"Before anything we should disguise that sword." Lotte put a finger to her chin.
"Right of course, no doomsday weapons allowed I should know better," Damian muttered sardonically.
"Mirage," Nico commented holding his hand a few inches in front of the sword itself.
"Whoa-" Damian commented as he watched a myriad of multicolored sparkles cover the Sword of Destiny until it resembled a normal saber. "that's useful," he noted. Then grimaced.
"I can still hear it talking though," he lamented.
"What did it say?" Lotte asked.
Damian looked at her. " It said I don't appreciate it's appearance and I told it I don't want to get into a fight everywhere I go," he responded.
"The disguise is temporary, the moment you use it the glamour making it look like a normal blade will disappear." Nico warned.
They resumed walking to the apparent chosen tavern they were going to eat at. The sign having green ornate symbols Damian couldn't read.
"What's the... name say?" Damian asked looking confused at the sign.
"Winika Tavern! It a place I frequent" Lotte explained.
"I see... So this is where you would be whenever you stayed over with some friends?" Damian asked.
"Not always." Lotte admitted. "A few times I would actually be off causing mayhem spray painting buildings like a normal middle school student,"
"Oh-- wait what," Nico blurted. Damian glowered. "You said that was one time Lotte,"
"Anyway it's one of many places in Montonui where numerous people of this city state come to meet, say goodbye, and fraternize." Lotte explained.
"Avoiding the subject again," Nico groaned then followed the two inside. The clamour of voices getting louder and no one outside of a few servers acknowledging them.
"That's how this tavern got its start, but ever since a certain girl arrived, it's been busy every night."
"Certain girl?" Damian parroted.
"I never come here, too many people," Nico shrugged as they say down at the bar.
"Her beauty and dancing are as famous as the other services." Lotte remarked.
"Every day, adventurers gather to see her smile like the tropical sun, and to see the pair of tropical fruits she's sporting." Lotte commented.
"By fruit you mean..." Damian sweatdropped.
Nico picked up a mint off the table near the door.
"Yeah they aren't even subtle about it at this point either," Lotte remarked looking as though she were personally offended.
"You're not subtle about your jealousy either shrimp," Damian muttered irritatedly.
"The worst offender Creed Vidmantas, however, is no longer allowed inside." Nico added calmly, nodding at the direction of the sign he read..
Damian sweatdropped. "That so?"
Lotte beamed "I'll handle everything, just wait." The three of them walked in and sat at the bar since most of the normal tables and seats were occupied or reserved with a little sign on them.
Nico picked up a menu off a waitress' tray.
"Well Lotte... What do you recommend...?"
"Say I wrap my head around everything that's happened; They just serve alcohol to people who look like middle schoolers? What if they confuse them for actual children?" Damian wondered, glancing at a few people Lotte's age with pointed ears and pastel colored clothes. There drinks were colorful and he got the feeling they didn't have juice.
"Oh those are elves !" Lotte waved at them and one of the Elves made a surprised yelp and vanished. None of the others present took notice.
"Unfortunately very shy despite my attempts," she sighed.
"As long as they don't bother me I'll be fine,"
Nico blinked and shifted in his seat.
Lotte hummed and threw a dart at the dart board using her wand.
"Isn't that cheating?" Damian asked. Lotte grinned and put a finger to her lips. Nico rested his chin on his hands.
Behind them, the dancer gets on the table and spins, the hem of her skirt no doubt sending ripples through the minds of her captivated audience.
'I wonder if the dancer actually enjoys the spotlight or if it's just a means to an end.' Damian wondered
"The dancer pay attention to all the conversations in the tavern, picking up fleeting words here and there." The sword commented.
'Be quiet I'm trying to think,' Damian frowned as he tried to focus on the menu.
"If you must talk at least translate the menu," he mumbled glaring at the paper on the thin wood.
"Everything in this world is connected. Even things that have happened leave their marks behind." The sword persisted.
"You. Right now, stop talking," Damian said coldly. Unfortunately he also said it loud enough for a few nearby people to hear.
"Hey," three guys approached him.
"you telling us to shut up?"
"We don't have to get your Machete involved, or any of your friends and their toys involved," Damian said smoothly.
"The real question here is why are you bothered?" He asked coyly.
"After all I wasn't. Talking. To you," Damian enunciated slowly.
'Damian did that thing where he knew all of the weapons again,' Lotte frowned.
Damian frowned too. "Ah I guess I'll just have a bowl of soup.."
"Oh Lotte! Your companions must be new! They could try the soup!" the brunette waitress walking by looked happy to assist.
Lotte tilted her head "yeah make the seasoning for one of the bowls mild, Nico struggles with spicy food,"
Nico blinked "thank you Lotte,"
"Lotte since you're the regular I assume you know where the bathroom is?" Damian asked.
"Yeah down the hallway, it's pretty dark there because people keep knocking the lights out and the owner gave up replacing them but you should be fine." Lotte remarked.
At that a round of loud cheering went up from the center of the tavern. Likely that girl Lotte mentioned being the source. Though from the huge crowd around the table he had no idea what she was doing.
It was probably in his best interest to mind his business for the time being. So to the best of his ability he manuevered around people and tables to the hallway the bathroom was in.
Unaware that the three guys from earlier had observed him take off somewhere by himself and followed him.
"What the? Don't you have something better to do than bother me because I bruised your ego? I hope you weren't listening to me while I was in there-" he commented absently.
They clearly didn't want to talk and lunged for him.
"Oh what the hell," he glanced at the sword propped against the wall and engaged in a brief fistfight. A fight in which he won, likely because they were drunk.
"I'll just leave, no one saw me do that, I think," he quietly slipped past them and back into the hubbub of the Tavern. The four guys that tried to jump him remained on the floor out cold.
On the way back he found things had mellowed out from earlier and a unfamiliar girl in a sparkling red dress probably the dancer was speaking to a waitress.
A guy bumped into a server who stumbled but caught herself, unfortunately not before knocking over someone else, who he caught by impulsively grabbing her wrist.
The woman had he dimly registered as having black fox ears. Being taller than her he made the mistake of looking down and aside from her dress exposing cleavage, he could also see she liked foxes given the recurring motif. On her layered set of necklaces, is a large black fox brooch fastened on one side of the pearls. The necklace had one string of large pearls, one of ruby gems, and three of delicate silver chains. Her black dress admittedly looked simple but it was nothing in comparison to her three foxtails.
"You're really bold for such a youngster." The fox eared woman smiled and Damian tried not to feel embarrassed.
"But I didn't do anything special, I just stood my ground since I hadn't yet done anything wrong," he admitted.
"I do that a lot in school," he remarked hoping the sword wasn't going to start talking again.
The woman didnt look at all fazed by his comment.
"Your name is... It starts with a D doesn't it?" She asked.
"Uh-- yes it does," he nodded.
"You can call me Damian," he said, carefully leaving out any snide comments along the lines of 'I'm probably going to destroy you and everyone else here in the future because of the supposedly evil sword I have. Are you having a nice night?'
"You seem unhappy or concerned about something," she continued.
He frowned "I'm -"
"I can see it in your eyes, the nervousness, the hesitation. The thought 'I don't need to add to my burdens in life.'" He flustered at her explanation. Now he felt confused and a bit attacked.
With that remark she put on the object she was holding; a wide-brimmed black fascinator shaped like a clock, with a red clock hand being held in place by a small black fox that sits at the center. The fox's tail sits straight up and it wears a red bow around its neck. The hat has a red under brim. He could have sworn the tail moved.
"You know, your friends are calling you," she smiled coyly.
He startled and looked behind him. Neither Lotte nor Nico had moved but they also hadn't done anything to get his attention. He frowned again, confused.
"Oh if you're worried I can introduce you -" but when he turned around the woman was gone.
He headed back to his spot and
"You met a fox beastwoman?" Lotte asked.
"Huh? Oh- Yeah it was weird," he remarked as he sat back in his chair.
"They have the ability to see through lies, bullet dodged there." She said sipping the milkshake. Apparently in the time he was gone their drinks had arrived.
"But they aren't exactly social so I wonder what she was doing here," Nico mused curiously.
"It doesn't matter I guess," Damian shrugged. "She left after saying some cryptic things,"
"Maybe put it aside for later," Nico advised stirring his glass of iced tea. He held pieces of fruit primarily peaches, and some small fruit he didn't recognize. He figured it was probably just some berries.
After the lunch was over and the meal went surprisingly smoothly, Damian went back to being concerned about his impending future.