"Damn, this is so good! It’s just the right amount of spicy, and the sweet and sour sauce complements the meat so well. And the meat is so fresh and tender, it practically falls off the skewer and melts in your mouth," Grinned Akila, streaks of sauce all around his mouth.
"Yeah, it is delicious, but maybe you should slow down, you’re a mess, you’ve got a full-on sauce goatee there," Raven informed him with a slight chuckle.
"I can’t help it, it’s just so good!"
"You can be quite childish sometimes, huh?" Remarked Lloyd in bemusement.
"M-More than just sometimes, actually," Replied Kia with a slight sigh.
"Hey, come on, I’m not that bad, am I?" Responded Akila sheepishly.
"It’s a bitter pill to swallow, to know that someone this childish nearly killed me, how embarrassing for me," Sighed Lloyd dramatically.
"Wha-...h-hey, come on, I said I was sorry about that. No, an apology was never going to be enough to make up for that, you have every right to hold a grudge over it," Muttered Akila, a dejected look on his face as his shoulders slumped slightly.
"Uh, hey, I was just messing with you. Seriously, you don’t have to get so down about it, I don’t have any hard feelings about it," Responded Lloyd, feeling bad.
"But maybe you’re right, I should try to act more maturely. I was just so excited to visit another nation that I got a bit carried away, my bad, guys," Replied Akila apologetically.
"You really don’t need to be so hard on yourself, you know. Maybe tone it down a little bit, sure, but you don’t need to restrain yourself all that much. I mean, it’s not like you’re doing any harm, so it’s fine, just relax and keep enjoying yourself," Responded Raven with an encouraging smile as he patted Akila’s shoulder, before he jumped slightly as something crashed onto his leg.
He glanced down to see a young Animoid girl with dog-like ears and a tail on the ground, and fruit juice splattered all over his leg.
"I-I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to, i-it was an accident...," She muttered timidly, tensing slightly as she got a look at Raven’s scales before he met her gaze, flinching as he knelt down, before offering her his hand.
"It’s okay, no need to be scared, kid. I’m not going to hurt you, so there’s nothing to worry about or be afraid of. Accidents happen, after all. Are you alright? You didn’t get hurt when you fell, did you?" He responded in a gentle tone, as he helped her up, the girl calming down.
"Y-Yeah, I’m okay, I’m not hurt. I’m sorry for making such a mess, I should’ve watched where I was going, mister," She apologized with a remorseful look on her face.
"It’s alright, just be more careful and mindful of your surroundings," Smiled Raven, patting her head, before turning his gaze across as a pair of hurried footsteps echoed out.
"I-I’m so sorry, are you okay, sir? Sorry about my daughter here, she can be a bit of a gremlin!" Called out a man, bowing his head to Raven apologetically, "Please, let me make this up to you, how can I compensate you for this mess?"
"It’s fine, it was just an accident, no harm down. I’m not going to ask for any compensation for a small spill, it’s not like anyone got hurt, so I’m more than happy to just move past it. Please, raise your head, it’s really not a big deal, certainly nothing worth making a big fuss over," Raven shook his head as he patted the man’s shoulder.
"Thank you, I appreciate you saying that. Go on, thank the young man for being so nice and understanding," The man prompted his daughter with a slight frown.
"Thank you, mister, and I’m sorry again," Replied the girl, bowing her head.
The girl and her father left before much longer, giving Raven a few more apologizes as they walked away.
"Wow, you handled that really well, it was cool how you kept your composure and stayed calm," Remarked Akila, looking impressed.
"I mean, I’m not exactly happy about having juice spilled all over my leg, but I’m not about to yell at a little kid for a small mistake. I should’ve been on higher alert, I’d suppressed my senses a bit since the scents and sounds around here are kinda overwhelming, but I really ought to have been keeping a better eye out," Sighed Raven, shaking his leg to get some of the splatter off.
"Think I might be a bit to blame too, you were distracted talking to me, my bad," Replied Akila apologetically.
"It’s fine, no harm done, you certainly have no reason to apologize. Think I’ll head back to the hotel and get changed, the juice is kinda sticky and clinging to my leg, it feels gross. I’ll rejoin you guys in a bit, once I’m done changing. Keep carrying on as you have been so far, just be careful and there shouldn’t be any issues," Raven advised them, before heading back to the hotel.
"Y-Yeah, he’s right, we should be careful. If that little girl had started crying or something, people might have misunderstood what was going on and confronted us," Remarked Kia warily.
"Good point. Captain Raven did handle that well, but it could easily had gone differently. We might not be so lucky next time, so let’s make sure there isn’t a next time," Nodded Lloyd prudently.
’Yes, I agree. The APF is not as strict as how we do things in Sylph, but they still have low tolerance for any misbehavior, even with visitors’, Nero wrote across the air.
"Got it, we’ll keep that in mind, thanks for letting us know. Anyway, what should we do next?" Inquired Lloyd, as he looked around at the options.
"That juice the kid spilled on Captain Raven had a pretty pleasant scent, let’s find out where it came from and try it," Suggested Akila in response. Thɪs chapter is updatᴇd by 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩
"I-I was thinking the same thing, it smelled really nice," Nodded Kia in agreement.
The group looked around at the stalls as they continued exploring the marketplace, locating the one that the juice they were looking for was being sold at.
"Let’s get one for Captain Raven too," Suggested Akila, as he looked at the options.
"Sounds good, but we should be careful not to spill it on him," Replied Lloyd with a wry smile.
As they bought a cup for each of them, Akila let out a content sigh as he took a sip and stepped off to a spot where there was less foot traffic, by an alley, being mindful of bumping into someone.
"Damn, this is good. So sweet and refreshing, I could chug a whole gallon of this st-...," He said to himself with a smile.
"Excuse me, sir...," Suddenly came a voice from behind him, startling him.
He glanced back into the alley, spotting what appeared to be a homeless man seated by the side, holding out a cup filled with a small handful of coins.
"What the...? Crap, that scared me...wait, was this guy here the whole time? I could’ve sworn the alley was empty when I walked over here," He thought to himself, as he calmed down, before responding, "Yes, how can I help you? Is something wrong?"
"Terribly sorry to bother you, but...may I trouble you for some spare change?" The man asked him, raising his cup a bit higher.
"Oh, of course, happy to. Here you go, man," Smiled Akila, taking out a handful of coins and starting to hand them to the man.
Suddenly, his eyes widened in alarm as the man sprang onto his feet, before he pulled out a dagger and drove it towards Akila with a rapid, twisting thrust of his arm.
A loud clatter rang out as Akila dropped the coins and sprang back, before he pulled out one of his blades from his Item Box, narrowly blocking the strike, a sharp, metallic clang ringing out upon impact.
"What-...?" He began in bewilderment, before trailing off as the man suddenly crouched down and hid his dagger.
"N-No, please! Y-You can take all my money, you can have it all, just...just p-please don’t kill me!" He cried loudly, practically everyone in the vicinity turning their attention this way.
Akila’s chest tightened as he looked around shakily, a sense of panic rising up inside him as several gazes fell onto the blade in his hand, murmurs echoing out all around him as he felt the stares boring into him, his breathing growing ragged and uneven.
"No, wait...that’s not what happened, I-I swear!" He exclaimed frantically, as Kia, Lloyd and Nero rushed over towards him.
"H-Hey, calm down. Put your blade away and take a breath, panicking isn’t going to help matters," Whispered Kia, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"Y-Yeah...yeah, okay, I’m calm. Thanks, Kia..."