CHAPTER 40: DANCING, DRINKING, AND DUVETS.
"Uhm, well…" Lili started to say. "She apparently has a problem with eating with us and decided to eat all by herself."
"Oh, okay." he could see that happening after all V refused to eat with the crewmen. However, he could not blame her as they always made nasty jokes whenever she was out of earshot.
"Don't let it bother you. Wicarious went all out for dinner tonight. Try to enjoy the meal."
Fate grinned at her, he was starving, there was no denying that. He was just worried that he had not seen V in a while. It was a little odd but not worrisome.
"Thank you," he said and brought his hands together as he prepared to dive into the meal. He picked up his spoon and stared hard at the huge plate in the center. He was not sure what animal it was but it sure looked tasty.
It was also a little creepy looking but it did not deter him from wanting a bite. The claws kind of looked dangerous but since nobody had a problem with them, he figured he could handle it. Besides, the worst he would get would be an upset stomach, he won't die.
"What is that?" He asked.
"King Lobster," Lili answered almost immediately.
"King? Lobster?"
"Yeah," she responded. "It is the biggest lobster. Most of our diet is sea creatures. If you stay long enough, you might eat a whale, they are quite tasty."
Fate's eyes twinkled and his mouth watered at the thought. "I have never eaten a whale before."
"I know you haven't. Now, eat up. I want you to add up as much flesh as possible."
He nodded and drugged in, he was not complaining maybe if he ate enough he would not only add some weight but height too. Nobody ever guessed his age right, they all thought he was some child.
Halfway through the meal about ten demons stood to their feet and lined up in the space between the tables. The hall was divided into two major sections with a huge space in between while their table was at the end directly in front of everyone.
The demons were dressed in their usual bikinis but around their waists, there was a waistband with jewels and it shook as they moved. It made a soft bell-like sound as the pieces of jewelry hit one another.
One of the demons stepped forward. Fate thought he looked familiar but he could not place where he had seen her exactly. As she stepped about two feet forward, she raised her hands, shoulder length, and stretched out her right leg.
Fate stared intensely as he wondered what was about to happen.
A slight movement and her waist dipped to the side and then the other side. She repeated the movement. Right and then left. There wasn't any beat except the ones made by the bells tied around her waist.
She did the movements again, ever so slowly as she stared directly into Fate's eyes. Suddenly her movements sped up and her waist dipped right, left, right, left, so much faster than his eyes could. Then she started to slowly twirl, rotating her entire body as she moved her waist.
Fate was captivated by her waist work and belly dancing, he could not stop looking. As he tried to concentrate on her waist her upper body movement also drew his attention, with every movement she took, they shook vigorously.
Just when his eyes could barely keep up, the others joined in and they all began to dance together in rhythm. They were so in tune, that it made him a little dizzy watching their body movement but still he did not stop watching as he soaked in every bit of the scene before him.
They danced for quite some time and Fate found that he could not stop watching. His food was growing cold but it was the last thing on his mind. Suddenly, their dance started to slow down and he knew they were coming to an end.
Two demons stepped forward, they had similar hairstyles. Their black long hair was tied up in a ponytail and they both had a tattoo on their arms. The tattoos looked different but their placement was the exact same.
They held hands as they danced, moving closer and closer until their bodies were literally intertwined with one another. They kissed and the crowd went wild as everyone except the Queen rose to their feet clapping, Fate joined while seating.
The ten demons smiled and bowed before they returned to their seats. The hall immediately became rowdy as loud conversations ensued from all sides.
Fate returned to eating, the food was cold but it was tasty so the temperature didn't bother him much. Lili leaned towards him and touched his plate. He looked at her and she smiled at him.
He looked away just as quickly and returned his attention to the food and it was warm. He looked back and her smile widened some more.
"I figured you would prefer it warm."
"Yes, I do. Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Is that magic?" He asked even though he knew the answer already.
"Yes but it's not the kind you know. It's a little darker."
"Dark magic. Do you know anything about magic?"
"No."
A lot of reasons had prevented him from learning magic or even learning about magic and most of it revolved around his mother trying to hide him from the church.
"Well, only demons use dark magic and a few humans."
"What magic does V use?"
Lili frowned, "Regular magic."
"What's the difference?"
"Their sources."
"Don't worry about it," Lili replied and ruffled his hair. "Here, drink this?" She said and handed him a mug.
He took a sip and smacked his lips, it was sweet. He gulped it and dropped the mug with a loud sound onto the table. "What was that?" He asked as he wiped his lips.
"The devil's wine."
"Just kidding, it's regular wine. I think this is made from grapes."
"It is really nice, can I have more?"
"No, I think that should be about enough for tonight." Lili chuckled and took the empty mug away from him.
"Oh, why?"
She smirked but didn't say a word. A loud conversation ensued from the table and it completely distracted his train of thought.
It soon turned into a full-blown party and at some point, he was dancing to the music. Turns out Ameita was really good at playing drums.
In the midst of it all, he wanted to take more wine but they wouldn't let him. Eventually, he got tired and resumed sitting while he listened to Mala and Coda tell a story.
Fate's eyes flew open. He wasn't on the bed he had taken a nap on, this was way bigger. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up, his upper body slipping out of the sheets. Still, with sleepy eyes, he tried to check out his surroundings to establish where he was.
The room was pretty dark and his eyes were taking a little too long to adjust to the darkness. He rubbed them again and heard stirring from the bed. Somebody was on the bed with him. He jerked his head in the direction of the sound as his body prepared for flight mode.
"You are awake," a familiar voice said.
"Lili!" Fate yelled, stunned.
"Yes," her voice sounded drowsy.
Fate could hear her moving on the bed. He could see her but all he could see was just her outline. Suddenly, the drapes began to open and light streamed in and Fate immediately lost the ability to use his tongue as his mouth fell open. His eyes widened and for the longest time, all he could do was stare.