Contract #2

You decided to tackle going after one of the hunting contracts, it was simple enough, and it wasn’t going to add any of the stress of your new companions. The only thing you weren't figuring on bringing anyone else along with you, however.

When you decided to get squared away with your contract, you left your room before Arabella got out of the shower. You clear the lobby and retrieve your mail. Here, in this dainty little town, you only ever got payments and orders that took months to reach their destination. Today wasn’t any different. Payments from bounties and some chocolate you just barely remember ordering for one reason or another.

When you try to go back to your room, you bump into Delilah. She looks better than she did after your last conversation. She smiles at you and then stops you to ask if you want to hang out. You tell her you’re about to go out again. When she hears this, her expression flattens, and she frowns. However, when she learns the details of your task, she expresses a desire to join you.

“Are you being serious with me?”

Delilah nods, placing her hands on her hips. “I am!” She beams.

You eye her up and down with your eyebrows knitted, thinking she is humoring you. When your eyes meet, she squints at you. “Warren, I’m being serious. Why don’t you believe me?”

“Well,” you look at her. You knew from your experience last night Delilah can act pretty well when she wants to. You’re sure if you took her naughty roleplay any further, you would have seen just how well she plays an act. “You don’t exactly strike me as a hunter or anything all that…you know…dangerous?”

Delilah scoffs, crossing her arms, and twirls to look away from her. Her choppy brown hair sways animatedly as if she’s rehearsed this a few times before on her own. “I can’t believe you think that.”

Her feminine voice. Her girl-ish attitude and cute clothes. Nothing about her strikes you as threatening. Instead, you rub the back of your neck, scared that if you accept her offer, she might get hurt or be put in a situation where she has to do something she can’t. But you also want to get closer to her on a more personal level. Not just sex, either. Delilah means a lot to you. As you look at her brown hair from behind, you conclude you owe her something…

“Hey…Delilah.”

“Don’t start singing,” she warns, still not looking at you.

“No, seriously. Look at me.”

Not so reluctantly, she turns to face her. Her small nose and teal eyes, the features you liked about her, all come into view. “Can you really hunt?”

She nods. “Of course, I can. I literally–”

“Alright, you can come with me.”

Delilah blinks and asks you to repeat yourself, so you do. Delilah blinks again but then smiles. “When are we leaving then? When do I have to be ready? Do I get one of your guns?”

A slur of questions comes out of her mouth, but you can answer all of them. You lay out some rules and tell her you’ll give her about 5% of your profit, which is about what you’d tip her for doing anything around the tavern. She tries to argue for more, but you tell her that if you give anything more, other contractors will either try to pair themselves with you or someone will go after her. She slowly nods as she learns the unspoken dangers of contracting and working with you.

Once again, you ask if she’s sure she wants to do this. With a little more thought, she tells you she’s sure. You’ll supply everything needed, including guns and ammo. You offer to buy her clothes, but she goes on to say to you she’ll pack her items.

You get back to your room; you find that all your new companions are chatting amongst themselves. Showered, dressed, and clean. Both Arabella and the twins look at you expectantly. You close the door behind you and shoot your arms out. “What?”

“What’s the deal? What do we have today?” Arabella asks, her expression dull and bored.

“Why don’t you three set gear aside for two people to go hunting? Take cold weather into account and overnight equipment.”

Arabella pauses while the other two go towards your closet. “2 people? Which one of us are you taking?”

“Neither,” you say. “I’m taking Delilah with me on my contract.”

“You trust her that much?” Arabella sounds a little disgusted.

“Delilah’s good,” you say confidently. “I trust her to accompany me on this contract.”

Arabella’s amber eyes narrow at you, almost as if she’s gauging if there are any lies she needs to clear out before joining the twins. Once she fails to detect anything wrong, she shrugs and goes over to help the twins with their given task.

While they go through your supplies to pack everything they deem helpful, you fall into your bed and let out a tired moan. You never expected there to be so much going on at this little tavern, yet these last few days have been life-changing. You look at the mutants as they talk, tinker, pack, and secure...You wonder if you’ll get used to their company like you have Delilah’s.

While you drift from thought to thought, you make eye contact with Arabella, and she fixes her gaze on you, somewhat worried. “What is it?”

“Might be the last time I see you is all. I don’t like that girl very much. Too preppy and—“

“Stop,” you tell her. “As your master, you need to trust me more than the people I’m with. I know my abilities.”

She frowns. “Sorry.”

“Whatever.”

Mikko and Gwendolion perk up, missing the entire exchange. “Master, you're all set to go now!” Mikko says.

“Good lord," you look at Mikko and her twin sister, noticing how tidy everything looks. "Already?"

Gwendolion cuts in. “Yes! Do we get a reward for doing it so quickly??”