TLDR:
- Lilirel and Shurik continue to chat as they make their way to whichever Tavern they find first
- Shurik interacts with a local child.
"Surely we can find another Tavern. The Stout Keg is where we first stayed upon arriving to Taruhm. Those of us that didn't need to be rushed to the medical quarter." Lilirel explained.
"I'm not quite sure what transpired that eve. I had quite a few drinks and woke up next to our darling light bearer." She smiled as she glanced towards Shurik.
"She assured me that we had a great evening. Whether that is true or false" Shurik raised an eyebrow and threw her a sheepish smirk as Lily shrugged
"it doesn't matter. I know I must've done something more as the locals and workers from the tavern itself were not very pleased the moment I reappeared. I'm not one to care much about the thoughts and opinions of others towards me, I simply wish to avoid the negativity that I feel will come from going back there." The woman continued explaining.
"That makes sense" Shurik responded as he started to rub the back of his head again.
"I'd be too curious to know what happened. Did I start a tavern brawl? Did I take home the barmaid? Was I singing on the tables again?" He let out a snicker to himself and then sighed.
"I won't lie, I am curious to know." Lilirel chuckled.
"But I think it may be best to simply avoid it all." She spoke simply and quietly.
"Hopefully news of whatever you did didn't spread to the rest of the taverns. Otherwise, we're definitely going to have fun finding somewhere to drink. Maybe the competition of the Stout will give us better brews because of what happened?"
As the two eventually made their way into the Mayor's home, Lilirel listened to Shurik and what he had to say about stories, how there was typically truth within them. An accurate statement, considering that a story couldn't exist without
something to speak about.
"Mhm." Lilirel expressed with a subtle nod in regards to Shurik's statement about certain stories
helping to keep the populace in control when the protagonist of said rumors was present. A chuckle followed as the aasimar looked towards her fellow apostle.
"Is it now?" She jokingly asked regarding the
imaginary tail. Her eyes shamelessly dropping to the man's behind.
"Are you sure it's the tail they're talking about?"
Shurik nodded and turned his head to look at Lilirel, then followed where her eyes had drifted when he saw she stared elsewhere. She narrowed her eyes and couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her. Shurik laughed with her and shook his head.
"Lilirel!" He said with his mouth agape as he threw one of his hands against his chest.
"I can't imagine what you are insinuating!" This only caused him to laugh more as they continued their walk.
Eventually they made their way out of the manor. Lilirel grinning as she gazed ahead.
"I didn't do much exploring of Taruhm myself. I just know of the singular tavern to avoid." Another chuckle as she shrugged.
"So what if we get lost? The others will find us or, we'll figure out how to get to where we need to go. The perks of being a seasoned adventurer. You always figure out how to carry on." She explained and looked around. Her smile still bright.
Shurik nodded his head a few times in agreement and then started to look down the streets in front of them and beside them.
"I can't argue with that logic. I think the Stout Barrel is that way." He pointed up the street on their left. He held there for a moment as he considered which way he pointed and then clicked his tongue to confirm with himself.
"Yes. That way. So, If it is agreeable with you, Miss Lily. May I call you Lily? I'd say we head the opposite way here." He drug his finger through the air in a short arc and pointed to their right.
"And see what kind of trouble we can get into as far away from that one Tavern and the Mayor as we can get." Shurik matched her bright smile and for a moment lost himself as he stared at her.
"You may call me Lily, yes, that is acceptable and preferred to other monikers." She gave a slow and subtle nod with a chuckle.
"I think the opposite direction is a safe bet." she agreed and looked in the direction Shurik was now pointing.
"Yes, we do tend to find ourselves getting in trouble unintentionally don't we?" She turned to look back towards Shurik who had gone silent, their eyes locking. A swift moment passed before she decided to speak up.
"Is everything alright Shurik?" She showed worry in her eyes briefly before looking over her shoulder. Was something happening? Was someone or some
thing rushing towards them? Her confusion showed as she looked about a little frantically. Was she missing something? Turning to look back at Shurik, Lilirel walked over to his side and attempted to spot what he was seeing from where he stood.
"I'm not sure what I'm looking for." She muttered.
Shurik snapped back to himself as Lily spoke and the wheels in his head spun. She started to look around and Shurik chuckled to himself nervously and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand.
"Uhh. It was nothing. Nothing to worry about." He looked at her as she moved beside him and gave her a wide smile.
"Nothing to look for, Just lost myself in thought there for a second, should we keep moving?" Shurik spoke in a flurry of words before he started to walk forward toward their determined direction.
As they walked, Shurik kept an eye out around them and took in the sights of the town around them. Everything was bustling in the mountain fortress it seemed. Most people still kept their distance from the obvious outsiders and probably known Apostles, but there were the rare few who approached them and said some words of thanks. Shurik merely nodded at them and gave them a quick smile before proceeding slowly ahead.
Shurik stopped for one curious youngster, though, who had approached him.
"Woah, Is that sword really real?"
The Apostle chuckled and nodded.
"Of course, small one. Apostles can't fight evil with fake weapons, can we?"
The child nodded.
"Can I hold it?"
Shurik held in a scoff as his eyes looked up towards who he assumed were the boy's parents. They looked at him and nodded so Shurik shrugged and removed the sword from his back, setting most of it on the ground and placing the hilt in the child's hands.
"Ready?" He asked.
"Yup!" the ecstatic child returned, and Shurik released his grip on the blade and let the kid hold the full weight.
To his surprise, The child with both hands on the blade was able to keep the sword from fully dropping on the ground. They looked strained, but the sword didn't drop. He only let go for a couple of seconds before he picked the blade back up and released the weight from the kid's arms.
"My That was impressive." Shurik slung his blade back onto his back and nodded.
"Not bad, Kid. Maybe one day, you'll be swinging around a chunk of metal like this."
Lilirel had remained silent for the most part as the two walked along. Like Shurik she paid attention to the onlookers, those that were intrigued by the presence of the Apostle's and those that chose to keep their distance and clear a path for them. Had she not heard Shurik respond to the child Lilirel would've kept walking. Stopping in her tracks she turned and smiled as she caught the interaction between the two, hands on her hips. Glancing towards the youngster's parents, her smile softened as she nodded slightly towards them before bringing her attention back to Shurik, waiting to carry on.
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