2 Soulless

"What do you mean she doesn't have a soul?! That's impossible!" Lorian said suspiciously, jabbing a finger in Rigel's direction. "How would she be alive!?"

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"I thought that too, but she doesn't have a drop of mana in her." The salesman shrugged. "She can't cast and magic, and the collars don't work on her either. They're powered by drawing from the slaves internal mana stores. I don't know how she lives, and quite frankly, it doesn't interest me that much. If people want a toy that's less likely to turn on them, that's good for sales!"

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"How can you talk about her like that!?" Lorian demanded indignantly. "She clearly..."

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Aisha looked up at the two figures talking above her, unable to muster up anything but a tired expression. The girl would get tired of her and discard her, just like the rest. It had happened five times already, and she had no doubts that it would be a sixth. She didn't have to even look at her to confirm it.

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All humes were the same. She would try to free her, of course, still hoping that she would choose to stay. Aisha would stay. But it was because she had nowhere else to go. Nobody to return to. No home. And then, afterwards, it would be back to the cages, once she got sick of her.

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Charity only lasted for as long as the feeling of self-righteousness. Once that feeling waned, she would be back.

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Rigel would probably give her away for free, if he wasn't such a penny-pinching crook. But even if he did, people would still probably try to return her.

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She pulled up a knee to rest her chin on, even the slight movement causing pain. But she was used to it by now. At this point, she was just waiting...

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But there were small little joys to being in the cells. There certainly wasn't any lack of entertainment. The begging, the fighting, the denial... so many humans, all desiring freedom... and yet it never came.

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And the... owners. Some were quite impassive about their purchasing. Honest. Aisha kind of liked it. Although, they were boring. There was nothing really under the surface. Some tried to pretend. Like they were hardened. But they were always the quickest to return her.

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And then there was this girl. Aisha had to admit, she was curious. How did someone like her even end up here? And she looked... guilty, despite coming alone, and of her own volition.

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At a simple glance, the girl was... well proportioned for sure. A little thin for someone so tall, but, perhaps due to some incredible genetics, her assets were curvy. Very attractive, if not for the fact that the eoman looked so messy.

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Her hands were marred with dirt, and her clothes shared in some of the debris, especially on her ass and elbows. They were wrinkled too, and smelled of musk, like she had never washed them.

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But what was most disgusting about the girl was her... "kindness." The sympathetic looks towards the slaves in the cages. The indignant attitude towards the shopkeeper... it made Aisha want to tear the woman apart.

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Aisha changed her mind. She wanted the girl to take her, only so that Aisha could peel back the layers and destroy that kind facade. To see her true colors. If for no other reason than it would prove her right. That everybody was ugly on the inside.

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She continued to watch carefully. A practiced skill. Watching people was all there really was to do in this desolate place.

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...Watching people, really, was all that she had. Even before she had been put in the cages.

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Meanwhile, Lorian huffed, feeling her head heat up from the argument she was having with the annoying salesman.

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(Even if she doesn't have a soul, that won't matter. I'm going to take her, and I'm going to make her... make her smile.)

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"I'm taking her." Lorian said firmly, determined, to which Rigel could only groan, rubbing his face with a hand.

"Please, little mademoiselle, I implore you to choose another one. I don't know why you want a slave, but she's definitely not what you want!"

"I do want her." Lorian said firmly.

"I believe that you think that." Rigel said. "...But..."

"I won't take her back." She offered.

"That's what everyone has said, since the second buyer!" Rigel said, exasperated. "She's not for sale!"

"I won't return her to you!" She argued.

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"Those are empty words!" Rigel shot back.

Lorian puffed out her cheeks. "I-I'll sign a contract!"

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Rigel's eyes lit up at those words. and the annoying smile returned to his face.

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"Really? You'll buy her? You won't return her?" He said excitedly. At Lorian's nod, he almost danced in joy.

"I'll ready the contract right now!" He said, giddily.

"How much is she?" Lorian asked.

"Only twenty gold!" Rigel replied, not bothering to turn around and he looked for the contract. "Praise Zaris!"

"Two gold." Lorian fired.

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She was happy to see the merchant's smile falter again.

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"What? Two gold? No... no, I can't simply be giving away my goods, if I did, how would I stay in business?"

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Lorian held back a grin, cheering internally at her small victory.

"I can leave right now if you want to, but then you would have to feed her for the rest of her life and never sell her. You can't let her go, because then she might tell the guard about your... operation. And I doubt that you would kill her." Lorian said. "So your only option is to sell to me! And I intend to use it!"

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Lorian thought back to the screaming slaves in the cages, and her heart sunk a little bit. Maybe he was cruel enough to kill her if he couldn't sell her, simply out of spite. The vision of the adorable girl's cute face, beheaded, sent shivers down her body. But at the same time... she hadn't exactly done enough research, and she had only brought four coins with her...

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"...Five gold." Rigel bargained.

Lorian bit her lip. "I'm leaving."

"Fine! Take her! Just take her and leave!"

Rigel grit his teeth, storming over to a cabinet and angrily taking out a slate of stone. He put his hand on the stone and it began to glow blue, wavering slightly, as if waiting for someone else to touch it.

Lorian walked over and placed her hand on it as well, and this time the stone emit a soft red glow, marking the contract as binding and final. She fished out two gold coins from her pockets and threw them on the table, retreating afterwards to Aisha's corner, significantly less rife with the stench of human refuse.

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Rigel looked at the two dull coins sitting on the counter with a sad expression. It was a bitter goodbye, as he knew that he had to get rid of Aisha, but at the same time... He had lost money. Damn hunters! He had bought the girl for forty coins! Fey were considered rare, high fey even rarer. But who could foresee the troubles he would have with the girl.

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What an unfair world.

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He walked over to the cage in frustration and lifted off the top of the cage easily. He was pretty sure that he could have just sat the girl in a corner, and she wouldn't have even tried to escape, but he had to keep up the appearance of security. He glanced at the strange girl one last time, before throwing in some old rags and returning to the front of his store to sulk. Whatever. At least he was rid of her.

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Aisha was surprised that the girl would make such a stupid decision, as to sign the contract with Rigel. But then again, she would only be losing two gold pieces if it didn't work out.

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She put on the pants and shirt, and crawled out of the cage when Rigel unlocked it. She took a look at her new mistress; her eyes were hopeful and she pulled Aisha into a hug immediately after she stood up. Aisha didn't reciprocate, looking blankly ahead with her dead eyes.

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She followed the girl outside and into the now dark streets. There were a few people out, and even fewer at the shady street where the shop was.

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Outside of the shop, Lorian relaxed, but the impact of what she had done hit her. She braced herself on a wall and slid down to her knees, holding her head in her hands and staring at the ground.

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(Oh god.. What have I done… I just bought a slave... )

(N-no... I'll treat her well! I'll give her a good life! I-It's a good thing I bought her! Otherwise... some other old creep would use her as a stepstool or something.)

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Lorian glanced over at Aisha as she thought, and recoiled at the sight of her dead, unblinking, cold eyes, trained on her like a laser. She visibly jumped back, the sight incredibly creepy, and bumped into someone else in the alley.

"Oh! Sorry!" She said, turning around to see who she had bumped into.

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Her face instantly warped into one of disgust as the stench of urine, puke and alchohol hit her nose, as she realized that the man had been urinating in the corner of the alley. She wrapped a hand around her nose instinctively to block out the smell, and started to back away from the disgusting smell. Judging by the way the man in front of her swayed, he was drunk, and the sloppily loosened armor around his body told Lorian that he was a soldier.

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"Watchhh It, bitchh!" He slurred angrily. "Can't you shee I'm pissing here?"

"Sorry." She muttered with a twinge of hostillity. "We're leaving."

"Wait." The man slurred. "...You two... pretty girls... wwhhyy don't we have a little fun?"

Lorian stepped back again, moving Aisha behind her, and her eyes hardened when the soldier gripped her hand.

"Let me go." She said, darkly, eyes brimming with dangerous power. "Now."

"Don't... be shhuch a prude."

"I said let go."

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The man seemed to grow angry at that, eyebrows furrowing and starting to approach Lorian, brandishing the bottle as a weapon threateningly.

"I'm warning you." Lorian said dangerously.

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The drunk soldier swung his bottle at Lorian, the bottle smashing against a solid-looking red barrier that formed about a foot from her face. She yelped as the shards dropped through the barrier, landing at her feet and slightly nicking her arm.

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Lorian growled and narrowed her eyes as she gathered mana in her hand, red, wispy magic flowing down from her arm and beginning to condense in her hand, forming a small, red glow embedded in her palm. After seeing the drunk soldier raise his arm again, Lorian swung her hand to the side of the man's head, detonating her spell.

A massive, blasting noise echoed through the alley, and a fleeting, but massive and bright explosion emit from her hand, the aftershocks reverberating through the alley and sending the soldier's head slamming into the side of Rigel's shop and creating a visible crater. The bottle rolled out of his unconscious hand, creating a hollow, rolling noise that stopped when it hit the toe of Lorian's boot.

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She saw blood begin to pool around his head, and Lorian didn't even flinch at the sight, merely looking at the man with a look of disgust. But soon, when the man didn't stir, her expression changed into one of panic, concern.

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"A-are you okay?" She whispered.

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No answer.

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Frantically, Lorian kneeled, putting two fingers on the disgusting, vomit-laden neck of the man, checking for a pulse. And when she didn't find one, Lorian started to breathe heavily, clutching her head in her hands as she backed away.

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"Oh my god." She panted. "No, no no no! I-I... I didn't mean it! I was just trying to knock him out! I didn't mean to kill him! No no no... not... not again..."

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If Aisha had the energy, she would no doubt be rolling her eyes. What a joke.

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"You're a monster." Lorian whimpered to herself. "You're no better than... no better than..."

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The large girl's ramblings were cut short by the sound of bootfalls outside the alley. She shook her head frantically. The self-deprecation could happen later, it was more important that she get Aisha home, and make her comfortable.

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Lorian gripped Aisha's hand in her own, dragging her to the opposite corner of the alley, and taking out a small blue crystal. She began to write on the ground with it, the cobblestones glowing an ethereal blue wherever she touched it with the crystal. In about five minutes she had drawn a glyph on the floor, with multiple concentric circles and designs, all glowing with a bright blue light. The crystal then shattered into dust in Lorian's hand, still glowing ethereally. She motioned for Aisha to come closer to her.

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"We're going to gate home. Come stand in the circle." She said, making a "come hither" motion with her hand. "You can hold on to me if you want."

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When Aisha did not move into the circle, Lorian frowned and pulled her in, sprinkling the dust onto the circle. The markings lifted off the ground, and began to rotate fast around them. Blue light emit from the markings and surrounded them, so that Aisha could no longer see the grey walls of the buildings around them. Eventually she felt a pull and weightlessness, and the light faded.

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The fey girl looked around at the now open surroundings, on top of a large hill overlooking the small town. If she peered over the edge and squinted, she could see where they just were, small little beads of light running afound frantically, searching for whoever was responsible for the murder of a town guard.

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There were nothing but green grass and paved road in a large radius around her, save for a small house, which she assumed to be her mistress's home, cozy and low to the ground. There was nothing else on top of the hill, save for the stone circle that she stood on, holding the same markings that Lorian drew earlier.

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Aisha narrowed her eyes at the state of the house. Moss was visibly starting to creep up the sides, and there were roof tiles missing. The boards looked a little rotten, too.

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"We're home!" Lorian cheered, some of the tension from her body noticeably leaving her body as she flung open the front door, dragging Aisha with her. The small girl looked at the door suspiciously - either it didn't have a lock, or her mistress just didn't bother locking it. But she didn't exactly have too much time to ponder over the living situation, as she was dragged inside the cozy little cottage by the arm.

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The woman's hand was warm.

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The inside of the house was not any bigger than the outside looked, and was just as poorly maintained. The first thing that Aisha noticed was the smell. It smelled like her mistress. Intensely so. Perhaps it didn't smell bad, but it seemed as if she had never opened any of her windows, or hell, the door. Ordinarily, the scent wouldn't have been unplesant, but the pure concentration of it almost made Aisha gag. It didn't help that physical fires were casually strewn around the place like decorations - Aisha counted three lamps, a lit fireplace, and a few half-burnt candles, just in the living room alone. The warmth of the fires, combined with Lorian's musk, created a cloying, suffocating scent, that hit Aisha like a sack of bricks.

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Disgusting. What a disgusting woman.

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To make things worse, the woman's clothing was strewn everywhere. Socks, lingerie, skirts, shirts, panties, were just haphazardly thrown into random corners, on top of things, or on the ground.

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She spotted a sock right next to the fireplace, the flames licking at the cotton article. She ignored it.

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"Ahh..!" The woman in questioned sighed, mewling girlishly as she enjoyed the reprieve from the cold outside air.

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Lorian threw off her long cloak and unbuttoned her vest, which joined the cloak on top of the couch. She unbuckled her boots as well, kicking them in the vague direction of the entrance. She turned to Aisha, attempting to make some conversation, as she began to strip herself of all her clothes, leaving herself in only a tank top and pair of panties.

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"Haaaahh..." Lorian sighed agajn, letting out a deep breath as she flopped onto the couch, cushions crying out in protest, and legs hanging over the side. "Ugh... my back."

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Aisha just stared at her, eyes laser-focused and judging. A lesser woman would be deeply disturbed by the gaze, but Lorian had her eyes closed, hanging her head back in blissful ignorance. Eventually the lack of movement stirred her, and she got up, popping her head up over the couch and looking at Aisha with a pair of warm, brown eyes.

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"So.. what happened?" Lorian asked, with that sickeningly sweet, overly ginger tone.

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"..."

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"Uh.. What was your life like before you were captured?" Lorian offered, trying tk make some semblance of conversation.

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"..."

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"Are you hungry? Do you want a bath?"

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Aisha just continued to stare blankly at her.

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"Alright." Lorian mumbled. "Well, I guess we should get you cleaned up."

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She dragged Aisha to her bathroom, and turned on the tap. As the water started to fill the bathtub, she began to think.

(That guy was right... She doesn't say a word or do... anything. She's so cute, but ...Can she even talk? Does she understand what I'm saying?)

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She turned off the tap and turned to Aisha when the bath was finished drawing. She was about to undress her, but she was surprised when Aisha undressed herself and stepped into the tub.

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Aisha's lips moved, but no words came out. Lorian furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Sorry?" She asked.

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Aisha's lips moved again, and this time, a small, crackly noise came out of her mouth, but her words were still completely unintelligible, a bit of frustration flashing on the girl's face. Lorian waited patiently, and eventually the girl was able to form a clear sentence.

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"I can wash myself." She whispered, her voice hoarse from years of disuse.

"Hey! You can talk!" Lorian exclaimed.

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Aisha just ignored her and grabbed the bar of soap that was offered to her, ignoring the little smile that Lorian gave her. It was only after the fifth minute of washing her rub the soap over her body that Lorian snapped out of her trance, ogling the girl's cute body, wiping a bit of saliva from the corner of her mouth.

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"Disgusting." Aisha mumbled, quiet enough for Lorian to not hear.

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A few minutes later, Aisha left the bathroom in her rags. She almost ran directly into Lorian, who was standing right next to the door, waiting for her impatiently. She looked up and down at Aisha, noticing her ragged clothes, and frowned, looking at an enormous hole in the side of her shirt.

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"Oh... We'll have to get you some new clothes tomorrow." Lorian said, pursing her lips. "Something cute?"

"..."

"We're back to that?.." Lorian frowned, a bit of sadness in her expression.

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No response.

"Well," Lorian sighed. "It's late, so let's go to bed. You can sleep in the bed with me."

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Aisha almost laughed, but could only muster up a derisive scoff.

"I'll sleep on the ground." She muttered, practically spitting out the words.

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"What? Come on... At least sleep on the couch..."

"..."

"Please?" Lorian pleaded. "You'll catch a cold. And it'll be really uncomfortable!"

"..."

Lorian reached out a hand weakly, but Aisha didn't even acknowledge it, just looking at Lorian with that dead, depressed expression. The tall girl didn't flinch, unlike the first time she saw Aisha, instead... the look on her face was just one of intense sadness.

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"Aisha..." Lorian whispered gently. "What happened? Do you not like me? Do you... not feel comfortable? Please, just tell me. I want to make it clear, that I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not going to make you do anything. I just want you to be happy."

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This time, Aisha's face twitched, showing off the intense look of disdain and hatred she held, if only for a split second. Lorian retracted her hand, hurt expression on her face. She waited a few more seconds, but the girl just kept staring, and Lorian sensed that she wasn't going to open up any time soon.

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But eventually, Lorian gave up, walking into her bedroom and closing the door gently behind her.

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She didn't even bother trying to keep up the pretense of cleanliness, immediately flopping onto the bed in her undergarments, sharing in a bit of Aisha's tired expression.