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1408 Words
She ran out of the room with Aster in her arms, only to stop when she passed some glass and saw her reflection.
Her hair was a mess, and she had soot around her eyes.
Checking the time, she cursed again. “f**k! Matt, why didn’t you give me more time?”
She ran to the closest public restroom and scrubbed her face while running wet fingers through her thick unruly hair, before giving up and deciding to braid it when she got in a cab.
Aster just yipped unhelpful advice like, “Relax.” And her ever overused pun, “Chill out.”
Where she learned that one, Liz didn’t know. But anyone who taught the ice fox such a bad joke was on her s**t list. The little faker also refused to say it around Matt, which Liz took as a conspiracy against her.
She arrived at their room to catch Matt coming out of the shower and looking at her like she was crazy.
“What’s with the rush?”
Liz wanted to scream. “I have two minutes to get ready! That’s the rush!”
His eyes flicked back and forth in a motion that she recognized as him thinking, and not using his AI.
“No reason to rush,” he carefully replied. “We still have an hour and a half before we meet up with them for dinner. Didn’t you see my second message?”
Liz checked her messages and saw a follow-up that arrived not a minute later, saying he pushed it back so everyone had time to settle down.
She kissed his cheek as she ran past and let the relief flow through her. If she wasn’t so happy about the extra time to get ready, she would’ve been pissed that he didn’t say all of that in a single message. He let her get all worked up for nothing.
Aster started to struggle as she noticed Liz cranked the hot water all the way up. She didn’t have time for a separate bath for the fox, who obviously preferred ice baths.
They were doing this together.
Matt sighed as he avoided the latest disaster caused by the hurricane that a nervous Liz became. He assumed that she would want to get ready, which is why he pushed their dinner reservation back. He also assumed that Melinda’s team would need to get settled in with the queendom. He hadn’t expected Liz to miss his second message and work herself into a worry.
He picked up her discarded armor that was strewn in a line across the room and started to rub it down. There was a sickly sweet smell coming off it, and he knew she would hate that. Besides, he had little else to do as he waited.
Ten minutes later, Liz and a pouting and wet Aster came out of the bathroom. Aster ran over to him, projecting mental anguish that she had been forced to take a hot bath instead of a cold one. Activating [Cracked Phantom Armor], he dried off his sulky bond while complimenting her on how nice her fur looked. That instantly turned her mood around, and she preened as he brushed the water out of her fur.
They were ready an hour later, with Liz in the nicest clothes she had, a newer set of her under armor wear. Matt thought she looked fantastic, but she was worried about the slight wear and tear on the stretchy material.
Her armor was in his bag, along with his presents for them, in case he could talk his friends into a spar. He thought it unlikely, but he wanted to show them how much he had grown, and to test them out. He didn’t expect to win, as they had an amazingly balanced team, but it would be like old times, which was enough of a reason for him.
They had chosen to meet up in between the opposing factions’ buildings, at the edge of the landing platform. Aster noticed them first, as she jumped out of Matt’s arms and rushed toward them through the crowd.
Unlike last time she did that, he wasn’t worried. He found her wiggling happily in a tall blonde’s arms, while receiving pets from another five people.
He called out, “Hey, guys!” and joined the group hug. He noticed Liz was just standing there, nearly wringing her hand and clearly unsure of what she should be doing.
He pulled back and hooked an arm around her waist and introduced her to everyone present.
“Everyone, this is Liz. Liz, this is Melinda and Mathew.” He pointed at the now older couple. Mathew was nearly his own size and seemed bulkier. The man was as wide as a door at his shoulders, with large thighs and calves to even him out. Matt made a note to ask for his workout routine. His calves could use a little work after all.
Continuing his introductions, he pointed in turn to the people on Melinda’s right. “This is Sam and Kyle.” Kyle looked lean but brimmed with strength. Matt wanted to wrestle the man and see how he fared. With [Mage’s Retreat], he thought he might stand a chance, unlike before, when he was turned into a pretzel anytime they fought.
Sam was still shorter than everyone else and smiled as he pointed at her. Her hair was now a vibrant green and cut in a swoosh, with one side longer than the other.
She interrupted, “Is that Angler’s Reagent I smell?”
Liz flushed red, but before she could say anything, Sam continued, “I hate working with it. One drop spilled, and you smell for days.”
“Oh, you practice alchemy as well? We’ll have to chat about it.” That point of familiarity seemed to set Liz at ease, so he continued to the last two people in Melinda’s team.
“The last two are Tara and Vinnie.” Tara was still as thin and lean as she had been in the PlayPen, but Vinnie had slimmed down a little into a more whipcord build.
They looked good and healthy.
There was a wave of relief that washed over him, as he was able to see that they were okay in person. Just the occasional message wasn’t enough.
“Come on. I reserved a table for us to have dinner. Let’s go.”
He quickly called over a taxi and flew them to one of the nicest restaurants in town that wasn’t catering to the immortals.
When they stepped into the flying car, Melinda said while holding Mathew’s arm, “Matt, you look really good. Too good, really.”
Seeing his confused look, she quickly clarified, “I can see damage done to people with my Concept. It’s like monsters made of dark mist. The only people who don’t have it are those who are Tier 15 or higher. You look like you’re halfway broken through. It’s weird. I can’t really explain it.”
Matt laughed. “We met up with a seeker who pointed us to a Tree of Perfection after we helped him out a little. It brings a single aspect of your body to Tier 15, or nearly so. I ate the body root. I guess you’re seeing that.”
“That makes sense. Let me heal all of you, though.”
Liz protested, “Oh, there’s no reason to waste your mana like that.”
Melinda shrugged and cast her spell twice at them, and then onto Aster, who was sprawled over her, Sam, and Tara’s laps. Her thoughts were on her time as a kit and getting pets and affection from them at the PlayPen. She was in a state of mental bliss that bled over into Matt’s own feelings.
“I’m happy to help. It’ll make sure you don’t have anything wrong lingering with you. I don’t see anything, but a heal a day will keep sickness away.”
That caused all the girls to start chatting, so Matt slid over to Mathew and asked, “So, what are you doing for your calves? Whatever it is, I need to start doing it, too.”
After that, they launched into descriptions of their various workout routines. Their chatting lasted until they reached the restaurant, and Melinda immediately began protesting.
“Matt, we can’t afford this place.”
- Writer
