get ready [fenrir]

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight When Xai first got the voice call from Fenrir, she would be kidding herself if she didn’t find it suspicious that he was the one calling her, not the other way around. And even so, they didn’t even call each other, not really. Usually it was just her dropping by unannounced at the little cafe he worked at and bothering him for the duration of the shift - much to his annoyance and her amusement. It took a few times before she really got under his skin, but it somehow it ended up with the two of them adding each other on their friends lists and more frequent visits from the foxtail. The first time she came into the cafe was, after all, just a coincidence. She’d been wanting something quick to eat and drink, maybe a place to rest and just stay free from stress and a small little cafe tucked in a little corner was just the perfect place. And she’ll be damned the first time she stepped in - the wolf hair that worked there was quite the looker. Somehow she took it upon herself to be the biggest pain in the ass that he would ever see. But he really grew on her, not just as someone she could annoy (in all honestly that could be anyone she so desired, some other random person she could pick up), and she hoped that she was held in the same regard by him. And if this call proved anything, it was that. Xai didn’t know why she was receiving this call right now. Wasn’t this the middle of his shift? In fact, anyone who called her saying “Hey I need to talk to you right now, meet me at the usual place.” and hung up almost immediately caused her some sort of worry. She was alarmed, as would any other sane person faced with the same situation. Was he in trouble or was this some new sort of prank he was trying to pull? She walked in the cafe, half expecting to see her favorite wolf hair still behind the counter doing... well, whatever he usually did. Xai never really did pay much attention to what Fenrir usually did, actually. But she looked around and didn’t see his tell-tale white hair nor his ears, or even his hat. Where did that guy go? Was he in the back or was he off work today? This was the ‘usual place’ was it not? She decided to wait there for the time being, she’ll leave if he was a no-show. So for the first couple of minutes she twiddled her thumbs and did nothing but sit there. After a while she ordered a cappuccino. Then a biscotti to go with it. And then some tea. And biscuits. Of course, she’d like to make everyone else believe that this was over a course of an hour or so. No, this was in a couple of minutes - comically enough she was so bored that she had consumed all she had ordered in moments. Thanks Fenrir, for taking so gosh darn long. She looked at her wrist and her (non-existent) watch, tapping her fingers on the table in an irritated manner. “Bastard making me wait. Ai yaaa, and he really made me worry.”

[Fenrir]

Fenrir had asked Xai to meet him at the cafe for a meeting that he was not really sure how to even start. Just today he had decided to do a few things differently, and these choices were not going over well with most people he knew. For example he had recently changed class, switching from a bard (which helped him make extra money on the side of his cafe job) To deciding that he was finally ready to pack up and leave town. Fenrir had not expected Xai to show up anytime soon so she had hoped to have some extra time to himself. For he had already spent most of the day moving all his belongings into storage, or by packing the small things and locking them in his apartment. After all he lived in a very small upstairs apartment above the cafe he worked in, so as long as he kept it locked his things would be perfectly safe where they were. After all Fenrir was planning on going on a little adventure, but hoped for it to be a easy and short one. He had a bit of a mission to go on, and that was why he called Xai over. Switching to Assassin was not just for show or looks, he had done it so that he could stay alive outside of the city, mostly just incase he was going to be stuck going alone. His gut told him to stay in town, that the danger outside was not really worth it, but that was a lie. He had waiting way too long to finally give up on his missing sister, she was out there somewhere, he knew that much. For too long he just sat and waited for her to come to him, no more, after today Fenrir would leave this city, on a quest to find his loving sister. After closing the last box Fenrir checked the time and jumped to his feet, only slightly startled. For normally being the one always on time, Fenrir had allowed time to flow away from him and now he was the one that would be late for their meeting. Fenrir raced down the stairs and found Xai already waiting from him at a table. If he had knew that she would be coming on time then he might have cleaned up a bit more. Fenrir weaved his way over, grabbed a chair and took a seat across from Xai, more his his own safety. Xai was too easy to make mad, and he was not in the mood to hear her complain that he interrupted something important. After sitting he tossed hit feet onto the top of the table and leaned back, trying to look as relaxed as possible. “So you decided to show up on time, that is pretty rare of you. Is everything ok?” Funny how He’s the one asking the questions when it was Xai’s every right to wonder what was going on. “Anyways, notice anything different about me?” Word Count: 506

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight Curse him and curse his stupid name and just... all the expletives she could think of directed at this guy. Xai knew she was being unreasonable, but Fenrir really should have known better. They’ve known each other for how long now? He should be accustomed to the fact that she was a very impatient person. She could already tell that his excuse was going to be something like she was never early so he just assumed she wouldn’t be there. Not that he even assigned a time to meet, it was just a very open ‘soon’ which made her worry. Worry a lot. She supposed she really shouldn’t have worried. In hindsight she knew that Fenrir could take care of himself for the most part. And it wasn’t like they were the best of friends. They’ve only slept together, that was all, and that meant nothing. The only thing he got going for it was that the both of them enjoyed it very much so - to the point where she didn’t even take his money for it. Like... friends with benefits. That sort of thing. So maybe she cared a little about her neep buddy’s current status in life, because with the sort of customers she usually got, she would take him over them any day. And technically he was one of the only people she would consider fairly trustworthy. Sure, her friends list was chock full of people, but they weren’t exactly people she talked to on a daily basis, or wanted to talk to... ever. When she arrived she really did half expect him to be like chased down by some shady people or something akin to that - not waiting. Despite the fact that she was a generally impatient person, she was also a human being who worried for other people - namely people important to her, which consisted of basically just Fenrir and a couple of other contacts of her’s. They were important, yes, but that was for other reasons for, say, business propositions whereas she would probably just miss the stupid wolf hair. Not like he would ever disappear. Just, you know, reincarnate at the Cathedral. But whether the two of them liked it or not, they were very much in each other’s lives. Even if it were for Xai’s own selfish reasons concerning him. For some reason she breathed a sigh of relief when she finally saw his floppy ears and light hair and that stupid hat. She rolled her eyes, but still she was glad that he was in one piece and not requesting her assistance at the Cathedral that she almost never visited. But now her anger had bubbled up and she was just about to cuss him out in a way very reminiscent in her earlier MMO years when he started to talk with that smug expression of his and smug tone of voice. “Haha, very funny. What about you, you’re never late. Are you sure it’s not you but me? What the hell is it today, opposite day?” Xai raised her eyebrow quizzically at him. Did something happen to him, or something? “What are you going on about, Wolfy?” She brought up his profile and… She stared at him. Xai wasn’t sure to be shocked or angry or elated or what. She kind of just stood there in a stunned stupor for a few seconds. “You’re… an assassin now.” It was said in an almost matter-of-fact way, because it was true. The words were staring right back at her. “Why? I thought you were perfectly happy being a bard. Thought it was a time for a change, did you?” She could help but smirk at this newfound information. This wouldn’t be so bad. This wouldn’t be bad at all. In fact, now that she was thinking about it, she kind of liked it. “So what? You got me all worried with your voice call, going ‘hey come here’ because you never do, and now you’re an assassin. And here I thought you were in some serious trouble.” She couldn’t hide being annoyed, her tail swished in annoyance and her fox ears were pressed down against her hair, conveying the same emotion. “If that’s all you wanted to show off, you really could have just messaged me, not make me come all the way here. What’s your angle, anyways? And are you gonna explain to me this big change or what. Finally decided you wanted to be a ninja?” And the most important question - what did it have to do with her, of all people? Sure, Fenrir was one of her friends, and he was certainly enjoyable in his own way, but that meant little in the grand scheme of things. If he wanted to go change classes all willy-nilly, it was none of her concern. Surely they knew each other well enough for him to understand that.

[Fenrir]

Fenrir was pretty good about not being late to anything, he was the type to have really good timing with most things. Whether it be for a meeting or anything else he normally made a habit of being the first there. This was a habit of his that had carried over from the real world, but maybe he was starting to slip, or at least he was when it came to do with Xai. Still that might have something to do with the fact of his earlier statement. When it did come to Xai, she was normally the one that made him wait, Fenrir did not know if she was like that with anyone else, or if she just liked teasing him by making him wait on her. He chuckled and shook his head as he leaned forward onto the table. “No nothing like that, I just needed to ask you something and thought that now would be a good a time as any to ask.” But how should he ask her? He had planned this out so well, but now that he had something to say, Fenrir was not so sure on how he wanted to say anything. More importantly, he was more worried on what Xai was going to say, instead of what he was going to stay. She had already been waiting on him, what if she took that as reason enough to just spite him and say no? Fenrir was not sure he could carry out all his plans on his own and was really counting on Xai’s help. Still today was going to be on him, after all she had been right. He had not given her a set time or even a good idea of when or why he wanted to see her. Although the class change was a good ice breaker, it was not the full reason behind this gathering. He had called Xai over for something of a favor, or maybe it was more of a weak offer.. He wanted her help, or more so just her company in general. She would not be much help to him in direction or even in the travel itself, but in staying sane and in combat, Xai was his woman of choice. For both never being the type to step out of the city, both Fenrir and Xai had a good mind of tactics and the overwhelming need to always be on top. With that knowledge Fenrir was pretty set on Xai being his traveling partner, but was not really sure on the fact that she would accept his little quest. After all, if Xai had no reason to leave the main city before, what would change that now? Still he needed to at least try, for his sister if for nothing else. “So yes I did change my class, mostly because I’m pretty sure Bard will not get me the results that I need. Do you remember, at least vaguely, that I’ve told you about my sister?” It had been a while since he had talked about his sister. When he had first started looking for Hannah he had talked about her often, going on about what her avatar looked like and how she was defenceless without him, and on how worried he had been. Over the recently year Fenrir quieted down about his sister, but he always kept an eye out for her. After all, even after all this time, he was the big brother and he still had this need of wanting to find and protect his little sister from harm. “Well I finally thought it was about time I leave the city and go out there and look for her. I thought that she would have thought to return to the start, to at least try and met up with me first, but I’m starting to think different. I am thinking that maybe she is staying somewhere else, not able to leave do to the danger, or she’s lost her memory of me all together.” That last comment scared him a bit, big brother was in no way happy with the idea that maybe, just maybe his little sister had just up and forgotten him and he was being all worried while she was not. That would just kill him, all this time be looking for her, for what? Still the chance that she really would forget him was pretty low, the odds themselves were not that high to begin with. No his bigger bet was that she was just stuck, with no help, all alone with no one to guide and protect her. Fenrir only felt worried and sorry for his sister, all of the worse situations coming to mind. If anyone, anyone at all hurt her in anyway he’d kill them, over and over until he felt better about it. “So I am planning on heading out in a few days, probably after the Lunar festival and I wanted to ask if you would please join me for a bit? I would really enjoy the company? Please?” He wasn’t begging just yet, but he was really hoping Xai would say yes. He really did not have much to offer, but hoped there was this pinch of friendship that carried over and would sway her into helping him, at least for a little. He was fine with her getting bored at some point and turning back, but really did hope that she would at least travel a city or so away with him. After all getting out there to seeing the rest of the world was not a horrible idea. “Oh I can say that if you come with me, I promise you’ll never be bored, theres a whole world out there to enjoy, new places to see, some danger on the way of course, but you have me to protect you?” The cheeky little grin that he had should be enough to show that he was joking, but just could not help himself. After all, he knew very well that Xai could take care of herself, but he was not going to let her do all the work, he would at least try in protecting her. After all they were friends, and sometimes a little more, he had respect for her and wanted her to be happy and safe. Word Count: 1060

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight Xai bit back the overwhelming urge she was feeling to snap at him. Fenrir meant well, she knew this much at least. He was at least of a very decent sort, trustworthy, and she could not let her stupid pride get in the way and fuel her emotions. Even if he annoyed her by being late. Still, something must be on his mind for him to behave as such. It was uncharacteristic of him and Xai felt a little bad about her aforementioned snark. Would he believe her if she said it was only out of concern for him? That she was just really relieved that nothing bad had actually happened to her little boy toy (boy toy was probably a bad word to describe him... even if it was kind of true)? She motioned for him to continue to talk. For now she kept her mouth shut in fear that she would say something wrong. But what was she supposed to do, buy fancy champagne and crack it open to commemorate the occasion? People change their classes all the time. Well, to be fair, they changed their class after they were sure they could handle the level penalty that sent them back to level one. Now, Xai never really had a problem with that, never actually stepping foot outside of the city of Londinium and thus having no real need to change her level. In fact, at her humble level one she would have almost no penalty changing to another class. She liked being a summoner, though. She figured that it would be useful someday, if she really did need to level up for safety, or whatever. Within the walls of this city she really didn’t have much to worry about. Sure, if she summoned her Phantom she could do some reconnaissance, but she found little need for it as she was already fairly nimble on her feet. Call it being a fox tail, or something, but she enjoyed being a sneaky sneak (sometimes, not all the time). But she wasn’t ninja-worthy, not really. Now that was all Fenrir’s job. Maybe she should go and send him on hit missions. As if people really died, or she really needed people dead. His sister? Oh yeah... Xai did remember something about a sister. Something about her being younger and... well, that was all she knew, because she honestly didn’t pay attention to him at the time he was spewing out all the nonsense. And that was so long ago, she hardly remembered. But after so long, he was still hung up about his sister? But why now? He seemed particularly happy these days, perhaps a bit distracted. Maybe that was it. Still, she didn’t understand why he was bringing this up to her, and now. She certainly had nothing to do with his sister. Or maybe... Nah, she was definitely deluding herself. No way. They’ve known each other since they got stuck in this stupid place, where he got this job at this cafe and when she walked in here at the very beginning. He had told her of his plan to make money so that he could travel. But then he talked less of it, and then less, and Xai just took it as him passively giving up on the quest. And then suddenly he wanted to take it up again - he probably had enough money now. Money wasn’t a problem for Xai, with her profession and all. She bit her tongue and bid him to continue. Xai wondered for a brief moment if he was a siscon. If she was dealing with a real-life siscon. But nah, he definitely couldn’t be. It was just brotherly love, right? Something she didn’t really know, seeing as the one child policy kind of prevented her parents from giving her any siblings. She could sort of understand it like that, the concept of it. If he really loved his sister, she supposed it was possible for him to still be thinking about her. In a purely platonic sibling way, of course. So she listened to the first part of Fenrir’s proposition, stifling giggles until she couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. “You, of all people, are finally getting off your ass and go out and find her? And here I thought you were comfortable being a little cafe barista. Or whatever it is you do here. Chef? I don’t even know. You can’t be the owner, can you?” Of course he wasn’t, what was she even saying. Xai was only teasing, evident in her tone of voice. “And I severely doubt your sister would have forgotten you entirely. She probably just wandered off. Got lost. Maybe died a few times, you know how bad PKing was back in the day... maybe she’s in another town and is set to spawn in that Cathedral?” Xai was aware she was probably making this ten times worse and making Fenrir worry, but that was the least she could do to get back at him for making her worry. She didn’t really take in consideration his feelings, but when did she ever do that? She was a little ruthless in her own right, surely Fenrir was used to it already. Perhaps she should be flattered that Fenrir invited her along on his little crusade. Then again, what made him think she’d go along with it? While she mulled around with the idea in her head, weighing the pros and the cons equally, Fenrir was continuing on, bumbling in a kind of adorable way, at least to her. She almost wanted to accept right there, with a big open smile that was so not characteristic to her. But she stopped herself. “While this all sounds like a very grand plan with a very noble cause, I hope you’re not thinking about recruiting me without giving me something in return, are you?” Her devilish grin was back. Oh, she was definitely on board with his whole mission to save his sister, to both have some fun and sate her curiosity on who the mysterious girl was, but she would never reveal that to Fenrir. She leaned forward, closing the distance between the two but also keeping the table between them (but it hardly made much of a difference, because she was practically on the table now, her body nimbly avoiding the cup and plate that held the previously devoured snacks she had bought, her chair practically abandoned as her whole body was getting uncomfortably - or comfortably, mattering on however he saw it - close to Fenrir). “You really want me to go with you? Well... Perhaps we could work out a deal...” She swore her voice lowered a bit and had a more sultry edge. It wasn’t like she was trying to use Allure or anything - that only really worked on People of the Land. It was fairly obvious what she wanted out of this agreement, although of course there would be definitely more than what she already experienced with him. “I don’t think I’ll be getting too bored anytime soon, don’t you think?” She trailed a finger down his clothed chest before wrapping some of the purple fabric draped on his neck around her finger. “Don’t you think?” She tilted her head to the side, coyly, almost as though she were toying with her food, and Fenrir was her prey. Awkward this game of cat and mouse when they were so obviously fox and wolf.

[Fenrir]

He was pleased with the fact that Xai indulged him by allowing him to speak his whole thought process. He had rambled off at first, not really knowing what he was saying but trying to make two points very clear, one he wanted to find his sister, two he wanted Xai to go with him. Why? because in all honestly he did count her as some sort of friend, she was on his friend’s list after all. She was one of the first people from the real world that he met in this game after he figured out that he was stuck for good. He did have another friend or two, but they were people of the land, not people from the real world. Not that him and Xai ever really talked about the real world any more. They did at one point, they even shared their real life names with each other, though he couldn’t remember her’s anymore and doubt she knew his. “Anyways, I changed class in hopes of making things easier for us, me as a Bard is not going to be enough for some of the places we’d need to go. I think I was born to be an Assassin in the first place, I’m sneaky enough for it.” He nodded to his own words agreeing with himself. He had been a Bard from day one, mostly because he was just fan of music and did it more for the role play aspects, but now he needed to get out into some dangerous areas. He needed a class that he could fit and that would keep him alive longer, so of course Assassin seemed like the right choice. Fenrir forgot how quick Xai was when it can to making a move, first they are talking about something that he thought was important and it some how translate to her wanting to get something out of it. Not that Fenrir had anything against her tactics, he understood that she would need some incentive to just get up and go with him. It made sense he was asking her to leave the only city they ever knew, just so that he could look for a sister that has been missing for ages now. He had no clue where to start, or how he would even find her, but he wanted to try. He watched as Xai made her move, at first he was not completely sure in what she was up to, but caught on after she reached for his shirt. She was slick that was for sure, Fenrir almost felt lucky to just being able to know her. She was a beauty, and was not sure if it was a good or bad thing that her fox like tendencies grabbed his attention a bit easier then they should. He found her captivating and really doubted that she needed to do much to get his attention. “A deal you say?” At first all he did was smirk a little, he knew what Xai was getting at, but he wasn’t about to make things any easier for her. He leaned back more in his chair, pulling her even farther over the table since she was holding onto his short. His shoulders shrugged as he pretended to miss the point, wanting to wait a second before he allowed himself to play her little game. He lifted one hand and placed it under Xai’s chin pulling her face up so that he could get close. He hovered his lips near hers for a moment before taking a nibble at her lower jaw. “I’m pretty sure we can find some entertainment along the way.” He whispered into her ear before he stood up from his chair, the force was probably enough to make her let go. “So what do you say? Will you please go with me? Oh dear wonderful, beautiful perfect, Xaireal.” He could only pray that she would say yes, although, even if she did say no, Fenrir was prepared with a plan B. This plan included begging and groveling, and if that still did not work he was willing to move on to blackmail, although with Xai’s suggestion, bribery seemed to be an even better idea, and one that would work. He knew what she wanted and was willing to give it to her, if it meant that she would go with him. This game of cat and mouse was only the beginning, and between a sly fox and a hungry wolf, things were going to only get more exciting, his tail wagged behind him, symbolizing his pure excitement. Word Count: 770

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight She felt her lips curl into a frown, a growl almost escaping her mouth as she watched Fenrir pull away from her. Not that it made much of a difference, because she had closed the distance between the two of them that he had nigh an inch to move backward and into his chair, lest he fall off. And apparently take her with him, because she was still holding onto that piece of fabric. Oh, if she weren’t in public, the things she would do right now... but Xai had more class than that. And she really couldn’t be caught doing something like that - plus she doubted that Fenrir would appreciate it very much. Xai couldn’t help but let out a low moan at Fenrir’s actions. Yes, he understood perfectly well - though to be fair, anyone would be with how forward she was being right now. Then again, she was underestimating the sheer amount of boneheaded idiots and oblivious girls that were out there who couldn’t tell the difference between friendliness and literally coming onto them. Sometimes that worked out to her advantage, but usually it ended up with her getting frustrated at not getting what she wanted. She had really been spoiled. Honestly, after getting trapped in Elder Tale, she had half a second to decide that maybe this wasn't so bad at all. And then came the whole personality shift thing, the whole getting way too into her roleplay class role. Not that many people were aware of who she was outside of Elder Tale - none of the usual people she played with were up at that late hour, certainly much less the people she actually knew who played. She had perhaps gotten a bit too excited over the new expansion at the time where she kind of jumped the gun... And proceeded to get stuck in the game like the idiot that she was. Not that it was her fault at all, but she thought it could have been easily avoided if she had maybe, you know, actually slept that day instead of hopping onto the MMO. It was the last thing she remembered, anyway. She couldn’t really trace back how exactly she ended up in the Unfounded Kingdom when she had been sitting in her room in her pajamas. Fenrir knew her so well - too well, almost. He knew exactly what to say and do to get her to do exactly what he wanted. Whispers in her ear, nibbling at her jaw, it was almost over too soon, much too soon. She would have preferred if he had just done it for a little longer, just a little longer. But that was asking for too much - after all, they were trying to discuss the terms of agreement here. And it certainly wouldn’t do to get... sidetracked, of all things. Plus, she was sure that they would have plenty of time to do the things she wanted to do with Fenrir later on. Perhaps even today, if she were lucky. So many other men were just so... incompetent. Then again, she did have to think about how these were people who played MMOs, not sex gods. While she was using the table to support herself in her endeavor to get closer to Fenrir, it was unpleasant when he pulled away from her, leaving her to support only her stomach on the small table while the her legs were hanging off the side, and her hand not quite reaching Fenrir’s shirt anymore. It was a sigh of frustration that left her mouth from the loss of contact. She was already anticipating the next time they would be able to spend some alone time together. Hopefully they would be able to do that very, very soon. But there was one thing she liked a lot more than, well, sex. Fenrir was currently complimenting her, and if Xai loved anything it was compliments. But still, for some reason it just didn’t feel like enough. But at the same time, she was questioning whether or not she was pushing this too far. Eh, but it couldn’t really hurt to push it a little bit further. Fenrir was looking a bit too desperate, and she was going to milk him for all he was worth... figuratively and literally. “Hmm. I like the sound of that. Say it again for me. Please~?” Although it kind of came out as a question, it was very much a demand. She lifted herself off of the table, smirk and all still present. “That’s a great proposition, actually. But I can’t bring myself to accept.” She smiled coyly at him. “Perhaps you should... try again?” Her own tail was swishing, but not for the same reason as his own.

[Fenrir]

Forward was not even the half of it. Fenrir was pretty used to Xai’s advances, so much so that he knew how to roll with them, when it was the proper time of course. Now was not really that time, she had tried but he was not about to allow her to get hm distracted. After all they were still in the middle of a cafe, and he was trying to convince her to travel with him, there was no room for happy fun times right now. Still judging by Xai’s actions she did not agree with his train of thought, and even went as far as to reject him with the closest thing to a maybe that she could give. Really what did this woman want from him? Other than the obvious, did she want him to beg? Sure he told himself that he was willing to beg, but now that the option was there, he really did not want to follow through. Fenrir watched her as she took a while before getting off the table, and then once she finally did she returned to her games with him. She wanted him to repeat himself something he had not thought was needed, and yet here he was, faced with a small problem. “Really? What else do you want to hear that you don’t already know? I know that you know that I think you are a beautiful woman, a bit too coy for her own good, but a sweetheart nonetheless.” If she was fishing for compliments, and that was just not going to work. Sure he was trying but this really was not something Fenrir was good at, at least not in the way Xai would probably like. He could go on about her talents or her great fashion sense, but that really would not get him anywhere. Fenrir’s eyes got distracted by the soft movement behind Xai, which just so happened to be the movement of her tail. This was entertaining, since most foxtails did not always have their tails or ears out, so when they did it really meant something interesting. Fenrir couldn’t help himself and stepped forward to close the gap between himself and Xai. He teased her, running fingertips down from her shoulder and down her arm. Then he ran his fingers down her back, passed her lower back and then followed her tail, grabbing it lightly and caressing it before letting go. “Please, I promise you that I will keep you from being bored, as you know, I always keep my promises.” He smirked, he was not giving in completely, but many, just maybe if he teased her enough, maybe just then they could meet half way. He wanted her to say yes, and she wanted him to work hard for it. Right now he was looking for something more like a trade, she say yes and he takes care of some of her needs. A fair trade in Fenrir’s books. After all as much as he said it, he did believe that she was beautiful. He had had the right to hold her in his arms more than once, and ever time she felt so lucky to even know her. Yes he was attracted to the avatar, but he was also attracted her personality, not that he would openly admit it. Word Count: 558

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight Xai bit back a smile as Fenrir complimented her once more, but she ultimately failed. And for once, it was an actual genuine smile, not one of her signature smirks. It made her happy to hear these words. Perhaps it was something left of her old life, she liked being praised, she could never have enough of it. Not that many people did so back then, either, but she thought of this new life she had built was sort of like a vanity trip for her. She was certainly beautiful, yes. And she could almost believe - almost - that this appearance was wholly her. But it wasn’t. Deep down she knew that, despite what she would otherwise lead other people to believe. But there was no way that she knew for sure that she was ever going back to her old life. For all intents and purposes, she really was Xai, they were one and the same. Annabelle just simply didn’t... exist anymore. There was nothing connecting her to that past life anymore, just her memories. Not something like a sister, like Fenrir here. In a way she was a little jealous, but at the same time not particularly. She could live without emotional baggage. “I suppose that would do, Wolfy. Perhaps you should brush up on your skills. With the way you’re going, you’re never going to actually romance anyone or sweep some lucky girl off her feet.” Still she giggled. If only he knew. Xai always kept her ears and tail out for the world to see. It was only when she was particularly in need to hide that she ever hid them at all. And that was, in and of itself, a very rare case indeed. Her logic went something like this - she picked this race, and she liked being a fox tail, so why would she ever want to hide it? It was very cute and one of her selling points. To hide it was like sacrilege for her and her customers! It had very little downside to it. The only problem was... When Fenrir came closer to her, Xai let out what could only be described as a purr. Foxes didn’t really purr, but she did. He was... he was just not being fair, that was it. Because of how close the two of them were, he knew all of her weak spots. Well, nearly all of them. If he had really wanted to know all of them, he had to go and find out himself, because she definitely wasn’t going to be telling anyone what turned her on, much less Fenrir. She’d turn into complete putty in his hands, and she had at least wanted to preserve some of her dignity as a courtesan. It was supposed to go the complete opposite way. “A-ahhhhh.” She was making quite indecent noises for being in public, but that was because Fenrir was going directly after her weak spot. Her tail. That was the one and only downside to having her tail out. Even though it was thoroughly embarrassing to have let that happen to her in public, she gave a dejected sigh as he let go, missing his caress. God damn, he had almost had her, too. “Look, I...” He had already promised her what she wanted, but still she was hesitating. She wanted to go. She wanted to go with almost every fiber of her being, but something was keeping her back. Some sort of reluctance, some sort of hesitation. “I... I have customers.” Feeble and weak. “I’m not sure if this is a good time for me to leave. Unless, of course, you provide some sort of compensation for it.” It was her main source of income, since she didn’t fight evil beasts to earn money from in order to sustain herself. “Will you promise to feed me with your amazing chefly ways?” Fenrir was a lot taller than her, but she could at least reach up and scratch behind his ears. “Because I would love to eat some of it. Plus, I’m sure we can both get someone beneficial out of this compromise, don’t you think?” Now that he was an Assassin, she really was relying on mostly him to pull the weight of killing any dangers that they might face. She had picked the Summoner class for purely one reason - cute summons and friends. Granted, she had only two summons, and she couldn’t really say her Phantom was anywhere near cute. “Promise you’ll protect me too, okay?” He had already promised, but she wanted to hear it again, to confirm it. There was to be no dying on her watch.

[Fenrir]

That sweet sound that escaped her lips almost seemed illegal, and yet he just couldn't help himself. Maybe it was wrong of him to go for her tail, but he just knew her body a little too well. She of course knew the same about him, but in public she had a bit of a standard to keep to. Fenrir on the other hand had nothing to worry about. He was just some wolfhair that worked in a cafe and had some skill in cooking. He kept himself from doing more, finding it unfair to used what he knew about Xai in this game of convincing her to leave with him. She was still wavering just a bit, something about her customers. “Maybe we can find you even more customers along the way. if anything, wouldn’t you like a little vacation? A getaway, with me?” He kept her body close to his, his hands resting on her hips. “A little time alone with me wouldn’t be so bad right?” He smirked as she made a comment about his cooking and the fact that she wanted him to protect her. “My cooking and my protection will be yours, Xai I promise, i will not let any harm come to you.” He was a bit of a heartthrob, knowing just what to say, something he didn’t know he was good at back in the real world. Yet here, with Xai, he had learned a lot more about himself in the passing time. He lifted her chin up with one hand and dipped his head to her, he kissed her, sealing his promise with this one kiss. “Please come with me?” Word Count: 278

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight If there was one thing that wasn’t humiliating about this whole experience having her practically melt right before his eyes, is that Xai didn’t have to pull any of those tricks. She couldn’t, to be fair, but she liked to think she was taking the high road here. That Fenrir was the one that not playing by the rules or being fair. Notwithstanding the fact that if she didn’t have a reputation to uphold, she would be doing the same thing to him. But she needed to keep appearances up, because honestly who knows who might pass by and recognize her. Especially since her attire wasn’t actually all that common. “What makes you think you’re so special, silly wolf? Like I’d want to spend every waking moment with you on this so called vacation where we’ll, well, kill monsters and do everything that is not considered a vacation.” Although it seemed like the words had a little bite laced in them, her tone was upbeat and teasing. But in actuality, she craved it, loved it. Didn’t help that he was so close, almost uncomfortably so. Not because of personal space - Xai lacked that on a daily basis. Just because he had this effect on her, and she was in a love-hate relationship with it. Was she actually blushing or did it just increasing a couple of degrees in the area that was her face? She took it back, she took all she said back about not winning any girl’s heart. If she had been some simple minded girl like she was back before her days here, she probably would’ve fallen for it too. Shame on Fenrir for thinking he could use that logic on her. But for some reason her heart still swooned when he pulled her in for a kiss. She’d have to get better at that if a simple kiss would make her feel this way. A kiss was supposed to be romantic, but she would learn not to confuse it with such as a courtesan. “My, my, aren’t you a lady killer, Wolfy. I swear you’d have gotten anyone wrapped around your finger by now and just begging to go with you.” She was mocking him, she was. But she was glad to hear that he would protect her - that was her only priority. That and money. She loved the shinies. But still she held back, for a little while, as though she were just making up her mind. But she knew that they both knew she had already made it up, it was only the formality of actually saying it. “You better keep your word. I’ll be keeping an eye out for when you want to leave. When is that, exactly? A few days after the Lunar Festival doesn’t really give me long to inform my regulars that my services are cancelled for an undetermined amount of time.” She looked thoughtfully at him. That was some potential money gone, but surely Fenrir would gladly make up for it. It was only fair. “Speaking of which, have you got a lucky girl to take to that, yet?”

[Fenrir]

He shrugged to her lady killer comment, not all too sure about the statement. Although the things he said came out more naturally, he was not so sure about being a lady killer. It was not like he had women fall at his feet, in fact the only person that did anything like that was his boss’ daughter, and she was of course people of the land. Her father was the cafe owner and would tell Fenrir over and over that he should marry his daughter. An offer that was always rejected in the nicest way possible. Fenrir was not the marriage type, and he never planned to stay in this town forever, so it made no sense to marry anyone. Even more so if he ever went back to the real world, he couldn’t get too attached, this was just a game after all. “No rush really, I just thought after the festival would be a good aim. I do not really have a travel plan just yet, since I have no clue where she could be, I was thinking of just aiming for every main village or city and go from there. See if I run into her along the way that would be great, but if not, maybe I’ll find her in one of the main hangouts. I know she’s here somewhere, and I will find my sister.” He did sound a lot more determined again, for a good while Fenrir had almost given up on ever finding his sister, but he felt like he really had a chance now. Something in him told him that now was the time, something clicked. Fenrir could say that it was his gut telling him, but maybe this game was just really getting to him, maybe it knew something that he did not. Either way he was not about to worry about why he felt like searching now, instead he would just go with the flow, at least he had someone to spend time with on the way. “Ah the festival, about that, I really had not put much thought into it but I thought we could go together? I mean you were going to go right, and I had thought about going, so we should just go together.” Smooth right? Not really but Fenrir had made his point in a way, he had always just assumed that Xai was going to go and that he would tag along. They seemed to do that often just randomly heading to a hangout here and there and spending some nice time together. He did enjoy what time he spent with Xai and knew that they would probably have fun at the festival. Only now did Fenrir realized that they were still a little too close to each other and broke all contact, moving so far as to make it to the wooden bar that lead to the kitchen. He hopped up onto the bar and took a seat. “So what do you say? Sometime around the afternoon? We could meet at the Square, just give me a call or something when you are there.” He really was not sure when would be a good time to meet up, he knew that the best part of the festival was the food, well as long as it was made by the right person. It was good to be able to eat all you want and never have to worry about getting fat. Word Count: 578

[Xaireal]

baby, i'm preying on you tonight He sounded like he really did love his sister, and Xai’s heart went out to his cause. Only if, of course, she had something to gain from it. Which she did. Not that she didn’t have any ulterior motives aside from the most obvious reason that she was agreeing. She wasn’t some whore that only thought about sex - although she knew that some people would beg to differ. It would be beneficial to her - a lot. While Fenrir was having deluded thoughts about his sister, she wanted to level up without the fear of dying and having to fend for herself. She knew that dying didn’t have very many negative consequences to it - but she really didn’t want to experience it either way, so if she could avoid it, she’d very much like it. Xai wasn’t much of a fighter, more of a strategist if anything. And very, very good at bossing people around to a tee. Well, as long as Fenrir was okay with that, they’d get along fairly swimmingly. “If you’re ready, I’ll be ready.” Not as if she really had any real connection to Londinium, anyways. You know what, Xai took back all she said or thought about him being a smooth talker. That illusion shattered as soon as he started talking about the festival. In fact, she even raised an eyebrow, almost as if to say ‘is that the best you’ve got?’. “If I wasn’t going, what then?” But Xai knew that she was going, of course she was. It was the best place to pick up customers. Although... now that she thought about it, she did want to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Take it as tradition for her - it was something her family always celebrated, and this was no different. She didn’t really have many people to receive red envelopes from, though. And no one to really give it to. Perhaps Fenrir? Or maybe his sister? But it would be too late then. With her arsenal of money, she could afford to part with some gold, she could be generous too. She could prepare some red envelopes. And if her calculations were correct, Lunar New Year would be just upon them. “The festival, I guess I could go with you. I should be cleaning for the New Year, but I guess I could take some time off to spend with you. I’ll meet you there! Haha, and don’t be late this time, okay?” Ah, speaking of which. “Hey, your boss is a lander, right?” She didn’t really wait for his answer. She’d seen his boss a few times, and he was too old for her. But she really wanted to get out of paying for the food. “And he has a daughter right? That her?” Even so, as she asked these questions, she knew that it was indeed his daughter. “Hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to leave you for a bit.” She activated her Allure skill, targeting the poor girl who would soon be under her influence. “See you later, wolf boy~!”