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Faith in the Spirits Arc 1: To Align the Stars


Mercenary on the Winds
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"Oh? You think you're from Glacies? That's cute~ Enjoy your shopping now, Renais." Mikoto waved gently at her and giggled, happy to indulge the pink cleric enough to stoke the fires of her curiosity.


"Can't tell you unless you are, so no games. If you're serious about this, and you're actually going through Islexia, bring me to your company leader and I'll tell them the details. If not, don't jerk me around. This job's hard enough as it is without getting pranked by people trying to make a quick buck." Mari sighed. She'd already been tugged around by a few people that had tried to convince her they were travelling through Islexia with a bunch of Clouded, then they'd simply had one companion or tried to convince some to go with them. "So, which is it? Are you going through Islexia, or not? I got all day, but I have better things to do if you're lying."

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"S-Sure, let's go..." She was... bubbly. In an endearing sort of way. If Syta had been the one deciding, they'd probably have long been running off somewhere already; but here she still was, hesitating in the face of... well, Syta's face. "Y-Yeah. Let's do that... the arena first, I mean. Um, you lead..." 

It was a little embarrassing; there was the abstract feeling that she was getting along better with Syta perhaps slightly more than any of the rest of the Tigers to date - though, it was still up in the air whether this friendliness was just for her, or for everyone, or actually even if Laniva felt like reciprocating it anytime soon instead of awkwardly mumbling as she was.

"We can do the shopping and get something to eat afterwards, um... is there a place in town here that you like?"

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"A-Ahh..." Miria nodded, and admittedly, it made her feel bad. She hadn’t intended to sound like she was playing games. "I'm sorry Mari, I wasn't trying to play you or anything, promise. I had to look out, y'know? Unfortunately, we dispersed earlier today, so I don’t know where she is. But, if you need to see her, we're at the Dusty Frontier for the night, if you don't mind waiting. Large tiger lady, looks like she'd break you in half, that's our boss."

Hopefully, I'm not being overly welcoming, and she ends up being a threat. She doesn't seem that way. Intuition please don’t fail me!

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Gean was a bit relieved to have gotten past the Cyro situation, considering everything that just happened, she wasn't keen on just inviting anyone into the mix. Gonna need to find Vira later. Gean stuffed that mental  away and returned to the situation, where Mikoto and Renais were having a... well that was a bit of news. Gean was also a bit startled by the merchant's claim of Renais being from Lufiria originally, but then again she also managed to deduce where Cyro was from as well, with each encounter this fox grew more and more mysterious. Gean wasn't too big a fan of the teasing, and decided to join in once again. "You seem to have a talent here with knowing where people are from, considering that comment. Would you be willing to elaborate? Maybe for some gold?" Gean knew just from Mikoto's smile that things wouldn't come for free, but the chance of finding a lead or some info for Renais sounded like a good reason to part with some cash, or life, if Gean remembered their previous conversation.

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"Yeah! There's a nice place that's juuuuust before the highfalutin part of the city called Cerezia's View. They've got almost everything... Low on fish right now because of... Well, I don't know, actually, heheh. I forgot to ask! But they did have a big sign for lobster, so we can go there and you can still get some seafo-- It was super rude of me to assume you wanted seafood cuz you're a cat Clouded, huh? Well! They do steaks and chicken and salads and sandwiches too, so, they can handle whatever you're craving!" Syta had been in the city for a day prior to this and her boundless energy had send her across the entire place, looking into all sorts of establishments for their offerings. If it was open to the public in Cerezia, Syta likely knew which way to point.

With a swiftness in her step, Syta led Laniva off towards the arena, holding her hands out as they got close. "There you go! Cerezia's arena. I haven't thought to challenge it, since they've got a real strict policy about not switching your weapons once you start, but I'm uh... Well, I'm the kinda fighter that relies on swapping arms, so! I don't think I'd be a good match for it... If you're too worried to do it alone, though, I'll stick my neck out with you! It can't be that bad. Probably."


"Dusty Frontier, large tiger lady... Well, alright. Sorry if I seemed upset. Just tired-- mentally. This assignment was a stupid one in the first place... Thanks, kid. I'll go see your boss, then, or wait there until I can catch her." Big tiger that could kill you was a pretty good descriptor for Cerezia. Most of the Clouded here kept to themselves, especially with the knights in motion. That would make this easy. "Ciao. Don't push that armor of yours too far." Mari waved and walked off, giving a curious glance towards the purple cat clouded and the blondie that had just showed up.


Mikoto giggled once again, shaking her head. "It's no trick, Aegean~ I simply... Would never mistake the magical signature of a Lufirian. That man had it, and so do you, Renais... So unless you were simply born in Glacies, you've either got some memories missing, or your parents never told you~ Sorry to be the bearer of such news..." She stuck her tongue out for just a moment and continued giggling, her tails swishing gently behind her.

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Renais' stare at the fox only intensified, and of course this time it wasn't out of a perverted fantasy. The confidence she held earlier seemed to slowly wane as Mikoto brought up missing memories, which she did indeed have. The part of her that believed she was born in Glacies was now overpowered by her fear that it wasn't true. She had to know, no matter what. "...M-Mikoto!" She quickly stepped up to the fox. "How much of Lufirian history do you know? Have you ever heard of any specific ships being set on fire during an attack? Do you know someone, anyone, who looks like me or has my hair color?" The cleric wanted to keep control over her own emotions, but she was honestly inches away from grabbing the fox by her kimono.

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Oh Tio is not gonna like this. The rabbit hole was definitely growing deeper now. While it still wasn't enough to be positive here, Mikoto gave enough info to make her claim credible. So she can tell where someone is from just by reading their magic, and the Evokers couldn't? Huh. 

Renais was taking this as well as one might expect, and was now jumping at the bit, probably just in the way Mikoto wanted too. Bringing her arms over Renais shoulders Gean spoke as softly as she could. "Deep breaths. Let's compose ourselves before we jump off the deep end, ok?" Gean almost forgot that the owner of this store had just asked them a question. "Good sir do you happen to have any ear plugs or something of the sort? My friend here has had some hard time sleeping and could use the comfort."

Having made progress towards the whole reason they came to this store, Gean now met Mikoto's eyes directly, while still keeping hold of Renais. "Would you be willing to answer her questions please? Any bit of info would help." 

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"Oh, dear... But I know so much~ I've been around for so long, been all over the place... A boat on fire... So many boats have been sunk over the past few centuries, Renais. You can't expect me to keep track of them all, can you~?" Mikoto giggled louder having far too much fun with the obvious distress on the girl's face.

"Mmm... Hair like yours... Rather uncommon... Wweeeelllll..." She smirked, hand half covering her mouth. "If I did know, how much is it worth to you? I've no reason to simply tell you... Though I, definitely do remember a traveling family... Putting on performances outside of Lufiria~ Red hair, pink hair, the lot of them... Surely, they aren't related, hmm?"

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"Oh no no, it's only me fighting, I'm afraid~" The silver and pink haired woman chuckled, looking over at the man and shaking her head. "I'm afraid his talents do not lay in fighting, so he will simply watch, isn't that right Kay?" She smiled at him, a teasing air around her as she casually handed the entry gold over to Luia. "As for foolish, I'm afraid he would agree with you, but I have to train somehow and he's no use for that. So I make do with what I can find. If that means I end up on my back, so be it. The tides of the world are shifting around us, surely you've noticed. We must all be doing our best-"

"That's enough, Tana. Surely there are more important things for the proprietor of a place like this to be doing than listening to your ramblings. Go fight if you must, but don't come complaining to me if this comes back to bite you, yes?" The gold haired man, Kay, shifted irritably, shooting a look over at the others who were in ear shot. His eyes narrowed slightly, looking at Miria and Mari for a second longer than maybe polite, before turning back to Tana. "I almost hope you get your ass kicked. That would be fun to watch." His irritated facade broke for just a second, a hint of teasing sneaking through, before his expression soured again, looking up at the sky. "Don't take too long either way. We have more to do before night falls."


"Ah, that makes sense. Adjusting is probably easier than making something completely new, huh?" Cin knew at least a little bit about sewing from his time spent with his mother, but making clothes entirely was relatively foreign territory. "Maybe you can teach me some at some point? It's not quite the same, but I don't exactly have it easy clothes shopping either. It's part of why I just go with the vest, if I'm being honest. It's easier to find something that fits when I don't need to worry about it fully covering... Plus my magic and just general running warm means I don't want the full coverage even if I find something that fits." He shook his head, laughing a little at his own predicament. He'd been about to say more when he spotted someone over Siorel's shoulder. "Aha, looks like our food is arriving. Good, I was starting to get pretty hungry."

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The expression Renais made was quite conflicted. She was annoyed at the fox woman's teasing, she knew a lot more than she let on it was so obvious. The pinkette's brow twitched when she brought up all the shipwrecks she's heard about, and when moved on to a performing family with pink and red hair it confirmed she knew, the other sister in her memories had pink AND red hair. "So you DO know who I am, don't you?! You..." Her glare intensified. "Stop playing games! Who am I?! Who is this performing family?!"

Edited by TheRoon
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"Yeah, you've gotta cover those tits, after all." Siorel stuck her tongue out, happy for the food to arrive after her comment. She gently picked up her fork and started cutting into the omelette with a big smile on her face. "You can sit with me and try to learn as much as you'd like, though I'm not a very good teacher... But it'd be nice to have company while I sew, so, to your heart’s content."


"Kiihhhhahahahaha~" Mikoto cackled with delight as Renais got even more angry, her wicked smile hiding behind the hand she'd brought in front of her face. "What will you pay? What will you pay~? How much is it worth to you, Renais? Learning about this Rhapsodia family..." She couldn't help her delight, eyes glancing at Aegean for a moment.

"Kiss me," she said, plainly, grin wide. "That's my fee for this information~ And nothing childish. Right here," she finished, with a finger against her lips.

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Gean was now fully holding, Renais with both arms, Mikoto have completely broken the damn. "Woah woah, that's enough of this." Gean lifted Renais up and proceeded to walk towards the door, but not before looking the fox dead in the eye. "Provoking your customers doesn't sound like the best marketing strategy. I'll be back for you." With that said Gean was right out the door.

Standing a few feet away from the shop, Gean placed Renais in front of her and held her there. "Alright you need a couple of deep breaths first and foremost. After that I'm going to give you one good chance to convince me that you're in an emotional state to go back in there otherwise I'm making you wait here while I go get the answer myself. I'll pay whatever gold, discount, kiss she asks of me, but I'm not gonna sit by and watch her toy with you like that. Not to someone who means a lot to me got it? Now, what's it gonna be?" Gean stared straight into Renais eyes.

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Saiga couldn’t help but glance back at the whole matter unfolding between Renais and the fox lady. He had half a mind to turn around and give her a hand, but there was the matter of business first - even if most of his business wasn’t able to be done here. “Oh, he’s not particularly picky with treats. Just figured I’d get him something a little extra, since we’re doing a lot more travelling than I’d intended lately.”

It wasn’t wrong, per se, but he didn’t need to start talking about potentially sensitive matters. “As for the rest… the Knight outpost, you said? Where might that be? Sorry for the silly question, by the by; I’m just not from around here by any means, so I’m not sure where anything in this city is.” Maybe he’d be able to swing over and give Renais a hand after all… at least, if she needed it.


Nyx rolled her eyes; of course, the Knights around here were still inept. Man, if she ever ran into whoever was calling the shots with the regular Knights in town, she’d like to give them a piece of her mind. Sure, she wasn’t exactly fond of the Knights to begin with, but it didn’t mean she was exactly keen on letting them be incompetent jackasses who would rather count gold than fix things.

”Aight, thank ye, Neto. Sorry, prob’ly shouldn’t’ve tried t’get ye t’ talk bout tha’ lad. M’gonna be honest, m’just tryin’ t’remember what th’fuck is wrong wit me head.” Nyx really didn’t need all this fog in her brain when she was already out of sorts where it concerned anyone else in the Tigers. “Now, m’gonna see if I can remember where th’Displaced Front is at. Good seein’ ye again, Neto.”

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"Rhapsodia..." She clenched her fists together. "You really are an absolute b-!!!" Gean cut her tirade off with a swift scoop, much to the pinkette's chagrin. "Gean let me go! I have to know, let me go let me go!" Unfortunately (or fortunately?) the girl's strength wasn't enough to break free and she found herself outside. When Gean made her case, it made Renais realize the fox wound her up around her finger. "Gean I...ngh..." She shook her head. "Dammit...I can't believe I lost my cool I...I'm sorry..." She took a deep sigh and groaned. "But...the truth is right there, in that damned hot fox...I just wanna..." She stopped herself and looked aside, the comment she made got a small blush out of her. "...mm...no I can...do this. I need to know. It's just a kiss..."

Edited by TheRoon
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Gean hesitantly let go of Renais arms, she knew this was all a part of Mikoto's little game, but opportunities like this wouldn't be easy to find. "I'm gonna trust you on this, even if I don't like this. Just, one thing before we head back." With that Gean brought Renais close again and kissed her. It was brief but fully intentional. Once the embrace was broken, with blush still clearly on her face at how impromptu this was, Gean responded. "We can talk more about this after we're done here, but I'm making my feelings clear, and I'm not gonna stand by and let some sneaky fox get in the way. Now let's go." Gean then quickly grabbed Renais hand and walked back towards the shop.

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Renais had settled down once Gean let her go. "Good...thank you Gean." She nodded at her friend. "One more thing? Gean don't worry, I won't allow myself t-" Before the pinkette knew it, the taller girl leaned in and...

"!!!"

So despite Renais being as pretty as she was, and as popular as she was in school, surrounded by friends and people that really wanted to get to know her...she's never kissed anyone! Not once! So when Gean suddenly took the initiative to steal the shorter girl's first kiss it had completely staggered the musically talented girl. Her eyes shot wide open, her body stiffened, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight. Goosebumps broke out across some of her skin too, and of course the cherry on top: A massive red shade across her cheeks. ".........." As soon as Gean broke off, the pinkette stared at her with an open mouth. "...d-did...did you just..." But before anything else could be said she was pulled back to the shop, though Renais was completely lost in thought after the kiss. She was mentally rebooting, and she had to do it fast before her second kiss.

'...this...I didn't wake up...expecting THIS today...'

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The shopkeeper blinked, though, not at Saiga, but at the sheer inanity of what was happening between the pair of girls and the fox woman. He had thought that once the Cyro fellow left that things would return to normal, but quickly the shenanigans reached a boiling point necessitating the taller seafolk girl to hoist the other girl under her arm, and drag her out of the store before she did anything crazy. The fox was messing with the pair, and it was working scarily well. He tilted his head past Saiga to look at the fox, and her devilish charm, "I'm not entirely sure what this is about, but if you could take it out of my store where there is no threat of you breaking anything if you get clocked, that would be appreciated." He sighed, and went into the back, before returning with a paltry amount of feed, and some mints. "Mints are the best I've got for you then, and like I said; don't have much feed that I can spare you. You can have it all for 20 gold." 

He rose an eyebrow at Saiga's question, "...Did you not see the building in the center of town? That's the knight outpost, damn near everyone is popping over there, knights, mercs, even some of the high bloods who are mad at everything going on. Impossible to miss. Go in there, and find Portia. She'll hopefully have the time to help you out." A lot of odd people today, and somehow, he didn't think that it was going to get any less odd.


It was clear that the empress was having trouble remembering things. It made a little sense given that she wanted to find Luthier. If she remembered, she would have known that she wanted to keep as far away from that man as possible. He shook his head, "The Front's base is on th' east edge of town, lower district. Maybe Kliver will be around, if he's not already out helping wit' th' search. Shit's real apparently, everyone wants in." 

He smiled, "It's good te see ye alive. But actually make an effort te stay that way, huh? Forget about that guy." He waved her off, and returned to his duties. 


"Alright, alright, sorry for the wait." The waitress returned with both their drinks--had Cin ordered a drink? The iced tea placed in front of Siorel, and a water placed with Cin, along with their requested meals. "I do believe that's everything. A ham omelette and iced tea, for you. And the steak + salad with the vinaigrette dressing for you. I hope the both of you enjoy the food, and your time together~ The both of you look quite lovely together, if I do say so myself." The woman quickly looked over her shoulder, and nodded. "Alright, if there's anything else either of you two need just shout." 

She bowed, and quickly returned inside. 


A well dressed elven man walked out of the building at Versaris's call, with a napkin draped over his arm. He nodded to the pair before looking at Alriana a tad confused. "...You see something new every day around here, I guess.  Welcome! I can assure you that we're quite prepared for what you might ask of us my good man. Speaking of which, what might you be after today?" 

Edited by Mercenary on the Winds
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Gean opened the door to the store again, her blush still evident but not important at the moment. "Alright, things have calmed. I'm gonna talk to the shop keep, but I'll be here if you need me." Gean gave Mikoto one more look as she walked past, this is what the fox wanted but Gean would make her own moves in that case. Walking up to the counter, Gean acknowledged Saiga for a brief moment as he talked to the avian man behind the counter, but still chimed in when she could. "A pair of ear plugs good sir."

Edited by Bluemask 96
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Well, they were back. Renais stood before the fox, who seemed to keep her good mood. "...m-mm." She slapped her own cheeks to shape up from Gean's surprise, and she looked the fox in the eye. "...I will be straight with you: I don't trust you. But...so long as this kiss STAYS just a kiss, then I will take you up on your offer." She stepped up. "BUT! No slick spells, no underhanded tricks, no hidden deals, and don't you dare take part of my life span. If I find out you did any of that bullshit I WILL get Tio and Elisa involved, and I promise you it won't be pretty." She took a moment to let that sink in, then she closed her eyes and leaned in a little. "...otherwise...ready when you are, Mikoto."

With all that out on the table, Renais' pervy side was going berserk in her mind. 'I...have no idea how we got to this point but...may as well enjoy it, right? She looks so soft, and cuddly...those tails, that figure, those...m-mm! Renais please! She'll pull something stupid off if you lose focus...e-even though she looks so good. Hm...MAYBE I'll enjoy it. Maybe...' Mikoto didn't need to be a mind reader to know Renais was still distressed, by the looks of her red cheeks and her slightly quivering lip.

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Syndra let Miria handle the conversation with Mari, and she seemed to handle it well. "Skilled at talking and fighting. Nicely done Miria. Although... I'm not sure I would've told them where we were staying not knowing more about why she wanted to meet us, but I doubt Natalya will have any problems in dealing with her if anything bad should happen." Before she left, Mari appeared to look off toward a pair of new arrivals. "Speaking of interesting characters, who are those two? They seem a bit out of the ordinary don't you think?" 

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"You do indeed. A steak for myself, medium rare, and three things for Aly; Another steak at the same cook, your chicken parmesan, and your finest lobster. She's a bit hungry today. Iced tea to go with it all, please." Hopefully he wasn't overstepping by ordering for her. If she wanted to add something else to things, she could chime in.


"Hmhmhmhm. Don't worry, sir. I'll be out of your way very soon. In the mean time, if you could put together everything in this list..." Mikoto pulled out a scroll from her kimono and placed it on the counter in front of the avian. It detailed pretty much everything one needed for travel: camping supplies, outdoor sleeping items, a list of preserved foods and portable water; everything someone would need for long trips. "And let's see... In advance. I'll be back to pick it all up later~" Mikoto placed a heavy sack on the counter, also produced from her kimono, ears twitching some. "Ten thousand should cover all that, I'm sure. I trust you'll leave any change, if there is any, but spare no expense on filling that list out~"

It was then that her bumbling duo of women returned, the blushes on their faces leaving her giggling anew. "Right, right... I won't do anything magical to you without permission, Renais." A hand slid around her waist... And then another under her legs, lifting the girl up. "Shall we be off, then?" Instead of a kiss, the whole room went pitch black for a moment, a magical curtain covering the building and blocking the eyesight of everyone present... Save for Mikoto. She idly walked Renais out of the shop and down behind the store, letting out small whistle.

"Akai! Come here please~" A rather large wolf phased into existence, clearly summoned by some sort of magic. The Kitsune, without skipping a beat and without a moment's strain, hopped up onto the wolf with Renais still in her arms. "Off we go~ I do hope you're up for quite the talk, my little Lufirian. Away from prying ears~" Another giggle and off the wolf went, dashing down the back alleys towards the center of town.

Edited by Mel the DM
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Renais tensed up, expecting the fox to go to town. She also expected a terrible spell, but she was prepared to scream for help as soon as she did. Worst case scenario she even expected some injuries, but with all that in mind the last thing she expected...was to be carried princess style. "...e-eh?" She opened her eyes and saw darkness, absolute darkness. EVERYTHING was pitch black, save for the fox woman carrying her.

"EEEEEH?!"

She looked back to the fox with a gasp. "Let me GO! I said no slick magi-oh!" And of course went face to face with the fox's impressive bust, her cheeks once again went red. 'Ok...maybe this won't be that ba-HOLY CRAP WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?' She bit her lip as punishment, and after she did a big wolf appeared which got another gasp out of the pinkette. "AH!" The regret she felt was intense, but of course there were other confused feelings mixed in. "MIKOTOOOOOOOO!!!" She shouted out as the wolf carried the two ladies off. Renais did not stop screaming.

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"Ow... Why are you screaming?" One of the fox's big bushy tails was suddenly shoved into Renais' face, hopefully quieting and calming her down some. "Goodness me, this is the least violent kidnapping I've ever been a part of and you're still so upset... We're just going to talk. You wanted to know things, yes? Well, I don't want anyone else to hear for nothing. The kiss was a joke, anyway~ I'm not so cruel as to steal a naive maidens second kiss..." She stared down at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering if she'd hit the mark, given the hefty red both women had been sporting moments ago.

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Saiga nodded as he dropped the 20 gold onto the counter, right next to the frankly comically large sack that the fox lady had plopped down as he was trying to get his business taken care of. Granted, he still had a stop to make, so he wasn’t quite done, but…

Oh. Well.

Evidently, something had happened, because one moment, there was Renais and the fox lady, and the next… there wasn’t. Definitely not the sort of thing that one would expect from a fine establishment such as this one. “Um.” He began, eruditely. “Gean? Should… I be concerned about the fact that Renais just kind of… went poof?” He finished, complete with a small flourish of his hands.

Evidently, the mints and feed would have to wait.

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Renais' screams were muffled by Mikoto's tail, and she slowly started to relax in how fluffy it is. "M-mm!?" When she brought up the "second" kiss, it did bring up yet another blush. But the pinkette's eyes narrowed at the truth. "...tch, how could I fall for that? Of course you weren't going to kiss me..." She grumbled. She stopped screaming, but she still kept her eyes on the fox. "And yes it wouldn't have been my first kiss..."

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