Before I even opened my eyes, I could see the sunlight penetrating through my eyelids. No matter how much I try to ignore the light, sleep is now impossible–it's pointless to delay the inevitable. I take a deep breath.
"Okay, here we go again."
I take a look to my left. Before I could even get up from my hammock…
"Ack!"
…two big eyes were staring directly at me, right beside my hammock.
It was the girl, or course. I'm not used to anyone watching me sleep; it feels like a shady tactic. Based on her reaction, it looks like I startled her a bit as well.
"Sorry about that–didn't mean to scare you."
The girl shakes her head as if she were saying, "It's okay.". She rubs her belly.
"Oh I see, you were waiting for me to wake up. I can see that you are hungry, right?"
She nods her head. I sit upright in my hammock, facing towards her.
"Unfortunately for you, I am not a big fan of cooking. So for breakfast, how about some sweet bread and water?"
"Mmm."
She nods her head once again as confirmation. I wonder if she can talk. If she can't, then it wouldn't be so bad–more peace for me and my thoughts.
I open my pantry, looking for sweet bread. Admittedly, it's somewhat disorganized, but it doesn't take long for me to find it.
I like foods like sweet bread for breakfast; it requires no prep time, it's cheap, and relatively delicious. Breakfast should be the shortest moment of the day; after all, there are more important things to spend energy on.
I split a loaf between us, handing her the slightly bigger half.
"Here kid, eat up"
The girl takes a close look at the bread, then sniffs it. Once it passed her "safety test", she took a small bite and slowly chewed.
"Eh, not too bad, I hope?"
In the blink of an eye, the girl took more and more bites of the sweet bread, stuffing her face like a rodent.
"Sweet bread is somewhat dry, so you need to be–"
"Mmph..mmph…mmph!"
"--careful."
She's having a hard time swallowing the bread; it's nearly choking her. Her face is turning bluish purple.
"This is why I said today's breakfast is sweet bread and water. You can't forget the water. Here, take my cup."
Gulp gulp gulp
She successfully washes down the bread, and continues eating–this time more slowly, taking sips of water between bites. Smart kid.
I'm glad that my misfortune didn't take her life, but we're already off to a rough start. Knowing my history, it could only get worse from here.
"Thank…you…for the food."
I couldn't believe my ears, but there's no mistake, the girl finally spoke! Her voice sounds pretty light, as if she were whispering. The noises outside would definitely drown her out.
"You are welcome, you…you…"
Now that I think about it, who is she? I did not need to consider that question initially, but it'd be awkward to look after her and not call her by name. Calling her "cat girl" would also feel wrong to me, for some reason. Maybe "Miss Kitty" would sound better?
"What's your name, kid?"
"..."
The girl closes her eyes for a moment; hesitating as if she is thinking about something.
"If you don't want to tell me, it's fine. I'm a stranger that you probably don't want to be around for too long. I can just call you–"
"Lily. I'm Lily."
Lily. That's certainly a cutesy name, befitting of a young girl like her. I think I used to like lilies a long time ago. Now? Not a big fan of plants and flowers in general; they always seem to wither when I try to care for them. Withered flowers soil the experience of enjoyment.
"Okay Lily, you and I have a big day ahead of us. I'll try to explain everything you need to know about the current situation you and I are in over the next few days. First thing, we need to–"
"What's your…name?"
Oh yeah, how rude of me. It only makes sense for me to introduce myself after she did. I'm sure that even a kid like her can see that I am not a social person–not in the slightest. Kind of embarrassing, I have to admit.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you. My name is Vex."
"Mr. Vex?"
"Yes, that's right, but you can drop the 'mister' part. Now as I was saying, today you and I have a lot to do. But there's a big problem–we stink."
Lily sniffs herself and quietly nods.
"I have a shower down the hall. You could take a bath, but we are pressed for time, so we can only take showers for now. Quick showers."
Besides, showers are the most efficient way to clean oneself; it is quick and precise.
"There are some towels prepared. You go first, okay? I'll wash your clothes in the meantime."
"I can't."
"I'm sorry?"
"I can't."
"Can't what?"
"I can't bathe; I don't know how."
"Are you kidding me? You look too old to not know how to bathe yourself!"
"My mom always bathed me."
"So what do you want me to do? Bathe you?"
The girl blushes in embarrassment and starts to hug her tail. I'd also be embarrassed to ask a stranger to bathe me!
"Not happening, kiddo. Just put soap on your body, scrub it with a towel, and rinse. I'll start the water for you, but you are on your own after that!"
_______________________________________________________________________
"Hey Lily, are you dressed yet? We needed to leave an hour ago!"
"Coming!"
Never, and I mean NEVER will I take a shower after Lily again, or any demi-human for that matter. Not only did she take forever, she got her fur everywhere, making a huge mess that I had to clean up!
This created a major delay, but it couldn't be helped. There was no way that I was going to rush out the door and leave my house like that.
"Okay, Lily's ready."
Lily finally emerged from the dressing room–my bedroom–looking fresh and fit…for the most part. I can see that she missed a few dirt spots, and her clothes are still a little dingy. I tried my best to make it work, but I think it's a lost cause. Oh well, I'll use Crawley's money to buy her some new clothes–and not the cheap ones either.
"Eh, close enough. Say, where are your shoes?"
"Shoes?"
Lily makes a confused expression.
"Shoes. You know, the things that go on your feet?"
I point to my shoes as a demonstration.
"Lily does not wear shoes. I like to feel the earth."
I did not notice until now, but now that I think about it, Lily has been barefoot since I first took her. Maybe this is a common custom among demi-human children?
"I'm not sure where you're from, but the ground here in Avarice doesn't feel so good. We are going to get some shoes for you pronto."
"Okay…"
"Don't look so disappointed, Lily. Trust me, you will thank me later. Anyway, let's head out already."
I grab my signature cloak and put it on. Its color, midnight purple, is perfect for keeping a low profile during the day, and it appears black at night, making me harder to identify. I can never leave home without it.
"Wait, we can't go out just yet."
"Why not?"
Lily is understandably confused.
I just remembered that I technically stole Lily from some deranged demi-human traffickers, so there is a chance that they are still lurking around the town, searching for Lily. I can't risk her being identified so easily. Ah, I've got it.
I look through my closet for a cloak for Lily. Unfortunately, I only have adult-sized cloaks. Drat, these won't do. I hate to waste time on this, but it's too risky not to account for.
"Vex…"
"Not now Lily, I'm looking for something."
"Lily found this on the floor. I think it fell from your closet…"
Lily carries a black cloth sheet in her hands. I used to wear it as a cape before wearing cloaks–the superior version.
"Fine, just put it back and…on second thought, give it to me."
"Okay."
This cape has enough cloth to be used as a cloak for a small person. Just gotta connect it with a pin!
"Come here Lily."
"Okay!"
I wrap the "cloak" around her, making sure that most of her identifiable features, her tail and ears, are concealed.
"I can tell that this cloak isn't really your style. It's only temporary for your safety, okay? Just make sure not to ever take off your hood. Got it?"
"Yes, Lily understands!"
"Good. Now let's go."
_____________________________________________________________________
It took me a bit longer than expected to find a clothing store dedicated to demi-humans. I knew that they existed in this country, but they are few and far between and are often in inconvenient locations for me. Not that it matters since I never needed to shop there before.
As I expected, the store is very similar to a human clothing store, except that the clothes and shoes here are catered to demi-human features. The most notable feature being openings for tails and ears.
"Is she ready yet?"
"Not yet sir. Please wait for just a little bit longer. Preferably quietly."
I have been waiting by the dressing room for an eternity as a store clerk helps Lily try on various outfits. I couldn't be bothered to find something for Lily myself, so I requested that the clerk do it for me. After all, she is a feline demi-human herself, so she would be a much better fit for the job.
I'm pretty sure that clerks usually charge extra for this kind of service, but once she saw Lily, her tone changed completely. Heh, if only it were that easy for me.
"Okay, I think that we found a great combo! Lily, if you'd please."
"Okay!"
The dressing room curtain opens, revealing the new Lily.
"Well, what do you think, Mr.Vex?"
I can hear the irritation in her voice. If anyone should be irritated, it's me!
I take a glance at her outfit. Looks like she has settled on some sort of one piece dress. It's not too revealing at all, so suppose it is fine. I can imagine that it gives her tail some breathing room. Her choice of sandals for shoes is due to a similar reason, I assume. I must admit, the colors of the one piece, and the decorative jewels on the sandals really come together nicely with her fur and eye colors.
"It's functional, so I take no issue with it. As long as Lily likes it, it doesn't matter to me."
"Lily likes it, Lily likes it!"
Lily leaps up and down, wearing a gleeful smile on her face. This is the happiest I have seen her yet. I'm glad that she appears to be emotionally healing, at least to an extent. I'm working overtime helping the girl recover, which is not a job fit for a guy like me, so I better get highly compensated for this.
"Great! You look so cute, Lily! That'll be 21 gold coins, please."
"Um, excuse me madam, but I'm the one paying, not the child."
The woman coldly looks at me with utter disgust and responds in a deadpan voice.
"Then that'll be 30 gold coins for you, Mr. Vex."
"What happened to the original price?!"
"This is a demi-human store. Non-demi-human customers must pay an extra sales tax. Company policy, sir."
"Tch. Here, take it!"
I slam a stack of coins on the scale and storm towards the exit. I swear, she's lucky that I'm only putting up with the disrespect because this money is not coming directly out of my pockets.
"Come on Lily, let's leave this dump."
"Okay, I'm coming! Thank you for helping me, Miss."
"It was my pleasure. I look forward to seeing you again!"
She then looks at me, flipping on her cold personality.
"Just you."