"Ahhh~mmm!"
An ensemble of sweet flavors swish around the insides of Lily's mouth, her cheeks swell up like a rodent storing food. As the girl chews on her treat with glee, cream splatters on her face. Such a blissful moment is contrasted by Vex, who stares with a more stern expression.
"Mmm, this is so good!"
"Try not to forget to chew with your mouth closed. You can wait until you swallow so that you can speak between bites, Lily."
"It's…so…gulp…yummy. I can't help it!"
Completely intoxicated in blissful pleasure to take heed to his reminder, a cream projectile launches out of Lily's mouth and onto Vex's nose. Disgruntled, he wipes the speck of cream with his sleeve.
"Didn't I just say…sigh, just finish up quickly."
"Sir, would you like to try a creampuff as well? I strongly recommend it! I'll even pay for yours too!"
A young-looking woman who has been enjoying the smile on Lily's face, places her hand on Vex's shoulder. Her lightly tanned skin, caramel hair, and motherly tone of voice would make just about anyone drawn to her and her kindness.
Vex waves his hand, brushing her hand off his shoulder in the process, indicating his polite decline of her offer.
"No thanks, lady. I'm good."
"Are you sure, mister? I have an extra one you can take. I didn't bite it yet!"
In a similar vein to the woman, a little girl who appears to be around Lily's age offers a creampuff. Given the height disparity, she is forced to stand on the tippy toes of her sandals so that she can hold the dessert towards Vex's face. The steam carrying its sugary scent flows into Vex's nostrils, trying its best to entice him to give in. Vex gently pushes the girl's hand downward.
"As I told your mother, I'm good. I've already eaten something at a different restaurant just priorly. Besides, I'd rather save room for a different snack later."
"Then may I give it to Lily, mister?"
"Ooo, that's a great idea! My daughter is so kind, isn't she?"
"Doesn't really matter to me. If she wants to eat it, give it to her."
It's not like it's coming out of my wallet or anything.
"Okay! Did you hear that Lily? Would you like–"
"Aaah~!"
In one big gulp, Lily tosses the reminder of the creampuff she was savoring into her mouth and swallows it all at once. After giving her body a few seconds to recover from the forceful swallow, she holds her hand out towards the girl.
"Yes please!"
"I knew you would say that, heehee! Here you go."
I didn't think that we would get this kind of attention at a food court…dang it. It all went downhill when that little girl waved at Lily and she waved back. Then that also got the attention of her mother–on me. One of the worst things to deal with are people who are incessant on being nice to you. No matter how many times I decline, she keeps pressing!
If I were by myself, I'd just ignore this woman and her kid deliberately at this point…but she insisted on treating Lily as well. I didn't want to buy any more sweet food in favor of something more fulfilling, but again, as long as it isn't coming out of my pockets, then I don't care as much. Besides that, I already denied buying that expensive gem holder thingy that she wanted earlier–if I deny her wants too many times in a short period of time, that would no doubt sour her mood. Since we are only a temporary party, she could easily join someone else to help her quest for the crystals and her mother.
Heck, we may even come across her dad, uncle or some other relative, and she will go with them. That would be the best option for the both of us in my opinion, but I know that she would take all of the crystals with her–leaving me at square one. Whether this is likely to happen or not, I must avoid the possibility of this worse case scenario as much as I reasonably can…
CRACK!
"Ow!"
"?!"
Interrupting Vex's internal monologue, Lily screeches out in pain, rubbing her swollen, red cheek.
"Lily, what was that sound? Did you bite something too hard?"
"Owowowowowow!"
Despite Vex's attempts to question her, Lily cannot properly respond to anyone but the pain that she is experiencing.
"You either have something jammed between your teeth, or a cracked tooth. Set still for a moment and show me your teeth."
With teary eyes, Lily shakes her head, choosing to continue to wince in pain rather than obey Vex's directions.
"Sigh, then let's do it like this…"
"?!"
Vex places his hand under Lily's chin, then firmly grips Lily's jaw which locks her head in place. With her body now still, he pries open her mouth with his other hand to inspect inside. Although the residue of cream, sugar, and other substances makes the appearance of Lily's mouth rather unsightly and hard to navigate, a chipped tooth sticks out, catching Vex's sharp eyes.
"One of your canine teeth is damaged. What the heck was in that thing?"
"Oww…hurts…pl…plwease!"
"Sorry about that. You can close your mouth now. Good grief..."
Now we have to find a dentist and get an expensive operation done. Curse my luck.
"There, there, it'll be alright. Right, mommy?"
The little girl gracefully takes hold of Lily's hand, comforting her.
"Yes sweetie. Vex, I know just the place to get her checked out!"
The woman holds her hand out, looking at Vex earnestly. He hesitates a moment, then returns his gaze, though he only taps her hand briefly.
"Please take us there."
______________________________________________________________________
"Alright Lily, would you please open your mouth for me? Say 'Ahh'."
"I can't..it-it hurts…"
Looking upwards towards the masked dentist who stands over her, Lily rubs her swollen cheek.
"Well, I can't make it better unless I can see it, okay?"
"I can't…I can't…"
"Okay, that's fine. Then please hold this miniature device on your tongue, okay? Don't bite or swallow it."
Lily reluctantly nods her head, albeit confused. The dentist takes out a tiny device in the shape of a pill and slips it through the small gap between Lily's lips. After about a minute a flash accompanied by a beeping sound emanates from within Lily's mouth. Reacting to this, the dentist opens his eyes, releasing the slight tension in his face.
"Okay, Lily, you can spit it out into my hand."
"Ptooie"
Without fully opening her mouth, Lily uses her tongue to push the device out of her mouth, and onto the dentist's open hand. To his benefit, he wears gloves so as to not get drenched from the saliva-coated device.
"Hmm, I see…please remain still in that seat for a moment, I'll be right back."
The dentist steps outside the operating room, into a private lobby. Outside, Vex along with a mother and daughter await while sitting anxiously.
"I have the diagnosis ready. Please take a look."
The dentist opens his hands, revealing the same miniature device that he used earlier. A small light emanating from it projects a video of the insides of a mouth. Vex rubs his chin.
"This is?"
"Yes, it is a video capturing the inside of Lily's mouth. What you see is completely accurate."
"Huh, I never knew you could get detailed footage of such a thing. It's just…surprising to see every detail match up with what I remember…"
"You...have photographic memories of this girl's mouth, sir? Ah, I see–you must be in a related field of work."
"Nope, not at all. I never studied detailed biology and the like either."
"Is that so? Then…then how do you…"
The dentist's face bears an expression that's a hybrid of curiosity and concern.
"Just forget about my comment–there's no need to digress into unimportant details."
Sensing the awkward atmosphere brewing, the woman interjects herself between the men, drawing their attention.
"Dr. Gad is amazing, isn't he? His curse allows him to control machines directly–it is like he is transferring his mind into the machine! He can accomplish so much more for his patients than any other medical professional can! That's why he is the best."
"Oh don't flatter me so much, Joanne. My curse isn't so flawless, and there are certainly more noteworthy doctors out there than myself. Vex, you can be honest with me; has my cousin here been a little bothersome to you? I reckon that you two are strangers."
"Come on Gad, that isn't very professional of you!"
"So about the video footage here…"
"Right, please excuse my little diversion there. As you can see right here…"
He pauses the video and zooms in on a fang. It is cracked, with a small object stuck between it and another tooth.
"It appears that whatever she bit into was hard enough to crack her tooth. We can easily remove the remains of the object, but healing her tooth–especially her demi-human tooth–back to its original state would require…higher operation fees. If you are not able to cover the total cost today, then we can set up a reasonable payment plan. How does that sound?"
"...I can't say for sure. I…need a moment to consider…"
How did something inside a creampuff make a tooth as strong as a demi-human's–a feline tooth at that–so easily crack? I'm aware that she is still a kid, but her body can't be that weak. Now, due to this inefficiency, I have to consider being in debt over a dental treatment.
"Don't stress over it, I'll take care of the entire cost. Put it on my tab, Dr. Gad!"
Suddenly, a powerful declaration, as though it were descending from the heavens, echoed throughout the lobby. All of the sound waves were absorbed into Vex's ears–he cannot help but to be flabbergasted given that his brain wasn't prepared to process such an assortment of words.
"Wait, just wait a moment! I didn't ask you to–"
"Okay, I will do just that! Then with that settled, operations can begin momentarily. Though given the girl's squeamishness, I think it would be best for her to have emotional support beside her in order to make the process go smoother. Sir, I assume the girl is with you, right?"
Dr. Gad gestures towards the operating room, inviting Vex to walk in.
"No thanks, I'll pass. I doubt that I would do any good for her. She can tough it out."
"But sir, are you sure? Why not–"
"I'm not doing it, and that's final."
"...oh., okay then…"
Once again, the awkward atmosphere stirs up, but with a vengeance. Somehow in spite of this, a little voice breaks through the frigidness.
"Dr. Gad, if it's okay with you, then I can stand beside her. I want to support my new friend!"
"Sir, is that okay with you?"
"Be my guest."
"Okay, then that takes care of that! Let's head in, she's been waiting ever so patiently."
Dr. Gad and the girl go into the operating room and shut the door. Understandably so, Lily looks freaked out as Dr. Gad tries to get her to open her mouth for the operation, but the girl holds her hand, comforting her. Thanks to the clear glass window, Vex and Joanne are able to watch everything unfold from the private lobby.
"It's amazing how quickly children can become friends, isn't it?"
"Even when I was a kid, this would have been an impressive feat…anyway, thanks for covering the tab. I'll be honest, I don't know why you would go out of your way to do this for me given that we are total strangers. It's baffling to an uncomfortable degree."
"Then how about we fix that! I'm sorry that I didn't properly introduce myself earlier, but I am Joanne and that's my daughter, Jan. We have quite a bit of wealth. I don't like to flaunt it, but it brings me joy to help those in need! And you are?"
"I'm Vex. I come from Avarice on an important quest. The little demi-human girl is a temporary party member of mine. We have a common goal we hope to achieve…though we have hit a roadblock coming to this port town since we cannot afford a reasonable ride across the Iniku Sea to Fraus. And before you get any ideas, I will not accept you paying for our tickets."
Joanne playfully chuckles, amused by Vex's preemptive declining of her generosity.
"Is that so? Then how about you and Lily come stay with us while you are here? You can stay for as long as you need to until you are ready to leave–all free of charge."
"But that's just…too much."
"Do you have anywhere else to stay? Assuming that you stay at the cheapest hotel here, just one night would be around 200 gold. I'm sure that you are trying to save up money for a ferry to Fraus, which could take at least a week, being very generous. That alone would be 1,400 just for one week, not to mention other expenses like food that would add to the costs, meaning that you would have to remain at the hotel for much longer, thus paying even more there, and then there's–"
"Thank you for your kindness. Lily and I humble accept your generous offer."
Vex bows his head and upper body. The abruptness of it catches Joanne slightly off guard, but nevertheless, she smiles and claps her hands.
"Looking forward to it, Vex!"