The Crea

The silver-haired woman from that morning peeked into the aquarium room, her expressive eyes sparkling with curiosity. Silvesta stuck her head through the door, and a loud, disappointed sigh escaped her lips.

"Nothing interesting happened?" Silvesta asked.

"Hey, you all!" Wolfred, her bulky companion, said, appearing in the doorway beside Silvesta. His traveling clothes were as dusty as ever, the droplets of blood on them in their former places. One good look around the room, and the man knitted his eyebrows.

"The fish are still there," Wolfred said, his tone flat. "The table and stuff are in one piece. They were used properly, I take it."

"Nothing worth mentioning, as you can see," Remien confirmed. "Our next stop is the Blacksmith's unless there are any objections."

"Lemme grab that wine bottle, and let's get outta here." Wolfred did just that and gave its contents a gentle shake. He narrowed his eyes. "It seems like such an awful waste to get yourself a whole bottle just to take a few sips."

Remien shrugged. Wolfred emptied the wine glass Alika had left untouched in two chugs and took a long drink straight out of the bottle he had in his hand. He let out a deep, satisfied sigh. A radiant smile made its way onto his face.

"Alrighty! I'm all set to head the heck on out!" Wolfred declared.

And so, the group started their journey through the hotel halls, making their way to the busy streets.

"Oh, Silvesta, you remember the first time you ate in that fish room?" Wolfred started, his eyes glistening with excitement.

Silvesta's cheeks flushed red, and she stared at the ground.

"That was so freaking hilarious! Silvesta said the place was too cheap for her. Because the magic, illusions, and stuff on the walls were too bland. Just fish and none of those centaurs or unicorns, or nothing! Next, the lass took her shoes off and hurled them right at the glass tank, and then... Boom! Water, fish, and all that junk were everywhere!" Wolfred continued. He was making energetic gestures with the bottle gripped tightly in his fist. "How many of them damn months did it take us to pay for that?!"

Wolfred burst into a hearty laugh. He patted Silvesta on the back with slightly too much force, making the girl stumble forward.

"I was drunk like a fiend," Silvesta said in a small voice, which was not a tone she used very often.

Wolfred continued to laugh that deep belly laugh, enjoying the memories.

"Um, that's hardly an excuse! I gotta say, you getting yourself drunk like that makes it even worse!" her companion went on.

Remien walked alongside Alika with the book from before in his hand. A relaxed smile played on his lips. Clearly, he was enjoying the sunshine on his skin and the hustle and bustle of the surrounding streets. Wolfred walked on Alika's other side, with Silvesta close by. The group of adventurers was drawing more attention than the rest of the people. Passersby were throwing them constant looks. Some were nervous, others curious, and a few of obvious distaste. However, none of Alika's acquaintances looked like they were giving it much thought.

Silvesta was far from happy with how the conversation was going. The silver-haired young woman was desperate to change the subject, meticulous in her search for anything to do just that. She glanced over at Alika. And her facial expression went back to its usual self, confident with a tidbit of irritation.

"Oh, wow, congrats! Eh, what was your name again?" Silvesta furrowed her eyebrows as if trying her best to remember. "You really got to the Regal Dragon in one piece! I'm impressed! The last girl had a leg and an arm broken by the time she got to the meeting place. If I remember correctly."

The woman gave the mage a buttery smile while twiddling a strand of hair.

"Nah, that was number two. For the last one, it was the ribs and the burned hair," Wolfred reminded her. "Number one was good. Thank Phoenix! She got Remien to come with her straight away. Lucky her!"

"And, ahem, how did you heal them afterward?" Alika asked. She tried to sound as casual as possible, even though the topic was of the utmost importance to her.

"And there was so much blood," Silvesta smirked. She licked her lips, relishing in the memory. The woman was enjoying it in some twisted way, a little too much for Alika's comfort. "Remien had to sew her up, so we could make it to the healer."

Wolfred scoffed.

"It took like what? A minute or two to heal? You make it sound like I dunno… They were all freaking dying on you on day one. Wait a minute, Silvesta." Wolfred paused, glaring at her. "Are you trying to scare the wits out of our new friend on purpose? Remien, tell her to shut up or something."

"Alika can take care of herself," Remien said. "I would be more worried about our silver-haired cover girl as a matter-of-fact."

An awkward silence followed. Silvesta sized Alika up with a quick glance from beneath her eyelashes. Right after, the woman continued her search for another topic to continue the conversation.

"The Complete Anatomy of a Crea. From killing one within an instant to making them shriek with pleasure," Silvesta read absentmindedly and raised her eyebrows. "What in the underworld is a crea? How does it even look?"

"Two hearts and three stomachs, as for the lungs…" Remien started explaining but was cut off short.

"I think she meant the outside, not the inside," Wolfred said.

"In that case, I don't have the answer to your question. I haven't read up to that part yet." Remien spread his hands.

Wolfred grabbed the book from Remien's grasp.

"Wait, are you telling me you read like what? Over thirty pages? And there was not a single freaking picture?!" Wolfred exclaimed, rushing through the sheets of paper to where the sword-shaped bookmark was.

"What good will that ever do? How will you be able to tell one is in front of you? Really? You haven't even bothered to get a look at its appearance?" Silvesta chimed in, taking the book into her hands.

"They say its most important characteristic is its smell, full of lust, sweet as…" Remien was soon interrupted yet again.

"Actually, on second thought, I don't want to know." The silver-haired girl shuddered.

"Gimme that!" Wolfred snatched the book from her hands and searched the pages for a picture. This time he was successful in finding one. "Gotcha! Hmmm. I can't make heads or tails of that thing literally. Dammit! I can't even tell its head from its butt!"

Wolfred turned the book sideways, then upside down. He scratched his head and gave up. All the while, Alika stayed silent. The mage felt so out of her element that she couldn't think of anything good enough to say.

The three adventurers seemed very close like Bellissma and Sametta were with Alika. And now… Her friends had all gone their different ways. The girl sighed as she wondered what they might be up to now. And Bellissma? Would the two of them ever be able to make up? Oh, how the mage hoped they would be able to! As friends, they shared so many great experiences together! Could a random event destroy all that? Their friendship was a true one. Right? Alika shook her head. Of course, it was real! The girl refused to be swayed by Remien's comments. She wouldn't believe the opposite!