Tales of Berseria The X: Beyond Calamity

Chapter XXVIII: A Spell for Empty Hearts Part II

Tia frowned and put her hands on her hip. "Oh, give me a break, Avernus. You always wanted to "have" her. Talking my ears off about how your motivation was to save her from the path of "self-destruction" and then marrying her as soon as the quest was over. You got your wish, and she likes you now, so man up to your claims."

He suddenly gave her puppy eyes, "I don't think she likes...." Avernus mumbled, but Magilou cut him off.

Magilou looked irritated at the level of Avernus's denial. She frowned. "Of course she does, you idiot. That hickey she gave you last night was to show the public, which means me, Eleanor, and every female in Midgand, that she already took you. Screaming: 'don't try to steal my man away from me, or I'm going to devour you all!' ... Sheesh, she is so possessive and jealous now that I think about it. Even though we pushed it with...."

"Shhhhh!" Tia quickly hushed her, preventing her from exposing their use of the potion.

Avernus closed his eyes and breathed heavily, lost in his thoughts.

"Why are you doing this to me? What the hell is wrong with you, women?!" he implored. His voice was low, and he seemed to be controlling his urge to yell.

Magilou folded her arms behind her head, grinning. "The life around here was getting boring, Eizen lecturing us non-stop, everybody's trying to take care of Laphicet and you, acting as if you're his dad. Besides, I had enough of Velvet's nagging about killing Artorius how we could ignore an affair between a vengeful daemoness and a pure-hearted Shepherd. It was like watching "forbidden lovers." You two needed a nudge, or in this case, Velvet needed a push..."

"That's enough explanation, Magilou." Tia subdued her speech once more. "In short, we wanted some adult fun and topics to talk about, and you needed Velvet. So, fair trade if you ask me." Tia concluded. She then relaxed her body, and her face returned to a gentler expression. "So you two wasted the last night doing nothing, am I right?" She nonchalantly inquired.

Avernus squinted his eyes. "Wasted?! I don't understand why I must fool around with her to convey my love and affection?! You know me, Tia, I was raised as a gentleman. I'm not a thirsty deviant, and I will abide by my code no matter what. If anything has to happen either, it will be with her consent or after I proposed to her."

Magilou suddenly lost her coolness, "Oh, shut up. Don't play the chevalier card on us and live in denial. I see how you leer at her. You're not even discreet about it anymore with that bedroom gaze you have on your face, looking up and down, undressing whatever she has on her body that you can call clothes. You know, since you and Velvet are not together, it feels creepy. You two need to act like grown-ups about it and talk to each other." Magilou retorted.

"There is no such thing as undressing her with my own eyes! The problem is your dirty minds! I'm a grown-up, and it's none of your business!" he argued, raising his voice.

Tia smirked. "Good, since you're an adult, I can be your coach then. You see, now that you're in an intimate relationship, you should learn about where babies come from." She said sincerely, without letting Avernus change the direction of their main topic.

Avernus opened his eyes, looking baffled and annoyed, "Excuse me?"

"I know back in my church; they say you wish for your babies, and the good storks take them out of gardens and bring them to you in a basket... but that's not true. What happens is that when a girl and a boy love each other, they...." Tia was keeping her motherly and patient posture, speaking softly. At the same time, Avernus covered his forehead and shook his head from side to side in a frustrated manner, suddenly cutting her short.

"Mysteria's bright star! I know where babies come from!" he said stridently, exasperated.

Tia's hands reached to his face and pinched his cheeks. "Do you? Do you really?" she asked in a low and sympathetic voice as if she was talking with a kid.