If there were mud nearby, rhino Sandy would most definitely be rolling in it right about now given how happy she was. She was sipping on her ginger ale after sampling the beef and gravy pie and Ares was wondering if he was going to have to battle against heaven for her soul like he did with Hunter. If she was left in this state her soul might actually ascend out of her body because this food was to die for! Her two favourites, crafted to a degree she'd never experienced before or knew could be reached... It was a lethal combo and words failed to encapsulate her thoughts on the matter. Ares chuckled and encouraged her to just keep eating and not worry about commentary, her own satisfaction was pretty evident anyway and why talk when you can keep eating? he wasn't a professional reviewer or anything and he bought her the food, though really he got it for free, because he wanted her to eat it. He already knew how amazing the food was himself, he'd eaten Shu's food and drunk Bahru's drinks before. Also, the massive grin and single shed tear on Sandy's face told him everything she needed to know. Taste aside, this food was symbolic of her new journey and freedom. She'd finally put down her responsibilities to the fellahin clan and was able to pick up a fork and knife instead across the rest of the world as she travelled without restriction. She only stopped easting for a single second to jump on Ares' lap next to her and then she kept going while letting Ares lightly massage her shoulders. Ares had run a train on Enyo, and spent some time play fighting with Bellona, so now Sandy was feeling like she was owed some of his time and attention. Ares understood this and stayed by her side as she enjoyed his snacks and food. off to the side Sadie nodded at Sandy and gave her a thumbs up on the down low. She too liked to be pampered while eating and drinking, Sandy had a good idea of how to live like a true queen in Sadie's book!
A little while later and Enyo and Bellona re-entered the living room. Bellona had to clean some lipstick marks of her neck after belatedly realising Enyo's rampage earlier was visible to all. Ares made sure to hand out a seemingly infinite amount of food from his Primordial Blade until everyone was fully satisfied. Bellona got her popping candy, Enyo her honeycomb, and Sandy her cinnamon bundevara, and all was well. Sadie rolled herself and her enlarged stomach back home, Aejaz and co went back to their room to chat some more, and Appa was happily playing with Leo and Visitation in the living room and organising a sleepover style get together with hot choco, Snappas, and marshmallows (provided by Ares). Appa treated Visitation like a little brother and the sight of a meeper resting on top of Appa's head was unbearably cute. Ares and Bellona were all over the two and smothering them with kisses and hugs but eventually they left the playmates to their own devices and went back tot heir room to sleep... 'Sleep'. That was the stated goal but Ares was kidding himself if he thought he was getting any sleep tonight. Enyo would never allow it. She was unusually aggressive when it came to oral for whatever reason, she practically pushed him down and went feral, but Ares couldn't figure out for the life of him why. He wasn't complaining but he did find it a bit odd how invested Bellona seemed to be. Any more interest than that and she looked ready to pull out a notepad! Ares felt like a test dummy but he was feeling good and had no complaints. After that was done Ares used Quietus Edict to make sure Bellona could sleep peacefully as it had a function only prevented noise in a specific area. As for Sandy, the bed was big enough for four provided two or more of the individuals sleeping on it weren't bouncing around like rabbits in heat. She volunteered to sleep in Bellona's room tonight and the other sisters were grateful for it as they each had a reason to want to be with Ares throughout the night. Sandy could come and stay by everyone's side tomorrow provided Bellona was done with Ares by then. If not, maybe Enyo would be the one to go sleep by herself for once which was an unusual change of pace.
Regardless, night came and went and soon enough the morning sun was poking through the curtains. Bellona was up and raring to go but Ares was tired after having given it his all to quell the demoness sleeping like a log to his side. Even with his nothingness magic trick he was still only barely at an advantage and had to really go balls ot the wall to satisfy Enyo properly. She just kept going and going and going... It would probably only take Enyo a couple of months, or a few major developments in her pleasure pillar, to reign supreme over Ares' body again so Ares was damn straight going to enjoy this time for all it was worth! Now, though, he was being dragged out of the bedroom by Bellona who cared not for excuses! Tired or not, today was date day and he wasn't getting out of it because he failed to take Enyo in moderation! Bellona was wise and possessed good foresight so she shoved one of Allie's regenerative pills into Ares' gob, after asking her for one yesterday, and made him swallow, pepping him up good as new. He might be tired again when his exhaustion caught up to him but these little pills were effective and lasted for at least a day straight. If he was going to crash he could do it after Bellona was done with him! Granted tomorrow onwards was when he'd start dealing with sect business and whatnot but... Well... That wasn't Bellona's problem and so she didn't care! He'd handle it one way or another...
The two took off from the sect with Bellona dressed in her usual casual get up that stood out like a sore thumb. She had a black rimmed, dull yellow jacket with a white shirt underneath, a dark blue cap, trendy sunglasses, and a pair of blue shorts. Ares had no idea where she bought this stuff from, or her trainers that she slipped on earlier either, but apparently Hans had given the go ahead for a 'hip' clothing shop to take root somewhere in the town a while back and Bellona had become a frequent visitor. So much so she was probably the place's best customer but that was to be expected since she was the one Hans counselled on the matter in the first place; it's not like he knew if this was a legitimate business or some new age con he didn't understand so he asked someone in the know instead. Bellona told Ares not to worry about the shop for now as she'd be taking him there later anyway to dress him up like some kind of doll. He did promise letting her do this a long while back, and it seemed she was going to go full throttle and even do his hair as well, but he wasn't opposed. Bellona was owed today so he'd go long with her fancies even if they were a little out there. It's not like he wasn't forced to play dress up when he reverted to his childlike form after the international so this wouldn't even really be a first for him. That could all come later, though, as Bellona was kick starting the date off with a request that was somewhat tricky. "I want to double an Armillary!" Ares knew she'd want to do this eventually but now he was really put on the spot to make it happen and had to think fast. He could just tell her not now but he wanted to do it too and figured abstaining would set a bad tone for the rest of the day. In the end, there was only really one solution he could think of.
"Give me your hand, princess." Ares joked and made Bellona's eyes roll but she daintily raised her hand and let Ares take her by it. Her world blurred and, before she knew it, she found herself in the Void by Ares' side. This place felt weird to her as always but she knew this was basically Ares' playground and so wasn't worried about getting lost or anything. "Here we can blow things up uninterrupted as much as you want. I'll see if I can find us somewhere in our world later but this should do for now right?"
With a nod, Bellona accepted this arrangement. She liked how pretty the magic was, it being eye-catching had nothing to do with the actual destruction it wrought afterwards and that wasn't what she delighted in observing. It was fascinating to see, sure, but as long as she could witness the Armillary up close, and double it to feel like she contributed to that impressiveness, that was enough to make her satisfied. Ares readied the art, built layer upon layer of Perish Wheels and merged them together to form an oscillating bomb of epic proportions, and held it aloft with a single hand. usually he'd use two for stability's sake but after bloodline awakening one was enough to keep everything firmly in place and so he was showing off to his wife a bit. He threw the Armillary and took a seat in the middle of the void, patting his lap for Blo Blo to come and take a seat and watch with him. She threw herself on top of him and together they enjoyed the ensuing spectacle before Bellona added her own magic into the mix. The Armillary became a blazing screen of pure gold that stretched as far as the eye could see and, if viewed from afar, looked like a raging golden sun spreading splendour far and wide. There was a comforting energy in the air, a mix of Ares' and Bellona's mana, and so the two were peaceful and quiet as they watched their combined effort light up the void. When it was done, Bellona begged Ares to do it again by looking up and over her shoulder at him with big round eyes and he couldn't say no to that. He obliged and the two lovebirds chirped back and forth happily for about half an hour in total, content to do nothing other than watch magic be born, rage across the open void, and fade and dissipate into thin air. Specks of lingering annihilation drifted through the void and Bellona caught a few embers on the tip of her finger. Normally they would have vanished on contact but Ares interfered from behind and gave them a tangible form via his new ability to shape annihilation. The embers all resembled mini hearts by the time he was done and Bellona held them tight as she leant back into Ares' arms and stayed there for another few minutes... Until Ares' eyes twitched and he stood up to take her back. Though he should have been aware of it, he just now noticed Astraeus had come over and was peeking in on his date from afar. Damn stalker! Ares wasn't allowed to be in the void and have his own privacy because this annoying robo would always come and check up on him eventually!
Thankfully all that art casting whipped up a hunger in Ares and Bellona was more than ready to go and eat some lunch with him. She was given utmost authority today to do as she pleased so she brought him to Burga's Burgers and asked Burga for a private booth near the back. She had a few of them built into the store after Bellona decided to invest in this place and they were used semi-frequently by couples who wanted a nice and quiet place to cosy up together. There wasn't actually anyone else in the building right now but Bellona still preferred booths to eating out in the open anyway, she recommended them to Burga for a reason! When she came here on her own she could eat in peace and if she came here with Ares then she could play with him without getting embarrassed in public; it was a win win as far as she was concerned. Also Burga was very supportive of Bellona and treated her like her own daughter, spoiling her rotten with extra helpings and warm compliments every time she saw her. Milkshakes, even the premium ones, were on the house if your name was 'Bellona'. In fact, Bellona had spoken to Burga before about her date plans and she was very encouraging, so much so today's meal was entirely on the house. Burga escorted the whippersnappers into their booth and whispered 'go get 'em champ' to Bellona as she closed the booth behind them and went back to the counter. that wasn't where her contributions ended, though, as she put a radio on, bought with Bellona's investment, and played a pleasant piece of music that was very easy to dance to. Unsurprisingly, this was also part of Bellona's plan for the day. She was owed a dance and now was as good a time as any to make Ares pay up. It didn't need to be any grand gesture, it didn't have to happen in some fancy shmancy ball, they didn't need to be in suits and dresses, Bellona was happy to just be dancing with him at all because she remembered how close she was to accepting that he would be forever out of reach entirely. If anything, she preferred it this way. The booth wasn't large but there was enough space to stand together and shuffle, the walls were scratched in some places, but they were walls nonetheless, and the music wasn't performed by a live band but it was still music at the end of the day. And so, hand in hand, Ares and Bellona danced together without any interruptions or distractions. It was quick, only song, but it was memorable and a good time. It ended with a twirl and Bellona falling onto Ares as he dragged her onto the couch. She sat on his lap and they browsed the menu together, spending more time laughing at one another's dancing than actually choosing what they wanted.
Burga didn't rush them like she would other customers but eventually they made their minds up and ordered the same thing. Bellona knew what she liked and so Ares copied it so that she could steal some food form him if she was still hungry by the time she was finished. Now that her cultivation had risen a considerable amount it took a lot more food than usual to fill up her stomach so Ares' consideration proved clever when things played out exactly as he expected them to. It started off with a few fries, she was adamant that was all she wanted, but by the of the meal Bellona had eaten about 80% of everything put on the table. Ares didn't mind, he knew it would happen and was fine with it, but that didn't stop him from bullying Blo Blo and calling her greedy as she pinched him in shame. Maybe her refusal of such a title would have been more convincing if she didn't still have some burger sauce on her lips. She wiped it off in a hurry but that wasn't enough to stop Ares form laughing at her, it only made it worse if anything, and so her next best option was to silence him forcefully by jumping on him and wrestling to put her hand over his mouth. Her strategy changed mid way through the 'fight', though, and she shoved some leftover fries in his mouth to 'keep him from talking'. Really, though, to anyone else, it just looked like a lover feeding her partner in a gooey and romantic way. All Bellona's focus and smiles were directed at him and the look in her eyes was one of pure love and endearment. They even shared a chip from either end, resulting in a salty kiss at the end.
Though Burga was happy to let the two stay as long as they wished to, they left shortly after they were done paying around to go to a part of town Ares actually wasn't that familiar with personally. Even what little he knew of the area was undone and his knowledge made moot by the local changes in recent times. See this was the area Hans permitted new shops to locate themselves in as there were plenty of unused plots of lands just begging to be snatched up and utilised. Newcomers were almost always placed here, or around here, so Ares, who hadn't been privy to these developments while he was away, felt like a stranger in his own home! Bellona knew this area well, though, because it was her kind of place. Red Sun might have been a bit behind the times but the businesses looking to make a name for themselves here, and in the galaxy in the future thanks to Ares' plans, were more on brand for her kind of ideal shopping. Nail salons, hair dressers, the clothes shop she mentioned earlier, some fast food places, etc... There were also more standard shops but this area had become famous recently as even the crusty old Red Sun residents were having fun exploring this new, modern appeal. Bellona had gone into these shops more than most others and so knew the staff incredibly well and had even asked some of them for advice. The nail salon in particular was run by a bit of a gossip and Bellona's constant honesty meant she was spilling the beans about her relationship pronto. She was bombarded with tips galore that went well beyond just nails and she learnt how to play around with make up thanks to their assistance. She had no reason to visit them today but she liked that shop quite a bit and planned on bringing Enyo and Sandy there at some point to show it off to them. For now, though, the goal was the clothes shop and then the hairdresser. Oh yes, it wasn't just clothes, Bellona was going the full distance today and making Ares look exactly how she wanted him to. She had some ideas ready and waiting in her mind but she wanted to see how the outfits played out first before she committed to any one look. Deep down she believed Ares could pull off a 'bad boy' look and she was going to make sure he tried a new style by the of the day if it was the last thing she did! He was already attractive in her eyes... But why not tailor him to her own preferences if today was her special day with him? It's not like he had to dress up this way forever more from now on or anything but just for today, to please Bellona a little... Why not? And maybe a couple more times in the future...
Ah but Bellona was getting ahead of herself, first up was the clothes. Clothes make a man, so they say, so it was time to custom build her own Ares! He looked a bit nervous, worried Bellona might make him look like a fool for her own amusement, but he was already in too deep to deny her this! Fortunately she wasn't planning on doing such a thing but she was planning on taking her sweet time and making him try on literally everything that caught her eyes. Was it better to have a couple gag outfits to pass the time quicker or was it better to have none but be trapped for a whole day in the clothes shop? Ares didn't know and, though he wished he didn't have to find out, Bellona was giddy and he refused to ruin this for her no matter how much he wasn't looking forward to it. It was time to bite the bullet... Or bullets, was perhaps more accurate, as Bellona had already found a pile of clothes while Ares checking the shop out. She'd gotten permission to effectively rent out a changing room for as long as she wanted, her friend managing the shop said so, and now Ares was doomed to his cubicle fate. He better learn to get real comfortable with the tiny, mirrored room because he was about to spending a lot of time in there... Hawaiians and hoodies, sweatshirts and sleeveless shirts, this was going to take a while... Ares didn't miss the outfit Bellona was hiding away from the rest of the pile though. This happy gremlin already knew what she wanted Ares to really wear, she was just getting a kick out of seeing him in everything else and styling him up a bit... Oh well, Ares' wardrobe could do with some expanding for casual outings anyway. It might take a chunk out of his wallet but he could afford it and, more so than anything else, Bellona's precious smile was worth any cost... Damn, I really have gotten more flirty. Good thing I didn't say that out loud otherwise Enyo would have chewed me out for it... Ares' Casanova was leaking but thankfully he kept it all internal as he entered the cubicle and began putting on his first outfit, the first of many.