Stacia took the coin, biting her lip as if she wanted to say something but was afraid to ask. She spoke in a rush, “Are ya really a two-souled?”
Chuckling Alburet replied, “What makes you think I’m not?”
“Ya do nay depart like Karen did last night. Ya have been here the last few days all the time unlike any other two-souled I’ve heard of. Ya treat all of us with courtesy like any normal folk, unlike most two-souled. Ya do nay jus’ run around demanding things of others. On top of all tha’ ya have treated me like a lady at times and nay just a bar wench .” She looked away from him as if afraid of how he might reply.
He considered for a moment what he could say before answering her, “Stacia, my pretty little kitten, look at me please.” He waited until she met his gaze, “I am a two-souled, do not doubt that. With that said though, I am a unique two-souled. What I am about to tell you cannot be shared with anyone, even your own family. Do you agree?”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she nodded, “On me soul, master.”
Taking a deep breath he began, “I am a new type of two-souled. One day there will be others like me who can stay in this world for longer times but for now I believe I am the only one. Once a month I will be gone for an entire day as my soul is taken back to the other world. On that world I am helping others with an experiment, if it is successful it will help many others. All the other days I will be here in Alpha World all the time. My day of absence is about three weeks away. I will try to warn you ahead of time, but even I am not exactly sure when it will happen.”
Stacia looked a little uncertain, “Ya will come back after the day away?”
“Of course. I will do my very best and bend heaven and hell to make it back. Now, I must go,” he got up and began to equip his gear. “You be good, kitten. I look forward to later tonight.”
Stacia curtsied to him, “Be safe, master. I shall be waiting.”
He could tell she was worried but he couldn’t do anything else for her right now. He closed the distance between them, grabbing her firmly as he pulled her into an embrace and kissing her deeply. He let the kiss linger for a few minutes, then sat her down before he spun and left the room. He felt a small tug at his chest when he left, as if he was leaving a small piece of himself. Shaking it off, he nodded to Stacia’s sister behind the bar, who winked at him as he headed out to the portal guild. He was going to be a little late unless he picked up the pace, so he started to jog.
Goblin Slaying
As he jogged along the roads to the portal guild he saw more people running down the streets. He smirked, knowing that the majority of them would be players who had just started today. He snorted as he watched one of the new players collide with a city guard, as if he expected to be able to run through the guard. Arriving at the portal guild a few minutes later he paused outside to take a few deep breaths before going inside. Entering, he found the waiting area full of people all talking excitedly with each other. He looked over the crowd trying to find Fluffball. He stepped towards the receptionist’s desk, wondering where Fluffball could be.
Fluffball called out to him as he was passing the waiting area, “Al, how are you doing?”
As the words left her mouth he got the invitation to group. Accepting the invitation, he replied to her. “Doing pretty good, Fluff. Did your business go well?”
“Yes. Wow, I see you’ve hit level thirteen. Have you already been out to the village overrun by goblins?” She asked, joining him in line at the reception desk.
“Yeah, been there. Even went out to the orc area yesterday to do a quest chain.”
“Oh, got the drop off a Goblin Messenger?”
“Yeah, that was the quest chain I sent you a message about. Too bad you missed it. Marysue asked if you had been around, by the way.”
“Um hm. I had a couple of messages from her asking if I wanted to party up with them when I was gone. They’re both fourteen already, which is amazing. They both must be playing a lot. I’m hoping to hit twelve today myself.” Fluffball turned to the receptionist as they reached the front of the line. “Hi. Party of two for the ruined village that’s overrun by goblins.”
A receptionist Alburet hadn’t met was manning the desk, “That will be a gold and a half each.”
Alburet put three gold onto the desk, “I got this round, Fluff.” The receptionist took the gold and bade them wait in the waiting area. As they got out of the way for the next in line, Alburet offered his arm to Fluff, “Shall we?”
Fluffball smiled broadly, grooming one of her ears momentarily before taking his arm, “I see you are still the gentleman.”
“Always treat the women you are with as ladies while in public. It’s been one of my mottos for some time.” Alburet replied as he led her to the waiting area and looked for a seat. He found a single chair off to the side and quickly took her to it. “Please, sit,” he said as he swept his free hand at the chair.
“Oh, I wouldn’t feel right taking the only seat,” Fluff said.
“Well, you can have the chair or I can take it then pull you into my lap,” Alburet said without thinking about who he was with.
Fluff’s eyes went wide as she looked at him in shock, her cheeks red under the fur. She groomed one of her ears nervously as they stood in front of the seat in silence for a second. Alburet realized what he had just said and to whom and winced internally.
“Err, yeah, I’m sorry about that. I’ve been hanging around with some different people over the last few days. It seems my mouth to brain filter is off at the moment.” Alburet felt his cheeks tinge slightly in embarrassment for having caused Fluff to be discomfited.
“No, no, it’s okay. You won’t do anything if I take the seat, right?” Her voice was full of uncertainty.
“I will not lay a finger on you without your approval,” Alburet replied, gesturing to the seat.
Fluff sat down, keeping her eyes on him as she did. A silence fell between them for a time, each of them trying to think of a way to break the awkward moment.
“So,” Alburet finally said, “I’ve been a little curious, so I might as well ask you. Why are you so nervous or embarrassed when I make the occasional remark?” He kept his tone level, laced with the warmth of one friend concerned for another. Fluffball looked away from him, her cheeks turning red again. When he saw that he quickly continued, “I mean, you don’t have to answer. I was just curious.”
Her voice just barely loud enough to be heard over all the other conversations she replied, “Social anxiety, mostly. It’s one of the reasons I started playing mmorpgs.”
Alburet sank down to one knee beside her, gently placing a hand on hers on the arm of the chair. When she looked over at him with her eyes full of worry he smiled gently at her. “I’m sorry if I’ve made you uncomfortable. I will do my best to curtail my sexual comments, okay?”
Her hand trembled slightly and she licked her lips nervously, “You aren’t trying to embarrass or hurt me with them though, so it’s okay. I know that you’re safe to be with which helps me get used to how a lot of other people act. So don’t change anything you are doing, it will only help me in the long run.”
He reached up and rubbed her ear gently, “As you wish, Fluff.”
She froze momentarily when he touched her ear then, pushed her head into his hand purring. He chuckled softly as he continued to rub her ear, “Gods, you do cute really well.”
Fluff blushed crimson, but purred even louder as she rubbed her head into his hand. Minutes went by, each of them quite content as they waited for the portal mage. Eventually the mage showed up and led them to the portal room. Fluff went through as Alburet tipped the mage, then he followed after her.