161 A Night to Remember (2/2)
She tipped her head back, downing the shot glass's contents,
”Can't say I didn't warn ya. Yo bartender, my friend's picking up the tab.”
The alien bartender nodded his head. She stood up, getting ready to leave. I reached out a hand as she turned around, ”Wait a second, I forgot why I came here. Caprika's hosting us a feast. You're invited.”
Kessiah glanced back at me, ”Thanks for the tip tough guy. I'll be there.”
She walked out. I stayed there, wondering how she was holding up. I didn't have time to worry about anyone else while we were fighting Yawm. Now I did. As much of an ass as Kessiah was, she was a friend. She spiraled downwards after the fight with Dahkma. She never really invested in the battle with Yawm ever.
I didn't blame her. A part of me did at the time, but after it was over, I let bygones be bygones. I mean, no one should be forced into that kind of situation. Just because I forgave her didn't mean Kessiah forgave herself though. She might be carrying a ton of guilt for it.
I wanted her to get back on her two feet. I resolved myself to let her know that it wasn't a big deal. She helped us out on more than one occasion regardless, like training a few of the soldiers and giving us vital information. That train of thought got me thinking about her warning.
I never imagined someone would use my reputation against me. At least not like this. When I compared it to facing off against Yawm, my public image didn't seem like a necessary concern. After all, it lacked the same bloodthirsty, world-destroying edge that Yawm had. That's an edge that's hard to overcome in my book.
Still, I respected Kessiah enough to give her words some merit. As lazy as she could be, she had a way of worming useful information out of people. Before I left, I ordered the bar's most popular drink to try it. While waiting for the order, I checked out my statuses.
Over the last two weeks of doing odd jobs, I gained forty red cores. I invested all the free skill points into Force of Nature. By now, my current tree, Legendary, needed less than fifty points before gaining another tier in it. Completing the tree kind of terrified me, but life rewarded the brave and the bold. Most of the time.
A drink slid out in front of me, interrupting my thoughts. I raised the glass to the bartender, and he gave me a nod as I said, ”Cheers.”
My face mask moved out of the way as I gave my drink a swig. It closed in as quickly as I downed the mixture. It tasted just like a sharpy marker and the smell of a pencil box. A wave of nostalgia hit me for a second as I stood up. A bit of fire burned in my belly for the tiniest fraction of a second.
No sense of euphoria passed over me. My body burned the alcohol like a furnace. I snickered at myself. Alcohol was poison, and my health regeneration was a bit too stout to let it affect me. Being huge didn't exactly help with my case either. If I wanted to cut loose, I'd need to find another vice I supposed.
As I stepped out of the bar, the sun had set. Various plantlife lit the townscape, espens walking around. Fog followed them, keeping their amphibious skin hydrated. Icosah never slept, a crowd of people flooding its streets at all times. It made me pumped to see the capital considering this was such a small town.
With that in mind, I set out towards Caprika's feast. Once I reached the Empire's castle of a branch, two guards opened the doors for me. Light poured out, phosphorescent creatures floating overhead. A pulsing, percussive melody played in the background, injecting a sense of energy inside.
Anticipation rode up my limbs as I walked up the stairs and inside. The tiny, floating creatures moved out of my way, my height causing me to get in their way. I walked past the entrance, the receptionist of the empire walking up to me.
She smiled, gesturing me to follow her. I did, passing more of the floating creatures. We walked over towards the throne room. I pointed at it, ”Wasn't this place destroyed?”
She nodded, ”It's been renovated, sir.”
I squirmed at her calling me sir. I frowned, ”Damn, that was fast.”
The receptionist gave me a bow, ”I'll relay the compliment to the duchess. Enjoy your feast.”
She walked off, leaving me in front of another set of wooden doors. From inside the room, the muffled music ebbed outward. It reminded me of club music, though heavier in tone. I pushed open the doorway, revealing a place packed with people to the brim.
They danced with lights beaming down from other shining creatures above. An alien DJ played music while everybody else danced their asses off. Servants walked around, giving everyone free drinks and food. Chilled fruits, meats, powders, and drinks lined tables at the edges of the room.
Aliens sat beside these tables, eating and talking. Some people ate the random powders at the table, going off and dancing up a frenzy afterward. The sheer vitality in the room was contagious, though my willpower gave me immunity to the peer pressure.
A few of those peers glanced at me as I walked in. They raised their hands, cheering at me. Their cheer caused others to look. Given my height, pretty much everyone could see me. The small set of shouts turned into a roar of applause.
Indulging myself a little, I put a hand on my chest and bowed a little while saying, ”You're all too kind, just too kind.”
I laughed at myself, thinking it was strange facing so much celebration over something so little. Either way, I paced into the crowd before someone bumped into me. The nearly knocked me over, the strength of a steamroller behind them. I glanced down, finding Althea laughing. She smiled like there was no tomorrow. In her thick veil and accentuating her curves, she stunned me with how gorgeous she was.
She hugged me, squeezing the life from my chest. I patted her back, ”Hey, use a little less strength there. Are you trying to kill me?”
She giggled, ”Nope, but I'll take you to heaven later tonight.”
I liked the sound of that. She pulled me to the dance floor, Althea going crazy. I stood there like a fish flopping out of the water. I looked around, awkward as fuck. Althea slapped my back, ”What are you doing? Could you relax a little for once?”
I frowned, ”I'm relaxed all the time.”
She scoffed, ”Then why aren't you dancing?”
I shrugged, ”I have no idea how.”
She giggled again, ”What? Just...I don't know, pretend you're in one of you're...training sessions or something.”
She stumbled sideways, but I held her up. She downed her drink. She dropped the glass, but I caught it with some magic. I sent it off to a nearby servant, saving some people from a foot full of glass. I grabbed Althea's shoulders,
”Not everyone here has skin of stone. Dropping a glass like that's dangerous as hell.”
She rolled her eyes again, ”You know what? You looked so cool at the tournament. You always do. I knew you'd...handle it. You always handle everything.”
She put a hand on my chest, ”You don't have to handle everything always. You know that right?”
I nodded, ”Of course I do.”
She spread out her hands, ”Then just let go for one night and enjoy yourself. You don't always have to compete with a flagpole to see who's more stiffer.”
”You mean more stiff?”
She shook her head, wagging a finger at me, ”Nope. More stiffer.”
I rolled my eyes, smiling despite myself. I tried out a goofy jig, getting a laugh out of Althea. I slapped my thighs, ”There, happy?”
She lifted herself to her tippy toes, hugging me, ”Yes.”
She grabbed my hands, lifting them up and down while twisting her hips. For some reason, every girl could dance like a champ. As a guy, it took severe training to get good on a dancefloor.
Without the skills to pull off anything even remotely impressive, I played up how awful I was at busting a move for laughs. Hell, you could probably tell how bad I was at dancing by how I called it busting a move.
Despite my mediocrity, Althea and I had a blast. Caprika ended up walking up to us, dressed in a gown that worked with her fur. The albony shouted up at me over the music,
”Having fun?”
I nodded, ”Yeah.” I looked down at Althea, ”I have good company.”
Caprika nodded, ”Remember all of this. This is how the empire throws feasts.”
I gave her the thumbs up before dancing again with Althea. After a while, we moved like no one was watching. It amazed me how private a party could feel at times. The dark lights, loud music, and pulsing lights hid you from the attention of other people. That's why Althea and I danced like we were in our own little world.
After a few hours of eating food and being goofballs, Althea and I left the feast. It wasn't my scene, not even the slightest bit. Althea thrived there though, and she let me loosen up while we were there. It was a lot of fun because of her.
As we left, she kept stumbling around. From what I saw, she was playing up how drunk she felt to keep the good energy flowing. I appreciated the effort, steadying her without complaint. We got back to an inn in the middle of town. I didn't want to camp outside for a night. Besides, we could appreciate the privacy.
Once there Althea flopped on the bed, spreading out her arms and legs,
”Ahhh, this bed feels so soft.”
Her figure showed while she spread out. Her toned legs and arms, curvy hips, and voluptuous chest pressed on her clothes. Her hair went down to her waist, the purple hair smelling like lavender. She hugged a pillow, giving me a sly look out of the corner of her eye.
Fire flared in my chest as she moved her hips back and forth. With her voice dripping with seduction, she whispered,
”You want to be a little wild tonight?”