V2 C158
Hm? It’s bright. Who opened the drapes?
Vaughn awoke slowly to a strangely foreign smell in his home. Fresh food, pork, eggs, and some form of pastry. The last he recalled, he’d helped his father to bed, then—
Ah crap, what happened? Where is she?
Vaughn felt the distinct lack of warmth and weight pressing up against his side, a presence that gave him probably one of the best nights of sleep he’d had in a while. Opening his eyes, the pelt they’d fallen asleep under was pulled up to his neck, still sheltering him from the winter's oncoming mornings. Sitting up was taxing, his sense of hunger returning alongside the dull throb of his blood in through his head.
“Damn, headache.”
He reached for his head, looking around the room, seeing Kiyomi’s sword and buckler shield nestled next to his father's chair.
She’s still here. That wasn’t a dream…
Turning his head, he was greeted by a warm smile as Kiyomi stood over the sparse kitchenware that sat collecting dust in the home.
“Morning, bedhead. Feeling any better?”
She held out a spatula, tilting it towards Vaughn as she greeted him.
“I feel well rested, but my head is pounding.”
Vaughn grumbled, throwing the pelt aside.
“Ugh, for feck sake, has it been long? Is Pa still sleeping in?”
Kiyomi shrugged, placing the spatula back into the cast iron, scraping away at gristle and pork.
“I have water in the pitcher here. I’m willing to bet you’re dehydrated, judging by your dry-ass lips.”
She rolled her eyes as she spoke, scooping up loose bits and dropping them to a plate. Vaughn’s face flushed a moment, before she clarified.
“Vaughn, I woke up first, of course I'd debate waking you over waiting for you to wake up.”
She smiled, looking back to the plate.
“You do seem like you needed the care.”
The gesture was calming, a glimpse of his family long ago, when he was far younger.
“It’s still morning, so we’ve got the whole day ahead of us. I was gonna ask for your… help, with Beryl.”
Her face scrunched up as she spoke, a heavy flush coming over her.
“Listen, this isn't a lunch date like you asked for before–”
She forced a cough, clearing her throat.
“But, it’ll do. Call it paying a debt, as little sense it makes. I could use your help to repay Beryl.”
“Debt?”
“Debt.”
Kiyomi’s flush dispelled, once more taken over by a smile, the same toothy grin she liked to sport.
“She asked for a dress, didn't she?”
Kiyomi relented, sighing as she placed plates on a table just out of sight.
“As much as I’d rather not draw out the embarrassment.”
She paused, turning to face Vaughn, her tail swaying behind her as she stood in the ambient light of the kitchen.
“I owe both of you that much, but I can’t let my dull taste get in the way of trying to make it up to her. So, uh.”
Kiyomi scratched at her cheek, looking away awkwardly.
“You’ve known her the longest. You know what she would like, right?”
Ah, yeah… Beryl. For her.
Vaughn choked on his words for a moment, a tinge of unfamiliar emotion tugging at the back of his mind.
Of course, for her, idiot, Kiyomi thinks she owes us both.
Sighing, he stood from the sofa, the creak of floorboards under his feet as he moved for the doorway to his father's room.
“Kiyomi, you don’t owe us any debt.’ We’re friends and, like it or not, more invested than we could've comprehended from the start.”
He stopped at the doorway, placing a hand on the plaster wall.
“I’ll help you, but you really should get out of here before the old man sees you. Last thing I need is him hobbling out and misunderstanding something.”
Vaughn forced a chuckle, leaning against the doorway, trying to play off the conversation.
“Misunderstand what?”
“Huh? Shi-”
“Language!”
Gregor was already up, his bout of clarity lasting long enough to act as Vaughn’s bane to the wonderful morning. Clarity that was strong enough to allow him to slap Vaughn in the back of the head.
“Hahahaha, oh gods, the look on your face when he came through the doorway! Pfftt-”
Cackling at the table was the last place I saw myself so early in the morning. Seeing Vaughn simultaneously flustered and terrified as Gregor kept him in arms reach was somehow grounding for me, given the day priors revelations. It was real, grounding, almost normal compared to the fantastical scenario that I now considered my life.
“You’ve got time to explain too, miss, given I’ve heard about your little disappearing act.”
Gregor grumbled, using his elbow as leverage as he did his best to hide his latent weakness.
“You come into my home so late- neither of you were quiet by the by– You two didnt do anything, did you?”
He pointed a fork between Vaughn and I, halting my snickering and forcing us both to slump our shoulders in guilt.
“Pa, we didn’t do anything.”
Vaughn answered, though his flush betrayed him once more catching onto his old man’s line of questioning.
Ignore the implication. I’m not tackling that, especially with these two. We’re close, but not like that…
I thought back for a moment, my mind receding back into itself some.
Why is that… why did that disappoint me to think of?
I sighed, setting down my own fork and pointing to Vaughn’s plate.
“Eat; you look like crud, especially given we’ve not had a break in a while.”
Vaughn’s plate was barely touched, and instead of drawing out the reasoning, I figured making or atleast guilting him into eating would work just enough. I was worried for him and intended to make it right. Turning Greggor’s attention to me seemed to do the trick, lowering Vaughn's guard enough to allow him that small bit of relaxation.
“We didn’t do anything, really! And, about me running away-”
I clasped my hands together, Greggors aging eyes glaring at me as he judged my words.
“Please. Please don't tell my parents you saw me! I’m working through something right now, and I feel I need to work through it before I can return to them. It won’t take me long.”
I dropped them, a light thud making the three plates clatter quietly.
“I can’t go back before I make things right by myself, otherwise, I can’t look my parents in the eyes…”
This seems a little manipulative, but we’ll have to play the sympathetic part if we want a proper run-through of my apology…
The proper run-through is on what exactly to say and how to return in the first place. I didn't think I’d be gone until nightfall, and my anxiety wouldn't allow me to sleep well through the long night it would've created. I want to make things up to them, not to hold it off as if nothing happened.
“Please, Mr.Baros, I need this. Just a day or two.”
I gave him the best play I could at seeming desperate, at needing this. Not to say I wasn’t desperate, but I could work with whichever outcome found me. Thankfully, he seemed to cave, his old scuffed brow quivering as he dropped his fork to rub it.
“I’ll keep quiet for today, but you best make it right quick. I saw your mother making a mess of herself in front of the council last night, stuttering and seeming anxious. Mind the hurt you’re doing to her, aye? She loves you well enough from what I see.”
The council? With the baron?
I looked away, my molars grinding as I clenched my jaw.
“I don’t intend to draw this out… sorry if it’s interfered with the councils work.”
Gregor brushed it off, resuming his eating.
“You wouldn’t believe the trouble we handle as of late, especially having to brief the boy on it.”
Gregor looked to his son, mouthing his words for what little good it did. I could read them.
‘Do not tell her a thing, boy. She doesn’t need to know that. It’ll simply make a woman worry more.’
I ignored it, choosing to not acknowledge it. Already for the time being. Turning back to me, Gregor was near finishing his plate.
“Thank you for the breakfast. As good as the company be, though, don’t you two have something you were planning?”
“Will he really keep quiet on it?”
We were walking along the back alleys, keeping from sight. I was busy still debating my actual means of moving along the city without being recognized, but i was going nowhere with it at the moment, so I prodded Vaughn for his thoughts. He shrugged, placing his hands in his pockets.
“Realistically? He’ll probably turn on us, but I think my Pa understands why you stopped by. He might take that as a favor, cause all he’s been eating is my stew.”
Vaughns stew is on the chewier side, Gregor is that tired of it?
“Not much along the lines of a varied diet in your household, is there?”
Vaughn shook his head.
“He can’t cook, and when he’s working they bring him food enough to keep him healthy. But, when I’m going behind his work, I can’t rightly prepare the likes. It’s be irresponsible to hire help too. Too much sensitive information, and to top it off the it’s basically supporting another person considering how long they’d need to be around.”
The help never is easy. Hiring a made would solve the issue, but that person would have to live off of what Vaughn and Gregor could pay.
“Why not request a maid from the keep?”
Vaughn shrugged once more.
“The attention. We’re engineers, Kiyomi. Being valued doesn’t make you suddenly cross that threshold between noble and commoner.”
He took a second glance at me.
“At least for most people.”
He sounded sullen with his words.
“Enough of that, aren’t you afraid of being caught?”
We’d stopped, somewhere along a back alley lined with loose rubble left over from construction, along with a trough dug through the center of the cobbled path, directing waste to some unknown point. Vaughn leaned back, against a cold wall still damp from the humidity. He didn’t seem tired, just worried, worried for myself, or for how exactly to keep me on track with my plans.
“You stick out like a sore thumb, Kiyomi. I don’t doubt your mom would find you rather quickly the minute we step out onto the streets.”
He turned his head, looking to the open street just a couple hundred feet away. The shops were busy, making the effort that much more important.
“I can figure something out. Clothes? A hat?”
I joked, squatting in place to give my legs a light rest.
Oops, better keep you clean.
I pulled my tail into my lap, keeping it out of the sewage. It felt nice, talking friend to friend again, knowing I’d never have to say goodbye. That being said, I did owe him some obvious consideration.
I still have disguise… that may work? How far along is it?
“I have something up my sleeve. I used it to sneak out when we were in the pass. The wolverines, remember?”
Vaughn rolled his eyes, kicking off of the wall and waving his arms about.
“Let’s see it then, 'cause I’m short on a solution. And I sure as hell ain’t running into no tailor asking for a dress. I don’t even know the size of your gods' damned bo- ah, ow!”
A small pebble, probably sprinkled with waste, was sent flying at Vaughn's forehead. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to hurt slightly.
“Ow, jeez, you could’ve gotten my eyes!”
I rolled on my heels, standing as I thought through how I worked with disguise before.
“Maybe think next time before you mention something you shouldn’t.”
I shrugged as I tried to let the changes I could think up take hold.
“Is it working?”
System configuration active, dormant skill activated, Disguise: Status: Active
The relatively quiet notifications echoed in my consciousness, mute to Vaughn, as I watched his eyes widen and the confusion temporarily set in.
“What the hell?”
He glanced back, looking all manner of confused, wiping his eyes and even pinching himself.
“I’m not goin crazy, aye? That’s you, right?”
I nodded.
Good, seems whatever form I took, its working just right.
I leaned forward, peering down into the murky water to catch a glimpse at my reflection. A human from, still a girl, and in short, a cousinly bastardization of Sabine. Thankfully, far enough from a demon that nothing else mattered.
“Let’s get going.”
