Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 104 – What Are You Doing Tonight?

Chapter 104 – What Are You Doing Tonight?

[Ava POV]

Today really didn’t go the way I’d expected.  When Kierra first suggested going on a shopping trip this morning, I thought it was just going to be a fun sister date, but instead, I’m left here watching as Kierra sprints her way through explaining whatever she just saw while Cattleya constantly interrupts with her own supposed explanations for it all.

At one point, Kierra said something about a giant shark creature, and immediately Cattleya lit up, declaring that whatever was doing all of this was clearly getting more desperate as people were finally catching on. This was quickly followed by her declaring that whatever or whoever was casting these illusions must now be aware of Kierra in some capacity, as she wasn’t able to see through all of the illusions this time.

It was all a little too much too quickly for me, my only real interest in playing along with all of this was making sure everyone was safe… not that Cattleya seemed to have too much of an interest in that with the way she chose to starve herself instead of reaching out to someone for even the smallest amount of help.

Though even through all of that, I couldn’t exactly say that it was a bad day. Despite what I would have expected, Kierra and Cattleya were getting along surprisingly well. It wasn’t even a planned meeting between the two of them. Of course, Kierra was still somewhat hesitant to speak up, but it wasn’t as bad as before, where she would often just refuse to say anything… and I also couldn’t deny that Cattleya was quite cute when she wasn’t trying to show off all the time.

Through all of these thoughts, I accidentally lost track of time and was only reminded once the warm oranges in the sky gradually disappeared and the lighthouse began to glow above us.

“Alright, you two,” I said as I stood up and stretched a little, “We should probably head home before it gets too late.”

“Mm,” Kierra hummed as she got up.

Cattleya, however, simply extended her arm out towards me, clearly still expecting some help getting up, even though she was now looking much better than before. Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to refuse her, although, as I extended my hand out towards her, a concerning thought crossed my mind.

“Cattleya, where are you staying at the moment?” I asked as I helped her up, “Considering, well… y’know.”

I didn’t want to say it out loud, but now that I knew she had run away, I needed an answer to put my mind at ease.

“…” She didn’t respond, instead doing her best to avoid eye contact with me.

Come on now. What do you think is going to happen if you tell me the truth?

…

“I guess that means you’re coming with us then,” I said with a sigh.

“What?! But-”

“No buts,” I put a finger up to her lips to stop her from fighting back, “You need to eat, don’t you?… Wait, you do need to eat food, right? Not just blood? I do remember you quite enjoying the sandwiches I put together before.”

“Mhm,” Cattleya hummed, not even trying to move my finger away.

“Good. Then that means you’re coming with us for dinner at the very least. And you’re in for a treat. I’ve already spoken to Daleia and gotten permission to use the kitchen tonight… well, on the condition that she gets a sample.”

She didn’t push back that time, finally giving in and deciding to follow us to the inn. The short trip itself wasn’t very eventful, aside from waving goodbye to the lighthouse keeper and his offering us a lantern. We ended up turning him down, but after walking for a bit, I ended up regretting that decision… being forced to keep my hands on both Kierra’s and Cattleya’s shoulders to have them guide me through the darkness until we got into the town proper, and there was a bit more ambient light around.

Once we finally got into the inn, it was fairly quiet, most people clearly already having eaten, going by the dirty bowls and plates scattered over the tables.

“Right, you two go find a clear table,” I said as I walked towards the kitchen, “I’ll get started right away… Any preferences for tonight?”

Kierra shook her head, while Cattleya just didn’t respond, which was a bit of a problem, as the question was mainly for her.

“Would it work for you if I add some of my blood to your portion?” I asked, trying to get some kind of response from her, “I don’t know if you still need more, but if you do-”

“N-no!” She interrupted me, “I-It does not work like that… It needs to be fresh blood, not-… but that does not matter right now. I do not need any more anyway.”

“Okay then. I’ll take that to mean that there aren’t any preferences between the two of you,” I opened the door to the kitchen, “I won’t be too long, so don’t go missing me.”

True to my word, I got started right away, only pausing for a moment to greet Daleia on the way in. I did make sure to mention that I had brought someone extra with us, but she responded simply by saying that she’d decide how to react based on how satisfied she was with my offering to her.

As for what I decided to cook, it was admittedly nothing too special. The main thing I wanted to do was play around with some of the spices we bought on one of our first days here, and probably the best way to do that is to make something familiar, but with a slight twist… at least that was the thought I had in mind as I approached the stove… but upon seeing what I had available to me I was tempted to try something a little different.

…

Ultimately, what I decided to do was put together a dish with grilled fish, seasoned fairly liberally with some of the spices that I quickly toasted off. It really did just turn into a chance for me to play around with all the new things I had acquired over our short time in Haelmor. The few accompanying sides were just made from the vegetables that Daleia had left over from earlier in the night, some potatoes, some edible greens, nothing too fancy, so as not to take away from the main attraction.

As I was plating up, Daleia came and took her sample, giving it her approval after some consideration, before helping me carry the plates out to the other two. Outside the kitchen, Kierra and Cattleya were sitting at the furthest possible table in the corner of the room, waiting in complete silence.

“Dinner’s ready, you two,” I called out as I approached the table, “I told you it wasn’t going to take too long.”

As soon as I had set the two plates down in front of them, they started digging in, or I should say, Kierra started digging in, and Cattleya followed. It shouldn’t have been as much of a surprise to me as it was, considering we accidentally skipped lunch with everything that had happened.

Daleia set my plate down for me before heading off to the other tables and collecting all the dirty dishes.

As I took my first bite, I was a little… underwhelmed? The dish was definitely a little imbalanced, which was to be expected considering I was both experimenting and rushing a bit.

Choosing fish as the main protein was also probably a misstep on my part. With how subtle the flavour is, all the spices I added just overwhelm it. Not that anyone seemed to mind at all, as it was finished in a record time, leaving the three of us staring down at clean plates.

…

Unfortunately, that gave some time for my mind to wander… mainly with regards to Cattleya and what was going to happen from now on. It was good that I was able to make sure she took care of herself through the day, and even managed to get two ‘meals’ into her. But now that that’s all done, what’s going to happen with her?

To be blunt, I just didn’t think it was a good idea to let her go back to wherever she was staying, as she clearly didn’t have her priorities straight. For all I knew, the moment I let her go, it would be another week before seeing her again, maybe even in a worse state.

…

“Cattleya, what do you think of staying the night here?” I asked absentmindedly.

“What? N-no, I could not,” she responded almost immediately, stuttering over her words, “… It is not right… I do not have a room. I could not impose like that.”

…

At that moment, I just couldn’t help myself, and I had to tease her a little.

“Oh, that’s no problem at all. You can just share my bed with me, y’know?” I did my best to hide my expression, “It might get a little warm, but that’s much better than the alternative.”

“…” She completely froze up for a moment, “I… I-I…”

“Come on, you don’t need to worry so much about it,” I eventually said, not wanting to push my luck too far, “I’m sure my bed wouldn’t be up to your standards anyway. I’ll talk to Daleia about getting you a room for the night. It might stretch our coin a little thin, but that’s an issue for another day.”

“No, you do not need to do that!” For some reason, my comment quickly brought Cattleya out of her brief stupor, “I have a place already. There is no need for you to-”

I didn’t even wait for her to finish before just getting up and heading towards the front desk where Daleia was waiting, “But, I think there is very much a need for me to do this.”

Once I reached the desk, I didn’t even have to say anything as Daleia had clearly overheard our conversation with how loud it had been.

“I have an empty room across the hallway from yours, a single bed, but fairly spacious. I’ll even throw in a discount for you as my way of showing some appreciation for your cooking tonight,” She then smirked, “Though it is contingent on a few more samples in the future.”

“That sounds like it works out perfectly,” I replied, reaching out to take the key from her.

However, just before I could, Cattleya swooped in, taking the key for herself before slamming a single gold coin on the counter.

“It is to be my room, s-so I will be the one paying,” She said confidently despite her stutter.

The whole situation was too much for me, and I just couldn’t hold back my giggles any longer.