35 One step forward two steps back

The raid of the unnamed Orange Player guild finished in a rather lackluster way. Not that I expected anything to really shock me here. I will say that the last guy was more skilled than expected. It was a shame that he would be locked in jail instead of helping out on the front lines. I doubt I had enough pull to pardon the guy, not that he would be willing to help. The visceral hate in that man's eyes was something that hated the world. It was something I was rather familiar with seeing.

It was a shame that he was using such an unwieldy weapon. If the guy had an actually good weapon he might have been able to defeat me. Even with the thing the guy was not defeated by my skill but by Fortuna. I would have liked to see him at his peak.

Ashley and I raided the storage area but there was nothing really that important here. Just loot from the lower floors and we had long since outgrown them. I did not even bother to take the Cor I already had far too much Cor already. I might as well make sure the Clearers had a nice little treat for the help.

Everyone managed to defeat the Orange Players quickly and teleported them to jail. For a long while Ashley was dragging that last guy as we explored the Fort. It was a nice place and would make a far better headquarters. If we cleaned it up and invested Cor that is. This place had a bad guy lair vibe. Not something that we should show to the public as our headquarters.

Ashley managed to get me to promise to take her out to entertain her. She was rather insistent that I was the one who decided what we were doing today. It was not exactly hard to convince me to do that as it was not a grand task. I was tempted to use my Luck to figure out the perfect activity for us to do. For some reason doing that felt like a mistake. So I had to actually buy information from Argo.

The information broker was rather excited at finally getting me to cough up some Cor. At least that was what I was assuming her excitement was coming from. She was giggling the entire time I was asking for information. She gave me a series of hangout activities that sounded like they would work out. I just had to figure out what Ashley would like the most.

My own opinion on these activities was irrelevant as I did not really care that much. I was a creature of habit and just spending the day crafting was my idea of a good time. Ashley did not seem to mind just being there with me when I did it. So I might as well do what she wanted today.

I went to the plaza as that was where we agreed to meet up. It was noon and the sun was emitting a pleasant warmth. The surrounding people in the plaza were bustling and lively. It was nice seeing these people happy and excited to face the day. It was certainly better than the cattle that they were before.

I was gathering a good amount of looks and whispered conversations. The people needed hope so the Clearer's were public figures. Diabel may have been the face of the Clearer's with his knightly persona but I was fairly famous. Not for any of my exploits but because of my looks. Being good looking was enough to have the public rather interested in me. The same could be said for Ashley.

I was just thankful that my Clearer status had these people keeping a respectful distance. Some of the looks these people were sending me were rather disturbing. That girl over there looked like she wanted to eat me. I got gamers are strange but cannibalism was a strange turn. 

I did not have to think about the possible cannibal for very long as Ashley arrived. We were in a safe zone so she had no need to be wearing her battle gear. She was wearing black jean shorts with fishnets coupled with a red crop top and a black jacket. I was used to how beautiful this girl was but seeing her like this was just as enchanting as it always was.

It was not just in the way she looked. It was in the ways her eyes would light up at seeing me. The joy at seeing someone like me was wonderful. The way she would smile in such an innocent way. The bounce in her step that would tell me how excited she was. All of these small things would have me enchanted, simply because she wanted to be by my side.

So as she approached me I felt myself relax ever so slightly and let out a genuine smile. It did not take her very long to reach me and she rushed once more into my personal space. A joyful bundle of energy wrapped her arms around me and I found myself hugging back. It was not even a thought any more just something I did.

She looked up at me with a smug smile on her face.

"It's nice seeing you wearing something nice for once." She announced as she emitted her smugness. I was not sure why my choice of attire was giving her ammo for her smugness but I never really knew with her. 

I did decide to dress up for our activities as it felt unfair to be in my battle gear when she would not. I was wearing a red dress shirt and a black jacket. The black jeans I was wearing complimented the outfit well. I was honestly surprised that our outfits fit so well together. I had no idea where to get normal outfits here so I went to ask Argo for a tailor. Instead, the broker sent me this outfit and said I had to wear it. So maybe I should not have been that surprised.

With the complexion on both of us, the dark colors with a splash of color really did wonders.

"I could not let you be the only one dressed up." I said as I shifted a hand to caress her head. Ashley was one for touches and seemed to enjoy head pats of all things. She really did remind me more and more of a cat.

I suppose that she was not that dressed up but in comparison to our battle gear she was dressed to the nines. After enjoying the physical contact for a while Ashley stepped away and looked up to me.

"So what's on the agenda Magic man?" She looked over in curiosity. I had no idea if she was going to like what I planned but I felt like I had to do this. Relying on Fortuna for something so personal seemed like an insult.

"Hmmm are you sure you want to know?" I asked out with a teasing smile. Sure my plan was not some grand secret but sometimes a surprise is nice.

Ashley seemed like she wanted to object but stopped after a moment. She did pout even if she did not bring up her question again. I just chuckled at her which increased the pout.

"Okay, okay I'll tell you just stop pouting." I laughed even more at her but she did manage to rein in her pout. The sight did bring a grin to my face.

"Now tell me." She said with the utmost seriousness. It made me want to tease her even further. Well, who cares about plans live in the moment Severus. I leaned towards her as if to tell some grand secret but moved quickly to boop her on the nose. My actions startled her as she was leaning in to listen. She looked at me with large confused eyes.

"I think I'll keep it to myself for now. You can find out if you tag me back." I said with a teasing grin. I then turned around to run away. Ashley was frozen for a moment before she started to chase me. I quickly led us away from the crowd. This game was a farce and both Ashley and I knew it. If I wanted to run from her there was not a thing she could do about it.

Yet here I was with her on my heels as she shouted things at me. It was childish and probably not the best impression but it was fun. Not just for me as I looked back at Ashley with the same childish glee dyeing her face.

Ashley was usually a bundle of energy that was stuffed into a human shape. She needed to be doing things constantly or she would become bored. So our little game got her to spend some of that endless energy. It was not something I planned but it seemed to be working out.

With our stats, the game of tag turned into something ludicrous as we parkoured all over the city. We must have spent an hour just running around. Filled with teasing quips and barbs thrown at each other.

Eventually, all games come to an end so I started to slow down enough that she could catch me. I expected her to just tag me but she tackled me to the ground. She managed to pin me to the roof that we were running on top of. I looked up at her as she hovered over me breathless. Her eyes seemed to shine in a way that was intoxicating. Her hot breath fell over me and I felt that this moment was far more intimate than I thought possible.

Her gaze locked with mine and I felt like things were going in a way I never expected. She started to lower her face and I felt my heart speed up. This was not happening, right? There was no way Ashley felt that way about me. It did not make any sense. I could only stare dumbly at her as she grew closer and closer.

Ashley then froze when she was just a foot away. She was no longer looking at my eyes but down at my chest. A couple of my buttons got undone on my dress shirt so my bare chest was there to see. At least that was what I thought she was looking at. My shirt and my chest were the only thing there.

A look crossed over Ashley's face. It was sad and angry and I felt my confusion grow further. She then started to stand up and looked away for a moment. I was left dazed and confused on the roof of this building.

Then Ashley looked back with the same light in her eyes again even if it looked strained.

"I caught you." Ashley announced with a teasing smile on her face. Her statement broke the stupor I found myself in. I looked over at her and contemplated. She must have got caught up in the mood and almost kissed me because of it. She must have snapped out of it and remembered the true object of her desire.

I was not going to lie that hurt. I too got caught up in the moment and I started to feel something for her. I should have known better than to think something like that. Ashley was not capable of doing something like that. Her actions lately just had me thinking it was possible.

I looked awkwardly at her but decided it was not worth being mad at. I never expected her to have affection for me so this was not too bad. Just an unexpected disappointment.

"That you did, now you get to learn the next part of my master plan." I said in a stereotypical villainous voice. I tried to joke around to get the mood into something normal. It was still fairly awkward but Ashley eventually was somewhat normal again. Those strange conflicting emotions still appeared in her eyes every once and a while.

"Well, we were supposed to go shopping for a fair bit but we might as well get lunch now." I spoke out to her as we started climbing down. I felt like the game of tag was better even if it left us in a awkward position.

"Sounds good." Ashley said distractedly. She had something else on her mind and I could not blame her. That moment was going to be on my mind for a while. Ashley was like a storm coming into my life uncaring about the damage she did by simply being. It would have been bad if she did not bring the rain to the dry arid thing I called a heart.

We went and arrived at a small little restaurant that Argo charged top dollar to introduce me to. The meal was good but not anything that impressive. The mood between us was not exactly stable yet and Ashley was still dealing with something.

I looked around at the other patrons as they seemed ecstatic at the food. There were a lot of people here that looked like they were on a date. Which I was going to have to wring Argo's neck for. A little warning would have been nice I would not have brought Ashley here after what happened if I knew. Some god damn information broker.

I looked over at Ashley who was contemplating. Might as well try to bring her mood up.

"Foods good just not as good as yours." I spoke out quietly at Ashley. My voice broke her contemplation as Ashley looked over at me in blank confusion for a moment. Once she registered my words a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Of course it is. I am the best after all." Ashley announced smugly and I felt a smile back on my face. This was better I did not want her to be moody over what happened. That was not who Ashley was.

"You better not have made any plans for tonight. I'm cooking." Ashley said with those bright eyes once more there. I had no idea why but Ashley took pride in her cooking and I was not going to take that away from her.

"I'm more than willing to eat another of your meals Ashley." I chuckled out as she started to eat her food instead of sitting there contemplating.

The both of us finished our meals quickly but we sat around chatting for a bit. She was back to a relatively normal routine so the time passed quickly. Before I knew it was time for the final activity I planned out for today. I had other things we were supposed to do today but tag and chatting took up more time than expected.

Ashley just finished telling me a story about how pigeons avoided her out of the sheer menace she had. I had no idea how this topic got brought up but it was amusing seeing her so animated.

"Well, we got one last thing to do today." I said as I paid the bill and started to leave the restaurant. Ashley followed and seemed hesitant about getting close to me. It was to be expected but I was going to miss the feel of her body on mine.

"Not going to tell me what's next." She said with that smug smile on her face. 

"I could but this one is better as a surprise." I said wryly as we started to walk towards the edges of town. It was supposed to be a big end to a day filled with doting on this girl. I was not sure if this day went well in the end. Still, I hope she at least likes this last bit.

We walked and talked with each other as we approached a specific barn. The NPC that managed this barn had a series of quests that you had to complete to access his services but it was worth it. This place was something people really wanted to see after all.

Ashley was looking confused at the barn and I got it. Nothing really cool should be stored in barns.

"Ah it's you lad." The old man that ran this place said. I was lucky that the guy had no one else here today. The last time I came here at this time it was full. 

"I need a ride to the Southwind Tower." I spoke as I handed him the appropriate amount of money. I looked up at the sky and the sun was just starting to set. The old man only grunted as he started to lead us to the inside of the barn. Ashley gasped as she saw what was in this barn.

It was filled with Gyrffins. The dumb birds stood around proudly looking a majestic as they always did. I may not like them on principle but I could accept that they looked amazing.

"Here you go lad one ride to Southwind." The old man led us to one of the Gyrffins that had a saddle. Ashley seemed to finally realize why we were here as she was vibrating in place.

I gave her a smug grin of my own and I hopped up on the Gyrffin and helped her ride behind me. She had to hold on to me as we rose to the sky. When I planned this all out I expected that to be fine as Ashley was always rather touchy now we were in a strange position. Ashley was hesitant but still complied.

The grip on me felt especially clingy which was odd as I thought she wanted to avoid me to get back on track. The Gyrffin soared through the air and we were soon above the city. The setting sun over the back drop of the city was a stunning image. There was a reason that the barn usually was packed.

I wanted her to see this. To have this image engraved in her mind. After a fun day between us, I wanted it to be perfect. I felt melancholy as the day was good but it may have been too good. I was going to miss the closeness we shared but it was not my place. I would be fine with everything returning to normal.

I wonder when that lie was going to be true.

Ashley gripped tighter on me and mumbled something into my back but I could not hear it. It must have been lost in the wind.

The setting sun was over far too quickly and we soon managed to find ourselves at Southwind Tower. There was supposed to be a continuation of the quest from the old man. No one took it as it would remove the Gyrffin as a ride option. So Ashley and I took a teleport crystal back to our little cabin.

We were probably going to be in separate rooms from now on. I guess I was just going to have to expand the cabin a bit. Before I could bring it up Ashley headed towards the kitchen to get cooking. Well, she did promise me a meal after all. I was looking forward to it.

In no time flat we had a truly delicious meal in front of us. The both of us were in relative silence. I was not sure what to say to her anymore. What would be overstepping and what would be wrong? I wonder if she was feeling the same way. I looked over at her as she pecked at her own meal.

"Hey I never asked but why were you so insistent on taking the cooking skill." That should be a safe topic. Her interests should not lead her back to any thoughts about her mistake from earlier. She looked over at me and her face seemed to fall. It was not a sight I was used to seeing from her.

She moved her food around on her plate in silence for a moment. I was so confused about that reaction.

She then looked back at me with a lost look on her face.

"My mother never really had time to cook for us. She was always so busy that it was never an option. I thought…" She looked at me with glistening eyes and that same lost look on her face. I felt my heart drop as this was bound to be bad. I knew Ashley hated her mother so any story about her was bound to sicken me.

"I thought if I cooked she would praise me. That a home cooked meal was the last piece in the puzzle. It was a stupid idea." The tears started to fall from her face and I found myself moving before I could even think about it. I was beside her hugging her with everything I had. She melted into my embrace and I could care less if I overstepped here. 

" I got better and better but I don't think she ever even took a single bite." She mumbled into my chest and I felt my blood boil. I hated that woman. For she was the breaking point for this girl.

"At least Andy praised me for it." She let out between quiet sobs. I felt my heart twitch at that but I buried it. I could not follow that feeling not now. As I looked at the girl in my arms I cursed. Why did you have to make it so easy to love you Ashley?