I awoke not to the tune of bells, but to knocking.
A yawn escaped me, followed by a groan. "Who is it?" I called as I wrapped myself up tighter.
"Hey bud, some lady said she wanted to talk with you." Lance's voice was muffled, so I had a somewhat hard time hearing him.
"What?"
"S-some lady!"
Some lady? What is he, five?
"Rain check!" I replied as I closed my eyes.
Silence.
I grinned and rolled over in my quilt. The silence didn't last long though. There was a rattle of a key entering a lock. A click and creak followed it.
"Surprise, Lafayette."
My eyes shot open as I sat up to see Zenith march into my room. "How the hell, why are you here?!"
Zenith crossed her arms and raised her chin. "You called, I answered. Most people consider that good communication."
I looked past her and at Lance. He looked like he'd just been dragged out of a trench and brought into the phantom zone.
Zenith stepped forward and pulled my quilt out from under me. "Come on, your lover is waiting for you."
I jumped up. "Who? Who's my lover?"
Zenith gave me a knowing look. "Right, so the girl you shared a bed and bath with for—"
"That's different!" I cried, "Besides you're here way too early. I haven't even gotten settled."
"That's the point. If you move when you feel ready you'll never take the first step. Now get moving, you got a fox waiting for you."
I looked down at my white boxers. "I can't go like this."
Zenith grabbed me by my collar. "She's already seen your little man. Stop finding excuses and let's move."
"She didn't see it," I grumbled. But now that I think about it she absolutely saw it. Kinda hard not to when we shared the tub.
I guess it just didn't register at the time considering everything…
I sighed as I was practically dragged out of the room and down the hall. In all honesty, I was a little nervous about seeing Jashen so soon.
Lance watched with a curious expression but said nothing as Zenith and I entered the lift.
The operator was an older man who sent us down without flair. We reached the first floor and left the academy grounds.
As we walked through the city I finally spoke up. "So why did you move so fast? Like, you couldn't just take a week, at least?"
Zenith sighed.
"Tomorrow isn't promised, if something needs to be done I do it. You should know that."
She looked down at me. "That's how you move forward, not by planning for it, but by taking the necessary steps."
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, enough with the one-liner."
Zenith smirked. "I'll admit, I was surprised you sent that letter at all. I fully expected you to wait… for years even."
I closed my eyes.
"I intended to, but there was no reason to wait. If anything was waiting to hold me back. If I want to beat Lilith, I need to move now."
Zenith chuckled. "See."
I groaned. "Whatever, I'm not saying that because you said it. I just read a book is all."
Zenith raised an eyebrow. "A book huh?" Her smirk grew.
I ignored her.
We continued in silence after that. The city was slowly coming to life as shops opened and carriages roamed the streets.
Eventually, Zenith stopped in front of a modest two-story house. It was wedged between two taller buildings, with stairs that led up to the front door.
I placed my hands on my hips.
"This mine?"
Zenith reached into her pocket to produce a key. "Yes." She handed me the keys. "Jashen is inside along with her belongings."
She reached into her other pocket to produce a coin pouch. "Here."
I took the pouch. "What's this for? Taxes?"
Zenith blinked. "What? No, it's for furniture. Why would you be paying taxes?"
"Why wouldn't I? Isn't there like a property tax or something?"
Zenith tilted her head. "Well, not really? It was already paid when we bought the property. If you sell it again though, then yeah you'll have to pay taxes."
We stared at each other for a long time.
"Are you seriously telling me I don't have to pay taxes?"
Zenith nodded. "Not yet away. When your income gets high enough you'll eventually need to pay taxes."
I grinned.
Finally, a world without a Tax agency breathing down my neck. I walked up the stairs and slid my key in the lock.
It swung open with a soft creak. The inside was bare and smelled of polished wood. The morning light shone through the windows and illuminated a figure on the floor.
A sleeping woman with a long orange tail and pointed, furry ears.
On the opposite wall, Julian leaned back with his arms crossed. He smirked upon seeing me.
I walked over towards Jashen and took a knee. Her ears twitched in my direction.
"Jashen," I whispered.
Her eyes shot open, green and deep. She didn't say anything at first. But then, she leapt up and tackled me.
"Lafayette!" She exclaimed.
She wrapped her arms around my head and pinned me beneath her. She began to lick my face and even my lips as she stuck her butt in the air and wagged her tail.
"Get off me!" I cried, only to have her kiss me.
I narrowed my eyes with frustration as she kissed me repeatedly. When she finally finished she sat down on my lap with her hands on my chest.
I stared at the ceiling, my face covered in slob and drool.
Julian and Zenith exchanged glances before nodding in unison. "We'll leave you two to it, but we'll be back in a week or so."
Zenith pulled out a folded piece of paper from her coat and set it down on the floor.
I watched them leave before I turned my attention towards Jashen. She smiled innocently as her tail wagged.
"You should be ashamed of yourself." I finally said. "No decency whatsoever."
Jashen's ears flopped against her head as she leaned close. "Meanie. Why didn't you kiss me back? We're mates."
I wiped my face on my sleeve. "We're not mates. I'm my own man."
Jashen smirked. "You're my man."
I tried not to but I ended up laughing.
"God damnit."
Jashen looked around curiously. "Where are we anyway? Is this a house? Is this your house?"
"Our house." I raised my keys and jiggled them. Jashen snatched the keys with a smile.
"We have a house?" She gripped the keys and looked up. "We have an empty house."
I raised the coin pouch with a grin. "We got money, tax-free by the way."
"Ooh." She snatched the money pouch. "Let's go shopping." She stood up and looked down at me. "Oh, and let's get you some pants and shoes."
I sat up. "It's fine, I doubt anyone cares about me being in my socks and boxers."
"I care. I don't want anyone seeing you like this. Oh, also where can we get furniture from, do you know?"
I walked over and picked up the paper Zenith left. I unfolded it and saw that it was a map of the city with red circles over points of interest.
Alongside a description of the times they open.
Bakeries.
Blacksmiths.
General stores…
It's insane how far ahead Zenith plans.
Jashen peered over my shoulder. "What are those red circles?" She asked.
"Places we can visit later." I folded the map back up and handed it to her. "Right now I need to head back to school for class."
Jashen's eyes widened. "Wait! Are you going to leave me here alone? Why?"
I shrugged. "It's just a few hours, if it's really too much you can explore the city on your own."
Jashen frowned. "I'm not exploring on my own and you're not leaving me here by myself. Wherever you go I go. Understood?"
I sighed.
"Jashen," I said firmly. "It's just a few hours alone. It's not like I'm asking you to sail around the world or something."
Jashen marched in front of the door and crossed her arms.
"You're not leaving unless I can come."
I grabbed my face. "Oh my god."
I should've just left her back at the safehouse.
Just then there was a knock on the door. "Who is it?" I called.
"It's Lance!" Lance replied.
"Open the door, Jashen."
"Okie."