Moonlighting 1 (1/2)

“Hmmnn…”

A soft groan filled the messy room as one of its occupants gradually woke from her slumber. A slender girl with platinum blonde hair and pointed ears rose from the double bed while yawning pleasantly. She rubbed the sleep from her emerald green eyes as she lazily looked around her modest, single-room home.

There was a stone stove-and-oven combo embedded halfway into the wooden wall opposite the bed. It had a rectangular brick chimney sticking out of it and leading up into the ceiling. The corner immediately to the left side of the stove held a plain dining table with three chairs lazily strewn around the place. To the right of the stove was a simple wooden cabinet filled with dishes, jugs and other eating utensils. A sturdy-looking desk with a few quills, an inkwell and a small pile of paper stood opposite that cabinet, next to the same wall that the bed was up against. A few chests and drawers were lined up on the other side of the bed, under the only window in the house. Needless to say, those held the residents’ few worldly possessions such as clothes, mementos and-

“... Window?” mumbled the young elf.

Why was the window important? This was most definitely her window, exactly the same as it was the night before, so why did it seem so out of place? True, the double glass panes were so filthy that barely any sunlight got through it, but she liked it better this way. Having too much light pour in from that side of the room was annoying if she wanted to focus on her work.

“Sunlight?” she mumbled again. She blinked her eyes a few more times before she realized what had happened.

“Sunlight!” she shouted suddenly. “Keira, wake up!”

She shook the other person that lived in her house and slept in her bed. A head of fiery red, short, and slightly curly hair emerged from underneath the covers. Two triangular, cat-like ears with matching crimson fur perked up as their owner gradually woke up. The face of a young, plainly cute girl emerged next. It was yawning with a wide-open mouth, showing her extra-sharp canines to anyone who might be looking her way, which consisted solely of an elf girl by the name of Rowana Slyth.

“Keira!”

The cat-eared girl slowly turned her head to face the panicked elf. Her dull expression blossomed into a full blown, open mouthed smile.

“Hehee! Good meowrning, Rowanaaa!”

She leaned forward and wrapped the other girl in a tight hug. Her long, bright red tail waved about happily as she rubbed her cheek against Rowana’s.

“Yes, I’m happy to see you too, but you need to go! You’ll be late!”

“Hmm? Late?”

“Yeah! The sun’s out already! Didn’t you have a thing to do today?!”

“... Oh, snap!”

Keira’s yellow, cat-like eyes became wide as dinner plates as she realized Rowana was right. She leapt out of bed, grabbed the shortbow propped up by the wall and went for the front door at the far end of the room.

“Wait!” screamed the elf. “You’re forgetting something!”

“Ah! Of course! How silly of me!”

The catgirl ran back to the bed and gave the elf a big, wet kiss on the mouth. Their lips separated several seconds later with a loud smack.

“I was about to leave without giving you a goodbye kiss ~♡!”

“N-not that!” said the red-faced Rowana with a fluster. “Clothes, Keira! Put on some clothes!”

The red-haired catgirl was about to run out into the street completely in the nude. Although Rowana appreciated the sight of her girlfriend’s slim figure, tanned skin and adorably small breasts, she didn’t particularly feel like sharing it with the rest of the city.

“Uwah! That was close!” said Keira while beginning to dress herself.

“Honestly!” exclaimed the elf with a huff. “How are you this much of an airhead!?”

“It’s your fault!” shot back the other girl while pulling up her custom-tailored leather pants. “If you didn’t want to cuddle in the nude until late last night then I wouldn’t have overslept!”

“I-I can’t help it, okay? Your skin just feels way too good against mine!”

“That’s why you elves can’t,” Keira paused for a second as she pulled her chainmail tunic over her head, “can’t get along with others! You’re way too selfish!”

“You weren’t complaining last night though…”

“Th-this and that are completely unrelated!”

The pair shared an embarrassed chuckle as Rowana idly watched her new sweetheart get ready for her day. Keira put on a pair of wrist-length fingerless gloves made of the same gray leather material as her trousers.

“... You be careful out there, alright?” said the elf without trying to hide her concern.

“I’ll be fine, Rowie,” answered Keira with a reassuring smile. “Mister Faehorn said we’ll just be doing some light termite hunting today. Our class average is barely Level 13 so I’m sure he won’t make us do anything reckless.”

“He’s not bullying you, right? I heard some bad things about that guy…”

“Nah, he’s cool. He acts all tough and distant, but that’s just because he takes his job seriously and really cares about his students. He doesn’t treat me differently even though I’m not an elf you know!”

“Hmmm… I guess he’s unexpectedly a nice guy, huh?”

Rowana watched in silence as the beastkin pulled a dark green cloth tunic over her chainmail armor and strapped an empty quiver across her torso. Once that was in place, she put on a pair of metal plated bracers on her forearms, and finished up by buckling a set of matching shin-guards to her lower legs and ankles.

“There, all done!” she declared while doing a little spin as if to show off.

“No shoes, though?” asked the elf while glancing at her lover’s bare feet.

“Ah, mister Faehorn says a true Ranger must be in tune with his or her surroundings at all times, so going barefoot is a must!”

While most of the aged elf’s other students were of the opinion that this sort of thinking was outdated and old-fashioned, Keira took those words to heart. She considered herself extremely lucky to be able to study under a famous archer like him, so she wasn’t going to let a single drop of his wisdom go to waste. Besides, she didn’t particularly mind it, as feeling the grass between her toes felt oddly nice.

“Keira, promise me you’ll be back by sundown.”

“Ehhhh? But the night breeze feels so good around here!”

“I know, but yesterday I heard more rumors about that crazy vigilante that appeared recently…”

“Hm? Oh, you mean that Sandman character? Isn’t he one of the good guys, though?”

“He kills people, Keira! There’s no way that’s a ‘good guy’ no matter how I look at it!”

“So what, he should just have a nice chat with the murderers, rapists and slavers?”

“No! But, I mean, surely even they don’t deserve to be killed off without a fair trial!”

“The only reason you can say that sort of thing is because you’ve never been a victim.”

Keira’s uncharacteristically cold words and grim face made the elf realize she said something she shouldn’t have.

“I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

The elf had momentarily forgotten that her new sweetheart carried with her some deep scars from her childhood, despite being only 16 years old. The beastkin had already stated that the whole reason she came to this country in the first place was so she could escape her past, so unintentionally digging it up like this made Rowana feel bad. Sure, she didn’t know the specifics, but she didn’t particularly need to. All that mattered was that she would be there for Keira the moment the oddly energetic and slightly airheaded girl felt like sharing her sorrows.

The beastkin grabbed her shortbow once more and, after making sure her backup dagger was on her belt, turned towards the exit to the hovel.