39 Shannon (1/2)
Jae Farley was sweating buckets.
Two days had passed since his training ended, the arachnid group's attack, and...dynamic proposal. Currently, the boy had changed back into his original form and was seated within the Apacala's Cafe.
However, the person in front of him was not Noah Campbell, who he proposed to, but someone else.
”Uh, gosh, this is awkward, but could you tell me how can I make it up to you?”
White gothic clothing paired with a waxy complexion. As if she were a doll, her eyes were lifeless, yet wide. A little girl around the same age as Jae sat before him. She was Shannon from the Onyx Crew.
Nod.
”That doesn't answer the question. Could you use actual words?”
Nod.
”I really didn't mean to do it.”
Shannon continued to nod without opening her lips.
”Are you mute?”
She shook her head for the first time.
Jae sighed as he recollected on the events that had occurred the past few days.
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”Baby, I love you. Won't you marry me?”
Jae was drunk on impure mana.
In front of the boy-turned-arachnid, the recipient of such a proposal looked at the silver arachnid in clear befuddlement.
”Little girl? I apologize but will have to reject your confession. I'm not into arachnids,” Noah Campbell, the leader of the Onyx Crew, replied.
”Oh, I'm no arachnid. I'm a bonafide human boy,” Jae hiccuped.
”Gyahaha, he got confessed to by a little girl,” Arban, the hippo batman, roared while hitting Noah's back.
”Certainly it isn't every day that our plain looking leader gets an admirer,” Rhuhe scrutinized Jae with his index finger and thumb on his chin, ”She's cute, so why not?”
”You already know why. Aliyah would kill me,” Noah glanced at Abbygail, then Jae, ”Sorry, I can't be a one night stand. For your kind, you could easily find someone else to increase your lifespan.”
”Nah, it's love. Not one night. How about we try a date? I'll capture your heart, literally.”
”She's not relenting, so why not? Just for a day,” Abbygail smirked.
Noah frowned, ”No.”
Before Jae could say another word, several shadows emerged from behind her and wisped him away.
”I knew we should have taken him away five minutes ago! Now, he'll be embarrassed for life!”
”Scarlett, make sure not to rub it in later.”
”I will!”
”That's one ambiguous answer, rip Jae.”
As Lothian recognized those children were the ones under the Onyx Crew, he decided to let his friends deal with the children. On the other hand, the Onyx Crew themselves were befuddled by the children's strange actions. While Noah knew where those children lived and could easily seize them, he did not. Or, at least, he did not go himself.
Once the ”kidnappers” were out of the alleyway and into a different secluded area, Melody stuffed a lock of her hair into Jae's mouth.
The taste of cotton candy and mint burst into Jae's mouth as iridescent wings sprout from his back. His female spidery body disappeared as a normal human body replaced it. Golden irises emerged instead of his silver ones.
But what he once again cared about more was…
”Could someone give me my clothes?” Jae blushed for both being naked and remembering about the incidents that had transpired.
”At this point, we've seen everything. There's no point in hiding, you know,” Melody rolled her eyes as Wendy passed a set of clothing to Jae.
Jae opened his mouth to retort, but he had no words to counter with.
”Is Nora okay?” Jae asked instead. He noticed that everyone except Iris was here.
”I think I'll be fine,” Nora spoke in Natalie's arms, ”Just need to recover my mana and grow back into my original size. Though, I hope Clover is fine.”
”What brought the spontaneous playboy act?” Melody inquired.
”I think I absorb mana whenever I heal from my wounds and too much assimilated into my body,” Jae placed a finger on his chin, ”I heard that Ath's races have low mana capacities, so the normal rate I take in was far more than an arachnid could take.”
”How do you know all that?” Bridget questioned while Jae shrugged in response.
”For now, let us head home. I have a feeling that the Onyx Crew will question us soon,” Jade advised, ”We could either leave this town or stay depending on how they respond.”
”Alright,” Jae nodded.
After returning home, Jae noticed that a new slip of paper was on the dining table, which was left by Iris. However, he ignored it and charged straight to his bed.
For four months, the boy did not receive any decent sleep and nothing was going to stop him from the sweet embrace of sleep.
While shifting into a snug position, he gradually drifted away.
Then, he opened his eyes wide open.
”Who the f*ck are you?”
Right next to his bed was a doll-like girl in white clothing staring down upon him. If he were in a horror movie, then this would be the scene where the girl would slice him apart.