Win-Win

After dinner, the girls strolled around town for a little bit longer, taking a bit of time to explore various shops to buy new items for their home. And, of course, Ava was forced into a multitude of dresses that she once again didn't need.

Letting out a sigh, Ava glanced at the shopping bags in her arms and couldn't help but lament at the expense, but at the same time, rejoiced slightly that she had more wardrobe space now, thanks to their recent move. After wandering around for a little bit longer, Ava also bought a couple of rings for each of the girls. Of course, they weren't decorative rings but rather had a hidden spike on the back of the ring that could be used as a tool of retaliation as a last-case resort.

Seeing the purchase, although none of the other three girls were exactly thrilled, they all accepted it with a calm gaze. Owing to Haley's experience a few years back, it was hard to say no to this sort of somewhat depressing but practical gift. After examining it for a moment, Ahri rolled it around on her finger before saying with a thoughtful expression, "We could make a cap out of gold or a gemstone that we could pop on top. That way, it would look like a normal ring the majority of the time, and it would be easy to pop off, so it would still be useful."

On the side, Ava gave her an expressionless glance.

Chuckling, Ahri said, "Of course, we couldn't use anything too fancy. My heart hurts just thinking about losing a diamond or a gold nugget because I had to pop it out."

Letting out a slightly devious smile, Ahri said, "So, I could get some porcelain decorations that we could pop on top. Mmm, I could fill them with a mild poison. Diarrhea, minor paralysis, or temporary blindness should all be easy to administrate with a prick of this size."

Her eyes brightening, Ava glanced at Ahri and gave her an approving nod. That was the good and steady Ahri she knew. Although she might seem a little bit superficial or talk about meaningless things at times, in the end, she would always get to the point and say something promising.

On the other end, Haley let out a slightly concerned expression as she flickered her eyes between her two friends with a concerned gaze. How come… she felt like it was a little bit excessive? And this was as the individual who had actually been stuck in a scrape before. But in the end, thinking about the bastards who had cornered her that day, suffering on the ground… it seemed a little exciting?

Lily, on the other hand, watched with a somewhat blank gaze before asking in a soft tone, "Won't it spill?"

Her smile stiffening somewhat, Ahri shook her head and said, "We just have to get slightly snugger jars, it might be a little bit hard, but it should be fine. Um, it'd be easiest if we used pastes as the applicant, but then we'd have to renew them every now and then, which would be rather annoying, so it's probably best to use a powder."

"Oh." Nodding, Lily didn't question any further. Anyways, Ahri knew what she was doing.

After wandering around for a little while longer and not finding anything interesting, the girls made their way home and chit-chatted for a while before washing up and going to bed. Although their first night at home was a little bit rocky, as the house was more dilapidated than they thought, the prospects didn't seem all that bad.

The next few days were rather straightforward. They spent the majority of each day cleaning up the rest of the building, getting it into a slightly passable shape. They went out to eat for most of their meals and would spend some time strolling to buy more objects to fill up their spacious home.

The very next day, Mason came over with a ragtag gang of thirteen youths from around town to clean up the field and also told them that his father was interested in taking on the construction project but wanted to survey the land first, which Ava had no objections to.

That evening, Mason's father, Jason, arrived and did a quick survey before agreeing to construct the outdoor building for the archery range while also mentioning that he had a brother who might be able to help them fix up the interior of the building. After thinking for a moment, the girls saw no reason to disagree and agreed to meet the man at the very least, to which Jason was happy to set up a meeting, although he admitted his brother was currently on the job and might take a week or so before he could free up, although in the meantime he'd be happy to deal with any of the more pressing problems.

After a week of dilly-dallying around, Ava was also once again dragged back to her training. Over the past three years, she had become a rather formidable swordsman and had been brought out on some 'excursions' with Kassidy in the gray area and slums of the town and had gained some firsthand fighting experience that she desperately needed. Although she had taken a few lives before this, almost all of her successes and confrontations had been reliant on the element of surprise and a desperate attack that came at the risk of her personal safety. It was only in recent years that she had really learned how to fight.

Other than that, Vaylah had kept true to her promise and brought her on a few hunting trips outside of town, and although Ava was confident enough to head out on her own now, Vaylah still liked setting up regular hunting trips with this most prodigious 'pupil' of hers, and Ava really had no reason to disagree. Anyways, Vaylah provided the arrows and gear, so it was a win-win.