Chapter 19: Shopping
After coming home, Cora and her partners went up to her room to drop off their stuff before we gathered in the living room.
“So, I was hoping we could go shopping,” I said, grinning at my older sister. “Do you think you have time for that?”
“Probably, yeah,” Cora replied. “Give me a couple of minutes to rest first. We walked for a long time.”
“Okay,” I said.
After everyone was well rested, we headed toward the market. Harley had to keep her armor on because, being a half-dragon and incredibly rare, showing her heritage would attract way too much attention.
She would stay mostly on the outskirts of the market with Flint while Cora and I went deeper in.
“So, what are you shopping for?” My older sister asked.
“A present for Nyx’s birthday, and some clothes, mostly,” I answered. “I, um, want to look nice. For someone.”
“Ooh!” Cora said. “Do tell! Who is it!”
“I’m not telling you!” I pouted.
It was really embarrassing.
I knew Nyx was Fated Ones with Estelle, but there was something else going on. I had noticed how she sometimes seemed like two separate people.
I believed that she was Split of Heart, a term used to describe a person who was actually two people in the same body.
Being Split of Heart happened both naturally and unnaturally. Some people became like that on their own, while others became like that with a contracted demon or spirit who ended up within their body.
I knew about it because my grandmother had been Split of Heart. Because of that, I was raised with knowledge about it and what it was like.
I also knew the signs that a person was Split of Heart, many of which Nyx had been showing. And I knew that if she was, then only one of the two would be Fated Ones with Estelle.
I was falling for her.
“Is it a party member?” Cora asked, and I looked away, blushing.
“I’m not going to tell you,” I answered, cheeks flaming. She laughed softly, and we continued shopping.
I got some new pants, a new tunic, and a skirt. I planned to wear the skirt tomorrow, on Nyx’s birthday, and hoped that she would like it.
After all the shopping we had done, it was late enough that Mom would be home by now. Cora and I met up with Flint and Harley again before we made our way home.
When we got back to the house, I went inside first.
“Mom!” I called. “Cora’s home!” I stepped inside, and Cora followed.
Mom came rushing out of the living room and pulled Cora into a hug as soon as she saw her.
“Hi, Mom,” My sister said. “It’s nice to see you.”
“Yes, it is,” Mom agreed. Cora then turned and waved Flint and Harley inside. “These are my party members, and my partners. We’re engaged.”
Mom’s eyes widened, and she hugged Cora even tighter, a gush of excited congratulations and exclamations tumbling out of her mouth.
After she calmed down, we all sat down in the living room, although Harley still stood while she had her armor on. Mom glanced at her and then at Cora, raising an eyebrow.
“Okay, Mom, this is a secret,” Cora said. “Harley is half-dragon.” The woman in question took off her helmet, and I got to see what she actually looked like.
Her long hair was gold-blond, streaked with red and purple, and pulled back into a ponytail. Two short-ish dark purple horns curved from the top of her head, and her teeth were all sharp.
As she took off the rest of her armor, I saw more of her body than before.
She had a scattering of scales across her face, which got larger and more frequent down her neck. There were also scales dotting her arms and legs, as well as a thin, scaly tail that sprouted from her back.
The scales were scarlet-red on her face, hands, feet, and the tip of her tail, but they gradually faded to a rich lavender purple as they moved closer to her core.
After taking off all her armor, she sat down next to Cora, and I realized she was actually pretty short. Her armored boots gave her decent height, and the armor gave her a more imposing presence.
“So, is it all three of you with each other?” Mom asked.
“Yes,” Cora replied. “It’s all of us.”
Mom hummed as she thought. “When’s the wedding?”
Cora blushed. “We’re not sure yet. Probably in the next couple of months? A year at most.”
“Alright,” Mom said. “So, tell me about your adventuring.”
Cora started telling Mom her stories, and I decided to go up to my room. I gave Cora a short hug before leaping up the stairs and stepping inside.
It wasn’t sparsely decorated, but it certainly wasn’t filled with stuff. I had a bed with a couple of blankets and two pillows, and a desk with a few books, some paper, and pencils.
A few shelves held some knick-knacks, and a closet held most of my clothes, with the rest being in a drawer.
I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling, pulling up my status.
Status (Lvl 1):
Name: Ariana Laurein
Race: Nekomata
Age: 16/9/27
Level: 11 (46% EXP)
Statistics:
Str: B Vit: C
Int: A Dex: A
Agi: A Def: C
HP: 100% A
MP: 100% C
Titles: Knife Weilder, Toxin Weilder
Skills: Complete Toxin Immunity [NA], Toxin Catalogue [NA], Venom Infusion [S], Expert Blade-User [C], Shadow Step [B], Venom Fang [A], Venom Claw [A]
Class: [Venom Rogue]
Oh, I had two new skills!
I focused on them, and a window popped up.
Venom Fang (Venom Rogue)
Rank: [A]
Active
Effect: Apply any catalogued toxin to your teeth while biting. The effect lasts up to a minute and can be turned off at will.
Cost: 0 MP
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Venom Claw (Venom Rogue)
Rank: [A]
Active
Effect: Apply any catalogued toxin to your claws. The effect lasts up to a minute and can be turned off at will.
Cost: 0 MP
Cooldown: 10 seconds
Cool! Both of those skills seemed really good! With no cost and a tiny cooldown, I could use it really often in fights, and let me use my class’s focus even if I was disarmed.
I checked on my [Toxin Catalogue] skill to see which ones I had.
Toxin Catalogue (Venom Rogue)
Rank: [NA]
Passive
Catalogued Toxins:
- Dokukyoku Wendigo Tail Venom [S]
- Paralytic Mushroom Poison [B]
- Bee Sting Venom [E]
- Wasp Sting Venom [E]
- Ant Sting Venom [E]
- Sopoforic Mushroom Poison [A]
- Goblinoid Poison [B]
The goblinoid poisons I had gotten from arrows the goblins had used, and the two mushroom poisons were from mushrooms I had found in the forest.
And the wendigo poison was some that Nyx had given me after I got my class and learned about what it could do.
I closed my status and sighed, closing my eyes.
“Ari!” Mom’s voice called from downstairs. “Come down for lunch!”
“Okay!” I called back, getting up from my bed. Lunch sounded nice.