Dion watched the young lady in front of him calmly. She had her long, silky blonde hair tied in a ponytail, looking cute with green eyes. He couldn't help but say, "Someone moved in last night?"
"No. I moved in last night but I began moving my things yesterday morning. I'm Emma Banks." The lady beamed with a smile.
"Okay. You are welcome. This lodge is secure, so you are safe here. However, everybody here loves their peace and tranquility, so you should respect their privacy to avoid having issues with the neighbors. That's pretty much all you need to watch out for." Dion casually made his personal terms the general terms of the lodge without batting an eyelid.
"Thank you." The lady bowed slightly with a sweet smile but Dion kept a straight face. Then she pouted her small mouth with arched eyebrows. "But there are a few heavy things in my house I need to move. Can you help me, pretty please?"
"Nope," Dion rejected in a heartbeat.
"Ahhh!" the girl exclaimed and rubbed her head awkwardly. "Don't you think it's wrong to reject a cute girl–"
Dion interrupted her, "I have somewhere to go." He came out, locked the door like she was invisible, and walked away under her watch.
When she saw Dion had gone far, her forehead creased in confusion, and she dropped her facade. 'I thought Dion loved Maya's cute behavior. Why didn't it work? Besides, the way he looked at me was unsettling, like he was about to peer through my mask. Tomorrow, I will meet him for… money. I wouldn't today, not to look suspicious.'
–––
Meanwhile, Dion had already forgotten about the new neighbor like every acquaintance he had made. She also looks plain and dull except…
'She seems like a cheap version of Maya — a little robotic with her slow expression. Well, it will be the last time we meet.' Dion thought as he ravaged his meal by a roadside restaurant.
After his first meal, Dion's body relaxed and his brain began working like a refueled engine. Plans spun in his mind like uncompiled data, as he meticulously calculated the intricacies of his raiding operation. The descriptions he had heard from Rowan about the dreaded Rune Mortals echoed in his thoughts, reminding him of the stakes at hand. One wrong move and his life would be forfeit.
'Sleeping in my house will be unsafe. I don't know much about the new tenant's character. If that girl or lady comes back and starts knocking incessantly on my door while I've shuttled, Ivy might break into my house to see if I'm alright. Then she will probably take my soulless body to the hospital, which means my secret is out. Shifters would come knocking. I should stay in a hotel.'
Dion was almost done with his second meal but he was a bit absentminded. He bought two more servings and took them home. He strode slowly but his brain was computing operations for the other side.
Upon reaching his lodge, Dion entered the elevator and ascended to his floor. He was about to walk to his house but paused in front of Ivy's house, which was before his house from the elevator.
'Let me inform her of my "travel" before she reports my status as "missing boy" after not seeing me for a week.'
He rang her doorbell and waited patiently.
The door swung open, revealing Ivy dressed in comfortable pajamas. "Dion!" she exclaimed in surprise, her eyes lighting up at the sight of him standing before her. "You brought me food? That's so sweet of you. It's as if you can read my mind because I'm starving," she gushed, reaching out to accept the bag he held in his hand. Dion hesitated, but before he could voice his thoughts, Ivy had already taken the bag and sauntered inside, singing a song unfamiliar to Dion.
"Come in," Ivy's voice beckoned from within her house, the invitation laced with warmth and familiarity.
Dion obliged, stepping inside and quietly locking the door behind him. Though it was the same lodge, Ivy's house stood as a testament to opulence, its size and completeness dwarfing his humble abode. Dion found himself seated on her couch, his gaze wandering around the living room, as it had been quite some time since he had set foot in her home.
In front of him stood a large television, flanked by a long couch and two one-seater couches. A small glass table, adorned with ornaments and a flower vase, sat at the center of the room, adding a touch of elegance to the space.
Dion turned his head to the decorated wall and saw three framed pictures of adult Ivy. But the last one made Dion pause because it had both him and Ivy, both drunk and looking stupid, standing on a bridge. His eyes turned unfocus as he recalled how they met.
But it also raised a question for him — the definition of their relationship.
'Lover? Never. Not doing that sh*t. Friends? Never getting another friend. Acquaintance? I forget acquaintances but I remember her, so she isn't one. Bestie? Who does that crap? I guess above acquaintance but below friend… that's a talk mate. But I've been meeting new "talk mates" recently, so I should grade a talk mate better. Like hmmm… High-tier talk mate, low-tier talk mate– no. That's too lame. What about Mortal talk mate, Epic talk mate… What am I thinking?' He shook his head.
Footsteps from behind jolted him.
Ivy came from the kitchen with ice cream. She sat cross-leg beside him on the long couch.
"So, where did you go last night?" Ivy asked as she took a spoonful of ice cream.
"Club–"
Puuuuu~
Ivy spat her ice cream when she heard Dion's words.
"Sorry about that." She quickly stood up to clean her mess with a hand towel before returning to her seat.
Her eyes regarded Dion skeptically. "You went to the club? As in c-l-u-b?"
Dion chuckled. "Unbelievable, right? But it's one of my worst experiences because it got me hooked up with a terrible cop." He waved his hand dismissively, eager to move past that topic. "Let's forget about that for now. I actually came here to tell you something."
Ivy responded casually, a hint of playful sarcasm in her voice. "Yeah, I know. If not, why would the shut-in Dion grace my humble abode with his presence?"
Dion's jaw dropped in mock astonishment. "You call this house a humble abode? This house that smells of wealth? Then I wonder if mine is a kennel." He shook his head. "What a low-key and respectful insult."
Ivy burst into a fit of laughter, struggling to regain her composure as she spoke through her amusement. "I-I-I just remembered when I saw dog food in your kitchen about a year ago. Truly befitting of a kennel," she managed to say between giggles.
Dion's face darkened in embarrassment. "It was a mistake," he argued, but Ivy's laughter showed no signs of abating.
Suddenly, Ivy stopped laughing and looked at Dion with a skeptical gaze. "Are you sure you're not secretly a dog?" she quipped, causing her to burst into laughter once again.
He muttered, "Hopeless."
Dion couldn't help but chuckle as he heard her infectious laughter, a subtle curve forming on his lips.
He sometimes forgets that she's not much older than him.
After Ivy finally regained her breath, wiping tears of laughter from her face, she composed herself and asked, spooning a mouthful of ice cream, "So, what did you want to tell me?"
In a forceful and deep tone, Dion declared, "I'm going to die!"
Ivy choked on her ice cream before running to the sink. She returned, cleaning her mouth. "Why are you dropping 'shockers' while I'm eating? What do you mean by 'I'm going to die?' Is something about to kill you or are you going somewhere to die? Also, what's with the tone?"
Dion laughed dryly and stood up. "Well, I'm traveling, which is also a form of death. But when I return, I will be reborn."
"Oh! So, you're traveling?"
Without correcting her, he just laughed and walked out of the house.
Phew~
Exhaling the pent-up air, Dion felt refreshed. He's still human, so knowing that he will be performing a very dangerous operation gave him chills. Even Rowan, who was stronger than him, got toyed with.
'I'm not fighting it. Just picking up red crystals. Easy peasy,' He thought and walked to his house. He needs to organize things on Earth because, on Aeon, he still has big work. Some backend preparation.