Private - Midnight Pie

Quinn

Largest room? You’re living the life aren’t you, while your friend is starving and freezing to death ou—whoa! What? It says your coordinate is right here. Whoa, it’s like you were fated to taste my pie or something. I’ll be up in a jiffy.

After the teal-haired man rushed his reply, he took a few steps back and looked up at the floors above him with one hand occupied and the other cupping his chin. Quinn had a perplexed look on his face with one eyebrow pushing his eye down. Considering his thick brows, he looked rather comical as he studied the anterior of the inn. Hmmm… Quinn was deep in thought as he studied Indra’s message, particularly the coordinates, he never knew that coordinate did not give an approximate location, but only a wide area. He figured it was something he should keep in mind for the future.

Before Indra’s hair turn gray and her skin sagging from old age, a Quinn alerted her with a knock and his lively voice that he was coming in. Only, they didn’t come from the door, but the window. Once his feet touched the wooden floor, he closed the window and scanned the slightly-illuminated room, resting his gaze on a fortress made from pillows and blanket. So, he tried to defuse the awkward situation by walking over to what appeared to be the dark entrance into Indra’s lair and set the still-steaming pie in front of her, fanning its scent into the dark confine.

“Ooooi….” he whispered, “anybody home?”

@Indra

 

Curious eyes read the contents of Quinn’s last message, her ahoge perking up in response to the contents. Now that she connected the dots, something seemed strange - she’d keep a mental note for later. Indra sunk her flustered face on a pillow inside the fortress, thankfully masked by the blue hue from her arcane light. Did he even read the contents of that message before sending it? That sounded so goddamn lewd!

She remained immobile in her safe spot, wondering just when would he come through tthe door - except he didn’t. A couple of knocks and he already had entered through the windows. Oh god, oh god, would he notice how awkward she looked like inside that thing!? Her mind swirled in a chaos of thoughts, until she could finally hear his whispers. In response to the smell and his question, her arm slid out of the fortress, fingers skittering like a spider’s legs.

“Angry. Tribute accepted. What took you so long, green hedgehog?” her hand pulled the pie inside. “I thought you actually died outside, Quinn. Was it fresh and comfy out there?”

Eventually, only her head poked out of inside the powerful and fluffy fort, expressionless features looking at him. “Curious. If you had no gold, how did you get this beautiful piece of art and cuisine?” her head returned inside again, presumably to try out some of the pie. “I am probably not sleeping, so feel free to use the upper bed. Cautious. I hope I am not getting in any trouble for consuming this sweet piece, or allowing you to sleep here, grasstalker.”

Indraneel

Angery. Really infuriated. Quinnoa! What is with this pie. It tastes bad! Really bad! I see now! You stole it from the inn's kitchen, did you not! Vengeful. Cunning! You will pay for this twisted tribute, hedgehog.

@Quinn

 

"Ni-shi-shi, my bad, my Phantasmia is not good enough yet to make it taste good." Quinn chuckled gingerly outside of the girl's blanket fortress as he saw the message popped up on his UI. Despite her strangely unemotional face, he was able to get a rise of her every time. Indra was strange in that way and it's something that intrigued him greatly.

For someone who does not display her emotion outwardly, he could easily read her as if she was an open book. What is up with that? The more he thought about it, the stranger it became, why does she act the way she does? Was there a reason for it?

While he could have easily asked her about her in real life persona, he felt as if it was far too intrusive, thus, he held his tongue. Even the green hedgehog had tact, he wasn't completely socially unaware.

Once his legs started feeling heavy, Quinn hastily stood up and gave his entire body a good stretch, getting blood flow back to his legs to prevent them from falling asleep. He then eyed the bed, which looked as comfy as they came. All it needed was a blanket and a pillow, which Indra had taken for her fortress. Regardless, it beat sleeping outside in the cold.

"Why do you not sleep, Roomba X? I have never heard about insomnia from anyone who plays this game," Quinn spoke as he closed the window and pulled the blinds shut.

Afterwards, he started to take his shoes off and then his shirt, leaving himself with nothing but his pants and a black tank top on. Since he didn't want his clothes to get dirty, he opened up his inventory panel and deposited his items inside. Then, he slid into bed and seemingly melted into the mattress like warmed butter.

@Indra

 

Salty tears rolled down her cheeks with each consecutive chew on the slimy, gross and bad tasting pie. If only it matched the looks… After what appeared to be forever, an audible gulp let the horrendous content down her throat. Although the bitter taste remained, she could live with it; at least she wasn’t hungry anymore. When Quinn spoke up again, her attention focused back on him to understand his words, unconsciously pouting because of his question. Really, now? He had the guts to ask that? Oh, but he would hear a word or two! Her blonde head poked out to the entrance of the forbidden pillow fortress to respond, lips smeared with a good bit of horrid-cake.

Yet, no words came out as she silently stared at the green-haired man who seemed to not notice her head poking out like a sore thumb. It had been a while since she had the chance to watch a man strip before her eyes. An awkward mixture of guilt and revenge built up on her chest — she was, in a sense, stalking the person she named stalker so many times. What a twist, don’t you think? When Quinn went on his way to slip onto the upper bed, Indra returned to earth and remembered she had yet to answer his question. “Annoyed. The bitter taste in my mouth aside, it appears my sleep bar is a bit too high. It might be the cause of why I can’t --”

The blonde tried to reposition herself to slither back into her pillow cave, except she slipped, losing balance in the process. “Kyaa.” Her body hit the ground, pulling along and dismantling her pillow fort down to the wooden floor. Despite its terrible food, the inn had fairly well-kept rooms that had guaranteed comfort. Even so, imperfections were bound to happen… Just like the wooden plank that Indra had planted her forehead on, generating a loud thud in the process. Certainly the green-haired man wouldn’t miss it -- “Ow, ow. Ow ow.” The blonde rubbed her forehead, now without the protection of her pillow fort. When the blonde opened her eyes after rubbing them shortly, she met the gaze no one other than Quinn. Her cheeks flustered and Indra rolled below her bed in embarrassment.

After a long and awkward silence from her, Indra finally gathered enough courage to say something. That’s right — he was just a man, not a monster. Courage, woman! He’s likely younger than you! Inhale, inhale and let your voice be heard-- Unfortunately, the only thing Quinn could hear was her coughing and sneezing storm under the bed. No way anyone could sleep with so much noise as an awful lullaby. "Stubborn. I am cough okay."

@Quinn