Astra PoV
"Heya~! What is all of this?"
Waving at Annie and Cici before hugging the Bullkin back, I looked at the carts in slight bewilderment only to chuckle wryly as Annie sniffed and looked at the various tables and shelves we had been setting up in slight disdain.
"Replacements. Can't have my sister opening shop with some shabby furniture now can I? It's also what'll help push the shop over the edge, y'know? Give it that last bit of oomph to the decor to really nail the point home for the customers. Best of the best and nothing else."
"Uh huh... and how much are you charging for this? I don't know you terribly well, dear, but I do know what greed looks like in someone's eyes..."
Annie tried to play it off as she waved me away and gave me a big ol' grin, only for Cici to 'betray' her as she chipped in, happily saying "Probably like forty or fifty Gold altogether~? Family discount and all that... so long as we get a lil something something before the customers do~?"
The two immediately began to bicker as Annie 'whispered' about how cheap that is while Cici made it clear she didn't really give a damn since that was still multiplying their income by quite a bit.
Meanwhile Aethisia was just looking between them before coming forwards and giving me a hug, taking a handful 'to go' and smirking at me as she whispered "We're gonna go head to Gertrude's after this and take a crack at getting her walls down, but we should be back tonight... maybe..."
Rolling my eyes and draping my arms around her neck, I just whispered back "You'd better be home tonight, Aethisia. You've gotta spend some time with Melia before you go.", the reminder making her blink a few times before she just nodded in agreement.
"Before sundown then. We still don't know when though..?"
"I suppose whenever you two are ready, which I would assume means tomorrow or the day after. Rhefia doesn't want to drag this out any longer, and waiting just gives things more time to be complicated."
She nodded again and gave me a deep kiss as a 'farewell', pulling away and helping the workers lug everything in - though not before she winked at Renna and made the Nymph blush a little as she walked out to join us.
"Annie, what the hells is this?"
Even with her blush she was still capable of being 'angry' at her sister, though all that did was make Annie smirk as she looked down her nose at Renna, taking that older sister role a little too seriously right now...
"Better furniture for my darling baby sister~! Y'know Ma and Dama would want you to take-"
"Hey, stop throwing them around in vain like that! Always trying to guilt me into paying for your stuff... hmph!"
Even still she didn't bother to tell the workers to stop, nor did she really seem to mind how arrogant her sister was right about now, though I had a feeling she was going to get her back good sometime soon...
The negotiations for price began immediately, and sensing that this was as good of a time as ever to get them to talk I just guided them to the office, nodded at Renna and closed the door, leaving them to their own 'argument' and enjoying the more calm company of Cici.
Even if she constantly wanted to grope me or make innuendos... which had nothing to do with me ending up in the back getting double stuffed by Cici and my white haired stud of a daughter, both of them ravaging my holes with glee as they waited for Annie to return.
~~~
Rhefia PoV
"Y'know, if we hadn't amassed such a large group of people for this family I would definitely be getting on Aethisia's ass every single time I could..."
Tossing Ipoala into the air and grinning at the adorable pink Robinkin as she got to 'fly', I glanced over at Camara after catching my giggling daughter, making sure my point was somewhat 'proven'.
"Mm... I think it's because of how everything's played out for the family that she does this, y'know? Besides... she didn't really have the best 'role model' to follow for these sorts of things, did she?"
"Hey, I raised BOTH of you with just your Mama, AND I've done my fair share of being with these ones too! Also, your Mama and I agreed on Suu, and while Heila was... unique, it was a blessing. Have I done 'wrong' after them? Hm?"
My eldest just rolled her eyes, though I could tell she was a bit... saddened by how she was here with Melia in her arms while Aethisia was out and about acting like there was nothing special back home.
"Listen, I won't lie and say you two didn't rush things a bit, but at the same time... yeah. Anyways, the time she spends with me on this little adventure we're gonna be on will definitely help, I promise. You don't really realize what you 'have' until it's 'gone'. People never really actually realize how true that is until it happens to them."
Nodding slowly and looking down at Ehretia as the little Doe rushed over to her, Camara took a deep breath and glanced at me before leaning over to listen to her sister, taking in her babbling and acting like she understood it perfectly.
"Might not be the best example but just being away from a real bed had me ready to kill someone if they tried to take it from me when I returned."
The glare she shot me was worth it as I smirked at her, though of course I rubbed the back of her head and added "Seriously, after we come back I promise she'll be far more honed in on the important things."
She just grunted and scooped Ehretia up as well, and although there was still a bit of a shadow of doubt in her eyes she seemed a bit more hopeful for the things to come... only for her eyes to hold something else when the others came out to occupy the children, allowing me to pull her back inside for some nice 'reminders'.
Aethisia wasn't doing everything 'wrong' per se, but not taking Camara along with her everywhere she went was a bit of a pain point that I was happy to relieve for her, primarily because there was just something addicting about banging another Deerkin and not a Doe.