It was finally the day of our journey. The bath that we took yesterday, and the spicy situation that happened before that had me feeling well rested and energized. I changed into one of the outfits I had gotten yesterday. The shop didn't have any outfits fit with enchantments for blocking out the sun, so Enora was wearing her black Victorian dress again. Well, she said it also had an enchantment that prevented it from getting dirty, so there was no problem.
My own outfit was a crimson red skirt just like my vampire's eyes. It was cut just above my knees, and the shirt was a black long sleeve that ended just before my wrists. I was also wearing black leggings as Enora had insisted. None of my outfits were enchanted. The only outfits they had with enchantments were made for the bird people, and all of the tops were too tight for my chest. We walked outside hand in hand towards the East entrance of the city after grabbing a quick breakfast.
When we arrived at the gate, I saw mean eyes standing there. Nychibi came up to us right away. "You are late!"
"We are right on time aren't we?" They said to be here at 0900, and we left our room at 0800 according to the clock.
"It is normal to be early to these things! Didn't Bernie tell you that!?" It was probably true that she told me; however, I don't remember anything she said about guild rules. It was hard to pay attention when she went on and on. "Let's go, you two. We shouldn't keep the client waiting."
She was surprisingly serious about the job, but that was also probably how she was a B-rank. Still… She looked like an exhibitionist. Her black tank top ended below her non-existent assets, and the gray shorts she was wearing were cut way too short. She was also wearing the silver claws on her talons. We followed her out of the large wooden gate of the dome. The guards posted were different this time, but they let us out without any trouble once we showed them our guild plates. And once we were out…
"BIRD!" I squealed in excitement from the giant birds that were hooked at the front of the carriage. They looked like giant fluffy ostriches. One was black and the other one was white, but their fluffiness could be said to be divine. I wanted to dive into those feathers. "Piri." Piri!"
"Piri?" The sound that came from their long yellow beaks was adorable. The black one had a deep sounding 'piri', while the white one's was high pitched. "What are those!?"
"I can answer that…"
"Belethor?" Belethor and another Dothnur girl had come out from the back of a large covered wood wagon that was attached to the front carriage. As they came out I could see boxes of cargo filling it to the brim. "Those are Piris, a tamed monster that is actually not a native of these parts."
"You mean those birds aren't natives of this bird place?" The Dothnur girl chuckled. I was sure they had told us her name when we accepted the quest, but I had already forgotten it. "No, they actually come from the Farshaw Planes of the Beastkin kingdoms. By the way, I am Ethora. Pleased to meet you."
"Oh! I am Melle, and this cu-..."
"I am Enora!"
"Tch"
"I am Nychibi."
"I remember you from yesterday. My cousin has told me about all of you. I am glad to have you." She smiled a toothy smile that showed off her small fangs. She was around the same height as me, and she had the same dark skin as Belethor. They were both wearing brown linen shirts that didn't look comfortable at all. The same was true about their thick brown pants. Still at least her face was good looking, but it would never come close to my vampire's, but more importantly, I definitely wanted to fluff those giant Piris!
"You want to pet them?" Ethora had caught on already, and… "Of course I want to pet them!"
"She is so honest, isn't she?"
"That's for sure. Everything is definitely out in the open with this one… Well, I will be off. I have a shop to run. Please have a safe trip, Ethora."
"Don't worry, I am sure we will be fine." They hugged each other. "I'll hold you to that. Goodbye everyone."
"Bye, Belethor!"
"Bye."
"Goodbye."
"Bye, cousin. I will be back with those things you asked for." He waved as he walked back towards the dome. My attention snapped back to the fluffy birds as soon as he was gone. "Haha, come…"
I did as she said, following her to the front of the carriage. Enora walked over with me as I was still holding her hand. The Dothnur pulled two handfuls of seeds out of her pocket. "Here, they really like these seeds."
"What are they?"
"They are poulpru seeds. They actually like the Farshawn Sunflower seeds better, but I don't have any of those right now." She said as she handed Enora and I a handful.
"Piri!"
"Piri."
"Well, don't be shy." I slowly walked up to the giant birds. They were so large, I barely reached the bottom of their bellies. Their amazing fluffy bellies! As I got close though, Enora tried to pull me back. "Are you sure it is safe?"
She said that, but it was too late. As I reached my hand out to the white piri it had started to eat the seeds from my hand. "It seems she likes you!"
"Piri!"
"Hehe! What is her name?"
"This one is called Snowberry. The other one is named Crowberry." Enora slowly reached her own hand full of seeds to Crowberry. He seemed more graceful as he slowly lowered his beak. "Piri. Piri."
"Haha, that is rare. I can barely ever get him to eat seeds out of my hand." Ethora actually looked a bit jealous. Enora, for her part, was petting his beak. "Piri!"
As Snowberry finished eating the seeds she pushed her beak into my chest gently. I started to stroke her beak, before reaching under her neck and touching the divine feathers of fluff for the first time. They were softer than I could ever imagine as I stroked away. "Piri!"
"Piri." It seemed Enora was doing the same as I was. The smile on her face was so cute and precious. "It's great isn't it!? They are so cute!"
"Y-yes, I mean they are quite majestic."
"Well, isn't that great for you two. Now can we go? It takes two weeks to reach Kalameets domain." The harpy had to end our fun with the fluffy birds, and much to our disappointment, Ethora agreed.
"You are right. Everyone board the carriage. Awe, don't look so sad now. You will have ample time to pet them when we stop for breaks." Reluctantly, we pulled away from the birds. "Piri!" "Piri."
"It seems they are ready to go as well." Ethora climbed onto the helm of the brown carriage, while we climbed on back. I choose to sit towards the front next to Enora. There was a wooden sliding window, so I would be able to talk to Ethora if I needed. Nychibi sat across from us, her glare as strong as it had always been. Then the carriage started moving, and finally we were off.