Chapter 552: A Little More Action

Arc had to admit, it was funny seeing Raven on the backfoot.

She knew what they were talking about, and she was resisting the instinct to just walk away, but stars, it was too hilarious to interrupt. But her growing laughter did the interrupting for her, fed by Owyn’s honest confusion and Raven’s indignant fury. The contrast between them tickled her through the threads connecting them more thickly than they had before, such that even when she closed her eyes, she could perceive them.

When silence finally broke out, both of them staring at her, she came up, wiping her eyes. "Let’s just go shopping. I’m glad we cleared the air a bit, but we really shouldn’t be talking about this stuff out on the street. Okay?"

Raven pounced on the option to take their conversation elsewhere, which was how, a short walk later, the three of them wound up in Little Hell’s shop district.

Unlike most of the city, Little Hell kept its own building codes, so instead of well-organized, glass storefronts and well-placed signs, the stores were a chaotic jumble. Bright colors and noise came from every alley where peddlers had stalls set up, many of them completely blocking the path behind them.

Arc spotted one alley where cages large and small lined both walls, each filled with dangerous-looking creatures that skittered around their spaces or slept. She wondered for a moment what they could be, since they were so different from anything she’d ever seen.

The breeder clearly noticed her interest, because a moment later he asked her in a gravelly voice, "Hellbeast you want?" He held up an ash-black, ratlike creature with a circular maw full of tiny razor teeth.

Arc’s hackles rose as she stared into the mouth of evil. "I... No thanks," she started to back away nervously, only to bump into something hard and metallic, which fell clattering to the ground.

"Oh beans!"

Turning, Arc’s eyes widened in surprise as Snow tried to keep a stack of metal vessels, mostly bowls or bowl-like containers made of brass, beaten copper, and cast iron. Arc tried to reach to help her stabilize the stack, but Snow kept shifting out of the way as she compensated. In short order, the rest of the vessels came tumbling down, and only Arc’s horns saved her from a concussion as one landed on her head, knocking her to her butt.

As she lifted the bowl off her head, Arc saw Raven and Owyn arrive. Snow was on her side, half curled underneath a particularly large bronze dish. For a moment, it looked like Owyn was going to help her, but then he shifted over to Snow and lifted her onto her feet as Arc rose up.

With tendrils of blood, Raven gathered the nearby vessels into a pile, and a few nearby demons even helped, though most were content to just look and keep walking.

After apologizing, Arc asked Snow what she was doing in Little Hell.

"W-well, I was told Mrs. Keiya needed help to find a new bowl for her undine, Nimfi..."

"You’re helping the Lake Spirit?" Raven asked, her voice peaking with excitement. "How’d that happen?"

Arc quietly offered to let Snow use her dimensional bag, storing the smaller bowls as the little pangolkin stumbled through an explanation that boiled down to the Archon of Purification, Keiya of the Lake, being the most powerful water mage in the city and Snow’s mandatory tutor, along with the other two spec-grade water users. It was the latter who’d tasked Snow with acquiring the vessels.

"It sounds like a prank," Owyn said, scratching at the back of his head.

"It’s not a prank! They said they’d pay me for whatever Nimfi didn’t want." Snow didn’t sound too sure about it.

Arc subtly palmed her mouth to hide the disbelieving face she was making. It definitely sounded like a prank, which meant there was only one thing to do.

"Say, Snow, I can help you deliver these. Do you need to be back by a certain time?"

"J-just curfew. I was going to clean them before delivering them when classes restart..."

"Why don’t you hang out with us then?" Arc invited. "We’re doing a little shopping ourselves."

"Oh... is that really alright?" she asked, her scales clicking a bit as she looked from Arc to Owyn to Raven, her tail scraping lightly on the pavement.

Owyn shrugged noncommittally. Raven took on a devilish smirk and said, "I think it’s a great idea. I was just about to insist we take Arc here to find some good clothes. And I know just the place..."

*

Just the place turned out to be Stella’s Atelier, which was the largest storefront she’d seen in Little Hell. Indeed, despite the troubles elsewhere in the city, a steady stream of people of all races worked their way in and out of the store, many of them leaving with discreet little bags and boxes.

But it was the storefront that filled Arc’s sight. Confident, scantily clad males and females of all races were depicted in colorful illusions, advertising for a "Summer Nights Collection." The total effect was to make Arc feel very, very insecure about her petite body.

"I’m suddenly regretting this." Arc tried to turn around, only to be seized under the arms by Raven and Owyn before they carried her inside.

Before she could remark on this betrayal, a coy voice drawled, "Hey, Arc!"

"Who’s this?" Raven asked as Arc groaned. It was Opal, and she sounded completely prepared to compound Arc’s embarrassment.

"I’m Opal, Arc’s half-sister," the demoness in a black, tailored skirt and vest combo offered a hand to shake. "Oh, hey, you’re wearing our stuff. Mourning Night Collection, great choice."

Snow, who’d entered even more nervously behind, looked around like she was ready to curl in on herself in an instant. "I th-thought this was a s-s-seh... One of those shops," she remarked, wide-eyed.

"Oh, no, that’s a common misconception. This is Stella’s Atelier. You want Stella’s Boutique for sex stuff. It’s easy to remember because it has ’bouti’ in it."

It was hard to determine who was blushing harder, Arc or Snow, but when she was done groaning, Arc whisper-shouted, "What are you even doing here?" at her half-sister.

"First off, rude. Second, I work here." She gestured at her clothes, which were quite professional and actually a uniform now that Arc had a chance to see behind the crysta register. "I’m a hostess. I’m here to give you fashion advice and stuff."

"And stuff?" Arc asked.

"Yeah. You know. Accessorizing, tailoring, enchanting, financing..."

Arc didn’t need to ask about financing, since more crysta than she’d ever had in her life was currently on the gift card she’d received for this place. Opal was more than happy to lead them through the half of the atelier that sold clothes suitable for daylight. Still, the "night" side remained visible as they walked the room, and Arc kept peeking at it, wondering if anything there would look good on her.

It was actually kind of amazing, and they even offered on-site tailoring for a fee, and the tailor-mages worked fast, judging by how quickly the customers went in and out of the privacy-walled station.

Despite Arc’s initial assumption that Raven and Opal might get along, it turned out that they had competing visions for how Arc should dress. Raven wanted to dress Arc the same as her, but in white to better represent their rivalry. Opal, meanwhile, kept trying to foist pastel and jewel-toned sets onto Arc, with price tags that made her pale.

"White goes with everything!" Raven argued as she pinned Arc to the wall with a lace dress.

"She’d look better in blues!" Opal held a sapphire-blue dress made of silk against Arc’s cheek.

"They look too expensive..." Arc mumbled as she eyed both price tags.

"Of course they’re expensive. They’re self-sizing, self-cleaning, and self-repairing," Opal said. "Come on! Think of all the action you can get with this dress."

"What action?!"

"You know..." she jerked her head over at Owyn, licking her lips.

"Don’t be crass!" Raven snapped. "She needs something for dances, not playing the succubus."

"This is for dancing," Opal scowled and shoved the blue dress in Raven’s face.

In the end, Arc was bullied into buying two sets according to Raven and Opal’s tastes. A bluish-purple prismatic dress that harmonized well with her hair, and a deep green suit and white vest set with silvery lace, which, while not to Raven’s specific taste, was still within what she considered good style. Being enchanted, together they were set to burn through four-fifths of Arc’s gift card.

Owyn, meanwhile, had quietly drifted to the men’s section, returning with a high-collared jacket and nothing else. It was a deep green with thread-of-gold edging along the buttonless centerline and tasteful, gold lacework dragons along the sleeves.

Snow turned up having already bought something, though she refused to reveal what it was as she clutched the black bag to her chest and refused Arc’s offer to carry it in her storage bag.

It was as they were set to leave that Opal pulled Arc aside, "Here," she discreetly handed Arc a small packet, withdrawn from her personal storage. "I was meaning to give this to you next time I saw you. Bit of a late birthday gift."

"What is it?" Arc opened the packet a little, spying a shimmer of blue speckled with starlight.

"It’s a scarf. Beryl and I worked on it. It won’t tear easy or stain, but I’m not a good enough enchanter yet, so... no self-repairing, unfortunately."

"I love it! Thank you!" Arc gave her half-sister a hug before looking over her shoulder. The others were waiting just outside, Owyn trying on his new jacket. An idea struck her, something she might regret, so she decided to just push forward and not overthink it. "Say, Opal, would you mind doing me a favor?"