{Saturday, 27th of March... 10:31 AM...}
It was another bright and beautiful day for Dinah Laurel Lance. She slept well, even though she only had less than 4 hours of sleep last night. Thankfully, her Falna enhanced body needed little sleep. She had another amazing training session alongside her students; of whom were improving by leaps and bounds faster than she expected. If this kept up, then she'll just have to stop having expectations because they'll just keep on surpassing them. Afterwards, she had her usual morning shower. She was grateful that she had time to discuss her plans while she had breakfast with her Goddess Panacea, her Familia Captain Faith, and little Lianne; of whom was cradling little Conner while she got to feed him. Lianne was very gentle and loving towards her baby bird which brought a smile to all their faces.
After breakfast, Dinah returned Faith's pocket watch to it's rightful owner, because she informed Panacea and her Captain that she'll buy her own with all the funds she's accumulated. Plus, it didn't feel right to her that she had something precious of Faith's to herself. The bronze pocket watch belonged to her Captain, and that's whom it'll stay with. Dinah thanked her profusely for having been allowed to borrow it, but she returned it to Faith without hesitation. She knew she did the right thing, because she swore that she saw Faith's demeanor brighten significantly.
The daily morning Panacea Familia send off went off without a hitch and Dinah noticed that Faith had an extra bounce to her gait than usual due to her high spirits. Before she left, Dinah dropped off the gear, weapons, armor, and scraps of clothes that she picked up from the battle site in the dungeon at Kimberly's Workshop. She also dropped off all the monster parts and delivered them to Kim herself; who almost fainted from the number of materials she had just been given. Kim and Iz thanked her profusely for the materials and they were very understanding about the equipment she picked up from the battle site and were honored that she gave it to them.
Dinah; with a heavy burden lifted from her shoulders unknowingly, left the manor-like house and went towards the Guild to exchange some of the magic stone slivers she had into Valis.
She spent half an hour talking with Henrietta; her Official Guild Advisor, about the daily news from other Adventurers of the goings on within the dungeon after she was finished in the exchange area. She also spent another half an hour catching up with Delilah; the chipper Cait Sithe receptionist and her resident connection to the City of Orario's motherhood gossip tree, and the information she heard from the woman was a surprising amount about a small rising Crime Familia Syndicate on the rise on the northern borders of the Red Light District. Sadly, there weren't any news about what the large and high ranking Familias were going to do about it.
The Zeus Familia held the rank of the strongest Familia for what seems like centuries and as of today they are still the strongest. The Hera Familia was right behind them. Dinah thought it was odd that they weren't helping curb crime in the very city they lived in. The Zeus Familia defeated both Behemoth and Leviathan. They had such an amazing amount of manpower, but it was too bad that they only patrolled the area that they lived in. Dinah was happy to hear that the Ganesha Familia were actually patrolling areas past their home territory and they also helped guard the four cardinal gates of Orario. In Dinah's opinion, the Ganesha Familia should be considered number one, but unfortunately they weren't.
From what she heard, they only had a single Level 4 as their strongest Adventurer at the moment. The Zeus Familia had a Level 9 as their strongest. 'The person's practically considered an actual Demi-God by this point...'
With her catching up with both Henrietta and Delilah completed, Dinah began her search. As Dinah was browsing the shops around Orario for a good and decent pocket watch for her own use, she ruminated further on the news she received. 'It looks like the Zeus Familia are glory hounds from what I've heard of them. The Hera Familia are almost always competing with them.'
*Sigh* 'Their so focused on trying to go deeper into the dungeon that they don't really curb the growing crime in and around the Red Light District. The Ganesha Familia as well as the Vishnu Familia are the ones guarding the gates and patrolling most of the city. But from what I've read and heard, the Crime Familias outnumber them by a very significant margin if they ever unite their forces. And they can't be everywhere at once. Plus, no one wants to touch the Red Light District with a 10 foot pole. The so-called 'Playground of Crime' or 'The Birthplace of Crime'. This place isn't Gotham City, but there are certain... tumors in this city that need to be badly excised. I'd like to help, but I'm still a new Pseudo Demi-Goddess. Still Level 1... Hopefully more Familias will get their heads out of the sand and assist...'
'I'm not saying that I won't help out when I see crimes happening, but I'm not exactly going to go on patrol and look for it. Besides... I need allies to watch my back. I'd rather not get hit by a... uh, magical poison dart or something and die without a fight or worse. I need to come up with plans.'
When Dinah passed by a shop called 'Ancient Antiques 4 Yu', she stopped and studied the shop before walking in. The clerk greeted her and she gave the nice old man her own pleasantries before she browsed the ancient looking shop with both caution and hidden expectations.
'I'm glad that Faith was willing to hear me out and enact a few of the plans we've come up with to defend our home from intruders. Once I learn more about Runes, then I'm going to Magic the hell out of the place. The home of my Familia will be completely protected once I'm done with it.'
When she stepped into an aisle that showed off different timepieces, Dinah spent a long time looking at each one while she read their descriptions, features, make, model, and compared their prices.
'I'm glad Faith talked me into browsing the city's stores for things I might like. She told me that I should take my time trying to find a good timepiece; which struck me as odd at first. But now I know what she's talking about. These things are amazing!'
With a very focused gaze, Dinah looked at one particular timepiece named 'The Marble Sleuth'. It had an odd name, but it's features were very interesting. 'It's a pocket watch made out of some black marble-like looking material named; HeFo-Inconel, which was very pleasing to the eye, but what it does is simply baffling. It doesn't just tell time... it also helps the rightful owner find the right clues to whatever she or he is looking for. What?! And that's not the only feature...'
The more she read the features it contained, the more she was baffled and amazed. Apparently, each of these timepieces have been Enchanted by a Grand Master Enchanter. 'Batman would've loved this pocket watch. He would've loved most of these.'
When she looked at the price, she *Gulped* audibly in astonishment. "17,000,000 Valis?? Damn... It makes sense, but wow...", she said to herself quietly. 'I'll have to buy you another time... my own Pocket 'Detective' Watch would've been a great asset..., but for now. You'll stay here. For now.'
And with that, Dinah continued browsing. 'For an ancient looking shop, the architecture and ambiance is pretty immaculate. The wooden beams, the walls, the shelves, the sales racks, and everything else looks well taken care of. I think it's my imagination, but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen a single sign of dust around this store... Not a single one. The varnish looks new, but the few nicks and scratches that I can see on them tells me that it's been applied a long time ago.'
As she went back and forth between three particular timepieces that were within her price range, her thoughts shifted to another train of thought once again. 'Hmm... I exchanged 137 tiny magic stone slivers and 60 slightly larger ones; which gave me a total of 48,910 Valis. If I add that to my 109,465 Valis, then that's a total sum of 158,375 Valis. Not too bad. I can always exchange some for more, but I've been warned to only exchange a small amount of magic stones once a day... I did get a few looks from the exchange clerk earlier, but thankfully they have a strict privacy boundary they can activate when asked by the client; which I agreed to without pause.'
After 10 minutes spent trying to decide, Dinah picked up the limestone-colored pocket watch from the three that she's been eyeing. It felt as smooth as polished rock, but it was clearly metal. Oddly enough, the metal surface was warm to the touch and it was a few shades darker than ivory. 'It looks nice. It's only feature; other than being able to tell the proper time, is it's durability. It says that it's tougher than quartz, so I don't have to worry about it breaking for the most part. I don't know how, but I can tell that it's somehow fundamentally different from my Captain's pocket watch...'
Dinah studied the matching chain that's attached to the timepiece and she reread the description on the plaque attached to the bottom of the shelf space she picked it up from with minor interest. 'So the chain also has the same type of durability as the pocket watch itself. Interesting.'
"Cool."
She wasted no time in heading to the register and happily paying for the pocket watch. She thanked the nice old man, and left the store; happy with her purchase. She now had a reliable way to tell the time and it was an enchanted pocket watch to boot. 'It cost me 130,000 Valis which leaves me with 28,375 Valis left to my name, but that's only for today. I've got plenty of magic stone slivers to exchange tomorrow. Plus, I've got a few hours of dungeon diving to do today.'
As she left, the old man who was manning the register watched her leave. He hummed to himself in slight interest as he watched the blond young woman walk through the bustling crowds outside before disappearing from his sight. 'It's been years since someone was able to enter my humble shop. She was able to see through the wards... walk in, and she bought one of my watches. I've got a feeling that she'll be back for more...'
He rubbed the top of his bald head absentmindedly while he looked up at the ceiling in silent pondering; a small smile forming on his face. 'I guess it was worth it... I was right after all. Staying open for 3 more years was the right call... Take that, Mr. Jin. I won our bet. I can't wait to brag that I've got another paying customer...-'
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As Dinah walked through the crowds, she checked the time on her brand new pocket watch. {1:34 PM}
'Wow, I guess time got away from me.', after she thought that, a chuckle escaped her lips.
The sudden chuckling drew a few eyes to her and the attention of some drew the attention of a few more others. Dinah sensed this, but she just kept on walking like it was normal. She wasn't a stranger to wandering eyes as well as appreciative gazes, after all.
While she wandered the bustling streets, she put her pocket watch into her satchel and walked to the nearest park to eat a late lunch.
'If they had actual wristwatches, I still would've bought a pocket watch. I don't feel the need to wear a watch on my wrist when I'm out fighting. And 7 times out of 10; even if I wasn't in costume, things still happened. The last time I went crime fighting with one, the wristwatch lasted only a few days. And it was such a good watch too.'
As she walked into a park called 'Gaea's Hill', her thoughts were spiraling once again to another tangent.
'I'm pretty sure someone suggested that I get a bulletproof watch back then, but where would I have gotten the money for that!? I had just finished getting my degree in psychology a few years ago and I've only helped out at least 2 dozen people since I've stepped into that profession. Being Black Canary wasn't exactly a walk in the park. I worked through scheduled appointments only, but I've had to cancel a few times because of... certain obligations.'
When she found an empty bench to sit on, she relaxed and began eating. She found herself with quite the appetite, so she took out 3 sandwiches, a leather water skin and she enjoyed her meal while she enjoyed the natural ambiance of the park's environment.
The trees were especially glorious looking oak trees; or this world's equivalent, but she enjoyed their presence all the same. The wind in her hair was gentle. The smell of nature calmed her. The swaying branches were hypnotizing as they moved back and forth while they shook their fruits; which also looked like acorns that belonged to oak trees from her old world. The caress of the sun's light warmed the parts of her body that were bare.
As she watched nature as well as the other people in the area enjoy the park's greenery and it's slight hump; which formed a very low hill, her thoughts were still on a tangent as she enjoyed her meal.
'Ollie wanted to get me a bulletproof wristwatch, but I said no. He already sprung a lot of dough for my Black Canary outfits, but I didn't want to owe him even more. He wanted to pay for my student loans as well, but no way. I paid for that myself.'
She was indulging in her 3rd sandwich when a sudden memory sprung to mind. 'Huh... now that I think about it. It's been years since I've spent a relaxing moment in a park just like this by my lonesome. Things kind of... went spiralling out of control the last couple of years. This feels just like old times... I miss Conner and everyone else in my new family, but I'm kind of happy to get some hours to myself. I have this entire week to go dungeon diving, but after that, it'll only be 3 days a week. I don't want to be away from everyone for too long. Plus, we've calculated that I'll earn a good amount of Valis even if I cut it back to only 2 days a week.'
Dinah washed down her lunch with some cool refreshing water while she leaned against the bench and relaxed even further into it's warmth. The wooden benches were very well made and they were surprisingly relaxing to sit on. She put away the sandwich wrappers on one of the side pockets of her satchel that she labeled as the wrapper graveyard while she watched a blue bird nesting and taking care of her young with a small smile on her fair face.
'I've got plenty of responsibilities in my Familia now. I've got the senses and instincts enhancing class that I'm teaching. There's the singing lessons, and I've got babysitting duty coming up a few times next week. I also want to further everyone's knowledge on certain topics while I start helping out more around the house. There's plenty more Runes for me to study too, and I need to further polish my general knowledge of the world with copious amounts of research in the Guild's library. I've also got a few recipes I want to teach Jillian and Sam. Hmmm... what else, oh yeah, I also want to bond with everyone more. And Isabella wants to play me in chess.'
She got a sudden chill up her spine when she remembered that discussion. 'I'm pretty sure I saw a hungry look in her eyes when she asked to challenge me to a chess match when I told her that I've played it before against some very intelligent people. Batman, Mr. Terrific, Aquaman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Kent Nelson... to name a few. I don't think I've ever defeated Batman, but I'm pretty sure I came close to trouncing Aquaman... maybe. Keyword is maybe.'
*Sigh*
After an exhale, she put away her leather water skin and checked the time. {3:03 PM}
The time displayed on her new timepiece didn't surprise her one bit. 'I did need some relaxation time. I'm pretty sure I've earned it.'
'Looks like I'll just go to the library instead of dungeon diving today... I don't really mind. That gives me about 3 hours or so for research before I have to head back home.'
'Home...', that thought made her smile, before she got up and headed out of the park.