"No pizza? No lasagna? No running?" The guard with the skull tattooed face and oiled leather jacket asked as Alex walked, not ran, by "SPANKTUARY". The same adult worker smoked a cigarette on a floating stool and puffed butterfly shaped smoke and gave him a friendly smile and nod.
I'm turning into a real regular in this alley.
"Not today! We got a hot date instead." Alex fired off the finger guns and sauntered past.
Around the colourful reaching puddle, and past the mouse market he went. Looked like they were setting up for their Monday night market. He had his less sexy but new pants on, a nice blue t-shirt that was actually clean, and had even combed his hair with a finger raking. By gods, he even smelt good after a shpritz of some cheap aerosole cologne he found lying near his cultivation bong, Terry, by using [Burrow Sense]. Delicately, of course. Emilio was already gone after he returned from his run, and Mary hadn't sent any new messages. So he chilled, sorted his room into tidier piles, and got ready slowly throughout the afternoon.
Just me, Snu, a couple hundred Credits, and a beautiful night.
The sky was purple with smog and absolutely gorgeous as birds and bats flew overhead. It was warm without being stifling, with just enough light left for a nice city stroll before the fun part he had planned. The loose chain animated by Spite Magic barely tried to wrap around his ankle. Before he knew it, the nose picking stone gargoyles were in front of him. They grunted all gravely and didn't even try to pretend they weren't alive and two knuckles deep. Above the door read the address of his date's permanent residence.
"LEATHER SPIRES"
Might as well…he [Investigated] it to make sure he wasn't about to get stood up.
[Leather Spires - Bronze Rank Dungeon]
[Current Occupants: 0]
[Time Since Last Defeath: 6 Years, 5 months, 5 days]
"Spires, meet cute suitor," Alex told himself as he gave his hair one final pat and checked his breath. Once again, as politely as he could, Alex knocked on the door of the Dungeon entrance/
The doors opened and the gargoyles went back to being gargoyles. The same perfume he now knew followed out, and inside, happy jazz music played. No one screamed in horror inside. The stone hallway was flickering prettily, and Alex speed walked to velvet reception. The happy jazz music played from behind the closed door to Snu's hallway, and the house music on her sister's open hallway sounded almost anticipatory.
"Looky here, looky here, looooooooooky here," Vrshkeuc, the gremlin receptionist, greeted Alex. "All prettied up and ready! Aw, I can picture the headlines already," she threw her slippered feet onto the desk. "Toronto pizza boy first in the world to marry a Dungeon Boss." Then she cackled. Today, Vrshkeuc was wearing a plush pink bathrobe, a wet facemask that was too big for her face, and had her tuft wrapped in a towel bun.
"Night off or something, Vrshkeuc?" Alex grinned and strolled up to the desk. It was just before 6 o'clock, and her jabs couldn't touch him at all.
"Nah, it's a Monday. Monday's always quiet," Vrshkeuc took a sip out of a teacup in the shape of a skull. At least Alex thought it wasn't a real skull, but you could never know. "Giat'll work double time if need be. Sisterly sharing, and all that." She waved her red nailed hand towards Snu's sister's side. Alex's eyebrows rose and his cheek's reddened.
"Relax, lover boy," Vrshkeuc continued and smiled at him over the skull. "Though they did have a bit of a tiff over her leaving for the night…,"
"Uhh…can you tell Snu I'm here? Much as I like chatting with you." Alex said and gave her his best cheeky smile.
"Hmm," Vrshkeuc tapped her finger against her lip. "I suppose. But…," Her beady, black eyes met Alex's. "If I were a 'suitor,', and yes, I did hear that, I'd maybe have brought her chocolates. Or flowers. It's not like she's the most important person in the world to me or anything. I just want to make sure she's treated right. You are gonna treat her right, aren't you, pizza boy?" Vrshkeuc didn't sound so friendly now, and Alex's face whitened.
Shit. That is a good idea. Shit! I should have gotten some flowers! Even cheap ones.
She laughed again to cut out the tension and pulled something from under her desk. It was a little bouquet of flowers that looked…vicious. Then she pressed something on her phone on the desk and spoke sweetly into it.
"Mistress Snu, your date is here." She took off her finger and smiled up at him. The flowers were technically green stemmed, yes, but everything else about them was mutated. The red petals were gaping maws filled with little thorns. They looked like venus fly traps with jagged lips that loved to suck on treats. Or anything with blood.
This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
"Oh! Thank you, Vrshkeuc, seriously. I should've–" Alex reached for the bouquet.
She yanked them back. "Eh! Not so fast." Alex stared at her. Someone else wanted something from him. "For the flowers," she said all syrupy, "I want a favour."
"A favour? What do you mean a favour?"
"Sheeeeee," she cut him off. "A small favour, when I need it. No questions."
Alex stared at the flowers. He really should have brought some. Sure they might have set him back a couple Credits, but he wanted to impress. "Alright, alright. Deal." She let go and he snatched the bouquet. Vrshkeuc smiled and tutt-tutted, looking extremely pleased with herself. One of the mouths tried to suckle his wrist and he [Identified] them.
[Suckerblooms]
The door to Snu's dungeon hallway and he looked up, already forgetting the flowers.
She wore a pair of light baggy jeans that hugged her hips just enough to tease their shape with thick black sneakers. Her white top clung to her curves, and a grinning skull stretched across her chest. Blonde hair tumbled down in curls, and her tiny horns just barely poked through. A touch of makeup highlighted her lips and small, upturned nose, but didn't hide the smattering of freckles across her cheeks. And she smiled at him, all warm and easy. Alex's heart just about tripped over itself as he smiled back.
"Hiiiii, you look nice," he said and walked up to her with a grin and bouquet in hand. Alex was taller than her.
Her smile grew a bit crooked. "You brought me carnivorous flowers?"
"Thought you would like them. Vrshkeuc thinks they're nice, right?" Alex looked over at the gremlin who was sipping her tea and watching.
The gremlin nodded and said. "Oh yes, very nice! I'll take those back to your chambers, Mistress." The little receptionist got up and padded over, snatching the flowers back as quick as they had been handed over.
"They're horrible in a cute way, actually." Snu teased. They were standing close and Alex could feel the heat between them. She smelled like something wild and sweet. Her eyes looked at him a little bit unsure, and Alex tried his best not to do something dumb like brush her hair behind his ear. After their encounter a few nights ago, being around her was a bit nerve wracking, but he felt comfortable.
"I was excited to see you," he said.
Her smile got wider and she preened. "Good. I was worried I might've made it weird by, uh…texting you so much."
"You made it weird," he said, before cutting through the tension. "But like…in a hot way."
She rolled her eyes and said. "Let's go before I panic and run back to my Dungeon. Haven't left here in years." Then she strolled past him and he turned to fall into step beside her.
They strolled down the stone hallway side by side. Vrshkeuc watched them go, slippered feet back on the desk.
"Ah. To be young again," she sighed and sipped from her piping hot of cuppa out of the skull of her enemy.
Alex didn't stammer, or blurt anything irredeemably stupid out. Normally he was a mess of over-excitement, relying on charm and sarcasm to stay afloat? Tonight he felt like he was actually being quick witted. Sure she had marked him, and thought he didn't fully understand what that meant, it felt like a real, tangible connection between them.
"So where are we going?" Snu asked as they neared the heavy stone doors. Her voice was casual, but she was walking closer now, her arm nearly brushing his. "Anything I should know?"
"Ahhh, can't ruin the surprise," he said with a grin. "But you'll like it. I promise. Nothing too serious. Just… fun."
The Dungeon doors loomed ahead, with absolutely no light glowing through. Alex reached forward to push them open, but noticed that Snu was hanging back. He looked back. She'd stopped just a few feet away, staring at the exit like it was something much bigger than a door. This was the part that he was nervous about. She was a Dungeon Boss, and he wasn't even sure she could actually leave.
He tilted his head. "Yeah… I probably should've asked. Can you, like, actually leave your Dungeon?"
"Of course I can leave," she said quickly. Way too quickly. "I'm not trapped." But she still didn't move. "It's just…been a while. Things are different when I leave."
"Different? What do you mean?"
Snu's little fingers curled into her skull-print crop top, and she bit her lower lip. "You know how Dungeon Bosses respawn if we die? Sure it sucks, but we do respawn. That's as long as we're inside the Dungeon. That's our anchor."
Alex just nodded and stayed quiet.
"Well," she continued, quieter now, all bluster gone, "that rule stops the second I step outside my Domain."
His grin faded. "You mean–"
"Yep. If I die out there, I stay dead," she said quickly. "I know it's stupid. That I look normal. But I haven't left since I became a Boss. It's been…years. Since the beginning. Friends tried to drag me out and when I didn't leave, they did." Her voice softened. "Giat does all the time. Vrshkeuc tries. Even my Core wants me to go out. But I stayed. Because it's scary. Out there, I'm just a person again. A strong person, sure. But mortal again."
Alex didn't joke or quip. He just looked at her. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. We can stay here and watch a movie. You have movies, right?"
She met his eyes. "No. I want to."
Her foot slid forward, one at a time. Then another. Alex swung open the door and the city noises, birds, and fresh air flowed in. The sun was just about to enter the pretty stage of pre-sunset. He wanted to reach down and reassure her, but knew that this was an important moment for her.
"But I die, I am so cursing you and taking you with me." She gave him a little cheeky smile.
Alex grinned again and Snu looped her arm into his. "Noted," he said. "I promise you won't die."
Together, they stepped out into the alley. The gargoyles scrambled to stop picking their butts and stand to attention.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.