Chapter 21: Of oil-baths and an old women.
The trio of Vuvi, Pip and Penelo sit in the center of the third most opulent restaurant in Market Town. The first and second not willing to accept them due to their muddy boots and soot-stained attire.
That sat snugly in Velvet-covered booths lined with gold and silver trimming. Waiters with tails tied far too tight, and attitudes far too sharp bring them a feast of steaming meats and vegetables. Chandeliers crusted the ceilings, covered in glowing crystals that rain down soft, shimmering, magical lights.
Despite its lavishness, the restaurant stood mostly empty, save for a cluster of dolled-up noblewomen who were gossiping into their crystal glasses and a strange, long-faced beastman wearing an extravagantly purple suit. He sat in a shady corner, staring at Pip with a half-smile while manically stirring his soup.
Penelo, however, couldn't care less about the intricate stonework or majestic portraits of King Thorobrin that stared down at them from every wall.
"Gods give me strength!" the bunnykin moans, panting wildly between bites of spiced truffle-stuffed squash, glazed carrots, an assortment of fruits smothered in sweetened cream and some kind of towering confection made of Bundt cakes and leafy vegetables.
Vuvi leans back in her chair, smirking smugly as she swirls a glass of strawberry wine, picking pieces of meat from her teeth with grease-stained fingers.
"You're doing pretty good for a bunny that was crying about carrots and crime just two hours ago." she quips.
"Mmmhmmm!" Penelo grins as she sinks her teeth into a giant grilled mushroom.
"You know Pip sacrificed all the gold he earned this week to basically ransom you out of there, right?"
"Mmmhmmm! I wuuuv heeem!" Penelope mumbles, cream dripping from her stuffed mouth as she dreamily stares at Pip.
Pip sits silently between the beauties, head deep in his hands as he leans on the table and gleefully sways back and forth in his chair, his eyes flicking faintly with a deep, profound fondness for his two female companions.