Take Me Away

With Rune all better, it was time for another girl's shopping trip, although this time the three of us got so caught up buying clothes for her that we didn't actually get anything for ourselves. She seemed to enjoy it too, looking stary-eyed at just about everything, regardless of what shop we went to. From what Bear told us he had been taking care of her for almost two whole years… That's a long time for a little kid to be stuck inside… And it showed too. Not only did she suddenly have energy… But her energy was practically limitless with how insane her manna capacity and regeneration were. Her muscles were still weak, but that didn't stop her from running, hopping down steps, and well, just being a little kid. 

"Alright, are we ready to head back?" Isy asked, carrying a few bags of clothes.

"Not yet. We got all the clothes adjusted for her tail but there's still a matter of what she wears under them.

Mo blankly stared at me. Casually, eating a meat skewer, and finally starting to enjoy real food. "Then just skip that part."

'I'm not sure… How I'm supposed to respond to that…'

Oh, or, just buy men's underwear, and stick the tail through the–"

Isy covered her mouth. "WE CAN'T DO THAT! What is wrong with you…" She mumbled before turning to me with a sigh. "I know a guy… Just follow me."

"You know… A guy?"

She turned ever so slightly red. "It's… Not as weird as it sounds ok?"

"I never said it sounded weird…"

"You'll understand when you see him…" She muttered, her voice becoming more timid with every word.

'I'm going to go out on a limb here and say he has a tail, that's the only way this makes sense.'

We showed up and walked through the door, but no one was there at all.

"Let's just look around until he comes back… I have a feeling Mo needs some new clothes…"

She choked for a second, suddenly bending forward before properly swallowing. "I do not! It's a waste of resources. I have my school uniform, my combat gear, and my sleepy pants, why would I ever need anything else? Even if you buy it I won't wear it."

"Sleepy pants…" I repeated. 'She wasn't this adamant about it last time, does she think it will ruin her image or something?'

It continued to be hard to figure out which one was more childish between the three of them, but Rune definitely came out on top in the end. Especially after one incident where she thoroughly embarrassed Isy by asking what size her chest was, preceding to then asking Mo if she even needed to wear a bra… Where she then sorrowfully said she didn't.

To be honest, I was worried she'd have some past trauma, like the rest of us, but watching her giggle and laugh and the rest of us as we awkwardly went through the day put that fear to rest. We only got to spend two days with her before Mo's dad came back. Despite how clingy she had become, she still let me go rather easily, although… judging by how she was shaking and tearing up, I'm sure that she wasn't exactly happy about me leaving. Even if she didn't try to stop me, sending her back to Bear's place for the time being, I patiently waited.

Unlike before, this time he came through official channels and I was released to him, pretending to be Mo. Then we took off running again. Just like last time. After a few hours, we finally arrived at Her family's mansion. Which… It wasn't exactly what I had in mind when I imagined it.

Beautiful twisting trees flowered with white petals that gathered in piles big enough to jump into, floating down a shallow and calm river that winded around them, diverting off a much larger one that flowed around the estate. Everything was made from black wood with red and white sprinkled in here and there. The estate was split into several massive buildings, each connected with bridge-like passageways, one of which even led under a waterfall.

None of that was to say it wasn't well-defended though. Not only was it halfway up a mountain, but because of the raging rivers, waterfalls, and even the beautiful trees, it blended in exceptionally well with the scenery, despite its overwhelming size, and had someone tried to assault it head-on, it likely the guards would have filled them with arrows before even being seen.

At first, I was in awe… But then I thought about what that place must have looked like to Mo. She had probably never been able to appreciate it at all…

"For now go and wait in your room. I'll come and get you when I'm ready."

I nodded and helped several meters, softly landing on the smooth wooden boards at the start of the manor, suddenly carrying himself in a dignified manner, walking at a slow and commanding pace. It was as if he had taken on a different persona entirely.

'My room huh… Let's see… I had Mo draw me a map, so if it was accurate that should be off in this direction.' I relaxed slightly, but never let my guard down, continuing to keep my footsteps completely silent and my breath nonexistent as I made my way through the manor. 

There were three main buildings and several smaller ones. Of these buildings, Mo's room was in the largest building for the main family. It wasn't right next to her parent's room, but it was actually quite close. Fitting her station and position as heir, it massive… Upon seeing it I was once again reminded that I couldn't really make a direct comparison between us… I had thought we shared a kinship, and we certainly did regardless of circumstance… But with a giant soft bed, and a nice room with incense producing a sweet scent, she had everything I longed for growing up and was indifferent toward things. Meanwhile, she was jealous of me. It gave me a strange feeling that froze me still for a moment.

Before I entered inside, I took off my boots to keep the dirt out of the room, then I calmly walked in and slid the door closed behind me. 'This is it. I'm alone now… I want to explore… But patience is probably better in this case. And I was told to wait in my room… Disobeying probably isn't the smartest move… It would blow my cover for sure.'

The room itself was beautiful, everything was set perfectly. The bed's sheets had no wrinkles, the mirror on the dresser was spotless, and the rugs were laid out geometrically parallel to the walls. It almost made me afraid to touch anything, so in the end I just stepped to the middle of the room and kneeled on the floor, waiting to be called upon. 'I've made it this far… So that means there is at least some probability of the plan working right?'