NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Walk Her Home (I).
Chapter 42: Walk Her Home (I).
Farrah would often see how things were going out in the restaurant. Not too long ago the blonde girl asked for another scarf to which thankfully her grandmother keeps a lot around the place.
“My familiar… is asking if you were free after work?” (Lady Evelyn)
“Eh?” (Analissa)
…
“I mean I am- in an hour. Is that okay?” The heroine hesitantly answers but she looks happy being asked out by the other party.
“Yes that’s alright- I mean Losimer says it’s alright.” (Lady Evelyn) held Losimer’s small beak shut before replying.
The two were conversing with one another happily before Analissa excused herself to work on the other things inside the restaurant. Farrah had finished cooking the other entrée and she was left with nothing to do but keep watch.
It seems that both the Villainess and the side character were watching over the heroine cleaning, how they both wanted to try helping her but they had their own places to be.
Lady Evelyn had a little argument with her familiar who seemed to be not on good terms with her at the moment. Losimer, while his stomach was full from the berries- he was growing a tantrum as well.
“Tweet! Tweet! Chirp!” (Losimer) stood on the table chirping, conversing with his master on how dirty she was for using his name to ask out the blonde girl to walk with her home.
“Losimer, cease your attitude. You were the one who suggested we wait in on her after the working hours.” (Lady Evelyn) whispers perhaps a little too loudly, but the bird did not give up and puffed his feathered chest.
He has done all this information gathering, spying and giving her guidance-
“Chirp, hmph.” He crosses his feathers looking away and not in a good mood. It was a form of betrayal for the little familiar, “Tweet… Tweet?”
Losimer told Lady Evelyn that she could’ve at least told him in advance about her plan.
The villainess felt guilty knowing that her own little red sparrow familiar was right.
“It was… I… Okay, I blacked out. I couldn’t think of a good reason or excuse to ask her to walk with me home. I was worried after all she just recovered from a cold- I’m not even sure if her dormitory is safe.”
“Those girls that bullied her might come back for revenge for what I did to them.” she sighs, eyes lingering on the heroine. Seeing her working happily even while her condition nearly recovered made her think coming into the restaurant was necessary.
“I apologize for using you to get what I needed. I’ll inform you ahead the next time- it's just- if I’m being honest with you Losimer.” (Lady Evelyn) apologized, and that took a lot out of her.
She hesitated to continue even biting her lip.
“Tweet, tweet?” (Losimer) hears the disturbance in his master’s voice. This is one of those very rare times he's seen her… nervous?
“Ahem… my mind just… goes rather foggy when she’s around like I forget how I act, my mind full of color- too much to handle. I wasn’t always like this before.” (Lady Evelyn) covers her eyes, brushing the front of her hair back resting on the wooden chair. “I need to know what’s happening to me.”
Eyes serious, determined, and curious to know what was happening to her she needed to ask could this blonde girl casted a distraction spell on her?
Meanwhile… The said blonde girl working on the other tables finished cleaning and entertaining the old people in the corner playing a game of cards.
The oldies went home and there was no one else inside except for the villainess.
“Whew… five minutes until my shift is over.” (Analissa) wipes the sweat off her brow and smiles seeing that she’s worked hard for the first time in a while. “I have to thank Farrah for the second scarf she lent me and get the old one by the window.”
Removing the scarf and taking the old one, she heads into the kitchen where she sees the buff individual standing by the side of the entrance door.
“Farrah! Thank you for all these scarves, the bird certainly felt comfortable using this but I feel bad- how about I wash these first before returning it?” (Analissa) offered to wash them before giving it back, feeling guilty of using it and then just returning it dirty.
“...” (Farrah) stood still, seeing Analissa not wearing any scarf. “Um…” she held her chin up and took one of the scarves away.
“Wear it, keep it. I-I have more.”
The brunette girl shivered a little the moment she held her hand in hers, “Are you sure? Won’t your grandmother miss these?” (Analissa) held her rough, scarred hands and her baby blue orb eyes worriedly looked at her.
“M-My grandma… would like to hand them to you… going home- night cold.” (Farrah) replied, insisting that the heroine keep the scarf. Farrah smiled widely when she saw the blonde girl not resisting and followed her order.
“Cough… are you sure?” (Analissa) wrapped the old scarf around her neck, coughing slightly and asked for the second time just to be sure.
Farrah, seeing that the blonde girl coughed, turned soft and replied with no stuttering. “Yes, I am. I really don’t want to see you cold.”
Analissa didn't notice her sudden confidence and was just happy to have gotten two gifts from her favorite people.
A blue dress from Lady Evelyn the villainess and a scarf from Farrah the background character whom she stumbled upon on her journey.
“Oh! Thank you, so much!” she told her and happily smiled. “Farrah, my shift is almost over. Is it okay if I leave a little early today?” asks looking at the time outside.
It should be past five in the afternoon because the sun was setting a little slow in the distance.
"O-Of course." (Farrah) takes off her apron and gets ready to join the blonde girl walk home. "W-Walk home… Can I accompany you?"
Farrah asks getting ready to tell her grandma that she'll be gone for a bit to take care of Analissa so that she'll safely return back to her school gates without getting flooded by men chasing her down asking for her hand in marriage or courting her into a relationship.
That… and purely because she enjoyed walking home last night that she wanted to do it again.
Maybe taking the long scenic route together would be lovely.
“Oh walking home together, actually my friend has asked me first if we could walk home together. Lady Evelyn, the girl you invited inside?” (Analissa) responded but thought nothing would most likely go wrong if she walked together with the both of them, right? “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like. I’m sure Lady Evelyn won’t mind after all you invited her into your restaurant.”
Analissa Blanchet, the reincarnated streamer, thought innocently in all of her circumstances. Farrah who didn’t like to intervene into anyone’s plans decided she can just escort the girl outside of the restaurant safely instead.
“N-No… I don’t want to intrude… but I want to… walk you out to the door. I-If that’s okay?” (Farrah) the gentle bear, played with her fingers trying to calm and reassure herself that the blonde girl wouldn’t be mad that she rejected her invitation to walk with her together with a noble lady.
Analissa being the understanding girl she noticed the girl’s body language of being nervous. Perhaps the two were not ready to mingle in a walk- after all she hadn't really considered what Lady Evelyn would feel about her sudden decision on letting someone else walk with them, she asked first after all.
Perhaps this would be the right course of action.
“Next time we can walk together instead.” (Analissa) suggested and Farrah nodded, smiling faintly at her words. “I’ll go ahead and change back to my clothes! Be right back!”
The heroine went onto the staff room where her blue dress hung into one of the wooden closet racks, she quickly undressed herself and changed out of her uniform into the blue laced dress Lady Evelyn had gifted her to wear.
“Alright, that should do it.”
While wearing the blue dress she wrapped the blue scarf around her neck. She has just realized this now, but her whole outfit complimented each other on the color.
“People have been giving me blue things lately.” The girl muttered to herself looking at the mirror. “Whatever, probably a coincidence anyways.”
After finishing on changing her clothes, she went out of the staff room and met Farrah into the kitchen. “Walk me outside?”
“M-Mm…” (Farrah) walked with her side by side, Analissa still saw Farrah being nervous and giggled, thinking that the gentle bear was sad that she was leaving.
She placed a hand on the girl’s wrist hoping it would calm her down.
“...?”
“Next time let’s hang out like friends after work. We can go anywhere you want in the city and I’ll follow.”
“!!!”
Farrah overloaded all the information and misunderstood her words. For a moment she thought the little blonde girl was asking her out on a date but hearing the words ‘friends after work’ got her back into reality.
Still-!
It made her happy.
“U-Um… I would love that.”
It made her happy that someone would invite her out sometime to the city. Not having a lot of friends, Farrah was one to not go outside of her house and worked day-night until she was tired.
Analissa saw Farrah’s happy expression and took her hand back placing it onto the side.
“Tweet! Tweet!” (Losimer) tweeted in the distance, flew mid air and into Analissa’s scarf.
“O-Oh my.” (Analissa) didn’t know what to do, she placed a hand onto the scarf making sure that it wouldn't collapse and checked if Losimer was comfortable with the spot.
“Is that the bird you fed the berries to?” (Farrah) asked leaning down to look at the bird eye to eye. “O-Oh…” she stepped back a bit when the little red sparrow furrowed his brows in her direction.
For some reason the bird was really glaring heavily and looking really territorial when it came to the blonde girl like it was his own property.
“He has taken a liking to you, Miss Blanchet. I’m not sure if I should be jealous because of it.”
The villainess walks over, cloak down feeling safe that no one else was inside the restaurant she let her guard down a bit.
“Lady Evelyn! Is it alright for him to be clinging onto me like this?” (Analissa) asks, looking scared that she would misunderstand- it looked like she stole someone else’s familiar. “I mean not that I mind- I just- he’s your familiar after all.”
“If my familiar has taken a liking to you, who am I to stop him?” (Lady Evelyn) laughs, standing in front of Farrah. Despite the gentle bear being the tall one- with how the villainess stood with confidence the crow bared her wings she was now the tall one.
‘It is rather hard not to like you after all.’ she thought in her mind but she didn’t dare say it.
“Shall we get going?” (Lady Evelyn) wanted to be the one staying at Analissa’s side but she didn’t understand why she wanted to. “The sun is setting down rather fast-”
Her mouth was already saying excuses as to why they needed to go and leave immediately. All fake smiles, but she tried not to- the tall brunette was so kind to her- letting her inside of her restaurant but the moment she saw those two together…
“So we really need to say goodbye to your friend over here, if that’s alright.” she continued, keeping a firm smile. A bead of sweat ran over her cheek, she was aware of what she was doing but she couldn’t stop.
‘What… am I doing?’ (Lady Evelyn) clenches her fist, those two walk in laughing and her chest suddenly feels a little tight.
“O-Oh um… I will walk Miss Analissa… outside. It is not safe- but I trust you… take care of her.” (Farrah) nervously responded to the noble lady who chuckled.
“Of course, I will take care of her.” (Lady Evelyn) places a hand on her chest, a sign of nobles keeping their word to the commoners not needing to do any magic of pact.
Their eyes met and for some reason, Farrah didn’t want to back down- because she had a feeling… in her stomach she shouldn’t do so. Instinct taking over, “Thank you.”
Bodies stiff they stood still, Analissa hummed happily seeing them talk to one another. “Aw I’m so glad that you two are getting along!” (Analissa) patted Farrah’s arm before heading out to the door first.
“Guess you’ll be coming with me for now, Losimer. Want some snacks on the way?” The moment the blonde girl asked, the bird instantly fell in love with her.
How does one win the heart of a bird? The answer was asking it if it wanted to eat, instant win over their heart.
“Tweet! Tweet~!” (Losimer) had flying hearts around him and snuggled in more comfortably in the scarf she was wearing.
“...” (Lady Evelyn)
“...” (Farrah)
The two were wishing at that moment that they were both birds because wow that is one lucky bird.
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