Kitsune in the Shadows

Chapter 96 – Time for Lunch

[Cattleya POV]

Why did she have to interrupt me?

I was on the verge of potentially discovering something incredible! I know it!

…

…

After some careful consideration, I graciously decided to accept Ava’s offer of lunch, if only so that she would not have an excuse to interrupt me later on.

“Okay…” I said as I lowered my arms, watching as the sphere of mana in front of me quickly dissipated.

Almost as soon as I did, Kierra got up and made her way over to join Ava on the blanket that had been set out earlier. All in all, it was a quaint little affair, no more than a plain blanket and a matching basket set out on the grass, yet for some reason… it felt like there was something more to it, though I could not say what exactly that was that caught my attention.

After a brief moment of hesitation in order to be polite, I made my way over to join the two of them. However, there was not much space left on the blanket aside from an open space next to Ava. As I was contemplating my options, Ava even gestured to the space in question.

“Are you going to sit?” She asked plainly.

…

“Of course I am.”

I just need something more… appropriate for my stature…

…

Maybe this is a good opportunity…

I made a show of waving my hand over the ground just beside the blanket, and in mere moments, a stool made from the underlying tree roots emerged. I had wanted to make something much more extravagant, a real showpiece, but unfortunately, I already knew that I had to conserve my mana lest I show a more than embarrassing side of myself.

The two on the blanket looked up at me in awe as I sat myself down, making sure to cross my legs gracefully, exactly as I had been taught time and time again. This was not the time to be making any mistakes in my presentation.

“Now-” I tried to speak up, but before I was able to get more than a single word out, something yanked on my arm and pulled me down to the floor. In the process, my head abruptly collided with something firm, not hard; there was just enough give to it for it not to hurt in any way, but whatever it was, it was certainly solid.

“You were just sitting on the grass over there with no issues just now. You’ll survive sitting on a blanket for a few minutes while you eat.”

My eyelids tentatively fluttered open to assess the situation.

“…”

What greeted me first was Ava’s face with those bright purple eyes staring down at me, hardly a breath away. My instincts immediately took over, and I pushed away, revealing that what I had fallen onto was none other than Ava’s shoulder. An unfamiliar feeling slowly began to come over me, my face somehow heating up outside of my control.

It was a remarkably uncomfortable sensation. I simply could not feel anything other than overwhelming embarrassment at the situation as it had unfolded. It was most unbecoming of one such as myself. I knew that I was supposed to carry myself better than that.

I need to save face.

I cannot fail this test. I need Kierra to help me with this.

I do not have another option.

I repeated those words over in my head until I calmed back down. My first instinct was to immediately get up and re-approach the two of them from the beginning, to wipe the slate clean, but that would not have been the appropriate thing to do at this point. Unfortunately, the best thing that I could do was simply accept the hospitality I was being offered as it was being offered.

In an instant, I recomposed myself, checking both my hair and dress to ensure they were not in any sort of disarray to remain presentable.

“Alright. Might I ask what has been prepared for this lunch?” I asked.

“There you go, that’s much better… I think…” Ava said as she started looking through the basket beside her, “I just put together a few sandwiches this morning, nothing too heavy. I was originally planning on doing something else as it has been a few days since I have really gotten to have some fun cooking, but I thought these would be better for today.”

As she brought the sandwiches out, they appeared quite simple, nothing more than plain white bread with some fillings, although there was certainly a variety to choose from.

“Kierra, are you alright helping yourself?” She asked, her wings fluttering ever so slightly as she turned, “There’s more than enough in there, so don’t hesitate to just take as much as you want. I know you were always hungry as could be after training with Mom, so I prepared a bit extra just in case you needed it.”

“Mm,” Kierra responded simply before inching closer, looking through the basket herself and pulling out what appeared to be a sandwich filled with nothing but various different cuts of meat.

Ava then quickly turned her attention back to me, “So… any preferences? I’ve got quite the selection hidden under here. I’m sure I’ll have something you can stomach.”

…

What am I supposed to say?

What’s the right answer here?

…

“What do you recommend?” I eventually asked, deciding that it would be better than risking asking for something that she would not be able to offer.

“Well, I recommend anything I’ve put together,” She said, “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be offering it to you, y’know?”

“…”

“But if I absolutely had to pick something for you…” She pulled a sandwich out of the basket and held it out towards me, “Then this would be a good place to start, something simple.”

I took the sandwich from her with both of my hands in order to ensure that I would not accidentally drop anything in the process. As expected, the sandwich was not anything particularly special, a few thin slices of meat accompanied by a few vegetables and some kind of sauce that I was not able to identify from looks alone.

I was going to ask what exactly was inside the sandwich, but as I looked back up to do so, Ava was already taking a bite of her own.

Well…

I would not want to be rude.

After steeling myself for a brief moment, I brought the sandwich up to my mouth and took a small bite to test it. It was good; at least, it was better than I was initially expecting from its appearance. It was hard to tell what exactly it was, but there was a particularly addicting taste coming from either the sauce or the meat.

“It is passable,” I said out of my own surprise and enjoyment, “At least for a simple sandwich.”

“Hmm? I’m sorry it’s not good enough for your… refined tastes then,” Ava retorted, “I guess that means there’s more for the two of us.”

Wait, that is not what I meant!

I was complimenting the sandwich.

…

I don’t understand.

“I did not say that…” I was unsure of what else I could say in response, but no matter what, I had to correct the misunderstanding.

“Sure,” She casually replied, “Well… If you somehow find yourself wanting any more… I guess you’d be welcome to take another.”

“I… will keep that in mind,” I said as I took another bite of the sandwich I had been given.

Unfortunately, that bite was not quite like the last one. It was a subtle change, but I knew all too well what it meant; my fangs were coming out again.

But it was not supposed to happen again so soon! It has only been two days!

I know I used magic, but I did not use that much. I barely did any more than a few party tricks.

Despite what went through my mind, I could not deny the proof that was inside my mouth. Instinctively, I reached down for my pocket, only to find that it was not there. I had somehow completely forgotten that I had taken my coat off just before my demonstration.

“C-Can you please pass me my coat?” I asked while covering my mouth with my free hand, being sure not to accidentally prick myself on the growing sickles behind my lips.

My coat was sitting just to the side of Kierra. I was hoping that she would be the one to pick it up, but… that was not how it turned out.

“Hmm? That’s no problem,” Ava said as she picked the coat up, “Are you feeling cold all of a sudden? I thought the weather was actually quite nice today.”

“N-No,” I said as I set the half-eaten sandwich down so that I could take my coat from her while keeping my other hand over my mouth, “I-I just need to-”

Before finishing my sentence, I set the coat down on my lap so that I could search through the pockets.

I hope I filled it up this morning.

Thankfully, my fingers swiftly found my vial. I immediately pulled it out and removed the lid, only to find that there was hardly any wolf blood left inside. In my rush to get the cloak cleaned for this morning, I must have forgotten to fill it back up.

…

There was not anything else I could do, so I just drank what was left in the vial, hoping that it would be enough to at least make it through the rest of this lesson. As the crimson liquid slid down my throat, I could feel my fangs retracting and a weight being lifted from my shoulders.

I took a moment just to let the wave of relief pass over me before quickly recomposing myself once again and quietly going back to eating my sandwich. I briefly looked up to make sure I did not accidentally offend anyone with my unbecoming display, and thankfully, aside from some glances coming from Ava and Kierra, it seemed that everything had gone over well.

I just need to be careful to keep my magic in check for the next little while.

With that sole thought in mind, I quickly finished off the sandwich I had been given… as well as a second one that Ava was gracious enough to provide me with.

“Now, it is time to go back to the lesson,” I said as I stood up and dusted myself off, “I did not get very far before. But now that you have managed to concentrate your mana like that once, it should be easy for you to do so again. Then, Kierra, we can continue from where we left off.