A box laid in his hands, and a slightly soft, and proud smile, the old man said to Fei and Lucian. "Anyways, here's yer reward."
The box was a dark brown color, and large enough that the old man needed both hands to hold it. Its contents were full of vibrant vegetables, ranging from medium sized carrots; large heads of cabbages; green apples and melons.
Once it was set in Lucian's arms, the old man gave him a tight squeeze on his arm followed by a small tug.
"Good work kid." He said before turning to Fei. "Ye too white hair, ya really surprised my wife and I."
"T-th-"
"Ya don't need to thank us. Thank ya two for accepting our request!"
Lucian nodded his head, whilst Fei lowered her head, whilst her now bandaged hands squeezed.
Once the box of greens were forced into Lucian's hands— the old man brought out twenty copper, and had Fei hold out her hand to accept.
Before they set off with their newly acquired "wealth", the old man's wife appeared on their porch. The old couple both smiled softly, alongside a wave.
Once one last goodbye was over, they set off back into the walls. Instantly after passing the border of the couple's home, a breath of relief washed over them.
"Well, that… was a lot harder." Lucian remarked whilst looking at Fei from the side. "Great work catching those!"
"T-thank you…"
"Before we go to the adventurers' guild, I think we should get changed…"
His words caused Fei to look down at her clothes— A brown stain lined the edges of her skirt– plus parts of her shirt and knees. At this view her heart skipped a beat and she nodded quickly.
Soon, they both fell quiet; their feet quietly crunching on the ground, and the midday sun with its warmth silently lapping down on them. Eventually, the walls of their home was closing in on them,
Bricks that scaled multiple stories high; with walkways atop these and many men in armor keeping watch over the plains whilst two pairs of guardsmen stood in front of the gate.
Contrary to expectations, the guards merely glanced at them— not bothering to check their ids, or stopping them. The two closest guards stood further back when Fei inched closer inside of the walls.
'Just ignore them…' Lucian called out to her mentally. Just by a look, Fei's breath had hastened. If only his arms were free, Lucian had wished inside of his mind.
But, he quietly pushed Fei to keep going; their journey will end in their home temporarily.
Thankfully, their journey was shorter than their start— they had no stops, nor did hollering target them. Most of the stalls that lined the street were occupied by busy bodies— stall owners holding drawn out conversations with energized customers.
Guards patrolled the pathway, at times stopping in their tracks to keep an ear on a conversation being held.
Once inside their home, Lucian propped the basket on their counter— turned to his partner, flashed a smile and let her get showered first.
As time slowly went, Lucian sorted out his and her clothes. Two piles were laid on their bed, and as soon as he finished, the door to their room opened.
"Um-" Fei let out, but she quickly bit her tongue when Lucian picked up his pile and ran out of the room. "Ah…"
Fei clamped her mouth shut, her eyes lingered at the small pile she now had. Without another thought, she slowly changed into the clothes she was given. Her heart did not quicken when the door was rapped upon; only patting her tail, and opening it.
Between both, barely a peep was made. Even when the sun bathed its warm rays upon their skin, Lucian merely looked down at Fei.
'Great choice.' Lucian silently praised himself— Fei was now wearing a white blouse, and a grey skirt that reached her knees. Paired with black tights that were her addition.
Whilst he himself merely wore a short grey sleeved shirt, and pants.
'Time to submit this…'
Without another thought, he shoved the loose request into his pocket. Unlike the morning, his excitable energy had run out of power; he was running on empty fumes inside his chest. It could also be the mockery the rats made of him affecting him.. He'd rather not think back to it.
**********
"Oh, welcome back you two!" A familiar blonde haired elven man— promptly named Thran welcomed them back with a wide smile. "I see you completed it?"
"Yeah…?" Lucian responded with a minuscule tilt of his head.
Thran shrugged at this sight, leaned forward and let his palm see the sky. "Let me see the request paper."
"Here."
The same old paper— now frumpled from Lucian's pocket flung into Thran's open hand. A visible frown creased his lips, however he uncrumpled it and laid it flat on the front desk.
"That crazy old man really signed it." Thran mumbled as his hand met his chin. "Excellent work you two!"
Lucian nodded as a smirk wriggled onto his lips, and his hand softly grabbed Fei's. "Then I guess it's time to get going." He said to her, then turned back to Thran.
"Come back here in a few days, I might have a request for you both; and judging from your first reaction here, it will fit in line with your expectations."
"Eh? Like what?"
"That'll be a secret~" Thran brought a finger to his lips. His tone was like nails on a chalkboard to Lucian's ears.
But, Thran immediately switched gears, his face turning stonecold; additionally his pointer finger went to Lucian's nose.
"Do you really want to know what it is?"
"Y-Yeah…?"
"It is a hunting request then."
"Is that it? What's-"
"Make sure your partner is properly ready." Thran aimed his finger now at the shaking foxgirl. "Just from looking at how you hold that staff, you are very inexperienced."
Fei stumbled backwards, stared at the ground and eventually huddled behind Lucian. Her heart already started pounding against her ribcage.
Upon witnessing this, Thran let out a drawn out sigh. Even when Lucian spoke in a soft manner, nothing brought Fei out of his shadow.
"Listen, hunting requests as your second overall request is lucky." Thran lowered his leaning, his eyebrows nearly met each other, as well as his lips deepening into a frown. "As your representative I need to make sure you both are prepared. For you, Mister Lucian, I can tell from your posture and attitude you have been in plenty of fights."
"How dangerous is the requ-"
"Goblins, they are dangerous."
"We've heard stories about them, Fei'll be fine by then." Lucian assured him, his arm was reaching slightly back.
Although "dangerous" was light— goblins were notorious for their cunning little intelligence. Gathering in numbers, using a small array of weapons which were perfect for their tiny stick-like limbs. Plus, many stories foretold them crafting their own weapons.
Ranged weapons were no issue for these tiny fiends. But their favorable form of harm were short-swords and daggers; a staple weapon even for adventurers.
"Very well, but if I hear some trouble occurring, you will not get a hunting job until the guild trains you two." Thran threatened with two fingers going from his eyes to them. "And trust me, even for a receptionist job, it is devoid of fun."
"Got it…"
…
It's always me…
"Let's get going, we have to meet up with Aiko!"
...