"So," Hua mumbled, voice soft, sitting across from Emily and finishing up her food. "There's a festival going on in that town?"
"Yes, and I'll be steering well away from it," Emily affirmed with a terse nod. "It's not safe for me, not at all, nobody could mistake me for a human. Why, are you thinking of going?" Hina took a moment to ponder her words, and maybe Emily misunderstood her silence, because she continued. "I can't give you any money to buy fancy things there, but if you wear a cloak and wrap your tail around your stomach, you should be able to get by fine with seeing the sights. Er, I might have some hats lying around, I can look…"
"You…" Hua thought for a moment, quiet, looking down.
"I…?" A gentle prompt.
"You wouldn't try to dissuade me, or get me to back off?"
"Am I your mother? From their point of view, you'd be a local dressed warmly- remember that nobody in this world will hear you and doubt you're completely fluent in their native language. You're essentially the most brilliant linguist to ever live, in the mind of anybody who speaks to you- that potion is rare, and normally incredibly expensive, but Lif knows how to brew it himself. Helps, that one of the key ingredients is devil blood," Emily laughed quietly, rolling her eyes. "No, Hua. I won't come with you, but you're welcome to go if you let me find you a hat."
"I- thank you, Emily," Hua muttered, looking away, brow furrowing.
"Don't go feeling guilty now," the ashen girl hummed, slowly standing up. "I didn't have to drag you off that beach, I chose to. I'm not a woman who regrets her choices, I live with them for better or worse."
"You mentioned you have ties to the hells, did you say you're a devil?"
"Sort of," Emily nodded, stretching. "There are nine hells, and the devils that come from each one are very different. For example, a devil from Underland might be able to make you double over from arousal and take any attractive form they wish, while a devil from the hell of wrath might be able to erase your rationale, loosen your tongue, incite rage, and have the strength of a wyvern."
"I see…" Hua muttered softly as emily walked away. The badger girl sipped her coffee, sighing, the odd tastes warming her soul. "Underland? What is that?"
"It's the ninth hell- there used to be only eight. It's the hell of lust- they say Underland used to be a fairly normal magical land, one that could only be accessed by accident or invite, but never was it to be found intentionally. Supposedly, there was a wise and kind queen, but she was killed by a succubus who took her power and slowly corrupted the place… the story says that it got worse and worse, eventually reaching the status of ninth hell. The souls that end up there now used to belong to greed and avarice. Er- but this is all hearsay and stories. Not like I've been," Emily added, returning, and slowly dropping a floppy hat on the table with a cloak. "Do you have any idea how long you want to stay out?"
"I don't- I'll probably come back when I'm tired, so around dark? If that's fine with you," Hua added.
"You sound apologetic," Emily commented offhandedly. "Relax Hua, I'm not your mom, okay? Just because you're a badger," She added, a playful smile tugging at her lips. "-Doesn't make you my pet, does it~? Enjoy your coffee, I'm going to go picking apples, there's an orchard downstream. I just take one from each tree, and the farmer can't even feel the loss~ you be safe, okay?" The devil rolled her shoulders, tugging on her own cloak.
"Wait, you didn't exactly answer me," Hua spoke slowly after another slow sip of coffee. "What hell are you from?"
"No idea. My parents told me not to look into my heritage, and I was born in Starria," Emily shrugged, headed for the door. "I just know I'm a devil. I'm sure as hell not from Underland though," She added, laughing, and opened the door. "Have a good day Hua, enjoy the festival~"
===
"Ladies and gentleman, gather round, for a magic show approved by the king himself!!" A handsome young man shouted, and the crowd around him, mostly young women, laughed and cheered as he held up a playing card, flicked his wrist, and the card seemed to simply vanish. Hua came into the edge of the crowd slowly, curious- this seemed bold, in a kingdom that despised magic- for the king to have approved it, it must have all been sleight of hand tricks. She wore a hat that reminded her of a detective, though she wasn't sure why, and the cloak from last night, so as to remain undetected.
"Where did the card go, you might ask? Why, you should all check your pockets!!" He shouted. Hua made no moves, but most of the rest around her did, and somebody yelped, laughing, producing a card from their jacket pocket, holding it up.
"It's magic, it really is! I can't believe the king allowed you to keep your head!!" The woman who'd found the card laughed, and Hua found herself smiling- it was an obvious ploy, but the raucous laughter around her was more than enough justification for such cheap tricks. Turning round, she continued on, looking around. There wasn't really any indication as to… what the festival was about, Hua noticed, and so she continued on , looking around slowly, but as she did, her mind wandered, eyes slowly unfocusing, her surroundings becoming a blur.
The ocean. The height. Nara. The court. A faint memory of coughing up the taste of blood, sand in her hair, in her everything really. "Shouldn't I be dead," She whispered. She should be dead. Why did Emily save her? Why? There was nothing in it for Emily, she, should, she should have died, she should be dead, she should be dead why am I alive why am I alive why AM I ALIVE WHY AM I ALIVE SHE SHOULD HAVE LEFT ME THERE-
"Hey-! Are you okay?!" A voice called out, and Hua looked up slowly, angling her head slightly to the side. "You look woozy, are you drunk? Do you need help, young lady?" Hua looked at the young man who spoke, trying to get her eyes to focus. He had dark hair, but beyond that, things were hard to make out.
"I- I'm okay, thank you-" Hua muttered, stepping back instinctively as the young, dark haired man stepped closer. His eyes were a deep, piercing blue, and he grabbed Hua's arm- as he did, her body tensed, and finally, the world came back into focus.
"Let go of me-"
"Hey now, you know I'm one of the legendary heroes? Amazing, I know. Why don't you come with me, and we can have a good tine together- maybe you could show me the local way~?"
"I have a girlfriend," Hua spoke quickly, breathless, trying to tug her arm free, but the handsome hero held her tight, fingers digging into her skin.
"A girlfriend? Even better," He hummed lazily. "Let's go and get her, you and I- and then we can-"
"Get the hell off me, you… you creep," Hua muttered, stepping back, rotating her hips, and swinging. Her fist connected with the hero's jaw, and he staggered back, releasing her arm, eyes wide and angry, burning with blue fire.
"You bitch," He clucked, stepping forward again, raising a hand and swinging to punch her back. Hua, not having really expected it, staggered back and fell, one hand flying to her hat to hold it in place, the wind knocked out of her by sudden impact with the ground. "I'm literally one of the strongest people alive, do you really think that you can tell me no?" Raising a fit over Hua's head, he slammed it down, hard, and people around looked away, shuffling past with guilt in their eyes, and the way their shoulders slumped. Hua must have wandered into the slummier distract while she wasn't paying attention, nobody wanted to join her…
The foot missed, though, Hua ducking her head and pivoting to the side, landing on her feet. This only seemed to anger the man who'd hurt her further, who walked forward fast, grabbing a handful of her long, white hair, and drew his other arm back. Hua watched, eyes wide, as the hand he raised as if to punch shimmered like metal, slowly reshaping into a long, thin blade.
"Well," He spoke. "Then I'll just kill you. Can't have some common woman running around lying about the heroes, can we?" And he struck, and Hua was held fast, unable to move. She expected whatever magical weapon he'd created of his arm to pierce her, cut her… but no, there was a dull, aching punch to her face, and she opened her eyes able to see the blade twice- he'd attempted to stab her brow, and pushed now, eyes widening, brow furrowing as he pushed, only to yelp and draw his hand away. "What the hell?!"
"Hey, it hurt me too," Hua griped and bent her knees, throwing another punch. Confused, no longer seeming confident at all, the hero staggered, and Hua turned, pivoting her hips as she kicked his shin, hard, the hero yelping and staggering into the badger girl's elbow as she drove it up, into his jaw. Unconscious, the hero fell, knocked unconscious, and after a moment's debate, Hua turned and walked off fast, pushing through the few curious onlookers on her way out. Best to get well away before he had the chance to wake up and realize what just happened…
See? Maybe you were meant to be killed, you just knocked a man unconscious-
He was trying to force himself on me-
REGARDLESS!
Breaths fast and shallow, Hua swallowed, trying to collect herself, walking aimlessly, pushing through the door of a shop, hoping to busy herself with whatever they sold, get herself together-
"Hey, it's you again. Are you alright?" A warm smile framed by long, straight brown hair and a mountaineer's beard.
"Lif-" The badger girl mumbled. His shop was empty, for now, so she stood awkwardly, there, torn between apologizing and leaving, or looking around.
"Are you alright, Hua? Do you need tea?"
"Do you… have coffee?"
"I do, will you wait here for a moment?" Lif smiled, turned and walked away without waiting for a proper response. After a bit of time, he returned, setting a mug down and gesturing to Hua, who took it immediately, wrapping both hands around the warm mug and raising it, sipping.
"Thank you, very much. One of the heroes is here for the festival, he tried to grab me and-" Hua shook her head, nauseated, and took a sip of the warm, earthy coffee, shuddering.
"He didn't see you, did he? Fully? Your hat is cute, but…" Lif frowned, concerned, leaning forward against his counter.
"No- no, he didn't see anything," Hua affirmed quietly, shaking her head. "I was covered fully the entire time, he just- he probably still won't take kindly to some common girl throwing his ass into the mud with a crowd watching."
"He tried to force you, and in front of a crowd, and nobody intervened?" Lif raised an eyebrow.
"We are in the slums, if Emily is truthful," Hua shrugged, yawning, sipping again. "Maybe he just assumed nobody would tattle on the hero, and they were afraid of him turning his attention anywhere else."
"Maybe… if he didn't see your ears or your tail, then, all should be fine, but I wouldn't be surprised if he patrolled this city more often, lass, you've got to be a bit more careful."
"Careful? Are you saying I should have let him have his way?" Scowling, sipping her coffee slowly, still.
"No. Plenty of attractive women in town, I would recommend turning tail and walking away as fast as you can. Very rarely is it worth the chase- especially during a festival."
"I see, I see," Hua sighed, relaxing some, tipping her cup up and finishing the coffee now. "Well, thank you Lif- but I think this is enough excitement for me in one day. I'm going to head back."
"Probably smart," The kindly shopkeep nodded, affirming, as the door swung open and a young man walked in, curious-eyed. "Well have a good day lass- and you sir, welcome to my humble shop of cloaks and decorum!! What are you in for, my good gentleman?!" Hua laughed inwardly, turned and ducked under the door, starting off again.