albeit gradual, did amuse Celia greatly. As unimpressed as she was about most things, outside of the times when she put on a happy and friendly attitude around others, in her own times she was far less so. But little things like this did improve her attitude. Seeing others happy over little things. No focus on family, or anything, just… personally being happy over small things.

And thus she tried it for a change, relaxing in the river with her clothes simply floating nearby. It wasn't until an older woman nearby spoke up that she opened her eyes and looked over. "Didn't bring anything with you today?" she asked.

"Oh, no." Celia replied softly. "I usually bathe proper in the evening, the morning is just to freshen up and such."

"Oh, fleas to that, there is always time to bathe proper. Here, have some of mine." As much as Celia wanted to argue, she relented and accepted, sharing the older womans bathing supplies and gave herself an early morning bath. Though as much as she might have wanted to complain, it did lift her spirits a bit. The woman noticed and said nothing, recognizing Celia seemed a bit overly inward and thought she could use a change in pace.

Eventually Celia left the waters and used a comb to brush out her fur and spent a few coins on a nearby wind mage who blew the water mostly out of her coat before dressing again and wandering back out into the capital proper.

–

As with the changes to the bathing area, thanks to the grand Sage of Fluff whom she'd never met herself, those floating baskets were everywhere in the capital. It was one of those things she was never really able to learn. She wanted to but her parents insisted otherwise, and without access to books, nor really a mind for study, Celia relented and gave up. But now, with it all around her, the childish desire slowly returned. A government worker with a whole container of crystals was mixing up batches of dust-filled liquid aether in containers and those present were allowed to offer coin in trade to use them to enchant their personal effects, whatever they wished up to small limits in weight and size accordingly to the strength of things.

Celia herself, not really having much on herself besides her coins and coinpurse, didn't think to join at first. But she noticed a child puting their sandals into the bucket using money he'd saved up from chores and she looked at her own feet, covered in simple slippers.

–

An hour and a half later, Celia was walking along the streets with a slight bounce in her step. An unusual smile on her face as she felt lighter than ever, as if there was no weight on her, hopping slightly with every other step and feeling a bit silly for it, but such a small thing really did make her day. Only she heard a fuss nearby and the crowd lit up, seemingly parting slightly while also gathering.

Children and teenagers sort of gathered to stare and not quite knowing what was going on, Celia stepped close and asked an older fellow who was nearby, "Is a noble coming through or something? Or maybe a royal family member?"

She could hardly imagine what else would warrant such. "Oh, no, it's Fluff Sage from what I can tell. He comes this way every now and then. While it's not every day, it's not rare, and he tends to wander around the capital's market areas a bit willy nilly, trying different things to taste and such. Rumor has it Affection can taste what he's having, yeah? Of course, no one knows if it's really true."

"Huh…" Never having met or seen the great Sage of Fluff, she was actually a bit… curious. As much joy as she'd had from the simple applications of anti-gravity magic, Celia very much wanted to show her thanks and appreciation. For a change, not even considering thanking someone physically. Her joy with it was a lot more… pure than her normal adulterated activities which she used to pass time and feel a bit more alive than she normally did thanks to her overbearing family life.

"Not seen him before lass?" the older fellow asked, a large bull who had a slight hunched back due to years of work.

"Mm… no, I have not." her response was simple.

"Want me to give you a lift? You might be able to see if you stand on a shoulder. Or you could instead try and push through the crowd or maybe get ahead."

At first she thought to decline, though soon leaned up to kiss his cheek, causing his nose to crinkle with a laugh. She was promptly lifted and brought to his shoulder where she carefully used a horn to stand only to see…

"...Rou? That's not…"

–

In a panic and with absolute disgust, Celia jumped off the bull and fled into the alleyways nearby, caught between having a panic attack and wanting to cry. There's no way that fellow was the Sage of Fluff! It had to be a mistake, a lie! But his fur pattern was so distinct it was impossible to mistake, no other normal red panda looked like that!

Her evening with Rou hadn't exactly haunted her, but it really did leave a bad taste in her mouth so to speak. Rarely if never did Celia feel bad for having one night stands or using others for sex. It was her way of enjoying life, her way of lashing out at how proper her parents expected her to be. At protesting her would-be fate. Who was it for others to decide how she gets to live? But with Rou, it came up in her thoughts now and then, wanting to go apologize as she even knew where he lived but never working up the nerve.

It felt a bit like she'd pointlessly robbed someone of a simple happiness. Like how she was so happy with her newly-enchanted slippers. A simple joy. Rou wasn't happy he got laid, he was happy… he had someone to talk with. To feel comfortable with.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

But she'd laughed in his face and acted on pride and here she was, in a back alley, freaking out over something so silly. Celia laughed at herself as she realized how dumb this all probably seemed to others if they were looking at her. Of course, no one was, but she judged herself equally dumb for it.

"I'll just go apologize. Sort myself out and carry on."

And with that she quickly moved through the alleys while keeping an eye on the crowds to see where it thinned out. It was her belief that if it thinned out, either he hadn't gone that way, or hadn't reached there yet. She wasn't wrong either, letting her get ahead of things only to realize he'd stopped at a small restaurant and was seated on the outdoors upper terrace, staring off at nothing and seemingly talking with… someone.

–

By the time Celia walked through the restaurant to get to where Rou was, she moved nearby and took a seat, holding a wooden cup in her hand of some juice or another that she'd ordered, as ordering was required to sit. She hadn't even paid attention and really just… picked the first thing she read to make do. But as she tasted it, Celia's nose scrunched up and an expression of disgust riddled her face, realizing she did /not/ like whatever juice this was. It was bitter and clung to her palette and a nearby child giggled at her, causing her to roll her eyes and stick her tongue out at them.

Said child giggled again and Celia calmed down a bit.

"I know right? It tasted terrible to me, but you quite seemed to enjoy it, so that's fine."

"Well, why would I like it? By this point you should know the flavors I like. I've never enjoyed cobbleberry in anything else, whyever would I like cobbleberry juice?"

"Of course it's going to taste the same, dummy, why wouldn't it? You wouldn't eat a cherry pie and not expect it to well taste like a cherry now would you? This is the applefish all over again."

Hearing Rou's voice caused Celia to hesitate. It really was him. That same soft, honest tone, happy just to be talking to someone. But who was he talking to? Best she could tell there was no one else there. Surely he wasn't crazy, right? …or were the rumors true that he could communicate with one of the Gods? With Affection?

Bitterness welled up in Celia's heart at that.

The Gods.

Her normal habit of glancing at her Screen when she got annoyed at her title couldn't be done at the moment, as the screen was being changed by the Gods.

But she knew the title by heart.

[Beloved by the Gods]

A title given to her at birth, apparently. A title that had haunted her. As 'beloved' as she was, though, none had ever deigned to speak with her. To grant her any company or love or even do anything other than mark her to those who would have her as a trophy.

This was a mistake. She was here wasting her time, trying to redeem her own guilt from someone who didn't need it. This fellow was actually more loved by the gods than she was despite that joke of a title. Only, just as she made up her mind to leave, a voice came from nearby, ever so familiar.

"...Celia?"

"Oh, her." Affection sounded both angry, but also sad at the same time.

Rou seemed confused but Affection added, "Not my place to elaborate, don't ask. You'll probably find out some day, but likely not now."

By this point, Rou trusted Affection enough that he didn't question her when she didn't answer. Instead, Celia and he made eye contact for the first time in months and things were rather awkward.

"Rou."

She didn't quite want to admit she knew he was the Sage of Fluff, as that felt awkward. She didn't then. Would he think she bedded him on purpose as some kind of trophy tag? It made her feel a little sick to be thought of that way.

But what surprised her, was Rou.

"I'm glad we met again. I meant to apologize a while ago but when I returned to the inn room, you were already gone. I'm sorry for how I acted, it wasn't fair to you."

Instead of her apologizing, he had.

'What the hell are you apologizing for? I'm the one who laughed in your face!' she wanted to scream at him. But as she went to, her words caught in her throat, leaving Rou to seem confused. "Celia, are you alright?"

"...yes, yes, I'm fine. Just… fuck…" that last word mumbled out as she realized that she couldn't even do the one thing she came to do. That good-natured idiot somehow convinced himself he was in the wrong despite it all.

Awkward silence again between the two.

And once again, as Celia finally worked up the words to say and went to apologize, she found herself accidentally cut off as Rou stood up and stated, "If I'm bothering you, I'll leave you alone. I wasn't trying to make things awkward for you, I was just happy to see someone I know, even if things might not have been left on the best terms. Enjoy your day." and with that, he left, trying to avoid making her feel bad.

–

"Damnit!" Celia finally yelled after about five minutes of silence, causing the nearby family to jump in shock.

–

Rou was walking along the street, idly chatting away with Affection when suddenly his hand was grabbed and quickly he was tugged toward a nearby alley. At first he started to resist, but upon noticing it was Celia, he relented and followed along, uncertain what was going on.

But what surprised Rou even more was Celia pushing him up against a wall and kissing him rather firmly.

Even Affection was confused, "What the hell, why is she kissing – aah, she's been drinking cobbleberry juice too."

As she enjoyed the taste of that juice far more than Rou did, she didn't complain that he got to taste it on Celia's breath as she 'apologized' in her own way, leaving Fluff Sage there quite confused until she pulled back, a string of saliva connecting their lips briefly.

"I'm sorry I laughed at you. It's been pissing me off and driving me half mad since, and I've been meaning to get that apology out of the way."

Rou stared. Wait, that was it? She was so worked up because she'd meant to apologize? Rou and Affection both found it absurd.

But just as Celia got angry at the way she was being looked at and turned to leave, feeling like she was being mocked, her fingertips were held onto by Rou who pulled her back and this time surprised /her/ by holding onto her and pulling her into a loose hug, kissing her back for a change from their past, brief exchanges.

At first Celia resisted, but soon enough the frustration and anger melted away and she simply took a moment to enjoy the kiss, as she still found him cute in some strange way. Not that she knew it was likely the Draconic Inheritance of his causing that, but still.

Affection simply watched from on high, not feeling jealous at all, just curious. She could feel Rou's senses, share his thoughts and kind of knew what he was thinking at the moment. The first time was awkward for them both.

–

This time it wasn't ten seconds of glory and an awkward ending. Instead, it was Celia being pressed up against an alley wall and left gasping and pleasantly surprised once things had calmed down. It was intense, mutually wanted and very much the successful second try after the first failure.

"We good now? No need for either of us to apologize further?" Rou offered peace, trying to calm down after having surprised himself for being so… forward. That wasn't like him!

Celia stared at him in amusement, only to push Rou back and onto a nearby collection of empty grain sacks, climbing atop him, "I think you still owe me an apology or two."

–

By the time the day rolled around to evening and night, she finally returned home. Only instead of the usual flat, emotionless expression on her face, her mother noticed she seemed… quite happy with herself. Sure, they didn't have the best relationship, but as a mother she still wanted her daughter to be happy in some way. So she smiled as well and asked, "Had a good day?"

Celia started to instinctively sass her mother to mind her own business, but realized she wasn't in the mood. "Mm. I did. I got to meet the Sage of Fluff."

"Oooh, I've seen him before. He's pretty cute. If I were younger and weren't married to your father, perhaps I'd have tried my luck like a lot of the single girls are these days, heh."

"Oh please, you have no chance mother." Celia laughed at the woman, feeling a sense of victory given /she/ had in fact gotten more than just a meet-and-greet with said Sage of Fluff herself several times that day.

"Well, it's not like you do either girl. …you've already got other arrangements after all."

"...right, right. Other arrangements."

"Borgain asked to see you by the way."

"I have no interest in seeing him."

"Come now Celia, do not be that way. You know how things are. There's no reason to be petulant about it, it changes nothing. Please girl… be graceful about things."

Celia briefly bubbled up in anger, in comparison to how she felt earlier with Rou. Her day had been so good after she let go of her frustration and self-loathing, but now she just felt dirty all over again like she wanted to scrub herself raw.

"I will not meet him. He can have as many meetings after the day is come. Until then, what little life I have left is mine. Not even you, mother, will take that from me." Celia walked up to the woman and looked at her with utter hatred. "I suggest you do not try. I humor civility because you /are/ my mother, but… oh, why am I wasting my breath on you."

At which point Celia turned and walked away towards her room. Said mother crumpled into a nearby seat, acceptance and guilt across her clear as day. Her daughter's life was ordained before she was even conceived. Rowing like this was pointless and just upset them both. If only she would just… accept her fate gracefully.

–

Of course, Celia was now in her bed, undressed, staring at the ceiling and once again praying to hear the gods. To tell her she could choose her own fate. But once again, the gods did not speak with her. Not even Affection.