Business and Rest

Because of the damage, his body had suffered from the previous night, Drew was forced to change his plans for the day. Instead of training his heart out like a mad man, he would be forced to take things slower for at least a day or two.

And though this was obviously something that had diverted Drew's plans, it did manage to allow him to wrap some things up without it causing him any disturbances within his training.

'Mavick said that my clothes would be ready by noon,' He thought, staring at the sky and the sun that had risen higher than when he had woken while lounging on Flux's soft fur.

'It's a little later than that but he said it would be fine for me to pick it up whenever so it shouldn't matter too much,' He said while getting up and patting Flux while he was curled up a short distance into the forest.

'At least he knows where to stay now...'

'I should have explained it better to him... It's on me for what happened last night,' He thought while guilt trickled into his mind.

After freshening up at the stream near his home, he looked for his hunter's cloak to head out before realizing that he had just given it away the other day.

'It just doesn't feel right without it,' Drew thought with a shake of his head as he began his trip into the city.

This time Drew had no problem getting to Mavick's shop. He remembered some of the less populated areas of town with the help of the System and managed to get to the busy high-class store without anyone's eyes getting a glimpse of him.

He entered the store and found that there were still quite a lot of people there. The same Apprentices hurried around the shop helping customers while Mavick attended to the difficult work.

After Drew entered, Mavick darted his eyes towards the door with anticipation and his eyes lit up upon seeing Drew.

Mavick quickened his pace as he finished a woman's dress in a matter of seconds before darting forward with a spring in his step.

"Good Friend!" He said while opening his hands in a welcoming gesture.

Eyes immediately darted towards Drew, which was something he was trying to avoid but it looked as if Mavick had other ideas.

Drew raised his head in greeting towards the pale tailor and walked forwards.

"I expected you to come later on in the week... Was there a change of plans?" Mavick said politely.

"Sort of..." Drew said weakly.

"Ah... I see. I have your order ready. I must say that I am very proud of this particular work. Though I said that it would be quite a standard set of formal wear... after seeing my progress I got a little carried away," He said shamelessly.

Drew raised an eyebrow in response, his eye twitching slightly as he did so.

"Nothing bad of course!" Mavick said while raising his hands up as if to prove his innocence.

"It is quite beneficial for you. I didn't change the design much but instead changed some of the materials of the outfit,"

"It's a bit more expensive... but it is worth it after seeing the final results,"

'I swear to the gods above if this guy made my clothes flaunty...' Drew thought as just the thought of looking like sort of medieval pop star made him clench his teeth.

"I used a special dye that has some innate magical effects. It is known as 'Bone Dye' and is one of my personal creations," Mavick said proudly.

"It complemented the style you were looking for and further increased its stealth capabilities,"

Drew nodded after hearing that it wasn't as bad as he had thought.

"Then I must thank you. How much did it cost exactly?" He asked curiously.

Mavick frowned at the question but answered nonetheless.

"It costs around 100 gold per bottle of dye... but as I said before, it is free of charge for you this once,"

"And adding the dye was of my own volition. Take it as me trying to establish a loyal customer. I do hope that if you have need of a tailor in the future or... come across any more of those runes that you seek me out first instead of others,"

Drew's jaw dropped at the insane cost of this 'gift' he had been given.

"100 gold?!"

"Yes... a bit less for production but if I sell a bottle that is about how much it is worth,"

"Then this is truly a great gift...," Drew said happily, though his thoughts differed greatly from what he was showing on the outside.

'Why the hell is this guy so kind?!'

'There is no way he's doing this 'Out of the kindness of his heart','

'... Does this guy want something in return?' Drew's paranoid mind spoke out.

"If it's only a loyal customer that you want in return for these, then, by all means, count me as one of the loyalists,"

As Drew added that last part, Mavick smiled wide.

'It's probably the rune I came across... He probably thinks I have more,' Drew concluded.

After talking a little bit more he finally received the clothes and found that they were finer than any he had seen on earth.

Like Drew had requested, it was incredibly simple in design and looked more casual than classy.

It had a simple vest that was more like a jacket than anything else. It was a dark black that seemed to be void of all colors. On further inspection of the jacket, Drew found dozens of hidden pockets of various sizes. After noticing these pockets he cocked an eyebrow up at Mavick who responded by looking away and pretending to go back to work.

'I guess he could tell that I was into some 'Roguish' activities due to the rune and my request for the style of the clothes...'

Underneath the jacket was a plain and simple grey dress shirt that had fine steel blue buttons that accented the upper portion of the uniform together perfectly. The shirt had a collar that made it look a tad bit more professional compared to being just a simple button-up but it wasn't overbearing.

The bottom half of the outfit was a simple set of slightly loose dress pants that were just as dark as the jacket. A belt was also included. It was made out of some sort of steel blue leather that was slightly rigid, but due to the jacket it wasn't popping out too much and the small amount that was visible acted like the buttons on the shirt. It helped paint a sense of unity among them that he hadn't seen in many places since getting here.

The last article of clothing was a pair of black shoes with grey accents. They were made out of a sturdier material compared to the rest of the outfit but were lighter than suggested by its resistance. The shoes didn't look to be useful for running or climbing but after examining the bottom of the shoes Drew found that it was incredibly rough and offered a great amount of traction despite the smooth look it had.

After getting home and changing into the clothes Drew noticed a few more final things about this incredible work of art that Mavick had given him.

'There is a pattern etched into it...' Drew thought as he examined his reflection in a pond of nearby water.

He looked at everything closely and found a grey skull pattern just barely reflect off of the non-black surfaces of the suit.

After letting his eyes linger on his new appearance he found it hard to look away.

'... I look... good?' He thought hesitantly as he found his reflection gently rippling in the pond from the wind that blew through the forest.

His skin was slightly tan compared to the pale skin he had when he first arrived in Lune. His black hair was long now since his parents couldn't take control of it from him after his death. It had grown curly and wild-like but wasn't long enough for him to be considered 'Out of Control'. His milky blue starlight-filled eyes stared in disbelief as they examined him carefully.

"I'm a completely different person..." Drew mumbled while cracking a smile.

"No longer a sad kid shackled by his world..."

His gaze got lost in his own eyes for what seemed like hours but after a bit of admiring he felt a heavy nudge come from behind him as he tumbled forward and fell face first into the pond.

He kicked for a moment and the once tranquil pond had become turbulent as he struggled in surprise to get back up.

After wiping his eyes and sputtering water out of his nose he finally saw the aggressor.

Flux smiled with a wolfish grin as his legs were bent and he was in the stance that was best described by the word 'Play'.

His body was already covered in dirt and soaked in water as if he had already been doing this for ages and Drew was just joining the party.

Drew stared at the energetic pup of a wolf emotionlessly and spit a small amount of water from his mouth that had still remained even after his struggle.

But not long after Drew felt himself break out into a laugh that tensed his body like no laugh he had ever had in his life.

Though his body was still sore he looked at Flux who looked ready to pounce at any moment and just couldn't resist playing around with his best and only friend.

Drew cracked his knuckles and got in a 'Fighting' stance before Flux flung himself into Drew who promptly got bodied into the water.

---

'Man... This feels perfect...' Drew thought as he warmed up to a small fire and stared into the vast night sky.

Flux's heavy breaths showed that he had finally run out of energy and though he was still drenched in mud and water he still slept soundly when next to Drew.

It didn't take long for Drew to nod to sleep in this perfect moment.

'Lifes getting better...' He thought before his breathing slowed and his mind began to wander among the stars that swirled in a familiar way.