"Absolutely not," He said through a playful smile, tapping her hand with a finger to make sure he had her attention. "I will be covering this one." It was a demand. One way or another, she would leave today with more than or equal to the amount of gold she had now.

He squeezed her hand back in response, an attempt to say 'Chill' without actually saying it, thinking to himself that the clench of the grip was maybe a bit of an overreaction. Of course, there was some foul god at play around here, as his thoughts were just proven wrong, by a man shoving through. Another sent her against the golden haired man himself, which to be honest, Zelrius was expecting. He locked his heels and moved his arms to her shoulders to hold her for a moment, not saying much, before releasing her again and offering an open hand, pretending like that had never even happened. "Come, lets get that stuff you were talking about." And just like that, Zelrius didn't say another word about it, his teeth merely clenched as he glanced back in the direction that the Anti-cat man headed.

 

The slight squeeze of her hand, had comforted the small felis if only for a moment before she had fallen into her partner. Having Zelrius catch her midair, left her feeling grateful, before she was returned to her original position. The man before her held out an open hand and so, grinning up at Zelrius she took his open hand, Maybe he is warming up to me? The thought sent positive vibes through her body.
Ilya nodded her head, "You lead the way? Or should I...?" As they started to continue to walk Ilya had noticed that Zelrius' jaws clenched, his eyes sending daggers towards the man that had insulted Ilya. "Awe, getting so worked up over that.. for me?" Ilya gave a warm smile towards her partner. Before resuming to follow her nose, leading her to the scent of fresh meat and baking bread and pastries. "I wonder if they have any lemon pastries here..." Ilya muttered her thoughts out loud, as back in her own real life loved lemon pastries. The smell and taste agreed heavily with Ilya's own taste buds, which caused her to crave them.

 

It was true enough that he didn't mind the woman as much as he had during their first encounter back along the Dunnstadds, but being fond of her wasn't quite in his book. The man tried to keep an arm's distance with most people, for multiple reasons of his own. It wasn't that he had abandonment issues or that he was a lone wolf type; far from it. If anything, Zelrius was actually quite social and strived to make friends with as many people as he could, It was more that he just wasn't that good at it. Between the social awkwardness and the ever deepening insecurity, the golden haired man found it difficult to engage with others without constantly questioning himself and his traits.

She asked who should go forth, in which the golden haired man stepped forward, still glancing occasionally in the direction of where the guy went. Tugging her along and only responding to her question with a "Yea..." Not wanting to say the fact that it wasn't specifically over her, but instead, lost in the memory of the cult that Kijin and he had investigated here in Stokbon.

After coming upon a meats and breads stand, Zelrius examined the desk, before looking to Ilya and hearing her murmur something. He leaned in, catching the end of it and what it was she was specifically looking for, his expression softening and whispering back. "Probably need a more professional baker for that. Pick some stuff out here, and then we will head down the street to look for one, deal?"

 

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The red blush had crept up on Ilya's cheeks as Zelrius gave a simple 'yea'. "I-I was teasing! I was not serious!" Despite how she admitted she was joking, the flustered tone in her voice would make anyone else think otherwise, even though it was merely because she had expected him to say no, and had been taken by surprise. It was not long before he took the lead and dragged Ilya behind him. I swear I have seen this somewhere before.... The thoughts in Ilya's mind brought her to a number of different scenarios, yet she could not place her thumb on where she had seen someone leading her in such a way that Zelrius was.

Shaking off the mixed feelings she had about the situation at hand, Ilya focused on the task at hand. The meat and bread stand he brought her to, caused her mouth to water. Not having realized Zelrius had heard her murmur to herself, the blush crept back onto her face. The slight pull of realizing he had heard her made for an embarrassing moment, I meant for it to be kept to myself... Ilya's thoughts were interrupted by a loud grumble, the source being her own stomach. The small fluster, increased in size, drastically. Her whole cheeks turning a toasty pink color at her own embarrassment. "I-I g-guess I w-was hungry..." Ilya only barely managed to have her words tumble out of her mouth, despite her own embarrassment.

 

"Your inflection says different," He teased, looking to the woman before giving her hand another squeeze just to gauge reaction with the Felis. He had taken quite note of her reaction last time, and as a sort of way of both thanking her for her time and just overall making it enjoyable, he'd oblige to things like that, atleast for now. He had no clue what she had going on in her life, but he had hoped that maybe he wasn't cutting into important things in her real life by running around the town like this.

With the thought of the prejudice man out of his mind, Zelrius ordered quite a bit of the meats and the breads, the Vendor shaking his head and murmuring something about 'You damned Adventurer types'. It was a phrase that the golden haired man heard all too often, especially here in Falderen. To an extent, he understood; this man had planned to share as much of the stock around as he could, while still making a profit for the winter. And then come us 'Adventurers' as the locals referred to the Players, and buy huge portions, and stock them in their inventory for weeks or even months some times. To them it must all seem strange why someone would buy so much if it was just going to go bad in a few days. What they didn't know, is that Inventories were a thing for the Players, and they basically extended the shelf life of things by two fold.

Once all of it was stocked in his inventory, no extra prep work done to it, the swordsman was satisfied with his purchase, paying no extra mind to the fact that meat was uncooked; not that it mattered, since he had no way of doing that himself, having rather eat it raw then pay someone to cook it up for him. With that, his attention was now back to his crimson haired companion, lifting their locked hands and doing a little twirl movement to see if she'd follow through just for fun. "Come on now, lets head up the way and get you whatever that shit you were talking about before was." He was being weirdly, even though he didn't notice it, assertive and leading. Just like that once more, he was off, tugging her by the hand through the open streets stock full of NPCs and Players alike running up and down them with their own business in mind.

 

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As Zelrius squeezed her hand once again she squirmed, squaring up to him, "Why do you keep squeezing my hand?" She had rather enjoyed it as it let her know there was someone nearby while they walked throughout the crowded streets. Moving through the crowded streets felt just like when she would get crowded in Boston, however this time she was not the focus. Instead the various vendors were.

The meat and bread that Zelrius bought made Ilya's eyebrows arch. Right before he sealed the deal she added a raw fish to the bundle, instead of getting it handed to Zelrius, Ilya took it and put it in her own inventory, "I know someone who can cook this for us.." Scanning through her friend list, she came upon the name, sending the contact details over to Zelrius she felt as he grabbed her hand once again.

Being dragged through the streets of Stokbon, Ilya grimaced slightly, "It is not shit, it is pure heaven. Have you never had one?" With a slight shake of her head, she narrowed her eyes as she started to get left behind, one person intercepted them, running through their arms, causing Ilya to let go. The people the resumed their path, formed a void between her and Zelrius. Standing still, Ilya frowned even more, "Where the hell did he go?" She started to shove her way around people only to find herself farther from where she had been separated to begin with.

 

He smiled mischievously, now tightly squeezing it a few more times in response, just as a way to annoy her at this point. "Because it bothers you," He answered playfully, before letting go of the hand now, realizing how awkward he was being about it.

With that, they were packed up, the man questioned the fish that she had bought, and even more when she snatched it instead of letting him store it with the rest. He gave a questioning stare before she went on about someone being able to cook it for them. Cool enough, as he watched her flip through her menu and throw a detail request over to him. For a moment, he read it, and then clicked accept before adding a comment of his own. "Why don't you just message that person yourself?" He hadn't seen who it was she shared contact information with, but to be honest, he didn't care who it was specifically, as long as it wasn't Kaede.

And with their hands separated, all he heard from her comment was 'It is not shit-' and then it stopped there. He responded, unbeknownst to him, he was talking to the air, the Felis no longer directly behind him. "I didn't mean it was shit, i just meant it as stuff. Sometimes I get a bit needlessly profane, so what?" His question was rhetorical, but he still expected an answer. Though after a bit of silence, and not even so much as a soft mew in response caused the golden haired man to spin around look behind him, his eyes widening as he realized that he had lost her. Maybe she got tired of my shit? He instantly began to question himself, wondering if he had drove her off that easy.

 

A nervous flick of a tail could barely be seen through the rather large crowd, having been lost, Ilya froze. Scanning her surroundings she took note of the nearest building to her. With a few shoves and apologies she made her way towards the very building she had had her eye on. Without a second of hesitation she crouched down low to the ground. She initiated a single skill that caused her legs to propel upwards, her own body lifting towards the roof of the building. Having overshot slightly, she sleekly corrected during her fall back down. Admist the chaos no one had noticed the felis jump (not even Zelrius). Scanning the crowded area, Ilya instinctively let out a meow of frustration. Realizing what she had done, she covered her mouth with one hand as her cheeks grew red with embarrassment, I forgot that happens if I do not guard myself.. Gripping the edge of the roof she scanned the crowd for any tone of blonde, her eyes befalling on so many people that she could not know who was who. If I go back to the ground, then that means that I cannot see due to my height, which means that I cannot find Zelly...

 

Zelrius gave a large yawn, not out of boredom, but out of tiredness; he hadn't known how long he had been playing Terra today, and as such he instinctively closed and opened his palm in order to bring up the menu. And sure as shit, his sleep and energy meters were quite drains, with the other ones in thirst and hunger not being as dire, but still not looking all that healthy in their pale half-bar states. He was about ninety nine percent sure that Ilya had completely ditched him, probably weirded out by the man more than anything. Such is life, He told himself, but the golden haired man couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness wash over him as he had thought that he had done well today, atleast, with her. Apparently not, feeling as though he had driven her off.

He sighed, deciding to double check one last time by heading to the nearest Bakery; Orvarion's Breads and Pastries. Within a few minutes of milling between the crowds and very slowly going with their flow of traffic, his nose was filled and irritated by the aroma of the building and the goods it offered. Quickly, Zelrius opened his menu and shot a message to Ilya, telling her where he was at and if she was still interested in that Lemon-whatever, that she should come down and get it before it goes bad. If that doesn't draw her out, he would give up here.

 

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The crowd that bustled below was quiet in comparison to the ding that signified that Ilya had received a message. Without much thought, Ilya opened her palm menu and tapped away till the message popped up on her screen. Tapping away for her reply was quite easy as her fingers flew across the menu. If an NPC were to see her, they would think she were crazy, after all, which adventurers were not crazy to them? The NPCs do not have menus like the adventurers, and nor do they have an inventory. With a small grin, Ilya finished up the tapping before selecting the send button.

Ilya

"Glad to know you did not abandon me! You lost me amidst all the people. Told you it would happen. Guess that means that I am right and you are wrong. And sure, I can see the place from the rooftop I jumped to in order to find you amidst the crowd. I should manage to get over there in about a minute or two."

The way the buildings were set up, the path that led her to the cute and adorable bakery was fastest if she were to run along the rooftops. Standing to her feet, out of the crouching position that the felis has partaken in prior to the receiving of the location, the red haired and red eyed beauty ran and leaped from rooftop to rooftop. It took not a long time before Ilya was on the rooftop to the bakery, not seeing an easy path down, Ilya waited till there was enough space to jump down. Once the people had cleared, Ilya jumped off the building, landing on her toes, in a crouching position. All of the jumping and running had looked quite elegant and graceful, leaving Ilya not even out of breath. Grinning, she turned abruptly around, now facing the bakery. She swung her arms as she opened the door and walked inside.

 

The message actually kind of brought a smile to the man's face, as it had proven that his thoughts were wrong. He didn't even care about the content, more than happy to be 'wrong' about what she was referring to then for what he had assumed had happened. See, Zelrius, being the person he was, instantly thought to the worse; that Ilya wasn't one to be the one ditched, so she waited until they seemed to get along, so that she could be the one to abandon him. What kind of fucking mind game is that? As much as it seemed unreasonable, these were the methods in which his mind worked; always assuming the absolute worst in scenarios like that. Which was dumb, in his mind, to even care, they were hardly friends now, let alone well enough off to be worried about being left by the other so soon. Or well, there was the implication that they both felt that way, but the Golden haired man was pretty sure that it was one-sided for him. Why would she care?

The cartoonish way that the Felis opened the door and opened caused the smile on the golden haired man's face to widen, before quickly disappearing, realizing he probably looked like an idiot, standing there and grinning from ear to ear. He turned around to the baker, slapping a handful of gold down and then pointing to the fire head. "Whatever she wants, get for her. A Kitty deserves a treat after fighting crabs." He said the final part looking at her, a teasing and poking undertone lacing his voice, now making it her move, and waiting for her reaction, and to see if she'd poke back.

 

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Upon having made her comical entrance, the grin on her own face widened as her eyes befall upon Zelrius' expression. He seemed all too enjoyed to watch her entrance, wanting to add to his amusement she now spoke in a wide booming voice, gathering all the attention of the people inside the bakery, "No need to fear! Eya-Kitty is here!" She struck a pose. It took not long before Ilya could no longer hold back her laughter, letting it all out as she staggered towards Zelrius. Latching one hand on his arm and the other on her stomach as her legs threatened to make her fall from her laughter.

Hearing him say that a kitty deserved a treat, she straightened slightly. No longer was her hand on his arm nor on her stomach, instead they were in front of her body. She did a rather adorable motion, taking advantage of her kitty ears, and her knowledge of the fact that Zelrius was fond of cats. She moved her body to the left first, her hands moving through the air, her ears flicking left and right. Her tail swirling through the air. As she moved she spoke. "Nya~" She then moved to the left, yawning as she moved. As she yawned, her ears shifted downwards. She returned to the center position, before shooting forward at Zelrius. She opened her hands, reaching out, before closing them right before contacting his chest. She pulled his face down to her level till she was mere centimeters from his face. Now, unmoving.

A second after she had reached near his face, her mouth opened to speak. "Nya~" She let her tail flick, before tilting her head slightly, rubbing the left side near her ear against his cheek.

About two seconds passed before Ilya stopped and turned towards the counter, "I will take two lemon pastries! They are my favorite!" It was not like Ilya could help joking around with Zelrius, it was natural. He was so easy to tease and joke with.

Ilya bent backwards, so her face was upside down but parallel to Zelrius'. "Thank you Zelly~~~" Ilya grinned before standing back up, despite the height it caused her to regain she was still quite shorter than Zelrius. Reaching forward as the baker brought out her pastries, she sighed in contempt at the smell they let off. Drifting her memories back to the time she had spent with Rayvil. I wonder how he is doing.. I should probably text him sometime soon...

 

Things just seemed to get more and more amusing by the moment, her joking around and exaggerated movements, make the man snort as he tried to keep a laugh down, trying not to laugh too soon into it, almost being sure that there was more coming. Afterall, it is Ilya we're talking about, and if there is anything Zelrius has learned in their brief time together; she was always up to something. This thing just happened to be of the comedic sort, one that the golden haired man was more than happy to indulge in.

So for a moment he just watched, still trying to stifle laughs and giggles, until it seemed that the joke was now being played on him. In his amused and joyed state, the man simply didnt have the will to resist as she pulled him close, though he attempted to shrink away instinctively. She made the same noise that she had earlier, and then moved her head in a strange way. My turn, He told himself, a grin spreading across his face once more to gently flick the ear, just as he had done when they first met, remembering her initial reaction.

When she stood back up, the man couldn't help but pet between the kitty ears once, before going and collecting the change from the baker. And just like that, he ushered Ilya out of the Bakery, pastries in hand and gawking stares erupting from baker and customers alike. Once they were outside, he let out a long awaited laugh, in between breaths only saying "Never again." Though he tried his best to make it clear he was joking; of course he wanted more stuff like that, that was absolutely hilarious, albeit, a bit embarrassing.

 

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With the small flick on her ears, Ilya felt her tail perk up lightly, growling at her own self for her weakness. As she had been turned around towards the baker, she had felt a hand petting her in between her ears. Feeling chills run down her spine, her ears flicked, and her tail curled lightly in content. What the actual fuck.... Curse this... Knowing full well how embarrassed she would be if she actually purred, she opened her mouth to speak, "Purr" Instead of actually purring and she had witness Choji doing on multiple occasions, she spoke the syllables of the word, purr. Now focusing her attention of the baker now that Zelrius had already started to leave, Ilya opened her mouth to speak normally again, "Do you per chance have any ribbons, bows or yarn?" As the baker thought for a moment he reached down behind his counter. He continued to rummage until he brought forth a small ball of yarn. He tossed it at her and winked, "For the adorable performance"

With a grateful grin she said her thank yous and made her way to exit the building, ball of yarn in hand. Once getting outside she bursted out laughing alongside Zelrius, gasping for breath she spoke out. "I doubt that will be the last time.." It took a few minutes for her to regain her breathing before she was able to focus on the ball of yarn. Gripping it in her hand she started to play around with it.

 

Zelrius wiped away a tear that had been conjured in his blue eyes from the constant laughing of the last few minutes. This was a whole new level of fun, one that the golden haired man honestly didn't anticipate when playing this game. Terrasphere was unique in that kind of way; with how realistic it was in both interaction and atmosphere, that it allowed all kinds of entertainment to be retained from it. One could do pretty much anything, including goofing around in a town square with someone you hardly know. And why would someone do that you might ask? Because it's a game, and who cares how you spend your time in it.

And Zelrius was more than pleased to spend an afternoon or two doing this kind of stuff right here, though it dawned on him that this was kind of a waste of time. Neither of them were grinding Mastery Points, and while he had no problem hanging out with Ilya, today was getting increasingly more expensive as it went on. "Good, then maybe next time we hang out we can certainly try something like that again," His voice was a bit wispy, still clearly out of breath from the hardy laugh that they exchanged.

He eyed the woman curiously, his eyes narrowing as they walked along the street. "Whatcha got there?" Though he already know as he reached for it, seeing if the kitty would give him the yarn to mess with himself.