1.63 – Pastime Activity

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Bailey scratched the back of his head. He moved to stand up but stopped. His eyes moved between Maple and Emma, and to the ground, and then back to them. He was being so awkward. Maple chuckled.

"What's wrong? You can eat with us if you want. Are you hungry?"

He likely had to escort them anyway. Saying 'you can eat first' might have left him in an awkward position. One where he had to follow up with 'I didn't say we, but I have to follow you around anyway.'

Maple supposed, anyway. Bailey cleared his voice in that half-growl way of gnolls, and his first answer came out unfocused.

"Hrr. Yeah, that'd be good...Hey, listen, I didn't snitch on you or anything. It's just...when I heard some of the protesters repeating your name...I was worried, so—"

"So you snitched?"

"No—I just, mentioned what I knew about your Skill, and you know, I'm Maple. Who else could it be?"

Emma seemed confused on how she should feel, and looked to Maple before deciding. Maple wasn't quite set either, so Emma shook a fist at him, and held up her notebook.

Snitch!

It was lighthearted, she was even smiling, but it still threw Bailey. He started explaining more, but Maple laughed and cut him off.

"It's not that big of a deal, jeez. I'm glad you told whoever, whatever. I didn't know what to do. And I worried it'd been my fault—but it wasn't, it turns out. I thought you were mad about something else, though."

"What would I be mad about? I thought you'd be. It's difficult balancing [Guard] duties with your personal life, sometimes..."

That sounded true enough. He probably had lots of experience with that. Maple shrugged.

"I don't know, you were pretty shaken after that one time. And if you'd been part of this one, I thought...you know."

"Hrr. I'm glad I wasn't, but no that's nothing. It was just a little much at the time. I feel better now. Oh right, you wanted to eat. I know a good restaurant nearby we can go to. I'll pay."

He got up, already about to lead the way, and Maple had to stop him. For a hug. He wasn't as comfortable to lean against in his uniform, but still, she was relieved.

"I'm glad we aren't fighting. Silly gnoll."

Emma shifted to a wholly positive attitude as soon as he said he was paying for food, and joined in on the hug.

Bailey took them to a proper restaurant, with cloths covering the tables, and even cushioned booths. It almost felt like somewhere from home. Maple sat directly across from Emma, and Bailey sat next to Emma.

"Are you sure you don't mind paying? These are all kind of expensive..."

Most of the meals were around a silver each; several times the cost of something from Sasha's inn. This place was Olea's.

Frankly, Maple would be more than a little upset if she did end up having to pay. He was the one who chose this place, and she was still frugally coasting off Charlotte's loan-gift. Most of it remained unspent, but she couldn't afford to waste it. She would coast, and if an opportunity arose that required funds, she would have some available.

Even so, she offered. People spending money on her always made her feel a little guilty.

"Yeah, it's fine. I said I would. Order whatever you want."

The man should always pay. Especially when he has two cute dates like us.

"Jeez. Really, who's teaching you these things?"

Emma beamed and swayed happily in her seat. Maple hadn't expected an answer, but she got one.

Marielle.

That explained it. Maple could see easily see Emma's boss luring men in with her vampiric charm and sucking their wallets dry. Women too, for that matter. What else was she teaching her girlfriend? And, did they ever...do things?

She was curious, was all. She'd want to know, in the same way she wanted to know about anything important to her girlfriend, and that she wanted to share. They'd only ever talked about the open aspect of their relationship a little. Maybe they should do that more.

Bailey cleared his voice.

"Well, I wouldn't say always, but I did suggest this place. It's pretty good, every meal comes with free infinite bread sticks."

Emma's eyes stretched to double their normal size. She looked to Maple like holy moly, did you just hear him? Infinite food!

Maple laughed, though she was about to break her heart.

"Er, I don't think they're really infinite, cutie. I'm sure there'll still be lots, though!"

Emma nodded and happily perused the menu. She had a we'll certainly find out, won't we look on her face, woe to Olea.

Speak of the devil, their bread sticks arrived carried by a woman with purple cat ears and a tail. She wore an apron and a friendly, down-to-earth smile as she greeted them.

"Bailey, you brought friends this time! How are you fine folk doing today? I'm Olea. Here are your infinite bread sticks, and are you ready to order or can I get you started with a drink?"

They were ready, but Emma started with a question.

Hi, I'm Emma. Are the bread sticks really infinite?

"They sure are! I have a Skill, so don't you worry your bubbly little head. You think you can eat, do ya, Emma?"

Olea was leading up to something. Emma nodded, already ecstatic.

"Well, you see that wall over there? If you think you can eat more bread sticks than a half-giant, it could be your name up there."

Easy.

"Heh, confident. I like you. The number you have to beat is 200 even. I'll get you your own basket. Each one has ten. There's no real time limit, but obviously you have to eat them all yourself. They're not nutritious, by the way. You won't gain any weight, or even survive off them, but they're tasty."

Olea addressed Maple at the end. Pretty cool, to be sure, but there was a limit to how many bread sticks she'd enjoy eating. Calories, or no.

Emma grinned at her, and Maple looked at the current champion's name. Rudor, 'the Gentle Mountain'. Below it was a list of smaller ones she couldn't read from afar. Poor Rudor was about to join that list.