Lucky yawned lazily as she stood outside of The Fool's Carol. Her twintails shimmered in the morning light as they ran past her pink blouse and black mini skirt. Her black thigh highs ran into a pair of snazzy boots. The outfit was a little too nice for just a casual outing.
"Mommy?" A little girl grabbed her mother's shirt as they walked by.
"Yes dear?" The plump mother replied.
"Isn't she so pretty?" The blonde girl pointed at Lucky.
Lucky tried to hide her smile but her tail vibrated excitedly from the praise.
"Yes dear. Now, remember it's not nice to point."
"Ah right," The girl lowered her hand. "What a shame though."
"What's a shame?" The mother asked.
"She's been waiting outside for her date for like three hundred minutes!!! Oh! I bet I can count to three hundred!!! One... Two... Fifty Five-"
"Oh, I uh, let's get going." The mother said awkwardly as she hurried the brutally honest child along.
"It's only been like five minutes." Lucky looked longingly at the door before dropping her head to inspect her outfit once more.
Lucky watched as people went about their lives, occasionally waving to a cafe regular or adventurer. After a little while longer Lucky slid down to the ground squatting and wrapping her arms around her knees before burying her face into them.
"What are you sulking for?" A voice reached out to Lucky.
"I'm. Not. Sulking." Lucky pouted. She looked up and saw Jamie standing over her with a lunaloaf in his outstretched hand. "Thanks!" She pounced to her feet and grabbed the treat.
"Ya know, we're probably a little overdressed for what you wanted to do today." Jamie examined her outfit choice and smiled, "But I'm not complaining."
"Thith isth weally good!" Lucky choked out her words through a mouthful of baked goods.
"And you're completely in your own world." Jamie started heading East and like a magnet Lucky followed without even looking.
The pair wandered through a set of roads, over a connecting bridge and a few blocks of housing before reaching the Eastern gate. Anyone looking down on them from the peak of its height would likely see them as nothing more than a spec of rice. Jamie spoke with the guards responsible for the gate before they let them out of a smaller shutter style door off to the side. They walked for about fifty minutes in near silence before Jamie struck up conversation.
"So, how are you feeling today?"
Lucky gave a wry smile, "Fine, why do you ask?"
"I know you had a hard time yesterday. I don't know what happened but I just wanted to let you know I'm here for you if you want to talk."
"Mmm. Thank you. But I need this more than anything." Lucky's eye's turned focused. "Is here okay?"
Jamie took a look around the open grassy field. "Yeah I'm sure pops won't mind us using this space. Just so you know, I'm a horrible teacher."
"I know, you tried to teach me how to play 'Go Go Goblins' remember?"
"I try not to." Jamie chuckled.
"All I want is to be able to use a fraction of my power again. So just watch me and give me tips if you think I'm missing anything." Lucky took a few paces away from Jamie and closed her eyes.
Inhaling, she took a moment to align her senses with the environment. Hear the wind in the grass, feel the sun on my skin, let my gate work for me. Lucky recounted the ideas Karyl had given her. I don't remember ever needing to think about using magic, but it has been a long time. Lucky's expression relaxed and she felt a warm sensation wash over her body that started from her chest.
Jamie's eyebrow arched. Seems to me she has this under control. A rudimentary inspection told him that her mana was unfettered. Exceptional. Even though she's lost control she has an impossible mana pool somewhere in there. It's probably best we take this slow. Jamie ran his hand through his hair.
"Can you hold that while moving around?" Jamie asked.
"I donno, lemme try." Lucky took a step forward.
Her aura held but in some spots aura flares lept from her and the density varied greatly.
"Hmm, I see." Jamie nodded.
"See what?"
"Well how do I put it? It's not that you can't use magic or that your gate has been shut." Jamie began explaining, "It's more like when a runner is sick and tries to sprint or a singer gets laryngitis. Whatever happened took a toll on your gate's connection to your magical circuits ability to cleanly transfer your mana through your body."
Lucky tilted her head to the side, "So, I'm sick? I don't feel sick."
"Not likely, the good news is that with some consistent training and perseverance you'll be on the other side of this without much issue."
"I see, that is good news." Lucky's tail bopped around.
"Unfortunately there is a bit of bad news," Jamie pointed at the sky, "Picture the sky or the ocean as your mana reserves, It's a bit ridiculous to think about but go along with it."
"Okay?"
He brought his hands close together, leaving enough space for a cherryappa to fit in between, "This is about how much mana you can channel right now. It's enough to do quite a bit, but you're always going to have to have exceptional control over your mana."
"I have lots of questions." Lucky said earnestly.
"Haha, I'm sure you do but first... We're just going to worry about how to limit your output. Cool?"
"Yeah!" Lucky said excitedly running over to Jamie.
"Alright, pay close attention. This is your training regime for the foreseeable future. Do not do anything more or less to train until I say otherwise."
"Can I at least go on adventures and stuff?" Lucky asked.
"If you have a strong enough party, sure. But don't worry about that right now." Jamie took a deep breath in and his aura became denser, "Right now I'm channeling mana as those I wanted to protect myself from an incoming attack. Think of it as tightening your muscles." Jamie then exhaled and his aura thinned out but remained active. "I want you to spend the entire first half of your day doing this exercise no matter what else you're doing. After that for the rest of your day I want you to 'tense' your aura when you exhale and 'relax' it when you inhale. Essentially just reverse the order you did it in."
"Okay, that doesn't sound too hard." Lucky's puzzled expression made Jamie chuckle.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing at first too. Normally you wouldn't be expected to do anything else until you can handle that all day without failing but... If you're planning on adventuring I need you to find a basic offensive spell you can spam, for my own sanity." Jamie sighed, "Honestly you're going to make me age one thousand years."
"Well, I mainly relied on light and dark magic but I'm pretty sure I was trained in all of the elemental schools. Null included." Lucky stared to the sky.
"That's quite impressive! Is there anything you can remember that might have been easy for you to work with?"
"Yeah! Shapeshifting!!!" Lucky said proudly.
Jamie shook his head, "Uh, not that. Something you can use to keep distance between yourself and an enemy. Or maybe something you can kill them with perhaps."
"Yeah but I think it's going to be too hard to do right now. It's called 'Blanc' I made a series of spells around it." Lucky admitted.
"What does the base spell do?" Jamie asked.
Lucky scratched her head, "It shoots a raindrop sized ball of null type mana infused with light and dark mana."
"T-that's the base version of the spell?!" Jamie's jaw dropped.
"Mhm, I thought you might say that." Lucky giggled, "I can probably just do this instead for now."
Lucky looked around for a suitable spot in the meadow. Once she settled on a location she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Raising her right hand she stuck her pointer finger and thumb out like it was a gun. Jamie's eyes widened as a tiny ball of black mana formed around her fingertip.
"Halo Trigger!" Her voice echoed as she released the spell.
A ring formed around the ball expanding outward as a dark beam of mana roared to the designated spot in the field. Lucky's clothes violently rippled as the blowback in the air rushed past her. Once the shot reached the ground it sent debris flying in every direction. A decent sized hole was all that remained in the dirt.
"W-where did you learn that?" Jamie's voice made it seem like he didn't really want to know.
Lucky shrugged, "A Dragon came to me a long time ago and taught it to me for my birthday."
"Who the hell are you? Also, DON'T TELL ANYONE A DRAGON TAUGHT YOU MAGIC!!!" Jamie yelled at Lucky.
Lucky flinched slightly but nodded regardless.
"I-I'm sorry. People around here would start causing problems if they found out that you were on friendly terms with a Dragon. Especially with all of that shapeshifting you've been doing." Jamie explained, "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm sorry."
"I-it's fine, really." Lucky shook her head.
The two looked at each other for a moment, waiting for the other to say something. Jamie reached out and grabbed Lucky's hand.
"Alright, you learned the 'Halo Trigger' from me, okay?"
Lucky tilted her head, "That wouldn't be believable unless you can use it yourself."
Jamie sighed, "Yeah, that's why I said it. I can use it. Just trust me on this, okay?"
Lucky nodded eagerly, her cheeks turned red.
"I want you to do the routine I told you about and practice firing that until you can comfortably do three full powered ones in a day. You're going to be tired but it'll be worth it, I promise." Jamie stared intently into Lucky's eyes.
Flustered, Lucky's voice shook a bit, "I-I got it! Three in a day, practice practice practice!"
"Great, now that that's settled how about we get going?" Jamie grinned.
"Okaydokey!" Lucky's excitement was palpable.
*****
Street lamps and various floating orbs cut through the approaching darkness all over Aegis. Young and old denizens alike began trekking their way towards their beloved cities massive harbour. People opened their windows and shutters to invite the atmosphere into their homes. More fortunate folk relaxed on their balcony awaiting the upcoming Eveningtide Celebration. For a city of such diverse folk its nightly routine always seemed to bring people together. Already at the docks, hanging around pier thirteen the young pair were wrapping up their date.
"So how long should this meeting take? I want to visit the vendors!" Lucky exclaimed.
Jamie shrugged, "I can't imagine it'd take too long. But if you get bored, feel free to go on without me, I'll catch up."
"Hmph. We're going together. Get it? To-ge-ther!" Lucky pouted.
"Yeah yeah, I hear ya."
"Hey kid, the two of you are here early. I hope I didn't keep you waiting." A deep voice called out to them.
They turned around to see Ganyu standing behind them, alone. His flamboyant suit had a striking pattern blazed across its neat pressed suede.
"We just got here." Jamie reassured him.
"That's awfully nice of you to consider my feelings like that, all things considered."
"Actually, I think I'd like it if we could start over." Jamie stated.
Ganyu seemed shocked but quickly shifted to an amused expression, "How so?"
"I feel like when we spoke at Father Frank's I may have jumped the gun a little bit. While your subordinates were clearly out of line I should have been more willing to hear you out at the time. It almost seemed like you were there to stop them before anything went down, but in the moment I missed that. I'm sorry." Jamie explained, maintaining eye contact.
"Kid... No, Jamie. I'm surprised, you're the first person in years to give me any kind of a benefit of the doubt. I'll honor that by making this easy. I want what is rightfully The Marionette Mafia's. I want our seat back at The Round Table." Ganyu leaned on the safety bars peering over the ocean.
The fireworks began to go off depicting various things from Aegis goods, to battles and monsters. The crowd was lively enjoying the games, food and drinks. Lucky swayed nervously behind Jamie.
"I can't take it anymore," Lucky blurted out, "What's The Marionette Mafia? What's The Round Table?"
Ganyu chuckled a bit and looked at Jamie, "May I?"
"By all means, good luck." Jamie joked.
"Listen good lil' Neko, I'll give you a quick history lesson. The Round Table is an alliance of guilds from all across Earth. Within that alliance there is a set number of seats per continent. For as long as Aegis has been standing, it's always had a spot at that table. Can you guess what guild from Aegis historically sat at that table?"
"Hmmm, from the sounds of what you are saying I'm going to guess 'The Marionette Mafia', right?" Lucky looked for confirmation.
"Ten points! Yes, we of "The Marionette Mafia" always had a seat at The Round Table. In fact, we were the sole guild here in Aegis until about ninety years ago. Then, The Fool's Carol came along and made a name for themselves during The Seven Day Invasion."
"Uhm, Sorry to interrupt but what's that?" Lucky was so engrossed into Ganyu's story her tail stopped moving.
"Oh? You must be new around here lil Neko. That is the main reason for these nightly events ya know. But that's a story for another time, okay?"
Lucky nodded excitedly and leaned forward.
"After The Invasion, The Fool's Carol gained all the prestige for their efforts repelling the attacking force. In fact, they were so impressive that The Round Table used it as an excuse to oust us from our rightful seat. At the time my brother was The Don. It drove him mad and he resorted to invoking a vile act from our past. Forcing us to act less like a guild and more like a bunch of thugs. Our reputation was tarnished and along with it so was my brother's soul."
"He's leaving out something important, ya know." Jamie popped in.
"Oh? Please, do tell." Ganyu motioned to Jamie.
"Without The Marionette Mafia Aegis, surely would have fallen. Vladimir deeply regrets the outcome of that following summit and has petitioned for their reinstatement ever since. But another guild has lobbied to block it every single time."
"Why's that?" Lucky's face scrunched up.
"I don't know," Jamie admitted, "In fact I just learned the basics recently from Vladimir. Which brings me to an important question. Why not just go straight to him?"
Ganyu's eyes filled with rage but he managed to quell the fierce gaze, "He killed my brother. My brother may have been cruel in the end, but he was still my brother. I loved him but he left behind an heiress that I love even more. The way I see it, Vladimir took her father away from her. I cannot forgive that."
"I-I see..." Jamie looked at the ground, "So, if pops can't get your seat back, and you can't get your seat back how am I supposed to help?"
"All I'm asking is that you make a formal request on behalf of The Marionette Mafia. I want The Fool's Carol to allow us the honor of a duel for the rights to the seat. I want Vladimir and I to settle this one on one. That's the manly thing to do." He said.
"I can't promise anything, but I can call him." Jamie said.
"Right now?" Ganyu's eyebrows raised.
"Sure." Jamie's phone was already ringing.
A short jingle played, "I assume if you're calling me at this hour you have Ganyu there with you?" Vladimir's voice came through the speakerphone.
"Tsk." Ganyu sucked his teeth.
"Yep, he's here with me and Lucky right now."
Vladimir's voice raised an octave, "Oh Lucky? Are you two finally getting married?" Vladimir asked.
"MARRIED?!" Lucky shouted, grabbing her cheeks. She began muttering and walking in circles.
Jamie ran his hand through his hair, "Pops. Now's not the time for your jokes."
"Right right. Ahem." Vladimir cleared his throat, "So, how can I be of assistance?"
"Ganyu wants to submit a formal request, basically a duel for the seat at The Round Table. Just the two of you." Jamie explained.
"Ganyu Brightheart, if you truly wanted such a thing then you could just come down here anytime to request it of me." Vladimir said.
"P-pops, I thought you were trying to help them?" Jamie asked.
"I am, but not like this. Your brother wouldn't approve of it." Vladimir stated matter of factly.
A vein on Ganyu's neck popped, "HOW DARE YOU-"
"But," Vladimir interrupted, "I'll offer you this. Let's have an exhibition. Your guild and its fighters versus mine. We will use the Qualcotti system to decide the rules. Is that acceptable?"
Ganyu nodded at Jamie.
"Uh yeah, he's okay with it." Jamie said."
"Great, your demand first and your call. Jamie my boy, would you be so kind as to flip the coin and witness the Qualcotti?"
"Of course." Jamie produced a fancy gold coin.
"1v1, you and me. Heads." Ganyu said.
"Team format, with multiple teams." Vladimir replied.
After a fancy coin flip Jamie caught the coin and slapped it on the back of his hand. "Tails. Team format, multiple teams it is."
Ganyu groaned.
"Winner is decided by who has the most team wins. Tails." Vladimir said confidently.
"Winner is decided by a points system based off of Guild Ranks. This should include some kind of bonus for lower ranks beating a higher rank."
"Oh interesting, can we just do that?" Vladimir asked.
"That breaks the rules pops." Jamie's voice was sharp, "Doesn't matter, it's heads anyway."
"Exquisite!" Vladimir chuckled.
"We fight in the abandoned coliseum to the west. Tails." Ganyu said.
"I concur. Abandoned coliseum to the west." Vladimir sounded excited. "We invite a panel of judges and security from The Round Table. We also make this an event for any citizen of Earth to buy entry to, winner takes all of course."
"I have no qualms. Getting our seat back and a payday does sound nice." Ganyu taunted.
"Oh my, the fires of youth!" Vladimir spoke quickly.
"Anything else?" Jamie asked.
"All magic, breakers, abilities and forms of combat are legal. Heads." Said Ganyu.
"I agree, with the stipulation that if someone is killed, the murderer is disqualified and their points are taken." Vladimir's voice sounded somber.
"Damn, why didn't I think of that?" Ganyu watched nervously as Jamie began his coin flip.
"It's..." Jamie stared at the coin for a moment. "Heads."
Ganyu rubbed his head and turned around.
"Shame." Vladimir sighed. "We'll have to ensure that we staff the best medical personnel we can find."
"I think this is really stupid." Lucky declared.
"Huh?!" All three of the men replied.
"If none of you want people to die, just change the rules."
"We CAN'T just change the rules of a Qualcotti." Jamie said.
"If the rules suck, just don't follow them." Lucky stated simply.
"No lil Neko, it's not that we don't want to break the rules, it's that we literally cannot."
Lucky's bravado faded, "Huh?"
Vladimir spoke once more, "A Qualcotti is a rather ancient pinky promise of sorts. Except if you break this pinky promise the Aeon of Punishments will claim your soul and subject you to an eternity of torture."
Lucky shivered, "Oh, maybe let's not break the rules this time."
Ganyu grinned, "Wise choice lil Neko. So let's do our best to make this a clean and honest exhibition."
"Well said!" Vladimir cheered.
Ganyu grunted and turned his attention towards Jamie, "I'll send you the details for the point system tomorrow. For now, I'm going to go enjoy the night with my niece. You both take care of yourselves."
"You too Mr. Ganyu." Lucky waved him off. "I like him."
"Me too, Lucky." Jamie's voice was distant.
The two visited various stalls around the area. Lucky excitedly paid for all of her own food as well as Jamie's.
"Mmmph, this is soooo good! What is it again?!" Lucky's eye's sparkled.
"Fried kraken, ya know you could let me pay for tonight." Jamie said dejectedly.
"Nope! I wanted you to bring me out so I'll pay!" Lucky said proudly.
"Alright, just don't come whining to me when you don't have money in a few days." Jamie took a bite out of his fried kraken on a stick.
Lucky swiped a few times on her phone before shoving it in Jamie's face. The Ankho charm swayed rapidly as Jamie inspected her screen.
"HOLY SHIT!" Jamie spat out his food, "Just how much is Karyl paying you?!"
"I donno, I guess I got a lot of tips and Karyl gave me a bonus this week." Lucky smiled.
"Congratulations, you're making yourself a small fortune. You should save up while you still can." Jamie seemed pleased.
"Nope again! I want to pay you back first. Then I'll start saving up my money."
"Hmmm, that sounds like a great plan but I didn't help you expecting you to repay me. Now I feel kinda bad about making those freeloader jokes." Jamie rubbed the back of his head.
"That's not why!" Lucky stopped short, "I want to be eq-"
"LUCKY!!!" A green haired blur tackled Lucky from behind and squeezed her tightly.
"Stella?!" Lucky guessed.
"Ganyu?!" Jamie's bewildered face caused Lucky to turn her head where he was looking.
"I didn't realize we'd see each other so soon." Ganyu chuckled, "My darling niece here saw Lucky and wanted to say hi, I hope it isn't a bother."
Lucky hugged Stella, "Stella could never bother me! Jamie, can I show her the stand where we got the fried kraken?"
"Sure, do whatever you want to do. I wanted to talk more with Ganyu anyway."
Lucky and Stella happily departed together, hitting up various stands, leaving Jamie and Ganyu alone.
"Wanted to talk, did ya? I was under the impression you wanted to do something else." Ganyu stretched.
"Actually, Ganyu. If it's alright with you... How do you feel about a friendly sparring match?" Jamie felt his heart race, every fiber of his body wanted to move at that moment.
Ganyu raised his eyebrow, "Here? You must be mad."
"I know a spot, but you're gonna have to hitch a ride with me. It'll take about thirty minutes but it shouldn't be an issue." Jamie explained while pointing backwards towards the east.
Ganyu nodded and followed Jamie out of the city to the spot where he and Lucky had trained earlier in the day. The air's chill stung like a whip but Jamie couldn't feel it. He's like me, I just know it. I can definitely let loose a little. Jamie shook, and assumed a fighting stance.
"I'll set a timer." Ganyu said.
"What for?"
"It's just a hunch, but I don't want us getting too carried away. Five minutes, then we head back. Alright kid?" Ganyu tapped away at his phone then placed it in his jacket pocket.
Jamie shrugged, "Sure, it's just a spar so a time limit is fine."
Eyeing Ganyu up, Jamie's breathing slowed as he focused in on his opponent. It's not just his physique but his mana is pristine as well. But that's not all there is to him. That wouldn't be enough... Jamie pondered the facts and unknown before him but suddenly Ganyu's fist was a centimeter from his face. This is it. Should I dodge? Ganyu slugged Jamie square in his nose, snapping Jamie's head back and pushing it into the ground. Jamie felt a crunch from the earth beneath him as his body was forced a few centimeters inward.
"Get up, you could have dodged that." Ganyu took a few steps back. "Kids these days, I swear you're all battle crazy nuts."
Jamie stood up from the cloud of dust and patted the grime from his clothes. "You caught that? I knew you were good but this is amazing."
Ganyu stood proudly, "Don't hold back on my account, kid. Let's see if the stories about you are true."
Jamie's mind began racing but the image of a distant memory quickly brought itself to the foreground of his thoughts. Bodies were scattered everywhere, his tiny hands drenched in blood. The girl he had fought to protect balled her eyes out when he looked at her. She ran away from him only to be speared by an injured enemy. Everyone's afraid of the real me. Can he actually handle it?
Jamie pulled himself away from the painful trip down memory lane just in time to be on the receiving end of a nasty uppercut to his chin. Allowing himself to roll with the attack mitigating the majority of the damage. In the same motion he wrapped his arms around Ganyu's forearm, and his legs around Ganyu's chest.
"An armbar from that position?" Ganyu winced but managed to shake Jamie off before he could fully lock in.
While still in midair Jamie contorted his body causing him to roll bringing his heel downwards from behind him. Ganyu barely managed to block the heel drop with both of his arms before it could crack his noggin. Weightless? Ganyu looked around and Jamie was nowhere to be seen.
"Invisibility?" Ganyu called out. Wait, no!
Ganyu's amber eyes seemed to flash and he quickly dropped his elbow and raised his knee simultaneously. Jamie reappeared in front of him this time on the ground while delivering a nasty turning kick towards Ganyu's side. Jamie's eyes widened as he was aptly blocked.
"Neat trick." Said Ganyu.
"I could say the same to you." Jamie retorted.
Ganyu snatched Jamie's kicking leg and swept Jamie's anchor leg. Jamie watched as Ganyu left his vision and the sky came into it. With a dull THWACK! The back of his head smashed into the cold earth below.
"Ow!" Jamie broke free and disappeared again.
What followed would be considered a feat of inhuman abilities as Ganyu's eyes flashed in quick succession. With every flash Ganyu quickly positioned himself for a block or a dodge. Jamie would disappear and reappear rapidly throwing bone crushing strikes at Ganyu's blind spots and weak points. No matter where Jamie seemed to attack from or how he mixed it up Ganyu was always ready for him. Finally after Jamie whiffed a teep kick, Ganyu threw a sharp jab at his face. Jamie vanished again but Ganyu rotated his body towards his dominant rear hand and let a spinning back fast fly wildly. It caught Jamie as he appeared once more, sending him careening away from the location. Ganyu took a deep breath but his eyes flashed again and he desperately began searching for Jamie.
Behind me. No wait in front. Ganyu reached out to grab where he thought Jamie would appear but this time he felt nothing but the air between his fingers. What?! A blinding light pulsated from where Ganyu had knocked Jamie away to.
"HALO TRI-"
Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Beep beep beep. Ganyu's alarm chirped repeatedly and the light from across the field dimmed until it was snuffed out.
Jamie popped back into Ganyu's vicinity and ran his hand through his hair, "My bad, I got a little excited there."
"It's a good thing I only set the alarm for five minutes. You were starting to ramp up a little." Ganyu grinned.
Jamie stretched and let out a satisfied sigh, "When you do the points for the exhibition, can you do me a favor?"
"What's that?" Ganyu asked.
"Well, I want you to include the Phoenix Rank as well."
Ganyu's lips raised into a sly grin, "Oh?"
Jamie nodded, "I had originally thought about not participating cause it seemed pointless for me to fight... But now I have something to look forward to."
"I see, well if that's the case I'll be sure to include your rank in there as well. Do you think you can have your roster ready in a week?" Ganyu asked.
"I'm sure pops has finished it already." Jamie said dryly.
"Great, then we can arrange our teams and keep them to ourselves until the day of." Ganyu grinned.
"Man, I was hoping to get to fight you. Now you're just leaving it to chance."
Ganyu shook his head, "Vladimir won't let you fight until the final act, don't worry we will get our chance."
"What makes you so sure?" Jamie began walking back to Aegis.
"If he plans on making this some form of entertainment then of course he will save the fabled 'Heart of Aegis' for last. Think about it, who in their right mind is going to leave before they get to see you in action." Ganyu explained.
"I think you're overselling me a bit but I get your point." Jamie rotated his shoulder.
"Which makes it all the better for us when I am the victor."
"Haha, we'll see." Jamie laughed.
*****
A few hours later Jamie and Lucky finally returned to his cabin in the mountains. Jamie took off his shoes and neatly put them away as Lucky plopped face first into the couch.
"Ugh! My feet huuuuuuurt!" Lucky complained.
"Well if you stopped running back and forth to every stall every half a minute you'd probably have been fine." Jamie looked up and quickly shielded his eyes. "CAN YOU NOT DO THAT IN FRONT OF ME?!"
Lucky's clothing and skin skittered as she changed between various nightwear. Her skin flashed Jamie during each swap as she built a new outfit.
"you act like I've never changed in front of you before." Lucky stopped shifting her outfit.
I didn't realize it, but keeping up with Jamie's instructions is making it hard to shift quickly. Did he actually see something? Lucky buried her face into the couch, hiding her reddened cheeks. The outfit she landed on was a lighter blue onesie with a Wyvern hood on it. Little fabric Wyvern wings popped out from the back as well. Her ashe hair fell into blunt bangs just above her eyes and her twin tails ran down the front of her new outfit. She turned her head back to face Jamie and covered her mouth.
"Maybe my allure is just too much for you to handle." Lucky teased.
Jamie silently walked over to Lucky and stood right by the edge of the couch, "What if it was?" Jamie asked.
"Uh-w-w-well, what?! EH?! JAMIE?!" Lucky panicked.
Jamie leaned down over the couch getting a handful of centimeters from Lucky's face. Lucky's face was burning hot and she could feel her heart in her throat.
"I'm going to bed." Jamie turned and walked to the hallway leading to his bedroom.
"W-WHAT?!" Lucky exclaimed.
"We can watch Ankho's stream VOD tomorrow." Jamie shouted from his bedroom before closing the door.
"What just happened?" Lucky clenched her chest and sat up straight. "Idiot..."
Lucky snagged her phone and stormed up to the loft before throwing herself into bed. She scrolled through the dozens of pictures she took with everyone today before accidentally falling asleep. While the two inhabitants of Jamie's cabin rested a trio of robed individuals moved throughout the city of Aegis. Their goals were unknown but surely they were up to no good.
**************************************************************
(Uploaded version is the initial draft of the work LxD. The final edited version will be available for purchase in the future and you can check the progress of the book by visiting Lucky's streams twitch.tv/TheLuckyTempest)