"Ah, sorry," said a man as he hit Miyanna's shoulder.
"Jerk," she muttered as she tried to turn around and see who dared to, but she felt a pull as Celine grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along, "Calm down, Celine, I'm coming."
"Say, Miyanna, should we go and grab the tents and some clothes for you, or should we handle my business first?" Celine asked, absent-minded.
"What about Blanc's gift?" Miyanna wondered.
"Blanc this, Blanc that," giggled Celine as she looked at the signs of the stores, her sapphire eyes darting from one store to the other in quick succession, "We can grab a gift before we leave. Firstly, let's enjoy ourselves a bit."
Miyanna looked towards the sky, "Do we have time for any of that?"
Celine nodded sharply, "But of course, if we get back by sunset, there will be no issues."
"Fine," she sighed, "Let's go after the tents first."
"Wonderful," grinned Celine, turning towards her.
It was afternoon, with the sun still shining brightly across the sky.
The two, Celine and Miyanna, were now on their second round across town, all because Celine wanted to walk first and take in the views of the city.
Or, the real reason, in just two walks, as she looked across the city, she saw all that she needed to know about Isai's layout.
From what stores were and what they sold, to all the larger organizations present in the city.
Paths towards every exit of the city, as well as the less-walked paths they could take in case something happened, were also noticed by Celine.
It was just an exercise she, as one of Blood Maroux, had to learn to do.
And now, that in a few hours, she would be of Blood Maroux no longer, she thought it would be fun to do it one last time.
It's not like the skill itself will disappear after she gets married, but it will have a different meaning then.
Either way, exercise as it was, none could disagree that it wasn't precautionary at the same time.
While safe, with the Iron Line going the opposite way, bandits still existed. Now, more than ever.
And while she had the strength to defeat many, she knew it would be foolish to draw attention to themselves.
So, she looked. And once she was satisfied with the map of Isai she drew inside her head, she finally allowed herself to enjoy some shopping.
"G'day," said the woman inside the store as Celine and Miyanna entered.
While Celine only offered her a smile, Miyanna was the one who greeted the woman.
As per the agreement they made before, in which Celine would not talk to others unless absolutely necessary.
And a store that held provisions, tents, and other travel essentials was by no means a place of absolute necessity.
"What are you looking for?" asked the woman as she came from under her counter and came towards the two.
"Tents," replied Miyanna the next moment.
One could see she was not one for conversation with strangers.
So noticed this woman, too, "A-ah, well, you see, the prices differ depending on how big the tents are."
"We need a big one and a medium one," replied Miyanna, not aware of how uncomfortable she made the woman with her way of replying the next moment.
"Big? How big?" the woman asked.
"Well, how big are they?" Miyanna wondered.
Sweat began forming on the woman's forehead, "W-well… big as in big for four people or big for twelve people? And is the tent open or closed off?"
"I don't know, show me," said Miyanna.
"Inside the store?" the woman asked.
Celine couldn't hold it back any longer.
So she burst out laughing, making Miyanna and the clerk turn towards and stare at her for a few good seconds before stopping and wiping away the tears that formed in her eyes.
It seemed a store such as this one, or perhaps any store for that matter, was an exception to this absolute necessity we talked about earlier, Celine thought while wiping the tears away.
Miyanna's life was the definition of survival.
And while cute, she was more like a wild beast when it came to strangers.
Celine forgot this, as she knew other sides of Miyanna, other, more… intimate parts of her.
Not one person would guess that this beast of a woman, who made men and women uncomfortable just with her presence, was a shy but also daring and seductive woman in other parts of her life.
Cute indeed.
"Apologies for my sister, ma'am, we are looking for a closed tent for about six people that could hold a large bed and still have room to spare," explained Celine, jumping at Miyanna's aid.
"I see," muttered the woman, taken aback by the difference between those two sisters, though she questioned why they did not look alike.
"Oh, and a medium one, just large enough for a bed and some room to spare," added Celine, "Are there such tents available?"
"Yes, yes, there are," nodded the woman, moving deeper inside looking for what Celine requested, "The large one would be eight silver coins while the medium one would be four."
"Not an issue," smiled Celine, "Do you also sell beds that are easy to carry and put together by any chance?"
"Not beds themselves, but we have miniature artifacts from which you can pull out a bed, quite convenient, but those are really expensive," muttered the woman.
"Could you show us?" wondered Celine.
And with a nod from the woman, they moved to a shelf on which, on a cotton pillow, stood three wooden boxes with only a transparent marble inside, which held inside it, as if floating, suspended in the water, a large bed, with pillows, covers, and all that made a bed comfortable.
"How much for two of these?" asked Celine.
"Two gold coins each," the woman replied, the price making her develop sweat on her forehead once more.
With a grin that showed her beautiful white teeth, Celine replied, "We'll take them, but before that, could you show us how it works and where those come from?"
"I can," the woman nodded.