Poisoned Rationality

-Nyxandria-

“Hello,” I said to the elven person.

“Welcome, welcome,” They replied. “My name is Kuyoris, and this is my partner, Braizen. What can we help you with?”

“We’re looking for an arm brace of some kind,” Ariana told them. “For my right arm.” The elf glanced toward her inky limb for a moment, before nodding.

“What kind are you in need of?” They asked. “Leather or metal, and how heavily armored would you like?”

“Leather, probably,” Ariana replied. “And lightly armored. I mainly need a covering.” She gestured toward the void-made part of her arm.

“Some kind of curse, then?” Braizen huffed. He waved his hand. “Ah, I don’t actually care. Don’t push your secrets onto me.” He waved at Kuyoris. “Measurements, please.”

The elf nodded and pulled a tape measure from a pocket and extended it. Ariana stuck her arm out and let them wrap it around several points at her arm as well as measuring the length from her wrist to her shoulder.

“Would you like a glove to go with it?” They asked after they were done. Ariana thought for a moment before nodding.

“Something made of thin leather would be good,” She said. Kuyoris nodded and handed Braizen a slip of parchment with some writing scribbled onto it before opening a small, waist-level swinging door by the counter to move into the main part of the shop.

They walked over to one wall, where many sets of gloves were on a multi-rowed shelf. The elf picked up one pair, looked at it closely for a moment, before putting it down and picking up a second set that was on a lower shelf.

“Try these on,” They told my girlfriend. She slid the gloves on and flexed her fingers, testing them out.

“They’re perfect,” She said, smiling. “Thank you.”

“Of course!” Kuyoris grinned. “Braizen should be back with the arm brace in a minute or two.” They turned back to the shelf, pointing at the row the gloves had came from. “These ones should all fit your hands, so pick which one you would like.”

My girlfriend nodded and stepped closer to the shelf, examining the many sets. I turned toward the other sets of armor on the wall.

One of them was quite large, a full chestplate made of what appeared to be steel. There were trims of gold along the sides, and a chainmail undershirt.

“That one’s our most expensive piece,” Kuyoris said, noting my interest in it. “Took Braizen nearly a week to make it.”

“How much is it?” I asked. “I’m not going to get it, but it’s interesting.”

“It’s one hundred and twenty gold,” The elf replied. “As I said, the most expensive item. The next most expensive is that iron chestplate next to it, which is only fifty gold.”

“Wow,” I murmured. I turned to Ariana, who had picked out a nice set of gloves that had been dyed dark blue.

We went over to the counter, where Braizen was walking back into the front of the shop, holding a leather arm brace.

“Try this on,” He told my girlfriend. “If it’s too loose, the straps can be tightened. If it’s too tight, then I’ll get another one.”

“Thank you,” Ariana said. She picked up the armor and slid it onto her right arm, tightening the straps to make sure it fit. After a moment of flexing and twisting her arm, she nodded. “It’s perfect, thank you.”

“Of course,” Kuyoris grinned. “It’s our job.” They took a moment to look at a list before telling us, “The gloves are 7 silver and the arm brace is 15 silver, so 2 gold and 2 silver.”

I nodded and pulled out my storage pouch, quickly separating out the needed coins and handing them over. Braizen smiled.

“Pleasure doing business with ya,” He said. I smiled back and waved as Ariana and I left the building.

“They were really nice,” Ariana noted as we walked back toward the inn. I nodded my agreement.

“How do you like the armor?” I asked. Ariana grinned, twisting her arm around.

“It’s amazing,” She replied. “Fits perfectly. And it works as a disguise really well.” Looking at her arm, I could tell it definitely did. The leather covered her arm completely, from her wrist all the way to her shoulder, while still being flexible enough for her to have the full range of motion in her arm.

The two of us fell silent after a moment, and we walked down the street, looking around at the other people who were on the street. Ariana’s hand slipped into mine, and I blushed slightly, turning to face her. She met my eyes and smiled.

It took us a little while to make it back to the inn.

When we got there, Tyler and Sarya were waiting there. They both complimented Ariana’s new gear.

After a few more minutes, Nat got back as well, and we went inside to get our rooms. We got two with two beds each.

Ariana and I would share one bed with Nat in the other, and Sarya and Tyler would share the other. I probably wouldn’t have been comfortable with any guy sleeping in the same room as me, but Sarya was a Sirenadia, and as such didn’t have the same cultural norms as the rest of us.

By then, it was late enough that we all went down to the inn’s front room to eat before retiring to our rooms to sleep.

Ariana curled up against me in bed, purring softly. I smiled and gently pet her hair until I eventually fell asleep.