She had made it at last–Adeluna City, the capital of the Adelunian Empire. In a way it was a lot like Nisshoki back home, just different buildings, language, and clothes. Nui had worked hard to get enough money to buy a nice set of clothes, like the ones she had seen from the import shops. The wider skirts made it easier to hide her tails if she slipped up, and she had a ribbon hairband to keep her ears down. The fox left her sun hat behind, since it might make her look too weird. She had spent a lot of time learning about other cities in Canelux before setting out from her hometown. Learning how to read and write common was something she practiced over and over, and she had drilled into her memory the basics of what the cultures were like. One notable detail about Adeluna was that they had a past history of treating non-humans on a different standard than non-citizen humans, so she was always careful to make sure her disguise was intact.

A few weeks in and she had gotten a job helping out with a few shops as a part-time worker. At one of them she had bumped into a boy who was about her age a few times named Arthur. He had dark hair and dark eyes, his family ran a small but successful ranch where they bred horses. Often he would come in to buy supplies for the ranch during her shifts, and they became acquaintances. The other girls working with her kept telling her he might be interested and that he didn't have a girlfriend. Nui denied it, as she didn't really know him well. But they encouraged her to try at least once–just one date couldn't hurt…right?

She was nervous the next time Arthur came in, she wasn't sure how to bring it up. Would she be too rude to ask first? How would she ask him? What she didn't know was that the girls had tried to help her out by convincing Arthur to ask her for a date. Then he asked her out of the blue. Nui couldn't believe her ears for a moment. And when Arthur thought she was saying no, she quickly scrambled to get the right words. "Sure, I'd love to go!" Was what she finally said. And so here she was now, sitting across from his seat in a little bakery shop that made something called 'lemon curd' on their pastries. What was she so nervous about? She'd been through a few dates before–she knew the routine by now. They chatted, ordered food, talked about themselves. Things were going alright compared to the disaster wrecks her past ones had been. He didn't think her interests were weird, he thought she was cute, and didn't think being raised by her 'grandpa' wasn't normal. It felt like she was finally holding a normal conversation with a boy her age.

But as she feared, that good feeling didn't last very long. She had altered her appearance with magic to look a bit closer to the girls in the city. A few times he mentioned her accent, which left her blushing in embarrassment. Out of curiosity Arthur asked where she was from and she told him she was from Parvpora, Nisshoki to be exact. His reaction was to make an off-hand comment about 'that continent', and a few other things she'd rather not remember. Even though she didn't tell him she wasn't human, what he had to say about other places like Baltil, Abed, and Iria was starting to make her fur stand on end. And then that happened… Arthur said something about Ataiyo that rubbed her the wrong way. No, actually it wasn't just that. He'd been saying a lot of things that rubbed her the wrong way even if he wasn't being inherently malicious about it. 

Clenching her fists beneath the table while keeping a straight face, Nui had enough. Slamming her hands on the table, the entire bakery went silent as she looked Arthur dead in the eye and pointed in his face, yelling loud enough for everyone to hear: "–YOU'RE RACIST!" She was fuming, her face red and her tails fanning out into a layer of white fur poking out beneath the hem of her skirt. Her ears were being weighed down by her hairband, but she heard enough out of his mouth. She'd punch him if she could reach across the table without standing on the chair, and she was about ready to make him eat lemon curd through his nose.

Toya needed a drink. A good long, cold drink. The men in Adeluna, at least the ones she ran into, told her she should know her place. She was wracking up quite the number of black eyes as it were. “Come on Sparrow,” Toya had her hand on Balaur's hilt as they made their way through the city to one of the nicer taverns. The men had tried to call the guards but flashing her sigil was all that it took for the guards to back off. No one in their fucking mind would have tried to punish The Dragon of Sularia, not when they knew she was probably in the right and would tell the Queen of Adeluna that herself.

The boy at her side was just shy of eight and he had the wildest blonde curls. He was obediently following his mother through town on business. They were picking up supplies for Tempest and Kite. She settled in at the bar and Sparrow climbed up on the tall stool. Toya reached down and put her hand firmly to his rear as she pushed. “Someday you’ll reach that stool without any trouble. Look at your nephew he’s as tall as your da now,” Toya gave him a smile and ruffled his hair making it even wilder than it already was.

“One mug of whiskey and get the little one some juice would you kindly,” Toya called for the bartender and he nodded to her. “When yer old enough Mama will let you have some whiskey and maybe you’ll hold it just as good as her eh?” The boy fidgeted in his seat excitedly. His mom was his hero and he loved her.

Their good time at the bar was cut short by the yelling. “YOU’RE RACIST.” Toya tried hard to ignore it but it was one insult about the girl being well… a woman that set Toya off. She smashed her hands on the bar.

“Oh, you did it now,” Sparrow was giggling as he spun around. He knew this well.

“Sparrow, what do we say to people who disrespect others for no god damn reason?”

He looked up at his mother for permission, which was given with a nod, before he opened his mouth, “You can fuck off right to hell!”

Toya’s fist was fast as she pulled the suitor up with one hand and gutshot him with the other. Her fingers let go fast enough he went flying from the force as he slammed into the wall that was a good ten feet from him. Toya thought she heard some bones crack but she was moving on to cracking her knuckles. “If you ain’t fucking dead and you can walk, I would suggest you either get up and talk me like you have some balls or you leave. So your choice, you can prove your glorious superior manhood and show this woman how wrong she is… Or you can get the fuck out. I’ve killed for less.”

“FOR LESS. SHE’S DONE IT FOR LESS!” Sparrow chanted behind her. “MY MAMA IS THE BEST WARRIOR IN ALL OF SULARIA!” She was indeed his hero.

The man let out a whimper as he held his side and struggled his way out not wanting the woman’s wrath any more than he already had it. “Fucking men in this city,” Toya spat poison as she looked at some of the men glaring at her. “WHAT YOU WANT SOME NEXT BECAUSE I CAN GO ALL FUCKING DAY!” That growl, that ferocity – it was enough to make everyone look away from her. “Now,” she calmed down and Sparrow hopped off the stool only getting up on his tippy toes to get the whiskey and juice with both of his arms.

“Careful boy, that’s a big glass and if you spill it I’ll be sad,” Toya chuckled as she tossed some coin the bartender’s way. “Girl, take off that ridiculous get up. There’s no god damn point in going on dates if you are going to hide how you are. They either like you or they don’t and if they don’t they can go to hell.”

“RIGHT TO HELL!” Sparrow chanted as he put the drinks up on the table with the fox girl. “Can we eat with her Mama?”

“Course, after all, it looks like her date was ruined. Don’t see why we can’t give her some company and fix it.” Toya pulled a chair and turned it around so she could put her chest to the back of it as she stared at Nui. “You are a long way from home, though I guess you could say the same for us.” Toya put up her hand. “Food and bring the girl some juice too.” Getting Sparrow situated she took a long drink of the tall mug of whiskey which was more than anyone else could drink. “I’m Toya Wintercrest and this is my youngest Sparrow.”

“HELLO! She smells like Shiroi,” Kite whispered to his mother about his findings and she chuckled.

Before the fox could make Arthur taste lemon through his nostrils, a dark-haired woman swiftly came up and sent him flying into the wall behind him. There was shock and dead silence from everybody around after seeing what happened, and it was so fast that Nui was speechless. There was this little kid who was cheering the lady on like this was a game of tag, and shockingly–Arthur was still alive. She had her hands over her mouth as her eyes followed her former date hobbling out of the shop, out of sight. The eyes of other people were now looking away trying to pretend that didn't just happen, more out of fear of being next on this no-nonsense woman's 'hit list'. It was when the woman started talking to her that Nui realized she needed to breathe. With the date completely ruined, there was no reason for her to bother with her outfit anymore. So she took a seat at the bar and pulled off her hairband, her ears popping up and flicking a few times. Putting her arms on the counter and resting her chin on her hands, the girl let out a long sigh. "That's number three now. Either I've got really bad luck or I'm not fishing in the right pond…" 

Was it just her imagination, or were her subsequent dates getting progressively worse? Maybe part of it was her fault rushing in too early. Nine round tail tips poked out from underneath her skirt and brushed against the chair legs. "Nui…Nui Hachiuji. Um, apple cider is fine! The non-fermented one." On days like this, you needed something sweet to wash out the bitter taste. The woman's words earlier were pretty harsh, but after thinking them over, she had a point. "Maybe that's why I keep getting into the same mess. I keep worrying about how I look to them instead of what they're like." Soon she'd have to find a new place to work. The girls who had helped set her up with Arthur meant well, but it'd be tough to go back to work after everybody in the city heard about this. Several weeks of meticulous socializing and culture adjustment all down the drain. She should have gone back to Nisshoki to try her luck again with Shuichi. But he probably forgot about the whole 'accident' and who she was by now. 

Putting her hairband on the counter, she buried her face into her arms to let out a muffled groan of frustration. Short fox ears close to the top of her head flattened as she did so. With that out of her system, she sat up and asked Mrs. Wintercrest: "So where're you two from? Do you come to Adeluna often?" She figured it would be obvious to the lady that she had only been here for a short time. 

Toya had the whiskey up to her lips as she listened to the poor girl. She drank it deep for a second and chuckled. “You are still young. I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you.” She was fondly watching Sparrow from her side view as he annihilated some cake that the bartender brought him. “I was around your age when I had my firstborn and got married. Bout thirty-some years ago I got a divorce after my first born died. Met an assassin by happenstance,” she chuckled a bit not wanting to go into too much detail about it. “We accidentally got pregnant and got married when we were sure that we wanted each other. We have six children who are living not counting my son who died. Sparrow here is our youngest… Isn’t that right Sparrow?”

“I’m Mama and Papa’s little miracle pup! Mom punched my aunt and got me!” Sparrow was a little too gleeful to announce how he happened.

“Oh, hush.” She rubbed his hair. “The point is. Life is unpredictable and sometimes you need a random chance to find the person you are meant to be with. It’s not on some dating rotation. Let it come to you but don’t give up or you’ll never find the one.”

Toya reached over and took Nui’s nose lightly but not to hurt her, “Fuck ‘em. They will either love or hate you as I said. You are who you are and you shouldn’t have to change such things to get someone to notice you. Besides men who jump at you fast are pigs and pigs are bad.”

“LIKE THE WINTERCRESTS,” Sparrow yelled. “They are perverts.”

Toya sighed a bit. “Yeah, my husband was quite the manwhore before we got married. Apparently, it runs in the Wintercrest bloodline. Though watching my son Jayden you wouldn’t think he was one but watching the others…” She sounded exhausted just talking about it.

She watched the fox get depressed and she didn’t waste time responding. “We’re from Sularia and we only come to this city when we have business. Most of the men here rub me the wrong way. Sularia is a matriarchal society. Rosenites, which is what I am, are mostly women. It’s one man per ten females back home so our men tend to be a bit more relaxed than most.”

The queen tapped her fingertips on the counter top. “…Do you want to go someplace Nui? Far away from Adeluna, that is.”

Her ears were at attention as she listened, her chin still resting on her arms. This woman was strong, not just because of what she did earlier. Getting married early and having a kid, divorcing and remarrying again. All of that stuff sounded like it was a world away from what she understood. Nui looked up in surprise when the lady brought up the 'getting pregnant accidentally' part, but it sounded that after all that had happened, she was living a fulfilled life. Was that what marriage was about? When the kid gleefully told her how he was born, the fox stifled a snort in laughter. She wasn't sure how somebody would have a kid by punching their relative, but it sure sounded funny. Her expression sobered when she thought over her past three experiences. "Hm?!" When the lady took her nose, it snapped her out of mulling over the past. This strong lady had her attention as she told her to be herself, and not to lower her own personal value. Bad apples were bad no matter how they tried to act. Sparrow added his two cents by chiming in that his family–which were the Wintercrests–were perverts. That got a very puzzled look from Nui as she wasn't sure what to say to that. He seemed pretty sure about it.

Instead of correcting him, his mom agreed and went on about how her current husband was before she made him an honest man…or that was what Nui thought she was hearing. It sounded like they had a big family with how exhausted she was bringing it up. As she explained to the fox girl more about Sularia, Nui nodded. "Oh…I see. That kinda sounds like my friend's family on his mom's side. Their family's pretty big but it's run by their great-grandma." Her eyes went wide when she heard the gender ratio. "That's a lot comparing how many women there are to men! It must be tough to find a husband unless you go searching outside of home." She sort of had an idea what a matriarchal society was, assuming it meant the ladies were in charge. Maybe it was because they had so few men? It would make sense if the majority ruled, like what she read about other kingdoms in books.

The fox paused for a while when she was asked if she wanted to go somewhere far from Adeluna. There wasn't any reason for her to stay anymore, now that her expectations for the city was a bust. If Arthur was how all the boys would be here, then why waste her time? She was getting tired of meeting jerks or people who she didn't see being more than a very casual friend. Finding somebody who was just like Rashomaru, or at least three-fourths, was hard. But she didn't want to ruin her friendships, and Effie deserved somebody who could let her relax after living on the run for years. "Yeah, I do. I don't think this place is where I should be anymore." She couldn't see much of a future for herself here. That she was sure of.

“Not a lot of women get married in Sularia. A lot of them are single mothers. We venture out to get pregnant and come home. Some of us also don’t operate smoothly in relationships thanks to that so we end up only being able to exist as a single person. It’s a tough life but I’m glad I have my Blaine.”

Toya smirked a bit and nodded. “Good, because there’s a boy in Sularia who I think you might like. He holes himself up in his workshop all the time but he’s just a smidgen younger than yourself.” After they finished their meal they went to pick up the materials and Toya handed Nui her own share to carry. “Don’t mind if I use you like a mule.”

“YEAH, WE’RE MULES.” Sparrow had a lot more in his arms and Toya had a large crate on her shoulder. It was filled to the brim with heavy materials so it was impressive to see Toya carry it. Opening a gate Toya looked back at Nui.

“It’s going to be dry and hot so get ready. It might hurt to breathe at first but you’ll get used to it.” Toya took them into the crowded streets of Sularia. “We’re in the Castle District. That’s the main castle right there,” Toya pointed with her free hand. “We’re going to follow the bricks that shift to my court… There’s a small shop and that’s where we’re going.”

They walked until there was a fancy hanging sign that read The Crescent Cloth. “That’s it right there.” There were big picture windows displaying fancy dresses and noble wear. “He’s a master tailor even at his age. He also makes leather gear for soldiers.” Someone leaving held the door open as a bell rang on the door for Toya and she nodded to the woman.

“BOY! I have your order.”

“You can put it by the counter,” it was a pleasant voice back. “I’m crafting something with the dragon hide you got me.”

“Hopefully something nice… That dragon took forever to wrestle,” Toya scoffed as she put the stuff down where directed. “Can you come out here… I brought someone back for you to meet.”

“Sure,” he came out around the corner standing at a tall six foot one. For his age, he was built athletic and nice. He had nice noble clothes on with an apron over them. Shoulder length blonde curls with the sides pulled back in a bun. His blue eyes were exactly like Sparrow. He saw the fox girl and made a face as he looked at his grandmother. “A customer?”

“Sure or maybe~”

“Grandma… Did… You bring a girl home to meet me?” He sounded shocked for a moment as he cleaned his hands.

“It’s cause you sit in the shop all day and don’t get out to meet people your age! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO SOW YOUR WINTERCREST SEED IF YOU DO THAT?!” Sparrow spoke like he was Garland and Toya rolled her eyes.

“…Because I want it to be meaningful?” Kite spoke to his uncle. Sparrow was taken back and ultimately shrugged in defeat.

“Boy, this is Nui and Nui this is my grandson, Kite.” Toya sounded pretty proud of herself.

“Hello, Lady Nui,” Kite bowed to her and showed off his flair for titles when dealing with clients. Always be proper and polite was one of the main things his mother had taught him.

Hefting the crate with both arms, Nui was putting all over her waitress experience to work. With a 'determined pout', she was really trying to keep her core muscles tensed so she wouldn't have as much strain on her arms. They went into a place that looked familiar, actually now that she thought about it–she had been here before. It was a whole different place entirely without the snow. The fox nodded behind her crate as she followed behind the lady and her kid. Sularia was divided into different areas and it sure was convenient to look down and see which way led to where. Most cities didn't have such colorful ground…and…were those shiny things in the bricks? The entire place was so pretty now that she could see it how it usually was. "Woooow…it's so colorful when there isn't snow!" She stopped to stare with starry eyes at the castle. She'd never seen one so close! Her ears told her they reached where they were going when the footsteps stopped, and she peered out from behind her crate. It was a cute shop, and the clothes were totally different from Adeluna's. She had butterflies in her stomach over everything.

Holding her breath, she came in and set her box down at last. Her tails were fidgeting as she waited to see who she would be meeting, ears standing almost straight up. Her eyes traveled upward as the boy the lady had brought her to meet was tall. It was hard to tell the exact specifics between six-foot four and six-foot one. Nui was tilting her head up, something she had gotten used to as her childhood friends became as tall as trees. He had pretty eyes and his hair was pretty too. Nearly biting her tongue, she felt that if she didn't figure out what she was going to say first–she'd probably blurt things out. Her daydreaming was shattered when Sparrow opened his mouth and said something that made her swivel her head at him in horror. So the comment about the men of their household being…loose wasn't an exaggeration at all. It was hard for her brain to decide what was more frightening–what Sparrow said or the fact he heard those words from somebody else. 

The tailor who turned out to be the lady's grandson helped smooth that awkward bit over, but him calling her by a title had the fox in a full blush. Nobody had ever done that before, even if it was just for courtesy. Swallowing hard, Nui tried to put the words of wisdom his grandmother gave her into practice. "H-hi! I'm Nui–Hachiuji! It's nice meeting you! I'm from a small village just outside of Nisshoki!" For some reason all she could say was a stiff formal introduction like she was trying to apply for a job. Her ears and tails were twitching, all nine clouds of fluff with fur standing on end. "Um, your grandma helped me out before coming here." Oh wait, this wasn't what she was trying to do! Why was she bringing that up now?! Her mind was such a mess that all of those practiced conversation starters had fallen out of her ears.

Nui's new dress :3

Toya was glad that Nui liked Sularia, that was good for what she was about to do. “Yeah, this is a city of wealth but we don’t really value things for gold and silver unless we are traveling. So we use gemstones and precious metals for the décor around the city. Pretty once everything comes together. We’re mighty proud of our city.”

Toya listened as they introduced each other and finally laughed as Nui panicked. Kite kinda felt bad for her that she ran into Toya but he was glad she had gotten some help. “Nisshoki… So you are from Parvpora? Those are some of my favorite cultures to design clothing for. I do orders for Nisshoki nobles all the time.” He thought her blush was cute but then his skilled eyes spotted what she was wearing and then her tails. “You must be hot.”

He zoomed off to a series of drawers. “The girl I made this for never showed up and I think it would look cute on you. Red would complement your skin tone a lot.” He dug through the fabric as he found a white and red dress. It was long-sleeved but it was made out of light silk and cotton. “Grandma, can you help her get changed and bring her back out to the tailor stand?” Toya nodded and escorted Nui to a changing room. Once she was in the dress Kite took her hand and helped her up.

It took him no time at all to hem it and fit it perfectly to her. Getting a pair of scissors he worked the back and gently pulled her tails out. “You shouldn’t have to hide them. They are pretty and I don’t think enough tailors design clothes for women like yourself. They are your plumage and you should be proud of them.” Smooth… He had been listening to Blaine talk to his grandmother and that made Toya proud. “I reinforced the hole for them so you should be alright to dress yourself. Since you got dragged here… You can consider it a gift. Oh! This too,” he spoke as he dug through a drawer of silk flowers. Pulling out a peony in the same shade of red he braided some of her hair and stuck it in.

“I help my sister all the time since she isn’t any good at girl stuff. It’s hard to even dress her without her ruining it,” Kite explained as he turned her towards the mirror in the room. “See? Looks a lot better on you.” He realized that could have been seen as rude and blushed as he rubbed his neck. “Not that you looked bad before but you were hiding your tails.”

Toya patted Sparrow on the head and motioned towards the door. “K, I’ll meet you back home Mama,” Sparrow yelled as he took off.

“There’s a nice little restaurant in the yellow court. Go to it and go on a date. It’s fine for you to close up early every once in a while. Besides I didn’t bring her all the way home for you to dress her up and let her go!” Toya pointed at Kite. “Now be a gentleman and show her a good time.”

Kite blushed more and nodded. “Aye aye, Boss Lady.” That made Toya smile before the woman took off. “So… I am sorry you got to hear Sparrow like that. Grandpa Garland has taught him a lot of bad stuff just by him overhearing it… BUT the place she is talking about is really nice… It would be my honor to take you to it. They owe me for their last few orders and I’ve been saving it up for a special occasion.” He spoke as he took off his apron.

Breathe, she had to breathe. So much was happening right now and the best she could do was keep still. When she was walked to a changing room her head felt like it was full of clouds and she didn't move when he was working on altering the dress. Holding her breath again, her cheeks were puffed out as her tails were freed from being under a mass of fabric. She wasn't ticklish..she wasn't ticklish…don't think about it… When the changes were done, she let go and breathed in. Nui's head was spinning. If her ears weren't fur covered, they'd be red like the cloth. Hearing somebody complimenting her tails made her heart race again, mostly since it was nice to hear other people talk about them for a change. She liked her tails, always taking time to dry and comb them every day. Even though it was tough in Ignius with all the fur, she took great pride in having nine of them. Turning around, she spun a little to see how it looked. And her ears flicked a little as Kite braided in a flower to match. Having had to put up with clothes that made her tails feel cramped, happiness was written all over her face. "…It's amazing! I've never had clothes that didn't cover my tails up." That meant she didn't need to search for clothes with a wide skirt all the time.

And just like that, Kite's grandma told them it was time they went on a date–now that she was all dressed up. While she did agree to everything earlier, when it was actually happening it was a totally different story. Then, they were by themselves. Kite apologized for what Sparrow said, and Nui figured it was thanks to somebody around him saying those things that he picked them up. Kids copied the adults around them. She had a feeling that this 'Grandpa Garland' probably was part of the reason why the men in their family had their 'reputation'. "It's ok, kids copy what they see and hear even if they don't fully understand it. I'd be glad to go with you!" A lot of her initial anxiety was gone and she could finally talk normally. First impressions were important and all, but she knew she had to remember not to overdo it. 

Knowing there were real gems in the bricks of the road made her feel like she was walking in a magical fairyland. She hadn't visited Kujishoku before, but this place seemed like a close estimate. It was hard not to keep looking down at where she stepped. What was she going to talk about once they got there? Her thoughts were racing as she took in the sights. It was bright and sunny, and there were gardens with roses of all sorts of colors. She should convince her friends to come visit here for a trip next time. Enya would love the place, and Effie would get to have some fun too. Plus, didn't Sapphire have lots of family here? By the time they got to the restaurant, Nui was bursting with questions. She was afraid she'd ask too much at once, and end up being rude or seen as weird. She and Kite were technically strangers as they just met, and meeting people her age who she didn't know very well had her constantly self-checking her behavior. When she got to know someone better she'd know what not to do. 

When they were seated, she sorted out her thoughts to find something that would be a good starter. "So…I know this is pretty basic but why are there different colors of bricks on the road? Is every color for a different part of the city?"  

“Well…” Kite seemed surprised but he put on a smile. “I’ll make you a whole wardrobe then. No one should be uncomfortable in their skin. Just tell me what you like and I’ll make it.” He wanted to help her and he had seen enough people uncomfortable, hiding, or they couldn’t find accommodations. His family had taught him better. “And thank you… I pride myself in my craft.” It had been a long road to get recognized by the other tailors and be seen on their level but he had finally gotten there around the same time as his sister did the blacksmiths.

“Somehow… I think Sparrow knows exactly what has been leaving his mouth… The kids in this family are too smart for their own good and so they cause trouble early.” He was happy when she accepted and told her to wait while he grabbed his keys to the shop. Holding out his arm he let out a chuckle as he smirked. “They would kill me if I wasn’t overly formal with this… but Lady Nui may I take your arm and escort you?” His mother had been strict about the rules of engagement with females and Rosenites in general beat it into the young males how to act and treat people with respect. Something about outsiders not being great at it.

Kite watched her facial expressions as they walked but it was mainly quiet as he was filled with subtle anxiety. The restaurant they had been referred to was upscale with many carriages out front being unloaded. He held the door open for her and once inside took a minute to find the owner. They spoke a few words before they were taken to a private balcony up on the second floor overlooking everything in the restaurant. Finally, she spoke and he smiled. “Yeah, there are seven different parts of the city and each road is different for it. The Blue District, the Black District, the Purple District, the White District, the Red District, the Yellow District, and finally the Castle District. Each one except for the Blue District has it’s own ruler with the Empress in the Castle District overseeing the other rulers.”

“Good afternoon Prince Kite and~” A waiter came over and Kite stopped so he could look up as he received the menus.

“Lady Nui~” He said without skipping a beat. “Can we have some of the strawberry wine you guys just got? I know it’s not on the menu yet but the strawberries from my aunt’s garden are the best.” The waiter nodded and left them to look over the food. “Trust me, you’ll want to drink the whole bottle. Not recommended but you will want to do it.” He whispered it with a laugh before he finally settled down to reading. “As for your other questions that I know you have… You can just ask them Nui. My sister has always talked a million words a second so I can follow allow pretty well. It’s also good you get the answers to what Sularia is about.”

Then it dawned on him and he rubbed his neck. “Also, my gram is the Queen of the White District. She is the youngest of her sisters. She doesn’t always look like she fits the part but she’s in charge of the military and she isn’t a fan of dresses or any of that. I suppose she didn’t tell you any of that when she brought you here though.”