While he in no way was inexperienced with women nobody had ever jumped him like this, and he found he didn't like it. Definitely not. He glared at her, she obviously could not take a hint and was just standing there smiling at him. It was ridiculous, and anyway, she wasn't his type. She was too tall, too bossy, too stupid, and on top of all that, she was wearing some ridiculous pink dress. He sighed, what was it with this town and the color pink?
'Dinner,' she repeated, 'and maybe drinks after.'
He groaned, all he wanted was some proper food, a shower, and a quiet evening in a comfortable room with his new book. Still, his stomach was growling at the mention of food, and he looked at her again. She appeared to be well-fed and healthy, so if she was a local perhaps she could be useful after all.
'You know place?' he asked, 'Good food? Clean?'
The girl beamed at him again. 'You accept? You will take me to dinner?'
'Fine,' he grunted, 'If place good, I buy food.'
Her eyes glazed over for a second, then she smiled, 'I accept too.'
Despite his objections, she hooked her arm in his and dragged him with her.
'I know just the place.'
The restaurant she took him to was better than he had expected. The tables were scrubbed spotless, the food was fresh, beautifully plated, and delicious. The beer he had ordered with it was a good brand and served icy cold and foamy. It was perfect, except for one minor detail. He gave the girl sitting opposite him another hostile glare. She was chatting happily, obviously not caring if he listened or not. He was not, of course, but the constant noise was grating on his ears even if he was ignoring the words.
Why couldn't she just leave?
Feitan pointed to her almost empty plate, 'You done? I pay, so you go now.'
'No, no, we need more drinks, and then find a room.'
'No. Agreed buy food. No more. Can find room myself.'
'Dinner, and drinks after,' she repeated it like a mantra and he sighed.
When the waitress came to clear their plates, he ordered another beer, and the girl ordered a drink with a weird name involving beaches and sunsets. The waitress swiftly returned and Feitan stared at the monstrosity sitting next to his glass on the small tray. It was pink, of course, and seemed to hold more decorations than actual liquid. Everything from fruits, flowers, and heart-shaped ice cubes had been stuffed into the tall glass, together with a straw and a small paper umbrella. Both pink.
The girl slurped it up quickly and he ordered another for her. If she got drunk enough he could easily sneak away and get on with his evening. It seemed a better plan than to kill her. Unless she had any interesting cards that was, but he doubted that. She didn't seem the type to take the game seriously.
He took a sip of beer and sighed happily, licking the foam from his lips.
His opportunity came earlier than expected when she suddenly got up and excused herself saying that she had to go and 'powder her nose', whatever that meant. From what he could see there was absolutely nothing wrong with her nose, in fact, it probably hadn't been broken even once. If he was honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he actually found her rather pretty. Still annoying, of course. More annoying than pretty.
As soon as she turned around the corner Feitan acted quickly. He gulped down the last of his beer and paid their bill with a rather large note, not bothering to get any change back. Then he bolted.
Making full use of his impressive speed Feitan sprinted across the rooftops, and soon found himself in the other end of town, stopping in a narrow back alley. He took a deep breath, he was finally alone again. A rattling sound behind him made him spin around quickly, half expecting to see the girl standing there, but to his relief, it was only a big orange cat that had managed to pry off the metal lid of one of the garbage bins lined up against the tall building.
Almost wishing some stupid sod would try to rob him he started walking, trying to shrug off the evening's events. Since when did he run away from silly girls?
Embarrassment filled him, he was part of the Phantom Troupe after all, a master thief and expert torturer and not in the habit of running from anyone or anything. He sighed, he'd probably feel better if he killed someone.
Another sound, a soft meow made him look down at the big cat from before, it was staring at him with huge golden eyes, almost luminescent in the weak light. Despite himself he smiled and squatted down, holding his hand out toward it. The cat gave him a suspicious look, then bravely stepped forward, butting its head against Feitan's hand.
'You good cat, no scared,' Feitan said, scratching a furry cheek, enjoying the steady purr coming from the animal's throat and chest.
Something smooth and cool touched his neck, going under his bandana, and he immediately spun around, hand instinctively gathering its nen claws, thrusting them deep into the chest of the attacker. The cat gave a surprisingly human scream and darted off, its tail puffy in fear, while Feitan dumbly stared into a familiar face, now slumping to the side, long blonde hair falling over it.
'Stupid,' he muttered. Why the hell had she tried to sneak up on him like that? How had she even managed to find him? She must have some form of tracking ability, he thought. Or, she must have had one. Now he watched her body dissolve in small flashes of bluish light that blinked and disappeared.
Oddly, her death left a bad taste in his mouth and he wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if he'd liked her, in fact, he had wanted to kill her several times already. Well, there was nothing he could do about it now, so he continued walking until he reached a major street. Surprisingly, quite a lot of people were still out and about, and some of the small shops were open despite the late hour.
He strolled down a cobbled street until he reached another square and noticed a huge gray building. While it might not qualify as ominous looking, it was blessedly free of hearts and anything even remotely pink. 'The Aiai Best Hotel' the modest wooden sign read. Feitan grinned, it would be perfect. He eagerly climbed the stairs to the door and pushed it open. Minutes later he had the key to a pleasant room with an attached bathroom in his hand, and he sighed contentedly. Shower, book, a comfortable bed. He was looking forward to all three.
Feitan stepped out of the bathroom, wiping at his hair with a towel, when he froze. The girl from earlier was sitting on the bed, his bed, looking at him with big eyes, twirling her blonde hair around a finger. He immediately moved the towel further down to cover his private parts, glaring at her. Even if he ignored the fact that he had killed her only an hour ago, how the hell had she gotten into his room? He was certain both the door and window were locked, and anyway, he'd have heard if either had been opened.
'How you get here?' he demanded, trying to wrap the towel firmly around his hips.
'You have an unfinished quest,' she smiled at him in what was probably supposed to be a charming and seductive way.
'Have not!'
'Dinner and perhaps drinks after.'
'Already do that!'
'Error. Evening not completed.' Oh, no, as far as he was concerned their evening was very much completed, she just needed to get the hell out. He opened the door and pointed,
'You leave. Get out. Now!'
She got up from the bed, but instead of leaving she closed in on him, reaching out with both arms as if to embrace him. Feitan panicked and shoved her into the hallway so hard she made a dent in the opposite wall. There was a crunching sound, and for the second time, he watched her body dissolve into light and disappear. He quickly closed the door and leaned against it, tucking the towel tighter around him. What the hell? If he had believed in ghosts he might have thought that she was one, but he didn't.
Then orbs of blue light materialized right in front of him and the process reversed until the girl stood before him again, looking just like before, pink dress and all. She gave him a big smile,
'You have an unfinished quest.'
Feitan stared at her, keeping a tight grip on his towel, then it dawned on him what she must be, and he felt like a fool for not realizing it earlier. She wasn't a player, not even a real person. She was an NPC. And on top of that a malfunctioning one it seemed.
Feitan cursed. He wished he could speak to Shalnark, this was his area of expertise after all, but even if he had joined the game, he wasn't in Feitan's game book yet so contacting him was impossible for now.
That left Phinks, who knew much less about games than Feitan did, but perhaps could offer some sort of advice anyway, or at least some moral support.
He chuckled, who was he kidding? Phinks would be howling with laughter and make too many, too bad, highly inappropriate jokes.
But, didn't NPCs usually remain tied to their area? Then perhaps Phinks could be useful after all. But first things first.
'Book,' he said, and when the game book appeared in front of him he quickly leafed through it until he found the card he assumed was for doing laundry and took it out. Holding it over the pile containing all his dirty clothes he said, 'Gain', and the card immediately transformed into a soapy ball of bubbles surrounding his clothes, lifting them in the air and spinning them, filling the room with a pleasant scent. Not a minute later the clothes were neatly folded, sitting on the small table next to the bed. Feitan picked them up and went into the bathroom to get dressed.
'I go out,' he announced when he was done, sighing as she brightened up and headed to the door.
'Wonderful, a romantic late night stroll in the moonlight,' she chirped and he groaned. Well, what had he expected?