“So that marks every room, except the kitchen, on the top floor complete,” Rave listed as they went back down the stairs. They would have had the energy to also have a quickie in the kitchen, but they felt like taking a break. A quick recharge and they would probably continue in the evening. Probably being a guarantee.
The couple moved back to the living room just in time to hear the doorbell ring. “Huh, who could that be?” John wondered as they made their way over to the front entrance. When he opened the door, silver eyes in a tranquil, pale face looked back.
“Salutations,” Luna said and extended her hand in greeting. Her voice was melodic and calm, it reminded John a bit of Undine. Bamboozled, the Gamer took the offered hand and shook.
“It’s an honour,” he added hastily.
“I am sure it is,” the moon goddess waved off his attempts at being formal. “Just relax, John Newman, I am not interested in you today. Where is Lydia?”
“Ehm, last I saw her she was in the backyard,” John answered.
“Do not worry, I am right here,” Lydia, appearing around the corner of the building, said. “Lady Luna, how are you today?”
“Just call me Luna, Lydia, we are not in court,” Luna sighed, a soft breath that caressed her silver lips. “Why do you have to insist on being so formal?”
“As the patron goddess of our overlord, a certain amount of respect towards you is necessary, Lady Luna,” Lydia stated and, with a motion of her hand, invited the moon goddess inside. “May I invite you to a cup of tea? The servant of the Gamer makes one that is particularly well tasting.”
“You may,” Luna answered with a curious expression, and they entered the living room.
Where Thana was watching some crappy romcom from the couch. “Ahaahahahhaaaa,” she laughed just as Lydia opened the door, “these people are imbecile, degenerate scum, holy shit. Who is that dumb?” Lydia pinched the bridge of her nose as the blood mage, still only in her bikini, while loudly eating a bag of crisps (which of course turned into a mess of broken parts), turned over to look at the group. “What’s wrong?” Thana asked.
Lydia took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________
“…and that is why your current state is disgraceful, look at yourself, you are covered in crumbs! Also, if you are going to run around only in underwear, at least wear it correctly. I can see your left nipple. Pull your top into the correct position. Jetzt!” Lydia ended her lecture about what was wrong.
“Fucking okay, anal queen,” Thana gave in. One of Lydia’s eyes twitched dangerously.
Luna just passed the couch and made her way over to the dinner table. “Please, I don’t mind the mad one’s manners,” she finally spoke up once she was comfortably seated. “As a matter of fact, I find it positively amusing. As long as it happens outside of court,” she clarified a moment later.
The good news about all of this was that Aclysia had enough time to prepare the tea. She carried the tea set together with a bowl of cookies on top of the silver plate that was her salver. Well, technically, the salver she had gotten used to carrying stayed in the old house, but like everything else, there was a replica of it here.
“It is an honour to serve you,” Aclysia said with a deep bow.
“Yes, yes,” Luna sighed, “It is.” She took a sip of the tea and let out a delighted sound, “This is indeed a good tea. I take it you sleep with your creator?”
The question came out of nowhere and left everyone slightly stunned as Luna dipped one of the cookies in her cup. “Oh? I recognize when something is baked by hand; unlike your tea these could use some work, however. I recommend a little bit less salt and more sugar,” Luna took a second cookie despite her complaints. “Where are we on the previous question?” she probed once she had taken a flawless bite from the cookie.
“Ehm, yes,” John answered truthfully, still unsure about the situation.
“I would have been surprised if you wouldn’t. She is a pretty one, my congratulations,” Luna looked over Momo, who was reading as always.
“Yes, same goes for me,” Momo said in a bored tone, belying the little blush on her pale features, before the moon goddess could raise the question. “Although I am way less enthusiastic about it. Could live without it, honestly.”
“I can hear that,” Luna said in a slightly amused tone. “I am going to assume the same goes for all,” she looked at John carefully for a few moments, reading his aura carefully, “five of your elementals as well. A pretty little ensemble you got yourself. A true daughter of the wind, a calming plain, a spark of war, a vast darkness and… oh, what do we have here, a still water? A really nice group to sleep with.”
“Ey, he is my boyfriend, why don’t I get to be asked if I sleep with him?” Rave asked.
Luna chuckled, “I see, I see. How about you, little psychopath, are you part of this harem?”
“Call me little another time and I will crack your surface open like meteorite made from fucking frogs,” Thana growled, only to add, casually, “but yeah.”
“So, when did you cave in, Lydia?” Luna turned to the princess.
The royal cleared her throat, sipped on her own cup of tea and answered, “I am not part of this little club.”
“Oh, surely not, ‘anal queen’,” Luna giggled. She grabbed another cookie; between her slender fingers the bakeware looked like a piece of raw stone. “You are the sole woman in a household full of pretty young things who restrains herself from the only dick in the airspace. I have been around my beloved for too long and have seen too many others in the same situation to believe that lie. Two days?” Lydia averted her eyes as Luna continued her stare. “The first one? How amusing,” the moon goddess said, her lips the faintest, mocking smile.
“Please keep this to yourself,” Lydia, knowing that further denial was pointless, pleaded.
“Romulus will hear of this,” the certain tone in her voice was absolute, “but I will keep it from Sol and the rest of the world, you have my word.”
“Thank you,” Lydia respectfully bowed her head.
“I, however, advise you to come to a decision when to announce this relationship,” the moon goddess offered a word of wisdom; “People will make assumptions, and rumours can be more damaging than the vilest of truths. I recommend you tell everyone before you take the throne, if you should succeed.”
“I will think about it,” Lydia promised, and the two of them emptied their cups in elegance.
“What is going on?” John whispered to Rave.
“No clue, tiger,” Rave answered in a similarly quiet voice, “but I find this super funny, let’s just keep listening.”
“You don’t think we should step in?”
“Nah, either we find out what this is about soon enough or there’ll be something to laugh at. I enjoy Lylytina getting bullied a little.”
Lydia sent them a poisonous glare that indicated that she had heard everything, before asking Luna, “So, what brings you here?”
“Ah, yes, aside from your wonderful company, I am here to discuss two things with you. Also, this,” Luna pushed her hand into the air and pulled out a small, midnight-blue bubble.
‘Has been a while since I have seen somebody use a personal pocket dimension,’ John thought and inspected the bubble, which Luna simply put into the air. He didn’t even need Observe to find out what it did, mostly because Luna told them.
“I thought I might as well bring your piano over, the shrinking spell will wear off in an hour, so get in position by then,” Luna said and softly poked the bubble, causing it to fly at Lydia.
“My deepest gratitude, lady Luna,” the princess said as she took the bubble and then put it into her own pocket dimension.
“Wait a second, you have one of those?!” John interrupted the tea talk.
Lydia looked at him with disapproval, “Do not interrupt in such annoyed a tone, John. Selbstverständlich, do I have one? I am a royal.”
“Then why do I have to carry all the loot on my own all the time?” he wanted to know.
“Because mine does not have as elegant of a sorting system and neither does it freeze time inside. I also do not have much room. I store my important legal documents in there,” Lydia explained and softly shook her head, braid dangling, before she gestured to Aclysia to refill her cup.
“Anyhow, for the two matters that I want to discuss with you, Lydia,” Luna pulled attention back to her before the talk got delayed further; “First, I am here to tell you that the tournament will start on Tuesday, the 19th, at 16 o’clock. For reasons of structural importance, you and at least one team member eligible to fight are required to arrive at least twenty minutes earlier.”
‘So, in three days then,’ John thought. The part about them arriving early was expected; it would be rather awkward to wait for the royals that were fighting to arrive when the broadcast was already running.
“Second,” Luna said after Lydia gestured her understanding, “I am here to give you a way to repay the favour you owe me for delaying the fourth announcement.”
“I thought I would turn in the favour I got by organizing the trade route of fresh Baltic fish to your palace. It is not easy to transport these from reality into the Abyss and then all the way to Rome,” Lydia answered and spied over the edge of her cup, waiting for an answer before she took a sip.
“You could most certainly do that,” Luna admitted, and Lydia smiled, knowing that she now had the edge on the terms of this discussion; “However, I am willing to give you another option. Just answer me one question, and you shall retain the favour I owe you.” Lydia lowered the cup from her lips until it almost hit the small plate. The tea inside softly waved in a circular motion as the princess pondered.
“What would that question be?” she asked.
“Can you relay a message to Nathalia?” Luna asked, a spark of hope in her silver eyes.
“Not directly,” Lydia said, keeping her grey eyes glued to the cup, “but I could find a way.”
“That is enough for me,” Luna finished her tea with eyes on John and stood up. “If you would be so kind, let her know that I am willing to shield her presence in this city from Romulus. Their squabble about who wronged whom is not mine, and I miss her crazy antics. However,” Luna stopped at the door of the living room, looking at everyone inside in turn and stopping at Momo, “urge her to leave all carriers of disease at the door and to keep a low profile. I wish you all a nice day, may we talk again soon.”
With that Luna left behind the living room, and the closing of the front door a moment later indicated her leaving the house. “Well, that wasn’t nearly as funny as I hoped,” Rave complained.
“Welcome to politics,” Lydia said and finished her own cup; “Now that I have my piano back, I can work in peace.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t work beforehand?” John wanted to know.
“I could and I did, but it's not nearly as relaxing,” Lydia told him.
“…Did you just fucking indicate that doing bureaucracy is RELAXING?!” Thana spat out.
Rapidly blinking, the princess crossed her arms in confusion, “Do you not agree?”
“No, no, of - fucking - course not,” Thana reprimanded.
“I do,” Momo said as she finished yet another book. “You mind if I help you for a bit? I am bored of reading for now.”
“You help her?” Rave sounded genuinely consumed. “I thought ya just sat there and read all day.”
“And I thought you were just busy screwing around and screwing period all day,” Momo countered. “Guess which one of us is closer to the truth?”
“Ehem,” John cleared his throat, “before this turns ugly, again, or we start separating for the day, I want to bring up something else.”
He opened his inventory and pulled something out. That something was a twisted piece of metal, once it had looked like a spine, but now it looked more like a centipede frozen in motion.
John placed the Metracana on the table.
“So that marks every room, except the kitchen, on the top floor complete,” Rave listed as they went back down the stairs. They would have had the energy to also have a quickie in the kitchen, but they felt like taking a break. A quick recharge and they would probably continue in the evening. Probably being a guarantee.
The couple moved back to the living room just in time to hear the doorbell ring. “Huh, who could that be?” John wondered as they made their way over to the front entrance. When he opened the door, silver eyes in a tranquil, pale face looked back.
“Salutations,” Luna said and extended her hand in greeting. Her voice was melodic and calm, it reminded John a bit of Undine. Bamboozled, the Gamer took the offered hand and shook.
“It’s an honour,” he added hastily.
“I am sure it is,” the moon goddess waved off his attempts at being formal. “Just relax, John Newman, I am not interested in you today. Where is Lydia?”
“Ehm, last I saw her she was in the backyard,” John answered.
“Do not worry, I am right here,” Lydia, appearing around the corner of the building, said. “Lady Luna, how are you today?”
“Just call me Luna, Lydia, we are not in court,” Luna sighed, a soft breath that caressed her silver lips. “Why do you have to insist on being so formal?”
“As the patron goddess of our overlord, a certain amount of respect towards you is necessary, Lady Luna,” Lydia stated and, with a motion of her hand, invited the moon goddess inside. “May I invite you to a cup of tea? The servant of the Gamer makes one that is particularly well tasting.”
“You may,” Luna answered with a curious expression, and they entered the living room.
Where Thana was watching some crappy romcom from the couch. “Ahaahahahhaaaa,” she laughed just as Lydia opened the door, “these people are imbecile, degenerate scum, holy shit. Who is that dumb?” Lydia pinched the bridge of her nose as the blood mage, still only in her bikini, while loudly eating a bag of crisps (which of course turned into a mess of broken parts), turned over to look at the group. “What’s wrong?” Thana asked.
Lydia took a deep breath.
___________________________________________________________________
“…and that is why your current state is disgraceful, look at yourself, you are covered in crumbs! Also, if you are going to run around only in underwear, at least wear it correctly. I can see your left nipple. Pull your top into the correct position. Jetzt!” Lydia ended her lecture about what was wrong.
“Fucking okay, anal queen,” Thana gave in. One of Lydia’s eyes twitched dangerously.
Luna just passed the couch and made her way over to the dinner table. “Please, I don’t mind the mad one’s manners,” she finally spoke up once she was comfortably seated. “As a matter of fact, I find it positively amusing. As long as it happens outside of court,” she clarified a moment later.
The good news about all of this was that Aclysia had enough time to prepare the tea. She carried the tea set together with a bowl of cookies on top of the silver plate that was her salver. Well, technically, the salver she had gotten used to carrying stayed in the old house, but like everything else, there was a replica of it here.
“It is an honour to serve you,” Aclysia said with a deep bow.
“Yes, yes,” Luna sighed, “It is.” She took a sip of the tea and let out a delighted sound, “This is indeed a good tea. I take it you sleep with your creator?”
The question came out of nowhere and left everyone slightly stunned as Luna dipped one of the cookies in her cup. “Oh? I recognize when something is baked by hand; unlike your tea these could use some work, however. I recommend a little bit less salt and more sugar,” Luna took a second cookie despite her complaints. “Where are we on the previous question?” she probed once she had taken a flawless bite from the cookie.
“Ehm, yes,” John answered truthfully, still unsure about the situation.
“I would have been surprised if you wouldn’t. She is a pretty one, my congratulations,” Luna looked over Momo, who was reading as always.
“Yes, same goes for me,” Momo said in a bored tone, belying the little blush on her pale features, before the moon goddess could raise the question. “Although I am way less enthusiastic about it. Could live without it, honestly.”
“I can hear that,” Luna said in a slightly amused tone. “I am going to assume the same goes for all,” she looked at John carefully for a few moments, reading his aura carefully, “five of your elementals as well. A pretty little ensemble you got yourself. A true daughter of the wind, a calming plain, a spark of war, a vast darkness and… oh, what do we have here, a still water? A really nice group to sleep with.”
“Ey, he is my boyfriend, why don’t I get to be asked if I sleep with him?” Rave asked.
Luna chuckled, “I see, I see. How about you, little psychopath, are you part of this harem?”
“Call me little another time and I will crack your surface open like meteorite made from fucking frogs,” Thana growled, only to add, casually, “but yeah.”
“So, when did you cave in, Lydia?” Luna turned to the princess.
The royal cleared her throat, sipped on her own cup of tea and answered, “I am not part of this little club.”
“Oh, surely not, ‘anal queen’,” Luna giggled. She grabbed another cookie; between her slender fingers the bakeware looked like a piece of raw stone. “You are the sole woman in a household full of pretty young things who restrains herself from the only dick in the airspace. I have been around my beloved for too long and have seen too many others in the same situation to believe that lie. Two days?” Lydia averted her eyes as Luna continued her stare. “The first one? How amusing,” the moon goddess said, her lips the faintest, mocking smile.
“Please keep this to yourself,” Lydia, knowing that further denial was pointless, pleaded.
“Romulus will hear of this,” the certain tone in her voice was absolute, “but I will keep it from Sol and the rest of the world, you have my word.”
“Thank you,” Lydia respectfully bowed her head.
“I, however, advise you to come to a decision when to announce this relationship,” the moon goddess offered a word of wisdom; “People will make assumptions, and rumours can be more damaging than the vilest of truths. I recommend you tell everyone before you take the throne, if you should succeed.”
“I will think about it,” Lydia promised, and the two of them emptied their cups in elegance.
“What is going on?” John whispered to Rave.
“No clue, tiger,” Rave answered in a similarly quiet voice, “but I find this super funny, let’s just keep listening.”
“You don’t think we should step in?”
“Nah, either we find out what this is about soon enough or there’ll be something to laugh at. I enjoy Lylytina getting bullied a little.”
Lydia sent them a poisonous glare that indicated that she had heard everything, before asking Luna, “So, what brings you here?”
“Ah, yes, aside from your wonderful company, I am here to discuss two things with you. Also, this,” Luna pushed her hand into the air and pulled out a small, midnight-blue bubble.
‘Has been a while since I have seen somebody use a personal pocket dimension,’ John thought and inspected the bubble, which Luna simply put into the air. He didn’t even need Observe to find out what it did, mostly because Luna told them.
“I thought I might as well bring your piano over, the shrinking spell will wear off in an hour, so get in position by then,” Luna said and softly poked the bubble, causing it to fly at Lydia.
“My deepest gratitude, lady Luna,” the princess said as she took the bubble and then put it into her own pocket dimension.
“Wait a second, you have one of those?!” John interrupted the tea talk.
Lydia looked at him with disapproval, “Do not interrupt in such annoyed a tone, John. Selbstverständlich, do I have one? I am a royal.”
“Then why do I have to carry all the loot on my own all the time?” he wanted to know.
“Because mine does not have as elegant of a sorting system and neither does it freeze time inside. I also do not have much room. I store my important legal documents in there,” Lydia explained and softly shook her head, braid dangling, before she gestured to Aclysia to refill her cup.
“Anyhow, for the two matters that I want to discuss with you, Lydia,” Luna pulled attention back to her before the talk got delayed further; “First, I am here to tell you that the tournament will start on Tuesday, the 19th, at 16 o’clock. For reasons of structural importance, you and at least one team member eligible to fight are required to arrive at least twenty minutes earlier.”
‘So, in three days then,’ John thought. The part about them arriving early was expected; it would be rather awkward to wait for the royals that were fighting to arrive when the broadcast was already running.
“Second,” Luna said after Lydia gestured her understanding, “I am here to give you a way to repay the favour you owe me for delaying the fourth announcement.”
“I thought I would turn in the favour I got by organizing the trade route of fresh Baltic fish to your palace. It is not easy to transport these from reality into the Abyss and then all the way to Rome,” Lydia answered and spied over the edge of her cup, waiting for an answer before she took a sip.
“You could most certainly do that,” Luna admitted, and Lydia smiled, knowing that she now had the edge on the terms of this discussion; “However, I am willing to give you another option. Just answer me one question, and you shall retain the favour I owe you.” Lydia lowered the cup from her lips until it almost hit the small plate. The tea inside softly waved in a circular motion as the princess pondered.
“What would that question be?” she asked.
“Can you relay a message to Nathalia?” Luna asked, a spark of hope in her silver eyes.
“Not directly,” Lydia said, keeping her grey eyes glued to the cup, “but I could find a way.”
“That is enough for me,” Luna finished her tea with eyes on John and stood up. “If you would be so kind, let her know that I am willing to shield her presence in this city from Romulus. Their squabble about who wronged whom is not mine, and I miss her crazy antics. However,” Luna stopped at the door of the living room, looking at everyone inside in turn and stopping at Momo, “urge her to leave all carriers of disease at the door and to keep a low profile. I wish you all a nice day, may we talk again soon.”
With that Luna left behind the living room, and the closing of the front door a moment later indicated her leaving the house. “Well, that wasn’t nearly as funny as I hoped,” Rave complained.
“Welcome to politics,” Lydia said and finished her own cup; “Now that I have my piano back, I can work in peace.”
“Seriously? You couldn’t work beforehand?” John wanted to know.
“I could and I did, but it's not nearly as relaxing,” Lydia told him.
“…Did you just fucking indicate that doing bureaucracy is RELAXING?!” Thana spat out.
Rapidly blinking, the princess crossed her arms in confusion, “Do you not agree?”
“No, no, of - fucking - course not,” Thana reprimanded.
“I do,” Momo said as she finished yet another book. “You mind if I help you for a bit? I am bored of reading for now.”
“You help her?” Rave sounded genuinely consumed. “I thought ya just sat there and read all day.”
“And I thought you were just busy screwing around and screwing period all day,” Momo countered. “Guess which one of us is closer to the truth?”
“Ehem,” John cleared his throat, “before this turns ugly, again, or we start separating for the day, I want to bring up something else.”
He opened his inventory and pulled something out. That something was a twisted piece of metal, once it had looked like a spine, but now it looked more like a centipede frozen in motion.
John placed the Metracana on the table.
