Snacks, Chats, and Bed

John quickly made his way downstairs, beating himself up as he made his way into the kitchen.

“Why am I so useless when it comes to talking to women?” he lamented as he began to scour the cabinets for something to eat.

Still, despite his internal flailings, a spark of pride happily glowed within. Who knew falling neck deep into a hidden world of magic and being **** to fight to survive an ambush would be the key to actually forming a meaningful relationship with a woman.

With Libido as his second highest stat, he couldn’t help but imagine where that relationship could go. And with his high Intelligence, those musings could be quite vivid. Sadly, the tantalizing closeness of such fantasies brought with them their inverses: the more likely outcome of things falling apart.

John shook his head, trying to banish both the positive and negative speculations from his overactive mind.

“Let’s just take things as they come,” he chided himself as he pulled out a jar of popcorn kernels. “Keep it nice and casual. No need to jump right to trying to get into her pants.”

Some part of that line of thought made him feel like he swallowed a bucket of slime. It sounded like he was only helping Aeolia to get in her good graces. It made him feel like some of the athletes from school, who would use their physical prowess to entice the female population, which left a bad taste in his mouth.

He shook off the negative feeling as he gathered the rest of what he needed to make their snack, taking solace in the fact that his intentions were pure.

‘Mostly pure,’ John had to admit; his innate curiosity to know just what was going on, why he was attacked and how it factored into the destruction of Aeolia’s guild, playing a small part in why he was helping.

John let those thoughts fall aside as he focused on preparing the popcorn. A bit of cooking oil coated the bottom of the pot, letting it heat for a minute before tossing in a few test kernels. Once they popped, he added in the rest of a measured amount of kernels, nearly covering the whole bottom of the pot, covered and removed it from the burner for half a minute, letting the kernels heat to near popping temperature.

The time elapsed and John returned the covered pot to the flame, adjusting the lid to let the upcoming steam out. The pleasing sound of popping filled the kitchen and John lightly shook the pot to ensure even cooking. Once the popping slowed, John removed the pot and dumped the hot popcorn into a bowl, smiling as no burnt pieces or unpopped kernels were visible.

John melted a bit of butter in the pot, drizzling the result over the bowl. A small sprinkling of salt and a few light shakes later, the snack was complete. John felt a small spark of pride as he picked up the bowl of fluffy popcorn, the sweet scent of butter filling his nose.

John made his way back to his room, bowl in hand and a few bottles of water stowed in his Inventory. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, an errant thought crossed his mind, halting his steps.

‘Crap, I hope she likes popcorn.’

Aeolia remained composed as John hastily exited his room; only once she heard his feet pound against the stairs did she let out a breath as she plopped down on her intended bed. She traced her fingers through the folded sheets.

“He didn’t do a bad job with this,” she said softly, hand drifting to the fleece blanket. The two pieces of soft fabric were tied together via cut stripes in each piece, though they were far from uniform in length, width or space between them.

She toyed with the tassels as her mind drifted, falling back to lie on her bed. An odd but not unwelcome comfort washed over her, soothing away some of the pain in her heart. Despite her attempts to avoid darker thoughts, they still invaded her mind, though now they drifted from recounting her recent past to casting shadows over the near future.

‘Why did they target John?’ she wondered about that mystery. ‘We knew the risks of being a guild. Every day, every job, there was the risk of attracting the wrong sort of attention, but John hasn’t done anything, so why?’

Such thoughts were not her forte, but she wasn’t some dullard who could only fight.

‘There has to be someone in that school of his that’s working with them,’ she realized with a chilling thought. ‘Someone that noticed he had awakened powers and tipped them off.’

Before her chain of thought could progress, the sound of approaching footsteps and the scent of butter drew her attention to the doorway. She sat up and a second later John came into view, a bowl of popcorn carried in his hands.

“So, I hope you like popcorn,” John murmured, offering the bowl as he entered the room. “It was kind of the only snack food we have.”

“Popcorn’s just fine,” Aeolia responded with a smile, flying out of her drawer and over to John’s bed, shifting to her full size before floating down to kneel on it. John placed the bowl near the center and sat down.

Aeolia scooped up a handful of the butter coated and salty treat and threw it into her mouth, letting out a pleased hum.

“Tasty,” she reported, grabbing another handful.

Her appreciation of his labor relaxed John and he took some of the snack for himself.

“Glad you like it,” he said, returning her earlier smile before tossing some of the corn into his mouth, then withdrawing the two water bottles from his Inventory. “Drink?”

Aeolia nodded as she chewed another batch of popcorn. John tossed a bottle over and Aeolia deftly plucked it from the air.

“Thanks,” she said, twisting off the cap and taking a swig. Halfway through her drink, her expression darkened as her previous thoughts resurfaced.

“Hey, John,” she said, her voice serious, “I’ve been thinking about the whole ambush that you got caught up in.”

“Yeah,” John intoned, halting his eating as the topic of their meeting came up, his attention locking on to Aeolia. “What about it?”

“I think there’s someone in your school who works for them,” Aeolia aired her thoughts. “And they either set up that Barrier or called in the hit.”

John frowned. “That makes sense. I did Observe two people without it telling me they were part of the Abyss. Wait, I just remembered something. Back on my bus to school, I used Observe when someone bumped into me. I only got a name and description. I think it was something like a charm, with a sun design. No, it was an eclipse design! That ring any bells?”

Aeolia shook her head. “No. Did you get a look at who was wearing it?”

Now it was John’s turn to signal a negative. “I didn’t even really see the charm. Observe picked up on it while I was getting rag-dolled by a backpack.”

“Looks like the only way to find them is to use the old school method,” Aeolia said with a sigh.

John shifted as he mulled over what they knew. “So, I get on the bus and keep a lookout for the charm there and at school. Are you going to check out the location we found on the business card while I’m at school?”

“No,” Aeolia responded quickly, the sudden increase in her volume causing John to flinch. She looked away, face growing scarlet. “I mean, we don’t know what’s waiting there. It’d be a risky move to go in alone. The same thing goes with you going to school. I’m not just going to let you walk into what could turn into a mess.”

“What’s the plan then?” John questioned, slightly touched by her concern. “You hang around outside of the Academy in case an attack happens then we trek over to see if these Renox people know anything?”

Aeolia nodded. “It’s the best move. We’re in the dark on both fronts, so splitting up would be a bad idea.”

Before John could add in any thoughts, a series of beeps rang in his head. He quickly withdrew his phone, expecting to see a text from his mother. Instead, he was greeted with a notification from a number he didn’t recognize, though its first line gave away the sender.

“It’s from the Academy's alert system,” he informed Aeolia as he read the message. “Looks like our escape this afternoon is getting the officials to look at all the sprinklers to see if they’re compromised in any way. They’re going to keep the school closed for the next two days to do that. Looks like we’ll have to shelve looking for whoever targeted me.”

“That might be a good thing,” Aeolia commented, brows furled in thought. “Gives us a chance to see if we can find allies or info with this Renox group.”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan,” John agreed, slipping his phone back into his Inventory. “Head straight there in the morning?”

“No point in wasting time,” Aeolia replied, grabbing a handful of popcorn as their conversation shifted away from important topics. “The sooner we get any kind of answers, the sooner we can make plans for later.”

John hummed as he resumed eating. “If I remember correctly, the bus line that heads in that area picks up about a half-hour after the one that heads towards the Academy does, so we’ll need to leave about 7:30 to be sure to catch it.”

Aeolia glanced out the window. Night had since fallen and the dark sky elicited a yawn from her.

“I think we should turn in,” she suggested. “Get nice and rested so we’re ready for whatever tomorrow throws at us.”

John swallowed the last of his popcorn, looking a little nervous as his eyes snapped over to Aeolia’s drawer.

“So,” he said after clearing his throat, “um, do you need anything before going to bed? The bed doesn't need any adjustments, does it?”

“Just need to change into some pajamas,” Aeolia said plainly.

“Right, I’ll, uh, step out and let you get to that,” John said quickly, exiting the room with only a brief pause at his dresser. Aeolia smiled as she flew over to where she left her pack, shrinking down as she landed. She dug into her pile of clothes, pulling out what amounted to a long off-white shirt. It had been modified; the collar and upper back cut off to allow her wings clearance, with a pair of cotton strips fastened to the front for her to tie around her neck.

She undid the clasp of her dress and let the feather styled garment fall to the floor, following that with her stockings. A shudder ran through her as she stood naked, heart beating harder at the thought of John coming in and seeing her, before she shook her head clear and pulled her sleepwear up over her legs and up past her bare breasts, tying the strips into a knot behind her neck.

Dressed for bed, Aeolia gathered her clothes, folded them and placed them and her ad hoc pack behind the desk. She flew over to her bed, landing on the soft pile with a satisfying bounce.

“Done,” she announced as she settled down, pulling the fleece blanket

John reentered his room, changed out of his jeans and into a pair of grey shorts.

“So, everything’s good?” he asked a bit nervously as he made his way over to his desk, not only to check on his guest, but to turn off his computer.

“Everything’s good,” Aeolia echoed with a smile, snuggling deeper into the bed.

“Great,” John said, a sense of relief evident in his voice and posture as he moved towards the light switch. “Well, guess it’s lights out then.”

He flicked the switch, plunging the room into near total darkness. By the low light outside, John navigated his way to his bed, slipping under the covers. Aeolia’s sharp ears easily picked up John’s breathing as he lay in bed. Deep at first, it slowly transitioned into the shallow breaths that signal sleep.

‘Guess he was more tired than he looked,’ Aeolia thought as John’s light breathing began to lull her to sleep, and soon, she joined John in dreamland.

The sound of something closing jolted Aeolia awake, her eyes wide as she nearly sprang out of her bed. A second later, her mind caught up to her instincts and she fell back into the makeshift bed, trying to calm her breathing. Downstairs she heard movement, careful steps trying to avoid causing any noise.

‘That should be John’s mom, right?’ Aeolia thought, though darker options began to play out in her mind, from a common burglar here to ransack the place, to their unknown enemy coming to finish them off.

Unable to shake darker thoughts from her mind, Aeolia flew out of bed, gliding over to the door and landing on the knob. Footsteps remained the only sounds she could hear, steps that now were climbing the stairs at a sedate pace. Aeolia kept a tense posture as the unknown person trudged past John’s door, down the hall and into the room at the far end, a light clicking on before the door was closed.

A few minutes later, the click of a light switch and the squeak of bedsprings left Aeolia sure John’s mother was the unknown person and her worry abated. She glided back to her bed and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself back to sleep. Time passed, but her mind stubbornly refused to turn off.

She shifted around, trying to get comfortable on the borrowed pillows. Her restless shifting caused her shirt to rub against her breasts, nipples stiffening from the stimulation. She bit her lip and held back a moan as warmth began to spread through her body. Her hands drifted to her thighs and long fingers drew up the hem of her nightshirt. Her probing digits reached her bare womanhood and began to toy with her sensitive flesh.

Her heart raced, both from her masturbation and the taboo thrill of pleasuring herself with another so close. Her thoughts drifted to her sleeping host as her fingers increased their pace. She found him attractive enough physically, a bit of work to refine his lean muscles would push him up a few ranks in her personal opinion, but his actions through the day left a much larger impression on her.

As if her thoughts reached her roommate, John let out a snore, his body twisting from under his covers. A spike of arousal and fear shot through Aeolia, fingers poised to bring her over the edge but frozen as her heart hammered in her chest. John’s movements settled, but Aeolia remained still, conflicting emotions locking her in place.

**** to release her pent up passion and return to sleep, Aeolia pushed herself out of her bed, sending a burst of her magic into the pillows, shrinking them into a manageable size. She grabbed them and flew up towards the ceiling. A feather from her wing drifted down and landed upon John’s nose as she reached her zenith.