Since we don't have anything planned for the day, Lia, Wanjing, and I go out after putting on a disguise again while, although in Wanjing's case, she is masquerading as a cat again while I hide her horn. Yue and Aurelia went out somewhere, Yue saying she's going to round up every chicken she finds and Aurelia following her since she thinks it'll be interesting. Wei and Shuren, unfortunately for them, don't get a day to relax with whatever plans Yue has for the coming days.
Putting the others aside, I get to enjoy a nice day out with Lia, as long as we ignore the tiny sleeping Taotie on my head. Our first stop is naturally a street vendor selling some steamed buns. Didn't even take the vendor more than a minute for him to get our food out to us. Of course, Wanjing doesn't get any since she's supposed to be a normal cat right now, she gets to watch us eat without having eaten yet herself. This should be a suitable punishment for being a third wheel.
As we finish our steamed buns, Lia leans in close towards my face, "you still have some leftovers on the side of your face, let me get that for you," she says, before licking up the crumbs on the side of my face.
Wanjing just whistles while we get some looks from the people around us and despite my immunity towards heat, I can feel my face heat up as I don't even need a mirror to know that my face is probably as red as Milla's hair.
"Don't do that so suddenly, and not in public!"
"Oh, so I can do it in private then, fufu," Lia says with some light laughter as a small grin makes its way onto her face.
I don't say anything back, but I just give a nod as I lead us elsewhere, not wanting to be the subject of gossip for the onlookers around here.
"You're usually so aggressive, but when it comes to stuff like this, you're as meek as a kitten. The gap between your usual attitude and this is just adorable," Lia says as she suddenly hugs me from behind, dragging my body down and placing my head in her bosom.
Although I don't dislike this position in the slightest, I don't exactly like the many stares we're receiving from the other people on the streets. With a bit of convincing, Lia releases me and settles for holding hands while we walk around, she even managed to wrap her tail around mine despite both currently being invisible.
Ignoring the many jabs from Wanjing, we continue on like this until we return back to the base for the day.
***Hong Yue***
Although I didn't manage to catch it last night, I know what I saw. I know that stupid chicken is nearby, I will find it, and I will settle the matter between us. Since I couldn't find it within the city, I should check outside for now.
"Wow, the mighty Yue has found her greatest rival. A chicken who can barely fight back," Aurelia says, having read my mind as we pass by the city gates.
"Do you really have nothing better to do other than follow me around?" I ask.
"I could have intruded on the Dragon duo's little date as Wanjing did, but unlike her, I'm not able to turn into a small cute animal, so I don't think Cordelia and Lia would've let me without some repercussions. Although she doesn't exactly show it, Cordelia has a soft spot for cats which is why she is so tolerant of whatever Wanjing does, and since she won't do anything, Lia will just follow along," Aurelia explains.
"I can see that. At least from what I've seen, ever since Wanjing could take that small cat form of hers, Cordelia has been a lot more lenient towards her. But if you're going to stick around me, then could you at least make yourself useful and help me find that stupid chicken?"
"I could."
"But will you?" I ask.
"Of course... not."
"Yeah, I figured as much."
"I mean, I don't need to, it's literally right there," Aurelia says, pointing at the chicken behind me that's currently crossing the road.
"How the fuck did I miss that!?"
Stopping in the middle of the road, the chicken makes eye contact with me as everything turns silent, save for the howling of the winds. Much like our last encounter, it raises its wing and taunts me, signalling that start of our showdown.
But alas, our final showdown has to wait as Aurelia says, "your little fight caught the attention of the city guards, I wonder what they will think if they see you fighting so seriously with a chicken?"
Settling down, I give the chicken another glare, but it seems to understand my intentions as it turns around to continue its journey.
That is until I hear it say, "two to zero," as it takes its leave.
"Oh no, you fucking didn't!" I yell as Aurelia is holding me back.
Needless to say, I had some explaining to do to the guards. Now that I think about it, wasn't I supposed to meet up with those three mercenaries at the shop later? Well, I'm sure Shuren and the other can take care of it.