A Feast for Sore Eyes!

(Mark Nicholson)

"I won't lie to you, Mark, but I'm thinking about pulling tonight."

Following our arrival to the banquet and departure from the guidance of Percival's advisor, Geraint, our collective ended up meeting Mordred once more. The man came off as oddly eerily once again, but the strong stench of alcohol alongside the rich aroma of food seemed to drown out his previous scent. This place was a powder keg of scents, with each one vying for dominance with its neighbor.

Admittedly, I was becoming more sloppy by the second when it came to portraying myself as a meek foxkin in each of our encounters. Soon enough, I will have to drop the charade all together when it comes to Mordred. On this counter, he appeared to give me more attention and even hammered into me that he was going to be as informal as possible.

It was with the quick thinking of the others that I and Q managed to leave before our dynamic changed even more.I had come to believe that Claire's analysis was correct. After one conversation with me, an observant individual will be able to spot my perceived abnormality.

Against my better judgment, we followed Mordred's instructions to the catering table that was tucked away with the much more rowdy members of the crowd. That is where we stood now with the provided fancy, silver plates in hand.

"The only thing I'm worried about pulling is this pork.", I respond to him.

On our way towards this section, there was many attractive woman scatter across the room like stars across the cosmos. Each their own specific form of beauty and class. Surprisingly enough, many of the people present look like adventurers dressed in the fanciest attire that they could afford. We were no expectation.

There was a section on the table before me with various types of meats; beef, what I assumed was pork, chicken, and meat that I had never seen before. Although they look delicious, I'd rather not eat something that I am unfamiliar with now.

Therefore, I merely chose what was familiar to me at the moment. A lot of the meat was skewered on kabobs, so it was easy to stack our plates up with it. I would not lie, but there was some sexy meat on this plate. My instincts were dying for me to dig in.

"C'mon and think about it. A lot of those Isekais that you tell me about have some type of love interest, right?", Q muses.

While my plate was mostly carnivorous in nature, Q's possessed a salad to go alongside his meat. While that was true, it was more commonplace that it was a precursor to forming a harem of uber talented women to surround an utterly gutless and mediocre guy. So he found me nodding in confirmation to his question before providing a proper response.

"Yeah. Baddie with blue hair and elf ears on ya right, and busty baddie with cat ears on ya left. That fact is as true as my name is Marktilicious."

That actually isn't my name, but it is true nonetheless. We are potentially being listened to, so I decided to throw out false names in order to throw a wrench into their plans.

"So it's only natural that I spit some game here as well. If we're gonna stay and help the elf woman out, then a lil company is better than being lonely at night."

"I assume that one caught your eye. I'm sure that I don't need to remind you that we don't have our cellular devices on hand, so unfortunately, there is no internet. You'll have to communicate with her via carrier pigeon or dragon fly, whatever they got going on in this world."

"I doubt it'd be that serious. It's just a lil spicy, midnight fun from time to time. Nun' serious."

"Aight, bud. You say that now, but you better remember to pull out. You'll be fuckin' up the world's powers if you started going crazy. I'll warn you now. To our knowledge there is no protection here."

"God is my protection.", he chimes triumphantly.

I peaked over my glasses at the male before further digging into my meal on my plate. As I did so a certain area had caught my attention. Without a second thought I gestured towards a doorway that seemed to lead to the night sky. I assumed that must be a terrace outside.

A building this massive is likely to have a few. So when we made our way over there I was proven correct. After being introduced to all these various scents, I decided that getting fresh air would be the best course action. These scents were slowly overwhelming my enhanced sense of smell.

Naturally when I began to lead the way to our destination, Q followed. Once there, we pushed the door open and stepped out to the sizable terrace. The elements were exposed to us, but at least it was well lit outside in this section by both starlight and candlelight. A breeze whipped up and carried itself through my exposed features. It was rather refreshing compared to the atmosphere on the inside.

"Settle with me, Mark. What do you make of that crystal that you were fixated on in the cave?"

It had dawned on me when he brought it up. I began to wonder where Bonner placed the crystal shard that I told him to gather during our battle and subsequent victory over the Lynx. With everything that has transpired since then, I haven't given it too much thought.

"I can't be sure, but I'm pretty sure that it was appealing to my passive Kitsune instincts at the time. Given the time, then I may figure out a way to utilize it more effectively. If useful, then we could go back and potentially get some more. It is too soon to say.", I say to him.

My words seemed to satisfy his curiosity as the man didn't follow up just yet. Instead, Q opted to dive into the salad that he had chosen prior. Taking this time of our ensuing silence, I would voice the thought that I have been carrying for a while now.

"You might be aware of this already, but that strength of yours is incredible. To be able to damage that Lynx like that. While I am unsure whether or not if the creature lives up the same status as its game counterpart, I am still impressed that you were capable of harming it. I don't think that I took the time to appreciate your assistance then. It is possible that I wouldn't be here right now without you."

My words seemed to garner a bit of surprise from my friend. His hand quickly rose up and shook dismissively at my comment.

"Ya should no better. You and Bishop are assholes through and through, but I'll watch ya'll backs. With your arrogance and his cowardice, then things like that is sure to happen. For now, we need each other to navigate this world properly, so I require your specific expertise."

I couldn't help, but to laugh at the man's response. It was truly a response that only he could produce. Not keen on being left behind, I too began feasting on the meat that I gathered on my plate.

While my old teeth in my previous world or should I say 'life' had seen better days, my newer ones were clearly superior. It would harder to spot at first glance, but many of my canines were sharper and pointed out more like a fox's teeth rather than that of a human.

That meant that the meat on my plate stood no chance when came to my bite force. At first that provided some difficulty, but I soon overcame it in such a short time period. Reflecting on my own newer features brought a sense of curiosity to cloud my mind. Q's character was a fairy, and with our track record that meant that many of his features likely crossed over as well.

"Since we are talking about passive abilities… did you notice anything new with you when you changed your clothes?", I asked him.

It took little time for him to process my question. His brown eyes glancing towards the closed door way from which we entered.

"Well…I got me some wings.", he responded.

I would look at his back and there were no indications that he had any wings behind him. Perhaps, unlike my tail and ears, Q could hide them underneath his clothes. It wouldn't take long before he would follow up.

"Ya can't see them since my clothes are over them now, but they are there. About the size of these plates."

His size estimate actually blew me away, and my surprise colored my face. If were to guess, then I would say these plates were about six or seven inches in diameter. Compared to his massive frame, I doubt that those things would be able to carry his body weight around. Hell, he'd be luck to hover for a few seconds, so I don't expect him to be able to fly around.

"That's actually pretty tough. You're losing out-"

"Not necessarily. I suppose you can say that I traded mobility for raw strength. I'm pretty sure that I can draw water from this stone. You on the other hand have drawn a shitty card from an even shittier deck. Me and Bishop's eyesight have improved to the point that we don't need our glasses any more.", he says.

"Well, you hardly wore them anyway.", I chimed in response.

His words were true in this regard. Although I have possessed many of the other characteristics of a Kitsune, my eyesight stayed essentially the same. If not for my glasses, then I would not be able to see a single thing clearly.

"Talk about a bad deal. Though I will not be too down on something like that. In the grander scheme, I think that I just need to me more vigilant. That is unless I want to be seeing color blobs until I can do something about it."

"Well, you'd better be careful then.", he remarks slyly.

"We got into this mess with Clarice, so you'd need be able to see. You are our four-eyed mastermind after all. Continue scheming like you used to do, and keep your glasses in check. You often boast about being a man of vision, so you would be useless to us if you were blind. You needn't worry about me though. I prefer to keep things simple. Just point me in the direction, and I'll leave any that get in our way with a cracked skull."

I would nod in acknowledgement of his words, but a sudden thing caught my interest. Flocking like a moth to a flame, I would stand near the railings of the terrace. Soon, Q joined me at my side. The soft smacking of lettuce became clearer as I tuned out the much louder festivities inside of the building.

"I know, so let's use that strength of yours to have some fun in this world like we did in Infinity Unleashed."

A soft scoff originated from the male when he heard my statement. No doubt he understood my statement.

"C'mon now, Mark. You know we did have some crazy adventures in that game. This place would likely be harder than playing a video game since we are actually here. No game-sets. No virtual reality. No re-dos either. This is the real deal. What we do going forward will have consequences.", he says to me.

"Of course, but you have seen what it is like here. Indeed this is no video game, but you and Mr. Bonner both likely feel it. If I knew both of you like I think I do, then I know that you are extremely excited. I believe that Clarice will prove to be a useful person in this… tutorial stage, but once we gather what we need, then things will really get fun. My heart beats faster at the thought of it."

"I can relate. I want to do some crazy shit, Mark. I want to live a life of excitement. I want to do something that matters here. Working nine to five is something that I never looked forward to. We both can relate to that....Ya know..Just got a pretty good idea. How about we try to emulate those role-plays that we used to do? Instead of on the game, but here in this reality"

I couldn't help, but to laugh at his outlandish remark. Emulating our old role-plays we used to do on the video games and implementing them in our new life. It was silly on the surface, yet it resonated with my very core. A sense of excitement that I couldn't explain graced my body. It was as if a breath of much need fresh air flooded my lungs.

My fingertips found their home against the smooth tips of my goatee as I pondered his proposal. He didn't bother waiting on response before taking my now empty plate.

"I already know what your response is going to be, so I am going to leave the complex things to you. Craft us a narrative and I'll muster the strength necessary to see it through. Bishop and I will be waiting, so I'll give you some time to think on it. Ya know the people here get testy about your appearance, so keep those ears of yours down for the time being."

"I will do my part. Rest assured.", I muse in a snarky manner.

My now free hand gestured a slight wave to the male as I knew where this conversation led.

"Aight then. I'll be heading in then."

With that being said, Q would take the steps needed in order to leave me looking up at the stars. It was a few moments my lonesome that I began to reflect on his words.

'Well Q… my old friend, I will form us a narrative so fantastical that when we finally depart from this world, then we can move on with no regrets. Hell, we'll make our mark on this world.'

A few moments after Q's exit, I would notice the slight sound of the door as it opened. I thought nothing of it at first, but the sound of it closing caught my attention. Silence ensued and I thought Q had returned and began playing a prank on me, so I played along for the moment by pretending to not know that he was there.

"You struck out already, you lousy bastard? The women here not fit your taste after all?", I mused playfully.

There was no response.

"…"

The odd silence followed my playful jab told me everything that I needed to know. With a heavy sigh, I would turn around to see what, no who just so happened to stumble across the terrace that I was on. That is when I saw her. A brewing storm was imminent. With it brought a display of vigor and ferocity which filled her crimson eyes.

"Ah- So it's you again? The third time's the charm as they always say…"