Book 2 – Chapter 70 – Afterparty

When I finally emerged from Lanivia’s lair, the dungeon was quiet. Most of the celebrations had wound down earlier by the time that Kass and I returned inside, and now, after spending some time talking with the Laniva, it seemed like most people had retired to bed.

I strode across the abandoned atrium and headed towards the residential area. Between relaxing with Kass and the discussion with Lanivia, I’d completely forgotten about George. Although the oversized arachnid could be mischievous, he was usually well-behaved.

At least, when I was around.

When he was alone, however, he had a habit of quickly growing bored and wandering off to find something interesting to do. I hadn’t planned to leave him alone for so long; I’d just lost track of time. I could only imagine that the sound of celebrations and the smell of food would have quickly lured him out of my room. I just hoped he hadn’t caused much trouble.

As soon as I stepped into the residential area, I slipped to the left and stuck my head into the cafeteria. There were a few people inside, mostly cafeteria staff and what appeared to be the night-shift maintenance team, but there were also a couple of people passed out in the side booths.

“Must have been some party,” I muttered.

“It was. You really should have been there instead of hiding away in a corner,” someone replied from behind me.

I jumped in surprise and twirled in place to discover Myra standing just a couple of feet away, staring at me, arms crossed. “You’re late, you know.”

“I know,” I replied awkwardly. “I’m sorry about earlier. George ruined the buffet you prepared for everyone. I meant to step in to apologize after I finished bathing him, but I kind of lost track of time.”

“You don’t have to apologize for that girl. You’re a grown-up, and you can do whatever you want to do,” Myra replied. “And don’t worry about the mess, you already apologized for it earlier when you came to pick up that troublemaker, remember?”

“I know, I still feel a little guilty for not catching him before he made a mess,” I explained, before glancing over my shoulder guiltily. “He, uh, didn’t happen to show up again after I left. Did he?”

“He did, but I managed to convince him to behave himself,” Myra chuckled. “I wasn’t going to allow a repeat of that disaster.”

“Sorry again,” I muttered, turning back to her. “Did he leave again, or…”

“Oh, he’s still in there, back at your regular table,” Myra replied. “Don’t worry, I didn’t allow him to gorge himself. I think he’s just relaxing with Kassandra.”

“Kass is still here?” I asked in surprise. “Why?”

“I don’t know, why don’t you go ask her?” Myra replied, shooing me away.

I took a single step towards the cafeteria before pausing and turning back towards her. “Didn’t you spend all day cooking and preparing for the post-match festivities? Shouldn’t you be heading to bed soon, too?” I asked.

“Girl, I’ve spent the last fifteen years running an inn. I’ve been getting up before dawn to prepare the daily ingredients, and staying up past midnight to clean up the kitchen. I may have a few more experienced assistants here, and not have to keep my old schedule, but old habits die hard. I’ll be up for a few hours yet,” she said, placing her hands on her hips. “Now, I know it looks like we’ve completely cleaned up after the party, but we’ve still got plenty of food left in the kitchen, so if you’re feeling peckish, don’t hesitate to ask Marie at the counter for something to snack on.”

“Alright, thanks, Myra,” I said.

“Take care of yourself now,” the halfling declared as she slipped past me and jogged towards the kitchen.

I took a deep breath and followed her into the cafeteria. I did my best to move quietly, and stay away from the booths as I headed towards our favorite table in the corner.

About halfway across the cafeteria, I noticed something and paused. While most of the booths consisted of two benches with a table between them, good for three or four people, the booths at both ends had benches that curved around the corner. The largest booth in the middle had a large square table and a semicircular bench that curved all the way around it.

Right at the back of the central booth was Bea, snoring quietly, and nestled up against her sides were her sisters. The whole family had cuddled up together at the very back of the booth, partially concealed by the table. I guess between the match and the party they had completely exhausted themselves.

“Cute,” I chuckled, before continuing.

When I reached the final booth, I actually had to peek my head into the booth to see Kass. She was tucked right up to the adjacent booth, partially hidden from the rest of the cafeteria. She jumped a little when I did.

“Talia? I thought you were talking to Lanivia,” she exclaimed.

“I already finished,” I replied. “What are you doing sitting here by yourself? Why haven’t you gone to bed yet?”

“I wanted some time to think,” she explained quietly.

I briefly considered going around to the far side of the table and sitting there, but after a second, I stepped over to Kass and gently wedged myself between her and the wall. She looked at me in surprise for a moment before smiling and moving over just enough for me to slip in next to her.

“What are you thinking about?” I asked.

“Oh, you know… the match, changes to the dungeon,” she paused and glanced towards me, “us.”

“Good thoughts, I hope,” I said, leaning against her.

“Mostly,” she replied with a smile. “After you went to meet with Lanivia, I realized that I haven’t really taken some time to think since I came back from visiting my family. I guess I could have done it in my quarters, but it was quiet in here, and I was a little bit hungry so…”

“So you stopped in,” I said, nodding, “I get it.”

A long, low, growling purr erupted from under the table, and a second later, a fuzzy arachnid leg emerged from the darkness and started nudging my leg.

“Did someone say a magic word?” I laughed as George poked his head out from under the table and shoved it into my hand. “Myra told me you’ve already had snacks, don’t try and use that cute act to get extra treats.”

George retreated slightly, looked up at me with puppy dog eyes, and quietly whined. The two of us engaged in a quick staring contest, but after a couple of seconds, I gave up and sighed.

“Fine,” I sighed, grabbing the menu. “Even though you made a mess earlier, I haven’t eaten yet and it is a special occasion. I’ll get you something small.”

The big spider burst out from under the table and immediately raised his front two limbs and started dancing.

“Only if you behave yourself,” I hissed.

Kass laughed quietly, then leaned over and laid her head on my shoulder. “You two are quite the pair. Never change.”

I blushed and turned my head away slightly hopefully that she didn’t notice. “Do you want to tell me what you were thinking about?” I asked.

“Only if you tell me what you talked to Lanivia about,” she replied. “Deal?”

“If I do that, we might be here all night,” I said.

Kass smiled. “That’s fine. Tomorrow’s a day off, and even if we don’t finish talking tonight, we have all the time in the world.”

I turned back and gave her a smile of my own. “And there’s no where else I’d like to be,” I said.